Grammar book · Words and sentences
Possessives: 's, s', of and whose
ባለቤትነት፦ 's, s', of እና whose (possessives)
To say who something belongs to, English puts the owner first with 's (Selam's car), or uses of for things (the end of the street). Ask with Whose…?
's and s'
Amharic puts the thing first and the owner second (የሰላም መኪና, or መኪናው የሰላም ነው). English with 's puts the owner first: Selam's car = the car of Selam. Add 's to a singular noun and to irregular plurals (children's, people's). For a regular plural that already ends in -s, add only the apostrophe: my parents' house (two parents).
In Amharic
አማርኛ “የ”ን ከባለቤቱ በፊት ያደርጋል (የሰላም መኪና)። እንግሊዝኛ በ 's ባለቤቱን ቀድሞ ያስቀምጣል፦ Selam's car = የሰላም መኪና። ለነጠላ ስምና ከሕግ ውጭ ለሆኑ ብዙዎች 's ይጨምሩ (children's, people's)። በ -s ለሚያልቅ መደበኛ ብዙ ቁጥር አፖስትሮፊ ብቻ ይጨምሩ፦ my parents' house (የሁለቱ ወላጆቼ ቤት)።
| Owner | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| one person | + 's | my sister's job, the doctor's office |
| name ending in -s | + 's (or ') | James's car / James' car |
| regular plural (-s) | + ' | the students' books, my parents' house |
| irregular plural | + 's | the children's school, women's clothes |
| two owners together | 's on the last name | Dawit and Hana's wedding |
- The apostrophe shows the owner: my brother's friends (one brother), my brothers' friends (two or more brothers).
- We often use 's for a place or shop: at my aunt's (house), at the dentist's (office).
- Don't use an apostrophe for a simple plural: two apartments (not two apartment's).
- My husband's cousin is visiting from Seattle.
- The kids' toys are all over the floor.
- We had dinner at Mulugeta's last night.
- The children's clinic is open on Saturday.
- Is this your boss's car?
of, and 's for time
For things and places, English usually uses of instead of 's: the door of the car, the end of the month, the name of the street. Some short forms just put two nouns together: the car door, the kitchen window. For time, 's is common: today's news, next week's meeting, two weeks' notice.
In Amharic
ለዕቃዎችና ለቦታዎች እንግሊዝኛ ብዙ ጊዜ በ 's ፈንታ of ይጠቀማል፦ the door of the car, the end of the month, the name of the street። አንዳንድ አጫጭር ቅርጾች ሁለት ስሞችን ብቻ ያገናኛሉ፦ the car door, the kitchen window። ለጊዜ 's የተለመደ ነው፦ today's news, next week's meeting, two weeks' notice።
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| people and animals: 's | Hana's phone, the dog's bowl |
| things and places: of | the top of the page, the center of town |
| noun + noun | the kitchen table, a bus driver, a phone number |
| time: 's / s' | yesterday's game, a day's work, two weeks' vacation |
| organisations: 's or of | the company's rules / the rules of the company |
- Say the end of the street, not the street's end (usually).
- In noun + noun, the first noun works like an adjective and stays singular: a shoe store, a ten-year-old boy.
- Rent is due at the beginning of the month.
- Write your name at the top of the form.
- Did you see last night's game?
- I gave my landlord two weeks' notice.
Whose…?
Ask about the owner with Whose + noun or just Whose: Whose jacket is this? Whose is this? Answer with 's or a possessive pronoun: It's Meron's. It's mine. Don't confuse whose with who's (= who is / who has); they sound the same.
In Amharic
ስለ ባለቤቱ በ Whose + ስም ወይም በ Whose ብቻ ይጠይቁ፦ Whose jacket is this? Whose is this? በ 's ወይም በባለቤትነት ተውላጠ ስም ይመልሱ፦ It's Meron's። It's mine። whose ከ who's (= who is / who has) ጋር አያምታቱ፤ ድምፃቸው አንድ ነው።
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Whose car is that? | It's my neighbour's. |
| Whose are these keys? | They're mine. |
| Whose turn is it? | It's yours. |
| Who's calling? (= who is) | It's Hana from the school. |
- Word order: Whose + noun + be + this/that? Whose bag is this?
- You can answer with just the owner + 's: Meron's.
- Whose phone is ringing?
- Whose idea was this?
- Whose kids are playing outside? — They're the Bekeles'.
- Who's coming to the party on Sunday?
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| my brother's car | For people, English normally uses 's with the owner first. | |
| My parents' house is in Addis. | Two parents: plural -s, then the apostrophe. | |
| the children's school | children is an irregular plural: add 's. | |
| Whose bag is this? | whose asks about the owner; who's = who is. | |
| I live with my two sisters. | A simple plural has no apostrophe. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
This is ___ car. (one sister)
The ___ bedroom is upstairs. (two boys)
the school of the children → the ___ school
___ jacket is this? — It's Daniel's.
___ at the door? — It's the delivery man.
Write the date at the ___.
the meeting tomorrow → ___ meeting
We stayed at ___ last weekend. (my uncle's house)
the wedding of Dawit and Hana → Dawit and ___ wedding
I have three ___.