What is the difference between its and it's?

What is the difference between its and it's?

• A. Its possessive; it's contraction
• B. Its is a contraction; it's possessive
• C. Its is a possessive determiner or pronoun; it's is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'
• D. Its is always capitalized; it's lowercase

Answer: (C)

Ownership is what separates its from its contraction. Its shows possession of a noun, as in “The bird preened its feathers,” where the feathers belong to the bird. Its can also function as a possessive pronoun, standing in for a noun in the possessive sense, and it does not use an apostrophe. Its is never followed by an apostrophe, which distinguishes it from other possessives. Its contraction, on the other hand, includes an apostrophe and shortens either “it is” or “it has.” You can test this by replacing the word with “it is” or “it has.” If the sentence still reads naturally, you should use its contraction, as in “It’s raining” or “It’s been a long day.” If that replacement doesn’t fit, use its. In short, its = possessive form, without an apostrophe; it's = contraction of it is or it has.

Ownership is what separates its from its contraction. Its shows possession of a noun, as in “The bird preened its feathers,” where the feathers belong to the bird. Its can also function as a possessive pronoun, standing in for a noun in the possessive sense, and it does not use an apostrophe. Its is never followed by an apostrophe, which distinguishes it from other possessives.

Its contraction, on the other hand, includes an apostrophe and shortens either “it is” or “it has.” You can test this by replacing the word with “it is” or “it has.” If the sentence still reads naturally, you should use its contraction, as in “It’s raining” or “It’s been a long day.” If that replacement doesn’t fit, use its.

In short, its = possessive form, without an apostrophe; it's = contraction of it is or it has.