Question

Form the possessive case of the nouns in apposition given in the bracket:
The kitten was the _____________________ best friend. (little boy James)

• A. little boy's James
• B. little boy, James'
• C. little boy James
• D. little boy, Jame's

Answer 1

The correct option is B little boy, James'

When two nouns/ noun phrases are next to each other and refer to the same person, they are said to be in apposition. The second noun/noun phrase describes the first noun/noun phrase. The possessive case of such nouns in apposition is formed by suffixing apostrohpe+s to the second noun/ the last word in the second noun phrase.

In the given sentence, the first noun phrase is: little boy. The second noun is: James. Both refer to the same person and hence the nouns are in apposition. Its possessive case is normally formed by suffixing apostrophe+s to the second noun i.e James. However, as the second noun ends with the letter "s" already, we can simply affix only an apostrophe to the word: James. Hence the correct answer is option B.

The other options are incorrect as they do not follow the rule as mentioned above.