Many students, particularly those appearing in IELTS exam, often confuse the usage of ITS and IT’S. (Unfortunately, old habits die hard and students tend to commit this mistake again and again) So, here’s an explanation.

Question: When should I use ‘its’ and ‘it’s’?

Usage of ITS: Without an apostrophe (‘), this is a pronoun similar to ‘it’. (I choose not to go into core grammar concepts such as possessive pronoun. Keeping it simple.)

Example: The government of India and its armed forces have conducted surgical strikes across the border. (its refers to government of India)

Example: The union and its members are protesting against the new Education Reform Bill. (its refers to the union)

Usage of it’s: Similar to we’ll (short for “we will”) and doesn’t (short for does not), it’s is a contraction for “it is”.

Example: The government of Afghanistan has declared that it’s (it is) not going to tolerate any form of terrorism on its soil. (I’m sure that by now you’ve understood the difference between it’s and its in this sentence.)

Example: The library has announced that it’s (it is) not accepting any membership applications.

I hope this article was useful. Keep visiting to learn more.