Writing Tips for Its versus It’s

To its or not to its, that is the question

This is another one of those writing tips that is often ignored. One of the most common grammar mistakes made is that of it’s versus its. Do you put that stinking little apostrophe in there or not? That is the question. How often have you either second-guessed your own writing, or read someone else’s where this error just stuck out painfully?

Well, the answer is really rather simple. The word is either a contraction (It’s is short for it is, or it has) or the word is a possessive pronoun (Its means that something belongs to it, or is of it).

Consider these examples:

It’s been a great trip. (Notice It’s is a contraction for it has)

It’s an ugly cat, man, even though it looks like a cute rat. (Notice It’s is a contraction for it is)

The confusion probably comes into play because our possessives tend to have an apostrophe. One example is this: This is Justin‘s blog. Don’t be confused, however. When you are writing a possessive with the word its, there is NO apostrophe. Yes, that’s right, it’s backwards. NO apostrophe.

Consider these examples:

The 300zx is much faster than its predecessor. (Notice Its is a possessive. It shows ownership, and you cannot change it to it has or it is and have it still make sense.)

The cat just stepped in something, and got its paws dirty. (Notice Its is a possessive. It shows ownership, and you cannot change it to it has or it is and have it still make sense.)

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Happy writing

Justin