At a glance
Four cases
- Subjectivethe subject
- He plays. Tom plays.
- Objectivethe object
- I know him. I know Tom.
- Possessivethe owner
- his bag, Tom's bag
- Vocativethe person we call
- Tom, come here!
- Start
- Is the owner one person or thing?Yesadd 'sthe boy's bike
- Is the owner plural and does it end in -s?Yesadd only 'the boys' bikes
- Is the owner plural without -s (children, men)?Yesadd 'sthe children's toys
- A name ending in -s: both are OKJames's car / James' car
Pronouns change with case
| Subject | Object | Possessive + noun | Possessive alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine |
| you | you | your | yours |
| he | him | his | his |
| she | her | her | hers |
| it | it | its | – |
| we | us | our | ours |
| they | them | their | theirs |
| who | whom | whose | whose |
With nouns, only the possessive changes: Tom (subject), Tom (object), Tom's (possessive).
The possessive 's
the dog's bone (one dog)
the dogs' bones (two dogs)
the children's toys
my sister's car
's or of?
- Use 's for people and animals: my sister's room, the cat's tail.
- Use of for things: the leg of the table, the end of the film.
- Use 's with time: today's news, a week's holiday, ten minutes' walk.
Two owners
Tom and Sara's house (one house, they share it)
Tom's and Sara's phones (two phones)
A friend of mine
Say a friend of mine, a cousin of Tom's. Not a my friend.
Shops and homes: I'm going to the baker's. We stayed at my aunt's (house).
The vocative case
Sir, may I come in?
Come here, Rita.
- Put a comma between the name and the rest of the sentence.
Common mistakes
Practice
Answer the questions. Get 7 out of 10 to finish this lesson.