Key Strategies for Plural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns with Practice in SAT Grammar
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Digital SAT Plural and Possessive Nouns explains how to use the apostrophe in SAT questions. So9metimes named possessives to include the single and plural possessive nouns and possessive pronouns.
SAT Plural Possessive Noun & Pronoun Questions
1 A boa constrictor can give birth to dozens of live young, who first develop inside they’re mother’s body, protected from predators.
Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B their mothers body
- C there mother’s body
- D their mother’s body
How to answer: this is a simple possessive pronoun question where we use ‘their’ for ownership or possession. The body belongs to the mother so we also use mother’s where the apostrophe is before the s. So the answer is D.
2 After a catastrophic storm, charitable organizations will help repair both a resident home and a shop owner storefront.
Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B a residents home and a shop owners storefront
- C a resident’s home and a shop owners storefront
- D a resident’s home and a shop owner’s storefront
The resident and the shop owner possess the home and the storefront, so we need an apostrophe for both, so A, B, and C are all wrong, and D is the correct answer.
3 Professional tennis players must focus despite any number of distractions, for example, a sharp ray of light reflected off of a spectator’s watch’s face.
Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B spectator’s watches
- C spectators watch’s
- D spectators’ watch’s
The watch belongs to the spectator, so correct, and the face belongs to the watch, so both use of possessives (‘s) is correct. A is the answer.
4 Apple, a technology company known for creating innovative gadgets and software, launched myself into the streaming wars with Apple TV+.
Choose 1 answer:
- A No change
- B themselves
- C itself
- D himself
Apple is the subject so the pronoun will be itself – a simple pronoun question. C is the answer.
5 Mary Cassatts’ paintings were inspired by the Japanese color block style; The Child’s Bath is one example of Cassatt adopting this technique in her Impressionist work.
Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B Cassatt’s paintings
- C Cassatt’s paintings’
- D Cassatt paintings’
Although the name could end with s we still use the same rules of apostrophe then s for ownership of the paintings. The paintings have nothing to own or possess, so there is no apostrophe on the word paintings (C & D are wrong). So the apostrophe is before the s and therefore B is the correct answer.
6 Autobiography is a key component of both Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath’s poetry.
Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B Maya Angelou’s and Sylvia Plath
- C Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plaths’
- D Maya Angelou’s and Sylvia Plath’s
The poetry is owned by both people and therefore the ‘s follows both names, so D is the answer.
7 While investigating the feeding strategies of two Middle Eastern beetle species, one scientist at Tel-Aviv University in Israel observed a larva which not only survived being eaten by a toad, but subsequently ate it’s predator.
Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B their
- C its
- D they’re
The predictor is related to the larva, so single, and we only use the apostrophe for contractions with pronouns (e.g. it s -> it’s). So the correct term should be ‘its’ which is option C.
Previous SAT Possessive & Apostrophe Rules Questions (Set 2)
1. Tiki and Ronde Barber were both professional football players, but Tiki never wore the uniform of his twin brothers team. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B his’ twin brother’s
- C his twin’s brothers
- D is twin brother’s
2. Monet painted on canvas that consisted of light hues, applying colors with his famous small brush strokes across it’s surface, resulting in the style of Impressionism.
- A NO CHANGE
- B his famous small brush strokes across its surface
- C his famous small brush stroke’s across it’s surface
- D his famous small brush strokes across its surface’s
3. When Marie Curie discovered radium, the elements’ properties and potential were not fully understood. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B the elements property’s and potential
- C the element’s properties and potential’s
- D the element’s properties and potential
4. Professional tennis players must focus despite any number of distractions, for example, a sharp ray of light reflected off of a spectator’s watch’s face. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B spectator’s watches
- C spectators watch’s
- D spectators’ watch’s
5. At the Gargantua Circus, all of the lion’s mane’s were groomed to look like stars for the final performance of Starry Night Over the Sahara. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B lions manes
- C lions’ mane’s
- D lions’ manes
6. Some peoples eyes are unusually susceptible to eye floaters: moving spots that are often caused by flecks of collagen. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B People’s eyes
- C People’s eyes’
- D Peoples eyes’
7. After a catastrophic storm, charitable organizations will help repair both a resident home and a shop owner storefront. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B a residents home and a shop owners storefront
- C a resident’s home and a shop owners storefront
- D a resident’s home and a shop owner’s storefront
8. A boa constrictor can give birth to dozens of live young, who first develop inside they’re mother’s body, protected from predators. Choose 1 answer:
- A NO CHANGE
- B their mothers body
- C there mother’s body
- D their mother’s body
Source: Khan Academy
LESSON 6
Digital SAT Grammar
9 steps to go from starter to understanding the digital SAT questions, improving your knowledge, skills and ability to do your best in the SAT text.
