Page 318 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

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its and it's
These two words are often confused by native speakers of English as weU as by foreign learners.
Its is a possessive word (like my, your).
Every country has its traditions. (NOT ••• it's traditions.) It's is the contracted fonn of it is or it has.
It's raining again (NOT its I'(tilting (tgttin.)
Have you seen my camera? It's disappeared. (NOT ••• Its tiisttppeareti.)
There is a similar difference between whose and who's - see 627. For more about conrractions, see 143.
it's time
followed by infinitive
It's time (or it is time) can be foUowed by an infinitive. It's time to buy a new car.
To say who should do something, we use for + object + infinitive (see 291). It's time for her to go to bed.
followed by past tense with present meaning
It's time can also be followed by a subject with a past tense verb. The meaning is present.
It's time she went to bed. It's time you washed those trousers.
I'm getting tired. It's time we went home.
The expression It's high time . .. is often used in this structure in British English, to say that something is urgent.
It's high time you got a job.
For other structures in which a past tense has a present or future meaning, see 426. page 286
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notes
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Says is pronounced Isez/.
The old past participle drunken is used as an adjective in some expressions
(e.g. a drunken argument, drunken driving), but these are not very common. Prove (regular) has an irregular past participle proven which is sometimes used instead of proved, especially as an adjective (e.g. a proven liar). Speed can also have regular fonns, especially in the expression speeded up. Sling and sunk are sometimes used instead of sang and sank.
Burn, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil are all regular in American English. In British English. irregular past tenses and participles with -t are also common.
Dive is regular in British English, but can be irregular in American: dive - dived/dove (JdouvI) - dived
Fit and quit are usually irregular in American English.
The American past participle of get is either got or gotten (see 233.7).
Spit has both spit and spat as past tense and participle in American English. Note the standard AmE pronunciations of ate (/elt/) and shone (lIoun/).
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