Possessive or Plural? Worksheet for grammar practice.

Let’s go through each sentence one by one. We’re checking if the bolded noun is used correctly as either a possessive (showing ownership) or a plural (more than one).

Remember:
- Possessive nouns usually have an apostrophe + s (like *Aaron’s*, *book’s*) or just an apostrophe for plural possessives (like *children’s*).
- Plural nouns don’t need an apostrophe unless they’re showing possession.

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1. Aaron’s idea → Correct! “Aaron’s” shows the idea belongs to Aaron. ✔
2. The kids voices → Wrong! Should be “kids’” because it’s plural possessive — the voices belong to the kids. ✘
3. That book’s plot → Correct! The plot belongs to that one book. ✔
4. The turtle’s shell → Correct! One turtle owns the shell. ✔
5. Alyssas suggestion → Wrong! Needs apostrophe: “Alyssa’s” — the suggestion belongs to Alyssa. ✘
6. The box’s flaps → Correct! One box, and its flaps belong to it. ✔
7. The children’s are very energetic today. → Wait — this sentence doesn’t make sense. “Children’s” what? It’s missing a noun after it. But since we’re only judging the bolded part… “children’s” is grammatically correct as a possessive form. However, in context, it’s incomplete. But based on grammar rules alone, “children’s” is correctly formed. Let’s say ✔ — but note: the sentence itself is awkward.
*(Actually, looking again — maybe it’s meant to be “The children are...” without the apostrophe? If so, then “children’s” would be wrong here because it’s not possessing anything. Since there’s no noun after it, it should probably be just “children”. So likely ✘)*
→ Let’s go with ✘ because “children’s” implies possession, but nothing is being possessed here.
8. Did the cat’s yowling wake you? → Correct! The yowling belongs to the cat. ✔
9. This clients attitude → Wrong! Should be “client’s” — one client, and the attitude belongs to them. ✘
10. My teacher’s education → Correct! Education belongs to my teacher. ✔
11. The writers workshop → Wrong! Should be “writers’” — more than one writer, and the workshop belongs to them. Or if it’s one writer, “writer’s”. But “writers” without apostrophe is just plural, not possessive. Since it’s “workshop”, it needs to show possession → ✘
Actually, “writers workshop” could be interpreted as a compound noun (like “teachers lounge”), but strictly speaking, for possession, it should be “writers’” if multiple writers own it. Given the pattern of the worksheet, they want us to fix possessives. So ✘
12. That trucks tires → Wrong! Should be “truck’s” — one truck, and the tires belong to it. ✘
13. My applications’ for colleges → Wrong! “Applications” is plural, but it’s not possessing anything here. It should be “application’s” if singular possessive, but actually — “applications” is just plural, no possession needed. The phrase is “My applications for colleges” — no apostrophe needed at all. So “applications’” is incorrect. ✘
14. My desk’s top → Correct! The top belongs to my desk. ✔

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Now let’s list our answers clearly:

1. ✔
2. ✘
3. ✔
4. ✔
5. ✘
6. ✔
7. ✘ *(because “children’s” is possessive but nothing is possessed — should be “children”)*
8. ✔
9. ✘
10. ✔
11. ✘
12. ✘
13. ✘
14. ✔

Final Answer:
1. ✓
2. X
3. ✓
4. ✓
5. X
6. ✓
7. X
8. ✓
9. X
10. ✓
11. X
12. X
13. X
14. ✓