Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven

Lesson Links by Irv Leskowitz - September 2005
Possessive nouns and the apostrophe | Prepositional phrases

Choose the word in the row that is the best classification for the highlighted word at the left.

1. Connecticut	city	state	nation	region	state
2. tractor	tool	debt	machinery	farm	______
3. chicken-pox	medicine	occupation	food	disease	______
4. bus	station	diner	fare	transportation	______
5. clerk	actor	job	boss	object	______

Rule 1.	Add -’s to singular nouns to show possession. (The *student’s* name is James.)

Rule 1a.	A singular noun that ends in -s has two possible possessive forms: *James’* or James’s. (*James’* name was on the list. *James’s* name was on the list.)

Rule 2.	When the plural form of a word ends in -s, add just the apostrophe to show ownership. (The *students’* names were listed on the bulletin board.)

Rule 3.	When the plural form of a word does not end in -s, add ’s to the word to show ownership. (The *children’s* names were listed on the bulletin board.)

Exercise: Use the correct possessive form of the nouns in italics to complete the sentences.

1. child	The child’s___ cries woke his parents.
2. student	The ________ questions were relevant and thoughtful.
3. students	Her _________ questions were always welcome.
4. Lois	Was ________ name on the list?
5. baby	The _________ toys almost filled the crib.
6. women	Jane and Sarah are ________ names.
7. boys/mothers	The ________ ________responses were very interesting.
8. people	We should respect other _____ rights as much as we do our own.
9. building	The ________ main entrance was huge.

A noun may be used as the object of a preposition. (I went to the library.)

A preposition + a noun forms a prepositional phrase. (…to the library)

Exercise: Prepositions of location. Use the following phrases in sentences.

1. on the wall	5. in my desk	9. through the window	13. behind his back
2. about the room	6. at the exit	10. between the shelves	14. to the side
3. until the end	7. beside the tree	11. above a cloud	15. into the valley
4. from the start	8. like the wind	12. up the front	16. under the table