Liz’s World

Hi everyone! I had someone write into the forums and ask about a few things, so I’m going to put my answers here, too, so everyone can find them on the blog. The first one was about possessives! I know they give lots of people trouble.

First of all, what is a “possessive”? Do you notice that it’s got the word “possess” in it? That means to have something. A possessive shows that something belongs to someone or something else:

the girl’s book
his calendar
the room’s lighting
the food’s smell

The possessives are: “girl’s,” “his,” “room’s,” and “food’s.” They show who or what something belongs to or goes with. The smell is the smell of the food. The book is the book belonging to the girl.

Okay, now, what are the problems people have with possessives? The main problem is a spelling problem… when do you use an apostrophe (‘) and where do you put it?

(1) Spelling Possessive Pronouns

Now, “his” is a possessive pronoun. It tells you the calendar belongs to a guy, but not what specific guy… that’s what makes it a pronoun. The important thing to remember is that possessive pronouns NEVER are spelled with an apostrophe. The big trouble spot with this is “its.” People confuse it with “it’s,” which is NOT possessive. It’s short for “it is.” If “its” is possessive, it does not have an apostrophe… no possessive pronouns do. Same for “your.” It’s sometimes confused with “you’re,” which is NOT possessive… it’s short for “you are.”

Here are the common possessive pronouns you need to know:

belonging to me–my, mine: That’s my book. The book is mine.
belonging to him–his: That’s his book. The book is his.
belonging to her–her, hers: That’s her book. The book is hers.
belonging to it–its: The dog has a bone. That’s its bone. The bone is its.
belonging to you–your, yours: That’s your book. The book is yours.
belonging to them–their, theirs: That’s their book. The book is theirs.
belonging to us–our, ours: That’s our book. The book is ours.

(2) Spelling Possessive Nouns

Okay. That’s pronouns. Most possessives are nouns, and most of the time you make a noun possessive by adding an apostrophe-s at the end:

The girl’s book
The dog’s bone
The water’s edge
The children’s toys

Notice that “children” is plural. The possessive is made the same way. So far, so good. But, when words end in “s,” sometimes they take an apostrophe-s at the end, and sometimes just an apostrophe. As a rule, all plural nouns ending in “s” take jsut an apostrophe. So:

The possessive of “girls” is girls’ –
All the girls’ books were lost!

The possessive of “dogs” is dogs’ –
All the dogs’ leashes were too short.

When does it need an apostrophe-s after a word ending in “s”? Well, you can hear it. If you would pronounce an extra “-ez” at the end of the word, add an apostrophe-s. Go with your instinct! For non-plural words ending in “s,” there’s a little leeway. If Mr. Williams has a book, you likely would say “Mr. Williams book” not “Mr. Williams-ez book”… so you’d write:

Mr. Williams’ book

But if Curtis has a book, you’d probably say “Curtis-ez book” out loud, so you’d spell it:

Curtis’s book

That’s the main deal with possessives! This’ll help with the multiple choice part of the GED writing test, so it’s real good to know!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.