It's vs. Its

It’s Vs. Its                          

Overview 

Let’s discuss the difference between it’s vs. its. This is a common error in reports, and it is usually not picked up by spell check.   

Lesson

It’s is the shortened form of the words: It Is. The golden rule to remember is that it’s always, always means “It IS.” Anytime you use “It’s” in a sentence, say it as It IS. Example: I think It’s Going to be a beautiful day. Now, let’s rewrite is as “It IS.” I think it is going to be a beautiful day.  This makes grammatical sense.

Conversly, ITS shows possession. Example: The cat is licking its paw. For practice, let’s write it using the improper form of it’s. The cat is licking it’s paw. If you remember the golden rule stated above, you’ll realize this is the improper use of it’s when you proofread. If you remember that “it’s” always means “It IS,” you will realize the improper example reads: The cat is licking it is paw.  When you say it that way, you see the error.

In summary: It’s always means: It is. Examples: I think it’s going to be a beautiful day. It’s sunny and pleasant outside.

Its always shows possession. Examples: the cat is licking its paw. the cat usually does this after eating from its bowl.

I always teach that when you get to small words like “if, is, it’s, its, to, too, etc.” in your reports, hit the brakes! Read them slowly and carefully to ensure you are using the correct form of the word.  Spell check and grammar check will often miss these errors.

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