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Possessive Apostrophes: Fix the Signs in Apostrophe Town

Possessive Apostrophes: Fix the Signs in Apostrophe Town

Learn possessive apostrophes for one owner and many, like the girls’ coats and the children’s coats, by labelling things and fixing signs in a town.

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What you'll learn

  • The difference between a plural s and a possessive s
  • Why plurals like apples never need an apostrophe
  • How the girl’s name differs from the girls’ names
  • Placing the apostrophe after the s in regular plurals like boys’
  • Adding ’s to irregular plurals like children’s, men’s and women’s
  • Spotting and fixing apostrophe mistakes in sentences and signs

Chapter by chapter

  1. Plural –s or possessive –s: more than one, or belonging? Free to try

    Year 4 english · 1

  2. Plural possession: the girl’s name or the girls’ names

    Year 4 english · 2 Years 3–4 english · 3

  3. Possessive apostrophes with regular plurals: girls’, boys’

    Years 3–4 english · 4 Years 3–4 english · 3

  4. Possessive apostrophes with irregular plurals: children’s, men’s, women’s

    Years 3–4 english · 4 Years 3–4 english · 3

  5. Plural –s and possessive apostrophes in sentences and signs

    Year 4 english · 1 Year 4 english · 2 Years 3–4 english · 3 Years 3–4 english · 4

  6. Apostrophe Challenge: plural and possessive –s quiz (12 questions)

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Year 4 english: Word: the grammatical difference between plural and possessive –s
  2. Year 4 english: Punctuation: apostrophes to mark plural possession
  3. Years 3–4 english: Indicate grammatical and other features by: indicating possession by using the possessive apostrophe with plural nouns
  4. Years 3–4 english: Place the possessive apostrophe accurately in words with regular plurals and in words with irregular plurals

About this adventure

Possessive Apostrophes is an interactive game that teaches children aged 7–10 the difference between plural s and possessive s, and where the apostrophe goes when lots of people own something.

Posy, a talking apostrophe, guides players around a town where they sort words, count owners, drag apostrophe tiles into words and type their own labels. A plural just means more than one (cats). A possessive apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone (the cat’s bowl). With a regular plural that already ends in s, the apostrophe goes after the s (the girls’ coats). With an irregular plural such as children, men or women, players add ’s (the children’s coats).

Every line is read aloud, a wrong answer brings a hint about that exact mistake, and a 12-question challenge at the end checks what has stuck.

Questions and answers

Where does the apostrophe go when lots of people own something?

If the plural already ends in s, the apostrophe goes after the s, as in the girls’ coats or the dogs’ beds. Write the plural word first, then add the apostrophe without an extra s.

Is it children’s or childrens’?

The correct form is children’s. Children is already a plural and does not end in s, so you add an apostrophe and an s. There is no word childrens, so childrens’ is always wrong. The same rule gives men’s, women’s and people’s.

What is the difference between a plural s and a possessive s?

A plural s just means more than one, as in three cats, and needs no apostrophe. A possessive s shows that something belongs to someone, as in the cat’s bowl, and needs an apostrophe. A quick test is to ask whether anything belongs to the word.

What age is this apostrophe game for?

The game suits children aged 7 to 10 and matches the Year 4 English national curriculum in England. Younger children who already know the apostrophe for one owner can use the optional warm-up, and older children can use it to revise before tests.

How long does the game take and what does it include?

Playing everything takes about 40 minutes. The game has five chapters, an optional warm-up on plurals and the apostrophe for one owner, and a 12-question final challenge. Players can start any chapter from the town map and come back to it later.

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