Grammar Mishaps: It's vs. Its and Your vs. You're
73A great book emphasising the proper usage of punctuation!
|
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Price: $4.19
List Price: $12.00 |
The proper usage of apostrophes in contractions
It's versus Its
Example of "Its"
The dog wagged its tail.
(The dog wagged it is tail doesn't make sense.)
The child ate its food.
(The child ate it is food doesn't make sense.)
Examples of "It's"
It's time to go to school.
(It is time to go to school.)
It's been a long time since we have seen each other.
(It has been a long time since we have seen each other.
Your vs You're
Examples of "Your"
It is time for your medicine.
(It is time for you are medicine doesn't make sense.)
We will go to your play after we eat.
(We will go to you are play does not make sense.)
Examples of "You're"
You're going to be the first in line.
(You are going to be the first in line.)
You're my best friend.
(You are my best friend.)
Homonyms: There, Their and They're
- There, Their and They're
"There", "their" and "they're" are homonyms. I've created another hub to clarify their meanings.
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Comments, Thoughts or Questions?
Thanks for the comment StuartJ. You were the one that inspired me on the grammar hubs. I have a few more I'm going to write. I don't think you need a comma before the "too" unless you want to have added emphasis. I agree, small hubs are easier to read and a better bet all around. Cheers!
A rarer mistake, but I still see it fairly often, is confusing 've with of, because they sound the same. "I could of been a contender".
I think that the statement should be, "I could've (could have) been a contender." The words "could of", "should of" and "would of" are not correct. Instead we should say, "could have" or "could've", "should have" or "should've", and "would have" or "would've". The use of the words "of" instead of "have" or the contraction "'ve" are often misused. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Robin!!!!
Just wanted to tell you that your hubpage is awesome.I've read some of the articles you've written here.I love the way you respond to people's comments.Keep it up!
Something about me;
My name is Nirosha and I am seventeen years old. I am an Indian.(Should it be 'I am Indian' or is this ok?I guess it's correct either way.In the former sentence, 'indian' was used as a noun while in the latter, as an adjective.What do you say?)
I love English(especially American English).
I like spotting grammatical errors.;)I'm sure u do too;)
Thanks!
Hi Nirosha. I love to hear from teens that are aware of grammar! You are correct in your assessment of your sentences. They are both correct. You'd probably like the book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves." It's a hilarious book about grammar and grammatical errors. I have added it to the top of this hub. Have you written any hubs yet? If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Thanks for the comment!
Nope.I have never written a hub.In fact,I just got introduced to this hub thing.Your hubpage was the first I'd ever visited.Would probably make one in future(they say 'in the future' in American English,don't they?).
Robin,could you please tell me where the error lies in the following sentence?
Like the area in and around the Rocky Mountains, the Western Basins and Plateaus region of the United States offer much for the tourist.
I sure would love to read that book!But, at present I am busy preparing for the SAT.
One more thing...I've heard many Americans ask,"Where are you at?" I don't know why, but it sounds strange to me.Isn't 'at' redundant?
Thanks!
Hi Nirosha. I see two main mistakes in your above sentence. First, I believe the statement should be the Western Basin and Plateau regions. Second, you need to specify what is being offered to the tourists. I would rewrite the sentence, "Like the area in and around the Rocky Mountains, the Western Basin and Plateau regions of the United States offer plenty of adventure for tourists."
As for your second question, you are correct that the statement, "Where are you at?" is incorrect. "At" is a preposition and should never be used at the end of a sentence. Prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other parts of the sentence. Other examples of prepositions include: on, besides, beneath, around, into, from, during, plus many more. The question should be simply, "Where are you?". Thanks for the questions and comments! I'll be looking for your first hub. You could write it on the SAT when you're finished studying. The best of luck to you!
WOW! What wonderful hubs you have here! I am a former teacher myself. I now homeschool my teenage boys at home and love ever minute of it. I am no English teacher by all means lol (my subjects are Math and Science) but I enjoy your contribution here and find it helpful :) Nice job! I must bookmark you for reference :) Thanks!
Thanks smoovstella! I read your hubs on horses and homeschooling. I think you could be a great resources for horse lovers and homeschoolers! Thanks for the comment! Robin
Thanks for the "it's" clarification! Very helpful! You missed a "t" in contraction in the last sentence. Spelling/grammer is a learning process and I know this very well! Thanks for the help! Hopefully I didn't spell anything wrong...
Thanks Lauren. I appreciate the catch! Cheers!
Hello! I have a friend who likes to correct my grammer. Is it correct to say, "He has not ate anything yet today." ? I would appreciate the answer! Thanks!
