Read the following sentences:
It’s been a beautiful day.
He’ll tell you about its smell.
What’s the difference between ‘it’s’ and ‘its’ in these two sentences? In the first case, ‘it’s’ is short for the verb combination ‘it is’ in the sentence ‘It’s been a beautiful day. In the second case, ‘its’ is the possessive adjective form showing possession in the sentence ‘He’ll tell you about its smell.’ Learn more about the differences between these two forms and practice to make sure you understand.
The choice between “its” or “it’s” is one of the most commonly made mistakes in the English language by both native and non-native speakers. Here are the rules to guide making the choice between these two similar – but very different – forms.
It’s vs. Its
It’s is the contracted form of It is. This form is used in sentences using “they” as the subject of the sentence with the verb “to be” used as either the helping verb (e.g. It’s going …, It’s raining …) or the principal verb of the sentence.
Examples:
It’s difficult to find work these days.
It’s going to rain soon.
Its is the possessive pronoun form.
This form is used to express that “it” has a specific quality, or that something belongs to “it”.
Examples:
I found its taste to be superb!
Its color is deep red, almost Burgundy.