Grammar-Quizzes › Noun Phrases › Determiners › Genitive Noun Forms (Possessive)

Genitive Noun Forms (Possessives)

Indicate a relationship between two nouns

▼ Explanation of term

A genitive noun:

expresses possession (Jack's age, Jack's dog), family relationship (Jack's dad), substance (the atmosphere's nitrogen), source (the sea's fish), origin (Greece's economy), reference (the Senate's Intelligence Committee), description (children's book), and other relationships.
modifies another noun (the chair's leg) [the leg of the chair] / the dog's tail) .
may functions as:
- a determiner (Jack's dog, his dog, the dog).
- the subject of a gerund clause (We asked about Jack's winning the lottery.)
- fused subject-determiner (Jack's age is the same as Kate's__.)
- oblique genitive (Kate is a cousin of Jack's.)
- predicative complement (This is Jack's.)
- descriptive (That is a catcher's glove.)
is formed with a prepositional phrase using of (the end of the road) or 's (Land's End). A singular genitive noun is marked by an apostrophe and an s (Jack's). A plural genitive noun is marked by a final apostrophe (Jameses'). Style manuals vary in their marking of genitive for singular nouns that end in s (boss', boss's). See Apostrophes–common nouns.

Common Nouns

Express a relationship between two nouns

Genitive Forms for Common Nouns

A common noun is the generic name given to a class of people (teens), organizations (clubs), groups (non-profits), buildings (libraries), areas (parks), countries, planets, and so on.

SINGULAR
After a singular personal noun, add an apostrophe + s. See notes below regarding final s. Style books vary (MLA, AP, CMOS). See Grammar Notes for sources.
SINGULAR COMMON NOUN
Our school's soccer team won several games.
The state's soccer team won several games.
The country's soccer team won several games.
SINGULAR COMMON NOUNS FOLLOWED BY -S
The class's soccer team (MLA 3.2.7e) (CMOS 7.18)
The class's team not followed by a word starting with s (AP 323)
BUT: The class' soccer team followed by a word starting with s (AP 323)
OTHER
A day's journey / a twenty minutes's delay.
Today's news / tomorrow's weather / Sunday's newspaper days and time
A pound's worth of peanuts / a dollar's worth of gas a quantify worth
My daughter-in-law's profession in-law expressions (CMOS 7.25)
1968's music was great. a specific year
EXCEPT: NOUNS PLURAL IN FORM BUT SINGULAR IN MEANING
economics' contribution / mathematics' rules
linguistics' explanation
The series' first game
for righteousness'/ goodness' sake

PLURAL
After a plural personal noun, add an apostrophe after the s.
SINGULAR COMMON PLURAL NOUN
The schools' soccer teams won several games.
The states' soccer teams won several games.
The countries' soccer teams won several games.
PLURAL COMMON NOUNS FOLLOWED BY -S
The classes' soccer teams








EXCEPT: NOUNS SINGULAR IN FORM BUT PLURAL IN MEANING
The children's / men's / women's soccer team
The people's vote
The sheep's / deer's / moose's / oxen's / fish's eyes…
The alumni's contributions

Style Manual Abbreviations: AP (Associated Press), APA (American Psychological Association), CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), GREGG (Gregg Reference Manual); MLA (MLA Handbook)

Also see Apostrophes and Possessive Pronouns (Determiners).

Proper Nouns

Express a relationship between someone and something

Genitive Forms for Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the name (title) given to a person, organization, group, building, area, country, planet, or anything else that is given a unique name.

