Are They Interchangeable?

Can we use 'its' instead of 'his' or 'hers'? If so, when? Are they truly interchangeable? To understand more about these pronouns, read this part.

Its vs. His or Hers

What Causes the Confusion?

One of the more recent controversies in the grammar word is gender-neutral language. It means to use language in a way that includes both males and females and non-binary people equally and in the same way.

What Did We Use to Refer to People?

In the past, people used 'he', 'him', 'his' etc. as a generic pronoun to refer to people in general (regardless of their genders).

Everyone is to be held responsible for his actions .

Others used 'his or her' or 'he or she' to be more specific in including both genders into their writing.

Everyone is to be held responsible for his or her actions .

What Is a Generic Pronoun to Refer to People?

So, to solve this problem, they have introduced a new gender-neutral pronoun called the singular 'they'. It can be a generic pronoun and refer to people in general or a person who does not want to be referred to as a 'he' or a 'she'.

Everyone is to be held responsible for their actions .

But Can We Use Its instead of His or Hers?

The simple answer is no. You cannot use 'its' to refer to human beings. Its mostly is used to refer to things and animals. The only case we refer to humans by 'its' is when we want to:

refer to babies
refer to a collective noun such as a committee, group, team etc. (in American English)

The baby picked up its pacifier .

The committee has managed to voice its proposal . (Mostly AmE)

The committee have managed to voice their proposal . (Mostly BrE)

The Difference between 'His' and 'Him'

We have different kinds of pronouns in English grammar, for example, subject, object, possessive, impersonal, etc. Here, we will discuss two masculine pronouns.

What Is Their Difference?

What is the difference between "its" and "it's"? How can we use each of them? Are they the same thing? Here, we will discuss the differences between them.

The Difference between 'Its' and 'Their'

Can we replace 'its' with 'their'? If yes, when can we do this? To know if they are truly interchangeable or not, don't waste another minute and read this part.

What Is the Difference between 'Ours' and 'Us'?

What is the difference between 'ours' and 'us'? They are both pronouns. They are both first-person plurals. But they are of different categories of pronouns.

The Difference between 'Ours' and 'Ourselves'

What is the difference between 'ours' and 'ourselves'? 'He's a friend of ours,' or 'He's a friend of ourselves'. Which of these two sentences is correct?

What is Their Difference?

'Ours' and 'Theirs' are both what we call possessive pronouns. They are used to refer to something or someone belonging to or associated with us or others.

Its vs. His or Hers in English Grammar