Module 2: Education
Summary: School Memories
Key points
- We use the genitive ’s to show who something belongs to: Lina’s book.
- Plural nouns ending in -s take only an apostrophe: my parents’ house.
- Irregular plurals take ’s: the children’s toys.
- Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) come before a noun.
- Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) are never followed by a noun.
- We ask about the owner with “Whose…?”
Rules to remember
Genitive ’s / s’
one owner + ’s (the teacher’s desk); plural in -s + ’ (the teachers’ room); irregular plural + ’s (the women’s club).
Adjective vs pronoun
This is my pen » This pen is mine. Is that your bag? » Is that bag yours?
Whose?
Whose ruler is this? — It’s Hiba’s. / It’s hers.
Its vs it’s
its = possession (the school and its library); it’s = it is.
How to do it
- Find the owner: one person, several people, or an irregular plural?
- Add ’s or only ’ according to the rule.
- If there is no noun after the word, use a possessive pronoun (mine, yours…).
Example
Whose test is this? — It’s Lina’s. Mine is on the teacher’s desk.
Common mistakes
- *This is mine book* » This is my book / This book is mine.
- *her’s, your’s* » hers, yours (no apostrophe).
- *the book of Sami* » Sami’s book.
Key words
Summary written by سكولار for quick revision: it does not replace the lesson and its exercises.