Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and I'm really pleased to see you today for this first lesson in our unit about apostrophes and speech punctuation.

Now in this lesson, we're gonna tackle the tricky subject of apostrophes.

Now this is something that lots of adults still find tricky, so it's a really important skill to master, and it makes our writing seem so accurate when we get it right.

So let's have a go together.

This lesson is called apostrophes for contraction, singular possession and plural possession.

And it comes from our unit: Apostrophes and Speech Punctuation.

By the end of this lesson, we'll be able to show how an apostrophe works for contraction, for singular possession, and for plural possession.

Here are the keywords for today's lesson.

My turn.

Your turn.

Apostrophe for contraction.

Apostrophe for possession.

Singular and plural.

Well done.

Let's look at those words in a bit more detail.

An apostrophe for contraction is a punctuation mark used to contract two words together.

An apostrophe for possession is a punctuation mark used to show if a noun belongs to another singular or plural noun.

Singular means only one.

And plural means more than one.

Let's look at today's lesson outline.

We're going to start by looking at how apostrophes are used for contraction.

Then we'll move on to apostrophes for singular possession, possession by one thing, and then we'll move on to apostrophes for plural possession, possession by more than one noun.

Let's get to work on apostrophes for contraction.

In English, particularly when we are speaking or writing informally, we use contracted forms to show two words being connected together.

Here are some examples.

She'll be ready soon.

Who's hungry? Don't worry about it too much.

Let's get going, shall we? Let's see how these contracted forms have been made.

She will makes she'll.

Who is makes who's.

Do not makes don't.

And let us makes Let's.

We can see we've made a contracted form and we've done it by using an apostrophe.

So the contracted form is made up of two words pushed together with an apostrophe.

And you can see the apostrophe here.

Notice how it's high up, not low down like a comma.

Now let's test your knowledge.

What are the two words represented by each of these contracted forms, it's, he'll, we've, and you'd? You are going to take the contracted form and pull it apart to make two words.

Have a go.

Let's have a look.

It's makes it is.

He'll is the contracted form of he will.

We've is the contracted form of we have.

And you'd can be the contracted form of you would or of you had, both of those would be the same contracted form you'd.

Great work.

Now, we've said that an apostrophe can be used for contraction, where we push two words together to make the shorter contracted form.

So we can start with we and are and we can push them together to make we're.

So we've got we and are as our words to be contracted, and we're as our contracted form.

We are.

We're.

Now you can see that the apostrophe usually takes the place of the letters that have been removed from the start of the second word.

So in we are, we are removing the a to make we're.

So we put the apostrophe after the e in we.

The apostrophe has taken the place of the letter that we've removed.

Same for I am.

I am makes I'm.

We're removing this a so the apostrophe goes where the a was.

She will makes she'll.

We're removing this time the w and the i.

So the apostrophe goes where that w and i have been removed.

Now your turn.

What's the contracted form of each of the following pairs of words, they will, should have, I will, and you are? Pause the video and decide.

Great work.

They will becomes they'll.

And we've removed the w and the i so the apostrophe goes after the y.

Should have becomes should've.

We've removed the h and the a so the apostrophe goes after the d.

I will becomes I'll and we've removed the wi again.

So the apostrophe goes after that first I.

And then in you are, we've removed the a so it becomes you're with the apostrophe after the u.

Fantastic work if you've got those apostrophes in the right place already.

Let's move on.

Now, Jacob says that this is the correct contraction for "did not", did and not makes did'nt.

What mistake has Jacob made? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Jacob's forgotten that rule, hasn't he? That usually the apostrophe goes where we've removed the letter.

We removed the letter o from not, so the apostrophe should go between the n and the t.

Usually that apostrophe is placed where the letter has been removed.

We've removed the o, so it should say didn't with the apostrophe after the n.

I bet you spotted that.

Let's keep going.

Now, some contractions are tricky because they drop a letter from inside a word instead of from the start of a word.

