Possessives &amp; Apostrophes

Its vs It's (Intermediate)

medium

Longer sentences including it's = it has contractions

20 questions • 10 min

Its vs It's (Advanced)

hard

Complex contexts with abstract nouns and both it is/it has

20 questions • 12 min

It's: Has, Is, or Possessive?

medium

Identify what 's means: has, is, or possession

20 questions • 10 min

Whose vs Who's

medium

Practice whose (possession) vs who's (who is/who has)

20 questions • 10 min

Possessive Adjectives vs Pronouns

easy

Choose between my/mine, your/yours, her/hers, etc.

20 questions • 8 min

Singular vs Plural Possessive

medium

Practice 's vs s' with regular and irregular plurals

20 questions • 10 min

Saxon Genitive vs Of

medium

When to use 's (people/animals) vs of (things/ideas)

20 questions • 10 min

Mixed Possessives Practice

medium

All possessive types combined in one exercise

20 questions • 10 min

What are possessives in English?

Possessives show that something belongs to someone or something. English uses several different forms to express possession: apostrophes ('s), possessive adjectives (my, your, his), possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his), and the word "of." Mastering possessives is essential because apostrophe errors are among the most common mistakes in written English.

Apostrophe 's

Shows possession for people & animals

"Sarah's book", "the dog's tail"

Possessive Adjectives

Go before a noun

"my car", "her phone", "their house"

Possessive Pronouns

Replace the noun entirely

"The book is mine", "That car is hers"

Of-Genitive

Used for things and abstract ideas

"the colour of the sky", "the end of the road"

Possessives Rules - Complete Guide to Apostrophes and Possession

Download Infographic

What is the difference between its and it's?

This is the single most common apostrophe error in English. "Its" (no apostrophe) shows possession: "The cat licked its paw." "It's" (with apostrophe) is a contraction meaning "it is" or "it has." Research shows this error appears in up to 35% of student writing samples.

its = possession

"The cat licked its paw."
"The company changed its policy."
"The tree lost its leaves."

it's = it is / it has

"It's raining." (= it is)
"It's been a long day." (= it has)
"It's my turn." (= it is)

Quick test: Replace with "it is" or "it has." If the sentence still makes sense, use "it's." If not, use "its." Example: "The dog wagged __ tail." → "The dog wagged it is tail" makes no sense → use "its."

How do you use apostrophes to show possession?

The rules for possessive apostrophes are straightforward once you learn the pattern. For singular nouns, add 's. For regular plural nouns (ending in -s), add just an apostrophe. For irregular plurals (not ending in -s), add 's. The trick is knowing whether the base word is singular or plural first.

Type	Rule	Example
Singular noun	Add 's	the girl's book
Regular plural (-s)	Add apostrophe only	the girls' books
Irregular plural	Add 's	the children's toys
Name ending in -s	Add 's or apostrophe	James's / James' car
Pronouns	NO apostrophe	its, yours, hers, theirs

What is the difference between whose and who's?

Like its/it's, this pair follows the same pattern: "whose" (no apostrophe) shows possession, while "who's" (with apostrophe) is a contraction of "who is" or "who has." "Whose" can be used as both a question word and a relative pronoun.

whose = possession

"Whose bag is this?"
"The student whose essay won..."
"Whose turn is it?"

who's = who is / who has

"Who's coming tonight?" (= who is)
"Who's been here?" (= who has)
"Who's the new teacher?" (= who is)

Quick test: Replace with "who is" or "who has." If it works, use "who's." Otherwise, use "whose." Example: "___ jacket is this?" → "Who is jacket is this?" doesn't work → use "whose."

When do you use 's (Saxon genitive) vs "of"?

The general rule is: use 's for people, animals, and time expressions, and "of" for things and abstract ideas. However, there are many exceptions. Corpus studies show that 's is expanding its use beyond people, especially in journalism and informal speech.

People & Animals → use 's

"Maria's sister", "the teacher's desk", "the cat's bowl"

Things & Ideas → use "of"

"the door of the house", "the beginning of the film", "the colour of the car"

Time & Place → use 's

"today's news", "yesterday's meeting", "London's museums"

What are possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns?

Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) always come before a noun. Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) replace the noun entirely and stand alone. Neither form ever uses an apostrophe.

Subject	Adjective (+ noun)	Pronoun (alone)
I	my book	It's mine.
you	your book	It's yours.
he	his book	It's his.
she	her book	It's hers.
we	our book	It's ours.
they	their book	It's theirs.

Remember: "His" is unique because it works as both the possessive adjective AND the possessive pronoun: "his book" (adjective) / "The book is his" (pronoun).

How do singular and plural possessives work?

The placement of the apostrophe tells the reader whether the owner is singular or plural. Getting this wrong changes the meaning: "the student's books" (one student) vs "the students' books" (many students). Irregular plurals like "children" add 's because they don't end in -s.

One student → student's

"The student's homework was excellent."

Many students → students'

"The students' homework was collected."

Irregular plurals → add 's

"Children's toys", "women's rights", "people's opinions"

What are the most common possessive mistakes?

Research identifies four major apostrophe errors that account for the vast majority of possessive mistakes. The good news is that once you learn these patterns, you can avoid most errors.

Confusing its/it's

"The dog wagged it's tail."→"The dog wagged its tail."

Grocer's apostrophe (apostrophe in plurals)

"Fresh apple's for sale"→"Fresh apples for sale"

Wrong apostrophe placement for plurals

"the children's toy's"→"the children's toys"

Confusing whose/who's

"Who's bag is this?"→"Whose bag is this?"

Common Possessive Mistakes - Apostrophe Errors to Avoid

Download Infographic

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Statistics and research cited on this page:

•
Connelly et al. (2006) - Research showing apostrophe errors are one of the most frequent punctuation mistakes in student writing, with its/it's confusion appearing in up to 35% of writing samples.
•
British National Corpus (BNC) - Corpus analysis of possessive forms showing the Saxon genitive ('s) is overwhelmingly preferred for animate nouns (people, animals), while "of" dominates for inanimate nouns.
•
Rosenbach (2005) - Study on the genitive variation in English showing that animacy is the strongest predictor of whether a speaker uses 's or "of" construction.
•
Cambridge Grammar of the English Language - Comprehensive reference for possessive pronoun rules and the principle that pronouns never take apostrophes for possession.Cambridge Dictionary
•
Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) - Modern style guide recommendation for adding 's after names ending in -s (e.g., "James's"), with the apostrophe-only form ("James'") also accepted.

Explore Other Grammar Topics

Continue practicing with these related exercises

Zero Conditional

Practice general truths and scientific facts with if/when clauses

20 questions

First Conditional

Learn to express real future possibilities and likely outcomes

20 questions

Present Perfect vs Past Simple

Medium

Learn when to use present perfect or past simple tense

20 questions

Time Expressions

Master for, since, already, yet, just, and ever/never

20 questions

Present Simple

Transform present simple statements into reported speech

20 questions

Past Simple

Convert past simple sentences to indirect speech

20 questions