Thursday, April 08, 2010

Apostrophes are going cheap

Some people swear them, some others loathe them..
when to use them, when to drop them.... headache!
it's vs. its... there will be blood!

One thing I've noticed on several occasions is that apostrophes are more of an issue for native than for non-native speakers.
Odd, indeed, but true nonetheless!
Teaching beginner learners of English is a major part of my job. They come in on Day One with no English, but after about a month, they will have learnt and assimilated that 'it's' is the contraction of 'it is' and that 'its' is a possessive pronoun.
However, many native speakers mix the two forms at any given opportunity! The other day again, I read a Facebook thread on the subject... something along the lines of:
-"Facebook isn't working properly....  it's having of it's turns!"
-"haha, you made a typo!"
-"what? No, I didn't!"
etc.

Mind you, it might become common usage and therefore acceptable, who knows! After all, people dictate the rules language, not the other way round...

and yes, I really want one of these t-shirts! Check it out!
http://www.sharingmachine.com/index.php?item=33
or grammar fashion as the new black
(in my mind)

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