# its/it's grammar help needed **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408 "2000-07-30T05:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/1 "2000-07-30T05:20:08Z")
I can never remember the rules regarding the its/it’s. Can someone fill me in please? ---
**Author:** ![Fanny\_May](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3be4f8/32.png) [@Fanny\_May](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fanny_May)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/2 "2000-07-30T05:25:44Z")
\*\* His, hers, its. No mark \*\* It is -\> it’s needs a contraction mark. ---
**Author:** ![Wood\_Thrush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b38774/32.png) [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/3 "2000-07-30T05:35:18Z")
The bird sits on its nest. ---
**Author:** ![Kyberneticist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kyberneticist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyberneticist)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/4 "2000-07-30T06:25:49Z")
Bleah. English. So messy. I say “it’s” (the contraction) should be deprecated, and the use of “its” for the posessive changed to “it’s.” If only English was as consistent as computer code. Well, not Perl code… ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/5 "2000-07-30T06:37:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wood Thrush \* > \*\*The bird sits on its nest. \*\* Yep, that makes it simple all right. ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/6 "2000-07-30T07:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lunasea \* > \*\*I can never remember the rules regarding the its/it’s. Can someone fill me in please? > \*\* Oh thank you, thank you lunasea!! Thank you for caring enough to want to know the difference! As a technical writer, I cringe every time I see misuse of the two words. To me, I see it as a sign of illiteracy. That’s really tough for me to swallow, when I see the words used incorrectly by people whom I believe are intelligent and educated. So thank you!! Baglady pulls out a nesting bird out of her bag to give to lunasea. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/7 "2000-07-30T15:08:11Z")
Wood Thrush: That is perfect, I’ll never forget again. Too bad my teachers ever suggested something that simple. Baglady: I know, and I’ve been doing it wrong for years too. I get it right from now on, just for you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/8 "2000-07-30T15:09:24Z")
I will get it right. Darn!!! ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/9 "2000-07-30T15:11:34Z")
never suggested ::walks away quickly muttering to herself “use the preview idiot”:: ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/10 "2000-07-30T15:21:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lunasea \* > \*\*I can never remember the rules regarding the its/it’s. Can someone fill me in please? > \*\* We’ve been through this before: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32412](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32412) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2000, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/11 "2000-07-31T01:18:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyberneticist \* > \*\*Bleah. English. So messy. > I say “it’s” (the contraction) should be deprecated, and the use of “its” for the posessive changed to “it’s.” > > If only English was as consistent as computer code. > Well, not Perl code… \*\* It is consistent. The possessives of pronouns do not have apostrophes. His, hers, its. Simple. And Perl is very conssitent if you write it correctly. (There are a LOT of bas Perl programmers out there, mostly because Perl lets you be bad. 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Kyberneticist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kyberneticist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyberneticist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2000, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/12 "2000-07-31T01:41:33Z")
Ok, but why the possesives of pronouns, but not nouns? That’s consistent in the same fashion as Perl, which has a bunch of special case rules to give you that rope to hang youself with. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2000, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/13 "2000-07-31T02:50:58Z")
> [@](#): > > **Kyberneticist** \* wondered: \* > Ok, but why the possesives of pronouns, but not nouns? The more common the word, the more resistant it is to generalized grammar rules - like “add 's to make possessive.” Pronouns are more common than nouns and so are less likely to follow generalized rules. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2000, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-grammar-help-needed/27408/14 "2000-07-31T04:51:23Z")
I never understood why this is difficult. Just substitute it is for it’s and if the sentence makes sense use it’s, if not use its Example: The bird ate it is dinner. That makes no sense so use its not it’s.