Year 4 English: Its, it's, their and they're
Part of the Year 4 English plurals and possession chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Its, it's, their and they're
Its and their show that something belongs to it or to them. They are possessive words, and they have no apostrophe: the cat licked its paw; the children hung up their coats.
It's is short for it is, and they're is short for they are. The apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters, so these words need one.
The possessive words his, hers, ours, yours and theirs also have no apostrophe.
| Word | What it means | Apostrophe? |
|---|---|---|
| its | belonging to it | no |
| it's | it is | yes: the missing i |
| their | belonging to them | no |
| they're | they are | yes: the missing a |
| his, hers, ours, yours, theirs | belonging to him, her, us, you or them | no |
Key ideas
- Its and their show possession and have no apostrophe: its paw, their coats.
- It's means it is. They're means they are. Both have an apostrophe.
- His, hers, ours, yours and theirs have no apostrophe.
- If you can put it is or they are in the sentence, use the short form with the apostrophe.
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.The cat licked ___ paw.
- Choose the word. Its shows that the paw belongs to the cat. Possessive words such as its have no apostrophe.its
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The cat licked its paw.
- Write the answer. its
Check. Read the whole sentence with its in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.___ cold, so wear a scarf.
- Choose the word. It's is short for it is, so the apostrophe is needed.It's
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.It's cold, so wear a scarf.
- Write the answer. It's
Check. Read the whole sentence with It's in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.___ late, so we must hurry.
- Choose the word. They're is short for they are, so the apostrophe is needed.They're
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.They're late, so we must hurry.
- Write the answer. They're
Check. Read the whole sentence with They're in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Watch out
Watch out: it's with an apostrophe is only short for it is or it has. The dog wagged its tail, not it's tail. Read it aloud as it is: if it makes sense, use it's.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to replace it's with it is in each sentence. If the sentence still makes sense, the apostrophe is right. If not, the word is probably its, with no apostrophe.
Exercise 4F Practice: its, it's, their and they're
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.The cat licked ___ paw.
- Choose the word. Its shows that the paw belongs to the cat. Possessive words such as its have no apostrophe.its
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The cat licked its paw.
- Write the answer. its
Check. Read the whole sentence with its in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.___ cold, so wear a scarf.
- Choose the word. It's is short for it is, so the apostrophe is needed.It's
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.It's cold, so wear a scarf.
- Write the answer. It's
Check. Read the whole sentence with It's in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.The children hung up ___ coats.
- Choose the word. Their shows that the coats belong to them. Their has no apostrophe.their
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The children hung up their coats.
- Write the answer. their
Check. Read the whole sentence with their in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Decide what the word means in the sentence, then choose its, it's, their or they're.
- Read the sentence. Decide whether a thing belongs to someone, or whether two words are joined.___ late, so we must hurry.
- Choose the word. They're is short for they are, so the apostrophe is needed.They're
- Put it in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.They're late, so we must hurry.
- Write the answer. They're
Check. Read the whole sentence with They're in it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Find the wrong word, then choose the correct form.
- Look at the wrong word. Ask: is it two words joined, or does it show who owns something?Its cold, so wear a scarf.
- Choose the right word. It is cold, so the short form needs an apostrophe.It's
- Write the sentence correctly. Read the whole sentence again.It's cold, so wear a scarf.
- Write the answer. It's cold, so wear a scarf.
Check. Read the corrected sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Find the wrong word, then choose the correct form.
- Look at the wrong word. Ask: is it two words joined, or does it show who owns something?The dog wagged it's tail.
- Choose the right word. The tail belongs to the dog, so the possessive its has no apostrophe.its
- Write the sentence correctly. Read the whole sentence again.The dog wagged its tail.
- Write the answer. The dog wagged its tail.
Check. Read the corrected sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Find the wrong word, then choose the correct form.
- Look at the wrong word. Ask: is it two words joined, or does it show who owns something?Their going to the park.
- Choose the right word. They are going, so the short form is they are with an apostrophe.They're
- Write the sentence correctly. Read the whole sentence again.They're going to the park.
