Level: beginner
Subject | Object | Possessive adjective |
---|---|---|
I | me | my |
you | you | your |
he | him | his |
she | her | her |
it | it | its |
we | us | our |
they | them | their |
We use possessive adjectives:
- to show something belongs to somebody:
That's our house.
My car is very old.
- for relations and friends:
My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?
- for parts of the body:
He's broken his arm.
She's washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.
- Possessives: adjectives
Be careful! |
---|
The possessive adjective its does not have an apostrophe ('):
(it's always means it is or it has.) |
- its or it's?
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Hi,
Can I have a question, please?
"factories and its laborers"
or
"factories and their laborers"
Which one is correct?
Thank you!
Hi Hien_NGUYEN,
It should be "their", since "factories" is plural.
If it is about just one factory, it would be "a factory and its labourers".
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
What is correct to say:
Boost your system performance
or
Boost your system's performance
why?
Hi Gabi-OJ,
Both are grammatically correct and sound natural. As for why, it's a question of what forms have become commonly used and accepted by the speakers of English, rather than a about what is correct according to grammatical rules. English grammar allows both of these constructions, and people use both of them.
We are currently working on a new grammar page called "Possession and noun modifiers" about this very issue. It will explain some patterns in usage and give some practice exercises. Please check back soon to see it!
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Thank you a lot!
I guessed exactly that :)
I will take a look at the topic.
I appreciate your time and support.
Gabi
Is there any difference in function or intention of the two sentences below:
I should learn about animal bodies.
I should learn about animals' bodies.
Hello brianvariant,
I think the sentences are interchangeable in terms of meaning; I can't think of a context in which there would be a difference in meaning or use. I would say that the first sentence is the more common option, but both are grammatically correct.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello, can somebody help me with this:
What would be correct: Women Forum or Women's Forum?
Thank you!
Hello Mike,
I think 'Women's Forum' is the correct choice here.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you!
Hello Risa warysha,
The sentence is incorrect. As you say, the correct form would be children's parents.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Nevı,
You're right, it should be I shaked his hand.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Nevı,
Yes, the meaning is similar, and in many situations both would be fine to use! But there's a slight difference:
Also, I should also mention that nowadays, it's very common to use shook as the past simple of the verb shake (instead of shaked).
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Jack,
It's a good question! Its is an adjective, but not a pronoun (see the full list on our Possessive pronouns page). So, in this sentence, I'd add a noun, for example:
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jack,
'its' just indicates some kind of relationship between the bone and the dog. In most cases, it's safe to assume that the bone belongs to the dog.
The form 'its' indicates a kind of possession. The form 'it's' is a short form of 'it is'. In the sentence you ask about, 'it's' wouldn't be correct.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Claudia,
Good question. In British English, any more is written as two words, in both of its uses – as a quantifier/determiner, and as an adverb. American English often uses anymore (one word) for the adverb.
Have a look at this page for more examples: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/any-more-or-anymore
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello tbeer,
My apologies if this has caused you any confusion. In fact, I agree with you and I expect that most people who concern themselves with such things for their own sake would as well.
Please note that this is a learner grammar, which means that is intended to help people gain a certain level of proficiency with using the language rather than describe it in a completely coherent way.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jenny,
Apostrophe + 's' in this case is a possessive determiner. It can show possession or other relationships. You can read more about it in the Wikipedia and on this page.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sad,
Speakers of American English tend to say 'sports' where speakers of British English would say 'sport', which I think might be way 'sports' is used in the sentence you refer to. Does that make sense?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team