Its is an adjective that indicates possession. The entire house is beautiful, but its backyard is what makes it stand out. Occasionally, slipping in an apostrophe where there’s not supposed to be one can happen to anyone. That’s usually the case when it comes to these two words: it’s and its.
Just as the pronoun she has the possessive form her and just as he has the possessive form his, the pronoun it has a possessive form as well: its. Thus: The machine lost its power. The agency published its decision in the newspaper. Please note the difference in forming the possessive of the pronoun it. We simply add ‑s.
People often get confused when trying to decide whether to use its or it's. It's is a contraction for "it is", and not a possessive form of it. Its — without the apostrophe — is the possessive form (like "his", "hers" or "theirs") of it, and can be loosely translated as "of it" or "belonging to it".
Its with no apostrophe, on the other hand, is the possessive word, like "his" and "her," for nouns without gender. For example, "The sun was so bright, its rays blinded me."
Mixing up it’s and its is an extremely common mistake. In this article, we’ll explain the difference between its and it’s, provide tips about how to remember the difference, and even cover some related questions.
The difference between its and it’s comes down to function: its shows possession, while it’s is a contraction of it is or it has. Its is the possessive form of it, used to show that something belongs to or is associated with something else.