# Its/It's and There/Their/They're **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248 "2006-12-22T17:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/41 "2006-12-23T02:37:06Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] 10/10. These are a pet peeve of mine. [/QUOTE] Hmmm… Subject/verb disagreement. Should read: “these are pet peeves of mine” or “this is a pet peeve of mine.” One poster said s/he could never remember whether there is an apostrophe in the possessive. The way I remember it is to think of the other possessives; “his,” “her,” and “their.” None of those have apostrophes, either. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/42 "2006-12-23T03:04:43Z")
10/10 Like most of you said, #4 is a very poor question. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/43 "2006-12-23T03:06:11Z")
9 of 10. I missed #4, and I’m not happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/44 "2006-12-23T03:06:28Z")
**Zoe** , that’s interesting. Although I’m conscious not to say “you whimpering,” only the pacing example would actually have immediately registered as absurd if someone had said "He pacing got on my nerves. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/45 "2006-12-23T03:07:37Z")
[QUOTE=JillGat] Hmmm… Subject/verb disagreement. Should read: “these are pet peeves of mine” or “this is a pet peeve of mine.” One poster said s/he could never remember whether there is an apostrophe in the possessive. The way I remember it is to think of the other possessives; “his,” “her,” and “their.” None of those have apostrophes, either. [/QUOTE] Oh, and don’t listen to **JillGat**. She’s answers are often wrong ;). ---
**Author:** ![the\_chicken\_of\_exeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_chicken\_of\_exeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_chicken_of_exeter)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/46 "2006-12-23T03:30:01Z")
10/10, but I probably would have got stuck on number 4 if it hadn’t already been posted. However I somehow managed to be educated in the only years in which grammar was not taught in English state schools. And now I am _really_ paranoid I have got something wrong in this post. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/47 "2006-12-23T04:07:11Z")
10/10. Just say “It is” to see if it fits. Ya can’t go wrong. If you want a real eye opener, though, read Bill Bryson’s “Troublesome Words,” a dictionary of words and phrases that are often misused. Most of them I knew, but every now and then I was amazed to discover I’ve been writing or saying something wrong all along. A few that got me: **Admit to** , as in “He admitted to the theft.” That turn of phrase is simply wrong. It’s “He admitted the theft.” A set of initials should be termed an **acronym** only if it is pronouced as a word, e.g. “Radar,” “NATO,” or “Scuba.” Initials that are spoken as letters (FBI, CIA, NFL) are not acronyms. They’re abbreviations. I am pretty sure I have used the term \*\*past experience \*\* at one point or another; as Bryson points out, this is redundant and stupid. I didn’t know those things, and a dozen or more others. It’s a great read. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/48 "2006-12-23T04:12:00Z")
I’ve been called Ms. Language Person. I have friends who telephone me when they need to know how to spell words. And the misuse of its and it’s is the mostest annoying riting misteak people make. I would like to see a quiz testing people on ‘lose’ and ‘loose’, ‘peek’, ‘peak’ and ‘pique’, ‘councillor’ and ‘counsellor’ and oh so many other words that have, of late, erroneously been substituted for each other. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/49 "2006-12-23T04:17:38Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] 10/10. I am pretty sure I have used the term \*\*past experience \*\* at one point or another; as Bryson points out, this is redundant and stupid. [/QUOTE] Oh oh! I have some of those, too - ‘free gift’ for instance (how much do you usually pay for gifts you’re given?) and ‘six AM in the morning’ (that would be as opposed to six after noon in the morning?). And then there’s ‘fashion jewellery’ (right across the aisle from ’ frumpiness jewellery?'). Argh. ---
**Author:** ![8675309](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ea5d25/32.png) [@8675309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/8675309)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/50 "2006-12-23T04:28:44Z")
10/10 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/51 "2006-12-23T04:49:24Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] A set of initials should be termed an **acronym** only if it is pronouced as a word, e.g. “Radar,” “NATO,” or “Scuba.” Initials that are spoken as letters (FBI, CIA, NFL) are not acronyms. They’re abbreviations. [/QUOTE] Interesting. I call non-acronyms initialisms. Abbreviations to me are shortened versions of words, like esp., etc., Assoc., and the like. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/52 "2006-12-23T06:33:52Z")
10/10. Much too easy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/53 "2006-12-23T16:46:21Z")
[QUOTE=BayleDomon] Interesting. I call non-acronyms initialisms. Abbreviations to me are shortened versions of words, like esp., etc., Assoc., and the like. [/QUOTE] “Initialisms” isn’t a word, but I think it should be. Another tautology Bryson points out I know I have used is “plan ahead.” “Plan” means to determine a course of action to be taken in the future; you can’t plan behind, so “ahead” is redundant. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/54 "2006-12-23T18:46:00Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] [snip] … “Plan” means to determine a course of action to be taken in the future; you can’t plan behind, so “ahead” is redundant. [/QUOTE] As one who lives so far behind the power curve that I usually see my ‘behind’ going around corners ‘ahead’ of me, I find that “planning behind” usually works best for me … 😃 Lucy ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248/55 "2006-12-23T19:54:21Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] “Initialisms” isn’t a word, but I think it should be. [/QUOTE] [You were saying?](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/initialism)😃 Granted, that link does note that initialisms are a certain type of abbreviation. So it’s all good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-and-there-their-theyre/385248.md?page=2)