Grade 4 · List 4 of 5 · 39 words

Contractions and possessives

The apostrophe marks missing letters, or who owns something. A free 4th grade spelling list: hear each word, print a practice sheet, or take the test.

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The words

  • can't
  • don't
  • it's
  • dog's
  • kids'
  • isn't
  • didn't
  • won't
  • I'm
  • we're
  • you're
  • she's
  • wasn't
  • girl's
  • birds'
  • i'll
  • i've
  • i'd
  • he's
  • he'll
  • we'll
  • we've
  • you'll
  • you've
  • they'll
  • they've
  • she'll
  • let's
  • that's
  • there's
  • what's
  • who's
  • here's
  • aren't
  • doesn't
  • hasn't

Tricky words to learn by heart

These come up alongside this pattern but don't follow it.

  • possible
  • potatoes
  • therefore

In a sentence

  • can't: The little dragon can't reach the top shelf yet.
  • don't: Don't wake the sleeping dragon in the cave.
  • it's: Look at the shiny sword! It's ready for the brave knight.
  • dog's: The dog's tail wagged happily beside the castle gate.
  • kids': The kids' boats sailed across the calm lake all day.
  • isn't: The wizard's hat isn't under the table.

Mistakes to watch for

For grown-ups helping at home: these are the kinds of slips this pattern tends to bring.

WordOften written as
can'tcann't, canot
don'tdont's, dohn't
it'sits', itts
dog'sdogz, doggs
kids'kidz, kidds

Take the Contractions and possessives spelling test

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A sample practice sheet for a hero named BraveOtter42, with the letters ai and ou blanked out of words and sentences to fill in.
Sample practice sheet
A sample certificate of mastery for BraveOtter42, for the spelling of ai and ay.
Sample certificate
Previous listSpecial pluralsNext listSuffixes -able, -ible, -ous, -ive