Grammar

its / it’s

The apostrophe means “it is.” It has never meant “belonging to it.”

  • Wrong: The company lost it’s way.

    Right: The company lost its way.

    The way belongs to the company. Possessive its, no apostrophe.

  • Wrong: Its going to rain.

    Right: It’s going to rain.

    “It is going to rain.” Contraction, so apostrophe.

Why this one is backwards

Every instinct you have says apostrophe-s means possession. For its, it doesn’t—and that’s the whole problem.

Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. Not his, hers, theirs, ours, or yours. Nobody writes hi’s. Its is in that family and follows that rule.

The apostrophe version is only ever the contraction: it is or it has.

The test

Say “it is.” If the sentence holds, use it’s. If it doesn’t, use its. That is the entire rule, and it has zero exceptions.

More on where apostrophes actually belong: /apostrophe.

Now go find every one you got wrong.