70 / PART ONE: THE BASICS The blame is mine. These books are hers. (no apostrophe) The first prize was his. (no apostrophe) Theirs was the glory. (no apostrophe) The success was ours. (no apostrophe) That house is theirs. (no apostrophe) The cat cleaned its whiskers (no apostrophe). not The cat cleaned it’s whiskers. When writing formally, it is better not to abbreviate. Write the words out in full. However, it is, of course, acceptable to abbreviate when writing dialogue. An abbreviation is when letters are missed out. Sometimes two words are combined into one. An apostrophe is placed where the letter or letters have been omitted: ‘cannot’ becomes ‘can’t’ ABBREVIATING WORDS Note especially ◆ ‘Its’ possessive does not use an apostrophe. ◆ ‘It’s’ is used only when letters are omitted. ◆ ‘It’s’ means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.