Question 1

What is the difference between its and it's?

Accepted Answer

"Its" without an apostrophe is a possessive word showing that something belongs to "it." For example, "The dog wagged its tail" means the tail belongs to the dog. "It's" with an apostrophe is a short form of "it is" or "it has." For example, "It's raining" means "It is raining," and "It's been a long day" means "It has been a long day." The simplest way to remember is that the apostrophe in "it's" always replaces a missing letter — it never shows possession. If you can replace the word with "it is" and the sentence still works, use "it's." If not, use "its."

Question 2

How can I remember when to use its or it's?

Accepted Answer

Use the replacement test: try putting "it is" in place of the word. If the sentence makes sense, you need "it's" (the short form). If it sounds wrong, you need "its" (the possessive). For example, "The bird built it is nest" sounds wrong, so write "its." Another way to remember is to think of other possessive words like "his," "hers," and "ours" — none of them use an apostrophe, and "its" follows the same pattern. This test works every time and is especially useful in Cambridge A2 Key and B1 Preliminary exams where this distinction appears frequently.

Question 3

Is it wrong to write it's for possession?

Accepted Answer

Yes, writing "it's" to show possession is always incorrect. "It's" can only mean "it is" or "it has" — it is a contraction, not a possessive form. To show that something belongs to "it," you must write "its" without an apostrophe: "The company changed its name" is correct, while "The company changed it's name" is wrong. This mistake is very common because we normally add an apostrophe to nouns for possession ("the girl's book"), but pronouns like "its," "his," "hers," and "theirs" never take an apostrophe when showing possession.

Its vs It's — Easy Exercises

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