its

1. 1
   of a thingdeterminer

   Belonging to or connected with a thing, animal, or organization already mentioned.

   The town is proud of its old bridge.

   Every plant needs its own space to grow.

   UsageNo apostrophe for 'belonging to it': its tail (not incorrect: it's tail). It's means 'it is' or 'it has'.

   Note

   A latecomer to English: the neuter possessive was once his, and its took its place only gradually, winning out fully by the 1700s. Early printers often wrote it's, as in Florio's 1603 Montaigne ("contrarie to it's end"), and the 1611 King James Bible still read "of it own accord," which later printings changed to "its own accord."

2. 2
   it iscontractionobsoletecontraction

   Obsolete spelling of it's ('it is'), from the seventeenth century before apostrophes were fixed; today the same spelling is an error.

   The Fleſh of man, becauſe its Nouriſhed by purer Blood, is delicater than the fleſh of other Creatures, and prefered before it by Canibals, or Man-Eaters.

   1665, Johannes Riolanus, “The Division of Mans Body”

   Note

   In seventeenth-century print, its and it's had no fixed jobs: Balthazar Gerbier and Culpeper's translation of Riolanus both print its for "it is", while it's could also mark the possessive. The modern rule, an apostrophe for the contraction and none for possession, came later. In older texts, decide by sense, not spelling: if "it is" or "it has" fits, read it that way. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Balthazar Gerbier used its for "it is" in seventeenth-century print. en.wiktionary.org
   • Culpeper's translation of Riolanus contains seventeenth-century its meaning "it is." en.wiktionary.org
   • It's could also represent the possessive in seventeenth-century printing. en.wiktionary.org
   • The modern distinction between possessive its and contracted it's developed after the historical variation illustrated here. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   used alonepronoun

   That which belongs to it, used without a following noun; rare and usually avoided by rephrasing.

   EBay Canada argued in court that the data sought by tax collectors was not its to give.

   2007, Ian Austen, “Canadian Court Opens Up eBay Data to Tax Agency”

   UsageThis can sound stiff; writers often reword with its own: its own decision.

   Note

   Two constructions keep this pronoun alive. One is the double genitive after of (a good friend of its, no act of its). The other is the predicate of ownership (the data was not its to give). Its owner is usually an institution, such as a company, a trade board or a region, treated almost as a person.

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