Apostrophes for Plural Possession - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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KS3 · Grammar

Y7.9 Apostrophes for Plural Possession

Calculators not allowed · about 50 minutes
Name: _______________________________    Date: ____ / ____ / ______
Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

A Night at the Discovery Museum

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). Written specifically for this grammar worksheet pack; not derived from or based on any published work, past paper or copyrighted text.

The Year 7 overnight trip to the Discovery Museum began with a scramble of bags and sleeping mats in the entrance hall. Mr Alavi, the trip leader, checked the students' name badges against his list before letting anyone through the turnstiles. 'Straight to the dinosaur gallery, please,' he called, holding up the museum's enormous bronze key.

By seven o'clock, the whole year group was sprawled beneath the skeletons' long shadows, unrolling sleeping bags between the display cases. The twins' torches flickered on and off as they hunted for the nocturnal animals exhibit, while the teachers' rota for the night watch was pinned neatly to a noticeboard near the cafe.

At midnight, a series of quiet announcements crackled over the tannoy. The security guards' final patrol swept past the meteorite display, and somewhere in the darkness, mice's tiny footprints could be heard scratching along a skirting board. Mrs Okafor's class had been assigned the space gallery, and their whispered debate about black holes lasted almost an hour.

The Joneses' minibus arrived early the next morning to collect the last few tired students, its headlights sweeping across the car park. James's badge, the only one still perfectly pinned in place, read: 'Junior Explorer - Discovery Museum.' As the children's chatter faded down the corridor, Mr Alavi finally allowed himself to sit down, the caretaker's keys still jangling from his belt.

1
Look at these sentences taken from the passage above. For each word below, tick whether it is used as a plain plural, a singular possessive or a plural possessive noun.

1) 'Mr Alavi, the trip leader, checked the students' name badges against his list before letting anyone through the turnstiles.'
2) 'The security guards' final patrol swept past the meteorite display, and somewhere in the darkness, mice's tiny footprints could be heard scratching along a skirting board.'
3) 'Mrs Okafor's class had been assigned the space gallery, and their whispered debate about black holes lasted almost an hour.'
(a)students'(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(b)badges(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(c)mice's(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(d)footprints(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(e)Okafor's(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
2
Which explanation of the plural possessive apostrophe correctly describes the rule?
  • A) Add 's to any plural noun whenever it appears before another noun.
  • B) For a regular plural noun that already ends in -s, add the apostrophe after the s; for an irregular plural that does not end in -s, add 's, exactly as you would for a singular noun.
  • C) Never use an apostrophe with a plural noun, even to show that it owns something.
  • D) Always add the apostrophe before the final s of a plural noun, whatever the noun's ending.
3
Three museum guides share one box of torches between them for the night watch. Which sentence below is correctly punctuated?
  • A) The guides torches lit up the fossil cabinet.
  • B) The guide's torches lit up the fossil cabinet.
  • C) The guides' torches lit up the fossil cabinet.
  • D) The guides's torches lit up the fossil cabinet.
4
Word bank:
| visitors | visitor's | visitors' | children | child's | children's |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tick whether each word in the bank above is a plain plural, a singular possessive or a plural possessive noun.
(a)visitors(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(b)visitor's(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(c)visitors'(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(d)children(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(e)child's(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
(f)children's(1)
  • A) Plain plural
  • B) Singular possessive
  • C) Plural possessive
5
Which of these is NOT an example of a plural possessive noun?
  • A) teachers'
  • B) children's
  • C) badges
  • D) guides'
6
In each set of three words below, two show the same type of noun (plain plural, singular possessive or plural possessive) and one is different. Circle the odd one out in each set.
(a)foxes fox's vixens(1)
  • foxes
  • fox's
  • vixens
(b)ladies' lady's babies'(1)
  • ladies'
  • lady's
  • babies'
(c)men's children's boys'(1)
  • men's
  • children's
  • boys'
7
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the noun in brackets. You may need to add just an s, an apostrophe, or both.
(a)The ___ (visitor) badges were scanned at the turnstile.(1)
(b)The ___ (museum) cafe sold hot chocolate until closing time.(1)
(c)The three ___ (guide) torches lit up the fossil cabinet.(1)
(d)The ___ (child) laughter echoed around the entrance hall.(1)
8
Complete the table below. Write the plain plural, singular possessive and plural possessive form of each noun.
NounPlain pluralSingular possessive (one owner)Plural possessive (more than one owner)
fox
lady
woman
(9)
9
When two owners share ONE thing, only the second name takes the possessive ending (joint possession). When two owners each have their OWN separate thing, both names take a possessive ending (separate possession). Use this rule to answer the questions below.
(a)Priya and Tom share one project folder between them. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?(1)
  • A) Priya's and Tom's project folder
  • B) Priya and Tom's project folder
  • C) Priya and Toms' project folder
(b)Priya and Tom each have their own separate project folder. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?(1)
  • A) Priya's and Tom's project folders
  • B) Priya and Tom's project folders
  • C) Priya and Toms's project folders
(c)'The head teacher's and the deputy head's offices are on the top floor.' Does this sentence show joint possession or separate possession?(1)
  • A) Joint possession (one shared office)
  • B) Separate possession (two different offices)
10
A compound noun such as sister-in-law or passer-by forms its possessive by adding an apostrophe (and s, if needed) to the END of the whole compound, not to the word in the middle.
(a)One sister-in-law owns the car parked outside. Complete: The ___ (sister-in-law) car was parked outside.(1)
(b)Two sisters-in-law share one car parked outside. Complete: The ___ (sisters-in-law) car was parked outside.(1)
(c)Which sentence correctly shows that a set of coats belongs to more than one passer-by?(1)
  • A) The passers-by's coats were left in the cloakroom.
  • B) The passer-bys' coats were left in the cloakroom.
  • C) The passerbys' coats were left in the cloakroom.
11
Look again at the passage 'A Night at the Discovery Museum' at the top of this pack. Find and write down two more plain plural nouns, and one more possessive noun (singular or plural), from the passage. Do not use students', badges, mice's, footprints or Okafor's - these already appeared in Question 1.
(3)
12
Read the two sentences below.

