Its or It's?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Nannou

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Tunisia
Current Location
Tunisia
what the difference bet Its or It's

This is not strictly a question for Poll as there should be no opinion involved. They are two distinct terms having very different meanings. ' It's ' is the abbreviated form of ' It is ' so is correct in the sentence you presented ' It's a lovely town ' = ' It is a lovely town ' The apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter(s) just as it does in Can't = Cannot Shouldn't = Should not.

' Its ' without the apostrophe (pronounced apostroffee) is used to show the possessive - that is - belonging to it. The dog chased its tail. The trouble is that we usually use the apostrophe to denote the possessive - as in ' Jane's bag ' - the bag belonging to Jane - so there is an inclination to think of ' It's ' as denoting the possessive. This then leads to confusion about what do do with Its
How about something to trigger the memory -
Remember - The possessive it has lost its apostrophe

I think:

'Its' is a determiner. It means belonging to or connected with a thing, an animal or a baby

For example,
Turn the box on its side.
The dog had hurt its paw.
The baby threw its food on the floor.

'It's' is a short form. It may either be it is or it has.

It's = short form "it is/has"
It is/'s a lovely town.
Its= possessive
The cat burned its tail.
 

Teia

Key Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Romanian
Home Country
Romania
Current Location
Romania
Its - possessive adjective or possessive pronoun

Ex. This is my dog. Its tail is short. [ -possessive adjective ]
The tail is its [ of the dog. ] - [ possessive pronoun ]

It`s - it is the short form for it is or it has

Ex. It`s a long journey. - it is...
It`s been long since I last saw you. -it has been....
 

daniel05

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
"It's" is a correct word to use it's a lovely town.its a lovely town is wrong.
It's means it is or it has





_________________________________________________________________

Discover the hidden source of targeted traffic that unearths eager buying customers, drives them straight to your site, and literally explodes your profits almost overnight at just simple click
 

daniel05

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
"It's" is a correct word to use "it's a lovely town". but "its a lovely town" is wrong.it's means it is or it has

______________________________________

Discover the hidden source of targeted traffic that unearths eager buying customers, drives them straight to your site, and literally explodes your profits almost overnight at just simple click unique article wizard.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top