Is its’ a word?

Grammar / By

No, its’ is not a word and it is incorrect grammar. It’s and its are correct grammar and I will show you how to use them in this article. My name is Conor and I have been an English teacher for more than 10 years. In this article, I will demonstrate to you the difference between the contraction it’s and the possessive adjective its.

How to use it’s 

It’s is a contraction of it is. This just means that we put the two words together to make one word. Another example of a contraction is I am ->I’m

It is a pronoun. The pronoun replaces a noun. 

Look at this sentence above for an example. We can replace “the pronoun” with “it”.

Why?

Because we know that we are talking about the pronoun from the previous sentence.

So

It is a pronoun. It replaces a noun.

We also use it is to say which person is present

Example: Who is it?

                        It’s me!

Or 

For statements about time, weather and distance

It is 9 o’clock(it’s 9 o’clock)

It is a beautiful day(it’s a beautiful day)

It is 5 kilometers from here(it’s 5 kilometers from here)

How to use its

Its is a possessive adjective. A possessive adjective describes who owns something,

Common examples are my and your

This is my coat(I am the owner of the coat)

That is your car(you are the owner of the car)

Its is a little bit more difficult because it is usually an object or an idea and they do not usually own things! We use this as we normally use it(the object was mentioned before or is obvious) 

Examples

That new phone is amazing! Yeah, its screen is so smooth.(its means “the phone”)

Italy is famous for its food

That hotel is so cool. Yeah, its swimming pool is 50 meters long(the swimming pool belongs to the hotel)

We also use its for animals if we don’t know the gender.

Look at that dog! Its tail is so long!

Try some exercises on it’s v its

  1. Look at that baby,it’s/its so cute. It’s/Its fingers are so small.
  2. It’s/Its a nice day for a walk.
  3. I don’t know whether it’s/its a good thing or not. 
  4. The country has to protect itself and it’s/its borders.
  5. I wonder if it’s/its raining outside.
  6. It’s/Its your pen, not mine
  7. I can’t believe it’s/its not butter!
  8. That cat has a bird on it’s/its head!

Scroll down for the answers. Meanwhiile here is a dog wearing its sunglasses!

Answers

  1. Look at that baby,it’s so cute. Its fingers are so small.
  2. It’s a nice day for a walk.
  3. I don’t know whether it’s a good thing or not. 
  4. The country has to protect itself and its borders.
  5. I wonder if it’s raining outside.
  6. It’s your pen, not mine
  7. I can’t believe it’s not butter!
  8. That cat has a bird on its head!

Please comment below if you have any questions or if you want to write your examples

Conor
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