Possessives: 's, s' and of

English has two ways to show that something belongs to someone. The useful default: use 's with people and animals, and of with objects and abstract things. So it's my brother's car but the roof of the house. The second half of the topic is purely mechanical — where exactly the apostrophe lands.

's with people and animals

Add 's to the owner, then the thing owned. The owner comes first — the opposite order from many languages.

Plurals: where the apostrophe goes

This is where the meaning changes. A regular plural already ends in s, so the apostrophe goes after it.

of with things

For objects, places and abstract ideas, of is usually more natural.

This is a strong tendency, not a hard wall. Organizations, places and time expressions often take 's too — the company's policy, the world's population, last week's report. If you're unsure with a thing, of is the safer choice.

Names ending in s, and shops

With a name that already ends in s, both forms are accepted; 's is the more common modern choice.

A handy pattern: 's alone can mean a place or a home — I'm at Anna's (her house), the doctor's, the hairdresser's.

Common mistakes

Leaving out the possessive marker. With a person, add 's to the owner.

Apostrophe in a plural. A regular noun plural on its own doesn't take one.

"it's" for possession. Possessive pronouns take no apostrophe.

Same for yours, hers, ours, theirs — never your's or their's.

Quick exercise

Choose the correct form.

1. That's ___ bike. (Anna)
2. The ___ toys are all over the floor. (children)
3. This classroom belongs to thirty students — it's the ___ room. (students)
4. Look at the roof ___ the building.
5. The cat is washing ___ face. (its / it's)