What Is a Contraction?

A contraction is a word formed from two or more other words. One important way of contracting words in English is to join them together, leaving out letters to make pronunciation easier, and replacing any omitted letters with an apostrophe.

Types of Contractions in English

The two main types of contractions in English that are formed of multiple words and use apostrophes to mark missing letters are contractions of verbs with a negative word and contractions of pronouns with a helping verb. It is the second type that this article addresses.

Contractions of Pronouns and Helping Verbs

Pronouns can be contracted with the following helping verbs, as appropriate to the pronoun:

• am

• are

• is

• has

• have

• had

• shall

• will

• would

Pronouns are not contracted with these verbs when they are used as main verbs.  For example, if someone asked, “Who’s keeping an eye on the rhinoceros?” the answer could be “We are” but not “We’re.” We’re needs to be following by a participle or a complement, as in “We’re going to the store so we can’t watch the rhinoceros” or “We’re through with our turn: it’s your turn to watch her.”

Contractions with It and a Helping Verb

The helping verbs in contractions with it include is, has, had, will, and would, the forms of the verbs that can be used with the third person singular pronoun, which is what it is. This is how they work:

it + is =  it’s                      It is time for pizza! - It’s time for pizza!

it + has = it’s                   It has been a long day. - It’s been a long day.

it + had = it’d                  It had taken 2 hours to clean. - It’d taken 2 hours to clean.

it + will = it’ll                   It will snow tonight. - It’ll snow tonight.

it + would = it’d             It would seem kind of silly. - It’d seem kind of silly.

Notice that combining it with both had and would gives you the contraction it’d and that combining it with both is and has gives you the contraction it’s.

Confusing Contractions with Other Words

The contractions that have the same letters as another word without an apostrophe (that is, a word that is not a contraction) can be easily confused with those words. This group of confusing words includes:

• we’ll and well

• I’ll and ill

• it’s and its

Because they look so much alike, and because many possessives in English are formed with an apostrophe, it’s not surprising that it’s and its are confused. Being conscious of this potential cause of confusion can help you catch the mistake if you should happen to make it.

Why Its Is Confusing

In the case of it’s and its, there’s a special cause of confusion. Its is the possessive form of the personal pronoun it. You might say, “The dog’s over there with its bone,” with its meaning “the bone belonging to the dog.” But in many cases, for example, proper names, we expect possessives to have an apostrophe: “Hector’s cat is named Murgatroyd.”

Possessive Words in English that Take Apostrophes

Most possessives in English are formed in one of the following ways. The most popular way by far is to add apostrophe followed by -s to a singular noun. And example is:

The dog - The dog’s leash

James - James’s opera

Plural words that end in s add an apostrophe only to create the possessive form:

The dogs - The dogs’ owner

When a plural word does not end in s already, apostrophe followed by –s may be added to form the plural:

People—>The people’s choice

Notice that all these ways of forming possessive uses an apostrophe.

Possessive Words in English that Do Not Take Apostrophes

There is one way of forming possessives in English that does not use an apostrophe. It happens only in a few specific cases, and those cases are when the word has a separate possessive form. In these cases, the possessive form is used, and there is no need for an apostrophe to distinguish it. The personal pronouns are such a case.

The personal pronouns in the form in which they’re used as the subject of a sentence are I, you, he, she, it, we, they. There are two types of possessive pronouns for each personal pronoun—one that modifies a noun, one that stands alone—except in the cases of he and it, each of which has only one form for both uses:

• I - my/mine

• you - your/yours

• he - his

• she - her/hers

• it - its

• we - our/ours

• they - their/theirs

The two different uses of its—one where it modifies a noun and one where it stands alone—are demonstrated in these examples:

• This bird ate its food, but that bird didn’t eat its food.

• This bird ate its food, but that bird didn’t eat its.

Avoiding Confusion

 One possible way to remember is to focus on the fact that none of these possessive pronouns has an apostrophe: my, your, its, his, hers, ours, theirs. This is a special group, and most other pronouns form their possessive in the same way as singular nouns:

• everyone - everyone’s

• anyone - anyone’s

• someone - someone’s

• nobody - nobody’s

• anybody - anybody’s

Also, keep in mind that in it’s, the apostrophe is being used for a different purpose—to showing missing letters in the contraction of it and is.

The Difference Between It’s and Its

There are very few optional apostrophes in English. You could argue that ‘til—a shortened form of until—is often spelled til, but there aren’t a lot of other examples. So if you asked someone if it’s and its are the same, people would show no confusion: they’d just say no.

The problem comes up because an apostrophe can be used for two different meanings in English. The apostrophe both functions as a marker of possession in examples like these:

• Juan’s vegetable garden provides the produce for a local restaurant.

• Children’s books often feature colorful illustrations.

• Nobody’s going to find out who ate the last of the really good chocolate chip cookies.

• Jones’s car is in the parking lot behind the grocery store.

