different between its vs cits

English

Alternative forms

• it's (possessive form, now nonstandard)

Etymology

Equivalent to it +? -'s. 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ts/
• Rhymes: -?ts
• Homophone: it's

Determiner

its

1. Belonging to it. [from 16th c.]
   • 1751, G. Burnett, trans. Thomas More, Utopia:

     since I have been at the Pains to write it, if he consents to it's being published I will follow my Friend's Advice, and chiefly yours.

   • 1763, Authorized King James Version of the Bible, Oxford Standard Text, Leviticus 25:5:

     That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. (originally "of it own accord" in the 1611 first edition)

   • 1989, Jasper Becker and John Gittings, The Guardian, 5 Jun 1989:

     The Chinese government is at war with its own people.

Derived terms

• itsself

Translations

Contraction

its

1. Misspelling of it's.

Pronoun

its

1. The one (or ones) belonging to it. [from 17th c.]
   • 1645, Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton, Letter to Ferdinando Fairfax, 6 February 1645:

     [...] both Houses have resolved to rob the North of a good friend of its and yours.

   • 2007 — Ian Austen, "Canadian Court Opens Up eBay Data to Tax Agency", New York Times, October 1, 2007:

     EBay Canada argued in court that the data sought by tax collectors was not its to give.

   • 1917 — Charles Henry Taylor, History of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago Vol.2 p.1259:

     ...the Board of Trade of Chicago can at least feel that it has played its part manfully and patriotically, and that no act of its has stood in the way of National victory.

Usage notes

• In practice, its is commonly used as a determiner before a noun, but its use as a solo pronoun is generally avoided.
• Its is now distinguished from it's (a contraction of "it is" or "it has"). For example, It's going to rain is equivalent to It is going to rain, and It's been raining for hours is equivalent to It has been raining for hours. However, the two are commonly confused, and using its where there should be it's (or vice versa) is a common mistake in written English.
• Like it, its is usually avoided when referring to humans. Its is commonly used with animals when the gender is unknown or unimportant. With humans, person is used for a person whose gender is unknown or to refer to something that could be possessed by either gender, body or corpse is often used to refer to a dead person, and figure, shape, and silhouette are often used to refer to what someone sees as a person but can not see clearly enough to determine an identity or gender, e.g. The figure moved behind a bush, but Josh could see its shadow from the moonlight.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:its.

Translations

Noun

its

1. plural of it

See also

• their

References

Anagrams

• 'tis, -ist, IST, Ist, SIT, STI, Sit, TIS, TIs, is't, ist, sit, tis

Kalasha

Noun

its

1. Alternative spelling of i??

English

Noun

cits

1. plural of cit

Anagrams

• ICTs, TICs, cist, tics

Latvian

Etymology

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

Adjective

cits

1. other
2. different

Pronoun

cits (indefinite)

1. another
2. other

Declension

Mohegan-Pequot

Alternative forms

• jeets (obsolete orthography)

Etymology

Ultimately cognate to Abenaki sips.

Noun

cits anim (plural citsak)

1. bird

References

• A Vocabulary of Mohegan-Pequot (John D. Prince, Frank G. Speck)