I’ve always had a problem with #6. I understand the use of the apostrophe for the contraction of “it is” - but the non-use of it when dealing with possession has always puzzled me.
You don't use an apostrophe in "his" or "hers" either...
A possessive will ALWAYS have anapostrophe, it’s the plurals that never do.
“I’ve always had a problem with #6. I understand the use of the apostrophe for the contraction of “it is” - but the non-use of it when dealing with possession has always puzzled me.”
An easy way to remember it is to think of an apostrophe as a missing letter. In “It’s” the apostrophe stands for the missing ‘i.’ If you say, “The dog licked it’s tail,’ you’re actually saying ‘The dog licked it is tail.”
“I’ve always had a problem with #6. I understand the use of the apostrophe for the contraction of “it is” - but the non-use of it when dealing with possession has always puzzled me.”
That had me baffled for many years as well. I’ve always sort of sensed that an apos would be right, but it’s not.
And: ONLY PEOPLE can possess things or attributes requiring an apostrophe. Not in real life, only in punctuation convention.
WRONG: The companys’ policies affected morale.
No apostrophe on non-human things.
Wrong: The frogs’ eyes followed me about the room.
Its is a possessive adjective. Possessive adjectives do not take apostrophes. Its is the equivalent of my or your or their, none of which take apostrophes.
Because we treat its like his or her. No apostrophe.
My trick is to use “it/its” wherever “he/his” would work.
Likewise “who/whom” vs. “he/him”.