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Possession and contraction — the two jobs an apostrophe does, and nothing else.
Question 1 of 12
Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?
"There are three buses an hour." is the correct version. This is a plain plural. An apostrophe never makes a word plural. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Ask what the apostrophe is for. Missing letter, or ownership? If neither, take it out.
The answer is C. "There are three buses an hour." is the correct version. This is a plain plural. An apostrophe never makes a word plural. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Ask what the apostrophe is for. Missing letter, or ownership? If neither, take it out.
Which is the correct way to write the wool from the sheep (more than one)?
"the sheep's wool" is correct. "sheep" is already plural without an s on the end, so it is treated like a singular owner: apostrophe, then s. This is the group that catches people out, because the rule sounds like it should not apply. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. An apostrophe never makes something plural. Two dogs, not two dog's.
The answer is B. "the sheep's wool" is correct. "sheep" is already plural without an s on the end, so it is treated like a singular owner: apostrophe, then s. This is the group that catches people out, because the rule sounds like it should not apply. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. An apostrophe never makes something plural. Two dogs, not two dog's.
"The 1990s were wetter than the 1980s." is the correct version. A plural of a number is just an s. Nothing belongs to anything, so there is no apostrophe. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Ask what the apostrophe is for. Missing letter, or ownership? If neither, take it out.
The answer is B. "The 1990s were wetter than the 1980s." is the correct version. A plural of a number is just an s. Nothing belongs to anything, so there is no apostrophe. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Ask what the apostrophe is for. Missing letter, or ownership? If neither, take it out.
"Who's coming to the museum?" is the correct version. "Who's" is short for "who is". An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Read the contraction out in full. "It is dark" works, so "it's dark" is right.
The answer is A. "Who's coming to the museum?" is the correct version. "Who's" is short for "who is". An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Read the contraction out in full. "It is dark" works, so "it's dark" is right.
"You're late, and your coat is wet." is the correct version. "You're" is "you are"; "your" shows possession. The sentence needs one of each. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Read the contraction out in full. "It is dark" works, so "it's dark" is right.
The answer is C. "You're late, and your coat is wet." is the correct version. "You're" is "you are"; "your" shows possession. The sentence needs one of each. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Read the contraction out in full. "It is dark" works, so "it's dark" is right.
Which is the correct way to write the nest belonging to the bird?
"the bird's nest" is correct. The owner is singular — one bird — so it takes an apostrophe and then an s. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
The answer is C. "the bird's nest" is correct. The owner is singular — one bird — so it takes an apostrophe and then an s. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
Which is the correct way to write the office of the head teacher?
"the head teacher's office" is correct. The owner is singular — one head teacher — so it takes an apostrophe and then an s. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
The answer is C. "the head teacher's office" is correct. The owner is singular — one head teacher — so it takes an apostrophe and then an s. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
Which is the correct way to write the staff room used by the teachers?
"the teachers' staff room" is correct. The owner is plural and already ends in s — "teachers" — so the apostrophe goes **after** that s and nothing more is added. Putting it before the s would mean one teacher. The apostrophe's position is doing real work here: it is the only thing telling the reader how many owners there are. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
The answer is D. "the teachers' staff room" is correct. The owner is plural and already ends in s — "teachers" — so the apostrophe goes **after** that s and nothing more is added. Putting it before the s would mean one teacher. The apostrophe's position is doing real work here: it is the only thing telling the reader how many owners there are. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
Which is the correct way to write the hutch belonging to the rabbits?
"the rabbits' hutch" is correct. The owner is plural and already ends in s — "rabbits" — so the apostrophe goes **after** that s and nothing more is added. Putting it before the s would mean one rabbit. The apostrophe's position is doing real work here: it is the only thing telling the reader how many owners there are. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
The answer is D. "the rabbits' hutch" is correct. The owner is plural and already ends in s — "rabbits" — so the apostrophe goes **after** that s and nothing more is added. Putting it before the s would mean one rabbit. The apostrophe's position is doing real work here: it is the only thing telling the reader how many owners there are. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
Which is the correct way to write the garden belonging to my grandparents?
"my grandparents' garden" is correct. The owner is plural and already ends in s — "grandparents" — so the apostrophe goes **after** that s and nothing more is added. Putting it before the s would mean one grandparent. The apostrophe's position is doing real work here: it is the only thing telling the reader how many owners there are. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
The answer is C. "my grandparents' garden" is correct. The owner is plural and already ends in s — "grandparents" — so the apostrophe goes **after** that s and nothing more is added. Putting it before the s would mean one grandparent. The apostrophe's position is doing real work here: it is the only thing telling the reader how many owners there are. Leaving the apostrophe out altogether turns it into a plain plural, which is the commonest error of the four. If the owner already ends in s because it is plural, the apostrophe goes after it and no second s is added.
"We couldn't find the footpath." is the correct version. The apostrophe stands where the "o" of "not" has been removed. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. An apostrophe never makes a plural, not even for numbers or abbreviations.
The answer is A. "We couldn't find the footpath." is the correct version. The apostrophe stands where the "o" of "not" has been removed. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. An apostrophe never makes a plural, not even for numbers or abbreviations.
"The badger left its sett at dusk." is the correct version. "Its" is possessive, and possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Read the contraction out in full. "It is dark" works, so "it's dark" is right.
The answer is D. "The badger left its sett at dusk." is the correct version. "Its" is possessive, and possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. An apostrophe only ever does one of two jobs: it marks a missing letter, or it shows that something belongs to someone. If it is doing neither, it should not be there. Read the contraction out in full. "It is dark" works, so "it's dark" is right.
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