Differences between It's and Its
Comparison Article
In English, "it's" and "its" are frequently confused due to being homophones, meaning they share the same pronunciation but have different meanings and grammatical functions.[1] "It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has".[2][3] "Its" is the possessive form of the pronoun "it", used to indicate ownership or belonging.[4] The confusion often arises because possession is typically marked with an apostrophe and an "s" in English, but this rule does not apply to possessive pronouns.[5]
The development of "its" as a possessive pronoun without an apostrophe was a solution to distinguish it from the contraction "it's". Historically, "'tis" was the common contraction for "it is", and "it's" was used as the possessive form. However, as "it's" became the preferred contraction, the apostrophe was dropped from the possessive form to avoid confusion.
A simple method to determine the correct word is to substitute "it is" or "it has" into the sentence.[2] If the sentence remains grammatically correct, "it's" is the appropriate choice.[2] If not, "its" should be used.[2] For example, in the sentence "The cat cleaned its paws," substituting "it is" would result in "The cat cleaned it is paws," which is incorrect.[1] Therefore, the possessive "its" is required.
Comparison Table
| Category | It's | Its |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical Function | Contraction | Possessive determiner[3] |
| Meaning | It is or it has[4] | Belonging to it |
| Punctuation | Contains an apostrophe | Does not contain an apostrophe |
| Example Sentence | It's a sunny day.[5] | The dog wagged its tail. |
| Substitution Test | The sentence makes sense if replaced with "it is" or "it has". | The sentence does not make sense if replaced with "it is" or "it has". |
| Historical Usage | Replaced "'tis" as the common contraction for "it is" in the 18th century. | Originally spelled with an apostrophe ("it's") but was changed to avoid confusion with the contraction. |
Common Errors
The most frequent error is using "it's" to show possession. For instance, writing "The company raised it's prices" is incorrect; the correct form is "The company raised its prices."[4] Another common mistake is using "its" in place of the contraction, such as "Its a nice day" instead of "It's a nice day."[4]
A less common but incorrect form is "its'". This version, with the apostrophe after the "s," is never correct in standard English.[2] The confusion may stem from the way possessives are formed for plural nouns, but it does not apply to the pronoun "it".
To avoid these errors, writers can use the substitution method or remember that possessive pronouns like "his" and "hers" do not use apostrophes, and "its" follows the same pattern.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "quillbot.com". Retrieved January 31, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "dictionary.com". Retrieved January 31, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "cambridge.org". Retrieved January 31, 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "grammarly.com". Retrieved January 31, 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "ellalanguage.com". Retrieved January 31, 2026.
