ITS vs IT’S | English Grammar | Ask Linda!

People often confuse its and it’s. Its is a possessive pronoun indicating ownership. It’s is the contraction of it is. In the example “It’s great to see the dog play with its toys” it’s at the beginning is a contraction while its at the end is used to express ownership of the toys.

These two words often get confused in the English language.

Let’s break it down.

‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun or adjective indicating ownership.

‘It’s’ is the contraction of ‘it is’.

Let’s take a look at this example sentence:

It’s great to see the puppy play with its toys.

‘It’s’ at the beginning of the sentence is a contraction, while ‘its’ at the end is used as a possessive adjective.

Next time you’re not quite sure, think about if you are talking about an ownership or the contraction for ‘it is’.

That’s it for today! See you next time!