Plural vs Possessive s
Plural 's' is added to a noun to show there is more than one of something, while possessive 's' (with an apostrophe) shows that something belongs to someone or something. Year 4 pupils learn to tell the two uses apart and to punctuate each one correctly, including plural owners that already end in 's'.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Decide whether the word is showing more than one thing (plural) or showing ownership (possessive).
- For a plural, add 's' (or 'es') to the noun with no apostrophe, e.g. 'two dogs'.
- For a singular owner, add apostrophe + s ('s), e.g. 'the dog's lead'.
- For a plural owner that already ends in 's', add only an apostrophe after the s, e.g. 'the dogs' leads'.
- Reread the sentence and ask whether the word shows more than one thing, or shows that something belongs to it, to check you have used the right form.
Worked example
Choose the correct form for each gap: 'The three (boy) ___ shared one (boy) ___ football.'
- First gap: there is more than one boy, so this is a plural - add 's': 'boys'.
- Second gap: the football belongs to one boy, so this is possessive - add 's: 'boy's'.
- Check the sentence still makes sense with both forms in place.
- Final answer: The three boys shared one boy's football.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a English exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Choose the correct form of 'teacher' for each gap and explain your choice: 'The two ___ marked the ___ books.' (more than one teacher; the books belong to those teachers)
Find and correct the two errors in this sentence, explaining each correction: 'The childrens book's were on the shelf.'
Write two sentences about a classroom: one using the plural form of 'pupil' and one using the possessive form of 'pupil', making the difference in meaning clear.
Free printable worksheet
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