Apostrophes for possession · Grade 1

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

Other years

• Apostrophes for possession · Grade 2
• Apostrophes for possession · Grade 3
• Apostrophes for possession · Grade 4
• Apostrophes for possession · Grade 5