Reading & WritingStandard English ConventionsHigh frequency
SAT Reading & Writing: Apostrophes and Possessives vs. Contractions
35+ practice questions in Praczo
What you need to know
The concept, explained
- 1
Possessive nouns use apostrophes: the dog's bowl (singular), the dogs' bowls (plural).
- 2
For singular nouns ending in s, add 's: James's car (acceptable) or James' car.
- 3
For plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe: the students' grades.
- 4
Pronouns NEVER use apostrophes for possession: its, theirs, yours, ours, hers, his. It's = it is; they're = they are; your = possessive, you're = you are.
- 5
The SAT frequently tests its/it's, their/there/they're, and your/you're.
Common mistakes
- ✗ Writing 'it's' when you mean 'belonging to it' — the possessive pronoun is 'its' with no apostrophe.
- ✗ Adding an apostrophe to plural nouns that are not possessive: 'three student's' should be 'three students.'
Try a sample question
SAT-style practice
Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?
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