Possessives and Apostrophes on SAT Writing: 4 Key Tips

Do you know how to determine if a noun should have an apostrophe? Do you know where to
place apostrophes in possessive nouns? Do you know when to use there vs. they're? These are all
topics that are tested on the SAT.

The SAT Writing section has questions about possessive nouns and pronouns. In this article, I'll
provide you with all the rules and strategies to correctly answer these questions.

Possessives on the SAT

Possessives indicate ownership. Here are some example sentences with the possessives
underlined:

Sergios kindness is amazing.

The students behavior was unacceptable.

Their voices should be heard.

Generally, you can expect about 2-4 questions about possessives on the SAT. The questions on
possessives will test your knowledge of possessive nouns and possessive pronouns.

Possessive Nouns
On the SAT, you will be tested on how to correctly form possessive nouns. Thankfully, the basic
rules for forming possessive nouns are pretty simple.

If a word is singular or if its plural but it doesnt end in s, then you add an apostrophe and
then an "s" to the end of the word.

The giraffes neck is really long.

The childrens playground has monkey bars.

To create a possessive for a plural word that does end in s, just place the apostrophe after the
s.

I saw a dance troupe perform last night, and I was impressed with the dancers skills.

On the SAT Writing section, the questions on possessive nouns are about determining whether
an apostrophe is needed, and if so, whether the possessive is singular or plural.

Should a Noun Be Possessive?

To determine if a noun should be possessive, take the noun, put an of in front of it, and stick it
after the noun or phrase that follows it. Heres an example:

The schools code of conduct is very strict.

Heres how you change the sentence to determine if school should be possessive:

The code of conduct of the school is very strict.

Does that make sense? Yes. The sentence is referring to the code of conduct belonging to the
school; therefore, school should be possessive. This is the corrected sentence:

The schools code of conduct is very strict.

Also, plural nouns dont contain apostrophes. Check out this example:

Incorrect: I downloaded 15 songs yesterday.

Correct: I downloaded 15 songs yesterday.

Is the sentence describing "yesterday of the song?" No. That doesn't make much sense. The
sentence is just using the plural form of the word song because there was more than one song
downloaded. Because the noun isnt being used as a possessive, there shouldnt be an
apostrophe.

Should the Possessive Noun Be Plural or Singular?

The other factor youll have to consider is whether a possessive should be plural or singular.
As mentioned above, that can have an impact on where the apostrophe is placed. For example,
the candidates rhetoric refers to the rhetoric of one candidate, and the candidates rhetoric
refers to the rhetoric of more than one candidate. Use context clues to determine if the possessive
should be singular or plural. Example:

Every contestants goal was to win the grand prize.

Should the possessive be singular or plural? This sentence can be tricky for some students. Are
we referring to the goal of one contestant or many contestants. Some may incorrectly assume that
the possessive should be plural. However, every implies that were talking about the goal of
each contestant individually. To remember that every implies singular, think of every as
every single.

Check out another example:

All of the contestants buzzers werent working.

All implies more than one; therefore, we should use a plural possessive and the apostrophe
should come after the s.

SAT Example

The SAT will test you on the issues we just discussed. Use your knowledge of possessive nouns
to answer these questions.

There are two nouns in this sentence, bodies and biological clocks. Based on the answer
choices, we know that we have to determine whether each noun is a plural noun, a singular
possessive, or a plural possessive. You should recognize that biological clocks is a plural noun;
there is no noun or phrase that follows biological clocks before the comma, and the sentence is
not referring to anything of the biological clocks. Therefore, that noun shouldnt contain an
apostrophe. Immediately, we can get rid of B and D.

Now we have to determine whether bodies should be a noun or a possessive. Lets try the
replacement method. Is the sentence stating that circadian rhythms are controlled by the
"biological clocks of the body?" Yes. The sentence is indicating possession and bodies should
be in the possessive form. The correct answer is C. The sentence is referring to the body in
general and not multiple bodies, so we use the singular possessive form.

Try one more example:

From the answer choices, we know we have to determine whether waterways should be a
possessive or a plural noun. Again, let's use the replacement method. Is the sentence describing
something of the waterways or referring to more than one waterway? It should be a plural noun
without an apostrophe because the sentence is stating that acid-whey runoff can pollute
waterways. There is nothing indicating possession. Therefore, we can eliminate B and D.

Now the question becomes a verb tense question. Because the sentence begins in the present
tense with is, the correct answer should also have a verb in the present tense to maintain
consistency. The correct answer is A.

Possessive Pronouns
The SAT will also test you on possessive pronouns. Examples of possessive pronouns include
my, your, its, his, her, our, and their. Most of the SAT questions on possessive
pronouns will test you on the third person possessive pronouns its and their. There are two
types of possessive pronoun questions: word choice and pronoun agreement.

