Year 4 English · Key Stage 2 · Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation – English Appendix 2

Year 4 apostrophes and Standard English verb forms

In Year 4, children work on two things that often trip up young writers. The first is the difference between a plural -s (two girls) and a possessive -s (the girl’s name), including where the apostrophe goes when several owners share something (the girls’ names). The second is using Standard English verb forms in writing, such as we were instead of we was and I did instead of I done.

Apostrophes and Standard English verbs, explained

An -s on the end of a noun usually means there is more than one: girls, hats, dogs. A plural needs no apostrophe. A possessive -s shows that something belongs to someone: the girl’s name means the name that belongs to one girl. These two jobs look almost the same on the page, and the apostrophe is how the reader tells them apart. Year 4 is where children are taught to stop and ask each time whether an -s means more than one, or means belonging, or both.

When there is one owner, the apostrophe goes before the s: the girl’s coat, the dog’s bone. When there are several owners and the plural already ends in s, the apostrophe goes after it: the girls’ coats, the dogs’ bones. This is plural possession. A few plurals do not end in s, such as children, men, women and people. These take an apostrophe and then an s, just like a singular noun: the children’s toys, the men’s shoes. A quick check is to turn the phrase around: the coats of the girls shows who owns what.

The second half of the topic is about verbs. Many people use local forms of grammar when they speak, such as “we was there” or “I done it”. These are normal in everyday speech in many areas, and they can be a proud part of how a family or area talks. But writing for school, work and the wider world uses Standard English, so children learn to use the standard verb form when they write: we were, I did, I saw, he doesn’t. The national guidance gives we were and I did as examples, and schools choose the others they cover.

Teachers present this as choosing the right tool for the job, not as correcting how someone talks. Children are shown that a story can use a local form on purpose in a character’s speech, while the narration and formal writing stay Standard English. The usual classroom work is sorting sentences, spotting and fixing errors in a short paragraph, and rereading their own writing with a checking list. These skills are used again in upper Key Stage 2, so a solid grounding now makes later grammar easier.

Words your child will hear

Plural: More than one of something. Girls, books and children are plural nouns.
Possessive: Showing that something belongs to someone or something, as in the girl’s name.
Apostrophe: The mark ’ used to show that something belongs to someone, or that letters have been left out.
Plural possession: When more than one owner has something, written with the apostrophe after the s: the girls’ names.
Irregular plural: A plural that does not end in s, such as children or men. Its possessive adds ’s: the children’s toys.
Standard English: The form of English used in formal writing and in most formal speech, with agreed forms such as we were and I did.
Verb form: The way a verb changes to show tense or who is doing it, such as is, was and were.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Year 4 says:

Pupils should be taught the grammatical difference between plural and possessive –s
Pupils should be taught Standard English forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken forms
Pupils should be taught apostrophes to mark plural possession

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: correcting a sentence

Correct this sentence about a group of girls and their hats: “The girls hats was soaking and the childrens coats was too.”

Look at each word ending in -s and decide what the s is doing. Is there more than one, does something belong to someone, or both?
“Girls hats”: there are several girls, and the hats belong to them. This is plural possession, so the apostrophe goes after the s: the girls’ hats. The word hats is a plain plural and needs no apostrophe.
“Childrens coats”: children is already plural and does not end in s, so the possessive adds an apostrophe and then s: the children’s coats. Writing childrens’ would be wrong.
Now check the verbs. The subject is plural (hats, coats), so Standard English needs were rather than the local form was: the hats were soaking.
Do the same for the second part: the coats were too. Read the whole sentence again to make sure it makes sense.

The girls’ hats were soaking and the children’s coats were too.

Common mistakes and how to help

Putting an apostrophe on every plural: “apple’s for sale”

Children learn that apostrophes are linked to -s, and then use them whenever they see an s on the end. Shop signs and menus with the same error make this worse.

What helps: Ask “Does anything belong to this word?” If not, it is only a plural and needs no apostrophe. Try rewriting with “of the”: if that works, it is possession.

Putting the apostrophe in the wrong place when there are several owners: “the girl’s hats” meaning many girls

Children learn the singular rule first (apostrophe, then s) and use it every time. They also do not always think about how many owners there are.

What helps: Count the owners before writing. One owner: apostrophe before the s. More than one, with a plural ending in s: apostrophe after it. A quick sketch of one girl and then three girls helps.

Writing childrens’ or mens’ for the possessive of an irregular plural

Children remember that plural owners take the apostrophe after the s, and apply it to children and men without noticing that these words do not end in s.

What helps: Say “children” is already plural, so it behaves like a singular word and takes ’s, as in the children’s toys. Compare it with girls’, which already has an s.

Writing local spoken forms such as “we was” or “I done it” in school writing

Children hear forms such as we was or I done at home and in their area, so it is how they naturally write too. If this is handled badly, they may feel told off for how their family speaks.

What helps: Never criticise the way they speak. Treat Standard English as the shared form that writers use for school and work, and practise switching to it when writing. Show where a local form belongs, such as in a character’s dialogue.

How to help at home

Who owns it? Walk around the house and say who things belong to, writing a few down as labels: Mum’s keys, the twins’ bedroom, the cat’s bowl. Ask your child to say how many owners there are before choosing where the apostrophe goes.
Sign spotting. Look at shop signs, menus and posters when you are out. Discuss whether an -s is a plural or shows belonging, and whether the apostrophe is right. Signs such as the children’s section give good practice.
Model it without correcting. If your child says “we was” or “I done it”, repeat it back naturally in Standard English: “Yes, we were there.” It is gentler than correcting, and they hear the standard form many times.
Two voices. Ask your child to write a short message to a friend and then a short note to a head teacher about the same thing. Talk about what changes, including the verb forms they choose.
Fix the sentence. Write a few short sentences with deliberate mistakes (the boys bikes was broken) and ask your child to be the editor. Let them explain why each change was needed.

Updated 20 October 2026.