November 24, 2014
Today I want to talk about the first of the “Top 10 Punctuation and Grammar Mistakes” that I see people making all over the place. Hands down, the most common mistake I see is people using it’s for its, and vice versa.
The issue is counterintuitive in American English, since most possessives are formed with an apostrophe.
It’s = it is or it has
It’s is the contraction of it is or it has.
Its = the possessive of it.
Sometimes the only way I can remember something is to say: it’s the opposite of what I think it should be. This is one of those instances.
Wrong:
Whether its a classic Snickerdoodle cookie or a retro Blueberry Lemonade scone, there’s sure to be a sweet treat for you!
Wrong:
With 100% of respondents claiming there was a desire for greater alignment between Sales and Marketing its clear the industry has a problem maintaining harmony between these two teams.
It’s such a basic mistake that every time I publish a manuscript I do a search for “its” and “it’s,” and check and double-check.
It’s such a basic mistake that I’m going to name it the #1 punctuation mistake in my hit parade. It’s a new year, so let’s all try to be more careful with it’s and it!
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