Quick Lesson:

[deird_lj]

A NOUN that owns something...
...uses an apostrophe.

Such as:
- the dog's bone
- the house's chimney
- the newspaper's typeface

The same holds true for proper nouns:
- Megan's cup
- Tom's ears

And for abstract nouns:
- love's desire
- envy's true nature


A PRONOUN that owns something...
...doesn't use an apostrophe.

Such as:
- his hands
- her passion for music
- its colour
- whose book?


If a PRONOUN has an apostrophe...
...it's a contraction.

It's means "it is". Who's means "who is".

PLEASE LEARN THIS. IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY.

Comments

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Ack, grammar fail. So silly.

I actually used to make the its-it's mistake sometimes, like, last year. I think I went back on an old post and saw it. It made me a little sad.

[deird1]

I've done it too. :(

Whenever I see stuff like that in an old LJ post, I end up torn between wanting to fix it to the correct spelling, and wanting to leave it intact so that it's historically accurate. (Yes, I'm insane.)

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Hee! You're adorkable.

Whenever I see them, I feel like I should correct them, and then forget about it. Most of my fics have typos in them somewhere, but I haven't bothered to go back and check all of them...

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

My little finger operates entirely independently of my brain, so I stick apostrophes in where they don't belong fairly often. But I know I do it, so I watch for it when self-editing, and my betas catch the rest of them, bless 'em.

[snickfic]

I'll just import you to Central America and have you teach my sixth-graders this, shall I? (Although honestly, they have much more dire language problems than its/it's.)

[deird1]

Hey, as long as you pay for my plane ticket, I'm happy...

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU. It drives me crazy, too! You shouldn't be able to get your diploma at graduation unless you can prove that you know the difference, you know?

And honestly, I hadn't thought of it in just these terms; that's not how it was explained to us. We were just supposed to memorize it. This makes so much sense.

[deird1]

Yay! At least we're being driven crazy together! *high-fives*

[next_to_normal]

You shouldn't be able to get your diploma at graduation unless you can prove that you know the difference, you know?

You know, I see posts like this, and I think, "Wouldn't it be great if you had to pass a test proving you knew this kind of stuff before you were allowed to graduate?"

Then I remember how much shit the state Department of Education got for even suggesting that this type of testing be voluntary - not even required! - for high schools, and I shake my head in resignation (and be thankful that I got a new job).

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

I still have to go "does the 'its/it's' in this sentence mean it is, or not?" to figure it out sometimes. I'm so cool.

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

*pets you*

Repeat after me: The sky is blue. The grass is green.

Ooooh, look!!!!!!! Pretty green grass!

*distracts you*

[deird1]

*is distracted*

[danielrh.livejournal.com]

Personally I think it depends on the situation.
Outside of business/professional writing, I don't have a problem with people getting it wrong.
---
The above text is a natural product. Slight variations
in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character & beauty
and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.

[deird1]

Yeah, I have different standards in different contexts. In business writing, I think they should re-write the document and actually do it properly.


In normal internet-ness, it just REALLY bugs me. Especially because I find myself reading stuff that ends up sounding like:
"I asked who is ball it was and they said it was there is."

...which makes me want to punch things.

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Oh Jesus that sentence makes me want to cry.

[roccondilrinon.livejournal.com]

*shrug* The words are spelt differently for a reason. You can't even excuse getting it wrong as laziness, because it's a simple thing to remember and by our age anyone who has been educated in an English-speaking country has been taught to remember it. It's a case of wanton ignorance, which is never a Good Thing, and is too often a sign of the same on a broader level.



Those with learning disabilities which make this sort of thing genuinely difficult are of course exempt.

I do agree that it's much more important in a professional context, but that doesn't mean it's unimportant outside of one.

[deird1]

anyone who has been educated in an English-speaking country has been taught to remember it.

That kinda depends on how good your local schools are...

[jen-nsync-landl.livejournal.com]

I have something stunningly similar to this on my paper writing guidelines, and the flagrant disregard of it by my students is driving me stark, raving mad. The its/it's confusion? Why? WHY?

Oh, and when you throw plural possessives into the mix, total chaos ensues!

[swellen.livejournal.com]

That drives me to distraction (or should I say it drive's me to distraction?) and I also want to punch people who use idioms that they've only ever heard, not seen written. Examples: "for all intensive purposes" and "it fell on death ears".

Kill me now; it would be a kindness.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

ROFL - oh, so very true. May I quote you on riters_r_us? I don't think we've touched on idioms nearly enough.

[swellen.livejournal.com]

Haha - go for it.

[immer-am-lesen.livejournal.com]

Ah, so this worry's you, does it?
Tsk.
Its annoying, sure, but we all have to learn to live with it.
Besides, theirs worse thing's than bad grammer.
Write?
;-)
(This is why I can't read fanfic, the errors just make me want to kill things.)
I managed to teach my little niece a bit of something the other day...
to tell when to use 'where' and 'there' for directions (instead of wear/we're and they're/their), just look...does it have 'here', another direction, in it?
:-)

[deird1]

Ahh! My eyes! My eyes!


*shudders*

There is nothing worse than bad grammar. Nothing. Ever.

[immer-am-lesen.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear.
Like when people say "I should of gone there"...I can't stand that one.
Anyways, no need to keep mentioning all this, it'll just make us sad.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

There is nothing worse than bad grammar. Nothing. Ever.

Not even a poke in the eye with a sharp stick?

[riccadonna.livejournal.com]

I had just finished laughing at this post, when I got to the next item on the page, and there one of them was...Laugh or cry?

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

There, there...*pets soothingly*

[padawanspider.livejournal.com]

This.

Also, I got your card. Thank you! *squees over the koalas*

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

So:

Giles' glasses?

Giles's glasses?

:-)

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

This one confuses me so much!

There's some rule, but I don't know it. Someone go do some research and bring back knowledge?

[deird1]

According to my grammar book, they're both acceptable, but "Giles's" is more advisable for modern use.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I'd disagree on that one. The last time I looked it up, the consensus was that you should go with whichever would be the easiest to say. Personally, I prefer the old-fashioned Giles'. Say them aloud and see what you think.

[deird1]

See, when I say "Giles' glasses" out loud, it sounds like his last name. (Mr Giles Glasses, from the Strathmore Glasses...)

"Giles's glasses" sounds more natural to me.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

*nods* sound-wise it is just his last name. It's only in written work that the apostrophe makes it obvious. It just seems easier to say to me - Giles' glasses, Summers' home, Angelus' family, and so on. Maybe a difference in countries? Giles's, Summers's etc just seem awkward to me. I have a new style manual to look at (American) so I'm going to see what it says.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

I have a small reserve of patience, selectively used, for its/it's, as 'its' violates the usual possessive rule. Who's is a whole other issue and receives no allowances.

I got your card too! It was very cheering on my doormat as I walked in from the melting snow. (Very glad mine arrived safely, I'm 98% sure the post office site sold me completely the wrong postage and I did wonder if it was going to be travelling by slow boat or something.)

[jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com]

This is a nice concise explanation that I like and raise thumbs to.

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I think I should get Special Grammar points for having Willow complain about this very issue in Sundays at Nine when she's a TA. :D