Understanding how to talk about things that belong to people is one of the first steps toward sounding natural in English. Possessive S (also called apostrophe S) is a simple yet essential structure you will use every single day, from describing whose phone is on the table to asking about someone's belongings.
How do you form the possessive S? [0:49]
The pattern is straightforward: name + 's + object. Look at these examples from the lesson:
- John's jacket — the jacket belongs to John.
- John's backpack — the backpack belongs to John.
- Vicki's suitcase — the suitcase belongs to Vicki.
- Vicki's water bottle — the water bottle belongs to Vicki.
You can also add adjectives between the apostrophe S and the object to give more detail [1:07]:
- Gina's clean desk.
- Noah's long email.
- John's new phone.
The rule stays the same: person 's + (adjective) + object.
How is possessive S different from the verb to be? [1:16]
This is a common point of confusion for learners. The apostrophe S can mean two completely different things depending on context:
- John's a teacher. → Here 's is a contraction of is (the verb to be). It means "John is a teacher."
- John's new phone. → Here 's shows possession. The phone belongs to John.
A quick tip: if you can replace 's with is and the sentence still makes sense, it is the verb to be. If it does not make sense, it is the possessive.
What about plural objects like headphones and sunglasses? [0:25]
When the object is plural, use these instead of this:
- This is John's scarf.
- These are John's headphones.
- These are Vicki's sunglasses.
Notice that the possessive structure does not change — only the demonstrative (this / these) and the verb (is / are) adjust to match singular or plural.
How do you ask about possession with whose? [1:33]
To find out who owns something, use the question word whose followed by the object:
- Whose chair is this?
- Whose headphones are these?
The structure is: Whose + object + is/are + this/these?
This question word is different from who's (a contraction of who is), so pay attention to spelling.
Can you express possession another way? [0:38]
Yes. Instead of saying "This is my phone," you can say "This phone belongs to me." Both sentences communicate the same idea — that the phone is your possession. However, the apostrophe S form is much more common in everyday conversation because it is shorter and more direct.
Practice identifying possessive S in sentences you read and hear. The more you notice it, the more naturally you will use it. Head over to the playground in the resource section to keep practicing — and keep learning!
