Apostrophes ~ when to use in the word "its"?

Question

Having a label made, part of which is:
"...which is characterised, not only by its Seniority of Class but by its..."
Seniority of Class, refers to a vessel named Seniority
The printer says that the word (its) should contain an apostrophe, is this correct?
Regards

Answer 1

whenever in doubt, replace "its" by "it is" and see if the sentence makes sense. if it doesn't, stick with "its" or revert to "it's". This is a very common error/misunderstanding. the reason ur printer gave you the warning is probably because u capitalized Seniority.

Regards!

Answer 2

Anything with an apostrophe is a contraction. "It's" is a contraction for "it is".

Whenever you aren't sure if a word should have an apostrophe, just say the sentence with the contraction "un-done", and you'll HEAR if it is correct or not. So, for your example, would it sound right to say (or write):

"...which is characterized, not only by IT IS Seniority of Class but by IT IS...." ? NO.

In your example, using the apostrophe would cause the sentence to make no sense whatsoever. In your example, DO NOT use the apostrophe. Your printer should be ashamed of him/herself! (also, by the way, note that "characterize" is spelled with a "z", not an "s"). Make sure everything on your label is double-checked for spelling BEFORE it goes to that printer!!!

Answer 3

Apostrophes are so often misused it's unbelievable. They are only ever used in two situations. One is to show possession and the other is to denote a missing letter. So, examples as follows

'I enjoy red wine and I like it's colour.' refers to the colour possessed by the wine.

'It's a big one' denotes a missing letter 'i' from 'It is' that would have been used in a perfect sentence ,'It is a big one.'

In modern English usage, however, custom has dictated that the apostrophe in it's may be ignored so the word its is used instead. As a purist I do not follow this ideal, preferring to put the apostrophe where it belongs.

Apostrophes are NEVER used in plurals, although you may see it's misuse widely spread. You would never write 'I ate three apple's.' or 'Chair's for sale.'

Answer 4

its' with an apostrophe after means it belongs. if u have it's it means it is. yes he is correct. there r english teachers that can explain it better than I but that is the drift.

Answer 5

no, the printer is wrong. "It's means "it is". If you placed "it is" into your sentence, it wouldn't make sense. Spell check does that a lot and IT'S wrong very frequently.

Answer 6

What's the full context?

Use (its) if you are using (its) as a possive pronoun, and (its') if it is a plural possissive pronoun.

Answer 7

it's = it is

its = possessive pronoun

Answer 8

it's