American English File 5 - nouns

1. 9B nouns: compound and possessive forms
apostrophe s
Possessive forms express the idea of “having” (in a very general sense)
which exists between two nouns.
1 We normally use a possessive (+ ’s) when something belongs to a particular
person or thing, e.g., a person, an animal, an organization, a group of people,
or a place.
I borrowed my father’s car.
I accidentally stepped on the cat’s tail.
The company’s main office is in New York.
The government’s decision to raise taxes has not been well received.
Sarong is one of Bali’s most famous restaurants.
• With places we can also say, e.g., Sarong is one of the most famous
restaurants in Bali.

2. 9B nouns: compound and possessive forms
apostrophe s
2 If a name (or singular noun) finishes in s, we either add ’s, e.g., Chris’s
book or put an apostrophe at the end of the word, e.g., Chris’ book.
It’s Chris’s book.
• With plural nouns we put the apostrophe after the s, e.g., friends’.
It’s my friends’ wedding.
• With irregular plurals which don’t end in s (people, children, men, etc.) we add ’s.
That’s the children’s room.
• If there are two people, we add the ’s to the second name.
The blonde girl is Alex and Maria’s daughter.
3 When ’s refers to “the house of” or “the store of”, we often omit the
word house or store.
We had dinner at Tom’s last night.

3. 9B nouns: compound and possessive forms
using of (instead of apostrophe s)
1 We normally use an of phrase, not ’s, with things or abstract nouns,
especially when one thing is part of another.
Can you remember the name of the movie?
My brother lives at the end of the street.
The problems of old age are many and varied.
2 We use of to express possession with a long phrase, e.g., NOT my cousin in
Rome I told you about’s sister.
Helen is the sister of my cousin in Rome I told you about.
3 With friend, we often say a friend of + name / noun + ’s.
Jim is a friend of my brother’s.

4. 9B nouns: compound and possessive forms
compound nouns
1 We use compound nouns, not possessive forms, to refer to people or things in
terms of what they are for, what they are made of, what work they do, or what
kind they are. The second noun is the main thing or person, and can be singular
or plural. The first noun gives more information about the second noun. It is
usually singular, unless it has no singular form, e.g., jeans store.
can opener = an opener for cans, history teacher = a teacher of history
I need the can opener. Do you know where it is?
I bought a huge flowerpot in a garden center near my house.
My brother is a company director and my sister is a history teacher.
I opened the car door, got in, and put on my seat belt.
! Compound nouns are usually two separate words, but they are occasionally
joined together as one word, e.g., sunglasses, bathroom or hyphenated, e.g.,
house-hunter, fortune-teller.

5. 9B nouns: compound and possessive forms
compound nouns
2 With containers, a compound noun (a milk bottle) focuses on the container
(usually empty), whereas the container + a possessive noun (a bottle of milk)
focuses on the contents (the container is usually full).
• Other common examples are a milk carton / a glass of juice, a jam jar / a jar of
jam, a tuna can / a can of tuna, a matchbox / a box of matches, etc.