Apostrophe S: Has, Is, or Possessive?
A2-B1 Level
English Exercises is teacher-led by Charlie. About the teacher · How content is made
Context is your best guide. After a name or pronoun, 's followed by an adjective or -ing form usually means 'is': 'Tom's working late' (Tom is working). After a name or pronoun, 's followed by a past participle usually means 'has': 'Tom's finished his homework' (Tom has finished). After a noun followed by another noun, 's usually shows possession: 'Tom's homework' (the homework belongs to Tom). This exercise trains you to identify all three meanings quickly, which is essential for both reading comprehension and writing accuracy in English examinations.
Quick Rule
noun/name + 's + adjective/-ing (= is) | noun/name + 's + past participle (= has) | noun/name + 's + noun (= possession)
- 1.The doctor's waiting for the test results. (doctor's = doctor is)
- 2.Sarah's been working here for five years. (Sarah's = Sarah has)
- 3.My brother's car needs new tyres. (brother's = possession — the car belongs to my brother)
- 4.The manager's already left for the day. (manager's = manager has)
- 5.He doesn't understand the company's decision. (company's = possession — negative main verb)
All 20 questions
Each sentence contains 's. Type what the 's means: 'has', 'is', or 'possessive'.
"Tom's car is very fast." — The 's in "Tom's" is _____.
"She's coming to the party tonight." — The 's in "She's" is _____.
"He's already finished his homework." — The 's in "He's" is _____.
"My mother's cooking dinner right now." — The 's in "mother's" is _____.
"The teacher's desk is near the window." — The 's in "teacher's" is _____.
"Anna's been living in London for three years." — The 's in "Anna's" is _____.
"What's that noise coming from the kitchen?" — The 's in "What's" is _____.
"My brother's friend works at the hospital." — The 's in "brother's" is _____.
"Who's taken my pen from the desk?" — The 's in "Who's" is _____.
"The cat's sleeping on the sofa again." — The 's in "cat's" is _____.
"Sarah's bag was left in the classroom." — The 's in "Sarah's" is _____.
"There's a new shop opening on the high street." — The 's in "There's" is _____.
"My neighbour's just moved to a new house." — The 's in "neighbour's" is _____.
"The children's playground needs new equipment." — The 's in "children's" is _____.
"David's really tired after the long journey." — The 's in "David's" is _____.
"The company's profits increased by 15% last year." — The 's in "company's" is _____.
"She's never been to Japan before." — The 's in "She's" is _____.
"Here's the information you asked for." — The 's in "Here's" is _____.
"The president's speech was broadcast around the world." — The 's in "president's" is _____.
"That's got to be the funniest film I've ever seen." — The 's in "That's" is _____.
Continue Practising
Continue practising with these related exercises
-ed vs -ing Adjectives
EasyPractise bored/boring, interested/interesting, and other feeling adjective pairs
60 questions
Conditionals
MediumMaster all types of conditional sentences (zero to third)
330 questions
Present Perfect
MediumLearn to talk about experiences and unfinished time
240 questions
Reported Speech
MediumTransform direct speech into indirect speech
340 questions
Passive Voice
MediumChange the focus from doer to receiver of the action
120 questions
Past Simple
EasyTalk about completed actions and events in the past
300 questions