Which statement correctly distinguishes possession from contraction?

Which statement correctly distinguishes possession from contraction?

• A. Its is a contraction; It's indicates possession.
• B. Its indicates ownership; It's indicates ownership.
• C. Its is a contraction; It's indicates possession.
• D. Its is a suffix; It's is a prefix.

Answer: (D)

The main idea is telling apart possessive forms from contractions when using its and it's. Its shows ownership or belonging to something, while it's is a contraction for it is (or it has). The key visual cue is the apostrophe: contractions always have an apostrophe, possessive pronouns like its do not. Examples help lock this in: Its color is blue. Here, there’s no apostrophe, signaling possession. It’s raining outside. Here, the apostrophe is part of the contraction for “it is.” If you can replace it with “it is” or “it has” and the sentence still makes sense, you’ve found a contraction; if you can’t replace it with “it is/it has” without changing the meaning, you’re looking at a possessive form. Among the statements given, the one that would correctly distinguish possession from contraction would be phrased as: Its indicates ownership; It's indicates a contraction. The other statements mix up the roles of contraction versus possession or mislabel acronyms as prefixes/suffixes. A handy memory aid: if you can test the sentence by substituting “it is” or “it has,” and the sentence still works, you’re dealing with a contraction. If you can’t substitute, you’re likely looking at possession with its.

The main idea is telling apart possessive forms from contractions when using its and it's. Its shows ownership or belonging to something, while it's is a contraction for it is (or it has). The key visual cue is the apostrophe: contractions always have an apostrophe, possessive pronouns like its do not.

Examples help lock this in: Its color is blue. Here, there’s no apostrophe, signaling possession. It’s raining outside. Here, the apostrophe is part of the contraction for “it is.” If you can replace it with “it is” or “it has” and the sentence still makes sense, you’ve found a contraction; if you can’t replace it with “it is/it has” without changing the meaning, you’re looking at a possessive form.

Among the statements given, the one that would correctly distinguish possession from contraction would be phrased as: Its indicates ownership; It's indicates a contraction. The other statements mix up the roles of contraction versus possession or mislabel acronyms as prefixes/suffixes. A handy memory aid: if you can test the sentence by substituting “it is” or “it has,” and the sentence still works, you’re dealing with a contraction. If you can’t substitute, you’re likely looking at possession with its.