The latest SAT grammar lesson focused on apostrophes used in possessive nouns and inside sentence punctuation.
SAT Possessives Practice Test Answers
1
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This choice confuses the plural possessive determiner “their” with the contraction “they’re”, meaning “they are”.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This choice incorrectly uses the plural “mothers”. It should be the singular possessive “mother’s”, to show that the body belongs to the mother.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This choice confuses the adverb “there” with the plural possessive determiner “their”.
- (Choice D, Checked, Correct) This choice correctly uses the plural possessive determiner “their” to show that the mother belongs to the “live young”. It also correctly uses the singular possessive “mother’s” to show that body belongs to the mother.
2
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This choice is missing apostrophes and “s”s after “resident” and “owner”. Without the apostrophes and “s”s, “resident” and “owner” don’t indicate possessive relationships to individual properties: a home and a storefront.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This choice is missing apostrophes between “resident” and “s” and “owner” and “s”. Without the apostrophes, “residents” and “owners” don’t indicate possessive relationships to their individual properties.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This choice is missing an apostrophe between “owner” and “s”. Without the apostrophe, “owners” doesn’t demonstrate possession.
- (Choice D, Checked, Correct) This choice is correctly uses apostrophes and “s”s to indicate the singular possessive relationship of both “resident” and “shop owner” to their individual properties: a “home” and a “storefront”.
3
- (Choice A, Checked, Correct) This choice correctly puts an apostrophe between “spectator” and “s” and “watch” and “s” in order to establish that the “face” belongs to a spectator’s watch.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This choice inappropriately pluralizes “watch”, which is only shown to have a single face.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This choice inappropriately pluralizes “spectator”.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) This choice misplaces an apostrophe, inappropriately punctuating “spectator” as though it is plural (which doesn’t agree with the singular indefinite article “a”).
4
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This choice creates a pronoun agreement error. “Myself” is a first-person pronoun, but the antecedent is “Apple”, a company referred to in the third person.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This choice creates a pronoun agreement error. “Themselves” is a plural pronoun, but the antecedent is “Apple”, a singular
- (Choice C, Checked, Correct) This choice correctly uses the third-person singular reflexive pronoun “itself” to stand in for the third-person singular antecedent “Apple”.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) This choice creates a pronoun agreement error. “Himself” is a masculine pronoun, but the antecedent is “Apple”, a company, which does not have a gender.
5
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This choice contains an error in apostrophe placement. Currently, this sentence wrongly implies that there are multiple Mary Cassatts (the spelling of her name as “Cassatt” is confirmed later in the sentence). The apostrophe should be placed between the “t” and the “s”: “Cassatt’s paintings”.
- (Choice B, Checked, Correct) This choice correctly uses an apostrophe and an “s” to indicate the possessive relationship between “Mary Cassatt” and “paintings”.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This choice incorrectly places an apostrophe after the “s” in “paintings”, suggesting a possessive relationship that doesn’t exist.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) This choice incorrectly places an apostrophe after the “s” in “paintings”, suggesting a possessive relationship that doesn’t exist.
6
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This choice doesn’t indicate possession for both Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath. The presence of the word “both” means that each person has to be possessive: “Maya Angelou’s and Sylvia Plath’s”.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This choice doesn’t indicate possession for both Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath. The presence of the word “both” means that each person has to be possessive: “Maya Angelou’s and Sylvia Plath’s”.
- (Choice C, Incorrect) This choice doesn’t indicate possession for both Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath. The presence of the word “both” means that each person has to be possessive: “Maya Angelou’s and Sylvia Plath’s”. It also misplaces the apostrophe in “Plath’s”, suggesting that there are multiple Sylvia Plaths.
- (Choice D, Checked, Correct) This choice correctly uses apostrophes and “s”s to effectively indicate the possessive relationship between “Maya Angelou” and “Sylvia Plath” and their poetry.
7
- (Choice A, Incorrect) This choice mistakes the contraction “it’s” for the singular possessive determiner “its”.
- (Choice B, Incorrect) This choice mistakes the plural possessive determiner “their” for the singular possessive determiner “its”. Its antecedent is “larva”, which is singular.
- (Choice C, Checked, Correct) This choice correctly uses the singular possessive determiner “its” to establish that the “predator” belongs to the larva.
- (Choice D, Incorrect) This choice mistakes the contraction “they’re” for the the plural possessive determiner “their”. Furthermore, the possessive determiner’s antecedent is “larva”, which is singular.
