The Grammar Doctor

It's or its

Many people confuse these words because they associate
apostrophes with possessives. In fact, possessive nouns
require apostrophes, but possessive pronouns do not.
" It's" and " its" are pronouns. Nouns, remember, are the names of
people, places, and things. Pronouns are words that stand
in for nouns.

" It's" is a contraction of " it is." It's always good to have lots of chocolate.

" Its" is a possessive pronoun. If management doesn't follow its own policies, what can we expect from the employees?

" It's" and " its" are not the only words commonly confused.

Here are some other pairs of contractions and possessive
pronouns that sometimes confuse people:

Contractions

You're (you are) You're the love of my life.
Who's (who is) Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?
They're (they are) They're afraid of everything.

Possessive Pronouns

Mind your own business!
Whose chocolate is this?
They abandoned their car and walked.

" There" can also be a pointer:
Put the laundry over there.
There are too many cats in this house.

Back to pronouns