- Write the answer. They're going to the park.
Check. Read the corrected sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Find the wrong word, then choose the correct form.
- Look at the wrong word. Ask: is it two words joined, or does it show who owns something?The children hung up there coats.
- Choose the right word. The coats belong to the children, so the word is their.their
- Write the sentence correctly. Read the whole sentence again.The children hung up their coats.
- Write the answer. The children hung up their coats.
Check. Read the corrected sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Read the meaning, then choose the word that matches it.
- Read the meaning. Think what the words mean together.it is
- Choose the word. It's means it is, and the apostrophe takes the place of the missing i.it's
- Write the answer. it's
Check. it's has the meaning it is. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Read the meaning, then choose the word that matches it.
- Read the meaning. Think what the words mean together.belonging to it
- Choose the word. Its shows that something belongs to it. It has no apostrophe.its
- Write the answer. its
Check. its has the meaning belonging to it. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Read the meaning, then choose the word that matches it.
- Read the meaning. Think what the words mean together.belonging to them
- Choose the word. Their shows that something belongs to them. It has no apostrophe.their
- Write the answer. their
Check. their has the meaning belonging to them. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Read the meaning, then choose the word that matches it.
- Read the meaning. Think what the words mean together.they are
- Choose the word. They're means they are, and the apostrophe takes the place of the missing a.they're
- Write the answer. they're
Check. they're has the meaning they are. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Compare the meaning of each word.
- Look at it's. It's means it is, so the apostrophe shows the missing i.it's = it is
- Look at its. Its shows that something belongs to it. It has no apostrophe.its = belonging to it
- Write the answer. No. It's means it is. Its shows that something belongs to it, and it has no apostrophe.
Check. The two words have different meanings. ✓
Watch out. Read it aloud as it is to check which word to use.
Method. Decide whether the word means it is, or belonging to it.
- Read the sentence. The feathers belong to the bird, so the word shows possession.the bird's feathers
- Choose the word. Its shows that the feathers belong to it, with no apostrophe.its
- Write the answer. its
Check. The feathers belong to the bird. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Check each of the two words.
- Look at Its cold. It is cold, so the short form needs an apostrophe.It's = it is
- Look at its coat. The coat belongs to the dog, so its has no apostrophe.its = belonging to it
- Write the answer. It's cold, so the dog wears its coat.
Check. Both words are right now. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Think what an apostrophe does in a short form or a possessive noun.
- Look at his and hers. Each word already shows who owns something.his; hers
- Look at the apostrophe. An apostrophe is not needed to show possession in these words.no apostrophe
- Write the answer. Accept any answer that says these words already show who owns something, so they need no apostrophe.
Check. These words are possessive pronouns. ✓
Watch out. Possessive pronouns have no apostrophe.
Method. Decide whether the keys belong to the shop.
- Look at it's keys. It's means it is, which does not fit the sentence.it's = it is: does not fit
- Look at its keys. The keys belong to the shop, so use the possessive its.its keys
- Write the answer. The shop lost its keys.
Check. Its shows that the keys belong to the shop. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Decide whether the word means it is.
- Read the sign. The sign means it is raining.It is raining
- Choose the word. It is is short for it is, so it needs the apostrophe.It's
- Write the answer. It's raining. It is raining, so the short form needs an apostrophe.
Check. It is raining makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Its raining is wrong. Use it's.
Method. Use its to show that a thing belongs to it.
- Choose a thing. A tree has leaves.the tree
- Write the sentence. Its shows that the leaves belong to the tree, with no apostrophe.The tree lost its leaves.
- Write the answer. Accept any correct sentence with its, for example: The tree lost its leaves.
Check. Its has no apostrophe. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.
Method. Use their to show that things belong to more than one person.
- Choose the people. Friends means more than one person.the friends
- Write the sentence. Their shows that the bags belong to them, with no apostrophe.The friends put their bags in the hall.
- Write the answer. Accept any correct sentence with their, for example: The friends put their bags in the hall.
Check. Their has no apostrophe. ✓
Watch out. Its and their have no apostrophe. It's means it is, and they're means they are.