These possessive case exercises help you talk about ownership in English using apostrophes. There is a PDF worksheet to download for free. The answers to the activities are given on this page.
1. Exercise 1: forming the possessive case
Fill in each blank with the correct possessive form of the word in brackets.
1. I like hat. (John)
I like John’s hat.
2. Have you seen new car. (Thomas)
Have you seen Thomas’s newcar? (Thomas’ new car is also possible, but is less frequently used.)
3. The mission Iraq was dangerous. (Navy SEALs)
The Navy SEALs’ mission in Iraq was dangerous.
4. The military operation would have failed without the assistance. (FBI)
The military operation would have failed without the FBI’s assistance.
5. We have to wait for the CEOs decision. (CEOs)
We have to wait for the CEOs’ decision.
6. We have to deal with the frustration with the lack of adequate equipment. (workers)
We have to deal with the workers’ frustration with the lack of adequate equipment.
2. Exercise 2: joint and separate possessions
Rewrite each sentence using the possessive case. Remember that there are different rules for joint and separate ownership.
1. The boat that belongs to Chris and Mark sank last week. (shared)
Chris and Mark’s boat sank last week.
2. The house of Olga and the house of Mark are really beautiful (separate).
Olga’s and Mark’s houses are really beautiful.
3. Is that boy the son of Arthur and Isabella? (shared)
Is that boy Arthur and Isabella’s son?
4. Are these the mobile phone of Kyle and the mobile phone of Liam? (separate)
Are these Kyle’s and Liam’s mobile phones?
5. The dog of Mark and my dog bit somebody yesterday. (separate)
Mark’s and my dog bit somebody yesterday. Here, we have added a personal possessive pronoun. Therefore, we add the ’s to the noun that comes before the pronoun.
3. Exercise 3
Put an apostrophe (’) or ’s in one of the nouns in each pair to form a possessive case. You may need to put the nouns in the correct order.
1. Mary - husband
Mary’s husband.
2. children - Aron
Aron’s children.
3. food - cat
cat’s food.
4. mother - love
mother’s love.
5. coat - somebody
somebody’s coat.
6. food - cats
cats’ food.
7. magazines - women
women’s magazines.
4. Exercise 4
In each of the following word pairs, put one of the nouns in the possessive case by using the ’s structure or the preposition of. You may need to put the nouns in the correct order.
1. a group - teenagers
a group of teenagers.
2. the - gravity - theory
the theory of gravity.
3. a friend - mine
a friend of mine.
4. baby - head
baby’s head.
5. babies - food
babies’ food.
6. head - department
head of department.
5. Possessive case worksheet
In this worksheet, you’ll complete 15 sentences by choosing the correct possessive from of the words in brackets. Check the answers by clicking the toggle arrow.
- 1. This is Mary's cat.
- 2. This is John and Marc's dog.
- 3. Henry's and George's mothers are sick.
- 4. James's last book is interesting.
- 5. The dogs' food is on the table.
- 6. A. Is that your phone? B. No, It’s Harry's.
- 8. Will and Thomas's cars are black.
- 9. Jacob's and Theo's sons got a prize.
- 10. My mother-in-law's birthday is tomorrow.
- 11. Where is the city's town hall?
- 12. These are the customers' responsibilities.
- 13. We are not allowed to reveal the witness's identity.
- 14. I am not here to change people's minds. (people)
- 15. Ellis's job is picking up packages from the sender.
6. Exercise 5: multiple-choice questions
Choose the correct possessive form.
These are children’s books.
This is the kids' section.
Where is the girls' restroom?
We need to listen to people’s voices.
These ladies’ handbags are expensive.
