Whose is it? The possessive 's

Objective & content

This Sound Check video (about 4 minutes) fixes one mistake: saying every apostrophe s in the same way. Freya (British) and Cody (American) show that the sound before it decides, as with the plural s. After a sound with no buzz in the throat, it is a hiss: Jack's, it's. After a buzzing sound or a vowel, it is a buzz: Sam's, she's. After a word that already hisses or buzzes, English adds a whole extra beat: Alex's, Rose's. Students repeat the six words and one sentence, then play a three-round game: which ending did you hear?

Pedagogical guide

The rule is the same for ownership (Jack's dog) and for short forms (it's). Learners fall into two groups. French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese learners may say "the dog of Jack" and avoid the 's form. Fix the order first: the owner comes first, then 's. German and Dutch learners often say the buzz as a hard hiss and leave out the extra beat in Alex's and Rose's. Ask them to feel the throat for Sam's. Both hosts say these endings the same way: there is no British or American difference to explain here. The game tests listening only, so check the speaking yourself.

Suggested procedure

1. Before (3 min). Write Jack's, Sam's and Alex's on the board. Ask students to say them. Do the endings sound the same?
2. Watch (5 min). Play the video once. Students repeat aloud when the hosts say "Try it with us", "Say them with me" and "Now a sentence, with me".
3. Game (3 min). Play the game again. Pause each time a host says "Listen..." and the word, before the other host gives the answer. The class says s, z or Iz.
4. After (4 min). In pairs, one student says Pat's, Leo's or the boss's. The partner says which ending it was.

Materials & prerequisites

• The video, a screen and sound for the whole class.
• The example words are at about A2- level. Students should already know the plural s: cats, dogs, boxes.

Assessment & extensions

Say it's, she's, Rose's and Pat's in random order. Students show one, two or three fingers for the three endings.