Year 5 · SPaG · Apostrophes and speech
Year 5 plural and possessive apostrophes worksheet and PowerPoint
To use an apostrophe to show possession with singular and plural nouns, and not to use one for a simple plural.
Apostrophes for possession
An apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone. It does not make a word plural. For one owner, add ’s. For a plural that ends in s, add just the apostrophe: ’.
| one owner | the girl’s coat (one girl) |
|---|---|
| many owners, plural ends in s | the girls’ coats (more than one girl) |
| plural not ending in s | the children’s coats, the men’s hats |
| just a plural | two coats, three girls (no apostrophe) |
Examples
- The dog’s bone was buried. / The dogs’ bones were buried.
- We saw three dogs in the park.
Key words
- apostrophe
- a mark ’ that shows belonging or missing letters
- possession
- when something belongs to someone
- singular
- just one
- plural
- more than one
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write ten sentences about things that belong to the children in your class. Use the girl’s / girls’ and the boy’s / boys’ forms correctly.
Pupil target: I can put the apostrophe in the right place to show belonging.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the plural and possessive apostrophes PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 42 of 43 in the Year 5 SPaG scheme, in the block “Apostrophes and speech”.
Other lessons in this block
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