I've been toying with the idea of writing this "diary" - if you can call it that - dealing with the most minute of niggling little technical details one could imagine, just because it's applicable here, everywhere, everyday. It's sort of like pilpul - but I really intend it as a helpful thingy. I always do.
I have a touch of Autism - Asperger's Syndrome - and one of the manifestations is always, reflexively, wanting to correct anybody who dares say, or spell, anything wrong. And we don't seem to notice that when we do this, it earns us, mostly, loathing, rather than gratitude. But that doesn't stop us!
I have learned to rein it in, a lot. I know it's not important, that what people are saying is the issue, not whether everything is spelled correctly.
And I'm far from perfect! I make plenty of typos on my own.
This, though, is about one singular thing that is just about ubiquitous - and it's not difficult to remember the way it's spozed to be.
This diary is about it's / its.
When do you use the apostrophe?
The confusing bit is this: for most words, when it's possessive, the apostrophe is required: "the dog's bone," "my boat's rudder," etc.
BUT! not with "its!"
With "its," if it is possessive, it does not get an apostrophe!
So, here's the easy way to remember it, as promised:
The only time that "it's" has an apostrophe is when it's a contraction...otherwise, it loses its apostrophe, or, more rightly, it never had one.
To use this, you can murmur the words, quietly, to yourself: " the duck shook it is head? no...the duck shook it has head...? no. must be, the duck shook its head! doesn't look right: "its." But condo said it was!
And it's true, dear readers: this is a special word, and one which gets used, and abused, a lot.
Why is this important enough for a diary, you ask...? that's a fair question, and I don't say that in the Gonzales sense of "I have a memorized answer to that one," but in the usual sense. It's because we communicate with written language, and, rightly or wrongly, are judged by our usage of that medium. We get more respect for our ideas when they are expressed in the correct way. This does not mean it's inappropriate to bend teh rulez on porpoise, to be snarky, or to make a point...it means that it sticks out when someone is writing a serious piece, and they say "...the baby was dropped on it's head," or some such. What a maroon, right...? Not. But the suggestion is implicit in the unconscious misuse of our delightful apostrophe.
Update:
from Wee Mama, in the comments, the actual reason:
It's like having clean glass in the window.
Sometimes I can reach students with the value of correct punctuation and so on by comparing their prose to a window - you want people to pay attention to what you are saying, not how. If the window is dirty, you tend to notice the streaks and specks instead of what's on the other side. Great prose is transparent.
I will leave you with a pootie picture, now, and a poll. I do like a poll with pie, which was another reason I wanted to write a diary in the first place.
My favorite...? It's strawberry rhubarb, with its luscious mix of sweet and tart. How 'bout choo...?