Lesson 06: Possessive Case | Demonstrative Pronouns: This/That/These/Those

Possessive Case and Demonstrative Pronouns This/That – These/Those

In English we use `s or s` to indicate possession.

We can indicate possession with:

• people
• animals
• places
• time

It is necessary to use an apostrophe (`) when indicating possession.

• Peter has a car. His car is red. Peter’s car is red. 
• The dog has a broken leg. The dog’s leg is broken. 
• Churches in Quito are beautiful. Quito’s churches are beautiful. 
• I have a test next month. It will be difficult. Next month’s test will be difficult. 

When we are speaking about objects we can express possession by using “of”.
However, there are many exceptions, especially when speaking about human activities.

• The leg of the table. 
• The tip of the pen. 
• The days of the week.
• The months of the year. 
• The brakes of the car. 
• The plan’s importance. (exception) 
• The university’s president. (exception) 

When we speak of possession we have to use the verb “belong to” and possessive adjectives and the possessive pronouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns :
We use This/That/ for singular forms. We use: These/Those for plural forms.

“This” is used when we are talking about a singular noun which is relatively close to the speaker.
“That” is used when we are talking about a singular noun which is at a reasonable distance from the speaker.
“These” is used when we are talking about plural nouns which are relatively close to the speaker.
“Those” is used when we are talking about plural nouns which are at a reasonable distance from the speaker.

S = singular
P = plural