Its and It’s: Church Steeples and Dog Collars
Of all the possessive pronouns, the simple its causes the most problems. It is most commonly confused with the contraction it’s (it is).
its = possessive form of the pronoun it
it’s = contraction of it is
Use these clues for using the possessive pronoun (its) correctly:
- Possessive pronouns work as adjectives to limit nouns.
my our your his hers its their - Possessive pronouns never use apostrophes to show possession or ownership
my our your his hers its their - A noun follows a possessive pronoun:
its sign its steeple its collar - An adjective may follow the possessive pronoun:
its yellow sign its big sign its tall sign its white steeple - The possessive pronoun its is usually not found at the beginning of a sentence.
The poodle lost its pink diamond-studded collar.
The maple tree lost its red and yellow leaves.
The gray kitten lapped up its cold milk.
See also: Play Monopoly with its and it’s