SINGULAR
After a singular proper noun, add an apostrophe + s (even if the proper noun ends in -s.) Style books vary (MLA, AP, CMOS). See Grammar Notes for sources.
Jason's ball went over the fence.
Charles's ball went over the fence. (MLA 3.2.7e) (CMOS 7.18)
Charles' ball went over the fence. (AP 323)
James's hat blew away. (MLA 3.2.7e) (CMOS 7.18)
James' hat blew away. (AP 323)
OTHER
Coach Burns's soccer team won several games. two-word nouns
Andy and Manuel's team is staying late for practice. two-nouns as a unit¹
FDR's policies / JFK's assassination initials
Yahoo!'s chief executive officer keyboard symbols

PLURAL
After most proper nouns, first create the plural, then add an apostrophe. (Note that the plural form for words ending in -s, -z or -x adds -es.)
The Wagners' house (sing. – Wagner's; pl. Wagners')
The Burnses' field (sing. – Burn's; pl. Burnses')
The Martinezes' yard (sing. – Martinez'/Martinez's; pl. Martinezes')
The Marxes' daughter
The Hawaiian Islands' soccer teams
EXCEPT: SINGULAR: ORGANIZATIONS, GROUPS, UNIONS
The United States' soccer team (CMOS 7.19)
The Boy Scouts' soccer team
The National Academy of Sciences' new building
The Red Fox Hills' neighborhood soccer team

¹Two nouns as a unit. Closely linked nouns are considered a single unit in forming the possessive when the entity "possessed" is the same for both; only the second element takes the possessive form. — Chicago Manual of Style 7.24-6 For more detail, see Apostrophes.

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2010.
MLA Handbookfor Writers of Research Papers (MLA). 7th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2009.
The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law (AP). Edited by Thomas Kent, et al., 51st ed., AP, 2016.
(See "Works Cited" in grammar notes below.)

Genitive "Head Noun"

Dependent vs. Independent

Modifier vs. Head Noun

DEPENDENT — MODIFIER TO NOUN
A noun phrase may include a genitive (possessive) noun as a modifier to the head (main) noun in the noun phrase. The genitive is a dependent of the noun phrase. Below, the [noun phrase] in enclosed in brackets.
GENITIVE AS SUBJECT-NOUN MODIFIER
[Megan's team] won the trophy. Her team won the trophy. [possessive pronoun)]
GENITIVE AS OBJECT-NOUN MODIFIER
The goalie is [Megan's teammate].
GENITIVE AS SUBJECT-NOUN MODIFIER
Our team played as well as [Megan's team played]. "Megan's team played" is the clause complement to the preposition "as".
GENITIVE AS SUBJECT OF GERUND CLAUSE
—
GENITIVE AS MODIFIER TO PREDICATE COMPLEMENT NOUN
The trophy is Megan's trophy. A predicate complement occurs after "be".

INDEPENDENT — HEAD OF NOUN PHRASE
Or the noun phrase can be shortened to just the genitive (possessive) noun when the relationship of the item has already been mentioned (is understood from context.) The genitive is independent; it is the head noun of the noun phrase.
GENITIVE AS SUBJECT
Megan's won the trophy. [subject-determiner] Hers won several games.
GENITIVE AS OJBECT OF PREP
The goalie is a teammate of Megan's. [oblique genitive]
GENITIVE AS FUSED DETERMINER-SUBJECT
Our team played as well as Megan's. [fused subj-determiner-head]
GENITIVE AS SUBJECT OF GERUND CLAUSE
We talked about Megan's winning the trophy. [subj of gerund-participle]
GENITIVE AS PREDICATE COMPLEMENT
The trophy is Megan's. [predicative genitive]

*not used / ~ usage requires special situation or context

fused (Adj) – blended, joined together as one

head noun – The term "head" specifies the primary word in the phrase. It is called a head because of (1) its primary position (beginning) in the phrase; or (2) its primary role (meaning) in the phrase.

trophy (N) – an award given to the winners, usually in sports competitions

Also see Possessive Pronouns and Pop-Q "Daughters"

(Huddleston "fused subject-determiner"

Genitive "Of" Phrase

Reasons for using a prepositional "of" phrase

Reasons for using an "of" phrase instead of 's

APOSTROPHE + S
Using the apostrophe + s form for "things" is informal. The genitive form with an apostrophe is mostly, but not always, reserved for people and animals (animate beings).
~The goalpost's leg was broken.
~I dropped my keys at the bed's foot.
~My brother's best-friend's soccer team won. (confusing)
*The wet, slippery field's grass prevented us from playing.
*She borrowed someone that she knew's shoes and finished playing the game.

