Pronouns and Possessives
The Possessive ('s)
With a name we use 's with a noun to show that a person possesses, has or owns it:
| Subject | Verb | Name + 's | Noun |
|---|
| I | drank | Tom's | milk. |
| You | ate | Jerry's | cheese. |
| He | found | Cinderella's | shoe. |
| Name + 's | Noun | Verb | Adjective |
|---|
| Tom's | house | is | big. |
| Jerry's | cheese | tastes | nice. |
| Jack's | beans | grew | tall. |
| Tip! |
|---|
| *We add 's to nouns for the possessive. We do not add 's to it for the possessive: |
| The phone's screen is good. ✔ |
| It's screen is good. ✘ |
| Its screen is good. ✔ |
| It's (It is) a good screen. ✔ |
Whose
We use Whose to ask about the owner:
| Whose | Noun | Demonstrative | | | Owner | Noun |
|---|
| Whose | bag | is that? | ⇒ | It is | my | bag. |
| Whose | books | are those? | ⇒ | They are | Tom's | books. |
| Whose | phone | is that? | ⇒ | It is | Jerry's | phone. |
| Tip! |
|---|
| *We don't use Who's for the possessive. Who's means Who is: |
| Who's (Who is) bag is that? ✘ |
| Whose bag is that? ✔ |
| Who's (Who is) the captain? ✔ |
Now try the quiz below!