A) The teacher's rota was pinned to the board.
B) The teachers' rota was pinned to the board.

Explain how the position of the apostrophe changes the meaning of each sentence.
(2)
13
Look again at this sentence from the passage: 'The security guards' final patrol swept past the meteorite display.' Explain one effect of the writer's choice to use the plural possessive 'the security guards'' rather than writing 'a security guard's final patrol'.
(2)
14
Each sentence below has one apostrophe error connected to plural possession. It might be a missing apostrophe, a misplaced apostrophe, or an apostrophe that should not be there at all. Find the error and rewrite each sentence correctly.
(a)The three guides torches lit up the meteorite display.(1)
(b)Fresh badge's were handed out at the entrance desk.(1)
(c)The childrens' coats were hung on a long row of pegs.(1)
(d)The two class's project was praised by the head teacher.(1)
15
Identify and correct the error in this sentence: 'The three sisters bikes were left outside the hall.'
(2)
16
The paragraph below has five errors: one missing capital letter and four errors connected to plural possession. Rewrite the paragraph, correcting all five errors.

'on the last morning of the trip, the childrens bags were stacked by the door while the two teacher's clipboards were checked for the last time. several parents cars pulled up outside, and the tour guides badges glinted in the morning sun.'
(6)
17
Write one sentence of your own for each instruction below, set in a school or community context of your choice. Use a correctly punctuated word each time.
(a)Write a sentence using a plain plural noun (no apostrophe needed).(1)
(b)Write a sentence using a singular possessive noun (one owner).(1)
(c)Write a sentence using a plural possessive noun (more than one owner, a regular plural ending in -s').(1)
(d)Write a sentence using an irregular plural possessive noun (for example men's, women's, children's or people's).(1)
18
Write one sentence of your own for each instruction below.
(a)Write a sentence naming two people who jointly own ONE thing (joint possession).(1)
(b)Write a sentence naming two people who each own their OWN separate thing (separate possession).(1)
19
Write a short paragraph (approximately 60-90 words) about a school trip, club or event of your own choosing. Your writing must include: one plain plural noun, one singular possessive noun, one regular plural possessive noun (ending in -s'), one irregular plural possessive noun (for example men's, women's, children's or people's), and one example of joint or separate possession using two named people. Underline each of these five features and label each one.
(10)
Mark scheme · Y7.9 Apostrophes for Plural Possession

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Question 2

Question 3

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Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

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Question 19