Revision: Its or It's?
Welcome to Brigid's HOW TO AVOID COMMON MISTAKES series.
Its or It's?
These two little words often confuse students because they:
Sound the same
Are written differently
Have different meanings
Words which sound the same but have different meanings & spellings are called homophones.
*Incorrect use causes loss of precious exam marks.
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Its & It's
There are 3 main ways to use its & it's.
Its... The possessive form. Something or someone which belongs to a thing
It's... The short way (contraction) to write & say It is
It's...The short way to say It has (not written)
1. Its The possessive form
Its
Something (or someone) which belongs to (or is associated) with a thing.
Its nose
Its ball
Its feathers
Its toy
Its mother
What is a thing?
An inanimate object E.g. a tree, a car, a house
An animal with an unspecified/unknown gender
A young human baby with an unspecified/unknown gender
Its engine...the engine belongs to the car (an inanimate object). The car's engine.
Its web... the web belongs to the spider (we don't know if the animal is male or female). The spider's web.
Its pram... the pram belongs to the baby (we don't know if the baby is male or female). The baby's pram.
Its fur... the fur belongs to the rabbit (we don't know if the animal is male or female) The rabbit's fur.
2. It's The short form of It is
Two ways to write & say it's
Present tense
Present continuous tense
Present Tense
It's a fruit... short form of ... It is a fruit
It's happy... short form of ... It is happy
It's raining... short form of... It is raining
Present continuous
It's swimming... short form of... It is swimming
It's crying... short form of.. .It is crying
It's raining... short form of.. .It is raining
3. It's the short form of It has
It's dropped its toy... a short form of It has dropped its toy
It's eaten the cake... a short form of It has eaten the cake
It's crawled away... a short form of It has crawled away
It's smashed on the floor... a short form of It has smashed on the floor
It's broken... a short form of It has broken...
It's been raining all day... a short form of It has been raining all day
Test yourself & your study buddy
Its or It's. Fill in the gaps.
The baby has dropped...dummy.
The sun is shining. ...sunny today!
Yikes! There is a spider. ...crawling up your leg!
... a blue tractor.
... really windy today.
Look at that kitten. ... really cute.
...flying through the window.
The cat is licking ... paws.
The baby is drinking ...milk.
The polar bear's playing in the snow. ... rolling over & over.
Answers
The baby has dropped its dummy.
The sun is shining. It's sunny today!
Yikes! There is a spider. It's crawling up your leg!
It's a blue tractor.
It's really windy today.
Look at that kitten it's really cute.
It's flying through the window.
The cat is licking its paws.
The baby is drinking its milk.
The polar bear's playing in the snow. It's rolling over & over.
SCORES
10...Fabulous! You are knock out!!!
7-9 Good job! Try again until you get 10.
Under 7 Keep trying with a friend until you get 10!
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Have a fun & creative week.
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Thank you
Brigid
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