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Grammar
Choosing between its and it’s
David and Paige explain the meaning of two English words that look and sound very similar but act very different: _its_ and _it's_.
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Is the plural form of "its" the same as its singular form?(17 votes)
Examples for you:
The monkey ate its bananas.
The monkeys ate their bananas.(52 votes)
Can "it's" ever stand for "it HAS"?
Ex: It's been a long time.(14 votes)- Yes! It's can definitely stand for it has. The same would go for he's and she's. Also, words with 'd like it'd could either stand for it would ("It'd be nice to get together") or it had ("It'd been a long time since then").(25 votes)
What if I just say "its" and nothing else. What does "its" is in this case?(7 votes)
Just saying “its” as the whole sentence is grammatically incorrect. If you say “It’s”, that means “it is” which is correct. However, it sounds weird if you say “It’s.” I would just say “”It is.”(6 votes)
basically "it's" is a shorter version of it is or it has.
"its" is a possessive pronoun that doesn't use apostrophes.correct?(5 votes)
Almost. "It's" is a shorter version of it is, but not of it has*.
And yes, "its" - the possessive pronoun - does not used apostrophes.
What I do to check myself when I'm writing is quickly say the sentence to myself with "it is" substituted for "it's". If it works, apostrophe. If it doesn't make sense, no apostrophe.
* The exception is when you're using the present perfect tense, and then you can use "it's" in place of it has:
- It's been several years since I've seen them.
- It's taken way too long to get the results I want.
Substituting "it's" for it has is very casual usage though - fine for texts and personal emails, but not for essays or formal writing.
Hope this helps!(7 votes)
Why is "its' " not a word? Could I say "it is the cats' toys?" (I am saying it is many cats toys). I say someone say in the comment to never use "its' ", so is cats', or toys', etc., the same?(2 votes)- Each singular possessive form (hers, his, its) has the same plural possessive form (theirs). Therefore, there's no need for the word its'. Telling it's and its apart is difficult enough without throwing in another variation. :)(8 votes)
AT0:48The person says ITS is a possessive pronoun.
In the examples given, ITS a possessive adjective and not a possessive pronoun.
Possessive Adjectives go before a noun...
My car, Her book, His bike, Its tail etc.
Possessive Pronouns do not have a noun after it as pronouns replace the noun.
It is MINE, it is HERS, it is HIS.
Is that an accidental mistake in the video?(4 votes)
At first I thought the same, however, in the sentence I like ribeye steak because of its rich flavor, its is being used as a substitute for ribeye steak, making it a pronoun.
It's a good question, since some possessive adjectives and possessive pronoums are different (my/mine), but, at the same time, the possessive of 'it' is 'its', either as an adjective or as a pronoum. So you can say: Its tail or The tail is its(3 votes)
just treat it's as it is.(5 votes)
I understand the difference between "It's and Its" but my question is what is the difference between "Its and Its'" because aren't they both possessive and show possession over something. For example "The school closed its stadium at 5 p.m." Or "The monkey peeled its' banana." What is the difference? Also how do I know which one to add in a sentence?(3 votes)
Do it this way: "It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has".
"Its" (no apostrophe at all) is for all other things. This is irregular, but you have to get used to it. I make mistakes all the time. My finger on the keyboard automatically goes for the apostrophe, even when I KNOW that I don't want it.(4 votes)
So does that mean I practically made up a new word?
So its' can mean anything I want it to mean right? :)(2 votes)- Yes. You created a new word. If you want to use it, though, you have the responsiblity to define it clearly so that people can be sure what you are meaning when they encounter it in your writing.(5 votes)
- Why is its possessive?(3 votes)
- Great question! Let's dive in!
'Its' is possessive, because it is showing that the thing owns/has something.
Here is an example to break things down:
"The cat licked its fur."
This is showing the cat OWNS its fur, so it is licking it.
Hope this helps, although you sent this a year ago, at least I hope it helps others!
- Naomi(3 votes)
0:48Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Hello, grammarians, and, hello, Paige. - [Voiceover] Hi, David. - [Voiceover] So, what
are we working on today? - [Voiceover] So, today
we're gonna talk about the difference between it's and its. - [Voiceover] Oh, oh,
that sounds real tricky. - [Voiceover] Yeah, but we'll be okay. - [Voiceover] Okay. So, it's, with an apos-- So, we have these two forms in English and they mean very different things. So, let's go though them really quick. So, it's with an apostrophe
is a contraction, right? What is it a contraction of? - [Voiceover] It is or it has. - [Voiceover] As in, it's
a lovely day outside. Or, for it has, like it's been, it has been one week since
you looked at cheese. - [Voiceover] (laughing)
Sad, it's been a sad week. - [Voiceover] It's been a sad week. As opposed to its. Can you walk me through its. - [Voiceover] So, its
is a possessive pronoun. And it's a little
confusing 'cause possessive usually uses an apostrophe, too. But possessive pronouns
don't use apostrophes. So, you would say something like, I like rib-eye steak
because of its rich flavor. - [Voiceover] That's a
pretty grody-looking steak. - [Voiceover] (laughs) I
know, pink and green is not how you want your steak to look. - [Voiceover] So, we frankly just used its where we would use his
or her or their or our. You would use its. - [Voiceover] Right, it's just
that it's not a person, so. - [Voiceover] So, if I were asking you, can I borrow your book? That's kinda the same thing as I like rib-eye steak
because of its flavor. - [Voiceover] Right, it's showing that the flavor belongs to the steak just like the book belongs to me. - [Voiceover] Right. So, flavor belongs to it, book belongs to you. So, this is the core distinction, is if you're talking about anything that would be about
possession you use its. I-T-S, no apostrophe. If you're trying to contract something, it is or it has, like
it's a lovely day outside or it's been one week
since you looked at cheese. Then you would use I-T apostrophe S 'cause it's a contraction,
you're trying to cram more information into
this one little phrase. - [Voiceover] Precisely. - [Voiceover] Sweet. That's how you choose
between I-T apostrophe S and I-T no apostrophe S. You can learn anything. David out. - [Voiceover] Paige out.