Apostrophes

Apostrophes are punctuation marks that show ownership or indicate missing letters in contractions. In this lesson, you will master both singular and plural possession, and learn to tell apart two tricky words: it's and its.

What You'll Learn

• How to show possession for plural nouns that end in -s (e.g., the boys' hats)
• How to show possession for plural nouns that do NOT end in -s (e.g., the children's toys)
• How to show possession for singular nouns that end in -s (e.g., James's bag)
• The difference between it's (it is / it has) and its (belonging to it)

When to Use

1. Singular possession: "That is Sarah's lunchbox." (The lunchbox belongs to Sarah.)
2. Plural possession (ending in -s): "The teachers' staff room is on the second floor." (The staff room belongs to the teachers.)
3. Plural possession (not ending in -s): "The women's team won the relay race." (The team belongs to the women.)
4. Singular nouns ending in -s: "James's bicycle has a flat tyre." (The bicycle belongs to James.)
5. It's vs its: "It's raining, so the cat licked its paws indoors." (It's = it is; its = belonging to it.)

How to Form

Singular Possession

Add 's to the singular noun, even if the noun already ends in -s.

Plural Possession

It's vs Its

Key Rules

1. Singular nouns: Always add 's to show possession, no matter what letter the noun ends with. "The princess**'s** crown sparkled."
2. Plural nouns ending in -s: Add only an apostrophe after the -s. "The students**'** homework was collected."
3. Plural nouns NOT ending in -s: Add 's, just like a singular noun. "The people**'s** voices grew louder."
4. It's always means "it is" or "it has": If you can replace the word with "it is" or "it has" and the sentence still makes sense, write it's. Otherwise, write its.
5. Never use an apostrophe to make a noun plural: "I bought three apples" is correct. "I bought three apple**'s**" is wrong. Apostrophes show ownership, not plurals.
6. Possessive pronouns never take apostrophes: Words like his, hers, ours, yours, theirs, and its already show possession. They do not need an apostrophe.

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Signals for singular possession

's after a name or singular noun: the girl's, the teacher's, Mei Ling's, the school's

Signals for plural possession (ending in -s)

' after a plural noun: the boys', the players', the students', the neighbours'

Signals for plural possession (NOT ending in -s)

's after an irregular plural: the children's, the men's, the women's, the people's

It's vs its signal

Try replacing with "it is" or "it has". If it works, use it's. If not, use its.

Tip: Think of its like his or hers -- none of these possessive pronouns use an apostrophe. If you would not write "hi's" or "her's", do not write "it's" for possession either.

Practice Tips

1. The replacement test for it's/its: Read the sentence and replace the word with "it is". Does "The cat licked it is paws" make sense? No, so use its. Does "It is going to rain" make sense? Yes, so use it's.
2. Count the owners: Before adding the apostrophe, ask "How many owners are there?" One owner = add 's. More than one owner ending in -s = add ' only. More than one owner NOT ending in -s = add 's.
3. Say it aloud: Read the sentence to yourself. If the apostrophe is just making a plural (no ownership), remove it. "The banana's are ripe" sounds like ownership, but bananas just needs a plain -s.
4. Check irregular plurals: Words like children, men, women, people, and mice do NOT end in -s. Treat them like singular nouns when adding the possessive -- use 's.

Quick Reference