One of the most common mistakes I see in pieces I’m asked to proofread (and even plenty of materials I see already published out and about in the world) is the improper use of it’s and its.
So what do each of these mean? When is it proper to use each? It’s more simple than you may think!
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is.” So if you can fill “it is” into the sentence, then you can use “it’s” (there may, however, be times when you don’t want to use a contraction, in which case you’d just keep “it is”). For example: It’s nice to see you!
“Its” is the possessive form – meaning something belongs to “it.” Here’s an example: The new hotel was beautiful. Its pool was very popular with my children.
Hope this helps clear up this common area of confusion. Questions? Just ask!