Myriora English › Grammar and punctuation › Chapter 4: Punctuation

Apostrophes: belonging

Ages 7–9Chapter 4 · Lesson 5

In this lesson

An apostrophe can show belonging.
For one owner, add apostrophe S: the dog's bone.
For more than one owner ending in S, just add the apostrophe: the dogs' bones.
Plurals like children take apostrophe S: the children's toys.

Your turn

The coats belong to all the boys. Which is right?

Show the answer

The boys' coats. Boys is plural and ends in S, so the apostrophe goes after the S.

The common mistake

Here's a common mistake. Lots of people add an apostrophe to every plural, like apple's for sale. But plurals don't need an apostrophe unless something belongs to them. Apples for sale.

Try it at home

Whose is it? Pick up things around the house and say whose they are (Dad's keys, the twins' bikes, the children's books). Write two of them down and check where the apostrophe goes.

Read the whole lesson

Hello, and welcome to Myriora English! An apostrophe can also show that something belongs to someone. The dog's bone is the bone that belongs to the dog.

If there's one owner, add an apostrophe and then an S. The girl's bag. James's coat. One dog, so it's the dog's bone.

If there's more than one owner, and the word already ends in S, just add the apostrophe after the S. The dogs' bones means the bones of lots of dogs. If the plural doesn't end in S, like children, add apostrophe S: the children's toys.

Let's try one together. Where does the apostrophe go? The cat belongs to my sister. It's my sister's cat. One sister, or more? Say it out loud!

One sister! So it's apostrophe, then S: my sister's cat. Well done if you said that!

Here's a common mistake. Lots of people add an apostrophe to every plural, like apple's for sale. But plurals don't need an apostrophe unless something belongs to them. Apples for sale.

Your turn! The coats belong to all the boys. Which is right? Pick the right card. You've got eight seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! The boys' coats. Boys is plural and ends in S, so the apostrophe goes after the S.

Quick review. An apostrophe can show belonging. For one owner, add apostrophe S: the dog's bone. For more than one owner ending in S, just add the apostrophe: the dogs' bones. Plurals like children take apostrophe S: the children's toys. See you next time!