Genitives and Plurals

Genitives and plurals questions on the Digital SAT ask you to choose the correct form of a noun or pronoun based on context. You'll decide among singular, plural, singular possessive, and plural possessive nouns, and you'll distinguish between commonly confused words like its vs. it's, their vs. they're vs. there, and your vs. you're. These questions use the same stem as every other conventions question: "Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?" Expect to see 2–3 of these per test. They're some of the most straightforward questions on the SAT once you know the rules, but the answer choices are designed to look nearly identical, so precision matters.

Singular vs. Plural Nouns

Before you can handle possessives, you need to be clear on plurals. A plural noun refers to more than one of something and does not use an apostrophe.

• One researcher → two researchers
• One analysis → multiple analyses
• One species → two species (same form)

The SAT won't test obscure plural spellings, but it will offer a plain plural as one answer choice alongside possessive forms of the same word. If the noun in the blank isn't showing ownership of anything, you just need the plural with no apostrophe.

Example question:

• (A) species'
• (B) species's
• (C) species
• (D) specie's

The sentence needs a plain plural subject for "are more resilient." Nothing is being owned. The correct answer is (C) species, which is the same in singular and plural form. Choices A, B, and D all incorrectly add apostrophes where no possession exists.

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Possessive Nouns: Where the Apostrophe Goes

Possessives (also called genitives) show that something belongs to or is associated with a noun. The apostrophe placement depends on whether the noun is singular or plural.

Singular possessive

Add 's to the singular noun, even if it already ends in -s:

• the artist's technique (one artist)
• James's research (one person named James)

Plural possessive

If the plural ends in -s, add just an apostrophe after the -s. If the plural doesn't end in -s (irregular plural), add 's:

• the researchers' findings (multiple researchers)
• the children's program (irregular plural)

Two-step method

When you're unsure, follow this process:

1. Write the correct plural of the noun.
2. Apply the possessive rule to that form.

For example: What's the possessive of multiple attorneys? The plural is attorneys (ends in -s), so the plural possessive is attorneys'.

Example question:

• (A) universitys
• (B) university's
• (C) universities
• (D) universities'

The sentence describes a decision belonging to the university. Since the verb "was" is singular, we're talking about one university making a decision. One university + possession = singular possessive. The correct answer is (B) university's. Choice A isn't a real English word. Choice C is a plain plural with no possession. Choice D would mean multiple universities, but the singular verb "was influenced" tells you it's one university.

Possessive Determiners vs. Contractions vs. Adverbs

This is the highest-frequency trap on genitives and plurals questions. The SAT loves testing these commonly confused word groups because they sound identical when spoken.

its vs. it's

• its = possessive determiner (belonging to it). The tree lost its leaves.
• it's = contraction of "it is" or "it has." It's been a long day.

their vs. they're vs. there

• their = possessive determiner (belonging to them). Their experiment succeeded.
• they're = contraction of "they are." They're presenting the results tomorrow.
• there = adverb indicating location or existence. There are three samples remaining.

your vs. you're

• your = possessive determiner (belonging to you). Your hypothesis was correct.
• you're = contraction of "you are." You're going to need more data.

The substitution test

This is the fastest way to get these right: expand the contraction and see if the sentence still makes sense.

• "The company raised ______ prices." → Try "it is prices." That's nonsense, so you need its.
• "______ the leading cause of the decline." → Try "it is the leading cause." That works, so you need it's.
• "The musicians tuned ______ instruments." → Try "they are instruments." Nonsense, so you need their.

Example question:

• (A) it's
• (B) its
• (C) their
• (D) there

Apply the substitution test: "completed it is primary mission" makes no sense, so eliminate (A). The telescope is singular, so "their" (plural) doesn't match, eliminating (C). "There" is an adverb of location, not a possessive, eliminating (D). The telescope completed the mission belonging to it. The correct answer is (B) its.

Putting It All Together: Four-Way Distinctions

The trickiest questions give you four answer choices that each represent a different form of the same word. Here's a systematic approach:

1. Read the full sentence. Identify what role the blank plays.
2. Is there ownership? Look at what comes after the blank. If another noun follows and "belongs to" the word in the blank, you need a possessive.
3. Singular or plural? Use context clues like verbs ("was" vs. "were") and other references in the passage to determine how many.
4. Place the apostrophe correctly based on your answers to steps 2 and 3.

Example question:

• (A) geologists
• (B) geologist's
• (C) geologists'
• (D) geologists's

Step 1: The blank describes who performed the analysis. Step 2: The analysis belongs to the geologists, so you need a possessive. Step 3: "Two" tells you it's plural. Step 4: The plural of geologist is geologists (ends in -s), so the plural possessive is geologists'. The correct answer is (C) geologists'. Choice D isn't standard English. Choice A is a plain plural with no possession. Choice B is singular possessive, but "two" requires plural.

What to Watch For on Test Day

1. Always check what follows the blank. If another noun comes right after and belongs to the word in the blank, you need a possessive with an apostrophe. If nothing is being "owned," you need a plain plural with no apostrophe.

2. Use the substitution test for its/it's, their/they're/there, and your/you're. Expand the contraction version in your head. If "it is," "they are," or "you are" doesn't fit, use the possessive determiner (no apostrophe).

3. Count the owners. Look for number clues in the passage (articles like "a" or "the," numbers, singular or plural verbs) to determine whether you need a singular or plural possessive.

4. Never put an apostrophe in a plain plural. If the word is just "more than one" of something and doesn't own anything, no apostrophe goes anywhere. Apostrophes in plurals is one of the most common wrong-answer traps.

5. Remember: possessive pronouns never take apostrophes. Words like its, theirs, yours, hers, and whose are already possessive. The versions with apostrophes (it's, they're, you're, who's) are always contractions.