Usage tip: its vs. it's, Part II

Ready to test your it's vs. its knowledge? Here are two quizzes.

One note before you begin: Even when you get the answer right, you'll notice some of these sentences are far from ideal. The repetition of it is so frequent as to render a few of them confusing or just plain trite. I wrote them this way to maximize practice with the words, but in actual application, some rephrasing would definitely be in order to make the worst of these sentences tolerable.

That said, grab yourself a scrap of paper and pencil, and fill each numbered set of parentheses with either it's or its. The answers appear at the end of this post.

Quiz A: Isolated sentences

• (1) hard to get anything done with a broken E key.
• "(2) time once again to evaluate the project’s efficiency and weigh (3) effect on our overall business plan," the manage intoned, opening the committee meeting with another of (4) usual yawn-inducing 40-slide PowerPoint presentations.
• She struggled to read the letter as (5) writer had smudged (6) ink with tears.
• The cat licked (7) wounded leg until it developed a bald patch.
• (8) a shame to cave to three loud, whiny customers, but for the sake of (9) continued reputation of flawless service, the company must redesign this product.
• (10) unusual for this climate, but in fact (11) been more than a month since the last rain.
• (12) energy used up, the dog stopped chasing (13) tail, quenched (14) thirst with a long drink from the toilet, then curled up in (15) favorite sleeping spot, the open clothes dryer.
• "(16) a sad when a guy has to beg to get the paycheck he earned fair and square," the worker told his boss.

Quiz B: In context

Of the four tiny creatures, one nestling was noticeably smaller and weaker than the others. (1) gentle cries for food were drowned out by the bolder squawking of (2) nestmates. Though the mother bird delivered food to each chick in turn, the stronger nestlings poked their heads forward, grabbing the food from the mother’s beak before the tiniest chick could extend (3) scrawny neck to accept it.

For ten minutes the child watched silently, tears streaming down her face.

“(4) not fair,” she whispered. “(5) just like when Sammy takes my lunch money at school.”

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Answers

Quiz A: Isolated sentences

• It's hard to get anything done with a broken E key.
• "It's time once again to evaluate the project’s efficiency and weigh its effect on our overall business plan," the manage intoned, opening the committee meeting with another of its customary yawn-inducing 40-slide PowerPoint presentation.
• She struggled to read the letter as its writer had smudged its ink with tears.
• The cat licked its wounded leg until it developed a bald patch.
• It's a shame to cave to three loud, whiny customers, but for the sake of its continued reputation of flawless service, the company must redesign this product.
• It's [it is] unusual for this climate, but in fact it's [it has] been more than a month since the last rain.
• Its energy used up, the dog stopped chasing its tail, quenched its thirst with a long drink from the toilet, then curled up in its favorite sleeping spot, the open clothes dryer.
• "It's a sad day when a guy has to beg to get the paycheck he earned fair and square," the worker told his boss.

Quiz B: In context

Of the four tiny creatures, one nestling was noticeably smaller and weaker than the others. Its gentle cries for food were drowned out by the bolder squawking of its nestmates. Though the mother bird delivered food to each chick in turn, the stronger nestlings poked their heads forward, grabbing the food from the mother’s beak before the tiniest chick could extend its scrawny neck to accept it.

For ten minutes the child watched silently, tears streaming down her face.

"It's not fair,” she whispered. “It's just like when Sammy takes my lunch money at school.”

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Have you noticed any patterns in it's vs. its usage in any of the examples above? (Hint: Recognizing the parts of speech of surrounding words can help!)

All it's vs. its questions, tips, or comments are welcome, readers!