The top 3 apostrophes rules that your child needs to know for Key Stage 2!

Apostrophes rules is a punctuation topic that your child really needs to master in Key Stage 2. There are various apostrophes rules which means it’s easy for students to become confused! Apostrophes are a small punctuation mark which can make a BIG impact on students. Especially when trying to decide where to place apostrophes in certain words and when to use them! In this blog post, I am going to take you through all the ways in which we can use apostrophes, how they may appear in the SEAG transfer test and how you can help your child learn the different ways to use apostrophe rules KS2.

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To help your child practice the different apostrophes rules, grab a copy of my new SEAG transfer test revision textbook!

What are apostrophes used for?

When I am teaching my students about apostrophes, they sometimes get jumbled up between commas and apostrophes. If this happens I always tell them, the apostrophe is the one up high and the commas is the one down low! (This usually helps them to remember which is which!) There are a few ways we can use apostrophes. The first is to show ownership of possession. This can be singular or plural. Apostrophes can also be used with contractions and when letters are omitted or left out.

Why does your child need to learn the different apostrophes rules? There are many different ways to use apostrophes but the main one is to show ownership or possession. This can be singular or plural. They can also be used for contractions or when letters are omitted.

Apostrophes Rules Possession or Ownership

The first way to use apostrophes is to show possession or ownership. This can be used to show that a person, place or thing owns something. For an apostrophe to be used to show ownership or possession the word needs to end with an ‘s’. For example, Monica’s family. This is Monica’s family, they are hers, which is why we need the apostrophe to show ownership or possession.

The main apostrophes rules is to show ownership or possession. This is when a person, place or thing owns something.

Apostrophes Singular

The first apostrophes rules is using apostrophes to show singular ownership is when one person, place or thing owns something. If the word ends with an apostrophe followed by an ‘s,’ this is when the word is singular. For example, David’s car. The car belongs to only David, which is why we used an apostrophe followed by an ‘s.’

The apostrophes rules for singular possession is when we are talking about one person place or thing owning something. For example, David's car. Only David owns the car, no-one else. So the apostrophe goes before the s.

Apostrophe Rules Plural

Next we have the possessive apostrophe rules after s. Plural apostrophes are used when more than one person, place or thing owns something. To show plural ownership, the apostrophe will be placed after the ‘s’ rather than before. For example, the students’ teacher gave out extra homework this week. This shows that there is more than one student in the class.

The apostrophes rules for plural possession is when more than one person, place or thing owns something. With plural possession the apostrophe goes after the s. For example, the students' teacher. The teacher belongs to more than one student so the apostrophe goes after the s.

Singular vs Plural Example

Let’s take a look at an example of singular and plural apostrophes side by side so you can see the difference. If we have, ‘The girl’s t-shirt was purple.’ This tells us that one girl is wearing a purple t-shirt, it’s hers, it belongs to her. Compared to, ‘The girls’ t-shirts were purple.’ This tells us that more than one girl is wearing a purple t-shirt.

With the apostrophes rules for singular and plural I can show you an example. The girl's t-shirt was purple. With one girl, singular, the apostrophe goes before the s. With more than one girl, plural, the apostrophe goes after the s.

Apostrophes Contractions

The next apostrophe rules English and the example of using apostrophes that your child may be most familiar with is using apostrophes with words that are contractions. Contractions are two words that are shortened and joined together with an apostrophe. For example, the words ‘that’ and ‘is’ in the contracted form is ‘it’s.’ The letter ‘i’ is left out and replaced with an apostrophe. Other examples of contractions are ‘they’ and ‘are’ becomes ‘they’re.’ The letters ‘a’ and ‘r’ are left out. ‘Can’ and ‘not’ become ‘can’t.’ The letters ‘n’ and ‘o’ are left out or omitted.

The next apostrophes rules is for contractions. This is when two words are shortened to make one word. For example, it and is in the contracted form become it's with an apostrophe.

Apostrophes Rules in the SEAG transfer test

There are a few ways that apostrophes can pop up in the SEAG transfer test. The most likely place that your child’s apostrophe knowledge will be tested is in the punctuation errors section of the test. However, a few apostrophe questions can appear in the comprehension section as well.

