The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 414–417 · Part 2: Part Second
114. The possessive, or genitive
Goal: Your child writes the possessive form of singular nouns and knows its two names.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and pencil (a notebook kept just for this book works well)
What's in the book
Section 414 gives twelve sentences with nouns that show possession, to compare with the common form. Section 415 gives the rule and the two names, possessive and genitive, with a note on names ending in s (Jonas's or Jonas'). Sections 416 and 417 ask for genitives from the reader and for nouns to use in the genitive.
The lesson, step by step
Find them (Section 414)
Read the twelve sentences. Your child finds each noun that shows possession and says the plain form: Webster's, Webster.
The rule and its names (Section 415)
The form of the noun which is used to denote possession is called the Possessive Form, or the Genitive.
The book says it is good to know both names.
Names ending in s
Read the note. Mr. Douglas's horse and Mr. Douglas' horse are both allowed.
Write (Section 417)
Your child writes sentences using the genitive of eight of the book's nouns: man, boy, child, horse, deer, fish, tree, woman, ship, John, George Washington.
Check it gently
Check that each genitive has the apostrophe before the s. Fix any slip.
From the reader (Section 416)
If time allows, your child copies three sentences with a genitive from a book they are reading.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
The baby's rattle fell on the floor.
George Washington's home was called Mount Vernon.
The ship's flag flapped in the wind.
Answers to the book's problems
Section 414: Webster's, bird's, Doctor's, Tom's, blacksmith's, eagle's, king's, boy's, ship's, Child's, chieftain's, country's. Section 417: man's, boy's, child's, horse's, deer's, fish's, tree's, woman's, ship's, John's, George Washington's.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.