Possessive ‘s – Whose Is This ‘s Practice Test with Rules and Example

Possessive 's – Whose Is This?

In English, we often want to say that something belongs to someone. For example, a phone belongs to your sister. A car belongs to your father. A house belongs to your friend.

We use possessive 's (apostrophe s) to show this. Look at these simple examples:

• This is my sister's phone. (The phone belongs to my sister.)
• This is my father's car. (The car belongs to my father.)
• This is Max's watch. (The watch belongs to Max.)

The question we ask is: Whose is this?

Whose means "who does it belong to?" It is a very important question word. Check it in your dictionary if you need to.

In this lesson, we will learn exactly how to use possessive 's step by step.

Wait – Is This the Same Apostrophe S from He's or She's?

You already know sentences like these:

• He's my brother. (He's = He is)
• He's got a car. (He's = He has)

In those sentences, the apostrophe s is a short form (contraction) of is or has.

But in this lesson, the apostrophe s is different. It does not mean is or has. It shows possession – something belongs to someone.

• He's my brother. → He is my brother. (apostrophe s = is)
• This is my sister's phone. → The phone belongs to my sister. (apostrophe s = possession)

Same apostrophe s. Two different uses. In this lesson, we focus only on possession.

Rule 1 – One Person Owns Something (Singular)

When one person has or owns something, we write:

Person's name or noun + 's + the thing they own

Look at these mini-situations:

My father says: "This is my car."
I say: This is my father's car.

My sister says: "This is my telephone."
I say: This is my sister's telephone.

Max says: "This is my watch."
I say: This is Max's watch.

My friend says: "This is my house."
I say: This is my friend's house.

We can also say the same thing with of, but the possessive 's is more natural in English:

• This is my friend's house. ✅ (natural)
• This is the house of my friend. ✅ (also correct, but less common)

Special Case – Names That End in S, SH, or TCH

Look at this name: Max. It ends in the letter x. We write Max's and we say "Max-iz".

Now look at this name: Dennis. It ends in the letter s. We cannot write Denniss – that looks and sounds wrong!

When a name ends in s, sh, or tch, we still add 's, and we pronounce it as an extra syllable -es:

• Dennis's house → we say "Dennis-iz house"
• Max's watch → we say "Max-iz watch"

The spelling rule is simple: just add 's as normal. The pronunciation adds the extra -es sound naturally.

Rule 2 – More Than One Person Owns Something (Regular Plural)

Now imagine you have two friends. Together they say: "This is our house."

How do you say this with possessive 's?

When the noun is already plural (it already ends in s), we put the apostrophe after the s. We do not add another s.

Plural noun + ' (apostrophe only) + the thing they own

• One friend → my friend's house (apostrophe s)
• Two friends → my friends' house (apostrophe after s)

• One sister → my sister's telephone (apostrophe s)
• Two sisters → my sisters' room (apostrophe after s)

So the steps are easy:

Step 1: Make the plural form of the noun. (friend → friends, sister → sisters)
Step 2: Add only the apostrophe after the s. (friends → friends', sisters → sisters')

Rule 3 – Irregular Plurals

Some nouns in English have a special plural form. These are called irregular plurals. They do not end in s in the plural form.

Let's revise some common ones quickly:

Because these plural forms do not end in s, we treat them like a singular noun. We add 's after the plural form.

Irregular plural noun + 's + the thing they own

• one child → the child's name
• three children → the children's names (not children' – we add 's because there is no s at the end)
• one man → the man's bicycle
• these men → these men's bicycles
• one woman → the woman's hairstyle
• those women → those women's hairstyles

The Full Rule – All Three Types Together

Here is a clear summary of all three situations:

Important – We Use Possessive 's for People, Not Things

This is very important to remember. We use possessive 's mainly when the owner is a person (or an animal).

When we talk about things, we use of instead.

• ❌ the car's door (not natural in English)
• ✅ the door of the car

• ❌ the bike's handle
• ✅ the handle of the bike

• ✅ my father's car (person → use 's)
• ✅ my sister's phone (person → use 's)

A simple way to remember this: people have 's, things use of.

Common Mistakes

❌ This is my sisters phone.
✅ This is my sister's phone. (You need the apostrophe s to show possession.)

❌ This is my friends' house. (when you have only one friend)
✅ This is my friend's house. (One friend = apostrophe s, not apostrophe after s.)

❌ This is my sisters's room. (when you have two sisters)
✅ This is my sisters' room. (Regular plural already ends in s – add only the apostrophe.)

❌ These are the childrens' toys.
✅ These are the children's toys. (Irregular plural – no s at the end, so add 's.)

❌ The car's door is red.
✅ The door of the car is red. (Things use 'of', not possessive 's.)

❌ He's my brother's. (mixing up he's = he is with possessive 's)
✅ He's my brother. (He's here = he is. No possessive needed.)

Possessive 's: Quick Summary

Let's look at everything we learned in this lesson:

• We use possessive 's to show that something belongs to someone.
• The question is: Whose is this?
• For one person, add 's after the name or noun: my father's car, my sister's phone.
• For more than one person (regular plural ending in s), add only the apostrophe after the s: my friends' house, my sisters' room.
• For irregular plurals (no s at the end), add 's: the children's names, the men's bicycles.
• For names ending in s, add 's and pronounce the extra -es sound: Dennis's house.
• Use possessive 's for people. Use of for things: the door of the car.
• Do not confuse possessive 's with the contraction 's meaning is or has.

Now practise possessive 's in the exercises below.