Plural Verses Possessive

Possessive Apostrophe for Plural nouns

by Ms. Melius

​PLURAL NOUNS: POSSESSION

​Most plural nouns are made possessive by adding only an apostrophe onto the word. In other words, if the plural form of the noun ends in 's', then the plural possessive form will only use an apostrophe.

​RULES/STEPS IN MAKING A PLURAL NOUN POSSESSIVE

​SOME STEPS:

• 1. Make the noun plural as  needed

• 2. Add an apostrophe after the word

• 3. Add an “s” after the word if needed

​EXAMPLES

​1.) The boys hats fell on the ground.

​ - The boys' hats fell on the ground.

​

​NB:The plural of boy is boys, since boys end in S we only add the apostrophe at the end of the word to make that plural noun possessive.

​

​2.) The balloons' colors are very beautiful.

​ balloon= balloons (plural) = balloons' (possessive)

​

​3.) The houses' car parks are very spacious.

​ house = houses (plural) = houses' (possesssive)

​NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES OF PLURAL POSSESSIVE NOUNS

​EXAMPLES OF REGULAR PLURAL NOUNS

Table - Tables

Girl - Girls

Book - Books,

​Bag - Bags

Dog - Dogs

​Laptop - Laptops

Cup - Cups

​Shoe - Shoes

​Fan - Fans

​Bed - Beds

​Song - Songs

​Page - Pages

​EXAMPLES OF REGULAR PLURALS WHERE YOU DROP THE 'Y' and add 'IES'

​baby - babies - babies'

​lady - ladies - ladies'

​berry - berries - berries'

​spy - spies - spies'

​city - cities - cities'

​bunny - bunnies - bunnies'

​bully - bullies - bullies'

​puppy - puppies - puppies'

​

​

​IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS: POSSESSION

​Before adding the apostrophe ( ' ) or apostrophe S ( 's ) to a word you must ensure that the word is an actual word.

​

​For example; the possessive plural noun for the word women would be women's and not womens'.

​The women's purses are very pretty. (CORRECT)

​The womens' purses are very pretty. (INCORRECT)

​

​- Womens is not a word, the plural of woman is women. You add 's to the plural of the word if it is irregular when plural.

​RULES/STEPS IN MAKING A PLURAL NOUN POSSESSIVE

​SOME STEPS:

• 1. Make the noun plural as  needed

• 2. Add an apostrophe after the word

• 3. Add an “s” after the word if needed

​EXAMPLES OF IRREGURAL PLURAL POSSESSIVE NOUNS

​Leaf - Leaves - Leaves'

​Loaf - Loaves - Loaves'

​Man - Men - Men's

​Woman - Women - Women's

​Person - People - People's

​Foot - Feet - Feet's

Mouse - Mice - Mice's

​Tooth - Teeth - Teeth's

​Child - Children - Children's

Multiple Choice

When are apostrophes used?

• In contractions and homophones

• In contractions and to show possession

• In homophones and conjunctions

• In independent clauses and homophones

Multiple Choice

The ___ day seems never ending. (farmer)

• farmers

• farmers's

• farmer's

• farmers'

Multiple Choice

Change the phrase into a possessive noun.

the toys belonging to the boys

• the boys' toys

• the boy's toys

Multiple Choice

Singular or plural?

artists'

• singular possessive

• plural possessive

Multiple Choice

Singular or plural?

children's

• singular possessive

• plural possessive

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows a plural possessive?

• The children's books are being shipped today.

• The children are sitting quietly.

• The child's toy is missing.