THE X OF __
Using an of prepositional phrase to relate an inanimate thing is more common in academic and business English. An of phrase is also used to maintain an expression, clarify meaning and improve the readability.
The leg of the goal post was broken. (1) genitive with inanimate things
I dropped my keys at the foot of the bed. (2) maintain an expression
The soccer team of my brother's best-friend won. (3) simplify a series of genitives
The wet, slippery grass of the field prevented us from playing. (4) improve modifier placement (readability)
She borrowed the shoes of someone that she knew and finished playing the game. She borrowed a friend's shoes and finished playing the game. (5) placement of longer content at end of phrase (readability)

THE X OF __

Using an of prepositional phrase to relate an inanimate thing is more common in academic and business English. An of phrase is also used to maintain an expression, clarify meaning and improve the readability.

The leg of the goal post was broken.

(1) genitive with inanimate things

I dropped my keys at the foot of the bed.

(2) maintain an expression

The soccer team of my brother's best-friend won.

(3) simplify a series of genitives

The wet, slippery grass of the field prevented us from playing.

(4) improve modifier placement (readability)

She borrowed the shoes of someone that she knew and finished playing the game.

She borrowed a friend's shoes and finished playing the game.

(5) placement of longer content at end of phrase (readability)

* not used / ~ awkward usage, not preferred usage

This of construction is called "an oblique genitive".

Also see Apostrophes the X of and / The-Countries / The-Landmarks

(Huddleston 5 §16.5.3 [62]) "oblique genitive"

Genitive Phrase

Agreement

Possessive Determiners—Singular and Plural

SINGULAR POSSESSIVE
A singular determiner is used with a singular genitive noun. The determiner and the genitive combine to form a "genitive phrase" that modifies the second noun.
SINGULAR POSSESSIVE + SINGULAR NOUN
This computer's network is down. / Its network is down. My computer's network is down. / My network is down. 1 computer — 1 network
SINGULAR POSSESSIVE + PLURAL NOUN
This computer's networks are down. / Its networks are down. My computer's networks are down. / My networks are down. 1 computer — several networks

PLURAL POSSESSIVE
A plural determiner is used with a plural genitive noun. The determiner and the genitive combine to form a "genitive phrase" that modifies the second noun.
PLURAL POSSESSIVE + SINGULAR NOUN
These computers' network is down. / Their network is down. My computers' network is down. / My network is down. several computers — 1 network
PLURAL POSSESSIVE + PLURAL NOUN
These computers' networks are down (off). / Their networks are down. My computers' networks are down. / My networks are down. several computers — several networks

network is down — a system failure; off, not working

Determiners with Genitive Proper Nouns

Specifying a definite or a specific one

Genitive Noun as Determiner vs. Determiner Before a Genitive Noun

GENITIVE NOUN AS DETERMINER
Unlike a singular noun, a proper noun, a plural noun, or a noncount noun does not require but can take a determinative marker. Below, each genitive noun expresses a relationship to the "head" (principle) noun of the noun phrase. The genitive phrase functions as the determiner to the noun by specifying "a definite or a specific one".
EXAMPLE
Stephen King's short story "Gramma" (1985) was the basis for the movie Mercy (2014).
SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE		REST OF CLAUSE
GEN. PROPER NOUN	HEAD NOUN	COMPLEMENT
Stephen King's (proper noun, source)	short story "Gramma" (1985)	was the basis for the movie Mercy (2014).
GEN. PLURAL NOUN	HEAD NOUN	REST OF CLAUSE
People's (plural noun, description)	experiences	were the basis for the book.
GEN. NONCOUNT	HEAD NOUN	REST OF CLAUSE
Dark chocolate's (noncount noun, trait)	flavor	is very distinctive.

