Using Apostrophes Correctly in 11+ English

Why Apostrophes Trip Up So Many Students

Apostrophes look tiny, but they cause more confusion than almost any other punctuation mark. Year after year, 11+ examiners report that apostrophe errors are among the most frequent mistakes they see. The good news? Apostrophes only do two jobs, and once you've nailed those two jobs, you won't get them wrong again.

The trouble is that many students scatter apostrophes wherever a word ends in s, or leave them out altogether because they're not sure of the rules. Neither approach impresses an examiner. What they want to see is purposeful, accurate punctuation that shows you understand how English works.

In this guide, you'll learn both apostrophe rules, see plenty of correct and incorrect examples, and finish with a spot-the-error exercise you can use to test yourself. By the end, apostrophes should feel straightforward rather than scary.

The Two Jobs an Apostrophe Does

Before we look at examples, here's the most important thing to remember:

That's it. Two jobs. Every apostrophe question you'll ever face in the 11+ comes down to one of those two uses. Let's look at each in detail.

Possession: Showing Who Owns What

When something belongs to a person, animal, or thing, you add an apostrophe to show ownership.

Singular Possession

For a single owner, add 's after the owner's name:

• Correct: The girl's coat was soaked. (One girl owns the coat.)
• Correct: Mr Khan's classroom smelt of whiteboard markers.
• Correct: The dog's tail wagged furiously.

Plural Possession

When more than one person owns something, and the plural already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s:

• Correct: The boys' football rolled into the road. (Several boys share the football.)
• Correct: The teachers' staffroom needed new chairs.

If the plural doesn't end in s (children, women, people), treat it like a singular and add 's:

• Correct: The children's laughter echoed down the corridor.
• Correct: The women's changing room was locked.

Names Ending in S

This trips people up constantly. For names that already end in s, you can write either form:

• James's rucksack or James' rucksack
• Mrs Morris's desk or Mrs Morris' desk

Both are accepted. The version with the extra s is more common in modern British English. Whatever you choose, stay consistent throughout your piece.

Contractions: Squashing Two Words Together

A contraction shortens two words into one by removing letters and replacing them with an apostrophe. You use contractions all the time when speaking, and they're perfectly fine in creative writing too.

• do not becomes don't
• I have becomes I've
• she will becomes she'll
• could not becomes couldn't
• they are becomes they're

The apostrophe sits exactly where the missing letters used to be. In don't, for instance, the apostrophe replaces the o from not.

The Its vs It's Trap

This is the single most confusing apostrophe rule in English, and it catches out adults as often as children. Here's how it works:

• It's = it is or it has. Always a contraction. It's raining. It's been a long day.
• Its = belonging to it. No apostrophe. The cat licked its paws. The school changed its uniform.

Why no apostrophe for possession? Because its works like his, hers, and ours, none of which use apostrophes. Possessive pronouns are a special group that skip the apostrophe entirely.

The Swap Test

Whenever you write its or it's, try replacing it with it is:

• "The tree lost it's leaves." Try the swap: "The tree lost it is leaves." That sounds wrong, so it should be its (no apostrophe).
• "Its going to rain." Try the swap: "It is going to rain." That works, so it should be it's (with apostrophe).

Practise this swap test a few times and it'll become automatic. Examiners genuinely notice when a student gets its and it's right consistently.

Spot the Error Exercise

Each sentence below contains an apostrophe error. Read it carefully, decide what's wrong, then check the corrected version underneath.

1. Wrong: The cat chased it's tail around the garden.
   Correct: The cat chased its tail around the garden. (Possession, not contraction.)
2. Wrong: The boy's were late for assembly.
   Correct: The boys were late for assembly. (Plain plural, no possession.)
3. Wrong: Sarahs pencil case fell off the desk.
   Correct: Sarah's pencil case fell off the desk. (Sarah owns the pencil case.)
4. Wrong: The childrens' playground was flooded.
   Correct: The children's playground was flooded. (Children doesn't end in s, so add 's.)
5. Wrong: Its been snowing all morning.
   Correct: It's been snowing all morning. (Contraction of "it has".)
6. Wrong: The two dog's barked at the postman.
   Correct: The two dogs barked at the postman. (Plain plural, no possession.)
7. Wrong: Were going to the park after school.
   Correct: We're going to the park after school. (Contraction of "we are".)
8. Wrong: The teachers desk was covered in paper's.
   Correct: The teacher's desk was covered in papers. (Possession on teacher; plain plural on papers.)
9. Wrong: My parent's car is blue. (Meaning both parents share it.)
   Correct: My parents' car is blue. (Plural possessive.)
10. Wrong: He does'nt know the answer.
    Correct: He doesn't know the answer. (The apostrophe replaces the o in not.)

If you scored seven or more without peeking, your apostrophe skills are in great shape. If you found some tricky, go back to the rules above and try writing three sentences of your own for each mistake you made.

What Examiners Look For

In the 11+ exam, examiners aren't expecting perfection from a ten-year-old. But they do notice patterns. A student who uses apostrophes correctly throughout a piece signals confidence and careful proofreading. A student who sprinkles them randomly signals the opposite.

Here's what earns marks:

• Consistent accuracy with possessive apostrophes, especially in character descriptions and dialogue tags.
• Correct use of contractions in dialogue that sounds natural.
• No apostrophes in plain plurals. This single habit separates careful writers from careless ones.

Before you hand in your exam paper, scan your work specifically for apostrophes. Check each one against the two rules: is it showing possession or marking a contraction? If it's doing neither, cross it out.