How to Use Apostrophes: Class 3 Grammar Guide + ICSE Practice Questions + Top Amazon Worksheets

 

Apostrophes may be small, but they play a big role in English grammar! Whether a student is learning how to show ownership (Rita’s book) or how to use contractions (it’s, you’re), understanding apostrophes makes writing clearer and stronger.

 

In this blog, we’ll explain apostrophes in a simple way for Class 3 students, offer worksheets with answers, share tough ICSE-level questions, and recommend helpful English grammar books and worksheet sets available on Amazon India to support extra practice. Let’s begin!

What is an apostrophe?

Hello learners! Today we are going to explore a very important punctuation mark called the apostrophe ( ’ ). The apostrophe is a little mark, but it has two big jobs:

1. Showing possession (i.e., something belongs to someone or something): e.g., Rita’s book (the book belonging to Rita)

2. Making contractions (shortened forms of two words): e.g., it’s is short for it is

How to use it (for Class 3)

• When one person or thing owns something, we add ’s to the noun:
• This is the girl’s toy.
• That is the dog’s bone.
• If the noun already ends in s, you might just add an apostrophe after the s (but for Class 3 we can keep it simple and use ’s anyway)
• For contractions: I’m = I am, she’s = she is, they’re = they are, it’s = it is.
• Be careful: its (no apostrophe) means belonging to it. It’s (with apostrophe) means it is.

Why is it important?

Using apostrophes correctly makes your writing clear and neat. If you forget the apostrophe, people might not know if you mean possession or a contraction. For example:

• The dogs bone could mean one dog’s bone — but you need the apostrophe: dog’s bone.
• It’s tail wagged = It is tail wagged (that doesn’t make sense) → so correct would be Its tail wagged for something belonging to “it”.

Worksheets for Class 3 (with answers)

Below are three worksheets (A, B, C) you can print for your students (or child) to practise. Answers are provided after each worksheet.

Worksheet A: Fill in the apostrophe for possession or contraction

1. The teacher ___ desk is near the window.
2. The cat ___ whiskers are long.
3. The dog wagged ___ tail happily.
4. It___ a sunny day.
5. The bird ___ nest was in the tree.
6. My brother ___ favourite game is cricket.
7. The lion ___ roar could be heard.
8. She said ___ going to visit her grandmother.

Answers A:

1. teacher’s
2. cat’s
3. its
4. It’s
5. bird’s
6. brother’s
7. lion’s
8. she’s

Worksheet B: Rewrite the sentences using apostrophe

1. This book belongs to Raju.
2. The tail of the dog is wagging.
3. The seats of the students are in a line.
4. It is going to rain soon.
5. The teacher of the class is Mrs. Sharma.
6. The coat of the boy is red.
7. The shoes of the girl are blue.
8. It is not fair to cheat.

Answers B:

1. This is Raju’s book.
2. The dog’s tail is wagging.
3. The students’ seats are in a line. (For extra: plural possession)
4. It’s going to rain soon.
5. The class teacher’s is Mrs. Sharma.
6. The boy’s coat is red.
7. The girl’s shoes are blue.
8. It’s not fair to cheat.

Worksheet C: Challenge – Mixed apostrophes (possession / contraction)

1. The children ___ books were left on the table.
2. I don’t know where ___ pen is.
3. The cats ___ whiskers twitched.
4. Do you know if ___ coming to the party?
5. The teacher ___ lesson was interesting.
6. Its/It’s a lovely day for a picnic. (choose)
7. The dogs ___ bowl is empty.
8. They said ___ going to win the match.

Answers C:

1. children’s
2. your (don’t use apostrophe: “don’t” is contraction of do not) — Actually: “I don’t know where your pen is.”
3. cat’s
4. you’re (you are)
5. teacher’s
6. It’s a lovely day for a picnic. (It’s = it is)
7. dog’s
8. they’re

Tougher questions for ICSE students

Now for those of you studying the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) curriculum, here are some more challenging questions involving apostrophes, including plural possession, exceptions, and contractions. These will help build stronger grammar skills.

1. Rewrite the sentence using apostrophe correctly:
a) The houses roofs were damaged in the storm.
b) The five boys uniform was dirty after the match.

2. Choose the correct form:

a) The children ___ (has/have) done ___ (its/it’s) work.
b) The women ___ (were/was) packing ___ (their/theirs) bags hastily.

3. Identify and correct the error in the following sentence:
a) Each of the student’s must hand in their assignments.
b) The Smiths have sold their house; it’s a big move.

4. Combine the sentences using contractions or possessive apostrophes:
a) It is Nancy and David. The house belongs to them.
b) We are going to the teachers meeting after school.

5. Explain the difference in meaning between:
a) The dog’s tails were wagging.
b) The dogs’ tails were wagging.

6. Using a plural noun that doesn’t end in ‘s’, show possession:
e.g., “the children’s toys”. Now write three more such sentences.

7. Write a short paragraph (50–60 words) about your favourite teacher, correctly using at least five apostrophes (both for possession and contraction).

8. A tricky one: Choose the correct form in this sentence:
“Its/It’s the students ___ (who’s/whose) work we must evaluate.”