How to Decide Between Using "its" or "it's"

Are you confused about the use of apostrophes with "its" or "it's," and don't know how to choose? Here are some short rules for determining whether to use "its" or "it's" in a sentence.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• dictionary
• grammar handbook
• online dictionary

1. The general rule is that apostrophes are used to indicate possession, such as "Waldo's hat," or to show that some letters have been dropped from a word or phrase, such as using "don't" instead of "do not."

2. For the pronoun "its" there is no apostrophe needed. Think "mine, yours, his, hers, its, theirs." There are no apostrophes used with any of these pronouns. Read your sentence and ask if you are using a pronoun. If so, don't add any apostrophe to the word "its."

3. "It's" signals that the apostrophe is there to mark a missing letter. In this case, the letter is "i" because the word "it's" is a contraction of the two words, "it is." Read your sentence. Are you saying something like "It is time to go to work?" if so, "It's time to go to work" is the correct alternative.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask if substituting "it is" for what is already in a sentence makes logical sense. If so, "it's" is what you want to use
• Is the word being used as a pronoun? If so, then don't use an apostrophe
• Buy a grammar handbook and keep it on your desk
• Find a good online grammar site and bookmark it
• Avoid just adding apostrophes to words, especially if you aren't sure how to use them. Instead, try to rewrite your sentence so it makes sense.

Resources

• The Purdue Online Writing Lab

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on 10/29/2009 Thanks for the clarifications!