DETERMINER BEFORE A GENITIVE NOUN
After a determiner, a genitive proper noun usually requires rewording either (1) as a modifier to the head noun, or (2) as a prepositional phrase expressing the type of relationship, or (3) as a quantity phrase. (Two words that function in the same way do not usually occur one after the other.) Rewording is unnecessary with plural nouns, but may be needed with noncount nouns.
EXAMPLE
*Another Stephen King's story The Body (1982) was the basis for the film Stand By Me (1986).
SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE			REST OF CLS.
DETERMINER	GEN. PROPER N	HEAD NOUN	COMPLEMENT
Another (this, the, one, a)	*Stephen King's (rewording necessary)	short story	was the basis for the movie Mercy (2014).
Another	Stephen King¹	short story	" "
Another	—	short story by Stephen King²	" "
Another (quantity noun)	of Stephen King's short stories³ (PP)	—	" "
DETERMINER	GEN. PLURAL N	HEAD NOUN	REST OF CLAUSE
Other	people's (rewording unnecessary)	experiences	were the basis…
Other	*people (not used)	—	" "
Other	—	experiences of people²	" "
DETERMINER	GEN. NONCNT N	HEAD NOUN	REST OF CLAUSE
Another	~chocolate's (very awkward sounding)	flavor	is good too.
Another	chocolate	flavor	is good too.
Another	—	flavor of chocolate²	is good too.

*not used / ~marginal or borderline use

" " same words as above

See Pop-Q Another Stephen King's.

determiner – identifier: a, an, the, this, that, my, his, etc.; quantifier: all, both, each, every, some, any, either, no, another, etc. ; others: one, two, which, whatever, etc. See Determiner List .

proper noun – See Capitalization Proper vs. Common.

short story (compound word) – A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting; it is a style of writing. Wikipedia "Short Story"

Genitive with Days and Holidays

Refer to a special or particular day

Genitives for Days & Holidays

SINGULAR
The apostrophe is placed before the S in singular-noun holidays.
Today's date is December 31.
This year's movies were excellent.
We are going out on New Year's Eve.
More chocolate is sold on Valentine's Day than any other day.
I'll send a card to my mother on Mother's Day.
The kids make breakfast for their father on Father's Day.
Everyone wears green on Saint Patrick's Day.

PLURAL
The apostrophe is placed after S in plural-noun holidays.
I was paid well for thirty days' work.
The last few years' best movies have all used CGI. (computer generated images)
We play jokes on people on April Fools' Day.
All Saints' Day is celebrated on November 1.
* Veterans Day is the day we honor those who have fought in past wars.
* Presidents Day is the day we remember the birthdays of former presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
*Neither Veterans Day nor Presidents Day occurs with an apostrophe.

Mother's Day and Father's Day are creations of Anne Jarvis who chose to make the noun form singular so that each mother or father would be specially honored.
CGI (N) - an acronym meaning computer generated images

▼ Hide Grammar Notes

Grammar Notes

Grammar Descriptions and Stylebook Guidelines

Linguistic Description

GENITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
Huddleston distinguishes six genitive constructions. (5 §16.3) Megan's team won the trophy. [subject-determiner] (5 §4) We talked about Megan's winning the trophy. [subj of gerund-participle] Our team played as well as Megan's. [fused subj-determiner-head] He is a teammate of Megan's. [oblique genitive] The trophy is Megan's. [predicative genitive] Our team won the Mayor's trophy. [attributive]
The first five are noun phrases (NPs). The third is a "fused genitive" as described below: "Fused-head NPs are those where the head is combined with a dependent function that in ordinary NPs is adjacent to the head, usually determiner or internal modifier." (Huddleston 5 §9.1)

GENITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

Huddleston distinguishes six genitive constructions. (5 §16.3)

Megan's team won the trophy. [subject-determiner] (5 §4)
We talked about Megan's winning the trophy. [subj of gerund-participle]
Our team played as well as Megan's. [fused subj-determiner-head]
He is a teammate of Megan's. [oblique genitive]
The trophy is Megan's. [predicative genitive]
Our team won the Mayor's trophy. [attributive]

