It’s or its? Who’s or whose?
This appears more complicated than it really is. The confusion is understandable – many people dimly remember that ’s is what you put on the end of a word to mean “belonging to”, like “Dave’s bar” or “Mr Creosote’s wafer-thin mint”. But that does NOT apply to every case – and particularly not to words like his, hers, its or whose.
It’s means “it is” or “it has”:
- It’s no secret that the stars are falling from the sky.
- I know you don’t want to do it, but it’s got to be done.
Its means “belonging to or connected with it”:
- The dog chewed its bone hungrily.
- Rank has its privileges.
The same applies to “who’s” and “whose”.
Who’s is a short form for “who is” or “who has”:
- Who’s that dancing in the red dress?
- Guess who’s been on Match of the Day!
Whose means “belonging to or connected with whom”:
- Whose pen is this?
- There is a prize for the competitor whose dog is the most obedient.
The correct forms for yours, hers, ours and theirs are as I’ve just written them - they should never have an apostrophe.
- Is this drink mine or yours?
- They had towels marked His and Hers.
- Their garden may be bigger than ours, but our trees are taller than theirs.
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