What's the Difference Between Its and It's?
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
You'd be surprised (and likely comforted) but how often this mistake happens, even in final, edited writing. Possessive apostrophes are everywhere in English, but its decided to be rebellious.
Here's the trick: it's is always short for "it is" or "it has." That apostrophe shows where letters got smooshed out. Its (no apostrophe) shows possession, like "his" or "hers."
The confusion is understandable because we normally use apostrophes for possession (the dog's bone), but pronouns break this rule. We don't write "hi's" or "her's," and we don't write "it's" for possession either.
Quick test: If you can replace the word with "it is" or "it has," use it's. If not, use its.
"It's raining" = It is raining ✅
"The cat licked its paw" = The cat licked it is paw ❌
Blame the pronouns — they've had this no-apostrophe policy for centuries and they're not backing down now.