Could not makes couldn't.

We've lost that letter o so the apostrophe has gone between the n and the t.

Some constructions even add in a letter.

If we do will not, we get won't.

Now we've lost an o between the n and the t in not, so we put an apostrophe there, but we've actually added in an o in front of the n.

So that's a very strange example.

And all contractions using not, we'll put that apostrophe between the n and the t.

Just like in won't, for instance.

Can not becomes can't.

We're getting rid of the n and the o and the apostrophe goes there between the n and the t.

Would not is the same.

Would not makes wouldn't.

And here the apostrophe goes between the n and the t.

So whenever we have a not in our contraction, then we're going to put the apostrophe between the n and the t.

Now your turn.

What's the contracted form of each of the following, are not, shall not, should not, and did not? Pause the video and have a go.

Great effort.

Let's have a look.

Are not becomes aren't with the apostrophe where we remove that o.

Shall not become shan't.

Here we've removed the two l's and an o.

So the apostrophe goes between the n and the t.

Should not become shouldn't.

We've removed that o so the apostrophe goes there.

And did not becomes didn't.

We've removed this o so the apostrophe is between the n and the t.

Great work if you spotted those.

Now, for our first task of this lesson, I want you to rewrite each sentence using apostrophes for contraction wherever it's appropriate.

So you are looking out for pairs of words that you can contract to make a contraction using your apostrophe.

Here are our sentences.

Pause the video and see if you can rewrite each sentence using apostrophes for contraction.

Okay, let's have a look.

First one should say Jen said he'd help.

She's having a party and I'm going.

There's a door, but there isn't a key.

He'll help if you don't understand.

As we'd see, he couldn't drive well.

We'll come so you've got a friend there.

Well done for spotting all those pairs of words which you could use an apostrophe for contraction in sight.

Great work.

Okay, we are now going to move on to looking at how apostrophes are used for singular possession.

A noun, as you all know, is a person, a place or a thing.

Nouns can be singular or plural.

Here are some singular nouns.

Dog, child, woman, tooth.

They're only one.

Here are some plural nouns.

Dogs, children, women, teeth.

More than one.

Singular means just one.

Plural means more than one.

A singular or a plural noun can possess another singular or plural noun.

It owns it.

It has it.

The noun belongs to it.

And singular nouns and plural nouns do possession in different ways.

And we're going to talk about that in the last two parts of our lesson here.

Let's have a look at two examples.

Kites belonging to Andeep and a job belonging to Sofia.

In this example, kites is a plural noun.

Andeep is a singular noun.

A job is a singular noun, and Sofia is another singular noun.

Now let's check if we've understood singular and plural.

As we've just said, a singular or plural noun can possess, have another singular or plural noun.

Let's locate the nouns in some groups of words and decide if the nouns are singular or plural.

Here are three groups of words.

Find the nouns and decide if they're singular or plural.

Pause the video and have a try.

Well done.

Let's check.

Pets and some children are both plural nouns.

The king and the UK are both singular nouns.

And doors is a plural noun, but our house is a singular noun.

So you can see that we can have a mixture of these within groups of words.

Now, when a singular noun possesses another noun, we usually add 's to the first noun to show that possession, to show that it belongs to that first noun.

A singular noun, one thing.

That's an apostrophe for singular possession.

Let me show you how it works.

We could say Sofia's uncle.

The uncle belongs to Sofia.

We could say Sofia's cousins.

We could say Sofia's hopes and dreams. Sofia is a singular noun.

That's just one of her.

And then we can see we've used 's to show that the noun that comes afterwards belongs to Sofia.

All of these are the nouns that belong to the singular noun to Sofia.

So we've got Sofia's uncle to show that the uncle belongs to Sofia, a singular noun.

Here's some more examples of using an apostrophe for possession when a singular noun owns something.

Jun's dog is very old.

This child's drawings are beautiful.

Sam's mum is firm but fair.

