Its or it's: which is correct?
Correct
its (possessive) / it's (it is, it has)
Avoid
it's (as the possessive)
Avoid
its (for "it is")
Summary
Correct: its (possessive) / it's (it is, it has) — Avoid: it's (as the possessive) / its (for "it is"). Its = belonging to it; it's = the contraction of it is or it has.
- Part of speech
- pronoun / contraction
- Source
- Oxford
Why
Oxford: possessive pronouns (its, hers, yours, theirs) never take an apostrophe; it's is only ever the contraction of it is or it has. Test: if you can say "it is", write it's.
Examples
- The company changed its logo last year.
- It's been a long day.
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- Merriam-Webster / Oxford
- Spelling authority
- Merriam-Webster · Oxford English Dictionary / Oxford spelling · SCOWL
- Commonly confused and non-standard forms
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