Here is a grammar refresher on using it’s/its and who’s/whose.
It’s extremely common to see mistaken use of it’s and its, but this is a simple rule:
It’s is a contraction for “it is” or “it has.” Period. Only use it’s to replace “it is” or “it has.” Its is possessive and means belonging to it.
And similarly:
Who’s is a contraction for “who is” or “who has.” Period. Whose is possessive and means belonging to who.
Those are simple, right?
Other possessive pronouns don’t have apostrophes: theirs, ours, yours, my, his, hers. For instance, we don’t write: But we do write:
- The camping gear is their’s. The camping gear is theirs.
- Those kayaks are our’s. Those kayaks are ours.
- That assignment is your’s. That assignment is yours.
- My’s bicycle still looks new. My bicycle still looks new.
- His’s car barely runs. His car barely runs.
- Her’s prom dress is gorgeous. Her prom dress is gorgeous.
- It’s nest. Its nest.
- Who’s gloves are these? Whose gloves are these?
See if you can pick the correct answers:
- It’s/its time to give the dog it’s/its bath.
- Who’s/whose going to drive me to the mall?
- It’s/its the most versatile ingredient to work with.
- I don’t know who’s/whose dog this is.
- It’s/its siding had blown off during the storm.
- Who’s/whose cooking dinner?
- The truck was missing it’s/its door.
- Who’s/whose side are you on?
- It’s/its okay to be confused.
- An idea who’s/whose time has come.
- The tree has lost all it’s/its leaves.
Answers:
- It’s / its
- Who’s
- It’s
- whose
- Its
- Who’s
- its
- whose
- It’s
- whose
- its
Does this help clarify when to use it’s/who’s and its/whose?
Thank you for the suggestions so far. What other grammar topics would you like help with? Let me know in the comments!
Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer, editor, journalist, and chocolate lover. She loves working with words and helps businesses with theirs. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom where she gets to network with writing professionals on a weekly basis. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, Biznik, Facebook, and Twitter.
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thanks I took the test I got 7/11 not bad right.
wonderful! I’m glad you gave it a whirl. 🙂
Still using your laying/lying tips!
How about abbreviation for ‘could not have’?
I would write couldn’t have, many people would say couldn’t of (wrong – misuse of ‘have’ but that’s due to lazy speech) and I’m sure someone would write could not’ve!
I think you answered your own question! I prefer “couldn’t have,” and don’t think we’d see “could not’ve” in writing — definitely hear it in speech though.
“I do not have” seldom, if ever, becomes “I do not’ve,” it’s usually “I don’t have.”
Now I’m wondering if there *is* any rule around “not’ve”. Will have to do some searches!
the have/of usage is a good topic to tackle in the future, thanks for the idea 🙂
it infuriates me when you hear people saying ‘could of’ instead of ‘could have’ – I despair!
Nice!! I’ve never had trouble with these two words… However, I always struggle with using that vs which. Also, I’ve read stories where entire sentences were started with the word ‘which’ and I’m pretty sure that’s not grammatically correct. It kind of sent alarm bells off in my head when I read it.
For example, Jeff was all about pitching on the baseball field and never had any interest in batting.Which is not to say he had a problem with batters, he was glad for anyone to take that responsibility.
Something like that… I think. I’d find the story and particular quotes if I had them handy, but sadly do not. My way of fixing the error would be to extend the sentence, although perhaps the author in the story I read worried about creating run-on sentences. In any case, I’d consider using a semi-colon if necessary.
Sentences can start with many words, but I haven’t used “which” as one of them.
In your example, I’d start the 2nd sentence with “But that is not to say…” Or use a comma and lowercase “…in batting, which is not…” and make “He was glad…” its own sentence.
Very well explained, I always get confused since apostrophe is otherwise used to show a relationship. This post makes the concept very clear, with examples.
I’m glad you found it helpful!
oh so many of my students just won’t /don’t learn
🙂
Wonderful,thank you so much for the lesson. I’m surely not going to have such addles in my writing anymore.
Hi Lisa!
I hope that everything’s going well with you!
May you kindly tell me which of the following two sentences is grammatically correct?
1. Beautiful were the nights we spent by the sea, on whose shore we were bewitched by the roar
of whose water.
2. Beautiful were the nights we spent by the sea, on whose shore we were bewitched by the roar
of its water.