Question

how can you decide whether to use its or its?

• if it shows ownership, add an apostrophe
• if it sounds right, use its
• if you can replace it with it is, use its
• if it names an object, use its

Explanation:

The contraction "it's" stands for "it is" or "it has", so a reliable test is replacing the term with "it is" to see if the sentence makes sense. "Its" (without apostrophe) is the possessive form showing ownership, so that option is incorrect. Sound and object-naming are not valid grammatical tests for this distinction.

Answer:

B. If you can replace it with it is, use it's