There are a few ways that your child's knowledge of the apostrophes rules can be asked in the SEAG transfer test. That includes in the punctuation errors section and in the comprehension section of the test.

Apostrophes in the punctuation section

In the punctuation section of the SEAG transfer test, students are asked to identify if punctuation and capital letters are missing from a piece of text or if the incorrect punctuation has been used. To confidently be able to complete this section of the tests, students need to be confident with all of the different punctuation marks and that includes apostrophe rules grammar!

In the punctuation section, apostrophes will either be missing or in the wrong place. These can be used or missing from singular and plural possession, missing from contractions or in the wrong place when letters are omitted. The key to being successful with this section of the test is to keep revising the different punctuation marks and also practising SEAG style activities. Click here to get my revision book!

If you would like a complete tutorial on the punctuation section of the test and how you can help your child prepare for this section of the test, click here!

In the punctuation errors section of the transfer test, your child can be tested on their apostrophes rules knowledge in a few ways. Apostrophes can be missing or in the wrong place, incorrect use of apostrophes for singular and possession, missing from contractions or missing or incorrect use when letters are omitted.

Apostrophes in the comprehension section

Although this type of question is not as popular, it could still crop up. Some examples of apostrophe questions in the comprehension section would be, ‘There is a contraction used in lines 3 – 5. What is the full version of the contraction? Another example could be, ‘The phrase, ‘The boys’ football team won the trophy,’ does the apostrophe show that the noun boys is singular or plural?’ Like I said, apostrophe questions in the comprehension section of the transfer test are less likely, but you never know!

It is a bit more unusual to be asked the apostrophes rules in the comprehension section of the test but you never know! An example of an apostrophe question in the comprehension could be, Look at lines 3-5 and find the contracted word.

How to teach your child apostrophes rules

Now that we have talked about the different ways to use apostrophes and how they can appear in the transfer test, let’s talk about how you can complete apostrophe rules practice activities with your child, especially if they find them difficult!

Let's talk about the different ways you can teach your child the apostrophes rules.

Apostrophe Memory Games

I absolutely love memory games and so do my students! I literally use them for everything especially if my students are finding a particular topic. Memory games are also great for teaching your child apostrophe rules examples! You can use them with singular and plural apostrophes and also contractions, matching the contracted version of the word to the expanded version. You can make your own versions of the memory games or find some printable versions online.

Memory games are a great way to teach your child the different apostrophes rules. You can make your own or get some free printable versions online.

Online Games

Online games are a fun way to help your child learn all about apostrophe rules s. There are free versions of apostrophe games online. Apostrophe Quiz can be used to test your child’s knowledge of using apostrophes. This Apostrophes for Contraction game is great for your child to practise apostrophes for contractions. When your child is playing games, they don’t realise they are learning and they can learn at their own pace while having fun!

Posters or Note Cards

Getting creative is great fun and also a fab learning activity! Another sneaky one where your child won’t realise they are learning. Head down to Home Bargains or B&M and grab some cards, coloured markers, glitter, paints whatever you can think of and get your child to make some apostrophe rules poster or note cards. On these posters or note cards, they can jot down the different ways we can use apostrophes and give some apostrophe rules examples.

Another way to teach your child the apostrophes rules is get them to create their own posters or revision cards.

Apostrophe Rules Worksheet

Once your child has a sound understanding of the different ways to use apostrophes, they can further solidify their apostrophe learning by using worksheets. If your child is sitting the transfer test, you can use worksheets which mirror the punctuation errors section of the tests. If your child needs to revise certain aspects of apostrophes, such as contractions, you can use worksheets specific for this area.

To solidify the knowledge of the different apostrophe rules, get your child to complete some apostrophe worksheets.

More information on apostrophes rules

Apostrophe Activities and Resources Your Students Will Love!

How to Teach Apostrophes

New & Fun Ways to Teach Contractions

SEAG Tests : How to prepare for the spelling, grammar and punctuation sections

So there you have it! That’s all the ways that your child can come across apostrophes in Key Stage 2 and in their transfer test preparation. The use of apostrophes for plural words can be tricky for students to get their heads around. But keep going, keep practising and take it at your child’s own pace. Repetition and revision of the different apostrophe rules is key! Good luck on your child’s apostrophes rules journey!