Its and it's trip up even experienced writers, because in English an apostrophe usually shows possession. With it, the rule is the opposite.

The short answer #

Word Meaning Example
it's it is or it has It's raining. It's been a long day.
its belonging to it The dog wagged its tail.

It's = it is / it has #

It's is always a contraction. The apostrophe stands in for missing letters.

  • It's cold outside. → It is cold outside.
  • It's been a week. → It has been a week.

Its = belonging to it #

Its is a possessive pronoun, just like his, hers, and ours. None of those have an apostrophe, and neither does its.

  • The company changed its logo.
  • Every plant needs its own pot.

The one test you need #

Read the sentence aloud with "it is" or "it has" instead.

  • If it makes sense, write it's.
  • If it sounds wrong, write its.

The app updates ___ design every year. → "The app updates it is design"? No. So: its.

Common mistakes #

Wrong Right
The cat licked it's paw. The cat licked its paw.
Its a great idea. It's a great idea.
Its' This form doesn't exist in English.

Catch it automatically #

Both its and it's are real words, so spell check won't flag the wrong one. AI Grammar Checker understands the sentence and swaps them for you in one tap.