The Apostrophe with its vs. it's

Its or It's?

Many people--both native speakers of English and learnersof the language--are confused by it's and its. These twoshort words sound exactly the same, but their meanings and uses are quite different. It's means either it is or it has. To know whether the "-'s" means is or has, look at the words which follow.

Its is the possessive pronoun; it modifies a noun.

It's is a contraction of it is or it has.

Incorrect: The cat carried it's kitten in it's mouth. (Possessive pronoun, no apostrophe) 

          Incorrect: Its 9:00 in the morning, so school is starting. (Needs to be a contraction of it is)

Correct: The cat carried its kitten in its mouth. (Possessive pronoun)

Correct: I think it's going to rain today. (Contraction of it is)

Correct: It's been a very long time. (Contraction of it has)

It's

 

It's going to rain, I think. ( 's = is )

It's time to leave. Hurry up! ( 's = is )

It's cold in here! ( 's =is )

It's my turn to wash the dishes, isn't it? ( 's = is )

It's quite difficult to get a high TOEFL score. ( 's = is )

It's easy to lose track of the time. ( 's = is )

This isn't my book. It's Fernando's. ( 's = is )

When's his birthday? It's November 1st, isn't it? ( 's = is )

It's 10:15. We have a meeting soon. ( 's = is )

It's felt by many that English spelling is crazy. ( 's = is )

It's been a long day! ( 's = has )

It's taken Bill a long time to fix his car. ( 's = has )

It's gotten cooler in the last hour. ( 's = has )

It's been raining most of the day. ( 's = has )

Oh, no! Look at my bicycle! It's got a flat tire! ( 's = has )

______________________________________________

Its

 

We're reading a story by Shakespeare. Its title is
Romeo and Juliet.

I really like the way that car looks, but its price is
more than I want to pay.

Have you tried the new restaurant on Elm Street?

Its name is "Marco's" and it serves Italian food.