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is its singular or plural

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.

A closer look

When the owner is one thing, use its. The company announced its new policy. Several owners? Switch to their: The employees collected their paychecks. Its never changes form.

Its always points back to one owner, so use it when a single thing possesses something. The dog wagged its tail. The owner is one dog, so its fits before the noun it owns.

  • One owner after a storm: The house lost its roof in the wind. One house, one roof, so its is the word you want.

  • Several owners at once? Switch to their: The girls packed their bags. More than one owner means their takes over, and its would sound wrong here.

  • A group of tenants with a shared complaint: The tenants filed their complaints on Monday. The moment your owner becomes plural, reach for their instead.

  • Hear the two side by side. Singular: The company updated its website. Plural: The companies updated their websites. Same sentence shape, only the number of owners changes your word.

Watch the words that look plural but act singular. The team published its schedule. When you treat the team as one unit, you're naming a single group, so its fits. If you mean the members as individuals, their can be the natural choice instead, as in The team shared their opinions.

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