20893 ACE Language (Yr 5) Possessives pronouns and determiners

Resource sheet
Understand how the grammatical category of possessives is signalled through apostrophes and how to use apostrophes with common and proper nouns (ACELA1506)
© Australian Curriculum: Assessment and Reporting Authority 2012
The possessive determiner ‘its’
Why does the possessive determiner ‘its’ not require an apostrophe?
‘It’s’ is the contraction for ‘it is’.
If ‘it’s’ is written as the possessive determiner, there is no sense to the meaning of the sentence.
Incorrect example Nonsense meaning Correct example Meaning
The buttons of
the coat were
lost and the
lining of the
coat was ripped.
The coat was so
old, its buttons
were lost and its
lining was ripped.
The coat was so
old, it is buttons
were lost and
it is lining was
ripped.
The coat was so
old, it’s buttons
were lost and it’s
lining was ripped.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au Australian Curriculum English – Language: Text structure and organisation (Year 5)
55
The ranger watched
over the cubs of the
lion as it slept.
As the lion
slept, the ranger
watched over its
cubs.
As the lion
slept, the ranger
watched over it
is cubs.
As the lion
slept, the ranger
watched over it’s
cubs.
The magic of the
rain helped the
crops to grow.
The rain cast its magic
over the crops and they
began to grow.
The rain cast it is
magic over the crops
and they began to
grow.
The rain cast it’s magic
over the crops and they
began to grow.
The juice of the
peach dribbled
down Jem’s face
when he bit
into it.
As Jem bit into the
peach, its juice
dribbled down
his face.
As Jem bit into the
peach, it is juice
dribbled down
his face.
As Jem bit into the
peach, it’s juice
dribbled down
his face.