Series of Common English Mistakes – 3

Possessives

In the third article of this series, we’re going to be looking at common mistakes made while using possessives.

In English, an “s” is added to the end of nouns with an apostrophe to demonstrate belonging. This is more common than the use of the preposition “of”.

My brother’s cat

~~The cat of my brother~~

My neighbour’s car

~~The car of my neighbour~~

Her husband’s ring

~~The ring of her husband~~

If the noun in question already ends with an “s” however, we only use an apostrophe and don’t add the “s”.

My boss’ pen

The kids’ toys

Charles’ books

When we’re dealing with compound nouns, we add the apostrophe at the end of the last word in the compound, not the first.

My mother-in-law’s apartment is old.

~~My mother’s-in-law apartment is old.~~

If we’re trying to demonstrate that something belongs to more than one person, we add the “s” only to the end of the last noun in the sentence.

Jane and Oliver’s cafe was really cozy.

~~Jane’s and Oliver’s cafe was really cozy.~~

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NOUN	POSSESSIVE	EXAMPLE
I	my	My name is Tom.
you	your	Your new car is amazing!
he	his	He sold his house.
she	her	She broke up with her boyfriend.
it	its	My laptop is old, so its functions are not that advanced.
we	our	Our kids are going to school.
they	their	Richard and Jane turned their spare room into a nursery.
Lisa	Lisa’s	Lisa’s phone number is 506-000-00-00.
Brian	Brian’s	Brian’s favorite food is spaghetti.
the girl	the girl’s	The girl’s clothes are pretty.
parents	parents’	My parents’ names are William and Mary.
dog	dog’s	My dog’s name is Sophie.
country	country’s	My country’s flag is red and green.

Double Possessives

Correct: I am a friend of your son’s.

Incorrect: I am a friend of your son.

This sentence structure is known as “double possessive” or “double genitive”.

Here is how it is formulated:

noun phrase + of + the possessive form of the noun or pronoun

A picture of mine

Some books of John’s (Some books of his)

A cousin of Susan’s (A cousin of hers)

We’d like to draw your attention to how the two sentences below differ in meaning:

A picture of my father’s (The photograph belongs to my father, whether he is in it or not. What is indicated in this sentence is who the photograph belongs to.)

A picture of my father (My father is in the photograph. The photograph itself might belong to him or someone else. Who the photograph belongs to isn’t indicated in the sentence.)