by-grace-of-god:

Quick tip on when to use it’s or its…

ITS — Its indicates possessive.

Or, put a more technical way, its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun “it” — his, her, its.

Examples: “The jury has reached its decision.“ “Guess its color.”

A Good Rule of Thumb:
If you can replace it with his or her, there’s NO apostrophe.

IT’S — It’s is a contraction for it is or it has.

It’s = It is
Examples: “It’s time to go.” “It’s over there.”

It’s = It has (not possessive)
Example: “It’s been a long time.”