2.9.2

Using Apostrophes with Irregular Plurals

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Recap: Irregular Plurals

Irregular plurals do not end in 's' or 'es' like regular plurals. Let's look at a few examples of irregular plurals, just incase you have forgotten what they look like...

Using Apostrophes with Irregular Plural Nouns

We sometimes need to show possession in a sentence, which is when something belongs to someone or something. We do this using an apostrophe ('). Let's walk through 2 examples of how you add an apostrophe to irregular plural nouns...

1) Make a sentence using possession

1) Make a sentence using possession

  • The sheeps pen was very crowded.
    • Sheep is an irregular plural noun. It is the same as the singular noun 'sheep'.
    • There is an 's' at the end of sheep because the pen belongs to the sheep. This means there is possession in this sentence.
2) Add an apostrophe <b>before</b> the s

2) Add an apostrophe before the s

  • The sheep's pen was very crowded.
    • With regular plural nouns that end in 's', the apostrophe comes after the 's'.
    • But here, we have added the apostrophe before the 's' because sheep is an irregular plural.
1) Make a sentence using possession

1) Make a sentence using possession

  • The childrens coats were wet.
    • Children is an irregular plural noun. The singular noun is 'child'.
    • There is an 's' at the end of children because the coats belong to the children. This means there is possession in this sentence.
2) Add an apostrophe <b>before</b> the s

2) Add an apostrophe before the s

  • The children's coats were wet.
    • With regular plural nouns that end in 's', the apostrophe comes after the 's'.
    • But here, we have added the apostrophe before the 's' because children is an irregular plural.
Jump to other topics
1

Reading

1.1

Root Words

1.1.1Understanding New Words1.1.2Exception Words
1.2

Prefixes

1.2.1'Anti-' & 'Auto-'1.2.2Not & 'Inter-'1.2.3'Mis-', 'Dis-' & 'Re-'1.2.4'Sub-' & 'Super-'1.2.5End of Topic Test - Root Words & Prefixes
1.3

Suffixes

1.3.1Vowel Suffixes1.3.2Suffixes: '-ous'1.3.3Rules for Suffixes: '-ous'1.3.4Testing - Rules for Suffixes1.3.5Suffixes: '-ly'1.3.6Suffixes: '-ation'1.3.7Rules for Suffixes: '-ation'1.3.8Spelling: '-tion' Endings1.3.9Spelling: '-sion' Endings1.3.10Spelling: '-ssion' Endings1.3.11Spelling: '-cian' Endings1.3.12End of Topic Test - Suffixes
2

Writing

2.1

Composition

2.1.1Effective Writing2.1.2Planning2.1.3Drafting2.1.4Editing2.1.5End of Topic Test - Writing Composition
2.2

Conjunctions

2.2.1Simple Sentences & Compound Sentences2.2.2Complex Sentences2.2.3Coordinating Conjunctions2.2.4Subordinating Conjunctions2.2.5End of Topic Test - Conjunctions
2.3

Present Perfect Tense

2.3.1Present Perfect Tense2.3.2Uses of the Present Perfect Tense
2.4

Nouns

2.4.1Using Nouns & Pronouns Properly2.4.2End of Topic Test - Present Perfect & Nouns
2.5

Fronted Adverbials

2.5.1Saying Where, When & How Often2.5.2Saying How & Why2.5.3Using Commas
2.6

Direct Speech

2.6.1Direct Speech2.6.2End of Topic Test - Fronted Adverbials & Speech
2.7

Homophones

2.7.1Accept & Except2.7.2Affect & Effect2.7.3Ball & Bawl2.7.4Berry & Bury2.7.5Brake & Break2.7.6Fair & Fare2.7.7Grate & Great2.7.8Groan & Grown2.7.9Hear & Here2.7.10Heal, Heel & He'll2.7.11Knot & Not2.7.12Mail & Male2.7.13Main & Mane2.7.14Meat & Meet2.7.15Medal & Meddle2.7.16Missed & Mist2.7.17Peace & Piece2.7.18Plain & Plane2.7.19Rain & Reign & Rein2.7.20Scene & Seen2.7.21Weather & Whether2.7.22Whose & Who's2.7.23End of Topic Test - Homophones
2.8

Spelling Rules

2.8.1Hard 'U' & 'I' Sounds2.8.2Words Ending in '-Sure', '-Mure' & '-Sion'2.8.3'Ei', 'Eigh' & 'Ey' Spellings2.8.4Words Ending in 'G' & 'K' Sounds2.8.5Spelling Words with 'Ch' & 'Sc'2.8.6Silent Letters2.8.7End of Topic Test - Spelling Rules
2.9

Using Apostrophes

2.9.1Using Apostrophes with Regular Plurals2.9.2Using Apostrophes with Irregular Plurals
2.10

Using a Dictionary

2.10.1Using a Dictionary2.10.2End of Topic Test - Apostrophes & Dictionaries

Practice questions on Using Apostrophes with Irregular Plurals

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Which of these is an __irregular plural__?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    What kind of plural is '__children__'?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Write the plurals of these singular nouns:Fill in the list
  4. 4
    What's the plural of the singular noun '__sheep__'?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    What's the singular of the irregular plural __'mice'__?Multiple choice
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Using Apostrophes with Regular Plurals

Using a Dictionary