A possessive noun shows ownership. Bob has a bike. The bike is Bob’s bike. We add an apostrophe s (‘s) to show that it’s a possessive noun.
However, possessive pronouns do not use an apostrophe. Here are some common possessive pronouns:
his, hers, yours, ours, theirs, its
Notice that these possessive pronouns are written without an apostrophe.
Look at these sentence examples:
John has a dog. The dog is John’s dog. The dog is his.
Mary has a cat. The cat is Mary’s cat. The cat is hers.
Janet and Jim have a house. The house is Janet’s and Jim’s house. The house is theirs.
My brother and I own a boat. The boat is my brother’s boat and mine. The boat is ours.
Use an apostrophe to show possession with a possessive noun. Do not use an apostrophe with a possessive pronoun.
▶Now you try it. Change the possessive noun in the first sentence into a possessive pronoun for the second sentence. I visited Kathy’s cottage. The cottage is ____. Did you choose a possessive pronoun that goes with Kathy? Good for you.