English Possessive noun rules - Uses of the Saxon Genitive

Possessive noun rules in English

Last updated on October 25, 2024

I’m interested in English possessive noun rules due to the fact that Polish students of English, whom I predominantly teach, have grave issues in substituting the word 'of' with apostrophe + s to denote possession. For instance, they may often say ‘“the brother of John” instead of “John’s brother”.

Therefore, the purpose of this post is to inform progressive speakers of English when they should use and how they should form the possessive form or an English noun, or noun phrase. The possessive case is also known as the Saxon Genitive, indicating the suffix's derivation from Old English grammar.

First of all, let’s consider the question of how the possessive form of an English noun, or noun phrase, is made.

How is the possessive form of an English noun or noun phrase formed?

When it comes to the most fundamental possessive noun rules, the Saxon Genitive ordinarily revolves around adding an apostrophe (‘) followed by an “s” (‘s) to the noun that possesses something or has a connection with another noun.

As I pointed out in the introduction to this post, the Saxon Genitive (with apostrophe + s) substitutes the word 'of' to show possession. It’s mainly used to refer to things owned by people, but it can also be used with animals, organisations and even some time expressions.

In a nutshell:

OWNER + ‘S + PROPERTY

Examples of the Saxon Genitive Singular

This is Belinda’s mobile phone
Where’s Graham’s suitcase?
What was the committee’s decision?
David’s job sounds really interesting
Steve’s patience is running out

It becomes clear from the above examples that the Saxon genitive can be used before both concrete and abstract nouns. Concrete nouns (e.g. mobile phone, suitcase) are physical items which can be sensed, i.e. seen, touched, heard, tasted and smelled. Conversely, abstract nouns (e.g. patience) are emotions, ideas, and other intangibles.

The Saxon Genitive with Plurals

You may be wondering what happens with the apostrophe if a plural noun ending in -s, such as students, is in question.

When we use the saxon genitive with a plural noun, such as parents, we just add an apostrophe after the final ‘s’ to indicate possession. For example:

The students’ results
My parents’ cottage

The pronunciation of the regular noun (students) and the plural possessive noun (students’) is the same. It’s just the written form that is different.

Other possessive noun rules to consider

So we’ve already considered the two most common ways to use the Saxon Genitive, that is for singular nouns and plural nouns ending in ‘s’. Here are three more possessive noun rules which are worth bearing in mind:

1. Plural nouns which do not end in ‘s’

In much the same way as singular nouns, irregular plural nouns which do not end in ‘s’ require an apostrophe followed by ‘s’. For example:

Women’s rights
The People’s Court
The Children’s Foundation
Men’s clothing

2. Possessive noun rules with a compound subject

A compound subject is a subject that consists of at least two elements connected by coordinating conjunctions. In English, there are seven coordinating conjunctions: and, for, nor, but, or, yet, so. The most common conjunction in English is and.

When it comes to joint possession, i.e. when two or more people share possession of something, it’s only necessary to add the possessive ending (‘s) to the last noun. For example:

John and Dave’s business is on the verge of collapse
Kate and John’s house is extremely cosy

Therefore, John and Dave share ownership of a struggling business, while Kate and John share ownership of a house (or live in the same house even though the house might not be a “community property” that was acquired during a marriage).

If you need to mention two or more owners with separate ownership of two of the same element, add ‘s to both nouns. For example:

Steve’s and Mark’s grades certainly exceeded my expectations

3. Denoting possession with inanimate objects

The Saxon Genitive may be used to express connections between inanimate objects or concepts. For example:

The Earth’s atmosphere
The sun’s rays

What are some of the most common functions of the Saxon Genitive?

Apart from referring to things owned by people (personal possession), the aforementioned Saxon Genitive possessive noun rules are applicable in a variety of contexts, including:

1. Ownership of things not deemed personal possessions

The company’s losses are increasing
The pupil’s behaviour has got worse

2. Relationships between people

My friend’s uncle
The surgeon’s patient

3. Nouns describing time

Tomorrow’s weather forecast isn’t too promising
Have you seen today’s headlines?
I’m ready for this afternoon’s board meeting
Next year’s budget

4. Collective nouns

The crowd’s constant abuse of the away team goalkeeper
The government’s strategy

5. Animals and characteristics

Why is that dog’s tail wagging like that?
You shouldn’t trim your cat’s whiskers

6. Body parts

The kidney’s ability to regulate fluid balance
The brain’s energy demands

7. Shops, churches, restaurants and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner

Let’s go to Marco’s for pizza
I’ve got an appointment at the dentist’s at ten o’clock
Is St. Margaret’s an all-girls school?
I’m at the hairdresser’s
I’ll be at the vet’s at that time

8. Names of diseases

Down’s Syndrome
Parkinson’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease

9. Fixed expressions and idioms which take the possessive form

a stone’s throw away
for heaven’s sake
in your mind’s eye
a baker’s dozen
to play devil’s advocate

When is it generally inappropriate to use the Saxon Genitive?

