English Grammar: Pronouns

Pronouns — Possessive Forms

The possessive forms of the personal pronouns and the possessive form of the pronoun who are never written with an apostrophe. These pronouns have a special form to show possession and do not require an apostrophe. The correct forms to use in order to show possession are the following: yours, ours, theirs, its, whose. Do not place an apostrophe either before or after the s in any of these words.

The word it's is a contraction of it is. It is not a form of the pronoun, and should never be used to show possession. The word who's is a contraction of who is or who has, and should not be confused with the possessive form whose.

Contractions

It's on my desk. (It is on my desk.)

Who's speaking tonight? (Who is speaking tonight?)

Who's finished the test? (Who has finished the test?)

Indefinite pronouns do not have special forms to show possession. Therefore, it is necessary to use the apostrophe to show the possessive forms of these pronouns. Since most of these pronouns are used only in the singular, the possessive is formed by adding the apostrophe and s ('s). The plural of the indefinite pronoun other is others. In the case of this plural form, the apostrophe is placed after the s. Study these forms carefully:

Possessive Forms of Indefinite Pronouns

When else is added to an indefinite pronoun, it is regarded as part of the pronoun. In this case, the apostrophe and s are added to else to form the possessive.

I came home with somebody else's coat.

Someone else's book was substituted for mine.