Possessive Case of Nouns The possessive case of a noun is used to show ownership (Allan's car, my sister's house) or another

close relationship (the chairman's friends, the cup's handle, the university's position).

Problems with possessives What causes problems with possessive nouns is uncertainty: Do add an ! 's or "ust an

apostrophe# $ollow this rule: for sin%ular nouns, add 's, even if the noun ends in an ! s or ! z sound: dog's, house's, Wes's, Keats's. &ut ma'e an e(ception when an added ! s would lead to three closely bunched s or z sounds (Jesus', Ulysses') or in names of more than one syllable with an unaccented endin% pronounced ! eez (Empedocles', Socrates', Euripides'). )ree' names often fall into this cate%ory. $or most plural possessive nouns, add an apostrophe alone: several months' ills, many

!umanian's apartments, the encyclopedias' di""erences, the !olling Stones' travel plans. f a plural noun doesn't end in ! s , add ! 's, "ust as you would with a sin%ular noun: #omen's issues, mice's tails.

Switching to an of construction When a possessive noun sounds aw'ward, use an o" construction instead. This is a safe and often preferable way to indicate the relationship: the top o" the page instead of the page's top$ the la#n o" the uilding on the corner instead of the uilding on the corner's

la#n, the main characters o" %ride and %re&udice instead of %ride and %re&udice's main characters$ the novels o" 'ic(ens instead of 'ic(ens's novels.

Joint ownership *ne last word about possessive nouns: When you are indicatin% "oint ownership, %ive the possessive form to the final name only, such as ) ott and *ostello's movies, +om and

'a#n's dinner party, Smith, Wilson, and ,elson's partnership.