Word Choice Homophones

These are the most common type of possessive pronoun questions. Homophones are words that
sound the same but have different meanings. Typically, youll have to choose whether to use
there, theyre, or their. Or youll have to choose between its and its. Here is a table
showing these common homophones and how they're used.
there- usually shows location or that they're- contraction for their- plural possessive
something exists "they are" pronoun
its- singular possessive pronoun it's- contraction for "it is"

Check out these example sentences that demonstrate how these words are used:

Incorrect: The girls said mean things. There statements were unkind.

Correct: The girls said mean things. Their statements were unkind.

In this sentence, we can determine that the underlined word should be a possessive pronoun by
using the replacement technique. The sentence is saying that the statements of them were unkind.
The word there can be used in multiple ways, but to keeps things simple, just remember that
their indicates possession and there doesnt.

Also, keep in mind that the word theyre is a contraction for they are. You can only use
theyre if it can be replaced with they are.

Incorrect: I love my friends. Their the best.

Correct: I love my friends. Theyre the best.

The underlined word is not indicating possession, but it can be replaced with They are. They
is a pronoun that refers to my friends and are is the verb in the sentence.

Check out one more example:

Incorrect: The puppy was wagging its tail.

Correct: The puppy was wagging its tail.

The word its is a contraction of it is. The word its indicates possession. The sentence is
referring to the tail of the puppy or the tail of it. To correctly answer these types of questions, use
the replacement technique to determine if the underlined word should be a possessive pronoun.

Possessive Pronoun Agreement

There may also be questions dealing with pronoun agreement. The main rule you have to
remember is that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. Singular pronouns
must refer to singular nouns and plural pronouns must refer to plural nouns. Here are some
examples:

Incorrect: Sheila untied their shoes.

Correct: Sheila untied her shoes.

Incorrect: The chairs had dust on its legs.

Correct: The chairs had dust on their legs.

In the first sentence, the pronoun their describes the shoes of Sheila. Because Sheila is one
person, we need to use the singular pronoun her.

In the second sentence, the underlined pronoun refers to the legs of the chairs. Because chairs
is plural, we should use the plural possessive pronoun their.

SAT Examples

Answer these questions related to possessive pronouns.

First, lets determine if the underlined word should be a contraction or a possessive. Does the
word mean it is or is it a possessive? Let's try the replacement technique. Does this sentence
work?

Scientists have long known that soot particles facilitate melting by darkening snow and ice,
limiting the ability of snow and ice to reflect the Sun's rays.

Yes. That works. The sentence is referring to the ability of snow and ice to reflect the Suns rays;
therefore the underlined word is a possessive. So we can get rid of A and C.
Now we have to determine if the possessive pronoun should be singular or plural. What has the
ability to reflect the Sun's rays? Snow and ice. That's two things, so the pronoun that takes their
place needs to be plural. The correct answer is D.

Try one more possessive pronoun question.

In this question, there are two words in the underlined phrase that could be possessive pronouns.
The first is the word theyre, which is a contraction for they are. Should that word remain
the same, be the word there, or the possessive pronoun their? The sentence implies that the
word is referring to the value of his findings, or their value. Therefore, we can immediately
eliminate A and C.

Next, lets look at the underlined pronoun their after in. That word also refers to findings and
should be a possessive. Thus, that word should remain the same and the correct answer is B.

Review: Strategies for Possessive Questions

Here are the most important tips to remember to conquer the SAT Writing questions about
possessives.

#1: Use the Replacement Technique

Once you see a possessive underlined or in the answer choices, make sure you determine
whether the word should be a possessive.

Remember that Justins book is another way of saying the book of Justin. If you saw
Justins book, you should recognize that there is an error because the phrase is referring to the
book of Justin. If a sentence doesnt work using the replacement technique, then the underlined
word is not a possessive.
#2: Singular or Plural?

If you determine that one of the underlined words should be a possessive, then you need to
decide whether the possessive should be in the singular or plural form. Use the replacement
technique, and if the possessive is "of (singular noun)," then you need a singular possessive. If
the possessive is "of (plural noun)," use a plural possessive.

#3: Focus on Apostrophe Rules

For possessive nouns, remember your apostrophe rules. For singular nouns or plural nouns that
dont end in s, just add an apostrophe to the word and then an s. For plural nouns that end in
s, just and an apostrophe after the s.

#4: Know Your Contractions

On possessive questions, you may have to choose between its and its or their and
theyre. Remember that its is a contraction for it is and theyre is a contraction for
they are. If you select its, the sentence would have to make sense and be grammatically
correct if you substituted its for it is. Similarly, if you selected theyre, the sentence
would have to work if you substituted theyre for they are.