Today, March 4, is National Grammar Day
(It's also National Dress in Blue Day, National Doodle Day,
National Pound Cake Day, National Toy Soldier Day &
National Day of Unplugging All Your Electronic Devices!!)
Welcome to today's fight English lesson. This post is dedicated to Janie Junebug, AKA the Queen of Grammar & the head of the Grammar Police.
This is her:
This is her badge:
IT'S AND
ITS USAGE CHEAT SHEET
(wikihow.com)
When to Use
|
How to Test
|
|
It’s
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When you’re about to describe something
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Replace with “it is”
|
Its
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When you want to indicate ownership of
something
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Replace with another possessive adjective
(“her,” “his,” “their”) or “the”
|
Examples:
It’s
1. It’s very cold today.
Test: It is very cold today. (Correct!)
2. Canada and it’s people
are beautiful.
Test: Canada and it is people
are beautiful. (Incorrect!)
3. Do you know if it’s
cold in Paris?
Test: Do you know if it is cold
in Paris? (Correct!)
4. That dog loves it’s
bone.
Test: That dog loves it is bone.
(Incorrect!)
Its
Test: The [toaster’s] function
is to toast bread. (Correct!)
2. Its 4 o’clock.
Test: The 4 o’clock. (Incorrect!)
3. Its fur is so soft and
shiny.
Test: The [dog’s] fur
is so soft and shiny. (Correct!)
4. Don’t drive if its too
rainy out.
Test: Don’t drive if the too rainy out. (Incorrect!)
Test: Don’t drive if the too rainy out. (Incorrect!)
Don't know whether to say there or their? It's easy to figure out; just drop the "t" at the beginning. You're left with "here" & "heir". "There" refers to a place & "their" refers to ownership, as if you've inherited something. "They're" is just a contraction of the words "They are". Another way to remember: As
income tax time approaches, did you ever notice: When you put the two words
"The" and "IRS" together it spells
"THEIRS"!!!!!!!
A lot of people aren't sure when it's proper to say "Me & you" or "You & I". Easy solution: Just drop one of them & see how it sounds. For instance, "Mom bought presents for (you &) I." doesn't sound right but "Mom bought presents for (you &) me." does. Compare "(You &) I are nice people." to "(You &) me are nice people." Get it?
End of lesson--on to the funny stuff:
Several years ago we bought discount cards for some golf courses in the Palm Springs area. One course must have been very lenient to their landscaping because their card said "The trees come in to play." It made me picture a foursome composed of Bud, me, an oak & a spruce. It should have said, "The trees come into play."
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Here are some examples of incorrect spelling &
questionable grammar for you from viralnova.com:
English is difficult; why is a person who plays the piano called a
pianist but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?----fishducky