Hi Kassandra,The correct way to say your sentence is, "He has not eaten anything yet today." Eat, Ate, Eaten: I will eat today. I ate yesterday. I have eaten a lot today. Use the term "eaten" when the word "have" precedes it. Thanks for the question!
Hi Robin, thank you very much for this site it helped me alot in teaching my son who is in 2nd Gr right now,he has a little bit of confusion using THERE, THEY'RE and THEIR. I hope you will post more about GRAMMAR coz i'm learning also and I use your site as my reference because it is easy to understand, we're from another country and not used to speak your language (ENGLISH). Post more.Thank you.
My friend consistently uses the word "done" incorrectly. She says "I am done my homework." Or "When you're done dinner..." We have arguments often about whether or not this is proper English. Can you help explain? Thank you.
Hi Yizzer,
You can say, "I have done my homework; I did my homework; or I am done with my homework." It is incorrect to say, "I am done my homework." The same applies with your second sentence. This is the correct usage, "When you're done with dinner...." Hope that helps! ;)
Is this really grammar? Or is it, rather, spelling conventions? Do we really want to confuse grammar with spelling conventions? A contraction is a phonological process (based on phonological rules). Personally, as a linguist, I cannot hear the difference between /Its/ and /Its/. Though one linguist friend claims that the possessive does not follow the devoicing rule of plurals in English. Thus /dawgs/ dog's and /dawgz/ dogs and /kats/ cat’s /kats/ cats—where the plural morpheme is /z/ and is devoiced through assimilation with the preceding voiceless consonant (though something different happens if it is a sibilant). A rule of English grammar (as that abstract system of language) would then be /z/ --> [s]/ [+voiceless, + consonantal, - sibilant] ____#. When we claim that spelling conventions are rules of grammar, are we not merely perpetuating a false conflation of language and writing?
Hi Robin,
Fantastic site! I cleared many of my grammer issues. Thanks much!
Praveen
Should one say "I appreciate your coming with me to the store with me" or "I appreciate you coming to the store with me". I think it should be "your", but can't remember!
Oops! I meant to say, "I appreciate your coming to the store with me" or "I appreciate you coming to the store with me". Which is correct?
William i believe it's "I appreciate you coming to the store with me."
Don't you just love the English language? It really is a difficult language to grasp properly isn'it it? Your great little hub page has certainly helped me. - Many thanks, Paul
The site owner of Bellaonline.com is always pointing out these usages to new editors. It's one of those things that never seems to go away.
I know this is late, but I had to comment. I appreciate your/you coming to the store - which is correct? Actually, it is "your". When using two verbs in English, the second verb may be either an infinitve (to eat) or a gerund (eating) - most of the time. After the verb "appreciate", we should use a gerund. If we want to qualify who is doing the eating, we must use the possessive. Therefore, your is the correct answer. Using you is an informal change that has recently come about because Americans are trying to simplify grammar. However, as English is a "descriptive" language, meaning that there is no formal body that dictates what is correct and incorrect, Americans are making up the rules as they go along. Therefore, the answer is that "your" is correct to the old grammar leaders, but that they don't have any real power. It is actually more of a question of what is prescribed vs. what is real. Eventually, it will prbably change to you, just as gotten is changing to got.
Thanks Robin, it is clearer at this point. Grammar mishaps was a help.
Hi Robin,
So for the past tense "I did" and "I have done", does this distinction exist only in English or in other languages also?
Thanks
So i understand the difference between "its" and "it's" but when do you use its'?
(Ive never done this before)
is it correct to use? I have done my work. Have you done your work? or should it be I have did my homework
Alison -- always have done, or did; never have did. Hope this helps.
Rosie -- other Romance (Latin-based) languages use this form of verb construction: Spanish would say "ha ido" for "has gone."
wow i commented
Someone corrected me when I said, " John has eaten a rattlesnake ". They told me it was ate instead of eaten. Is that right?
Grammar Books
|
NEW Basics Of Biblical Greek Grammar - Mounce, Willi...
Current Bid: $33.32
|
|
Saxon Grammar & Writing Grade GRD 5 Kit Homeschool 2009
Current Bid: $61.97
|
Grammar books on Amazon
|
Painless Grammar (Painless Series)
Price: $4.85
List Price: $9.99 |
|
Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Price: $8.18
List Price: $14.00 |
![Bad grammar makes me [sic]](http://s3.hubimg.com/u/595850_50.jpg "Bad grammar makes me [sic]")
StuartJ says:
3 years ago
Hi, you have done it too! (Should I have a comma before the 'too' in that first sentence, or is it ok with short sentences like that?)
I like the idea of the smallish linked Hubs. I must look at dividing mine up a bit more.