Explanation
Exercises
Compound nouns & possessive patterns
B2 · Pre-Advanced Noun patterns · Possession

1) Two main ways to mark possession

  • ’s / s’ → preferred for people & animals and often for time, places & organisations.
    ➜ Mary’s laptop · yesterday’s meeting · the company’s decision
  • of-phrase → preferred for inanimate things, parts & abstractions.
    ➜ the roof of the church · the end of the street · the cause of the fire
Both are possible with many institutions: the university’s policy / the policy of the university (the first is shorter and more natural).

2) Apostrophe: spelling & form

UseAfter…Example
’ssingular nounmy father’s car, the dog’s toys
’sirregular plural (no final -s)children’s games, people’s views
s’regular plural in -sthe teachers’ lounge, tourists’ passports
’s or ’singular ending in -sChris’s / Chris’ laptop (both accepted; follow house style)
Group genitivephrase headthe Prime Minister of Spain’s visit (often better with of)

Pronunciation of ’s: /z/ after vowels & voiced consonants (Anna’s), /s/ after /p t k f θ/ (Jack’s), /ɪz/ after sibilants (James’s).

3) Meaning: shared or separate? + the “double genitive”

  • SharedAnna and Tom’s car (= one car owned by both)
  • SeparateAnna’s and Tom’s cars (= two cars)
  • Double genitive some friends of Anna’s / a colleague of mine (= one of Anna’s/my friends). Useful with determiners: a, some, this, etc.

4) When the of-pattern is favoured

  • Inanimate/abstract: the beauty of the park, the history of art
  • Parts of things: the back of the envelope, the head of the shower
  • Long noun phrases: prefer clarity → the child of the neighbours who live next door (rather than piling ’s at the end)
  • Containers + contents: a cup of tea, a box of matches (contrast with compound noun below)

5) Shops, homes & places with ’s

  • Shops/workplaces: the baker’s, the chemist’s, the hairdresser’s (= shop or home).
    Ellipsis of a head noun: shop, house, etc.
  • Places & organisations: London’s airports, the bank’s prediction, the club’s budget
  • Time & distance: a day’s work, three weeks’ holiday, an hour’s drive

6) Compound nouns (noun + noun) instead of possession

Use a plain modifier noun before the main noun (often singular). Stress falls on the second noun.

  • Common patterns: school bus, ticket office, car park, toothpaste, stomach bug
  • Variant choices: more than one form may work → the shower head / the head of the shower; school policy / the school’s policy
  • Irregular plural modifiers: keep the -s when it’s part of the word → sports car, clothes shop, customs officer, physics teacher
  • Hyphen or no hyphen? Many compounds are two words (car park), some one word (bathroom), some hyphenated (letter-box). Follow your style guide or dictionary.
  • Container nouns (empty): tea cup, wine glass, matchbox. For container + contents, use of: a cup of tea.
  • Compound adjectives for measures: a two-hour flight (hyphenated adjective) vs two hours’ flight (possessive measure).

7) Quick contrasts & pitfalls

  • Don’t overuse ’s with long phrases
    Prefer of for readability.
  • Institution choice
    Both forms acceptable: the country’s decision / the decision of the country (’s is shorter and more idiomatic).
  • Names ending in -s
    Chris’s and Chris’ are both defensible; be consistent. Classical names often take just the apostrophe: Socrates’ life.
  • Clarity first
    Pick the version that is shortest and clearest in your sentence.

All examples are illustrative and can be adapted to academic, business or everyday contexts.

Exercises:
1
2
3

Compound nouns & possessive patterns

Choose the correct option to complete each sentence below.
1
I’m taking a course in this summer.
2
We’re staying at my house this weekend.
3
I met at the conference.
4
Employees must give before leaving.
5
The country’s are discussing the case.
6
Nina works as in a fintech company.
7
They adopted last year.
8
The storm damaged .
9
We need to update our guidelines.
10
The board accepted without debate.

Compound nouns & possessive patterns

Choose the correct options for the gaps in these sentences.
1
Let’s schedule a ____ to review the design.
A.
B.
C.
D.
2
I have to give my boss ____ before I resign.
A.
B.
C.
D.
3
They’ve built a new ____ in the park.
A.
B.
C.
D.
4
We’re hiring a ____ manager to handle all inbound tickets.
A.
B.
C.
D.
5
I’ll leave the projector in the ____ after class.
A.
B.
C.
D.
6
Let’s take a ____ and start again at three o’clock.
A.
B.
C.
D.
7
Can we discuss ____ after lunch?
A.
B.
C.
D.
8
The hotel is ____ from the beach, so we can walk.
A.
B.
C.
D.
9
We stayed at my ____ house last weekend.
A.
B.
C.
D.
10
That’s a photo ____ — she took it on holiday.
A.
B.
C.
D.

Compound nouns & possessive patterns

Rewrite the second part of the sentence without repeating the verb or verb phrase. Include ‘to’ when it is required. Don’t include ‘to’ when it can be dropped.
1
I parked next to the car of my friend. →
2
We revised the decision of the committee. →
3
Let us meet in the room for meetings on the second floor. →
4
Please bring your card for identity. →
5
The prices of last year were unusually low. →
6
We waited by the gate of the school. →
7
The manual is a guide for users. →
8
They celebrated the success of the project. →
9
She started work in the department for human resources. →
10
He bought new shoes for running. →