Identify plurals, singular possessives, and plural possessives

Key Notes:

Plurals

  • Definition: Plurals refer to more than one person, animal, thing, or concept.
  • Regular Plurals: Add -s to most singular nouns (e.g., cat → cats, book → books).
  • Irregular Plurals: Some nouns change form entirely or have different rules (e.g., child → children, mouse → mice).
  • Spelling Rules: For nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, add -es (e.g., bus → buses, dish → dishes).

Singular Possessives

  • Definition: Singular possessives show that something belongs to one person, animal, thing, or concept.
  • Forming Singular Possessives: Add -’s to the end of the singular noun (e.g., the dog’s bone, Maria’s book).
  • Usage: Used to indicate ownership or relationship (e.g., the teacher’s desk, the cat’s toy).

Plural Possessives

  • Definition: Plural possessives show that something belongs to more than one person, animal, thing, or concept.
  • Forming Plural Possessives:
    • For nouns that are regular plurals (ending in -s), add only an apostrophe (e.g., the dogs’ park, the students’ projects).
    • For irregular plural nouns (not ending in -s), add -’s (e.g., the children’s toys, the men’s hats).
  • Usage: Indicates ownership by more than one (e.g., the teachers’ lounge, the families’ houses).

Examples:

  • Plural: apples, houses, buses
  • Singular Possessive: the teacher’s book, Tom’s hat
  • Plural Possessive: the dogs’ leashes, the kids’ games

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