Every time I see it, I cringe inwardly. And then I quickly get over it because there are bigger things in life, and besides – the misuse of it’s and its is such a common error. But there are people out there who don’t get over it so quickly, and it could be something as simple as your misuse of the English language that keeps them from returning to your blog. Oh, please. I’m exaggerating here, and at this point in my blogging ‘career’, I hardly give a whit if someone stops coming because of my poor grammar, but hopefully you get my point.
It’s = it is
It’s is a contraction of it is.
It’s starting to bother me. [It is starting to bother me].
Its = the possessive form of
it.
Its is an attributive adjective.
The day has lost its splendor. (Its pertains to day).
This is only for those of you who want to use the words properly. The rest of you heathens are on your own here.
Ha! I said heathens!
In grammarly love,
(yes, I know it’s not a word)
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39 comments:
Yay, Kate! Wonder who will take heed.:-) The use of the pronouns "I" and "me" is also another area that needs instruction.:-) Then, there is the matter of plural nous and the use of apostrophes. Thank you, Kate!
It's (ha) a little thing, really but it kinda drives me crazy too. Also your, you're, there, their, and they're. It amazes me how so many people get it wrong. I was listening in english class (but only for that one year)!
As a former proofreader, it is (it's) SO hard for me to ignore!
Good job clarifying this. I probably have been guilty in sloppiness and using this incorrectly.
It's does kinda stick out there when it's used incorrectly.
oooh... wellll... I might be one of the offenders on occasion. I notice now and then that I have done something like this and then I cringe, but some get away from me.
It is what it is. :-)
I know I often get this wrong so I appreciate the explanation. My grammar pet peeve is "a lot" it IS two words and many people type it as one work "alot" - when I used to teach 4th grade I was known as a stickler for this one!
Thanks. Someone HAD to tell it!
Aloha
Ok,i.e., " I sometimes think congress has lost its mind...it's high time some members were voted off the island"...
I do the same cringing when I read all the misuse of contractions---but especially in an ad or in a professional publication, which I find unforgivable. I see far more misuse of you're and your, their and there (for Lord's sakes the word "here" is part of "there")... LOL.
LLC
Some bloggers don't understand the difference and some of us just get in a hurry and forget to re-read our post before hitting that publish key... I am very guilty of that. I see many errors and make many errors but I just don't want to take the fun out of blogging so I guess I choose to overlook it. Does it bug me? Yep. But gosh darn it, we are all having so much fun whether we duz thingz rite or knot.
You've written about a subject that annoys many of us. Well stated my friend.
I am not all that tolerant of people who sabotage the English language.
One phrase that annoys me is 'went missing'
She 'went missing".......no, she IS missing......she didn't GO missing.
That's just stupid, imho.
LOL...now can we talk about your and you're and then and than and too and to and....as those drive me nuts when i see them used incorrectly......accckkkk !!!!
I hear you on this subject . It bothers me when people have nothing else better to do then nitpick . All languages have slang . There is a dictionary of slang words out there written by Websters . The word its or It's is an abbreviation or short form of it is and is in every language ! So to the person that this bothered , we can not all be perfect ! You go girl ! Have a good day !
We all have our own ways of speaking but the funny thing is we all understand each other no matter how it is written ! So what does that say about all of us including the one's doing the correcting eh ? Have a good evening !
My pet peeve is when people use the wrong personal pronoun. I know an English teacher, no less, who always says "for John and I," or "gave Beth and I tickets" as examples. Since the pronoun in example #1 is object of the preposition, it should be the objective case pronoun "for John and me." In example 2, the pronoun serves as an indirect object so should be "gave Beth and me tickets." It drives me crazy when people who should know better do this. I'm off my soapbox now.
Ah, Kate, you make me smile. Our local town newspaper is, unfortunately, overflowing with spelling and grammar mistakes on a weekly basis, and I absolutely hate reading it - which is why I didn't bat an eyelash when we stopped our subscription LOL! :)
Amen!!!!
*quickly checks own recent comments*
;-)
BB
I'm with Diane on this one.
