Using apostrophes for contraction (don't, could've) and possession (singular and plural owners), including the its/it's distinction.
Where your child meets this in real life: Apostrophes make shortened forms and ownership clear in everyday writing, and pupils must check those uses accurately in official-style proofreading.
Punctuation is questions 1 to 5 of the English section in each SEAG paper. They are multiple choice, such as finding the part of a sentence that has a mistake.
SEAGReady breaks apostrophes into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Form and check the regular contractions directly practised here by expanding them and locating omitted letters (do not → don't, we are → we're, we will → we'll, could not → couldn't, could have → could've).
Show that something belongs to one owner by adding apostrophe + s to the owner's name (Ben's bike, the dog's bowl).
Place the apostrophe after the s for plural owners ending in s (the girls' changing room), handle irregular plurals (the children's coats), and distinguish its from it's.
Try three free questions from our apostrophes course. They start easy and get harder, so you can see where your child's confidence runs out. If they manage the last one without a hint, this topic is probably secure. If not, the steps above show where to start.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Ellie wrote: 'We do not want to miss the bus to the town centre.' She wants it to sound more natural, the way people speak.
How should she write 'do not' as a contraction?
Push 'do' and 'not' together. In this contraction, the 'o' of 'not' is the one letter that must go.
Step 1 of 4
Ellie wrote: 'We do not want to miss the bus to the town centre.' She wants it to sound more natural, the way people speak.
How should she write 'do not' as a contraction?
The sentence becomes: 'We don't want to miss the bus to the town centre.'
The key insight: In regular contractions such as 'don't' and 'could've', the apostrophe marks the position of omitted letters rather than merely the join between words. A few common contractions, including 'won't' from 'will not', also change spelling and should be checked as whole forms.
Common mix-up: Writing 'could of' instead of 'could've'. 'could've' is short for 'could HAVE'. It sounds like 'could of' when spoken, but 'of' is never correct there.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in apostrophes, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with apostrophes? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
Sitting the SEAG test this November? Read our last-month revision plan, Paper 1 vs Paper 2 and test day guide.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
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