Which option is the correct possessive form for the phrase about multiple girls and their backpacks?

Which option is the correct possessive form for the phrase about multiple girls and their backpacks?

• A. The girls backpacks are new.
• B. The girl’s backpacks are new.
• C. The girls backpack are new.
• D. The girls' backpacks are new.

Answer: (D)

When showing ownership by more than one person, you form the possessive by adding an apostrophe after the plural noun. Since there are several girls, the possessive form of "girls" is "girls’." The item they own is "backpacks," so the correct phrase is The girls’ backpacks. This matches number: backpacks is plural, so the verb is are. The other options miss or misuse parts of this rule: leaving out the apostrophe makes ownership unclear; using the singular possessive (girl’s) implies one girl; using the singular noun (backpack) with a plural subject breaks subject-verb and number agreement.

When showing ownership by more than one person, you form the possessive by adding an apostrophe after the plural noun. Since there are several girls, the possessive form of "girls" is "girls’." The item they own is "backpacks," so the correct phrase is The girls’ backpacks. This matches number: backpacks is plural, so the verb is are.

The other options miss or misuse parts of this rule: leaving out the apostrophe makes ownership unclear; using the singular possessive (girl’s) implies one girl; using the singular noun (backpack) with a plural subject breaks subject-verb and number agreement.