Did you know? The apostrophe in “it’s” shows omitted letters, not ownership.
Write it’s when the words can expand to it is or it has. Write its without an apostrophe when something belongs to or is associated with the thing already named: “The dog wagged its tail.”
The apostrophe in it’s marks missing letters; it does not mark possession. Its belongs with possessive determiners such as his and her, which also have no apostrophe.
Try this now: replace the word with it is or it has. If the sentence still works, choose it’s. If it becomes nonsense and the meaning is possession, choose its.
Choose the task you need
Use the expansion test
| Sentence | Expansion | Correct choice |
|---|---|---|
| ___ raining. | It is raining. | It’s |
| ___ been a long day. | It has been a long day. | It’s |
| The tree lost ___ leaves. | The tree lost it is leaves. ✗ | its |
| The school changed ___ timetable. | The school changed it has timetable. ✗ | its |
Cambridge Grammar identifies it’s as the contracted form of it is or it has, while its is a possessive determiner. The expansion test works because it checks the grammatical job, not the sound.
Understand why possession has no apostrophe
Many nouns form possession with an apostrophe: the dog’s tail. That pattern tempts writers to produce it’s tail. But pronoun-based possessive forms follow a different pattern: his, hers, ours, yours, theirs and its.
A compact comparison helps: The dog wagged its tail means the tail belongs to the dog. It’s wagging its tail expands to It is wagging its tail. The same sentence can contain both forms because they perform different jobs.
Check “it has” as well as “it is”
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| it’s = it is | Present contraction | It’s ready. |
| it’s = it has | Perfect construction | It’s finished growing. |
| its | Possessive determiner before a noun | Its colour changed. |
Students often learn only “it’s means it is” and then hesitate over It’s been helpful. In that sentence, it’s expands to it has. The following past participle—been—is a useful clue.
Diagnose the exact apostrophe error
| Observed choice | Likely gap | Useful prompt |
|---|---|---|
| The cat licked it’s paw. | Treats every possession like a noun | Can you expand it’s to it is or it has? |
| Its going well. | Misses the contraction | Which letters are omitted from it is? |
| It’s colour is bright. | Chooses by sound | What does the colour belong to? |
| It has lost it’s shape. | Knows the phrase but not the pronoun pattern | Which possessive forms—his, her, its—take no apostrophe? |
One correction routine should make the student do the expansion aloud, mark the grammatical job and then rewrite the sentence. Simply circling the apostrophe rarely changes the decision process.
Transfer the choice into proofreading
During drafting, meaning comes first. During proofreading, search specifically for every its/it’s and run the expansion test. This focused pass is faster than trying to notice every possible error at once.
- Underline the noun after its when it shows possession.
- Write it is or it has above each valid contraction.
- If neither expansion works, inspect whether the sentence itself needs revision.
- Recheck the corrected sentence in its paragraph so tense and reference remain clear.
Current pathway note, checked 12 October 2026: Posting Groups 1, 2 and 3 support admission to secondary schools; they are not subject levels. Individual secondary subjects may be taken at G1, G2 or G3 according to the student’s programme and the subject available. See MOE’s Full Subject-Based Banding overview. The Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) begins in 2027. The applicable syllabus depends on the subject, level, examination year and candidate type; not every subject is available at every level.
A calm next step
If the apostrophe appears and disappears by guesswork, bring one unedited paragraph. The quickest useful check is whether the learner can expand every “it’s” and identify the noun that follows possessive “its”.
eduKateSG’s verified 3-pax positioning allows close attention to the exact step where an answer begins to drift. There is no grade guarantee; the useful question is whether the teaching response matches the learner’s observed error.
Ask eduKateSG about a 3-pax learning conversation. Bring one recent piece of work so the discussion can begin with evidence.
Sources and checking notes
- Cambridge Dictionary Grammar, It’s or its?
- MOE, Full Subject-Based Banding
- SEAB, Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate
Teaching examples and diagnostic routines in this guide are original eduKateSG illustrations. Policy links were checked on 12 October 2026.