ACT Preparation / Unit 2 ACT 0118 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Possessive or Plural
The idea
An apostrophe question is answered in three steps. First, decide whether the word shows ownership, stands for missing letters, or is a plain plural. Second, if it shows ownership, decide whether the owner is one or more than one. Third, apply the form: one owner takes apostrophe s; several owners ending in s take the apostrophe after the s; a plural with no ownership takes no apostrophe at all; and a pronoun such as its or whose never takes one.
In practice
Worked example: "The team's from three schools shared a field, and each schools' coach praised it's surface." Teams here is a plain plural, so no apostrophe. Each school is one owner, so school's. And it's means it is, which does not fit, so its. Corrected: "The teams from three schools shared a field, and each school's coach praised its surface."
Where people slip
The last error was a pronoun. Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe, so an apostrophe on its, whose or yours is wrong every time the word shows ownership.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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