Ask WordMum: It’s vs Its
Ask WordMum series continues! Unclear on if you should use it’s or its in your masterpiece, here are some helpful tips to make sure it’s an editor’s dream.
Our Question
How do I know when to put an apostrophe in its?
Terrible Advice
Apostrophes are wild creatures and will settle nowhere consistently. Use them liberally through your text like seasoning, spice up your text!
WordMum Says
There are lots of rules for when to and when not to use apostrophes. I’m going to ignore all of them except those relevant to this specific situation, so put them all aside in your head for now. For more help with general apostrophes please visit:
https://www.word-family.com/resources/workshops/#2
and check out a previous workshop run by WordMum.
Let’s focus.
There are three potential meanings for the word its (with or without an apostrophe):
Its
Possessive, such as in the body turned over in its grave. Usually, a possessive would have an apostrophe. This is one of the very few cases when it does NOT.
Its
Plural, such as in there were many its in the sentence. Technically, this is correct, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best way to phrase this.
It’s not a common usage of this word because generally rewording the sentence will sound approximately a thousand times better: there were many instances of the word ‘it’ in the sentence, for example. However, it is included here for completeness.
The reason there is no apostrophe here is that apostrophes NEVER indicate a plural. You do not use apostrophes this way and please don’t start here. You may see it enclosed in quotes to be clear (there were many ‘it’s in the sentence), but this is not the same as using an apostrophe.
It’s
Contraction of ‘it is’, such as in it’s sunny outside, which is a contraction of it is sunny outside. This is the ONLY time you use an apostrophe in it’s.
It indicates there is a letter missing. Contractions are always indicated by an apostrophe and this one is no exception. It may be used to contract it was to it’s, but this usage is less common because it’s tends to be read as it is.
So what’s an easy way to remember whether to use an apostrophe? There are a couple of things I ask myself:
- Is there a letter missing? If I can expand the word to it is and the sentence still makes sense, that means we need the apostrophe in it’s.
- Is it possessive? In that case, no apostrophe.
Example Time!
Example Time!
Let’s try putting these tactics into action.
It’s not fair
This can be expanded to it is not fair and it still makes sense, so it’s a contraction and we use the apostrophe.
Not fair doesn’t belong to it, so it’s not possessive.
The car lost its wheel
The wheel here belongs to the car, which is the it in this sentence. That makes it possessive, so we don’t use an apostrophe.
Rewording it to the car lost it is wheel doesn’t make sense, so it’s not a contraction.
I don’t know what day it’s
This one reveals another rule for using it’s: when it appears at the end of a sentence, don’t. This one sounds wrong because the contraction should only be used in the start or middle of a sentence, never at the end. What we want here is the full version: I don’t know what day it is.
We know it’s not possessive because there’s no possession after its, and its doesn’t refer to the owner of anything.
And that’s it! It’s with an apostrophe means there’s a letter missing. That is the only thing you need to remember to get this one right. Go forth, use it wisely.
Got any examples that don’t fit this solution? Drop it into a comment here or on the Discord server. I’d also love to hear if you have different strategies to help you.
Got something you want to have clarified? Then go ask WordMum! Watch this space for our next entry in the series.
Need more advice? Have some other tips or tricks to share? Ask, or tell, WordMum!