English Café: Its or It’s

Advanced Details: Its and It’s

1. its = 1-word pronoun like my, his, hers, ours
2. it’s = 2 words: it is or it has

Its is a possessive form of the pronoun it, meaning belonging to it.

• The dog chased its tail. (its = one word)
• The engineering report contained its own recommendations. (its = one word)
• The vendor company lost its license to operate in Thailand. (its = one word)

It’s is a contraction of the words it is or it has.

• It’s Tuesday. (it’s = it is)
• It’s best to do some research before writing your paper. (it’s = it is)
• We need to clean the office, and it’s got to be done today. (it’s = it has)
• It’s been five years since I started working at PTTEP. (it’s = it has)