Joint and Separate Possession

Review the rule box together, then let students work alone. Use the joint and separate possession sheet as a quick follow-up the next day.

Write joint or separate possessives for name pairs like Rosa and Diego or Rodgers and Hammerstein. For shared ownership, only the last name takes 's (Lewis and Clark's journey). For separate ownership, both names take it (Lewis's and Clark's journals). The directions on the page read: Read the note before each sentence. On the blank, write the two names as a possessive. If the note says shared, the two own one thing together. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade parts of speech, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Put the apostrophe and s at the very end of the compound, as in father-in-law's. The plural goes on the main word, as in fathers-in-law.

For shared ownership, only the last name takes the apostrophe and s, as in Lewis and Clark's journey. For separate ownership, both names take it, as in Lewis's and Clark's journals.

Form the plural first, then add only an apostrophe, as in the Lopezes'. A plural that does not end in s adds an apostrophe and s, as in women's.