It's = it is. its = belonging to it. And yes, it does matter. There is a distinction between the two.
It's time to go. The dog turned on its tail and ran the other direction. OK, got it. Thanks for the help.
Two thumbs up for Evelon. Does it matter how a chef uses garlic? Does it matter how a surgeon swings his scalpel? Using words properly always matters, and should have particular worth to writers. Mistakes happen, and we all have our own little blind spots concerning proper usage, but getting it right is the difference between writing in a journal, ranting in a vanity blog, and perhaps, maybe, someday getting published.
I didn't mean it in the sense of "who cares?" The intent of the question was, "Are it's and its interchangeable?" Of course I want to follow the rules!
There is a place for its (no apostrophe after the s). It shouldn't be used often, but there are times: The dog ran after its ball. Unless you are prepared to ascertain the sex of the dog, then 'its' is appropriate.
It's - don't - wasn't - haven't - are contractions. The apostrophe is there to show the missing letter. In full they read as - it is - do not - was not - have not. If in doubt say it out loud. No such thing as its'. an example The dog ate it's bone. This is clearly wrong. If you remove the apostrophe and replace it with a letter you will get. The dog ate it is bone. Therefore: 'The dog ate its bone', must be correct. Contractions are often used because that is the way we speak. The modern child would not say 'Mother, I do not like it.' They would probably say. 'Mum, I don't like it.'
Thanks for clearing that up, my grammar is a bit dire at times. I'm halfway through a script and that annoying Paperclip has decided to stick a squiggly blue line under every "Its" it can find.
It's an understandable confusion (That's it's meaning it is, of course) For example, if the ball belonged to Halcyon, it would rightly be decribed as Halcyon's ball. So, if the ball belonged to it, then it would be understandable to describe it as it's ball. Understandable, but unfortunately, wrong, because in that context it should merely be described as its ball, so as not to be confused with it's meaning it is. Clear as mud!
its= possession it's= abbreviation for it is. Example it's time to go (it's) "Its shadow" (its) ANd yes It does matter
"Its" is a pronoun for a noun that does not have a gender, such as "The battery lost its power." But I don't think its' is a plural, so adding a hypen after the "s" should not be used. I can be wrong though, so don't take my advice.
I'd tease you about it, but I had to ask for the same distinction during my first year of junior college. The end result is the theory that only by not asking questions does one embrace ignorance. Cheers!