A beautician's tools must be very clean.

We've used an apostrophe for a singular possession in each of these sentences, and we can see it with an 's.

Each of these nouns is a singular noun.

Here's the example in more detail.

Sam's mum is firm but fair.

Sam is a singular noun.

We've used 's to show possession of the next noun mum.

We've got a singular noun, 's, and then another noun.

Let's see if you can do this.

A house belongs to Aisha.

Which sentence shows this possession correctly with an apostrophe? They all sound the same.

Aishas' house is very well-decorated.

while c says Aisha's houses are very well-decorated.

Which one shows correctly that a house belongs to Aisha with an apostrophe for singular possession? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

I hope you spotted that.

b is the correct one.

We've got Aisha, our singular noun, and 's, and then the noun that belongs to Aisha.

Great work if you spotted it.

Let's try another one.

Jacob has three different teachers.

Which sentence shows this possession correctly with an apostrophe? Pause the video and decide which one does this correctly.

Let's take a look.

Hopefully you spotted that the first one is right.

We've got Jacob, a singular noun, followed by 's, and then teachers, the noun that belongs to Jacob.

Now, if the singular noun that owns a noun ends in s, we put the apostrophe after the s.

We don't add another s like we did before.

Here's some examples.

Lucas' uncle.

The scissors' blades.

The class' hopes and dreams. And notice how I said it as a kind of z sound, Lucases, the scissors, the classes.

We say it slightly differently, but we don't change the spelling.

If the singular noun ends in s, we just add the apostrophe after the s.

We don't have to add another s after the apostrophe.

And we can see after it comes the noun that belongs to that singular noun Lucas.

Let's try one.

The city of Brussels has many streets.

Which sentence shows this possession correctly with an apostrophe? Pause the video and decide how this sentence should be written.

Well done.

Hopefully you spotted that c is correct.

We have a noun ending in s, Brussels.

So we just add the apostrophe after the s.

We don't have to add another s in this occasion.

Okay, for your second task, this lesson, I want you to write a sentence using each idea I'm going to show you, using an apostrophe for singular possession.

Let me show you an example.

If I've written the idea, the cat belonging to Andeep, you could write this sentence: We watched Andeep's cats get tangled up in wool.

Because the cats belong to Andeep, a singular noun, I've put 's after Andeep, and then the noun that belongs to him, cats.

Here are your ideas.

Write a sentence for each using an apostrophe for singular possession.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at some examples.

Yours will obviously look different to mine, but hopefully you've got that apostrophe in the same position as I did, even if you've got a different sentence around it.

Here are my ideas.

The school's hall was filled with the sound of singing.

We walked across the farmer's field carefully and quickly.

Jun knocked over the teacher's coffee.

Miss Ofoedu dried Jacob's tears and she gave him a hug.

The team's manager paced the touchline anxiously.

Year 4's behaviour is the best in the whole school.

So your sentences will look different, but check that your apostrophes are in the same place as mine in your sentences.

Really well done if you've managed to do that.

Okay, for the final parts of our lesson, we are going to look at how apostrophes are used for plural possession.

That means when something belongs to more than one now.

Most plural nouns in English end in s.

Teachers, songs, houses, fields, families, apples, all of those are plural nouns.

We're talking about more than one house, more than one field, more than one apple.

And those plural nouns usually end in s.

Here's an example.

The skins belonging to the apples are red.

The word apples already ends in s as a plural noun.

We have the apostrophe this time after the s.

The apples' skins are red.

Look how my apostrophe has gone after the s in apples.

Apples already ends in s as a plural noun.

We've added the apostrophe after the s.

So when a plural noun possesses another noun, we usually add the apostrophe for possession after the s.

The children are learning the lyrics to several songs.

We could say, the songs' lyrics.

Look how the apostrophe is after the s because songs already ends in s.

The teachers in the school have a break time.

The teachers' break.

Teachers is a plural noun ending in s so we add the apostrophe after the s.

