Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s Words with English with Languissimo® which will help you build your vocabulary so that you can improve your communication skills in English.
My name is Vanessa. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
Today, I will cover the difference between “it’s” and “its” as they are pronounced the same.
- “It’s” means “c’est”. It is the short form of “it is”. It’s the combination of the personal pronoun “it” and the verb “to be” in the 3rd person singular.
- “Its” means “son/sa/ses”. It’s a possessive adjective. It is used before a noun. It’s used when the owner of something is an organization, an animal, or an object and it is not a person per say. For example, "the government and its employees” (le gouvernement et ses employés) “the lock and its key” (la serrure et sa clé) and “the screen and its background” (l’écran et son arrière-plan).
If the owner is clearly identified as a person, several possessive adjectives are possible: “his” for male, “her” for female, and “their” for neutral gender people.
Some Practice Questions
- Do you find that it’s not that complicated after all?
- What do you think of the stock market and its fluctuations?
Ta da! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and have a great Wednesday! Big hugs 😊