One of the most common grammatical errors people make is using it’s and its interchangeably. This is because they are pronounced the same way and have the same apostrophe at the end of their spelling.
It’s important to know which form you should use when describing ownership of something in your writing. It’s a possessive pronoun, meaning that it signals possession of whatever noun comes after it.
It’s a contraction
A contraction is two words that are combined and some letters disappear. They are often replaced by an apostrophe (‘).
We use contractions in writing to save space and make our words sound more natural to readers. They also help save time when preparing advertisements, slogans and other written works that must be short and to the point.
The English language has a lot of quirky rules, which can be confusing when you’re writing. But if you use contractions correctly, they can actually improve your writing.
They can also make it easier to remember a few basic grammar points. For example, you can tell the difference between it’s and its by using a simple trick that doesn’t require a dictionary.
One of the most common mistakes that people make is mixing up the conventions for the contraction it’s with the personal pronoun its. To keep it from happening, here’s a tip: Always write its without an apostrophe if you’re referring to it has and it is, but always add an apostrophe if you’re using it as the determiner.
It’s a personal pronoun
Personal pronouns are a type of monosyllabic word that can be used to replace proper nouns in a sentence. However, they must have a clear antecedent (a noun that comes before the pronoun) to avoid redundancy.
The antecedent determines whether the pronoun refers to an individual person or thing or to a group of two or more. In addition, it also determines the number and gender of the personal pronoun.
A personal pronoun must match its antecedent in person, number, and gender to demonstrate correct pronoun-antecedent agreement. To do this, re-introduce the antecedent before using the pronoun to avoid confusing the reader.
This is a good way to prevent mistakes like mixing up it’s and its. But make sure that you only use it’s when short for it is or it has and its when it refers to something belonging to a person or thing.
It’s a determiner
In grammar, determiners are words that come before a noun or noun phrase. They clarify whether something is general or specific, and they tell us how much or how many of something a noun refers to.
These determiners are: articles (the), demonstratives (this, that, these, those), and quantifiers. They also show the relationship to the speaker of a noun.
Articles are definite articles (the) and indefinite articles (a and an). They usually precede a noun or a noun phrase that contains a noun.
Demonstratives, on the other hand, are words that modify nouns. They are often classified as either demonstrative adjectives or demonstrative pronouns depending on the grammar resource used to learn them.
It’s a possessive
In English, a possessive is a form of the noun or pronoun that shows ownership. It’s used to show that something belongs to someone, a group of people, a country or an animal, and it usually comes directly in front of the object.
To form the possessive, add an apostrophe + s to singular nouns, or just an apostrophe for plural nouns. You can also use’s in place of an apostrophe for nouns that end in s, like class or Carlos.
Possessive nouns are easy to form, but they can be tricky to get right. This guide will help you understand how to use possessive nouns in a clear and consistent way. It’ll also cover common grammar mistakes you should avoid when using this form of the noun.