Its vs It's, Whose vs Who's
Distinguish the possessive adjective 'its' from the contraction 'it’s' (it is / it has), and the possessive 'whose' from the contraction 'who’s' (who is / who has).
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The happy dog was wagging ___ tail.
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its
'Its' is the possessive adjective. 'It's' means 'it is'.
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The company increased ___ profits significantly last year.
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its
'Its' shows possession. "It's" means 'it is', and 'their' would not agree with the singular 'the company'.
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Hurry up — ___ getting really late!
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it's
"It's" is short for 'it is'. The possessive 'its' has no apostrophe.
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The cat hurt ___ paw on a piece of broken glass.
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its
'Its' is the possessive adjective — the cat's paw.
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___ jacket is this on the back of the chair?
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Whose
'Whose' asks about possession. "Who's" means 'who is'.
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Do you know ___ coming to the meeting this afternoon?
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who's
"Who's" is short for 'who is'. 'Whose' asks about possession.
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Look at the garden — ___ grown so much this summer!
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it's
"It's" is short for 'it has' here — 'it has grown so much'.
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Every country has ___ own customs and traditions.
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its
'Its' is the possessive adjective — 'its own customs'.
Its vs It's, Whose vs Who's
Its (no apostrophe) is the possessive adjective for things, animals, and organizations: 'The dog wagged its tail.' It's (with apostrophe) is always a contraction — either 'it is' or 'it has': 'It's raining' (it is), 'It's grown so much' (it has). The same logic governs the second pair: whose (no apostrophe) is the possessive, asking or stating who owns something: 'Whose jacket is this?' Who's (with apostrophe) contracts 'who is' or 'who has': 'Who's coming to the meeting?' In both pairs, the apostrophe never marks possession — it only marks a missing letter in a contraction. This is the opposite of the rule for possessive nouns (where 's does mark possession), which is exactly why these homophones are so persistently confused, even by fluent writers.
Its vs It's
The company increased its profits significantly. (possessive)
The cat hurt its paw on broken glass. (possessive)
Hurry up — it's getting really late! (it is)
Look at the garden — it's grown so much this summer! (it has)
Whose vs Who's
Do you know who's coming to the meeting this afternoon? (who is)
The Apostrophe Test
To choose correctly, try expanding the word to 'is' or 'has'. If the sentence still makes sense, the apostrophe form is correct. If it doesn't, use the possessive form with no apostrophe: 'its own customs' cannot be expanded to 'it is own customs', so it must be its.
Common Mistakes
✗ The company increased it's profits. → ✓ The company increased its profits.
✗ Who's jacket is this? → ✓ Whose jacket is this?
✗ Do you know whose coming to the meeting? → ✓ Do you know who's coming to the meeting?
✗ Every country has it's own customs. → ✓ Every country has its own customs.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial