3rd grade its or it's? worksheets
Third graders choose between the famous pairs, its/it's, your/you're, their/they're/there, using the expansion test on every blank.
Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.4.1.g.
A new sheet every click.
The kind of sentences you'll fix
Try the two-word test, choose your answer, and write it on the line.
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(Their / There / They’re) bringing the folding chairs and the radio.
Fixed: They’re bringing the folding chairs and the radio.
- (Your / You’re) welcome to borrow the ladder anytime.
- (Your / You’re) boots are by the door where you left them.
Every print pulls a fresh set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.
What's on each sheet
- Fix it. Try the two-word test, choose your answer, and write it on the line. 8 sentences to fix per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Drill the expansion test as a spoken reflex: every time one of these words comes up, say the two-word version aloud and rule on whether the sentence survived. Funny failures (the dog wagged it is tail) are the best teachers.
Watch for: The apostrophe here means letters are missing, not ownership: it's = it is. This runs exactly opposite to possessive nouns, which is why the pairs tangle. The expansion test never fails: read the sentence with the two full words. If it survives, contraction; if it collapses, possessive.
Common questions about its or it's?
- Why does it's mean it is when apostrophes usually own things?
- Two different apostrophe jobs collide here: contraction (letters missing) and possession. For these pronoun pairs, the apostrophe ALWAYS means contraction, and possession goes bare: its, your, their, whose.
- What is the expansion test?
- Read the sentence with the contraction spelled out: it is, you are, they are, who is. If the sentence still works, the apostrophe version is right; if it collapses, use the possessive.
Related worksheets
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- 6th grade its or it's? A step harder, same skill
- 3rd grade commas in addresses Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade commas in letters Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade commas in a series Same grade, nearby skill
- Its or it's?, all grades The full progression
- All 3rd grade English worksheets Every skill at this level
- All 3rd grade worksheets Everything at this level
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Aligned to Common Core L.4.1.g. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 179, updated August 2026.
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