Why Are Possessives Important? (Simple and Illustrated)

Possessives are important because they help us make sentences clear and accurate. They tell us who owns something, like a book or a car.

For example, if someone says "Kate's book is on the table”, we know right away that it is Kate who owns the book. Without the possessive form "Kate's", this sentence will not make sense.

Possessives also help us show the relationships between people like in the sentence "Dean's mom is coming to visit". Here, we understand whose mom it is because of the possessive form "Dean's".

Here is another example:

"This cat is mine. My cat is the best." ("Mine" and "My" are possessives.)

a cool party

We can also use certain words to show ownership or relationship.

For example:

"This is a photo of my car."

However, this can easily become too confusing if we try to use this structure for longer sentences. Possessives are much simpler and clearer, which is why they are so important!

Which sentences are easier for you to understand?

A. Lisa’s dog is black. ("Lisa's" = possessive)
B. The dog of Lisa is black.

A. Marco's keys are in the drawer. ("Marco's" = possessive)
B. The keys that belong to Marco are in the drawer.

A. Marco left his keys in the drawer. ("his" = possessive)
B. Marco left the keys that belong to him in the drawer / Marco left the keys that belong to Marco in the drawer.

We can all agree that sentences with possessives sound more natural and are easier to follow 🙂