Another English grammar issue that can cause problems for native-speakers of English, not just learners!
Its or it’s is a grammar problem that happens when people write English, that’s because when you say the two different words out loud they are exactly the same in pronunciation.
If you write its when you should write it’s, it is only a small stupid mistake that is not going to cause any difficulties in communication breakdown
But if you are doing the writing part of an English exam like KET, FCE, CAE or Proficiency and you make the its/it’s mistake then you will lose marks.
So, let’s get it right, right now! 🙂
IT’S = IT IS
Yes it’s that simple. Yes, it is that easy. 🙂
So, as you can see in the last two sentences, it’s is simply the short version (a ‘contraction’) of ‘it is’
You write it is in a short way by deleting the middle ‘i’ and writing an apostrophe ‘ instead.
EXAMPLES
It’s very hot today. (It is very today)
She said it’s ready now. (She said it is ready now)
It’s so stupid that she doesn’t eat vegetables! (It is so stupid….)
IT’S = IT HAS
It’s (as a contraction or short way of writing) can also mean IT HAS
EXAMPLES
It’s been so long since I last saw you! (It has been so long….)
This film is way too long. It’s got to finish soon. (It has got to finish soon)
It’s been raining for 3 days now. (It has been raining….)
ITS = POSSESSIVE
ITS is like ‘his’ or ‘hers’. (ITS is a possessive pronoun)
That silver one is his laptop. The black one is hers.
(This means the silver laptop belongs to HIM – a male. The black laptop belongs to HER – a female)
ITS shows that a thing belongs (is owned) to something.
When you are talking about a thing or a place and something that belongs to it, then you use the possessive form its (with NO apostrophe in the middle)
EXAMPLES
London is famous for its fantastic old buildings
My dog has its own little bed.
A chameleon can change its colour according to the environment it is in.
I want to write a complaint to McDonalds. Where are its head offices?
Think about it like this, if you can change its for his or hers, then there will never be an apostrophe!
NEVER MAKE A MISTAKE WITH ITS/IT’S
If you want a 100% guarantee of never getting it’s wrong – Do not ever write it’s.
As an alternative, you can always write: it is or it has.
If you cannot write it is or it has because your sentence will not make sense, then you know that the correct thing to write is its (because it will be a possessive pronoun)
IT’S vs ITS GRAMMAR QUIZ
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