Not long ago, I spoke to a professional writer who was never taught grammar or punctuation. He told me he writes its or it’s at random, hoping to be right about half the time. He’s not alone. In all the professional writing I review in my writing workshops, that one apostrophe is the most common punctuation error. But there is an easy rule.
It’s is short for it is or it has.
If you are about to write its, would it is or it has makes sense? If so, add the apostrophe. If not, don’t.
That’s all you need to know. There are no exceptions. There is no such word as its’.
Does it matter?
If you want to help your reader understand what you write, there are many higher priorities than the apostrophe, even among punctuation marks. Your first concern should be the full stop: are you using enough? In any normal format for a document or email, don’t write more than 2 lines without a full stop. That will help your reader more than any apostrophe.
Sadly, though, errors of spelling, grammar and punctuation do matter, especially when making a first impression or influencing a reader who doesn’t already respect your expertise. Readers who lack your specialist knowledge and experience may understand spelling, grammar and punctuation. They will spot small mistakes and draw the illogical (but powerful) conclusion that your knowledge of the subject-matter is no better than your knowledge of written English. They may also conclude, with more reason, that your approach to them has been rushed or careless. Even minor irrelevant mistakes, that don’t affect the meaning or hinder understanding, can prompt these reactions.
So, if you know you are weak on grammar, spelling and punctuation, it is worth getting an expert to check your high-stakes documents before you send them. And take an interest in learning the rules yourself – starting with that pesky apostrophe in its.
If the rule is that simple, why are so many writers confused?
It really is confusing. To start with, the apostrophe has two main uses in English. It can indicate:
- Missing letters. An apostrophe often shows (roughly) where words have been shortened. That’s why we write it’s instead of it is or it has.
Examples:
he’s – he is
I’d – I had
don’t – do not
won’t – will notThis road sign points to:
Stratf’d – Stratford
Ciren’ – Cirencester
W’wick – Warwick
- Belonging. We end a word in ‘s or s’, to show that what comes next belongs to that word.
Examples:
This is ClarifyNow’s blog.
It answers subscribers’ questions.
This road sign points to Stratford, Shakespeare’s home town.
According to the second use, you would expect it’s or its’ to show belonging. But they don’t, because there is an exception to this use, which is the other cause of confusion.
We never add an apostrophe to show that something belongs to you, me, him, her, us, them or it. Instead, we use a series of slightly different words: your, my, his, her, our, their, and its. For example, we write not of him’s dog nor his’ dog but of his dog. That’s why we write its, without an apostrophe, to mean belonging to it.
If that’s confusing, don’t worry. Follow the simple rule and turn your attention to something more rewarding, like using more full stops.
Action
- Use more full stops.
- Use it’s to mean it is or it has.
- Get interested in punctuation and grammar.
- For a guide to plain legal English, read the book Clarity for Lawyers.
- Follow the blog.
