Its vs Their: Differences, Examples and 10 Exercises

Its, their and it’s: the difference

Its and their come before a noun or noun phrase: its new label, their shared desk. They are often called possessive adjectives; possessive determiners is the term used in Cambridge’s possessive reference. Theirs can stand without the noun: That desk is theirs.

When should you use its or their?

Find the person, animal or thing the possessive refers to. This is its antecedent. Then choose the form that matches that reference.

1. Could you replace the reference with it? Use its: The tablet needs its charger.
2. Could you replace it with they? Use their: The tablets need their chargers.
3. Do you mean it is or it has? Use it’s: It’s charging now. It’s been charging for an hour.

The number of things owned does not decide the possessive. Compare one tree and its branches with two neighbours and their shared fence. One owner can have several things; several owners can share one thing.

Do not treat “singular noun = its” as a complete rule. For a person, use the possessive that matches their pronoun: his, her or their. For a pet referred to as he or she, his or her is also appropriate.

Its vs it’s: expand the contraction

In The tablet has lost its connection, “it is connection” and “it has connection” do not fit. In It’s lost the connection again, “it has lost” does fit. This expansion check separates the contraction from the possessive; you still need the correct reference to choose between its and their. See Cambridge’s explanation of it’s and its.

Can their refer to one person?

Yes. Use their with singular they when someone’s gender is unknown or irrelevant, or when that person uses they/them pronouns.

• Someone has left their umbrella by the door.
• Each applicant should bring their confirmation email.
• Alex uses they/them pronouns. This is their sketchbook.

The noun and pronoun can require different verb forms: Each applicant has a number; they have a seat by the window. Singular they still takes are and have, not is and has. APA’s singular-they guidance explains this distinction. For more examples, use the subject-verb agreement guide.

Should a company or team use its or their?

A collective noun such as company, committee or team can describe one organisation or its members. The intended meaning and the variety of English matter.

• One unit: The committee has published its final decision. The committee is presented as a single body.
• Individual members: The committee are collecting their coats. This plural reading is available in British English.
• Explicit members: The committee members are collecting their coats. Naming the members makes the plural reference clear.

Cambridge’s collective-noun guide describes the unit/member distinction. In an exercise, state which reading is intended; do not mark every their after a singular-looking group noun as wrong. In your own writing, keep the reference clear and follow any required house style.

Its, their or it’s: 10 exercises with explained answers

Choose its, their or it’s. Write your answer first, then open the explanation. For each possessive, identify its reference; for each contraction, write the two full words.

1. The printer has stopped because ___ paper tray is empty.
   Answer 1

   its — the tray belongs to one printer, which is referred to as it. There is no apostrophe.

2. The two printers have finished ___ test pages.
   Answer 2

   their — the reference is the plural two printers. Their can refer to things as well as people.

3. ___ been ten minutes since the last announcement.
   Answer 3

   It’s — expand it to It has been ten minutes. Capitalise the first word of the sentence.

4. The oak tree lost several of ___ branches in the storm.
   Answer 4

   its — the reference is one tree. Plural branches does not change the possessive to their.

5. The two neighbours repaired ___ shared fence together.
   Answer 5

   their — there are two neighbours, even though they share one fence. Choose by the reference, not by the number of possessions.

6. Someone left ___ notebook here, but there is no name inside.
   Answer 6

   their — singular they can refer to an unidentified person. A singular person does not automatically take its.

7. Alex uses they/them pronouns. Alex has brought ___ sketchbook.
   Answer 7

   their — use the possessive form of Alex’s pronoun. Alex has still uses a singular verb; they have uses a different form.

8. Treat the committee as one body: The committee has announced ___ decision.
   Answer 8

   its — the instruction specifies a single-unit reading, supported by has. A different context could focus on the members instead.

9. The committee members have collected ___ coats.
   Answer 9

   their — members is explicitly plural. This wording removes uncertainty about the intended group reading.

10. The museum has changed ___ hours; ___ now open on Mondays.
    Answer 10

    its; it’s — the first blank refers to the museum’s hours. The second expands to it is now open. The same sentence can need both spellings.

Use the answers to choose a short follow-up

Ask learners to explain a choice before correcting it. Different wrong answers need different follow-up tasks:

• Items 1, 3 or 10: ask the learner to expand every it’s to two words, then read the sentence again.
• Items 2, 4 or 5: underline the owner or reference and circle the thing owned. Change one owner to two owners while keeping the possession unchanged.
• Items 6 or 7: practise a short message about an unidentified visitor and a named person who uses they. Keep pronoun choice separate from the verb after the person’s name.
• Items 8 or 9: rewrite the sentence once with committee as one body and once with committee members. Explain the change in meaning.

For transfer, write three sentences about one shared classroom object, two people who use it and an unidentified person who left something nearby. Include its, their and it’s, then have a partner identify each reference or contraction. These questions are a practice check, not a CEFR placement test.

For a broader lesson, choose relevant activities from the online ESL grammar practice guide or plan a short revision task with the English writing practice guide. Check the available task before assigning it; this page’s ten questions can be used directly without an account.