Grammar Tip – Its Versus Their

Susan’s question: “Please tell me the difference between its and their. For example, would I write ‘ABC Enterprises offered all its employees a bonus’ or ‘ABC Enterprises offered all their employees a bonus?”

BizWritingTip response: As ABC Enterprises is considered a singular noun, you would have to use the personal pronoun “its.”

Example

ABC Enterprises offered all its employees a bonus. (Its is replacing the company’s name.)

You would only use “their” when the noun it is replacing is plural.

Example

The managers offered all their employees a bonus. (Their is replacing the managers.)