Apostrophes for possession

An apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone: ⟦the girl's bag⟧ means the bag of the girl. Where it goes depends on the owner: one owner takes ⟦'s⟧, a plural ending in ⟦s⟧ takes just an apostrophe (⟦the girls' bags⟧), and a plural without ⟦s⟧ takes ⟦'s⟧ (⟦the children's toys⟧).

Key facts

  • One owner: add ⟦'s⟧: ⟦the dog's bowl⟧, ⟦Amira's coat⟧, ⟦my sister's room⟧.
  • More than one owner, plural ending in ⟦s⟧: add only an apostrophe: ⟦the boys' bikes⟧, ⟦the teachers' room⟧.
  • Irregular plurals (no ⟦s⟧): add ⟦'s⟧: ⟦the children's toys⟧, ⟦the men's race⟧, ⟦the people's votes⟧.
  • A plain plural owns nothing, so it has no apostrophe: ⟦six bananas⟧, not ⟦six banana's⟧.
  • ⟦its⟧ (belonging to it) has no apostrophe: ⟦The dog wagged its tail.⟧ ⟦it's⟧ means ⟦it is⟧ or ⟦it has⟧: ⟦It's raining.⟧

Worked examples

Example 1

Write with an apostrophe: ⟦the toys of the children⟧

  1. ⟦children⟧ is a plural that doesn't end in ⟦s⟧.
  2. So add ⟦'s⟧: ⟦the children's toys⟧.

Answer: ⟦the children's toys⟧

Example 2

Write with an apostrophe: ⟦the shirts of the players⟧

  1. There are several players, and ⟦players⟧ ends in ⟦s⟧.
  2. Add only the apostrophe: ⟦the players' shirts⟧.

Answer: ⟦the players' shirts⟧

Example 3

Choose: ⟦The cat licked (its / it's) paw.⟧

  1. ⟦The cat licked it is paw⟧ makes no sense.
  2. So it is ⟦its⟧, with no apostrophe.

Answer: ⟦its⟧