OT: its [Re: 'Atom' Should Be It's Name, and It's Name Was Atom]

[Evan Martin <martine@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 2003-09-24 at 16:04, Morbus Iff wrote:
> [...]

I see a real correlation between bloggers and the improper use of
"it's".  (I'd guess it's something to do with our technical backgrounds
and the programmer's tendency focus on details and common structures.)

For the record:  "it is" is contracted "it's", while "it (possessive) is
simply "its".  This is inconsistent with other possessives in general
(Evan's cat, not Evans cat) but consistent with the more specific
class-- possessive pronouns (his cat, not hi's cat).

I didn't think this confusion was too common until I started reading
weblogs, where I now see it everywhere; maybe common use online has
caused it to propogate?

Obligatory on-topic motivation for this mail: Atom press releases will
look more professional by following this simple rule.  :)

PS:  Not picking on you in particular, 'cause I see it everywhere.

PPS: The linguist in me cringes at prescriptive grammar, but this is an
easy one.  (See also: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=its.)

-- 
Evan Martin
martine@xxxxxxxxx
http://neugierig.org