It’s or its?

Here is a drawing of my favourite tree. It’s a big, healthy, tree. Its leaves are green.

Can you tell me which numbers in the picture correspond with these words?

trunk branch leaf flower apple swing nest bone carving

It’s or its?

Let’s look again at these sentences:

It’s a healthy, big tree. Its leaves are green.

What do you notice? What type of word is after it’s and its?

The tree is a healthy, big tree.
It is a healthy, big tree. NOTICE! “It” is a pronoun. It replaces “the tree”.
It’s a healthy, big tree.

It’s is a contraction of ‘it is’.

The leaves of the tree are green.
The tree’s leaves are green.
Its leaves are green.

Its is a possessive form. Possessive adjectives answer the question ‘of what?’ or ‘of who?’

Try the quiz.