Primary 5 · English · Language
Possessive apostrophes
Using apostrophes to show ownership for singular and plural nouns, such as 'the dog's bowl' and 'the dogs' bowls'.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to Singapore levels by age (Primary 1 is the first year of primary school). They are not aligned to MOE syllabuses or the PSLE, so check them against the syllabus your child is working towards.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Use an apostrophe to show that something belongs to one owner.
- Use an apostrophe to show that something belongs to more than one owner, including irregular plurals.
- Recognise when an apostrophe is not needed, such as ordinary plurals and 'its'.
Success looks like
- I can write singular possessives such as 'the dog's bowl'.
- I can write plural possessives such as 'the dogs' bowls' and 'the children's toys'.
- I can spot apostrophes that have been used wrongly in plurals.
The big idea
An apostrophe can show that something belongs to someone or something. Instead of writing 'the bowl belonging to the dog', we can write 'the dog's bowl'.
Rule 1 – One owner (singular): add 's to the owner. the dog → the dog's bowl. Mia → Mia's hat. the teacher → the teacher's desk.
Rule 2 – More than one owner, plural ending in s: add just an apostrophe after the s. the dogs → the dogs' bowls. the girls → the girls' coats. the teachers → the teachers' meeting.
Rule 3 – More than one owner, irregular plural (not ending in s): add 's. the children → the children's toys. the men → the men's shoes. the people → the people's choice.
A simple method: first write the owner word correctly (singular or plural), then add the apostrophe. If the owner word already ends in s because it is plural, add just ' . If it does not end in s, add 's.
For names that end in s, both 'James's bike' and 'James' bike' are used. Many style guides prefer 'James's' because it matches how we say it.
Do not use an apostrophe just because a word is plural. 'Apples for sale' is correct; 'Apple's for sale' is wrong. Also, 'its' (belonging to it) has no apostrophe: 'The bird flapped its wings.'
Worked examples
One owner
Rewrite with an apostrophe: 'the collar belonging to the cat'.
- Find the owner: the cat. There is one cat, so it is singular.
- Write the owner word: cat.
- Singular, so add 's: cat's.
Answer: the cat's collar
Many owners ending in s
Rewrite with an apostrophe: 'the bikes belonging to the boys'.
- Find the owner: the boys. There is more than one, so it is plural.
- Write the plural owner word: boys. It already ends in s.
- Add just an apostrophe after the s: boys'.
Answer: the boys' bikes
Irregular plural owners
Rewrite with an apostrophe: 'the library belonging to the children'.
- Find the owner: the children. It is plural, but it does not end in s.
- Write the owner word: children.
- Because it does not end in s, add 's: children's.
Answer: the children's library
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Which shows the bone belonging to one dog?
the dog's bone — One owner, so add 's to 'dog'.
Which shows the toys belonging to many children?
the children's toys — 'Children' is already plural and does not end in s, so add 's.
All the students have lockers. Choose the correct word: 'The ___ lockers were painted blue.'
students' — Many students, and 'students' ends in s, so add just an apostrophe after the s.
Which sentence uses an apostrophe incorrectly?
Banana's are on sale today. — 'Bananas' is just a plural. Nothing belongs to the bananas, so no apostrophe is needed.
Rewrite with an apostrophe: 'the hat belonging to Mia'.
Mia's hat — Mia is one owner, so add 's.
Rewrite with an apostrophe: 'the tails of the three cats'.
the cats' tails — 'Cats' is a plural ending in s, so add only an apostrophe after the s.
Rewrite with an apostrophe: 'the shoes belonging to the men'.
the men's shoes — 'Men' is an irregular plural that does not end in s, so add 's.
Which sentence is correct?
The bird flapped its wings. — 'Its' meaning 'belonging to it' never has an apostrophe. 'It's' means 'it is'.
Watch out for
- Adding an apostrophe to every word ending in s. Ordinary plurals such as 'apples' and 'cars' do not need one.
- Writing 'childrens'' or 'mens''. Irregular plurals that do not end in s always take 's.
- Confusing 'its' and 'it's'. The possessive 'its' has no apostrophe, just like 'his' and 'hers'.
Tips for parents
- Label family belongings with sticky notes: 'Mum's keys', 'the kids' shoes', 'the dog's lead'. Ask your child to check each label.
- Encourage the two-step habit: write the owner word first, then decide on 's or ' .
- Hunt for wrong apostrophes on signs and menus when you are out. Children love finding adults' mistakes.
Go further
- Write ten phrases about things in your home, five with one owner and five with several owners.
- Make a poster explaining the three apostrophe rules with your own examples and drawings.
- Write a short paragraph about a class or family pet show that uses at least four possessive apostrophes correctly.
About 40 minutes
You'll need
- Exercise book and pencil
- A few household objects belonging to different family members
- Sticky notes
Key words
- apostrophe
- A punctuation mark ( ' ) used to show belonging or to show where letters are missing in a contraction.
- possession
- Owning or having something.
- singular
- Just one person, animal, place or thing.
- plural
- More than one person, animal, place or thing.
- irregular plural
- A plural that does not end in 's', such as children, men, women, people, mice or teeth.
Still tricky?
For parents
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