HSPT: Possessives: spell the owner first, then add the apostrophe
Learn to write possessives for one owner, for several owners and for irregular plurals, and to keep its and it’s straight.
Where does the apostrophe go when something belongs to one person, to several people, or to it?
Short answer
Write the owner word correctly first, singular or plural, then add the mark: ’s if the owner word doesn't end in s, and only ’ if it is a plural ending in s. Its with no apostrophe shows ownership; it’s means it is or it has.
Know first: Singular and plural nouns, Irregular plurals such as men and mice
Step 1 of 6
The apostrophe attaches to the owner
A possessive shows that something belongs to someone: the dog’s leash. The apostrophe always goes on the owner word, never on the thing owned.
Most mistakes happen when students add the apostrophe before deciding how many owners there are. So work in two moves. First write the owner word exactly as you would with no ownership at all: one dog, three dogs, two men. Then add the mark.
| Owner word | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One owner: dog | Add ’s | the dog’s leash |
| One owner ending in s: class | Add ’s | the class’s project |
| Plural ending in s: dogs | Add ’ only | the dogs’ leashes |
| Plural not ending in s: men, women, mice | Add ’s | the women’s team, the mice’s cage |
The owner word is spelled the same with or without ownership. Only the mark is added.
Step 2 of 6
Its and it’s follow their own rule
Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe: his, hers, ours, yours, theirs and its. So its means belonging to it.
It’s is a contraction for it is or it has. To check, read the sentence with it is or it has. If the sentence still makes sense, use it’s. If it doesn't, use its.
Wrong: The kitten chased it’s tail.
Right: The kitten chased its tail.
The kitten chased it is tail makes no sense. The tail belongs to the kitten, so the possessive its, with no apostrophe, is correct.
Step 3 of 6
Count the owners, then place the mark
Worked example: Lockers belonging to several girls
Choose the phrase meaning the lockers belonging to several girls.
- Athe girl’s lockers
- Bthe girls’ lockers
- Cthe girls lockers
- Dthe girls’s lockers
- 1
Count the owners
Several girls, so the owner word is the plural girls.
- 2
Add the mark
Girls is a plural ending in s, so add only an apostrophe: girls’.
- 3
Explain the wrong choices
The girl’s lockers means one girl owns them. The girls lockers is just a plural with no ownership. The girls’s lockers adds an extra s to a plural that already ends in s.
Answer
B. the girls’ lockers
Find the wrong step
A student writes the phrase meaning the hats belonging to several men.
- 1
Decides there are several owners.
- 2
Adds an s to make the plural, mens, then an apostrophe after it: the mens’ hats.
What went wrong
Men is already plural. Mens isn't a word, so the owner word is wrong before the apostrophe even goes on.
- 3
Checks that the apostrophe sits on the owner word, not on hats.
The fix
Start from the real plural, men, which doesn't end in s, and add ’s: the men’s hats.
Step 4 of 6
Place the apostrophes yourself
Check yourself · Question 1
Which sentence uses an apostrophe correctly?
Answer: C
The basket belongs to the owner, so owner’s needs ’s. The puppies don't own anything in this sentence, so puppies is a plain plural.
Check yourself · Question 2
Choose the phrase meaning the uniforms belonging to several women.
Answer: B
The plural of woman is women, which doesn't end in s, so add ’s.
Trap answer: the womens’ uniforms
Plural rule applied to an irregular plural
- Why it looks right
- Several owners usually means an apostrophe after the s, so this choice follows a familiar habit.
- Why it's wrong
- The apostrophe-only rule is for plurals that already end in s. Women doesn't, so adding an s first creates a word that doesn't exist.
- The right answer
- the women’s uniforms, built from the real plural women plus ’s.
Check yourself · Question 3
Which words correctly complete the sentence? ___ been raining all day, and the garden has lost ___ last flowers.
Answer: A
The first blank means it has been raining, so it takes it’s. The flowers belong to the garden, so the second blank takes the possessive its.
Common mistake
When a word ends in s, I put the apostrophe after the s.
- Why it's tempting
- It works for dogs’ and girls’, so it feels like a rule about the letter s.
- Do this instead
- The rule is about plurals. A singular owner ending in s still takes ’s, as in the class’s project, and an irregular plural takes ’s, as in the men’s hats. Decide singular or plural first.
Step 5 of 6
What to remember
Remember
- Spell the owner word first, exactly as it would be with no ownership, then add the mark.
- Add ’s to any owner word that doesn't end in s, and only ’ to a plural that ends in s.
- Its shows ownership with no apostrophe; it’s always means it is or it has.
Step 6 of 6
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, how many owners were there, and how did that decide where the apostrophe went?