its

US /ɪts/ UK /ɪts/ See IPA manual

Freq #393

Meanings

1

det
Belonging to or relating to a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

The dog wagged its tail happily.
2

pron
The one or ones belonging to it

Every country protects its own borders, and this one protects its.

Appears in

Etymology

Equivalent to it + -s (possessive marker). From the earlier form it's (it + -'s), which is now considered nonstandard. Began to displace his as the possessive of the neuter pronoun in the Middle English period; had fully displaced it by the 1700s.

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Grammar & Function Words

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# its

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** det, pron
**IPA (US):** /ɪts/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪts/
**Frequency rank:** 393

## Meanings
1. Belonging to or relating to a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
2. The one or ones belonging to it

## Examples
- The dog wagged its tail happily.
- Every country protects its own borders, and this one protects its.

## Etymology
Equivalent to it + -s (possessive marker). From the earlier form it's (it + -'s), which is now considered nonstandard. Began to displace his as the possessive of the neuter pronoun in the Middle English period; had fully displaced it by the 1700s.

## AI Etymology
Its Equivalent to it + -s (possessive marker). From the earlier form it's (it + -'s), which is now considered nonstandard. Began to displace his as the possessive of the neuter pronoun in the Middle English period; had fully displaced it by the 1700s. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern determinative form is built from the named base and affix.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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its

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Idioms (3)

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