It’s no wonder that “its” and “it’s” are mistaken for one another. Both are spelled with the same letters and look similar in appearance except for the all-important apostrophe. The misuse usually is due to hasty proofreading; spellcheck and grammar check often are of no avail when trying to find the mistaken “its” or “it’s.”
“It’s” is a contraction for “it is.” As a contraction, the word is generally found in less formal writing. The more formal the writing, the fewer the contractions. In a vein of dialogue, the conversation might go as follows:
“It’s up to you, but I think we should turn right.”
An hour later: “Maybe you were right. It’s apparent that Siri gave the wrong directions. I…”
(It’s best to stop here. Taking the wrong turn and listening to Siri are both the wrong answers when no consideration has been given to the person sitting in the passenger seat.)
“Its” is a possessive pronoun; that is, something belongs to “it” whatever “it” may be. If, in the case above, the two people are trying to find their way to the closest veterinarian, the more irritated of the two might say, “It’s your fault we have to go to the vet. You left the chocolate on the counter, and your dog is sick to its stomach.” In such an instance, word choice is vital; the dog belongs not to both people but one, and the dog is deemed unworthy of male or female specification.
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