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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2012 14:29:21 GMT
..... at it's best. or .... at its best.
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Post by hubertus on Feb 27, 2012 16:44:35 GMT
What shall I tell the children who are grappling with rules for caps and full stops, never mind the apostrophe?
Can I tell them that even grown-ups, including me, are somewhat vague about which and why?
Or that its all a flippin' mystery, like the tooth fairy. ;D
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Post by hubertus on Feb 27, 2012 16:50:46 GMT
By the way, I believe whilst it is a possessive, it doesnt take an apostrophe. The apostrophe is only applied when ' its' is a contraction of it is. But dont ask me to bet 5 quid on my explanation being correct.
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Post by Twoddle on Feb 27, 2012 18:51:32 GMT
Tony,
The simple reply is that "It's" is short for "It is". In all other circumstances use "Its". You're not shortening "... at it is best ...", so it must be "... at its best ...". (And, just to clarify, don't use "Its' ", ever.)
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Post by jjg1 on Feb 27, 2012 21:22:56 GMT
Tony, The simple reply is that "It's" is short for "It is". In all other circumstances use "Its". You're not shortening "... at it is best ...", so it must be "... at its best ...". (And, just to clarify, don't use "Its' ", ever.) Also short for "it has"? As in "It's been a while since Twoddle was only half-right" jjg1
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Post by Twoddle on Feb 27, 2012 23:13:03 GMT
Tony, The simple reply is that "It's" is short for "It is". In all other circumstances use "Its". You're not shortening "... at it is best ...", so it must be "... at its best ...". (And, just to clarify, don't use "Its' ", ever.) Also short for "it has"? As in "It's been a while since Twoddle was only half-right" jjg1 Ahem. Er. Yes. "It is" or "It has". Just wanted to make sure someone else was on the ball.
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Post by Pete on Feb 29, 2012 13:06:33 GMT
The other point worth making is that its is a possessive pronoun that just happens to end in the letter 's'. And therein lies the confusion.
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Post by Alan Palmer on Feb 29, 2012 15:01:38 GMT
The other point worth making is that its is a possessive pronoun that just happens to end in the letter 's'. As do his and hers. We certainly don't see hi's or his's or his', and I can't remember ever seeing her's.
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Post by Dave on Mar 1, 2012 6:03:38 GMT
We certainly don't see hi's or his's or his', and I can't remember ever seeing her's. Said fast enough, his's could almost be a contraction of his is. The scene: a group is discussing options for their plan. One suggests, "His's the way to go." [or hers's, yours's, ours's, theirs's, and (if you really don't like the guy) its's]
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Post by hubertus on Mar 1, 2012 7:20:09 GMT
It could be done but there is no accepted convention to do so. It would be like a non-conventional spelling.
In speech, the double sounded 's' without a separating vowel would be difficult to pronounce.
Like James's, for those who follow this convention.
I would go for his is , hers is, its is and Jameses. But obviously the latter isnt an accepted convention either.
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Post by Pete on Mar 1, 2012 11:44:41 GMT
The other point worth making is that its is a possessive pronoun that just happens to end in the letter 's'. As do his and hers. We certainly don't see hi's or his's or his', and I can't remember ever seeing her's. Agreed. Hi's is my usual example when people incorrectly apostrophise its.
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Post by Dave on Mar 1, 2012 14:56:15 GMT
As do his and hers. We certainly don't see hi's or his's or his', and I can't remember ever seeing her's. Agreed. Hi's is my usual example when people incorrectly apostrophise its. hi's from its ? ;D
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Post by Tone on Mar 1, 2012 20:34:21 GMT
>(And, just to clarify, don't use "Its' ", ever.) <Um ... you just did! Tone
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Post by Twoddle on Mar 1, 2012 22:34:07 GMT
>(And, just to clarify, don't use "Its' ", ever.) <Um ... you just did! Tone Do as I say; don't do as I do! So much for my attempt to keep the explanation simple!
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Post by Tone on Mar 2, 2012 20:40:06 GMT
Simple -- Twoddle -- ?
Accurate, jolly useful, and very helpful, yes, but simple?
Tone
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