When should I use it's or its?
Finally, an easy question. If only it was easy to remember. Even hardened veterens of literature, if there is such a thing, make this mistake. Its just so easy ... er ... it's just so easy.
What screws everyone over is how English uses the apostrophe. There's basically only two times you can use this little hash mark: to indicate a loss of letters or to indicate possession. When we make a contraction like "can't", we're using the apostrophe to show how, we being so incredibly lazy, we can't be bothered to say the "n" and "o" in "not."
It's mine? Or its mine? Either way, let go.
When we want to show possesion, we either use apostrophe-s or s-apostrophe, depending on if the word ends in an "s" or not. So, if I buy underwear that belonged to Jenna Jameson in Ebay, they are Jenna Jameson's panities. The apostrophe doesn't replace any missing letters, it's just hanging around for show.
Yes, I'm sure you all knew that already. Then why are you reading this question? Because it gets confusing dealing with it's and its. See, when it comes to showing possesion, the correct term is its. That's right, the one without the apostrophe. God bless English.
Here's how to figure out which is correct. When using one of them, sound out, "It is." If it makes sense, use the one with the apostrophe. If it doesn't make sense, use the one without. No sense equals no apostrophe. The inevitable examples:
- "It's/Its at the top of the stairs, next to the bathroom." Does the phrase, "it is" work here? Yes. So use the apostrophe.
- If you get into trouble, remember that it's/its the big red button for help. Does the phrase, "it is" work here? Yes. So use the apostrophe.
- Each alien must register it's/its home planet and species with immigration. Does the phrase, "it is" work here? No. So don't use the apostrophe.
How's that?
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