1.possession的基本意思是“占有”“持有”“拥有”,是抽象名词,不可数。possession引申可表示“领地”“属地”“殖民地”。
2.possession还可作“财物”解,一般都用复数形式。
3.表示“某人拥有某物”是be in possession of或(be) in sb's possession,“某物为某人所拥有”是be in the possession of。前者不用定冠词the,后者则必用定冠词the。

be in possession of〔(be) in sb's possession〕
占有某物 have or control (sth) so that others are prevented from using it
She was found in possession of dangerous drugs.她被发现藏有危险药品。
According to facts in my possession he can't possibly be guilty.根据我所掌握的事实,他是不可能有罪的。

have〔get〕 possession of
占有,拥有 having or controlling
He's had possession of the house for ten years.他已拥有那房子10年了。
We've bought the house, but we can't get possession of it before July.我们买下了这所房子,但要到7月份才算实际拥有。


in the possession of
为某人所占有 make (sb) have or control (sth)
The land is in the possession of the merchant.这块地为该商人所有。


put in possession of
让某人知道make (sb) know (sth)
▲put sb in possession of sth
The letter put me in possession of some important information.这封信使我知道了一些重要的信息。

take possession of
占领,夺取 become the owner or occupier
The police arrested him and took possession of certain substances found in his house.警方逮捕了他并带走了在他家里发现的某些东西。

While our team is in possession the other team can't score.我们队控制球时,对方就无法得分。
When her father died, she came into possession of a large fortune.她的父亲死后,她继承了一大笔财产。
Peter's possessions roused his brother's jealousy.彼得的财产引起了他弟弟的妒忌。
The people had to gather up their few possessions and escape to the hills.人们不得不收拾起仅有的一点财物,逃到山里去了。
The former colonial possessions are now independent states.以前的殖民地现在大都成为独立国家。

in〔into〕 possession of, in〔into〕 the possession of
这两个短语的意思相同。其区别是:前者含主动的意味; 后者含被动的意味。例如:
The enemy was in possession of the city.
敌人占领了城市。
The city was in the possession of the
enemy.
城市被敌人占领。
The boss came into possession of a large
estate.
这个老板得了一大笔不动产。
A large estate came into the possession of
the boss.
一大笔不动产被这个老板取得。

［同义词］   custody, occupancy, ownership