7-30-2025 8:31pm

Neighborly Grammar: It's or Its? Don't Let this Tiny World Trip You Up!

Donnella Tilery Editor

Welcome to Neighborly Grammar—where your Raritan Neighbors editor shares one simple tip to help you write (and speak) with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re texting a friend, applying for a job, or sharing online, good grammar goes a long way!

This week’s tip is all about one of the most common mix-ups in everyday writing: it’s vs. its.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

It’s = it is or it has
- Example: It’s going to be a great day at the farmers market!
- Example: It’s been a long week—we deserve ice cream.
Its = possessive, like “his” or “her”
- Example: The dog wagged its tail.
- Example: The business lost its license.

A quick trick? Try replacing “it’s” with “it is” in your sentence. If it doesn’t make sense, you probably meant its!

Conversational Style

Let’s talk commas—because yes, they matter!
A reminder I picked up from GrammarBook.com (my new favorite place for grammar reminders): when you have a list of three or more things, a comma before the and is called a serial comma, and yes, it can save lives.

Without: “I love my parents, Oprah and Bruce Springsteen.”
With: “I love my parents, Oprah, and Bruce Springsteen.”
(Big difference, right?)

These awesome grammar tips are brought to you thanks to a helpful reminder from GrammarBook.com—a great resource for brushing up without feeling like you're back in 7th grade. I use it often and even I need the reminders when writing features!

Got a grammar pet peeve or something you always get stuck on?

Email Donnella at raritanneighborsnj@gmail.com and we might feature it in an upcoming Neighborly Grammar column.

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