A few punctuation mistakes come up again and again. Mixing up "its" (possession, like "the dog wagged its tail") and "it's" (short for "it is") is one of the most common. Another is the comma splice — joining two complete sentences with only a comma instead of a full stop, semicolon, or joining word ("It was raining, we stayed inside" should be "It was raining, so we stayed inside" or "It was raining. We stayed inside."). Spotting these patterns helps you fix them in your own writing.
Example
Incorrect: "Its raining outside, the dog hates it's walk." Correct: "It's raining outside; the dog hates its walk." ("It's" = it is; "its" shows the dog's own walk.)
Key terms
Comma splice:
Joining two complete sentences with only a comma, without a joining word.
Its:
A possessive word showing something belongs to "it".
It's:
A contraction meaning "it is" or "it has".
Questions
1. "Its" (no apostrophe) is used to show:
It is
Possession
A question
A list
2. "It's" (with apostrophe) is short for:
It is
Possession only
A full stop
A list
3. A comma splice happens when:
A comma correctly ends a list
Two complete sentences are joined with only a comma
A sentence has no comma at all
A question mark is used incorrectly
4. Which is correct: "The dog wagged ___ tail."?
it's
its
its'
it is
5. Which is correct: "___ raining outside."?
Its
It's
Its'
Neither
6. Which sentence has a comma splice?
It was raining, we stayed inside.
It was raining, so we stayed inside.
It was raining. We stayed inside.
Because it was raining, we stayed inside.
7. Spotting common punctuation mistakes mainly helps you:
Add more mistakes
Fix and avoid them in your own writing
Ignore punctuation entirely
Remove all commas
8. Which sentence correctly fixes a comma splice?
It was late, we went home.
It was late; we went home.
It was late we, went home.
It, was late we went home.
9. Which sentence correctly uses "its" and "it's" together?
It's tail wagged because it's happy.
Its tail wagged because it's happy.
Its tail wagged because its happy.
It's tail wagged because its happy.
10. A comma splice can be fixed by replacing the comma with a:
Nothing, it's already correct
Full stop, semicolon, or joining word
Question mark only
Apostrophe
11. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
The cat licked it's paw.
The cat licked its paw.
The cat licked its' paw.
The cat licked it, is paw.
12. "The company reached it's goal" contains an error because it should be:
Its (possession, no apostrophe needed)
It's (it is)
Their
No error
13. Which sentence fixes the comma splice "She was late, she missed the bus" correctly?
She was late, so she missed the bus.
She was late she missed the bus.
She, was late, she missed the bus.
She was late, missed, the bus.
14. Confusing "its" and "it's" is a common mistake mainly because:
They sound the same but serve different grammatical purposes
They are always interchangeable
Neither word is ever correct
They are the same word
15. Which sentence has NO comma splice and NO its/it's error?
The dog wagged its tail, it's a happy dog.
The dog wagged its tail because it's a happy dog.
The dog wagged it's tail, its a happy dog.
The dog wagged its tail it's a happy dog.
16. "The team celebrated it's victory, they were thrilled" contains how many separate errors?
None
Two (an its/it's error and a comma splice)
One comma splice only
One its/it's error only
17. Which correction best fixes "The company reached it's goal, they celebrated"?
The company reached its goal, and they celebrated.
The company reached it's goal they celebrated.
The company reached its goal they celebrated.
The company, reached its goal, they celebrated.
18. Why do comma splices weaken formal writing even though the meaning is often still clear?
They follow standard punctuation conventions correctly
They break a grammar convention that readers expect in formal writing
They are always ambiguous
They remove all meaning
19. Which sentence correctly distinguishes "its" from "it's" in context?
Its been a long day, and the dog lost it's toy.
It's been a long day, and the dog lost its toy.
Its been a long day, and the dog lost its toy.
It's been a long day, and the dog lost it's toy.
20. The most reliable way to check whether to use "it's" or "its" is to:
Guess randomly
Try replacing it with "it is" — if that makes sense, use "it's"
Always use "its"
Always use "it's"
Answer key (parent copy)
1. Possession
2. It is
3. Two complete sentences are joined with only a comma
4. its
5. It's
6. It was raining, we stayed inside.
7. Fix and avoid them in your own writing
8. It was late; we went home.
9. Its tail wagged because it's happy.
10. Full stop, semicolon, or joining word
11. The cat licked its paw.
12. Its (possession, no apostrophe needed)
13. She was late, so she missed the bus.
14. They sound the same but serve different grammatical purposes
15. The dog wagged its tail because it's a happy dog.
16. Two (an its/it's error and a comma splice)
17. The company reached its goal, and they celebrated.
18. They break a grammar convention that readers expect in formal writing
19. It's been a long day, and the dog lost its toy.
20. Try replacing it with "it is" — if that makes sense, use "it's"