Re: It's and its

["R. W. Shade" <dobson -at- CORNETLTD -dot- COM>]

  Angela <amoore -at- SOFTDESK -dot- COM>


>I'll have to pay more attention in the future, I hadn't noticed that one
yet. But the biggie that gets me is the improper use of ^it's^.

Angela's correct when she describes the usage, but I really don't consider
"it's" and "its" worthy of a great deal of dialogue.  Some grammer cops
ignore the error entirely.  The meaning of the word can be easily divined
from the context (usually the following word).

As this country moves further and further away from relying on the printed
word, homonyms seem to be falling prey to "the simplest way out."  Take
"their," "there," and "they're" as an example of three distinct forms that
are rapidly disappearing from common usage.

Those of us who have read widely or actually managed to stay awake in high
school English classes may consider such changes to be reprehensible.
Others may view the changes as evidence that English is alive and growing.
Frankly, if the altered usage is clear in meaning,the changed form is going
to stay whether we like it or not.

Russ Shade                      Technical Communications Specialist
CorNet International, LTD       dobson -at- cornetltd -dot- com
Stroudsburg, PA, 18038          1-717-420-0800, ext 416

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