Year 4 English: Singular possession and the plural -s
Part of the Year 4 English plurals and possession chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Singular possession and the plural -s
Possession means that something belongs to someone or something. The owner is the one that has the thing.
When there is one owner, add an apostrophe and s after the owner: the cat's tail is the tail of one cat. The owner is written first, and the thing is written after it.
Look at the two kinds of -s. In the dogs ran, the -s is a plural: more than one dog. In the dog's ball, the apostrophe and s show that one dog owns the ball. You can test a possessive by writing the phrase again with of: the ball of the dog.
Key ideas
- Possession: one owner, so the apostrophe and s come after the owner: the cat's tail, Mia's coat.
- Put the owner first, then the thing: the teacher's desk, the baby's bottle.
- Test a possessive by writing it with of: the desk of the teacher.
- A plural -s, as in dogs, has no apostrophe. The apostrophe and s in the dog's ball show possession.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the fox has the den
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the fox's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the fox's den
- Write the answer. the fox's den
Check. Read it back: the den belongs to the fox. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the teacher has the desk
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the teacher's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the teacher's desk
- Write the answer. the teacher's desk
Check. Read it back: the desk belongs to the teacher. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.Mia has the coat
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.Mia's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.Mia's coat
- Write the answer. Mia's coat
Check. Read it back: the coat belongs to Mia. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Watch out
Watch out: the cats tail is not right. The word cats is a plural, but the tail belongs to one cat, so the owner needs an apostrophe and s: the cat's tail. Count the owners first.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask: how many owners are there? If there is one, the apostrophe and s go after the owner. Then ask your child to write the phrase with of to check the owner.
Exercise 4D Practice: singular possession and plural -s
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the cat has the tail
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the cat's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the cat's tail
- Write the answer. the cat's tail
Check. Read it back: the tail belongs to the cat. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the cats tail.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the bus driver has the seat
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the bus driver's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the bus driver's seat
- Write the answer. the bus driver's seat
Check. Read it back: the seat belongs to the bus driver. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the bus drivers seat.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the teacher has the desk
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the teacher's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the teacher's desk
- Write the answer. the teacher's desk
Check. Read it back: the desk belongs to the teacher. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the teachers desk.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.Mia has the coat
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.Mia's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.Mia's coat
- Write the answer. Mia's coat
Check. Read it back: the coat belongs to Mia. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write Mias coat.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the baby has the bottle
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the baby's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the baby's bottle
- Write the answer. the baby's bottle
Check. Read it back: the bottle belongs to the baby. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the babys bottle.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the pupil has the pencil
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the pupil's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the pupil's pencil
- Write the answer. the pupil's pencil
Check. Read it back: the pencil belongs to the pupil. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the pupils pencil.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the farmer has the field
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the farmer's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the farmer's field
- Write the answer. the farmer's field
Check. Read it back: the field belongs to the farmer. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the farmers field.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the fox has the den
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the fox's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the fox's den
- Write the answer. the fox's den
Check. Read it back: the den belongs to the fox. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural. Do not write the foxs den.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the hen has the eggs
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the hen's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the hen's eggs
- Write the answer. the hen's eggs
Check. Read it back: the eggs belongs to the hen. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the lion has the roar
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the lion's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the lion's roar
- Write the answer. the lion's roar
Check. Read it back: the roar belongs to the lion. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the shop has the door
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the shop's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the shop's door
- Write the answer. the shop's door
Check. Read it back: the door belongs to the shop. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Method. Look at what each -s does in the phrase.
- Look at the cats ran. Cats is more than one cat, so the -s is a plural.cats = more than one
- Look at the cat's bowl. The apostrophe and s show that one cat owns the bowl.cat's = one owner
- Write the answer. The -s in cats is a plural: more than one cat ran. The apostrophe and s in cat's show that one cat owns the bowl.
Check. A plural -s has no apostrophe. ✓
Watch out. A possessive -s has an apostrophe.
Method. Compare the two phrases with their meaning.
- Look at the cat's tail. The apostrophe and s show that one cat owns the tail.cat's = one owner
- Look at the cats tail. Without an apostrophe, the phrase does not show the owner correctly.no apostrophe: wrong
- Write the answer. No. The cat's tail is the tail of one cat. The cats tail has no apostrophe, so it does not show who owns the tail.
Check. The apostrophe shows the owner. ✓
Watch out. Write the owner first, then the apostrophe and s.
Method. Find the owner of the bank.
- Find the owner. One river has the bank, so the owner is one river.the river
- Add the apostrophe and s. One owner: the apostrophe and s go after river.river's bank
- Write the answer. The river's bank was muddy.
Check. One river has the bank. ✓
Watch out. Put the apostrophe and s after the owner.
Method. Choose an owner and a thing, and put them in the right order.
- Choose one owner. The owner is one bird, so it takes an apostrophe and s.the robin
- Choose the thing. The thing is what the owner has.the robin's song
- Write the answer. Accept any correct phrase with one owner, an apostrophe and s, for example: the robin's song.
Check. One owner, an apostrophe and s. ✓
Watch out. The owner is written first.
Method. Find the owner, count the owners, then add the apostrophe.
- Find the owner and the thing. The owner has the thing, so say the owner first.the shop has the door
- Count the owners. There is one owner, so add an apostrophe and s after the owner.one owner: add 's
- Add the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe where the rule says.the shop's
- Write the phrase. Put the thing after the owner.the shop's door
- Write the answer. the shop's door
Check. Read it back: the door belongs to the shop. ✓
Watch out. The apostrophe shows that one owner has the thing. It does not make a plural.
Method. Count the owners.
- Look at bird. The owner is one bird.one bird
- Look at the apostrophe. One owner means the apostrophe goes before the s.bird's
- Write the answer. There is one bird, and it owns the nest, so the apostrophe goes before the s.
Check. One owner: apostrophe before the s. ✓
Watch out. Count the owners before you choose the place.