Grammarly
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Its vs. It’s: What’s the Difference? | Grammarly
April 18, 2025 - Choose its when you want to ascribe ownership to something, such as: The laptop was too large for its case. In this example, the word its indicates that the case belongs to the laptop.
Scribbr
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When to Use Its vs. It’s | Examples, Meaning & Quiz
October 17, 2023 - It’s can be used as a contraction of it is or it has. It’s never used in place of it was, though. Example: It is or it hasIt’s (it is) about quality, not quantity.
Merriam-Webster
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It's vs. Its: Correct Usage | Merriam-Webster
June 2, 2025 - The apostrophe indicates that part of a word has been removed. Its with no apostrophe, on the other hand, is the possessive word, like "his" and "her," for nouns without gender. For example, "The sun was so bright, its rays blinded me."
When do you use its vs. it’s?
Though they’re pronounced the same, there’s a big difference in meaning between its and it’s. · Its (without an apostrophe) is the possessive form of it, so it means “belonging to it.” · “The cat ate its food.” · It’s (with an apostrophe) is a contraction (shortened form) of it is or it has. · “It’s almost Christmas.” ·
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When to Use Its vs. It’s | Examples, Meaning & Quiz
When should you use its vs. it’s?
When you want to ascribe ownership of something, use its with no apostrophe, like in this example: The diary was concealed in its hiding place. Use it’s with an apostrophe in place of it is or it has, like in this example: It’s unfair to assume she’s bad at cooking.
grammarly.com
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Its vs. It’s: What’s the Difference? | Grammarly
How do you know when to use its or it’s?
Its and it’s are commonly confused: · Its is the possessive form of “it.” · It’s is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” · If you don’t know whether you should use “it’s” or “its,” try replacing it with “it has” or “it is.” · If the sentence still makes sense, it’s is correct. · If the sentence no longer makes sense, its is correct.
quillbot.com
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When to Use Its vs It’s | Examples & Worksheet
Dictionary.com
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“Its” vs. “It’s”: What Is the Difference? | Dictionary.com
June 10, 2025 - Keep in mind that using contractions, such as it’s, is discouraged in formal writing contexts. Its is the possessive form of it, used to indicate possession, ownership, belonging, etc. English generally uses apostrophes to indicate possession, for example, Mary’s bike (the bike belonging to Mary) and the lions’ roars (the roars of the lions).
Paper Rater
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Its vs. it’s
The business began in June, and since then, it’s been booming. The word, ‘its’, without an apostrophe, is the possessive of the pronoun ‘it’. When you want to indicate ‘possession’ or ‘ownership’ don’t use the apostrophe. Walden University Grammar Handbook Examples:
QuillBot
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When to Use Its vs It’s | Examples & Worksheet
June 28, 2024 - The difference between possessive ... such as the QuillBot Grammar Checker, to check your spellings. Examples: Possessive adjective itsThe company is expanding its product line....
ProWritingAid
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What's the difference between "its" and "it's"? - The Grammar Guide
The “it’s” in the first sentence is a contraction of “It is always raining in this country” and the “it’s” in the second sentence is a contraction of “it has been so long since we had a sunny day. Here are further examples:
No Story Lost
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Breaking It Down: The Difference Between 'Its' and 'It's' | No Story Lost Books Inc.
Think: "The tree lost its leaves." But "it's"? That's just a quicker way to say "it is" or "it has". For example, "It's snowing" means "It is snowing", and "It's been fun" is short for "It has been fun".
YourDictionary
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Its and It's: Correct Usage and Examples | YourDictionary
November 29, 2021 - Its shows possession for the pronoun it. For example, a computer can update its drive, or a spider can repair its web.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/grammar › can someone explain the difference between "it's" and "its"? please help!
r/grammar on Reddit: Can someone explain the difference between "it's" and "its"? Please help!
June 19, 2020 -
I have read about it online. I have asked my English teacher but I just don't get it. Please help me. I almost feel like I understand it but when I use it, I feel confused again. I know "it's" means it is but I still feel confused.
It's eyes rolled to the back of it's head. Is this right??? This is driving me crazy. How do I know when to use its/it's? English is so hard to understand! Help a poor Asian person please.
Edit: I just woke up and read all of the comments. Thank you so much! I think I understand now. This has been bothering me for a long time, but I can finally say that I get it!
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If you can replace it with "it is" then you use "it's", otherwise, it's "its" An example is right there in my comment above: "otherwise it is "its" is still correct, thus I used an apostrophe. It is eyes rolled to back of it is head. So no. It would be: Its eyes rolled to the back of its head. I admit it's a touch confusing because we do add an apostrophe when something belongs to someone ("let's go to Sarah's house.") But when it's neutral like "it" then there isn't one. Like I said, if you can replace it with "it is" then use an apostrophe.
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Please be aware that people often get this wrong online, even in articles on high profile websites by journalists or authors who write for a living and should know better. In some cases it's due to bad autocorrects and/or a lack of proofreading, in others it may simply be indifference or ignorance. Whatever the reason, for those learning English and looking for writing examples online, the chances of encountering the error are such that it likely adds to the confusion over proper usage.
Grammar Monster
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"It's" or "Its"?
It's got to be a joke. (It has got to be a joke.) Its. "Its" is the possessive form of "it." For example:
Study.com
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Its vs. It's | Usage, Differences & Examples | Study.com
It will be used in a way similar to "her" or "his." Consider how this may be used with an example of an animal. One would say, "That bunny is enjoying her carrots," if the speaker knew that the bunny was female.
Vocabulary.com
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it's vs. its : Commonly confused words | Vocabulary.com
Commonly confused words - It's a bird! It's a plane! It's is short for "it is"! But its simply owns something — it's soooo possessive. Its is the possessive form of "it."
Ascented
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Grammar Tips: It's vs Its
March 30, 2023 - In technical or formal writing, it is recommended to avoid contractions such as "it's" and use the expanded forms "it is" or "it has". For example, "When a record in the Main pane is selected,
Reed College
reed.edu › writing › grammar_review › its_or_its.html
"It's" or "Its"? - Online Writing Lab - Reed College
A good way of remembering this important distinction: "His" is the possessive form of "him." "He's" is the contraction of "he is." As in the case of "it" the conjunction, but not the possessive case, employs an apostrophe. Writers generally know whether "he's" or "his" is more appropriate in a particular sentence: the words are not homophones (they don't sound alike) and are therefore less easily confused.
Holistic SEO
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It's vs Its: Difference between Them and How to correctly use them - Holistic SEO
December 5, 2022 - Some example sentences using the ... Example sentences using the word “Its.” “Social media has its advantages and disadvantages.” “The flower is in its pot.” “Its” is used as a possessive pronoun in the ...
7ESL
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Its vs. It's: Avoid This Common Grammar Mistake • 7ESL
December 4, 2024 - Use “it’s” if it can be expanded to “it is” or “it has.” · In this sub-section, we will look at several examples where “its” is used as a possessive pronoun:
Ginger Software
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Its vs. It's – The Correct Way to Use Each | Confusing Words
Reports say Utah Jazz wants to trade its best players. (British) Reports say Utah Jazz want to trade their best players. (American) More original examples of its in a sentence:
Instructional Solutions
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It's vs. Its - How to Correctly Use
December 22, 2023 - If the sentence still makes sense in an un-contracted form (it is or it has), then the contraction it’s is the right version. For example, “I can’t believe it’s not butter” also makes sense as “I can’t believe it is not butter.” It’s true that its sound is not quite as catchy, though.