Use Apostrophes for Possession with Tricky Plural Words

One of the uses of the apostrophe is to show possession, which means who something belongs to.

 

For example:

the girl's ball = the ball belonging to the girl

 

If the ball belongs to more than one girl, we make the world into a plural by adding s, then place the apostrophe at the end of the word.

the girls' ball = the ball belonging to the girls

 

The word girl is a singular noun, but the word girls is a plural noun (plural means 'more than one').

 

Most plural nouns in English end in 's' so the apostrophe comes after the 's'.

 

Sometimes, a plural word might have an -es or -ies ending.

 

For example:

babies

parties

potatoes

wolves

 

 

When something 'belongs' to one of these words, we put the apostrophe at the end of the word, just as with boys' and girls'.

 

For example:

The wolf's prey = the prey of one wolf

The wolves' prey = the prey of several wolves

 

Let's practise using apostrophes to show possession with plural nouns.