Success TutoringWorksheets

Apostrophes: Plurals, Owners and Common Mistakes — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 5 punctuation worksheet.

Download answers PDFPrint answersBack to worksheet

Year 5 · English · Punctuation

Apostrophes: Plurals, Owners and Common Mistakes — Answers

Success Tutoring

Part A — Which is correct?

Read the clue in brackets, then circle the correct form.

1.The playground was new. (more than one child)
  1. Achildrens'
  2. Bchildren's
  3. Cchildrens
  4. Dchildren

Answer: children's

'Children' is an irregular plural that does not end in s, so add 's.

2.Both bikes were red. (two girls)
  1. Agirl's
  2. Bgirls
  3. Cgirls'
  4. Dgirls's

Answer: girls'

Plural owner ending in s: put the apostrophe after the s.

3.The roof leaked. (one house)
  1. Ahouses
  2. Bhouse's
  3. Chouses'
  4. Dhouse

Answer: house's

One owner: add 's.

4.I bought three at the market. (no owner)
  1. Amango's
  2. Bmangoes
  3. Cmangoes'
  4. Dmangos'

Answer: mangoes

This is just a plural. Nothing is owned, so no apostrophe.

5.The uniforms were muddy. (many players)
  1. Aplayers'
  2. Bplayer's
  3. Cplayers
  4. Dplayers's

Answer: players'

Plural owner ending in s: apostrophe after the s.

6. raining again.
  1. AIts
  2. BIt's
  3. CIts'
  4. DIts's

Answer: It's

'It's' = it is.

Part B — Find and fix

Each sentence has an apostrophe error. Rewrite it correctly.

7.The two cat's chased the mice around the shed.

Answer: The two cats chased the mice around the shed.

  1. 'Cats' is just a plural here. Nothing belongs to the cats, so no apostrophe.
8.My sisters' phone is broken. (one sister)

Answer: My sister's phone is broken.

  1. One owner, so the apostrophe goes before the s.
9.The womens' change rooms are upstairs.

Answer: The women's change rooms are upstairs.

  1. 'Women' is already plural and does not end in s, so add 's.
10.Were going to the Smiths house tonight. (the whole Smith family)

Answer: We're going to the Smiths' house tonight.

  1. 'We're' = we are.
  2. The house belongs to all the Smiths (plural owner), so Smiths'.
11.The dog chased it's tail.

Answer: The dog chased its tail.

  1. 'Its' shows belonging and never takes an apostrophe.

Part C — True or false?

Circle True or False.

12.Plural nouns that do not own anything never need an apostrophe.

Answer: True

13.'Its' is the possessive form of 'it'.

Answer: True

14.For plural owners ending in s, the apostrophe goes after the s.

Answer: True

15.'Who's' means the same as 'whose'.

Answer: False

'Who's' = who is. 'Whose' asks who owns something.

Part D — Your turn

16.Write a short paragraph (4–5 sentences) about a busy day at a school. Include: one plural with no apostrophe, one singular owner, one plural owner, and one correct use of its or it's. Underline each example.

Model answer: The students poured through the gates at 8:30. Mr Okafor's class lined up first. The teachers' meeting had run late, so the bell rang after everyone was seated. The school hall had its roof repaired last week, and it's finally dry inside.

Success criteria:

  • Four to five complete sentences
  • A plural noun with no apostrophe
  • A singular owner with 's
  • A plural owner with s'
  • A correct 'its' or 'it's'
  • Examples underlined
worksheets.successtutoring.com · Free to print and share for personal and classroom use

Marking tips

  • Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
  • For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
  • Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.

Great work. Here's what to try next: