# It's. Its. ITS! IT'S! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646 "2007-11-16T04:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/21 "2007-11-16T05:55:49Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] I knew there would be something–and I am ashamed. However, I’d had three drinks by the time I **got arrived** at pitting my pathetic lunch. I didn’t simply press “post”, however. I checked, first. Blearily, I peered at the screen, searching for the error I knew had to be lurking. [/QUOTE] I shall not drink and post. No, I shall not. Right after I click “submit reply”, I will gracefully decline into READ ONLY MODE. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/22 "2007-11-16T06:39:03Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] I’m ashamed to be a Canadian every time I hear the words “airport” and “Taser”. [/QUOTE] I may or may not have agreed with every point you brought up in your pitting, but I understood the background behind each, or so I thought. But what on Earth is it that makes the word airport particularly horrible for a Canadian to utter? Do you really prefer aerodrome? And if not, what word would you have for that particular collection of buildings, and concrete that is represented by the word airport? Likewise, I don’t see what’s so wrong about the word Taser, though if things continue much longer, I’ll admit they’re going to have a hard time maintaining their copyright protection for the name. Not owning stock in the company, I really don’t care, myself. It’s a more comfortable word than electroshock stun device, IMNSHO. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/23 "2007-11-16T07:05:44Z")
**OtakuLoki** , perhaps the story isn’t getting the same airplay in your neck of the woods, but **Savannah** is referring to this event last month - [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/11/14/bc-taservideo.html](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/11/14/bc-taservideo.html) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/24 "2007-11-16T07:07:25Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] Uhm, no. The ones with apostrophe are genitives; “its” is a pronoun. Different animal entirely. [/QUOTE] But who the hell _knows_ that kind of information? About 0.000000001% of the population of the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/25 "2007-11-16T07:12:10Z")
Heck, I’m a Canadian who says going nuts in an airport is a perfectly justifiable way to get tasered. It’s a pity the guy died and all, but it’s not gonna put a crimp in my day. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/26 "2007-11-16T07:16:18Z")
And I’ve even begun seeing the mutated form its’. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/27 "2007-11-16T07:41:44Z")
[QUOTE=moes lotion] **OtakuLoki** , perhaps the story isn’t getting the same airplay in your neck of the woods, but **Savannah** is referring to this event last month - [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/11/14/bc-taservideo.html](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/11/14/bc-taservideo.html) [/QUOTE] Ahh.. Thank you. I hadn’t heard or seen that at all. If I watched TV at all, I might have seen it, but as it is, my cognizance of news is rather haphazard. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/28 "2007-11-16T07:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Sometime I’d like to open a place called Apostrophe’s. When people come in and smugly tell you you misspelled the name, you can tell them you just work there and they’re going to have to talk to the owner. Then when they ask who owns the store, you tell them “John Apostrophe.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/29 "2007-11-16T09:48:19Z")
It’s, it’s the Ballroom Blitz! It’s, it’s the Ballroom Blitz! Ok, OK, I’m leaving. ---
**Author:** ![papaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@papaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papaw)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/30 "2007-11-16T10:51:16Z")
It used to be that its could be distinguished from it’s by trying to say the uncontracted words to see if it should be it’s or its, but these days it’s not worth its effort. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/31 "2007-11-16T11:28:27Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] This is a Pitting relative to errors in language use, right? So\* of course\* there has to be an error, solecism, or just plain generalized fuckup somewhere in the OP. No **wonder** you gained weight! I hope you didn’t burn yourself chewing up the deepfrier, or have any problem gnawing on the Golden Arches. [/QUOTE] Except that she ate something belonging to McDonalds, not the whole place. (Notice the apostrophe.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/32 "2007-11-16T11:59:35Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] It’s. This is a contraction of “it is”. Its. This is a possessive, meaning “belonging to it”. [/QUOTE] Unless the _It_ in question is a proper noun, in which case, it’s _It’s_. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/33 "2007-11-16T12:18:11Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Except that she ate something belonging to McDonalds, not the whole place. (Notice the apostrophe.) 😉 [/QUOTE] Yeah, sorry **Poly** , but unless that was a whoosh, it may be slang, but it’s perfectly cromulent (:)) to use the name of the restaurant as what you ate. For example, “I ate Burger King for lunch.” ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/34 "2007-11-16T12:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Unless the _It_ in question is a proper noun, in which case, it’s _It’s_. [/QUOTE] Good point. But for anyone thinking about Cousin Itt, note the spelling of the name. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/35 "2007-11-16T14:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] When people come in and smugly tell you you misspelled the name, you can tell them you just work there and they’re going to have to talk to the owner. Then when they ask who owns the store, you tell them “John Apostrophe.” [/QUOTE] Exactly what I had in mind. Well, Bob Apostrophe, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/36 "2007-11-16T14:50:09Z")
I used to do it correctly all the time. Then everybody started doing it wrong. Now there are all these threads trying to explain to me what is right. Now I’m afraid of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/37 "2007-11-16T15:00:17Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Good point. But for anyone thinking about Cousin Itt, note the spelling of the name. [/QUOTE] I did start there, but realising the spelling, I was actually thinking of people who may have the surname _It_ - I can’t find any in my local phone book (in fact there are no surnames at all that even begin with It…), but I bet there’s a Mr It out there somewhere, and about his possessions, we must say they are It’s. ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/38 "2007-11-16T17:58:09Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] I used to do it correctly all the time. Then everybody started doing it wrong. Now there are all these threads trying to explain to me what is right. Now I’m afraid of the word. [/QUOTE] I’m afraid to use “me”. I thought I used to use it correctly (as in “Leave it to Sue and me”) but I had so many people correct me that now I will cringe and say “Leave it to Sue and I” because I know they’ll think I’m dumb otherwise. But it feels so wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/39 "2007-11-16T18:07:06Z")
> [@](#): > > For example, “I ate Burger King for lunch.” Only proper English if you’re Brooke Burke. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646/40 "2007-11-16T18:09:42Z")
[QUOTE=Elret] I’m afraid to use “me”. I thought I used to use it correctly (as in “Leave it to Sue and me”) but I had so many people correct me that now I will cringe and say “Leave it to Sue and I” because I know they’ll think I’m dumb otherwise. But it feels so wrong. [/QUOTE] Because it is wrong. Just use _me_ and let the idiots think they’re clever for correcting you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-its-its-its/426646.md?page=3)