The first five are noun phrases (NPs). The third is a "fused genitive" as described below:

"Fused-head NPs are those where the head is combined with a dependent function that in ordinary NPs is adjacent to the head, usually determiner or internal modifier." (Huddleston 5 §9.1)

GENITIVE PHRASE
Payne posits Genitive Phrase (GP) as a distinct category. "Although this enclitic [ 's] ] can in no wise be considered a word separate from the host to which it attaches, it does have a very important function at the phrase level; it is not just a suffix that relates to a noun, but rather an element that affects the whole phrase it attaches to." (Payne 8.3) 1) A genitive phrase (GP) may function as a determiner. Megan's trophy [possessive] BUT a genitive is not a determiner because the two can occur together. [Words from the same category are not used together or do not appear one after the other.)] The school's team won the trophy. [Det + ? + N]
2) Neither a determinative phrase (DP) nor a noun phrase (NP) can function as a determiner. The following are DPs. Megan team won the trophy. / ~The girl team won the trophy. Three girls team won the trophy. /*Older girl team won the trophy. "Since genitive phrases, or GPs, can function as Determiners, and DPs and NPs cannot, then GP must be a different phrasal category from DP or NP. Furthermore, the presence of the genitive enclitic 's determines the syntactic properties of this phrasal category therefore it is reasonable to propose that the enclitic is the syntactic Head of the GP." (8.3) (The following diagram is how the author of this website interprets the above description.)

GENITIVE PHRASE

Payne posits Genitive Phrase (GP) as a distinct category.

"Although this enclitic [ 's] ] can in no wise be considered a word separate from the host to which it attaches, it does have a very important function at the phrase level; it is not just a suffix that relates to a noun, but rather an element that affects the whole phrase it attaches to." (Payne 8.3)

1) A genitive phrase (GP) may function as a determiner.

Megan's trophy [possessive]

BUT a genitive is not a determiner because the two can occur together. [Words from the same category are not used together or do not appear one after the other.)]

The school's team won the trophy. [Det + ? + N]

2) Neither a determinative phrase (DP) nor a noun phrase (NP) can function as a determiner. The following are DPs.

*Megan team won the trophy. / ~The girl team won the trophy.

*Three girls team won the trophy. /*Older girl team won the trophy.

"Since genitive phrases, or GPs, can function as Determiners, and DPs and NPs cannot, then GP must be a different phrasal category from DP or NP. Furthermore, the presence of the genitive enclitic 's determines the syntactic properties of this phrasal category therefore it is reasonable to propose that the enclitic is the syntactic Head of the GP." (8.3)

(The following diagram is how the author of this website interprets the above description.)

Payne's Genitive Phrase

Works Cited

The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Edited by Thomas Kent, et al., 51st ed., AP, 2016.
The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2010.
The Gregg Reference Manual. Edited by William A. Sabin, 11th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2011.
Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." Purdue OWL, Edited by Tony Russel et al., Purdue U, 15 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01.
MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
Payne, Thomas Edward. Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge UP, 2011.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed., American Psychological Association, 2009.
"-'s." Dictionary.com. 23 Aug. 2016, .dictionary.com/browse/--s?s=t. Accessed on 23 Aug. 2016.

Style Manual Guidelines on Genitives

FINAL APOSTROPHE —BOSS' CHARLES'
Traditional rules form the genitive for nouns ending in s with a final apostrophe (boss → boss' and Charles → Charles'). This approach can be found in the AP Stylebook, which specifies the following guidelines: Singular common nouns ending in s: add 's unless the next word begins with s: the hostess's invitation, the hostess' seat; the witness's answer; the witness' story. Singular proper nouns ending in s add an apostrophe: Williams' plays, Dickens' novels, Hercules' labors, Jesus' life (but not St. James's Palace). Plural in form but singular in meaning: mathematics' rules, measles' effect Singular and plural form is the same: the Marine Corps' trucks, two deer's tails.
Plural nouns ending in s add only an apostrophe: the girls' toys, the horses' tail, the states' rights, the boss' office, General Motors' profits, United States' policy. (AP 192) Word Origin and History for 's <weblink>

FINAL APOSTROPHE —BOSS' CHARLES'

Traditional rules form the genitive for nouns ending in s with a final apostrophe (boss → boss' and Charles → Charles').

