ITS VS. IT'S

Don't make this one harder than it is.

ITS is possessive and only refers to something that belongs to IT.

IT'S is only a contraction for IT IS or IT HAS.  

That's IT.

You don't use an apostrophe for the possessives of other PRONOUNS, do you? Then don't use an apostrophe for IT either. IT is a pronoun as well.

Other PRONOUNS and their possessive forms:

I              my; mine           Where is my jacket?

you          your; yours        Where is your jacket?

he            his                     Where is his jacket?

she          her; hers            Where is her jacket?

IT            ITS                     Where is ITS leash?

we           our; ours            Where are our jackets?

you all      your; yours        Where are your jackets?

Yes, you use an apostrophe to form the possessive of someone's name (Jack's jacket). But someone's name is a proper noun and not a PRONOUN. Do not use apostrophes to form plurals of PROUNOUNs.

The squirrel tried ITS luck at the bird feeder.

Every dog has ITS day.

The committee has reached ITS decision. 

One way to test whether you need an apostrophe or not is to see if you can replace the word with his or her (which don't have apostrophes either!). "Every dog has his day" is fine. You don't need an apostrophe with "his," so don't use it for ITS, either.


When you want to write "it is" or "it has," then use IT'S.  IT'S only means IT IS or IT HAS.

IT'S going to rain today.         IT IS going to rain today.

IT'S not my problem.             IT IS not my problem.

IT'S been raining all day.        IT HAS been raining all day. 

Really, that's IT! If you're unsure if you need an apostrophe, simply test by replacing ITS/IT'S with "IT IS" or "IT HAS." If IT IS or IT HAS fits into your sentence, then use IT'S. If IT IS or IT HAS doesn't work for your sentence, then use ITS.

ITS / IT'S been a long time.    

             IT HAS been a long time. That's fine. Use IT'S.

The dog was chasing ITS / IT'S  tail.

             The dog was chasing IT IS tail.   Doesn't work. Use ITS.

We couldn't find the wounded deer because ITS / IT'S footprints were washed away.

             ....because IT IS footprints were washed away.    Doesn't work. Use ITS. 

Now go find an online quiz and practice. Remember, IT'S (IT IS) just not that difficult!

LIE vs. lay

I can make this one easy as well: Stop using the words "lay," "lays," and "laying". Just stop it.

     Yes, of course that's too simplistic, but you rarely need those words.

To be more specific, ONLY use "lay" where you could also use "put".

I want to lay down.       I want to put down.       

     (Doesn't work. Use LIE)    I want to lie down.

While I was laying on the beach...      While I was putting* on the beach...

     (Doesn't work. Use LYING.)    While I was lying on the beach...

Fido! Go lay down!      Fido! Go put down!

     (Doesn't work. Use LIE.)     Fido! Go lie down! 

My ___ is so lazy. He just lays around all day!    My ___ is so lazy. He just puts around all day!

     (Doesn't work. Use LIES.)    He just lies around all day!

You can lay your coat on the chair over there.   You can put your coat on the sofa over there.

     (This one is fine. Go ahead and use LAY.)   

You see, the word "lay" requires a direct object, just like the word "put" does. That means you must lay SOMETHING somewhere, just like you have to put SOMETHING somewhere. You can't just put.

    You can lay a baby in a crib.
    You can lay a coat on a chair.
    You can lay yourself down to sleep and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
    You can lay the book you just finished reading on the coffee table.

But you can't just lay. In the above sentences, the direct object (the thing you are putting or laying somewhere) is underlined.

*By "putting" I mean "placing," not the golf term.

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Advanced course

Yes, sadly, the simple past tense form of "lie" is "lay". So the sentence "Yesterday I lay on the sofa for three hours" is correct. But why would you want to admit that? Why would you tell people where you were lying yesterday? They don't care.

Less vs. fewer

With the words "less" and "fewer" we have another common mistake in American English. The problem is easily fixed and has only to do with singular and plural nouns.

Here's the rule:

Use "less" with singular nouns, and use "fewer" with plural nouns.

That's it. I can't think of an easier way to phrase that, nor can I think of any exceptions.

Examples of singular nouns:
  time
  money
  patience
  rain

Examples of plural nouns:
  hours
  coins
  patients
  storms

I have less time now than I did when I was young.

It seems like there are fewer hours in the day to accomplish my to-do list.

She has less money than he does.

I have fewer coins in my piggy bank than I did last week.

My mom has less patience than my dad.

If my doctor had fewer patients, I wouldn't have to wait so long.

We get less rain here than they get in Washington.

There are fewer storms on this side of the mountains. 

These two words are not interchangeable. You cannot have fewer time or less hours. I've not heard anyone make the first mistake, but the second is common.

Our neighbor has less fewer flowers in her garden this year than she did last year.

 See? Good grammar doesn't have to be difficult!