ذكريات مدرسية · Programme: Expressing possession · Grammar: The genitive (’s); possessive pronouns
By the end of this lesson, I can:
- I can understand a short story about a school memory
- I can use the genitive ’s and s’ correctly
- I can use possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, hers…)
- I can ask and answer questions with “Whose…?”
- I can hear the difference between /ʊ/ and /uː/
🖼️ Picture dictionary قاموس مصوّر
tap 🔊 to listen📚 كلمات الدرس
12 كلمة من هذا الدرس في القاموس المدرسي: المعنى بالعربية والفرنسية، والنطق، ومثال.
📖 Read: My grandmother’s school memory أقرأ
Last week, our English teacher asked us to collect school memories from older people. I interviewed my grandmother, Zohra. Here is her story.
“In 1978, I was in my first year at preparatory school in Kairouan. My best friend was Lina. Lina’s handwriting was beautiful, and mine was terrible! One day we had a dictation test. When the teacher gave the papers back, I got a very bad mark: 6 out of 20. Lina’s grade was 18. I wanted to erase the red number and hide my paper. Lina noticed my sad face. ‘Don’t hide it,’ she said. ‘Let’s work together instead.’
Every afternoon, we sat at her parents’ kitchen table. Her mother’s tea was delicious! Lina read texts aloud and I wrote them. She corrected my mistakes, and I helped her with maths, because maths was my favourite subject, not hers.
At the end of the term, I got 15 in dictation. My father was so proud that he put my report card on the wall. That card is still in my old box. Lina is still my friend, and her granddaughter is in your class!”
Do you understand? أفهم
Answer in your copybook first, then check.
- Who is Zohra?
Answer
She is the writer’s grandmother.
- What mark did Zohra get in the first dictation test?
Answer
6 out of 20.
- What did Lina suggest instead of hiding the paper?
Answer
Working together every afternoon.
- Which subject was Zohra’s favourite?
Answer
Maths (it was hers, not Lina’s).
- Why was Zohra’s father proud?
Answer
Because she got 15 in dictation at the end of the term.
🧩 Grammar القواعد
To say who something belongs to, we have three tools:
- The genitive ’s with people and animals: Lina’s handwriting, my mother’s box. With a plural noun ending in -s, add only the apostrophe: her parents’ kitchen, the teachers’ room. Irregular plurals take ’s: the children’s games, the women’s club.
- Possessive adjectives always come before a noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their + noun.
- Possessive pronouns replace “adjective + noun”, so no noun follows them: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. This is my pen » This pen is mine.
To ask about the owner, use Whose: Whose bag is this? — It’s Sami’s. / It’s his.
للتعبير عن المِلكية: نضيف ’s إلى اسم الشخص (Lina’s book = كتاب لينا). صفات الملكية (my, your…) تأتي قبل الاسم، أمّا ضمائر الملكية (mine, yours…) فتعوّض الاسم ولا يأتي بعدها اسم.
Adjective or pronoun?
| Subject | Possessive adjective + noun | Possessive pronoun (no noun) |
|---|---|---|
| I | my copybook | It’s mine. |
| you | your ruler | It’s yours. |
| he | his bag | It’s his. |
| she | her pen | It’s hers. |
| it | its tail | — |
| we | our classroom | It’s ours. |
| they | their project | It’s theirs. |
its = possession: The school opened its new library.
it’s = it is: It’s a big library.
Where does the apostrophe go?
| Owner | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| one person | + ’s | the teacher’s desk 👩🏫 |
| a name ending in -s | + ’s | Ines’s schoolbag |
| plural noun in -s | + ’ only | the pupils’ playground 🧒🧒 |
| irregular plural | + ’s | the children’s books, the men’s team |
| two people, one thing | ’s on the second name | Sami and Rim’s project |
Asking “Whose…?”
🧢 Whose cap is this? — It’s Omar’s. It’s his.
📕 Whose books are these? — They’re the twins’. They’re theirs.
✏️ Is this pencil yours? — No, it isn’t mine. Mine is blue.
💬 Useful expressions عبارات مفيدة
Expressing possession
Talking about memories
🔊 Pronunciation النطق
Worked examples أمثلة محلولة
Try first, then read the solution.
Rewrite without repeating the noun: This is my schoolbag and that is your schoolbag.
Step-by-step solution
- “your schoolbag” = possessive adjective + noun.
- Replace it with the pronoun yours; no noun after it.
✓ This is my schoolbag and that is yours.
Add the apostrophe: The girls changing room is next to the boys changing room.
Step-by-step solution
- “girls” and “boys” are plural nouns ending in -s.
- So we add only an apostrophe after the s.
✓ The girls’ changing room is next to the boys’ changing room.
Look: the red ruler belongs to Hiba. Answer in two ways: Whose ruler is this?
Step-by-step solution
- Genitive: Hiba + ’s.
- Pronoun: Hiba is “she” » hers.
✓ It’s Hiba’s. / It’s hers.
⚠️ Common mistakes أخطاء شائعة
⭐ Remember أحفظ
- Genitive: one owner + ’s (Lina’s), plural in -s + ’ (my parents’), irregular plural + ’s (children’s).
- Possessive adjectives come before a noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
- Possessive pronouns stand alone: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
- Ask about the owner with “Whose…?”
- /ʊ/ is short (book, put); /uː/ is long (school, blue).
Quick quiz اختبار سريع
4 questions · instant feedback1. Choose the right word: This copybook is … .
2. Many teachers use this room. It’s the … room.
3. Which word has the long /uː/ sound?
4. In the text, why did Zohra’s father put her report card on the wall?
✍️ Write: Project step 1: our class memory book أكتب
Your class is making a School Memory Book. Step 1: make lists of school things, people and moments, then write a short paragraph about one object that is important to you and its story.
Steps
- Make three lists: objects (schoolbag, pencil case…), people (teacher, classmates…), moments (tests, trips, parties…).
- Choose one object from your list and say whose it was.
- Tell when and where you used it, and why it is a good memory.
- Use the genitive ’s and at least two possessive pronouns.
- Check your spelling and read it to a classmate.
A model text to compare with (after writing mine)
My favourite school memory is a small green pencil case. It wasn’t mine at first: it was my brother’s. When he went to secondary school, he gave it to me. In my first year at primary school, I forgot mine at home, so I took his instead. On that day my teacher, Mrs Amel, noticed the drawing of a camel on it and asked, “Whose pencil case is this? It’s beautiful!” I said, “It’s my brother’s, but now it’s mine.” I still keep it in my desk. Every time I see it, I remember my teacher’s smile and my first good mark.
One good example among many: compare, don’t copy.
😊 The lighter side استراحة
Practice makes perfect.
What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
Answer
A clock.
Teacher: “Why is your homework in your father’s handwriting?” — Pupil: “Because I used his pen!”
✅ Exercises تمارين
All exercises →6 exercises on three levels, with new questions every time.
- Choose the right answerTo do
- ClassifyTo do
- Situation 1To do
- Situation 2To do
Practise: School Memories
True or false, complete, choose, classify and situations: instant correction with explanations.
Got the lesson? Try it yourself
6 exercises · instant correction · new questions every time
Start the exercisesPictures: Twemoji (CC-BY 4.0). Texts, explanations and exercises: Scolaire.tn.