It's Not Its Fault, Or Is It?

English is full of puzzling language uses. Different words can sound alike. Some words have multiple meanings. Sometimes keeping them all straight can be a challenge.

Common words can often make people confused. “It’s” vs. “Its”— what is the difference and when do you use which one?

Its, without the apostrophe, is a pronoun that shows possession. Something belongs to it. For example, if the tree outside your house has green leaves, you might say, “Its (the tree) leaves are green.” Or the hinge on the mailbox is rusty, so you say, “Its (the mailbox) hinge is rusty.” Or you find a bird with a broken wing and you say, “Its (the bird) wing is broken.” You use “its” to identify impersonal objects, things which are not male or female, like a country, government, politics, book, building, airplane, etc.

[Don’t use “its” for people or gender-specific items. In those cases you would use he or she.]

It’s, with an apostrophe, is a contraction of the words “it is” or “it has.” For example, “It’s a sunny day today.” Or “I think it’s great that you got an A on the test.” Or “It’s been done that way for twenty years.”

[One exception to the above is formal speech. Think Shakespeare or stories set in ancient times when language was more flowery. Contractions were seldom used; “It is” was preferred.]

The next time you pick up a book, see how many times you can spot “it’s” and “its.”  Or try to substitute “it’s” for “it is” and see how it sounds. Play with them until they feel comfortable.

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