The fields have an owner.

We could say the fields' owner.

Fields already ends in s so we've added the apostrophe after that plural noun.

And we can see all of those are plural nouns that end in s.

So we just add the apostrophe after that s.

So let's see if you can try.

How would the apostrophe for plural possession be used for each of these ideas? For example, the beliefs belonging to Hindus would be Hindus' beliefs with the apostrophe after the s.

Here are your ideas to try.

Pause the video and have a go.

Let's take a look.

The shoes belonging to the adults would be the adults' shoes with the apostrophe after the s.

The teeth belonging to the animals would be the animals' teeth with the apostrophe after the s.

And the hopes belonging to the girls would be the girls' hopes with the apostrophe after the s.

All those plural nouns already ended in s so we've just added the apostrophe after the s.

But not all plural nouns unfortunately end in s.

For example, children, men, women, geese, feet, teeth, and mice.

So for these plural nouns, we just add 's like we did for those singular nouns.

For instance, the children's opinions, the men's hobbies, the women's jobs, the geese's wings, the mice's cheese.

Here, the plural noun did not end in s so we've added 's to show the possession.

So to decide how to use an apostrophe for plural possession, we need to follow some steps.

First of all, we take our noun.

We could have tooth.

We could have knife.

Then we make it plural.

Teeth.

Knives.

Then we think, does the plural end in s? For teeth, no, it doesn't.

For knives, it does.

If it doesn't end in s, we add 's.

If it does end in s, we add the apostrophe after the s.

So for instance, the teeth's enamel, the knives' blades.

Because teeth does not end in s, we've added 's.

Because knives does end in s, we just add the apostrophe after the s.

Let's try it.

Aisha, Jacob and Sam brought a red bike together.

Which sentence describes this using the apostrophe for plural possession correctly? The childs' bike was bright red.

The children's bike was bright red.

The childrens' bike was bright red with the apostrophe after the s.

Pause the video and decide which one is correct.

Great work.

Hopefully you spotted that it is b.

We know the word children does not end in s in the plural, it ends in n, so we must add the 's afterwards.

Now, for our final task, this lesson, I'd like you to write a sentence using each of these ideas, using an apostrophe for plural possession this time.

For example, the hole belonging to the rabbits, that's more than one rabbit, a plural noun, could become the fox lurked outside the rabbits' hole.

Now, because rabbits ended in s, I've added the apostrophe after the s.

But not all of these ideas will have a plural noun ending in s.

So watch out for that.

Here are your ideas.

Pause the video and write a sentence for each using the apostrophe for plural possession correctly.

Remember those steps.

If it does end in s, the apostrophe goes after.

If the plural doesn't end in s, we add 's.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at my ideas.

Remember, your sentence will look different, but the section with the possession should look the same as mine.

The teacher worked late into the night preparing the children's lessons.

Ah, children ends in n, so we add 's.

The shoes' laces were frayed and worn.

Shoes ends in s.

The apostrophe is after the s.

The icy lake lapped against the geese's nest.

Geese ends in e.

It's 's.

The farmer strode into the cows' field with his dog at his heels.

Cows ends in s.

Apostrophe after the s.

we waited in line outside the men's bathroom for ages.

Men ends in n so we add 's.

And the assistant carefully cleaned the doctors' equipment.

Doctors ends in s.

Apostrophe after the s.

Brilliant work if you manage to get those correct.

Wow, we've packed a lot into that lesson.

So let's review what we've learned.

We learned that apostrophes can be used to show both contraction and possession.

We said that an apostrophe for contraction allows us to join two words together into a shorter, contracted form.

And we said an apostrophe for singular possession helps us show that a noun belongs to just one noun.

Whereas an apostrophe for plural possession helps us show that a noun belongs to more than one other noun.

Now, there were a lot of rules there, and you've done really well to keep going all the way through.

Really well done in this lesson.

I can't wait to see you in another one.