Possessive Apostrophes: three-toed sloth
The Grammar Bit!
Read the three scintillating sentences opposite. Notice how the words in bold feature apostrophes which show possession or belonging. For example, the trees belong to the rainforest – “the rainforest’s trees,” the fur belongs to the sloth– “the sloth’s fur” and the eyes belong to the predators – “the predators’ eyes.”
With a talk partner, discuss the position of the apostrophe. Does it always remain the same? What differences are there? Does it change the meaning?
Rule
- For a singular noun, add –‘s.
- For a plural noun ending in –s, just add an apostrophe.
(Exceptions to this include pluralised nouns that don’t end in –s. e.g. men’s, children’s and women’s.)
Scintillating Sentences
1)The rainforest’s trees are home to many animals and creatures.
2) The sloth’s fur is covered in algae.
3) The predators’ eyes could not detect the camouflaged creatures.
Did you know?
Modern sloths are about as big as a medium-sized dog. However, ancient sloths could grow much, much bigger. In fact, a ground-dwelling sloth called Megatherium could grow to the size of an Indian elephant! These giant sloths became extinct around 10,000 years ago.