Most of the time, an apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone (Mia's bike). With this pair, it works the other way round, and that's what trips people up.
- Its shows that something belongs to it.
- It's is a short form of it is or it has.
Its: it owns something
Its shows that something belongs to it, whether it is an animal, a place, a thing or an idea.
The dog wagged its tail.
The school is proud of its students.
The old castle lost its roof in the storm.
Its belongs with the other ownership words: his, hers, ours, yours and theirs. None of them has an apostrophe, and neither does its.
It's: a squashed-together phrase
It's is two words squeezed into one, with the apostrophe marking the missing letters. It always means it is or it has.
It's raining, so we're taking the bus.
It's my favourite song of the year.
It's been a long week, and I'm ready for the weekend.
In the last example, it's been means it has been. Both versions use the same spelling, so the sentence tells you which one it is.
🤔 Why does English do this?
An apostrophe in Mia's means "belongs to Mia", so it's fair to expect it's to mean "belongs to it". People have been mixing this pair up for centuries, so you're in good company.
Here is what word historians say:
- English once used his for things, not just for boys and men. Shakespeare still used it alongside the brand-new its, and the King James Bible of 1611 doesn't use its at all.
- Around 1600, people began making a new possessive for it, and the first spelling had an apostrophe: it's. It was common through the 1600s.
- Slowly, its without the apostrophe took over. That left it's free for the short form of it is and it has. Historians disagree about exactly when this happened, but it was well under way by the 1700s and 1800s.
So the odd spelling is a leftover from a time when both jobs were still being sorted out. The pattern makes sense once you know that its belongs with his and hers, not with Mia's.
Easy way to tell them apart
Say the sentence out loud with it is or it has in the gap.
- It sounds strange: use its.
- It works: use it's.
The cat licked ___ paw.
The cat licked it is paw? That sounds strange, so write its.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Ownership? No apostrophe.
❌ The dog wagged it's tail.
✅ The dog wagged its tail.
Meaning "it is" or "it has"? Add the apostrophe.
❌ Its time to go home.
✅ It's time to go home.
Never its'. That spelling doesn't exist.
❌ The team celebrated its' win.
✅ The team celebrated its win.
📌 Good to know
- It's fine to use the short form it's in everyday writing, such as messages, emails and stories. For very formal writing, some people prefer to write out it is. Both are correct.
- The swap test works for other apostrophe look-alikes too: they're is they are, you're is you are, and who's is who is. See Their vs There vs They're for another pair that works this way.
- Spell-checkers don't always catch this mix-up, because both words are real words. Always do the swap test before you press send.
💬 In a conversation
Mia: Is the library open today?
Tom: I think so. It's open until six, and its café has the good hot chocolate.
Mia: Perfect. It's a plan.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Its sits with his and hers. Ask yourself: would I write his here? If his fits, write its.
It's has a tiny hole where letters fell out of it is (the i) or it has (the ha). That hole is the apostrophe.
No letters missing? No apostrophe.