Here's how they work:
Possessives:
* Singular nouns: Add an apostrophe and an "s" to show possession.
* Example: The dog's bone, the girl's book
* Plural nouns ending in "s": Add only an apostrophe after the "s".
* Example: The dogs' bones, the girls' books
* Plural nouns not ending in "s": Add an apostrophe and an "s".
* Example: The children's toys, the men's hats
Contractions:
* Contractions combine two words into one by replacing some letters with an apostrophe.
* Example: I am = I'm, cannot = can't, it is = it's, they are = they're
Key difference: Possessives show ownership, while contractions shorten words by combining them.
Let me know if you'd like more examples or want to explore a specific case!