New
New
Year 3
Apostrophes for singular possession and for plural possession
I can use an apostrophe accurately to signal singular possession or plural possession.
New
New
Year 3
Apostrophes for singular possession and for plural possession
I can use an apostrophe accurately to signal singular possession or plural possession.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- An apostrophe has more than one purpose.
- An apostrophe can show if a noun belongs to another singular noun.
- An apostrophe can show if a noun belongs to another plural noun.
- There are rules for where to place the apostrophe for possession depending on if the noun is singular or plural.
- Apostrophes for singular possession or for plural possession are useful to make our meaning clear.
Keywords
Apostrophe for possession - a punctuation mark that can be used to show if a noun belongs to another singular or plural noun
Singular - only one
Plural - more than one
Common misconception
Pupils incorrectly place the apostrophe in the singular or plural noun that possesses the second noun.
An apostrophe is placed before the s at the end of the first noun when it is a singular noun that owns the second noun. An apostrophe is placed after the s at the end of the first noun when it is a plural noun that owns the second noun.
Repeated and consistent practice will help to embed this punctuation rule. Try starting each morning that you are working on this unit with a five-minute review task in which pupils practise the rules. Have a display board in the classroom with many examples of singular and plural possession too.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
What does 'plural' mean?
only one
equal to
Q2.
What does 'singular' mean?
equal to
more than one
Q3.
Which of these are plural nouns that do not end in s?
buses
clocks
Q4.
What belongs to Sofia in the following sentence? 'Sofia's sticker chart was on the desk and Ms Douglas found it for her.'
desk
Ms Douglas
Q5.
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.'
bus
theatre
Q6.
Why is there no s after the apostrophe in the following sentence? 'All the teachers' jeans had grass stains on them after Sports Day.'
The noun 'teachers' is singular.
Nothing belongs to the teachers in this sentence.
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
What does 'possess' mean?
to see
to position
to belong
Q2.
What belongs to Lucas in the following sentence? 'I went to Lucas' home at the weekend and we played a lot of games.'
games
weekend
Q3.
Who possesses the diary in the following sentence? 'Aisha's diary was safely stored in her cupboard and Izzy had seen it.'
Aisha and Izzy
Izzy
Q4.
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'.
been torn
naughty toddler
Q5.
What belongs to the people in the following sentence? 'The people's votes had been counted and verified and the result was clear.'
result
clear
Q6.
Match the nouns to their correct tags.
plural common noun
singular common noun
singular proper noun