Choose the correct possessive pronoun in the sentence: The cat chased ____ tail.

• A. its
• B. it's
• C. its'
• D. itses

Answer: (A)

Ownership is shown with the possessive form for a nonhuman subject by using its before the noun. Here, the cat’s tail belongs to the cat, so the correct word is its, with no apostrophe. It functions as a possessive determiner modifying tail.

Why the others don’t fit: its' would be incorrect because no standard word with an apostrophe after the s represents possessive for it; it’s a contraction for it is, which doesn’t express ownership here. its' (with the apostrophe after the s) isn’t a valid form. Itses isn’t a real word. The sentence would be awkward or ungrammatical if you tried those forms.

A quick guide: possessive pronouns like its, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs express ownership without using an apostrophe. If you’re using a noun instead of a pronoun, you’d typically add 's (cat's tail).