This approach can be found in the AP Stylebook, which specifies the following guidelines:

Singular common nouns ending in s: add 's unless the next word begins with s: the hostess's invitation, the hostess' seat; the witness's answer; the witness' story.

Singular proper nouns ending in s add an apostrophe: Williams' plays, Dickens' novels, Hercules' labors, Jesus' life (but not St. James's Palace).

Plural in form but singular in meaning: mathematics' rules, measles' effect

Singular and plural form is the same: the Marine Corps' trucks, two deer's tails.

Plural nouns ending in s add only an apostrophe: the girls' toys, the horses' tail, the states' rights, the boss' office, General Motors' profits, United States' policy.

(AP 192)

Word Origin and History for 's <weblink>

APOSTROPHE + S—BOSS'S CHARLES'S
Newer rules simplify the formation of genitives: (1) final 's is added to all singular nouns, even those ending in s (toy → toys, boss → boss's, and Charles → Charles's); (2) final ' (apostrophe) is added after all plural nouns (bosses' Charleses'). A singular noun, common and proper, ending in s forms the genitive by adding 's: house/house's, boss/boss's, Davis/Davis's, Charles/Charles's. This adds an additional syllable to the original word: /ɪs/ or /ɪz/, depending upon the previous consonant. Exceptions to this rule are ancient names: Jesus', Moses', Socrates', Euripides'. Plural nouns ending in s form the genitive by adding an apostrophe: parents' love, friends' support, the Williamses' house Joneses' car. Exceptions to the rule are plural nouns with irregular forms: children's toys, women's fashions. MLA (3.2.7); APA (4.12); CMOS (7.18-26)
The Gregg Reference Manual adds: When a singular word ends in a silent s, add 's: Illinois's Capitol, Degas's painting, Des Moines's freeways. When a singular word ends in a s and a new syllable is formed in the pronunciation of the genitive, add 's: Congress's bill, Dallas's center, St. Louis's airport. When a singular word ends in s and the addition of an extra syllable would make a word hard to pronounce, add the apostrophe only. Peter Jennings' newscast, Jesus' stories. (GREGG 630)

APOSTROPHE + S—BOSS'S CHARLES'S

Newer rules simplify the formation of genitives:

(1) final 's is added to all singular nouns, even those ending in s (toy → toys, boss → boss's, and Charles → Charles's);

(2) final ' (apostrophe) is added after all plural nouns (bosses' Charleses').

A singular noun, common and proper, ending in s forms the genitive by adding 's: house/house's, boss/boss's, Davis/Davis's, Charles/Charles's. This adds an additional syllable to the original word: /ɪs/ or /ɪz/, depending upon the previous consonant. Exceptions to this rule are ancient names: Jesus', Moses', Socrates', Euripides'.

Plural nouns ending in s form the genitive by adding an apostrophe: parents' love, friends' support, the Williamses' house Joneses' car. Exceptions to the rule are plural nouns with irregular forms: children's toys, women's fashions.

MLA (3.2.7); APA (4.12); CMOS (7.18-26)

The Gregg Reference Manual adds:

When a singular word ends in a silent s, add 's: Illinois's Capitol, Degas's painting, Des Moines's freeways.

When a singular word ends in a s and a new syllable is formed in the pronunciation of the genitive, add 's: Congress's bill, Dallas's center, St. Louis's airport.

When a singular word ends in s and the addition of an extra syllable would make a word hard to pronounce, add the apostrophe only. Peter Jennings' newscast, Jesus' stories.

(GREGG 630)

Style Manual Abbreviations (used in this website) AP (Associated Press), APA (American Psychological Association), CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), GREGG (Gregg Reference Manual), MLA (MLA Handbook)