Does anyone else out there care that a local publication frequently prints "its'" in its articles? "Its'" ain't a word, y'all! While I'm at it, yes, it's "y'all," not "ya'll." Try to remember back to second grade when you were first introduced to the magic of the contraction. Remember? The apostrophe "takes the place of" omitted letters.
- cannot = can't (' replaces no)
- I have = I've (' replaces ha)
- you all = y'all (' replaces ou)
(Sidebar: look up Mitch Hedberg. He has a great bit about how we talk in the South.)
So there is your first lesson. My plan for this blog is to point out daily errors in local publications and also to offer little lessons here and there. My goal is to alert those who write and print that these little things matter. Take responsibility for your commas! My four eyes are watching...
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be perfect, just more grammar/punctuation-aware than most others.
3 comments:
I beg to differ.
Its is a word.
"Its eyes are shining."
You wouldn't say it's eyes are shining as that would translate to it is eyes are shining and render the sentence grammatically incorrect.
I took journalism and many writing classes in college so please correct me if I am wrong
You are correct, stardust. I believe that my use of the ' enclosed with the " made it difficult to read. I was trying to say that its' is not a word, and it most definitely is not.
I'm just sitting here eating some "sp" in the "Sth."
RIP Mitch Hedberg ...
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