Defines 'its' in plain English as a possessive determiner meaning belonging to it, with short examples showing possession by a thing and an animal.
Its means belonging to it. You use it for a thing, an animal, or a baby whose sex you are not naming.
The dog wagged its tail. The tail belongs to that dog. Or: The car lost its wheel. The wheel belongs to that car.
Its means belonging to it. You use it for a thing or an animal. The dog wagged its tail. The tail belongs to that dog.
The house has its own garden. The garden belongs to that house.
usage
Usage guide for when to write its
classification
Classifies the word 'its' as a possessive determiner, using a position-based category test, a compact list of possessive determiners with examples, and the one boundary case that affects classification.
usage
This guide shows when to use *its* for a single owner and *their* for several owners, so your pronoun matches the number of the possessor in your sentence.
definition
Yes, it's can mean it has, not just it is. The apostrophe marks a contraction of either verb, and the rest of the sentence tells you which one is meant.
classification
Field guide entry classifying 'its' with a recognition test and compact category list.
comparison
How to choose between its and it's when writing a message
