Which word should replace the underlined word? “The robotics team won [it's] first match of the season.”

Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 10–12 writing. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 2: find and fix an error in a short text. On the real test some of these are typed answers or sentence rewrites. Here they are multiple choice so they can be checked.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Read the sentence. The underlined word has an error. The robotics team won [it's] first match of the season. Which word should replace the underlined word?

• Aits'
• Bit
• Cit is
• DitsCorrect answer

Why “its” is correct

This tests a commonly confused pair. "It's" always means "it is" or "it has." The possessive, meaning "belonging to it," is "its," with no apostrophe, like "his" and "hers." Reading the sentence with "it is" shows the error.

Why the other answers are wrong

• its' — "Its'" is never correct in English; the possessive of "it" has no apostrophe.
• it — "It" is not possessive, so "won it first match" does not make sense.
• it is — "It's" means "it is," and "won it is first match" does not make sense.

Practice more of this

More writing practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.