Possessive Apostrophes

Flowchart nodes

• Does anything in the sentence belong to them?

• Yes

• No

• There is no apostrophe needed before the S at the end of the word unless it is a shortening of is or has e.g. She's = She has/She is

• Does the word already show possession?

• Yes

• No

• No apostrophe needed E.g.his/hers/its/mine/my

• How many are there? 

• One (Singular)

• More than one (Plural)

• Add 's E.g. Harold's hairdryer

• Does the plural end in S?

• No

• Add 's E.g. Mice's squeaks

• Yes

• Add the apostrophe after the S E.g. The footballers' shirts