the case expressing ownership
Used in a Sentence
possessive
How to use possessive in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for possessive.
Editorial note
"Its", not "it's", is the possessive form of "it".
Examples10
Definitions4
Parts of speech2
Quick take
the case expressing ownership
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of possessive gathered in one view.
serving to express or indicate possession; "possessive pronouns"; "the genitive endings"
desirous of owning; "small children are so possessive they will not let others play with their toys"
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for possessive.
noun
the case expressing ownership
See also: genitive
adjective
serving to express or indicate possession; "possessive pronouns"; "the genitive endings"
See also: genitive
adjective
desirous of owning; "small children are so possessive they will not let others play with their toys"
adjective
having or showing a desire to control or dominate; "a possessive parent"
Example sentences
"Its", not "it's", is the possessive form of "it".
But "someone" is ambiguous, so the possessive used later in the sentence should be as well.
Sometimes they can be quite possessive, they would break the toy if someone not so knowledgeable wants to play with it.
Treading the HN path of avoiding possessive determiners at all may be the wiser path.
From Apple's own site [1], "Trademarks are adjectives, and should not be made into verbs or made plural or possessive.
Can we agree to use the plural "their" for ambiguous sex third-person possessive?
* Use the trademark only as an adjective, never as a noun or verb, and never in the plural or possessive form.[...
An article promising to be quite technical demonstrates early on the author's inability to get their head around the spelling of the possessive form of "its".
The Chinese character "" is being used here as a possessive; it just means that the iPad belongs to the "Administrator", which is the default account name for many Windows XP computers [1].
This article is about a child who is clearly intelligent, manipulative and possessive of unhealthy behaviors outside the norm.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use possessive in a sentence?
"Its", not "it's", is the possessive form of "it".
What does possessive mean?
the case expressing ownership
What part of speech is possessive?
possessive is commonly used as noun, adjective.