It's means "it is". (它是） Its is possessive (它的） This is called a contraction. The [ ' ] (apostrophe) is where something was removed. Whenever you see the apostrophe ('), you know there is something there which was shortened. Don't = do not I'm = I am Isn't = Is not Aren't = Are not Shouldn't = Should not Couldn't = Could not Ma'am = Madam don't worry ... even native English speakers make mistakes! but now you can learn very clearly! isler - be careful - "It's" should never be used for "It was". You cannot shorten "It was", only "It is". Actually, there is a contracted form of "It was", it is: [ 'twas ]. You can see this only in old songs, like [ 'Twas the night before Christmas ] UPDATE - I should have said "you cannot shorten 'it has'". but the statement still stands; "it's" can only mean "it is"

"It's" is an abbreviation means "it has" or "it is" And "Its" is a possessive as 'his' or 'her'. For example: It's a cute puppy. Its eyes are big. iangreen_ Thanks for correcting me. When I said "it has",I meant in this way: "It's been a long time since I met you." Can't it be?