Confusion over the use of its and it's
By succeednow
@succeednow (1633)
Singapore
December 18, 2011 10:58am CST
I noticed that a common mistake often made by some writers involved the use of its and it's. Inevitably they will use it's when they actually meant its. For example they will write "It's meaning is clear" when they should have written "Its meaning is clear". There are many other examples if you care to search. Anyway, I find it such a shame that so many writers make this mistake as the whole article would have been perfect except for this error. Are you one of those writers who frequently make such an error? Has anyone in mylot noticed this in the posts? How would you go about pointing out their mistake and to get them to correct it?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@Devilova (5392)
• Indonesia
18 Dec 11
I'm not good enaugh on tensis, sometime it make me shame with myself.lol
For me, I prefer to us "it meaning is clear" or "its meaning was clear".
"Its" in here when it's told "lot of thing" or "more then one thing".
But like already I have said before that I'm not good enaugh on tensis.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
18 Dec 11
"It", "he", and "she". The plural is "They". They are one of the few remaining words in English which change their ending or their form depending on the case and the genitive or possessive case for each of them is "its", "his", "her" OR "hers" and "their" OR "theirs".
"Its meaning is clear" means, literally, "The meaning which belongs to it (or "of it") is clear."
Likewise, we say:
"His book", "Her doll" (but "The doll is hers"), "Their company" (but "The company is theirs").
"It's" is ONLY used to mean "It is": "It's going to be rainy again today."
@succeednow (1633)
• Singapore
19 Dec 11
Hi owlwings, your explanation is very clear. You would make an excellent English teacher if anyone should need one. Well done!
@Sniffy (21)
•
18 Dec 11
As far as I am aware the word "its" does not exist, it must always be followed by an apostrophe before the letter s.
Two such instances, quite possibly the only two would be the obvious use to denote the abbreviation of "it is".
The other form of usage would be to denote the possessive.
I believe the phrase "It's meaning is clear" would be the correct possessive form.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
18 Dec 11
You are wrong! "It's" is an abbreviation of "it is" and "its" is the possessive form of "it", just as "his" and "hers" are the possessive forms of "he" and "she" respectively.
The confusion between "it's" and "its" arises because people are commonly taught that the possessive form of nouns is generally indicated by "'s" (or by "s'" in the plural. "Its", "his", hers", "ours" and "theirs" are, however, the few words which don't follow this rule.
@succeednow (1633)
• Singapore
19 Dec 11
Hi Sniffy and owlwings, Thank you for your comments. Yes, I'm afraid Sniffy is badly mistaken and owlwings is absolutely correct and people who frequently make such a mistake should read your post here. If they are not convinced then they can consult a book called "element of style" to check it out for themselves.
@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
23 Dec 11
That's one that always used to get me! I have got over this mistake now though and I guess when you read a lot and you see authors using it's and its then it becomes easier to understand once you see the context in which its and it's is used. I would find it hard to try and correct others even though it is the right thing to do. I'm just glad that I no longer make this grammatical error. Andrew
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
19 Dec 11
Writers aren't perfect. The fact that they commit this mistake is understandable even though it is common and should have been corrected easily. Sometimes, an experienced writer still does this mistake because the writer's attention is direct to another avenue of writing. that's why it's important to proofread one;s work or have someone independent do the editing.
I admit that I also stumble upon this mistake once in a while. I get caught up writing that sometimes I forget to proofread. Trying to reach a deadline isn't easy especially if you're multitasking.
Sometimes, correction isn't really a big deal, specially here in mylot. It's a different story if you're writing a technical paper or a thesis. Here, as long as otehr readers of the post can get to see the whole context and forgive the small error, it's no big deal (for me). Not everybody will fuss becuase conversational style is dominant in discussion forums like these.
@succeednow (1633)
• Singapore
19 Dec 11
Hi jeanneyyvonne, There are two issues here. If it's really a case of not proofreading one's work and let the mistake slip by then it's understandable. However, you'll notice that some of these good writers repeat this same mistake over and over again. This shows that they do not know their mistake. The other issue is although it's a minor error, I think one should proofread all submissions and correct any mistakes so that one gets into the habit of submitting a high quality work every time. It is important that readers form a good impression of you. This is my take. Does anyone else agree or have a different opinion?
@craziestqueenever (1819)
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
I'm guilty about it. I do know there difference but sometimes I'm just confused about it. I used to be Grammar snob but now, I'm not.
@enelym001 (8322)
• Philippines
18 Dec 11
I am guilty of committing such mistake as I normally type without care but thankfully I am not a real writer. I noticed it most of the time too and just thought that there are good writers that still don't proofread before submitting their articles, coz I usually think sometimes that it is just a typo. I haven't tried to point it out too since they might get offended.