But the apostrophe also is used in contractions to indicate one or more missing letters, as in these examples:

• would + not à wouldn’t (o is substituted by an apostrophe)

• you + are à you’re (a is substituted by an apostrophe)

• I + will à I’ll (wi is substituted by an apostrophe)

Because the letters I T S appear in both the contraction it’s and the possessive its, and because an apostrophe can signal either, it can be difficult to remember that in the case of it’s vs. its, the apostrophe signals a contraction and the possessive is spelled without an apostrophe.

It can help your understanding to remember that the other personal pronouns also form their possessives without using an apostrophe. I has the possessive form my; you has the possessive form your; he has the possessive form his; she has the possessive form her; it has the possessive form its; we has the possessive form our; and they has the possessive form their.

It’s vs. Its Helpful Hint

While an apostrophe can be in either a contraction or a possessive, it’s not possible to have a contraction without an apostrophe. First of all, a contraction is the only thing separating some words that are not contractions from ones that are, like these:

• well vs. we’ll

• Ill vs. I’ll

• cant vs. can’t

These words are not interchangeable. Neither are it’s and its. Think about it this way: if its meant it is, it would have to have an apostrophe because a letter would be missing. Since it isn’t missing a letter, it must simply be it with an s added, which in this case means—not a plural—but a possessive.

Meanings of It

It is the third person singular pronoun. It functions in a lot of different ways.

• It is the third person singular subject pronoun, which means that it can take the role of the subject in sentences like:

“It is living in my basement behind the furnace.”

In this type of sentence, it stands in for a noun or noun phrase that is the subject. It  might be a tarantula, a cat, or the cleverest thief of the century.

It functions in a special way in certain sentences in which it acts more as a placeholder than as a specific reference. Examples are sentences like:

“It is raining.” “It is snowing.” “It is going to get dark soon.”

Nobody who heard and understood these sentences would wonder what it stands for in them—it’s as if its just there to shift attention to the real action of the sentence—raining, snowing, or growing dark.

• It is also the form of the third person singular object pronoun. It can be a direct object or an indirect object.

“Felicity gave me a pistachio nut, and I ate it.

“There was something or someone sitting by the ancient shrine and I gave the sacred book to it.”

• Although it is both the subjective and objective form, it is not the possessive form.

Meanings of Its

In most cases, adding s to a word has two results:

• If you add -s to a singular noun, it becomes plural.

pigeon à pigeons

• If you add –s to s regular present tense verb that is used with plural nouns and the pronouns I, you, we, and they, it makes the verb able to be used with singular verbs and the pronouns he, she, and it.

refrigerate à refrigerates

But its is not a noun or a verb, and adding –s has a different result. In most cases, to make a possessive, adding –s is not sufficient. The possessive form requires—in nearly all cases—an apostrophe along with the –s ending. But the pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, and they—instead of having possessives formed with apostrophe –s—have the a distinct word for the possessive case:

The subject pronoun I has the possessive forms my and mine. You has the possessive forms your and yours. He, she, and it have the forms his, her and hers, and its, respectively. We has the possessive forms our and ours. And they has the possessive forms their or theirs.

In summary, the form it is the third person singular neuter subject and object pronoun, while its is the third person singular neuter possessive pronoun.

Review

Its is the possessive form of the neuter singular pronoun it, for which both the subject form and the object form are it. Like the other personal pronouns, its possessive form is a separate word but does not include the typical apostrophe-s ending used to form possessives. It’s is a contraction of the pronoun it and the verb is or the verb has.

Directions

There are three sections to this quiz: fill-in-the-blank,  right/wrong, and verb identification. The answers for the first section tell which form—its or it’s should be used to fill the blank. The answers for the second section are marked R for “Right” or W for “Wrong.” The answers for the third section indicate whether the choice of verb should be is or has.

Fill-in-the-Blank Section

In this section, your job is to choose whether the blank should be filled by its or it’s.

1. ___ a little late in the day to try to tempt us with doughnuts now.

2. Do you think the Chihuahua likes ___ new toy?

3. I thought it was going to snow, but ___ hailing!

4. The house sprung a leak in ___ attic.

5. I cooked that egg, and ___ not hard-boiled!

6. Ross checked the computer, and it seems that ___ battery is dead.

Right/Wrong Section

In this section, your job is to identify whether the use of its or it’s in each sentence is right or wrong.

7. I had the tripe: I think its the most surprising thing I’ve ever tasted.

8. It’s raining so hard that the street is flooding.

9. I think it’s likely that Nona will become student council president.

10. The tiger licked it’s lips.

11. Its new raincoat was making the puppy itch.

12. The movie was a lot better than it’s first installment.

Is/Has Identification Section

In this section, your job is to identify whether the contracted form it’s stands for “its is” or “it has.”

13. It’s been a long time—five years I think—since we last met.

14. It’s about time you showed up: I’ve been waiting for ages.

15. The car is fifteen years old, and it’s starting to show how old it is.

16. Look how long it’s taken Ralph to tie his shoe.

Answers

• Pt. 1 Fill-in-the-blank

1. it’s

2. its

3. it’s

4. its

5. it’s

6. its

• Pt. 2 Right/Wrong

7. W

8. R

9. R

10. W

11. R

12. W

• Pt. 3 Is/Has

13. has

14. is

15. is

16. has