Tuesday, August 26, 2014

ITS VS. IT'S

Don't make this one harder than it is.

ITS is possessive and only refers to something that belongs to IT.
IT'S is only a contraction for IT IS or IT HAS.  

That's IT.

You don't use an apostrophe for the possessives of other PRONOUNS, do you? Then don't use an apostrophe for IT either. IT is a pronoun as well.

Other PRONOUNS and their possessive forms:

I              my; mine           Where is my jacket?
you          your; yours        Where is your jacket?
he            his                     Where is his jacket?
she          her; hers            Where is her jacket?
IT            ITS                     Where is ITS leash?
we           our; ours            Where are our jackets?
you all      your; yours        Where are your jackets?

Yes, you use an apostrophe to form the possessive of someone's name (Jack's jacket). But someone's name is a proper noun and not a PRONOUN. Do not use apostrophes to form plurals of PROUNOUNs.

The squirrel tried ITS luck at the bird feeder.
Every dog has ITS day.
The committee has reached ITS decision. 

One way to test whether you need an apostrophe or not is to see if you can replace the word with his or her (which don't have apostrophes either!). "Every dog has his day" is fine. You don't need an apostrophe with "his," so don't use it for ITS, either.


When you want to write "it is" or "it has," then use IT'S.  IT'S only means IT IS or IT HAS.
IT'S going to rain today.         IT IS going to rain today.
IT'S not my problem.             IT IS not my problem.
IT'S been raining all day.        IT HAS been raining all day. 

Really, that's IT! If you're unsure if you need an apostrophe, simply test by replacing ITS/IT'S with "IT IS" or "IT HAS." If IT IS or IT HAS fits into your sentence, then use IT'S. If IT IS or IT HAS doesn't work for your sentence, then use ITS.

ITS / IT'S been a long time.    
             IT HAS been a long time. That's fine. Use IT'S.
The dog was chasing ITS / IT'S  tail.
             The dog was chasing IT IS tail.   Doesn't work. Use ITS.
We couldn't find the wounded deer because ITS / IT'S footprints were washed away.
             ....because IT IS footprints were washed away.    Doesn't work. Use ITS. 

Now go find an online quiz and practice. Remember, IT'S (IT IS) just not that difficult!

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