Starter quiz
- Which punctuation mark is an apostrophe?
- !
- ,
- " "
- ' ✓
-
- What is a contraction in English?
- two words pushed together ✓
- two words split up
- a pair of adjectives
- a list of nouns
-
- Where would you see an apostrophe in a word?
- low down between the last two letters
- above the last letter in the word
- at the start of a word
- at the same height as the ascender of a letter ✓
-
- True or false? Using contractions makes writing more formal.
- 'false' ✓
- What does it mean if you possess something?
- you like it
- you own it ✓
- you don't know it
- it belongs to you ✓
-
- In the following sentence, what belongs to Jun? 'Jun's football that he kicked on the pitch was red and white.'
- pitch
- leg
- football ✓
-
Exit quiz
- Fill in the blank: If you possess something, you __________ it.
- like
- dislike
- do not own
- own ✓
-
- What belongs to Aisha in the following sentence? 'The class played with Aisha's stickers at playtime.'
- class
- stickers ✓
- playtime
-
- What belongs to Lucas in the following sentence? 'Lucas' pencil case went missing yesterday and Mr Clarke has helped him search the classroom.'
- pencil case ✓
- Mr Clarke
- classroom
-
- Why is there no s after the apostrophe in the following sentence? 'Ms Jones' dress was blue with white dots.'
- Nothing belongs to Ms Jones.
- The word 'dress' ends in the letter s.
- The name 'Ms Jones' ends in the letter s. ✓
-
- Is the apostrophe signalling contraction or possession in the following sentence? 'We won't have time for a film today.'
- 'contraction' ✓
- Is the apostrophe signalling contraction or possession in the following sentence? 'Izzy's sister is coming to school today.'
- 'possession' ✓
Worksheet
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Presentation
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- An apostrophe is an important piece of punctuation with more than one purpose.
- An apostrophe can contract two words together.
- An apostrophe can show if a noun belongs to another singular noun.
- Apostrophes for contraction and singular possession are useful in writing for different reasons.
- Apostrophes are most deeply understood when word class is understood.
Common misconception
All words that end in -s need an apostrophe before the -s.
An apostrophe before the 's' is only used for indicating possession in singular nouns, not for all words ending in 's'.
Keywords
Apostrophe for contraction - a punctuation mark used to contract two words together
Apostrophe for possession - a punctuation mark that can be used to show if a noun belongs to another singular noun
Singular - only one
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