a punctuation mark that can be used to show if a noun belongs to another singular or plural noun

Apostrophes for singular possession and for plural possession

English

In this unit, pupils learn to use the apostrophe for plural possession and inverted commas for direct speech. In 'Speech punctuation and apostrophes', pupils will develop their accuracy of inverted comma use in both speech first and speech second sentences.

In 'Speech punctuation and apostrophes', pupils learnt to use the apostrophe for contraction and for singular possession. In this unit, pupils will learn to use the apostrophe for plural possession and inverted commas for direct speech.

In this unit, pupils punctuate direct speech for the first time in a sentence where the direct speech comes first and the reporting clause comes second. They review learning around using apostrophes for contraction and singular possession; they also learn to use an apostrophe for plural possession.

Speech first punctuation and apostrophes

What **belongs** to Lucas in the following sentence? 'I went to Lucas' home at the weekend and we played a lot of games.'

Who **possesses** the diary in the following sentence? 'Aisha's diary was safely stored in her cupboard and Izzy had seen it.'

What is the **pair of words** that signals that something belongs to a plural noun in the following sentence? 'The books' pages had all been torn by the naughty toddler'.

What belongs to the people in the following sentence? 'The people's votes had been counted and verified and the result was clear.'

Which of these are plural nouns that **do not** end in s?

What belongs to Sofia in the following sentence? 'Sofia's sticker chart was on the desk and Ms Douglas found it for her.'

What belongs to the children in the following sentence? 'We saw the children's school when we were on the bus going to the theatre.'

Nothing belongs to the teachers in this sentence.

Why is there **no s** after the apostrophe in the following sentence? 'All the teachers' jeans had grass stains on them after Sports Day.'

Starter Quiz