Possessive
1. Using ‘s
We normally use ‘s in the following cases:
Usage | Example | |
For people and animals | The cat’s fur, the boy’s book | |
After singular nouns | my brother’s bike | |
After plural nouns, we put the only ‘ | the three girls’ dog | |
For organisations | the school’s decision | |
For places and origins | Madrid’s best restaurant, Beckett’s novel | |
After more than one noun | Jack and Jill’s house | |
After compound nouns | my sister-in-law’s birthday | |
With time expressions | yesterday’s movie, tomorrow’s trip | |
With periods of time | a week’s holiday, ten minutes’ drive | |
With quantities and measurements | a pound’s worth | |
With irregular plural nouns | the children’s toys | |
With double possessive | my mother’s cat’s food | |
With names of shops, companies | the newsagent’s, the greengrocer’s the vet’s | |
Expressions | For goodness’ sake! | |
2. Using of
We normally use of in the following cases:
Usage | Example |
For things and ideas | the room of the house |
With expressions | the beginning / the end / the top / the bottom / the front / the back / the middle, etc. |
For organisations | the decision of the school |
With double possessive | a friend of Frank’s (one friend out of all of Frank’s friend) |
When the noun is followed by a prepositional phrase | the tail of the cat mewing loudly |
With long, complex phrases | the mysterious disappearance of Mr Jack Smith |
With a specific year or date | the fire of 2014 |
Other fixed expressions | the President of the United States |
3. Either ‘s or of
Very often there is no difference in meaning between the ‘s or of:
The book’s cover = the cover of the book
New York’s statues = the statues of New York
The country’s government = the government of the country.
