What is another word for its?
Its (not to be confused with
it’s, a contraction of
it is) is the possessive form of the pronoun
it. The pronoun
it is commonly used to refer to something without naming it. The plural pronoun
they (possessive forms
their and
theirs) can be used to refer to multiple things in this way, as can the object form
them. There aren’t synonyms for
its in the same way that
big is a synonym of
large. But there are ways that you can say the same thing without using
its. One main way is to use the word that
it is replacing. For example, instead of saying T
he car has a dent on its hood, you could say
There is a dent on the car’s hood. You could also use the word
of to show possession, as in
There is a dent on the hood of the car. Most commonly, the word
it is used to refer to
things. It is sometimes also used to refer to an animal. In some cases,
it can refer to an unknown person, such as when someone knocks on the door and you ask “Who is it?” Sometimes, it’s used to refer to a group of people, as in
The judge told the jury it must decide two issues. The possessive form can be used for this sense, as in
The judge asked the jury for its verdict. Because
its refers to people in this case, it is more common to use
their (the possessive form of
they), as in
The judge asked the jury for their verdict. (Note: Referring to a person as
it for any other reason is extremely offensive.) One other somewhat less common use of
its is in constructions like this:
I'm sorry about its being so late. In these cases, it’s very common to replace
its with
it:
I'm sorry about it being so late. Or you could reword the sentence to use
it’s: I'm sorry it’s so late.
Is its a pronoun?
Yes, its is a pronoun. It is the possessive form of the pronoun it. The plural subject form of it is they, whose possessive forms are their and theirs.
