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Apostrophes for Possession: the dog's bone — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 4 punctuation worksheet.

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Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 4 · English · Punctuation

Apostrophes for Possession: the dog's bone — Answers

Part A: One owner

When one person or animal owns something, add an apostrophe and s to the owner: the girl's bag.

1.the bone that belongs to the dog → the (answer space) bone

Answer: dog's

One dog owns the bone: add apostrophe s.

2.the hat that belongs to Ben → (answer space) hat

Answer: Ben's

One person owns the hat: add apostrophe s.

3.the tail of the cat → the (answer space) tail

Answer: cat's

One cat owns the tail: add apostrophe s.

4.the book that belongs to my teacher → my (answer space) book

Answer: teacher's

One teacher owns the book: add apostrophe s.

5.the nest of the bird → the (answer space) nest

Answer: bird's

One bird owns the nest: add apostrophe s.

6.the toys that belong to the baby → the (answer space) toys

Answer: baby's

One baby owns the toys: add apostrophe s.

Part B: One owner or more?

When more than one owner already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. Circle the right word.

7.The bikes that belong to the two girls are the (answer space) bikes.
  1. Agirl's
  2. Bgirls'

Answer: girls'

There are two girls, and girls already ends in s, so the apostrophe goes after the s: girls'.

8.The ball that belongs to one boy is the (answer space) ball.
  1. Aboy's
  2. Bboys'

Answer: boy's

There is one boy, so add apostrophe s: boy's.

9.The food that belongs to all the dogs is the (answer space) food.
  1. Adog's
  2. Bdogs'

Answer: dogs'

There are many dogs, so the apostrophe goes after the s: dogs'.

10.The car that belongs to my uncle is my (answer space) car.
  1. Auncle's
  2. Buncles'

Answer: uncle's

There is one uncle, so add apostrophe s: uncle's.

Part C: Belonging or more than one?

Not every word ending in s needs an apostrophe. Plurals (more than one) do not. Only owners do.

11.Which word needs an apostrophe? The cats tails were long and fluffy.
  1. Acats
  2. Btails

Answer: cats

The tails belong to the cats, so cats needs an apostrophe: the cats' tails. Tails is just a plural.

12.Which word needs an apostrophe? Mias pencils are in her bag.
  1. AMias
  2. Bpencils

Answer: Mias

The pencils belong to Mia: Mia's pencils. Pencils is just a plural.

13.Write this sentence correctly: The farmers horse ate three apples. (one farmer)

Answer: The farmer's horse ate three apples.

  1. One farmer owns the horse: farmer's. Apples is a plural, so it has no apostrophe.

Part D: True or false?

14.We write the dog's bone when one dog owns the bone.

Answer: True

One owner: apostrophe s.

15.Every word that ends in s needs an apostrophe.

Answer: False

Plurals such as apples and cats do not need an apostrophe unless they own something.

16.The boys' bikes means the bikes belong to more than one boy.

Answer: True

The apostrophe after the s shows more than one owner.

Part E: Your turn

17.Your turn: write three sentences about things that belong to people or animals you know. Use one owner in two sentences and more than one owner in the third.

Model answer: My brother's shoes are muddy. Our cat's bowl is empty. The twins' room is full of books.

Success criteria:

  • Three complete sentences
  • Two sentences use apostrophe s for one owner
  • One sentence puts the apostrophe after s for more than one owner
  • No apostrophes in plain plurals
  • Capital letters and end marks
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