When is its possessive

But, confusingly, English does not use apostrophes when showing possession for personal pronouns: yours , ours , theirs , his , hers , and … its. Its conveys that the rates belong to the hotel. The apostrophe never follows the s. See what we did there? Feedback See Today's Synonym. Grammar Thesaurus. Word Lists. Choose your language.

Adjectives Adjectives: forms Adjectives: order Adjective phrases: functions Adjective phrases: position Adjectives and adjective phrases: typical errors. Comparison: adjectives bigger , biggest , more interesting Comparison: clauses bigger than we had imagined Comparison: comparisons of equality as tall as his father As … as.

Adverbs Adverb phrases Adverbs and adverb phrases: position Adverbs and adverb phrases: typical errors Adverbs: forms Adverbs: functions Adverbs: types Comparison: adverbs worse, more easily Fairly Intensifiers very, at all Largely Much , a lot , lots , a good deal : adverbs Pretty Quite Rather Really Scarcely Very. Above or over?

Across , over or through? Advice or advise? Affect or effect? All or every? All or whole? Allow , permit or let? Almost or nearly? Alone , lonely , or lonesome? Along or alongside? Already , still or yet? Also , as well or too? Alternate ly , alternative ly Although or though? Altogether or all together? Amount of , number of or quantity of?

Any more or anymore? Anyone , anybody or anything? Apart from or except for? Arise or rise? Around or round? Arouse or rouse? As or like? As , because or since? As , when or while? Been or gone? Begin or start? Beside or besides? Between or among? Born or borne? Bring , take and fetch Can , could or may? Classic or classical? Come or go?

Consider or regard? Consist , comprise or compose? Content or contents? Different from , different to or different than? Do or make? Down , downwards or downward?

During or for? Each or every? East or eastern ; north or northern? Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Words at Play When to Use It's vs. What to Know It's is a contraction and should be used where a sentence would normally read "it is.

More Words At Play. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Oct. Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms. Time Traveler. Love words? Sometimes teachers are misinformed. I myself have shared a couple of ideas that turned out to be wrong—or at least not completely correct. It happens. On the other hand, sometimes people interpret what a teacher has said in a way that the teacher did not intend.

So the lesson is learned the wrong way. What to do? Hi, Karen. Your sentence is correct. Its was short. I may add a clarifying sentence about parts of speech to the post above, but I do not want to detract from the simple memory device.

Thanks for the link, Kelly. The video is very funny, and people who already enjoy grammar issues will appreciate it.

The answer, Mary, is that possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes: my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, her, hers, their, theirs—and its. The store has lost its lease. The club has changed its rules. This neighborhood is known for its great cafes. I lost my lease. You lost your lease. He lost his lease. She lost her lease. They lost their lease. We lost our lease. The club lost its lease. This is a bit like devising some wacky theory on stock market behavior and finding a specific day to cite as evidence.

I lost my license You lost your licence. He lost his license. She lost her license. It lost its license. We lost our license. They lost their license. Those examples illustrate the point. If you do not find the point or the illustrations helpful, then please create your own. Hi, Tom. One thing here. It is more similar to words like her or their. Strange, if not completely incorrect. Thank you, Ryan.

My point was to show that possessive pronouns and adjectives do not have apostrophes. This was very concise and helpful. Thank you very much! Sometimes ego can present itself in quite an infantile fashion. But I also see how once you respond to their catty comments, the other party is not heard from again. I have no problem with who and whom. I use the verb lie and lay correctly, nor do I replace well with good. Yet the simple its, has left me discombobulated, until today.

Your site is enlightening.