Questions: Apostrophe Usage: Contractions and Possession

Question 1

Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?

• A. The team celebrated it's victory with a parade.
• B. Its raining outside and the dog wants it's walk.
• C. It's raining outside and the dog wants its walk.
• D. The dog wagged it's tail and barked at it's owner.

Answer: (C)

Option C is correct: 'It's raining' uses the apostrophe correctly (it = it is, contraction with omission), and 'its walk' uses the possessive pronoun correctly without an apostrophe (no omission, no possession by a noun — it's a possessive pronoun built in). Options A, B, and D all use 'it's' where the possessive pronoun 'its' is needed. The classic test: read 'it's' as 'it is' aloud. 'The team celebrated it is victory' is nonsense, so the apostrophe is wrong.

Question 2

A student writes: 'The childrens' toys are scattered on the floor.' What is wrong with the apostrophe placement?

• A. 'Children' is an irregular plural that doesn't end in -s, so the possessive must be 'children's' (apostrophe before the s, not after)
• B. 'Children' doesn't need any apostrophe for possession — possessives never use apostrophes
• C. The apostrophe should go between the 'r' and 'e' in 'children'
• D. Nothing is wrong — 'childrens'' is the correct plural possessive form

Answer: (A)

The possessive rule works from the base form: 'children' is a plural noun that does NOT end in -s (it's an irregular plural). Nouns that don't end in -s get 's added, just like singular nouns. So the possessive is 'children's' (apostrophe before the s). The student wrote 'childrens'' as if 'children' already ended in -s — but it doesn't. 'Childrens'' would only be correct if 'childrens' were a real word, which it isn't.

Question 3

The word 'its' (without an apostrophe) can correctly be used to show possession, as in 'The cat licked its paw.'

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

'Its' without an apostrophe is the possessive pronoun, equivalent to 'his' or 'her.' Just as you write 'his book' and 'her car' without apostrophes, you write 'its handle' without an apostrophe. Possessive pronouns have possession built in — they never need an apostrophe. 'It's' (with apostrophe) always means 'it is' or 'it has.' The test: 'The cat licked it is paw' is nonsense, confirming that 'its' (no apostrophe) is correct.

Question 4

When a plural noun already ends in -s (such as 'dogs'), you form the possessive by adding 's, giving 'dogs's.'

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Plural nouns that already end in -s get only an apostrophe after the existing s — not an additional 's. The correct possessive of 'dogs' is 'dogs'' (the dogs' leashes). Adding 's after an existing -s ending produces an awkward double-s ('dogs's') that violates the rule. The pattern is: take the base form, check if it ends in -s. If yes, just add the apostrophe. If no (singular or irregular plural), add 's.

Question 5

What are the two jobs of the apostrophe in English, and why doesn't the possessive pronoun 'its' ever take an apostrophe?

Model answer: The two jobs of the apostrophe are: (1) marking where letters have been omitted in a contraction (e.g., 'don't' for 'do not,' 'it's' for 'it is'); and (2) marking possession in a noun (e.g., 'the dog's leash,' 'the children's toys'). The possessive pronoun 'its' never takes an apostrophe because it is not a noun — it is a pronoun that already has possession built in, the same way 'his,' 'hers,' and 'theirs' have possession built in without apostrophes. An apostrophe on 'its' would signal a contraction ('it is'), not possession.

Understanding that apostrophes have exactly two jobs — and that possessive pronouns are not nouns — resolves the it's/its confusion definitively. Possessive pronouns are a closed class that evolved to be possessive by design; they never need apostrophes. Only nouns require apostrophes for possession. The test for 'it's' vs. 'its' is always: can you replace it with 'it is' or 'it has'? If yes, use the apostrophe. If no, don't.