Lesson 84 · Stage 7: Nouns, articles & determiners
-'s or of
IntermediateForm & use
my sister's name, the end of the film, today's news — showing who or what something belongs to
1.How to write -'s
Owner + 's + thing: Lan's bike. Where the apostrophe goes depends on the owner noun.
| Owner | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| singular | + 's | my sister's room, the dog's bed |
| plural with -s | + ' | my sisters' room, my parents' house |
| plural without -s | + 's | the children's toys, the women's team, people's opinions |
| name ending in -s | + 's / + ' | James's car / James' car |
| two joint owners | 's on the last name | Lan and Minh's flat |
This is my sister's room.
one sister
This is my sisters' room.
two or more sisters
I'm staying at my parents' house this weekend.
The children's room is upstairs.
You can use 's with no noun after it when the meaning is clear, especially for someone's home or a shop or surgery: at Lan's (at Lan's house), at the doctor's, at the hairdresser's.
This isn't my phone. It's Minh's.
We had dinner at Lan's last night.
With 's the owner comes first and the disappears: Lan's bike (not: the bike of Lan, not: the Lan's bike). In speech, sister's, sisters and sisters' sound the same — they differ only in writing.
2.People take -'s, things take of
's is used mainly for people and animals. For things, ideas and parts of something (top, bottom, end, middle, back), we normally use the … of ….
| People, animals: 's | Things, parts of things: of |
|---|---|
| Nam's laptop | the top of the page |
| my teacher's name | the name of the street |
| the cat's tail | the end of the film |
| our boss's office | the back of the bus |
When the owner is a long phrase, use of to keep it clear: the son of the couple who live upstairs (avoid: the couple who live upstairs's son).
What's your teacher's name?
Write your name at the top of the page.
not: the page's top
We sat at the back of the bus.
3.Organisations and places: both work
With companies, organisations, cities, countries and the world, both 's and of are fine. 's is shorter and very common in the news.
The company's profits rose last year. = The profits of the company rose last year.
Vietnam's economy is growing fast.
Tokyo is one of the world's biggest cities.
4.Time: today's news, a week's holiday
Time words can take 's: today's / yesterday's / tomorrow's, tonight's, this week's / next month's / last year's. The 's word replaces the.
Have you read today's news?
not: the today's news
Last night's match was amazing.
Next week's meeting has been cancelled.
For a length of time (common in British English): a week's holiday, two weeks' holiday, ten minutes' walk, in a year's time. The meaning is the same as a one-week holiday, a ten-minute walk (see the lesson “Noun + noun”).
I'm taking two weeks' holiday in July.
weeks' — a plural with -s just adds '
The station is only five minutes' walk from here.
5.Common mistakes
I borrowed the laptop of Nam.I borrowed Nam's laptop.
A person as owner → 's.
The students's bags are here.The students' bags are here.
A plural with -s just adds '.
The womens' toilets are on the left.The women's toilets are on the left.
women has no -s → add 's.
My parent's house is near the river.My parents' house is near the river.
Both parents (plural) → parents'.
Meet me at the street's end.Meet me at the end of the street.
A part of a thing → of.
Did you watch the yesterday's match?Did you watch yesterday's match?
With 's, drop the.
Examples
- This is my brother's car. He bought it last month.
- That's Lan's bike, not mine.
- Write your name at the top of the page.
- My parents live in Hue. My parents' house is near the river.