Previous SAT Possessives Answers (Set 2)
1 The answer D. his twin brother’s has the apostrophe between “brother” and “s” that demonstrates possession
2 The answer B his famous small brush strokes across its surface, corrects the use of its from the incorrect contraction (it’s) to the singular possessive determiner “its” to establish that the “surface” belongs to the canvas.
3 The answer is D as there is only one element (radium), so it should be the singular possessive “element’s” not the plural possessive “elements’ “.
4 NO CHANGE correctly puts an apostrophe between “spectator” and “s” and “watch” and “s” in order to establish that the “face” belongs to a spectator’s watch.
5 D lions’ manes correctly pluralizes “lions”, and places an apostrophe after the “s” to indicate that lions do possess their manes.
6 B correctly uses an apostrophe and an “s” to establish that the “eyes” belong to “people”.
7 D a resident’s home and a shop owner’s storefront correctly uses apostrophes and “s”s to indicate the singular possessive relationship of both “resident” and “shop owner” to their individual properties: a “home” and a “storefront”.
8 D their mother’s body correctly uses the plural possessive determiner “their” to show that the mother belongs to the “live young”. It also correctly uses the singular possessive “mother’s” to show that body belongs to the mother.
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FAQ Plural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns
Q: What are plural and possessive nouns?
A: Plural nouns refer to more than one person or thing (e.g., dogs). Possessive nouns show ownership or relationships (e.g., the dog’s collar). When a noun is both plural and possessive, add an apostrophe after the s (e.g., the dogs’ owner).
Q: What are 10 examples of plural possessive nouns?
A: Examples include: the employees’ desks, the children’s books, the teachers’ lounge, the students’ projects, the dogs’ collars, the artists’ portfolios, the neighbors’ yards, the parents’ meeting, the monkeys’ habitat, the lawyers’ offices.
Q: Should it be Chris or Chris’s?
A: Both are accepted depending on the style guide; for example, AP style uses Chris’ while others prefer Chris’s. For the SAT, use the form consistent with standard rules: usually Chris’s or Chris’, but check the context.
Q: How do I know when to add an apostrophe to a plural noun?
A: When a plural noun is possessive, add an apostrophe after the s, e.g., “the cats’ toys.” If it’s just plural (no ownership), do not add an apostrophe, e.g., “cats.”
Q: Are irregular plural nouns treated differently for possessive forms?
A: Yes, irregular plurals like “children” become “children’s” with an apostrophe s to show possession, even though they don’t end in s.
SAT Writing: Mastering Apostrophes for Plural and Possessive Nouns
Understanding apostrophe rules is essential for success on the SAT writing section, where standard English conventions are heavily tested. ESL students often struggle with these rules, but mastering them will significantly improve your digital SAT reading and writing scores. The key is knowing when to use apostrophes for possessives versus when to avoid them for plurals.
Singular and Plural Possessives: The Basic Rules You Need to Know
For singular nouns that don’t end in “s,” simply add an apostrophe and “s” to form the possessive. The student’s book becomes “student’s.” When a singular noun does end in “s,” like “class,” you still add apostrophe and “s” to make “class’s.” For plural nouns that end in “s,” add only an apostrophe to the end: “students'” or “classes’.” However, irregular plural nouns that don’t end in “s,” such as “children” or “women,” require apostrophe and “s” to become “children’s” or “women’s.” SAT tutors emphasize that this grammatical correct form appears frequently in test prep materials.
Commonly Confused Words: Its vs Their and Apostrophe Mistakes
The SAT writing section tests your knowledge of commonly confused possessive pronouns. Remember that “its” (without an apostrophe) shows possession, while “it’s” means “it is.” Similarly, “their” shows possession for plural subjects and never takes an apostrophe. Many students incorrectly add apostrophes to these pronouns, but the grammatically correct form never includes apostrophes for possessive pronouns. When you see “its” or “their” in SAT apostrophe questions, check whether they’re showing possession (no apostrophe) or if they’re contractions (apostrophe needed).
SAT Test Prep Strategy: Identifying Plural vs Possessive Forms
On the digital SAT, you’ll encounter questions asking whether a noun is plural or possessive. If the noun shows ownership or relationship, use the possessive form with an apostrophe. If the noun simply indicates more than one item, use the plural form without an apostrophe. Academic writing requires this distinction to be clear. Practice with worksheet exercises that focus on these standard English conventions, as they appear regularly in the SAT reading and writing sections. Remember that plural form never uses apostrophes unless the plural noun also shows possession.