Inside Language, Literacy, and Content [Level C]

Language and Grammar, continued

Use a possessive noun to show that someone owns, or possesses, something.

	How to Make the Noun Possessive	Examples
One Owner	Add ’s.	A country’s government is democratic if the people vote for the leaders.
More Than One Owner	Add’ if the noun ends in -s.	The citizens’ rights are important.
More Than One Owner	Add ’s if the noun does not end in -s.	The people’s votes count.

EXAMPLES	The laws of the nation are fair. The nation’s laws are fair.
	People obey the laws of the rulers. People obey the rulers’ laws.

Change the words in each box to form a phrase with a possessive noun. Say the phrase. Then say the complete sentence.

1.	the great-grandmother of Lena	_____ escaped from East Germany and came to the United States.
2.	the fight of African Americans	_____ for equal rights was difficult.
3.	the journey of my grandparents	_____ to the United States was long.
4.	the father of Tchin	_____ is an activist in Myanmar.
5.	the rights of women	Susan R. Anthony fought for _____ in the 1800s.

Change the words in each box to form a phrase with a possessive noun. Write the phrase on a card. Then say the sentence with the phrase.

6.	the protest of the monks	Did you hear about _____ in Myanmar?
7.	the desire of people	It is important to understand _____ for liberty.
8.	the Constitution of this country	_____ protects our rights and freedoms.
9.	the governments of some countries	_____ don’t allow people to express opinions in public.
10.	the citizens of East Germany	_____ gained the right to travel to the West in 1989.

For many years, the Berlin Wall limited East Germans’ freedom.