Lesson 1: What is Possession?Lesson 2: Singular PossessionLesson 3: Plural PossessionLesson 4: Tricky Cases
Exercises
Ex 1: Apostrophe BuilderEx 2: Singular or Plural Possession?Ex 3: Correct or Wrong?Ex 4: Spot the PossessiveEx 5: Fix the MistakeEx 6: Odd One OutEx 7: Complete the Story
Quiz
Riddle GateFinal Quiz
What is Possession?
Lesson 1 of 4 — The Big Idea
When something belongs to a noun, we use an apostrophe and the letter s to show it. This is called a possessive noun.
Look around you. Your bag, your book, your pen. These things belong to you. In English, when we want to say that something belongs to a noun, we use a special mark called an apostrophe.
’
This small mark, the apostrophe, is one of the most useful punctuation marks in English.
Instead of writing the book that belongs to Sara, we simply write Sara’s book. The apostrophe and s do all the work. The noun before the apostrophe is the owner.
the book that belongs to Sara → Sara's book
the tail that belongs to the dog → the dog's tail
the gate that belongs to the palace → the palace's gate
Singular Possession
Lesson 2 of 4 — One owner: always add apostrophe + s
Rule 1: Singular owner → add 's
When there is ONE owner, add apostrophe + s to the end of the noun.
the cat's bowlAhmed's pencilthe teacher's deskthe city's river
This rule works for ALL singular nouns, including names. It does not matter what letter the noun ends in.
What about names ending in s? For names like James, Thomas or Harris, you can write either James's book or James' book. Both are accepted. The most common choice in school exams is to add 's.
Noun (owner)
Possessive form
Meaning
dog
dog's
the dog's bone (one dog)
girl
girl's
the girl's bag (one girl)
James
James's
James's book (one person)
child
child's
the child's toy (one child)
country
country's
the country's flag (one country)
Plural Possession
Lesson 3 of 4 — More than one owner
Rule 2: Regular plural (ends in s) → add apostrophe only
When the plural already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. Do NOT add another s.
the teachers' booksthe dogs' bowlsthe students' bags
Rule 3: Irregular plural (does NOT end in s) → add 's
When the plural is irregular and does NOT end in s, treat it like a singular: add apostrophe + s.
the children's schoolthe men's roomthe women's teamthe mice's nest
Quick test: Does the plural end in s? Then apostrophe only: teachers'. Does it NOT end in s? Then add 's: children's.
Plural noun
Ends in s?
Possessive form
teachers
Yes
teachers'
boys
Yes
boys'
children
No
children's
women
No
women's
sheep
No (unchanged plural)
sheep's
The Tricky Cases
Lesson 4 of 4 — Common mistakes everyone makes
These are the possessive cases that catch everyone out. Read each one carefully.
Tricky Case 1: its vs it's
its (no apostrophe) = belonging to it. The dog wagged its tail. it's (with apostrophe) = it is. It's a beautiful day.
The apostrophe in it's replaces the missing letter i from is, not to show possession. For possession, never use an apostrophe: its.
Tricky Case 2: Apostrophe does NOT make a plural
Never use an apostrophe just to make a word plural. This is one of the most common mistakes.
WRONG: three apple's two dog's the book's are here RIGHT: three apples two dogs the books are here
An apostrophe shows possession or a missing letter. It never creates a plural.
Tricky Case 3: Joint vs Separate Ownership
When two people own something together, only the last name gets apostrophe + s: Sara and Ali's project (one project, both own it)
When two people own things separately, both names get apostrophe + s: Sara's and Ali's projects (Sara has her own project, Ali has his own)
⚡ Exercise 1: The Apostrophe Builder 0/12
The owner and what it owns appear on the display. Type only the possessive form of the owner in the box. For example, if you see dog + bone, type dog's. Press Enter or tap Check.
✍️ Type the possessive form of the owner only
+
Type the owner's possessive form only, e.g. dog's
Word 1 of 12
🔎 Exercise 2: Singular or Plural Possession? 0/8
Read each possessive phrase. Decide whether it shows singular possession (one owner) or plural possession (more than one owner). Tap your answer.
✓ Exercise 3: Correct or Wrong? 0/8
Each sentence uses an apostrophe. Decide whether it is used correctly or if there is a mistake. Tap your answer.
🔍 Exercise 4: Spot the Possessive Noun 0/6
Each sentence contains a possessive noun. Tap it to highlight it. Some sentences have two possessive nouns.
🔧 Exercise 5: Fix the Apostrophe Mistake 0/6
Each sentence has an apostrophe mistake. Rewrite the corrected possessive noun only (not the whole sentence) in the box.
🚫 Exercise 6: Odd One Out Spot the wrong apostrophe
In each group, three possessive forms are correct and one has a mistake. Tap the wrong one.
📚 Exercise 7: Complete the Story All rules
Read this story set in the Collector's Quarter. Choose the correct possessive form for each blank.
🔐
The Quiz Gate
Seven exercises done. Solve this riddle to unlock the final quiz.