Possessive 's: whose bag is this? Possessive 's exercises with Whose…? questions

This A1 drill lesson gives possessive 's exercises: one owner or more, children's and women's, and Whose…? questions with their answers.

Grammar: One owner + 's (Tom's bike), a plural in -s + ' (my parents' house), the children's toys, Ana and Ben's apartment, Whose bag is this? – It's Hiro's., and whose or who's.
Topic: Lost and found after a class trip to San Francisco: a teacher's notice at an invented school, Monday in Room 12, the parents' group chat, and Aiden's texts.
Activities: True or false, sorting, choices, gap-fills, drag-and-drop, word order, error quizzes, matching, tables, a memory game, a chat and a test, each with instant feedback.

What's inside

Chapter 1The rule
- PictureUnlock
- Study the scheme: possessive 's and whoseGrammar schemeTry it
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Sort the phrases: one owner or more?Sort into columnsTry it
- Choose the right formChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the owner and the thingFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 2One owner: 's
- Fill in the gaps: a name or a person + 'sFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Read and drag the owners into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endings: my familyMatchUnlock
- Read Rosie's post and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 3More owners: s' and children's
- Sort the owners: + ' or + 's?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Fill in the table: one owner and more ownersFill in the tableTry it
- Match the pairs: one owner or more?MatchUnlock
- Choose the right form: pluralsChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: one owner or more?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the sign and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the correct sentence: more ownersQuizUnlock
Chapter 4Whose…? Questions and answers
- Put the words in order to make questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Write the questions: Whose…?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right answer to each questionQuizUnlock
- Answer the questions: whose is it?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Match the questions and the answersMatchTry it
- Choose whose or who'sChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: two words that sound the sameFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: Lost and found
- Read Mr. Coleman's lost-and-found noticeReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the notice again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read the dialogue in Room 12 and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Aiden texts youChatTry it
- Read the group chat and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Mr. Coleman's Friday note and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right form: at homeChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the owner: one or more?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Sort the sentences: whose or who's?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Fill in the table: questions and answersFill in the tableUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
- Mark the sentences: correct (true) or wrong (false)?True or falseUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: one or more?Memory gameUnlock
- Answer the questions: at the swimming poolFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Match the questions and the answers: at schoolMatchUnlock
- Put the words in order: Whose questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose whose or who's: a birthday partyChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the note on the fridge and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read Kenji's postcard and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: one owner or more?Drag and dropUnlock

Grammar: possessive 's, s' and Whose…?

To say who has something, English puts the owner first and adds an apostrophe: Tom's bike, my mom's car. The owner's word decides between 's and a bare apostrophe. To ask about the owner, use Whose + the thing.

Possessive 's: whose bag is this?

Say who has something with 's or s' (Tom's bike, my parents' house). Ask about the owner with Whose…?

The owner + 's + the thing

A name, or one person or animal, takes 's: Kate's phone, my dad's car, the cat's food. No of with people and animals: my dad's car, not the car of my dad. The apostrophe and the s go together, with no space.

the owner'sthe thing

Tom's bike

my mom's car

the dog's bed

Where the apostrophe goes

A plural ending in -s adds only ': my parents' house. A plural without -s adds 's: the children's toys, the women's team. Two people sharing one thing take 's after the second name: Ana and Ben's apartment.

The owner	Add	Examples
a name	's	Kate → Kate's phone · Mark → Mark's bag
one person or animal	's	my dad → my dad's car · the cat → the cat's food
a plural with -s (two or more)	only '	my parents → my parents' house · the girls → the girls' room
a plural without -s	's	the children → the children's toys · the women → the women's team
two people, one thing	's after the second name	Ana and Ben → Ana and Ben's apartment

One owner or more?

The apostrophe shows how many owners there are: my sister's room is one sister's, my sisters' room is two or more sisters'. Both sound exactly the same aloud, so the drills add a clue such as my only sister or my two sisters.

One owner: 's

my sister's room (I have one sister.)
the boy's bike (one boy)
my friend's dog (one friend)

Two or more owners: s'

my sisters' room (I have two sisters.)
the boys' bikes (three boys)
my friends' dog (two friends)

Whose…? and the answer

Whose + the thing + is or are: Whose bag is this? Whose shoes are these? Answer with the owner and 's: It's Hiro's. They're Brianna's. Never It's of Hiro or just It's Hiro.

Question	Answer
Whose bag is this?	It's Hiro's. (= Hiro's bag)
Whose shoes are these?	They're Brianna's. (= Brianna's shoes)
Whose car is that?	It's my parents'. (= my parents' car)
Whose coats are those?	They're the women's. (= the women's coats)

Whose or who's? Common mistakes

Whose asks about the owner, and who's means who is: Who's your teacher? Before the thing, write whose: Whose bag is this?, not Who's bag is this? Watch for Toms bike, my dad car and the childrens' toys too.

Common mistakes

the car of my dad
my dad's car
a person or an animal has it: use 's, not of
Toms bike · Tom' s bike · my dad car
Tom's bike · my dad's car
write ' and s together, with no space
the childrens' toys
the children's toys
children, women, men, people: + 's
Who's bag is this?
Whose bag is this?
who's = who is

Whose or who's? And two jobs for 's

Whose asks about the owner: Whose phone is this? Who's = who is: Who's your teacher? Answer with the owner + 's: It's Hiro's. (Not: It's of Hiro.) Two parents: my parents' house (not: my parent's house). And 's can be is: Tom's at school = Tom is at school, but Tom's bag = his bag.

Examples

Aiden's jacket is black.a name + 's
My grandparents' house is in Ohio.a plural with -s + '
The men's team plays on Sunday.a plural without -s + 's
Ana and Ben's apartment is small.two people, one apartment
This is my sister's room, and that's my brothers' room.one sister, two brothers
Whose pens are these? They're Dad's.a question and an answer

More lessons on this grammar: Possessive adjectives and pronouns lessons and exercises

Try the possessive 's exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

41 auto-checked exercises
5 games
1 real-life document
1 grammar scheme
1 picture

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

add 's to a name or to one person or animal: Mark's bag, the cat's bed, not the car of my dad
put only an apostrophe after a plural in -s, and tell my sister's room from my sisters' room
add 's to children, women, men and people: the children's toys, not the childrens' toys
ask Whose…? and answer with the owner: Whose scarf is this? – It's Emma's, not It's of Emma
tell whose from who's: Whose coat is on my chair? but Who's your best friend?

Grammar:: possessive 's · plural possessive s' · whose · whose vs who's
Topic:: grammar practice · family · school · lost and found

Teaching tips

Fill a lost-and-found box: collect a pen, a scarf and some keys from students, then hold each one up and ask Whose keys are these? until someone answers They're Ana's.
Count the owners before the apostrophe: write my sister and my sisters on the board and let students place the apostrophe only after they say how many people own the room.
Say it, then spell it: read Whose turn is it? and Who's next? aloud and ask students to write each one down, since the two words sound alike.

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