When you consider English possessive noun rules, it’s also vital to pay heed to cases where the normally versatile Saxon Genitive is not used. Let’s take a look at those cases:

1. With objects

The Saxon Genitive generally does not coexist with inanimate nouns. With objects, it’s more appropriate to use the preposition ‘of’ as opposed to apostrophe + s. For example:

the roof of our house (NOT ‘Our house’s roof’)
the end of the road (NOT ‘The road’s end’)
the colour of your eyes (NOT ‘Your eyes’ colour’)

2. Relationship between people and locations

When expressing relationships between people and places, it’s generally more appropriate to use choose constructions containing the preposition ‘of’ as opposed to the Saxon Genitive. For example:

He’s the husband of a biology teacher who works at my college

3. Owner’s name preceding a clause

When the owner’s name precedes a clause, it’s better to use ‘of’. For instance:

The President of the Republic of Serbia

Worth remembering:

When the inanimate noun is the result of human action, it’s acceptable to use the Saxon Genitive. For example:

the report's conclusions = the conclusions of the report
the committee's suggestions = the suggestions of the committee
the government's policy = the policy of the government

Possessive Noun Rules: Further common Pitfalls and Recommendations

Even though there are seemingly few possessive noun rules which revolve around the use of apostrophe + s, there are still several stylistic and grammatical traps which learners of English may fall into. Namely:

1. The unnecessary use of a noun after the Saxon Genitive

It often happens that we can omit the noun after the Saxon Genitive when the meaning in the sentence is clear. For example:

My car is faster than David’s (David’s = David’s car)
Jason’s pizza is bigger than Jessica’s (Jason’s = Jason’s pizza)
I’m just popping over to Maria’s (Maria’s = Maria’s house)
Shall we just meet at Harry’s? (Harry’s = Harry’s bar)
Is that Michael’s dog over there? - No, it’s my neighbour’s. (My neighbour's = My Neighbour's dog)

2. Make use of the Double Genitive

Have a look at the following sentence:

It had long been a dream of Steve’s to travel around the United States

As the name suggests, the double genitive is a grammatical construction which contains two possessive forms within one single phrase or sentence. Also known as the double possessive, the double genitive combines the prepositional of genitive with the apostrophe ‘s structure.

The double genitive often goes hand in hand with nouns that describe relationships, such as “wife”, “friend”, “neighbour” or “partner”. Moreover, it may coexist with inanimate objects and abstract nouns that people are closely connected with, as with dream in the sentence above.

Further examples:

He is a friend of my father’s
She’s a cousin of the Queen’s

Overall, the role of the double genitive is to strengthen clarity and to emphasise the relationship between the possessor and the item in question. The double genitive may occasionally seem redundant. Nevertheless, the construction does serve to add depth to expressions of possession.

3. Expressing chain relationships can get complicated for lower level learners of English

When it comes to denoting relationships with apostrophe + s, it’s also possible to show a chain relationship in the following way:

My mother’s brother’s son is in hospital

The use of multiple Saxon Genitive constructions in a single clause and sentence comes very naturally to native speakers. However, I am sure that lower level learners of English, in particular, have a hard time putting people in the chain relationship in the right order with the apostrophes in the right place.

Polish Learners of English - Troubles with the Saxon Genitive

In my post about the typical mistakes that Polish learners of English make, I could have included the overuse of the preposition of when it comes to describing relationships between people.

The Polish genitive case looks a little like this:

Córka brata jest śliczna (Sister + brother + is + beautiful)

Literally translated into English, in a grammatically acceptable sense:

The daughter of my brother is beautiful

In my experience, some Polish learners of English may translate the sentence without any grammatical grounding at all. For example:

(The) Daughter my brother is beautiful

Daughter of my brother is beautiful

Summing up, one should make use of the Saxon Genitive here:

My brother’s daughter is beautiful

Final Thoughts

It has come to my attention that many textbooks and grammar guide practice books omit possessive noun rules pertaining to the Saxon Genitive. Frankly, the misuse of constructions with ‘of’ and the Saxon Genitive may impede the listener’s understanding more than mixing up tenses, such as the present perfect and present perfect continuous. Therefore, it’s my contention that the rules of possessive nouns deserve their place in coursebooks and grammar guides.