Grammar · Lesson 11

Possessive noun ’s

Connect one noun to another: Maria’s desk, the company’s website, my parents’ house. The apostrophe helps the listener understand whose person, place, thing, or responsibility you mean.

40–50 min corenoun + ’s + nounwhose? · relationshipspronunciation + error repair

NoticeFollow the connection between two nouns.

DiscoverChoose ’s or an apostrophe after plural s.

BuildKeep possession, is, and possessive adjectives separate.

UseExplain a workplace or family network.

Can-do: By the end, you can identify people’s relationships and things, form common singular and plural possessives, and hear whether ’s means possession or is.

Retrieve the idea before the new form

Three familiar connections

Say each answer before reading the model.

I have a sister. She is ___ sister. Model: She is my sister.
Rosa has a phone. It is ___ phone. Model: It is her phone.
The office has two meeting rooms. Model with have: The office has two meeting rooms.

Notice the noun connection

First day at Harbor Design

This is Maya’s desk. The manager’s office is next to it. The designers’ meeting starts at ten.

Which desk belongs to or is connected with Maya?
Does the manager’s office describe the manager or identify the office?
Why is the apostrophe after the final s in designers’ meeting?

Discovery check: who or what is connected?

Read the first sentence, then identify the same connection in the second.

1The desk is connected with Maya. It is desk.

2One manager uses this office. It is office.

3Several designers attend this meeting. It is meeting.

4The room is for several children. It is room.

Get to the root: identify one noun through another

A possessive noun answers whose? or shows a close connection. It can describe ownership, but its job is wider than ownership. Lena’s brother is a relationship. today’s meeting is a time connection. the company’s policy connects a policy with an organization.

noun type	form	example
one person, animal, organization, or thing	noun + ’s	Thomas’s class · the dog’s bowl · the bank’s website
regular plural ending in s	plural noun + ’	the students’ questions · my parents’ house
irregular plural without final s	plural noun + ’s	the children’s room · the people’s choice
two names sharing one thing	add ’s to the final name	Maya and Leo’s project

The spelling Thomas’s is standard in American English for a singular name ending in s. Say the extra syllable: Thomas-iz.

Do not add an apostrophe to possessive adjectives

my, your, his, her, its, our, their already show the connection: her desk, their office. Do not write her’s desk or their’s office.

Compare: Maya’s desk uses a noun plus ’s. Her desk uses a possessive adjective instead of Maya’s name.

Drill 1: build the written form

First decide whether the connecting noun is singular, a regular plural, or an irregular plural.

1One client sent a request: the request.

2Several clients answered a survey: the answers.

3Several women formed a team: the team.

4Thomas teaches this class: class.

5Both parents live there: my house.

6One company published a policy: the policy.

Possessive ’s or the contraction of is?

The same spelling can do two jobs. Look at what follows it. A possessive ’s normally connects to a noun: Maya’s office. Contracted is connects the subject to an adjective, place, identity, or an -ing action: Maya’s busy. Maya’s at work. Maya’s calling.

what follows?	likely job	expand or explain
a noun	possessive connection	Leo’s phone means the phone connected with Leo
an adjective	is	Leo’s ready = Leo is ready
a place phrase	is	Leo’s at home = Leo is at home
verb + -ing	is	Leo’s working = Leo is working

Drill 2: diagnose the job of ’s

Choose possession when a following noun is being identified. Choose is when the sentence describes the person or situation.

1Nina’s laptop is new. Here ’s means .

2Nina’s tired today. Here ’s means .

3The doctor’s office opens at eight. Here ’s means .

4The doctor’s at the hospital. Here ’s means .

5My brother’s calling now. Here ’s means .

6My brother’s manager is Ana. Here ’s means .

Sound natural: three possessive endings

The possessive ending uses the same three sounds as a regular plural or third-person verb. The sound depends on the final sound of the noun.

final sound	possessive ending	example
quiet sound such as /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/	/s/	Jack’s
vowel or voiced sound	/z/	Maya’s · John’s
hissing or buzzing sound	/ɪz/, an extra syllable	Thomas’s · Rosa’s

In speech, possession and contracted is can sound identical. Context and the following word reveal the job: Maya’s phone versus Maya’s busy.

Build complete connections

Drill 3: identify a family home

Build the sentence.

Drill 4: locate a shared room

Build the sentence.

Notice and repair

Repair the missing apostrophe

Marias phone is on the table.

Repair plural possession

The student’s projects are ready. The projects belong to all six students.

Repair an irregular plural

The childrens’ coats are here.

Repair the possessive adjective

Her’s manager is friendly.

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

First day at the clinic

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Note to a new coworker100 wordsAbout 1 min

Hi Sam, welcome to the clinic! Your desk is next to Rita’s desk at reception. Rita’s busy this morning, so please ask me if you have a question. The doctors’ meeting room is upstairs, and the children’s waiting area is on the left.

The manager’s name is Carlos. His office is near the kitchen. Carlos is on vacation this week. Please put the patients’ files in the gray cabinet, and don’t use Carlos’s computer.

Lunch is at one. On Fridays, the team’s lunch is at Ana’s sandwich shop across the street. Ana’s very friendly, and her food is great! Mia

Find it

Tap the 8 possessive nouns with ’s or s’. Skip ’s when it means is.

Check your understanding

1. Where is Sam’s desk?

2. Who is Carlos?

3. In “Ana’s very friendly,” what does ’s mean?

Sort it

Possession or is?

Look at the word after ’s. Then tap each sentence and tap its box.

Match up

One owner or several?

Tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right.

Whose?

Possessive phrase

Unscramble

Build possessive sentences

Tap the words in order to build the sentence. Tap a placed word to send it back.

1. Ask about the desk of one coworker.
2. Several students wrote questions. Describe them.
3. Ask about the room of one manager.
4. Describe the car of one person.

Communicate: explain a connection map

A fictional workplace or family network

Final production: Draw five fictional people, places, or objects and connect them with arrows. Give a 45 to 60 second explanation using at least six possessive expressions.

Identify one person’s role: Nora is the company’s director.
Identify two singular connections: Nora’s office, the client’s request.
Identify one regular plural connection: the designers’ meeting.
Identify one irregular plural connection: the children’s program.
Use Whose…? to ask your tutor for one missing connection.

You may invent every detail. You never need to share real family, work, or ownership information.

Reflect and retrieve tomorrow

Can you do this without the page?

Explain the difference between the student’s book and the students’ books.
Write the possessive forms of Maya, Thomas, parents, children.
Explain why Maya’s office and Maya’s busy use the same spelling for different jobs.

Next use: At the beginning of the next lesson, describe three visible or fictional connections without looking at this page.

Return to this retrieval task tomorrow.