I called someone a Philistine the other day...with love...so heathen works for me. *grin*
Blessings,
Carolynn
A Glowing Ember
I'm kind of a grammar snob, but will admit, its and it's does stump me once in a while. Today on the news one of the anchors said, "he borrowed it to me." Ewww, I cringed!
That is a major, major peeve of mine and I am often shocked (!) to see it in advertising print and other places where you'd think they would know better. It drives me bonkers.
Me too! The use of the apostrophe altogether is annoying. Sometimes over here in the UK you will see signs for ice cream which say ICE'S and our local food merchant had a sign outside saying LOG'S for sale until I went in and insisted that he removed the sign and re-wrote it.
That particularly grates on me with professional publications and on TV. And yes, everybody makes typos from time to time, but any site with consistent terrible grammar is a turn off. Misusing well and good makes me crazy too.
Aren't we just a bunch of snobs! :-)
Mine is dragged vs. drug....sets my hair on fire.
Fortunately or unfortunately I write better than I speak. Most of the time. My pet peeve is the misuse of irregardless. It should be regardless. However, so many use word improperly. The English language is difficult to learn even for us folks that been speaking it all our life. My most common grammar blunder(and one I am fervently trying to correct) is to say "I've got to go" when it should be "I have to go". "Got" has no business being in there. Thanks for keeping us honest, Kate!
English grammer is so quirky!
I hear ya!!!! "Ya" did I say that ?!?!? Haha!
Forge on my friend!!
Rain :)
My huge peeve is the constant misspelling of lose (loose). I see it constantly and it drives me crazy. BTW - I was on Mt. Desert Island last weekend. The weather was good and the locals are happy to have the park open again!
I agree but I will admit I have been getting lazy with spell check and grammar check:) It's nuts!
Too funny! My mom was a reading teacher and she is finicky about words too.
Ah, yes. There are so many.
The one that makes me cringe was pointed out by Anonymous earlier on in the comments. So many people seem to think that it's correct to use "I" no matter what. The very simple way to determine when to use "I" and when to use "me" is to remove the other person from the sentence. You wouldn't say "She cooked dinner for I" so don't say "She cooked dinner for Kate and I." Though I'm sure that you and I would appreciate if someone did. ;)
The other one that I notice is "less than" - and advertisers say it all the time. "Less than 100 calories!" .. when it should be "fewer than."
Like others have said, it's forgivable when it's done once in a while and not business-related. It's a major faux pas in published works or in broadcasting. It happens more and more with places using spell/grammar check in place of real editors.
Mine is alot, instead of a lot. I die when I misspell something. Don't know why.
I can't abide the apostrophe diarrhea in our language these days. (Pardon the image.) And then there is the use of I instead of me in prepositional phrases. But here's one I cannot believe: A Polident ad which has a Buddy Hackett look-alike dentist (the first mistake) tell us that dentures are different TO teeth. Has anyone heard that usage before? Miss Favreau in tenth grade used to chant "different from, not different than" like a mantra--but different TO? She must be digging a hole to China in her grave if she watches (watch's??) the nightly news from the great beyond. ;o)
Kate: choose only one. Didn't see the comment moderation thing. Guess you can't stand the anonymous stuff either. Delete this. xo
As a writer, I feel the same way and often find myself cringing particularly on Facebook because it seems so many people have no clue how to use grammar correctly. Another word that irritates me is your and you're - they are two totally separate phrases yet people continue to use just one.
CJ x
Totally drives me crazy as well. So does " their vs there ... "
As a former proofreader, I enjoyed reading all the comments here. And yes, "heathen" gave me a good giggle... :)
xoxo
Can you please part about alot next? It drives me crazy! A lot is two separate words!
Thank you for saying this. I love your forthrightness. People who love language and words notice mistakes in the misuse of words. Grammar errors bother me but even worse these days seems to be the non-standard lower-case everything. No capitalization anywhere. I think it makes reading very difficult. I just became a follower. I hope your husband is feeling and doing better.
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