Are You Confused About Its and It’s?

You’re not alone. Many people, including seasoned writers, have problems with these words. I wrote this post to clear up the confusion.

Apostrophes Represent More Than Squiggles on the Page

Before we consider the difference between its and it’s, let’s examine the roles of apostrophes. Apostrophes, among other functions, form contractions — two or more words we shorten into one.

It’s is a contraction. The apostrophe indicates that the word is missing one or more letters. Hint: If you can substitute it is or it has in a sentence, then you use it’s.

Some examples of contractions:

• he’s = he is
• wouldn’t = would not
• can’t = cannot
• we’ll = we will
• let’s = let us

Consider the following: “The dog has its bone.”

Is it possible to say “The dog has it is bone” or “The dog has it has bone”? No. Therefore, you can’t use it’s.

Here’s another example: “It’s too late to go to the store.”

Is it possible to say “It is too late to go to the store” or “It has too late to go to the store”? Yes, the first variation makes sense. In this case, an apostrophe is used. Two words have been combined into one by dropping a letter and replacing it with the apostrophe.

Its is a gender-neutral possessive pronoun like his, her, or our. It seems counter-intuitive, but possessive pronouns, including its, never contain an apostrophe. These pronouns don’t follow the regular convention of adding ’s to show possession.

Its’ is never correct. Ever. Not even when there’s a dopey cartoon lion sitting in the middle of your living room.

In many cases, your word-processing software will indicate incorrect usage. However, it won’t be right 100 percent of the time. It might even use autocorrect to insert its instead of it’s or vice versa.

Are you ready to test your knowledge? Read the following ten sentences and determine which one is right in each set of three.

1.
A. The wind stabbed with it’s icy breath.
B. The wind stabbed with its icy breath.
C. The wind stabbed with its’ icy breath.

2.
A. It’s not right to lie.
B. Its not right to lie.
C. Its’ not right to lie.

3.
A. It’s been three years since we met.
B. Its been three years since we met.
C. Its’ been three years since we met.

4.
A. The parrot flapped it’s wings.
B. The parrot flapped its wings.
C. The parrot flapped its’ wings.

5.
A. It’s one of the best sellers in its catalogue.
B. Its one of the best sellers in it’s catalogue.
C. Its’ one of the best sellers in its catalogue.

6.
A. It sheds its coat every spring.
B. It sheds it’s coat every spring.
C. It sheds its’ coat every spring.

7.
A. It’s a bird; no, it’s a Frisbee.
B. Its a bird; no, its a Frisbee.
C. Its’ a bird; no, its’ a Frisbee.

8.
A. The cheetah is known for it’s speed.
B. The cheetah is known for its speed.
C. The cheetah is known for its’ speed.

9.
A. Its a perfect day for a picnic.
B. It’s a perfect day for a picnic.
C. Its’ a perfect day for a picnic.

10.
A. It’s raining; it’s pouring; the old man is snoring.
B. Its raining; its pouring; the old man is snoring.
C. Its’ raining; its’ pouring; the old man is snoring.

Answers: B, A, A, B, A, A, A, B, B, A

If you wrote C for any of the answers, please go back to the beginning of this post and read it again. Remember, its’ is never correct.

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