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Homophones 2 - Its and It's
"The cat licked its paws and cleaned itself" or "The cat licked it's paws and cleaned itself"?

Homophones 2 - Its and It's

How many times have you made the mistake of using the words ‘’its’ and ‘it’s’ wrongly? Do you still get confused with the correct usage? Don’t fret! In this quiz, we will try to make you an expert!

Remember that ‘it’s’ is the contracted form of ‘it is’ or ‘it has’. The apostrophe (') represents the missing letters. 'It’ is a pronoun and ‘is’ and ‘has’ are verbs. For example:

‘It is hard to tell the difference between an extra cover drive and a cover drive’ can also be written as:

‘It’s hard to tell the difference between an extra cover drive and a cover drive’.

If you had used ‘its’ in the above example, then it would have been wrong. ‘Its’ is the possessive form of ‘it’ and also a pronoun. ‘Its’ is the same irrespective of the gender because it is normally used to describe inanimate objects or animals. For example:

"The lioness looks after ITS cubs very well."

"The elephant is a huge animal and ITS legs are as big as a tree trunk!"

"The table is an odd one as ITS legs are shaped differently."

The next time you get confused try a simple test of using ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ in place of ‘its’ or ‘it’s’ and if the sentence still makes sense then ‘it’s’ would be correct. If it does not make sense then ‘its’ would be correct. Another simple test to try is to replace the ‘its’ with ‘her’ or ‘his’. If the replaced words fit into the sentence and makes sense then it is likely that you should use "its." Yet another quick test is to look for possession. Does the word describe something which belongs to 'it'? If so then ‘its’ would be correct, but if not then use 'it's' instead.

Play this quiz and see if you know when to use 'it's' and 'its'.

1.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘its’ correctly.
Its the price of the car that will determine whether we buy it or not.
Whether we buy the latest model of the car will depend on its price.
The price of the car; its the determining factor for me.
The salesman knew that its the price factor which stopped me from buying the car.
In answer 2 we are talking about the car's price and therefore possession. In answers 1, 3 and 4 'it's' should be used as it stands for 'it is'
2.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘its’ correctly.
Its the same dog I saw whose tail was wagging.
Its the tail of the dog I saw wagging.
The dog wagged its tail when it saw me coming.
Wagging the tail; its the dog's way of showing that he is friendly to me.
In answer 3 we are talking about the dog's tail and therefore possession. In the other options 'it is' could be used and so 'it's' would be the correct usage
3.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘it's’ correctly.
The animal is tough and it's skin is thick
It's a tough animal, it does not need much care
The tougher the animal, the easier it's care
I love my pet, it's fur is so soft
In answer 2 if we expand 'it's' to 'it is' the sentence still reads correctly. In the other options 'its' should be used in place of 'it's' as the sentences talk about the skin, the care and the fur of an animal - each showing possession
4.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘its’ correctly.
The cat licked its paws and cleaned itself.
Its the cat which cleaned itself.
The cat licked her paws. Its the way a cat cleans itself.
Its good that cats clean themselves.
In answer 1 we are talking about the cat's paws and therefore possession. In the other options 'it is' could also be used so 'it's' would be the correct usage
5.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘it's’ correctly.
Do you think it's going to rain tomorrow in Bangalore?
I am going to Bangalore tomorrow. It's weather must be good.
Bangalore had bad weather and it's rainfall was almost 2 inches.
Don't go to Bangalore tomorrow. It's roads will be clogged on account of the rainfall predicted.
In answer 1 if we expand 'it's' to 'it is' the sentence still reads correctly. In the other options 'its' should be used in place of 'it's' as the sentences talk about Bangalore's weather, rainfall and roads - each of which show possession
6.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘its’ correctly.
Its the young that are looked after by the lioness.
Its the lioness which looks after the young.
A lioness looks after its young with love and care.
Its the love and care that the lioness bestows on the young.
In answer 3 we are talking about the lioness' young and therefore possession. In the other options 'it is' could be substituted and so 'it's' would be the correct usage
7.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘it's’ correctly.
The goatherd cut down the banana tree as it's leaves made the goat sick.
The banana tree and it's leaves did not suit the goat.
Since the banana tree was only two feet in height the goat was able to eat it's leaves.
It's the eating of the banana leaves that caused the goat to fall sick.
In answer 4 expand 'it's' to 'it is' and the sentence still reads correctly. In the other options 'its' should be used in place of 'it's' as the leaves belong to the banana tree, showing possession
8.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘it's’ correctly.
Handle the book carefully, it's a very old book.
Handle the book carefully, it's pages are very old.
Handling the book carefully will ensure it's longevity.
To ensure it's long life, the book must be handled carefully.
If we expand 'it's' to 'it is' in answer 1 the sentence reads still correctly. In the other options 'its' should be used in place of 'it's' as the sentences talk about the pages, longevity and long life of the book - each of which show possession
9.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘it's’ correctly.
It's problems were so many that they eluded a solution.
Though it's problems are manifold I tried to solve them.
I applied time tested strategies to solve it's many problems.
It's not a difficult issue to tackle if you break the problem into little steps.
In answer 4 if we expand 'it's' to 'it is' the sentence still reads correctly. In the other options 'its' should be used in place of 'it's' as the problems belong to the issue, showing possession
10.
Choose the sentence from the four options that uses ‘its’ correctly.
The minister planted a sapling and its type was an oak.
Its special because the minister planted it.
The minister likes sitting under the tree, its cool and shady under it.
Its been raining since the minister arrived.
In the correct answer the word 'its' means 'belonging to' the sapling. In answers 2 and 3, 'its' should be 'it's', which is the short form of 'it is.' In answer 4, 'its' should be 'it's', which is the short form of 'it has.' Remember that when you want to show possession you use 'its'. One way to distinguish is to substitute 'its' and 'it's' with 'it is' and 'it has' and check if it still makes sense
Author:  V T Narendra
Primary School English Play this quiz again

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