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Hong KongApostrophes and possessives
Apostrophes do two jobs and no others: they mark possession on nouns and they mark missing letters in contractions. Pronouns never take one for possession, which is why its, theirs, hers and yours have no apostrophe. Plurals never take one either.
Two jobs. Every apostrophe error on this subtest is an apostrophe doing a third thing it was never for.
The three-step test
- Can you expand it into two words? Then it is a contraction and takes an apostrophe where the letters went.
- Does something belong to it? Then it is possessive. Add an apostrophe, and add an s if the word does not already end in one.
- Is it just more than one of something? Then no apostrophe. Ever.
Step three is where most real-world errors live, and it is the easiest to check. If the word is a plain plural, there is nothing to add.
Singular, plural, possessive
| Meaning | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One teacher | teacher | The teacher arrived |
| More than one teacher | teachers | The teachers arrived |
| Belonging to one teacher | teacher's | The teacher's desk |
| Belonging to several teachers | teachers' | The teachers' lounge |
| Belonging to an irregular plural | children's | The children's books |
Row five is the one that catches people. Children is already plural without an s, so it takes an apostrophe plus s like a singular. Same for men, women and people.
Pronouns take no apostrophe
Its, hers, his, ours, yours, theirs, whose. All possessive, none with an apostrophe. Every apostrophe on a pronoun is a contraction.
- it's means it is or it has
- who's means who is or who has
- they're means they are
- you're means you are
The expansion test is instant and it never fails. Read the sentence with the two words spelled out. If it makes sense, the apostrophe belongs; if it does not, take the apostrophe away.
Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?
- The school's policy is clear: its' students must submit their own work.
- The schools policy is clear: it's students must submit their own work.
- The school's policy is clear: its students must submit their own work.
- The schools' policy is clear: its' students must submit their own work.
Words ending in s
A singular noun already ending in s can take either an apostrophe plus s or a bare apostrophe. The class's schedule and the class' schedule are both defensible, and style guides disagree with each other.
On a multiple-choice item that is a problem, so the exam is unlikely to hinge on it. If both forms appear as options, the question is probably about something else in the sentence. Look elsewhere before you agonize over that apostrophe.
Joint versus separate possession
"Ruiz and Adler's classroom" is one room they share. "Ruiz's and Adler's classrooms" are two rooms. One apostrophe means joint ownership; two mean separate. It is a small point and it is exactly the kind of thing a conventions item can turn on.
Proportion, honestly
Apostrophes sit inside skill 11, which is one of twelve conventions skills, inside a competency we estimate at about 19 of the 30 questions. That is our arithmetic and not FLDOE's. Realistically you might see one apostrophe item, and it will most likely be its against it's.
Which is not a reason to skip it. One item on a subtest where about 19 correct answers passes is worth twenty minutes, and twenty minutes is all this takes.
Common questions
Why does its have no apostrophe?
Because possessive pronouns never take one. His, hers, ours, yours, theirs and whose all follow the same pattern. The apostrophe in it’s marks the missing letter in it is or it has, which is a contraction rather than a possession.
Where does the apostrophe go for a plural possessive?
After the s that is already there: the teachers’ lounge belongs to several teachers. Irregular plurals that do not end in s take an apostrophe plus s instead, so it is the children’s books and the women’s team.
Do plurals ever take an apostrophe?
No. A plain plural never needs one, and adding one is the most common apostrophe error in everyday writing. If nothing belongs to the word and nothing has been contracted, the word takes no apostrophe at all.
How do I punctuate a singular noun ending in s?
Either the class’s schedule or the class’ schedule is defensible, and style guides disagree. Because a multiple-choice item needs one answer, the exam is unlikely to hinge on it, so look elsewhere in the sentence for the real error.