Which word should replace the underlined word? “All of the [teacher's] cars were parked in the lot behind the gym.”
Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 6–7 writing. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: find and fix an error in a short text. On the real test some of these are typed answers or sentence rewrites. Here they are multiple choice so they can be checked.
The question
Read the sentence. The underlined part has an error.
All of the [teacher's] cars were parked in the lot behind the gym. Which word should replace the underlined word?
- teacher
- teachers's
- teachers'Correct answer
- teachers
Why “teachers'” is correct
This tests plural possessives. "All of the" and "cars" show that the cars belong to more than one teacher. To make a plural noun ending in -s possessive, add only an apostrophe after the -s: teachers'. The original, teacher's, means the cars belong to just one teacher. Students must decide both whether the word is plural and whether it shows ownership.
Why the other answers are wrong
- teacher — "Teacher" has no apostrophe, so it does not show that the cars belong to anyone.
- teachers's — A plural noun that already ends in -s takes only an apostrophe, not another -s.
- teachers — "Teachers" is plural, but without an apostrophe it does not show ownership.
Practice more of this
More writing practice for Grades 6–7, or see the TELPAS practice test for 6th and 7th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.