Case and the possessive
Use nominative, objective and possessive case, with apostrophes.
A noun can do different jobs in a sentence: act, receive an action, or own something. This job is called its case, and the possessive case needs careful apostrophes.
Case shows the role of a noun: the nominative is the subject, the objective is the object, and the possessive shows ownership.
Examples
- Farhan painted the wall. (nominative)
- The dog chased the cat. (objective)
- Pooja's laptop is new. (possessive)
- The nurses' quarters are near the gate.
- The women's team won the final.
How it works
Nominative case
A noun that does the action, or is the subject of the verb, is in the nominative case.
The chef cooked biryani.
Objective case
A noun that receives the action, or follows a preposition, is in the objective case.
The chef cooked biryani for the guests.
Possessive with singular nouns
Add 's to a singular noun, even one that ends in s.
My boss's car is white.
Possessive with plural nouns
If the plural ends in s, add only an apostrophe. If it does not end in s, add 's.
the doctors' room, the people's choice
Quick reference
| Noun | Type | Possessive |
|---|---|---|
| friend | singular | friend's |
| bus | singular ending in s | bus's |
| friends | plural ending in s | friends' |
| men | plural not ending in s | men's |
| children | plural not ending in s | children's |
| Ram and Shyam (shared) | joint owners | Ram and Shyam's |
Common mistakes
✕The players's shoes were muddy.
✓The players' shoes were muddy.
A plural ending in s takes only an apostrophe.
✕This book is your's.
✓This book is yours.
Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe.
✕The leg's of the table are loose.
✓The legs of the table are loose.
A simple plural needs no apostrophe.
Worked example
Exercise 1
Tap the noun in the possessive case.
This is Rahul's bicycle.
✓Rahul's
Rahul's shows who owns the bicycle.
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