Let’s learn how to form Possessive Nouns in English.
Possessive Nouns tell us who something belongs to. It answers the question ‘who is the owner?’
Here are some English vocabulary words that we need in order to talk about possession:
to possess = poseer/tener
to own = ser dueño de
owner = dueño/propietario
First, let’s review Irregular Plural Nouns. Can you think of some nouns that change in unusual ways in their plural forms? For example, what is the plural of ‘child’? is it ‘childs’? No! It’s an unusual noun. The plural is ‘children’. How many more examples can you give?
Review irregular plural nouns HERE.
When to use object + of + owner
What are these images of?
These are the Statue of Liberty, the President of Russia, and the work of Shakespeare.
We tend to use object + of + owner when we consider something or someone to be very important, or when we want to speak formally.
According to English textbooks, we also use this structure when both the thing and what it belongs to are inanimate objects. Think, for example of the trunk of the car, and the foot of the bed. This rule is good to remember, but isn’t always true. Often, we use the purpose or possessor as a compound noun. It is an apple tree, not a tree of apple.
Another common way to show ownership is to use the structure owner + ‘s + object.
Let’s see how we indicate possession with possessive nouns.
Can you use possessive nouns to say these sentences correctly?
1.) The mother of my mother is my grandmother.
2.) The children of my uncle are my cousins.
3.) The son of my sister is my nephew.
Try the possessive nouns quiz!
