The Possessives in English and the Saxon Genitive

Possessives in English express who owns or to whom something belongs. Possession or belonging in English is expressed by: the Saxon genitive(’yes), the possessive adjectives(my, your, our), the possessive pronouns(mine, yours, ours) wave preposition of, according to the grammatical context.

• See also: English nouns

What is the Saxon genitive in English?

He Saxon genitive in English It is the way of expressing who owns something by introducing 's (apostrophe + “s”), which means “of”, and which is used to explicitly name the possessor. For example: Maria's cat is all white. / Mary's cat is all white.

How and when is the Saxon genitive used?

The Saxon genitive is used to express possession together with proper names or noun phrases that refer to people, animals, cities or countries. For example: tobby’s class(Tobby's class),the dog’s tail(The dog's tail),Mexico’s beaches (the beaches of Mexico).

The Saxon genitive follows the sequence: holder + 's + belonging. For example: Tom’s car/ Tom's car(And not:

car's Tom). This order is reverse of the order in Spanish (my father's car is: my father’s car / The manager's office is: the manager’s office).

To form the Saxon genitive, you must take into account that:

• When the noun is plural, only the apostrophe should be added and not 's to indicate possession. For example: my friends’ neighborhood(And not: My friends' neighborhood)
• When the name ends in yes, you can add only the apostrophe or 's, depending on the style guide followed. For example: James’ birthday / James’s birthday.
• When there is more than one name, 's goes after the last one. For example: Mary and Craig’s city.

However, although the Saxon genitive means “of”, it does not apply in all cases in which it would be used in Spanish to indicate belonging. In some cases, the preposition must be used ofinstead.

Therefore, the Saxon genitive:

It's used:	Not used:
When belonging refers to people, animals, cities and countries. (Dave’s father, the animal’s idk, England’s capital)	When belonging refers to things. In those cases, you should use of. (the leg of the table, the beginning of the movie)
With expressions of time and human activities related to dates. (Friday’s party, 10 yearss' experience, Mother’s day)	With the titles of books, encyclopedias, disciplines, subjects and titles. (“The Encyclopedia of the Humanities”, “The turn of the screw”, a student of English)
To indicate a certain place, with the meaning of “thing of”, be it a house, a store or an important building. Membership can be omitted. (Anna’shouse either Anna’s, St Paul’s Cathedral, Harrodyes)	To express something other than belonging, such as “type” or “classification”, expressed by compound nouns, although in Spanish it is translated as “of”. (tennis ball, Human Resources department)

There are cases in which the Saxon genitive u can be used of. For example:the project’s success, the success of the project.

Careful: The genitive case should not be confused with the contraction of the verb to be, since in addition to not being related, they appear in different grammatical contexts. For example: sue’s grandma. (genitive) – It's a lovely day. (verb to be)

• It may help you: Irregular nouns in English

Possessive adjectives in English

The possessive adjectives in English They precede a noun to indicate possession. They have no gender or number. For example: This is my home./ This is my home.

The possessive adjectives in English they are:

Personal pronouns	Possessive adjectives
Yo	my/ my
you	your/ you
I have	his/ hers (his)
she	her/ hers (hers)
Item	its/ his (neutral)
we	our / ours, ours
they	their/ his, hers (theirs / as)

For example:

• your house is huge! / Your house is huge!
• we love our dogs. / We love our dogs.
• Its headquarters are in London. / Its head office is in London.

Careful: The possessive adjective itsIt is written without an apostrophe. Its use should not be confused with that of the genitive 's nor with the contraction of the verb to be.

• See more at: Possessive adjectives in English

Possessive pronouns in English

The possessive pronouns in English They are used to express possession by replacing a noun (which is obvious from context) and thus avoid its repetition. For example: That one is mine!/ That's mine!

The possessive pronouns in English they are:

Personal pronouns	Possessive pronouns
Yo	mine / mine, mine, mine, mine
you	yours/ yours, yours, yours, yours
I have	his/ his, his, his, his, his
she	hers/ hers, hers, hers, hers, hers
we	ours / our, our, our, our
they	theirs / theirs, theirs, theirs, theirs, theirs, theirs

For example:

• This umbrella is mine./ This umbrella is mine.
• Is this book yours? / Is this book yours?
• It's their problem, not ours./ It's their problem, not ours.

To take into account: The possessive pronoun for the neuter pronoun Item does not exist.

• See more at: Possessive pronouns in English

Sentences with possessives in English

1. “Stranger Things” is my favorite series.
   “Stranger Things” is my favorite series.
2. That's Greg’s sister over there.
   That's Greg's sister.
3. Have you met Terry’s girlfriend yet?
   Have you been introduced to Terry's girlfriend yet?
4. My parents’ bedroom is bigger than mine.
   My parents' room is bigger than mine.
5. The roof of that building is going to collapse!
   The roof of that building is going to collapse!
6. Are you going to Emma’s party?
   Are you going to Emma's party?
7. Can you pass me the bag in the back of the car?
   Can you hand me the bag in the back of the car?
8. We are staying at our friends’ house while in Berlin.
   We are stopping at our friends' house while we are in Berlin.
9. The puppy’s paws are big for its age.
   The puppy's legs are large for his age.
10. Do you like the color of this fabric?
    Do you like the color of this fabric?
11. Bob’s camera is very expensive.
    Bob's camera is very expensive.
12. Have you seen my brother?
    Have you seen my brother?
13. Here are your keys but I can't find mine.
    Here are your keys but I can't find mine.
14. Julia, this is Peter, a workmate of mine.
    Julia, this is Peter, a co-worker of mine.
15. Do you have Paul’s address?
    Do you have Paul's address?
16. Italy is known for its olive oil and exquisite wines.
    Italy is known for its olive oil and exquisite wines.
17. When was your birthday?
    When was your birthday?
18. The manager of the hotel apologized for any inconvenience caused.
    The hotel manager apologized for any inconvenience caused.
19. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is worth visiting.
    The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is worth visiting.
20. Father’s Day is next Sunday.
    Father's Day is next Sunday

Follow with:

• Questions in English
• Possessive pronouns in English
• English sentences with “whose”
• Demonstrative adjectives in English
• Description of a person in English

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