Vishnu Gopal

Its and It's

I’ve seen this error so many times on the net – in articles, in blogs, in the front page of so many web sites – that I think I’ll spare a few words for it. The subject is of course, English Grammar, and for ppl wh0 typ3 l1ke th15, this is not a consideration. Real people may read the next paragraph.

I, T, and S can form two combinations in that order. Its and It’s: i.e., a simple I, T and S, and I, T, an apostrophe and an S. The difference between them is that ‘Its’ is a posessive pronoun, where as ‘It’s’ mean It is.

Correct: It’s a nice day. Why? Because it expands to ‘It is a nice day.’

Wrong: It’s name is Dolores. Why? Because it expands to ‘It is name is Dolores.’

Correct: The cat had its whiskers cut. Why? Because ‘its’ is a posessive pronoun here.

See also: It’s/Its

In

5 responses

  1. kaa Avatar
    kaa

    I still think that making rigid grammatical rules is detrimental to the progress of a language (now progress of a language is an ambiguou idea itself)…I had taken “Sanskrit in modern sciences”..in the last sem. the prof. was a young and dynamic and the course was unlike the one i had gone through 6 years in CBSE. the grammer is so complex in sanskrit, i cant imagine it developed on its own. A feminine noun ending with an “”ee”” sound would have its own rules and so on. i could’nt find any use reason for it other than the, “only a highly learned man should be able to speak it properly”.

    🙂 i think the high ups in the ancient times made these deliberately so the common man could never learn the intricacies. And if they did, they have succeeded.

    Reply
  2. qhitch< Avatar
    qhitch<

    No offense, but that’s like saying aborgines and modern men have the same level of communication ability. It’s because we have a little bit of science in our thoughts and our language that we’re more efficient at expressing our thoughts and appreciating other’s thoughts in turn. Grammar [spelled with an a ;-)] was a step forward to form structured thoughts. Certainly we may abandon it when we want to, but saying that it’s because of our rustic roots or whatever is absurd.

    I can certainly appreciate the spirit of what you’re saying though, which is I hope is that it’s the essence of communication that should be conveyed, and grammar is an afterthought. However, in RL, once you think on it, you’ll find that grammar, spelling and all the paraphernalia surrounding it has evolved for a reason, and that reason is that it provides for more organized communication.

    A year or so ago, I had the same argument with a teacher in which I took your side, so I’m not unsympathetic to your viewpoint 😉

    Reply
  3. kaa Avatar
    kaa

    one more thing, “The language came before its grammer.”

    Reply
  4. qhitch Avatar
    qhitch

    I won’t go to the extent of saying that grammar isn’t important at all. If it wasn’t, you and I wouldn’t be communicating, we would be just stringing some words in order, like many kiddie poets do nowadays (see deviantart.com poetry to see what I mean). Nevertheless, absolutely correct grammar is oxymoronic, because as you’ve mentioned it’s an everchanging ideal. But still, what I mentioned in the post is a pretty simple rule to master, maybe the way I said it was too strong.

    Reply
  5. kaa Avatar
    kaa

    I beg to differ, not on the technical aspect, you are perfectly correct there. But people do not use language according to grammer rules, they use it comparing with what they have already heard.
    I mean it is not that obvious unless one knows it, for ex .. the cat got the “rat’s” tail. The rat’s is not deciphered as ” rat is”, in fact it resemsbles the “its”.
    Anyway english language is alive and if sufficient people start using something, the grammer will get changed.
    🙂 so plz dont be such a stickler for grammer, as its not absolute (at least in english).

    Reply

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