Its, it’s, or its’? Knowing when and how to use these words can cause some confusion and errors for writers. Let’s explore the differences as well as English grammar rules for their proper usage.
How Do You Use Its, It’s, and Its’?
- Its is the possessive form of the word it. Its is used to shows ownership the same way Javier’s or Jenny’s does.
- Example: The radio station has lost its license.
- It’s is the contraction of “it is” and “it has.” It’s has no other meanings–only “it is” and “it has.” Contractions are the shortened form of a word. While contractions are generally accepted in informal writing, be mindful of how you use them in business or academic writing.
- Example: It’s raining outside today.
- Example: It’s been said that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
- Its’ is never correct. Your grammar checker and spellchecker should flag it for you. Always change it to one of the two forms above.
Using Its With Apostrophe Rules
The tricky part of the its question is this: if we write “Javier’s license” with an apostrophe, why do we write “its license” without an apostrophe?
Here is the explanation: Its is like hers, his, ours, theirs, and yours. These are all pronouns. Possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes. That is because their spelling already indicates a possessive.
For example, the possessive form of she is hers. The possessive form of we is ours. These are known as personal pronouns. Because we change the spelling, there is no need to add an apostrophe to show possession. Its follows that pattern.
More examples:
- You can recognize Rene’s music by its abrupt tempo changes.
- The golden retriever is known for its gentle personality.
- The octopus uses its tentacles to move through the ocean floor.
- Golfing has lost its appeal for Gene because of his arthritis.
Summary
It’s is a contraction and means “it is” or “it has“.
Its is a possessive form that is used to show possession or ownership, meaning the belonging of something to it.
Its’ is never correct to use in your writing. Most proofreading software will flag it as a grammatical error.
A simple rule to make sure you’re using its and it’s correctly is to read a sentence out loud and determine if “it is” is what you’re trying to say. If so, use an apostrophe. If not, its (no apostrophe) is likely the correct choice.
Example: I don’t want to go outside because it’s raining.
In this case, “because it is raining” is correct, which is a sign that you you are correctly using an apostrophe.
Test Yourself
- Its / It’s easy to get to the ballpark by car or bus.
- This restaurant is known for its / it’s emphasis on regional cooking.
- Its / It’s become very difficult to find parking near the library since it moved from its / it’s Maple Street location.
Correct Answers
- The word is a contraction in this sentence, so the correct form is it’s.
- The phrase “it is” doesn’t make sense in this sentence, which needs a possessive form: its.
- The sentence begins with a contraction of “it has” (it’s) and then needs a possessive form(its).