A little thing that trips up a lot of writers is apostrophes, especially for the few words that don’t quite work the way apostrophes most commonly work in English. This post will talk about a handful of the most commonly mixed up ones: its/it’s, theirs/there’s, their/there/they’re, and whose/who’s. While there is a world of advice out there on how to learn the rules, I personally have found all those explanations do little when I’m writing and confused. Even after writing over 4 million words of fiction, I still mix them up sometimes, and when I do, I don’t look up definitions, I don’t ask for help, and I don’t think about parts of speech or anything.
What do I do?
I replace the contraction (or, potentially, not-contraction) with the full, un-contracted version and see if the sentence makes sense.
For its and it’s:
It’s either means “it is” or “it has.” If you swap those in for “i-t-s” and you get a coherent sentence, then you need an apostrophe; otherwise, you don’t.
Examples:
“Momentum meant it continued in its established path” would become “Momentum meant it continued in it is (or has) established path” – a sentence that makes no sense, so no apostrophe needed.
vs.
“That belongs to me – it’s mine!” would become “That belongs to me – it is mine!” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need the apostrophe.
vs.
“It’s been a long day” would become “It has been a long day” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need the apostrophe.
For theirs and there’s:
There’s either means “there is” or “there has.” If you swap those in for “t-h-e-i-r-s” or “t-h-e-r-e-s” and you get a coherent sentence, then you need an apostrophe; otherwise, you don’t.
Examples:
“After placing the high bid, the house was theirs to decorate as they’d like” would become “After placing the high bid, the house was they is to decorate as they’d like” – a sentence that makes no sense, so no apostrophe is needed! Further, “theres” isn’t a word, so if there’s no apostrophe, you automatically need to use “theirs,” not “theres.”
vs.
“There’s no easy way to solve this problem” would become “There is no easy way to solve this problem” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need an apostrophe! Further, likewise, “their’s” isn’t a word, so if there’s an apostrophe, you automatically need to use “there’s,” not “their’s.”
vs.
“There’s been a dramatic increase in the number of battles recently” would become “There has been a dramatic increase in the number of battles recently” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need an apostrophe, and again, ‘their’s’ isn’t a word, so if you need an apostrophe, then you want “there,” not “their.”
For (their or there) and they’re:
They’re means “they are.” If you swap that in for “t-h-e-i-r” or “t-h-e-r-e” or “t-h-e-y’r-e” and you get a coherent sentence, then you need an apostrophe; otherwise, you don’t need “they’re,” you need either “their” or “there.”
Examples:
“Their favorite food was pizza” and “Over there is our destination” would become “The(ir) are favorite food was pizza” and “Over the(re) are is our destination” – definitely two sentences that make no sense, so it’s their/there, not they’re.
vs.
“They’re my best friends” would become “They are my best friend” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need an apostrophe, and “they’re” is correct automatically, since “their’re” and “there’re” are not words.
For whose and who’s:
Who’s either means “who is” or “who has.” If you swap those in for “w-h-o-s-e” or “w-h-o’s” and you get a coherent sentence, then you need an apostrophe; otherwise, you don’t.
Examples:
“I found this hat, do you know whose it is?” would become “I found this hat, do you know who is it is?” – a sentence that makes no sense, so no apostrophe needed!
vs.
“Who’s going to the show tonight?” would become “Who is going to the show tonight” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need an apostrophe.
vs.
“Who’s got the pencil – please pass it to me!” would become “Who has the pencil – please pass it to me!” – a sentence that makes sense, so you need an apostrophe.
This is likely self-evident to some writers, but personally? I wish someone had told me it was this easy to figure out when I was a less experienced writer and confused. When I’m writing quickly, if I want to check if I’ve picked the correct one, I literally just try both options in my head “okay, if I do ‘it is,’ does this sentence make sense? Yes? I need ‘it’s!’ No? I need ‘its.’” It’s a simple writing fix for a really common problem, without having to learn and memorize the rules and figure out how they apply in different circumstances, and I’ve never had it steer me wrong! And that doesn’t mean the rules aren’t worth learning – but often we as writers know the rules, it’s applying them that’s a challenge, and this is a tip that’s helped me apply them.
I hope it helps all of you as much as it’s helped me!