IELTS series-5: Difference between 'its' and it's

It is all about “Its and It’s”

 I asked my son “How is it?”  I looked at him very eagerly; even though, I knew well that he would never give me a pass mark in this test. It is all about my cooking.

He quietly replied “Do you want my reply seriously...Okay....as usual it’s bland.” My excitement melted down. This is a regular ritual  between us at least once in a day. Do you know what the ingredients of my chutney are? (It’s a mix of Indian gooseberry, coconut, green chilies, ginger, pepper, coriander leaves, salt and a lot other good things.) Its taste may not be fine to him.

Yesterday I prepared our breakfast.

I followed the same ritual. His retort came fast “It’s unbearable”

Puppy, our pet dog, came to my rescue wagging its tail. I gave it to her. It took away the food to its place very happily. I threw a look of pride at my son, but his eyes were brimming with a pity and he muttered “Poor Puppy...”

Let us go into “IT”

Have you noticed these sentences: 1. it’s bland; it’s a mix; it’s unbearable?

                   Here    ‘It with apostrophe‘s’ means ‘IT is’

                        It is bland. It is a mix, it is unbearable.

  Now have a look at these :        2. Its taste may not be fine; its tail, its 

                                              Place...

              On the other hand,  ‘it’ without apostrophe‘s’ means possession like his book, his place...its tail stands for -the dog’s tail and 

                                ‘its place’ indicates -the dog’s place.

 Is it okay about 'its' and  "it’s"? 

Also I hope that this explanation is not at all so bland like my curry.

IELTS series-4: DON'T PASS OUT, BUT PASS YOUR EXAMINATION!

“DON'T PASS OUT; BUT PASS YOUR EXAMINATION”

It was 11.00 at night. After my wife told me to wait for ‘a little extra time’, I enjoyed a nap. I felt like half dreaming and half conscious in the air conditioned mall in our town.

I could hear some conversations and scattered voices. The one, which brought out of my happy dreaming, was a voice proudly saying “....in 1964, I PASSED OUT OF MY COLLEGE with flying colors as a gold medalist...” He was beaming with pride at the person next to him and I looked at the victim who might have been bearing this nonstop boasting for quite a long time. He appeared resigned. He was not at all bothered about what the fellow was rattling on. But his tired eyes were searching for somebody...might be his wife. I looked at him with all kindness and pity. Let us pray that his wife and mine would appear soon from their buying spree. Now shall we discuss about: pass out?

PASSED OUT...? Is it correct? NO. It is wrong.

PASS OUT means ‘GOING UNCONSCIOUS” or ‘FAINTING’.

When you pass a course “I passed the examination” or “I GRADUATED” is completely okay.

“I PASSED THE FINAL SEMESTER SUCCESSFULLY.” Correct.

But, don’t use ‘pass out’.

Meanwhile somebody shouted. “Oh... look at him. He passed out. Bring some water...give space and air”

I saw our nonstop boasting friend fainting. Somebody loosened his shirts. Within minutes of help he gained normal consciousness. He started again to sing his own praises, but in a feeble voice “Last year also I fainted in the same place.....” and suddenly he stopped. His wife was staring at him in anger and the newly acquainted friend was hurrying out!