It's its

[melonfool]

That. Is. All.

Mel

[swill453]

That. Is. All.

Or in reverse (as in "the problem with that post is its it's").

Scott.

[melonfool]

That. Is. All.

Or in reverse (as in "the problem with that post is its it's").

Scott.

All. Is. That.

?

Just kidding.

It drives me mad that so many people are incapable of using its when it's appropriate. They seem to think there is only it's. And, I once contacted a website to point out this monstrosity: Its'

Mel

[madhatter]

And, I once contacted a website to point out this monstrosity: Its'

I bet they were really grateful?

[AleisterCrowley]

You should of phoned them to complain.






(my pet hate)

[PinkDalek]

Search TLF for loosing.

[melonfool]

And, I once contacted a website to point out this monstrosity: Its'

I bet they were really grateful?

They were.

Why? Do you think big companies like to have errors on their websites or something? It was on the front page, in a banner headline. I often email companies with a screenshot of an error on their website, I usually get a grateful reply thanking me for pointing it out. ACAS is actually one of the worst, I've sent them quite a few (I know they are not a 'company').

I once had a hilarious Twitter exchange with Sainsburys about a maths error on their website and it took ages before they could understand what I was talking about (it was where they had priced something at 1kg, then divided it down to pence per 100g and it was totally different if you did the [very simple] maths).

Everyone has to have a hobby....

Mel

[PinkDalek]

I bet they where all rarely greatfull.

Even, ahem, Sainsbury's.

[kiloran]

Is there any correlation between those who incorrectly use the apostrophe and those who say bregzit instead of breksit?

--kiloran

[didds]

You should of phoned them to complain.
(my pet hate)

Is that aloud?

didds

[didds]

Anybody want to buy my no longer required Chester Draws ?

didds

[Dod101]

Mel sounds just like me. I once had a stand up argument at a Tesco store when I took some general items to the tobacco kiosk. The sign said 'Tobacco only sold here' I took that to mean (correctly I think) that that was the only place you could buy tobacco. What they apparently meant to say was 'Only tobacco sold here'.

I have given up on 'Ten items or less' which now seems to be accepted.

Dod

[melonfool]

Once in Tesco, I was taking something back and there was a long queue at 'customer services'. The CS desk was also the photo desk, so it was taking ages as people were picking up photos and putting in film etc so there was lots of manual stuff going on.

I was about 4 people back from the front of the queue and it was starting to get silly it was taking so long.

I walked up to the desk, reached over, picked up the phone handset and dialled 0. It was answered and I said 'this is a customer waiting at customer service, please send a manager down'.

About four [non uniformed] people arrived very quickly looking really flustered! The woman serving on the desk seemed.......amused.

I also once, when in a restaurant that also did take away, got fed up of waiting to be served, so I got my mobile phone and phoned the restaurant, asked if they did take away, they said yes, so I asked if it would be OK if they delivered it to the table by the window........a waiter appeared quite quickly.

Mel

[Dod101]

Apparently we cannot thank on this Board. Mel is much better than I could ever be. Great lateral thinking!

Dod

[melonfool]

Apparently we cannot thank on this Board.

Dod

We can

Mel

[bungeejumper]

Ah yes, but the whole apostrophe question goes back further and wider than that. I well remember a nearly farm that advertised on its gate that it sold "cucumber's eggs and potatoes".

The Ten O'clock News carried an item last week about Venezuelan refugees, illustrated by a large map which showed that most of them were escaping to Columbia. Exactly how they were making it on foot to the capital of South Carolina was not explained.

Meanwhile my local garden centre has been causing our churchwardens a lot of unnecessary worry with its announcement that it is now selling graveland stones. Personally, I blame psycho the rapist.

BJ

[stevensfo]

Everyone has to have a hobby....

I know we can laugh, but to be honest, I'm getting quite concerned about the lower standards of grammar, punctuation and spelling in the UK. I know that trainee teachers need to have GCSE Maths and English, but I'd like to see them have to pass a small test of my own that would check they know the differences:
its vs it's
their vs they're vs there
were vs where vs we're

plus plenty of exercises testing the correct use of the possessive apostrophe.

Yoo kno its make's sense!

Steve

[Watis]

Everyone has to have a hobby....

I know we can laugh, but to be honest, I'm getting quite concerned about the lower standards of grammar, punctuation and spelling in the UK. I know that trainee teachers need to have GCSE Maths and English, but I'd like to see them have to pass a small test of my own that would check they know the differences:
its vs it's
their vs they're vs there
were vs where vs we're

plus plenty of exercises testing the correct use of the possessive apostrophe.

Yoo kno its make's sense!

Steve

I encounter alot of such errors these days and, frankly, I'm abit annoyed by them.

And as for which word to use for the opposite of 'more', the fewer said the better!

Watis

[vrdiver]

I know we can laugh, but to be honest, I'm getting quite concerned about the lower standards of grammar, punctuation and spelling in the UK.

I'm in the same boat as you, but wonder if we are witnessing a fundamental change to the English language?

The development of the printing press was one such occasion, with spelling becoming national, rather than local. With the advent of social media technology, are similar disruptions occurring? Phone-based typing seems to create a need for simplification, whilst instant communication (or close to instant) allows feedback for clarity. Communication is now global between individuals with no publisher or editor in the middle.

Travel back in time, maybe to the era of HG Wells or Jules Verne, and consider the written word and style of their day; now imagine traveling forward an equal span of years and join the readers in looking back on our literature and communications. I wonder what they'll say?

VRD

[swill453]

The development of the printing press was one such occasion, with spelling becoming national, rather than local. With the advent of social media technology, are similar disruptions occurring? Phone-based typing seems to create a need for simplification, whilst instant communication (or close to instant) allows feedback for clarity. Communication is now global between individuals with no publisher or editor in the middle.

I think predictive text, and the dumb trusting of it, is a lot to blame. If the keyboard is suggesting "it's" then hey, it's got to be right hasn't it?

(Same for your vs. you're etc.)

The problem is that it's only dealing with half the context - the bit you've already typed. The other half is still in your head of course.

Scott.