Good Writing Is Not Rocket Science!
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Photo credit: Kelsey Shogren
Is It It’s or Its?
“It’s raining!!” As a native Californian, there is no sound sweeter than the rhythm of rain gently falling outside my window and pattering softly on the roof.
I then thought about how often my students and clients—be it in their dissertations, reports, or essays—mix up “its” and “it’s.”
It is so simple to differentiate between the two.
It’s is a contraction for “it is.” That is really all you need to know.
So, the apostrophe when used with contractions indicates that a letter has been dropped (the letter “i” in this case). Therefore, if you can replace “it’s” with “it is,” you have a contraction, and you use the apostrophe.
We don’t often consider that with contractions, the apostrophe indicates that a letter has been dropped. So, for example, with “rock and roll” music, let’s consider where you would put the apostrophes: Using this rule that an apostrophe indicates a dropped letter, it would be rock ‘n’ roll music (that is, both the “a” and the “d” have been dropped).
Another example of often-misplaced apostrophes is with dates. But the same logic applies: 1960 becomes ’60, and the 1960s become the ‘60s—the apostrophe indicates that the “19” has been dropped. Many people write “the 60’s”; this is wrong.
Its indicates possession: So, for example, “The dog’s coat was very shiny,” or, “Its coat was very shiny.” In this second sentence, its represents “the dog’s. In other words, it is possessive.
Here are other examples of how to correctly use the apostrophe to indicate possession:
The rule for singular possessive is to add ’s:
• The student’s paper was due.
• The child’s school had a vegetable garden.
• I did a full day’s work.
The rule for plural possessive is to add ’:
• The students’ papers were due.
• She had 50 years’ experience.
Exceptions are when the plural does not end in an -s:
• The children’s school was green with white trim.
• The women’s group met every Friday afternoon.
BUT what about when the word ends in an -s, -x, or -z? Although writers often wish to treat these singular words as if they were plural (that is, just adding an apostrophe—as if the “s” were already there and so why add another one, right?), most academic style guides still follow the basic rule: So, the correct way to indicate possession with these words is still to add ‘s:
• James’s dog was a German Shepherd.
• Marx’s book was called Das Capital.
• Frantz’s native language was German.
If you found this blog to be helpful, consider purchasing Kathleen’s book, De-Stressing the Dissertation and Other Forms of Academic Writing: Practical Guidance and Real-Life Stories. It can be purchased online at for $15.00.
Kathleen Kline is an academic editor with over 35 years’ experience working with students across six continents. She is the Director of the Writing Center at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California.