Professor Grammar
Atrophy of the Apostrophe
By Professor Grammar
Many lessons ago, the Professor shared with you some tips on possessives of inanimate objects. The Professor warned not to add to the proliferation of apostrophes before the letter s. After musing over her advice for a while (which, of course, was quite accurate), the Professor decided to revisit the topic to point out another occasion when the apostrophe-s is incorrect: when using the possessive form of it.
The use of its and it's often leads to puzzlement among both writers and lay people. Oh, to wit, the Professor has seen lately, on numerous occasions, incorrect usage of the contraction it's. The Professor yearns to yell from the top of the Himalayas that an apostrophe is necessary only when you want to say it is. In fact, it's funny how such a little word can cause so much confusion in its usage.
Now because this is a quick lesson, we're ready for a quick quiz: read the last sentence of the previous paragraph and substitute it is for its. Is the sentence still grammatically correct? Of course not, because its is being used as a possessive adjective for the noun usage. Now, apply the test again to the same sentence, this time substituting it is for it's. Does the sentence make sense? If the answer is yes, you've just mastered the simple test that will help you forever avoid making a very avoidable error.
Remember, the contraction it's needs an apostrophe; the possessive its does not.
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Copyright (c) 1996, 2005 by IBM Corporation. Used with permission. Professor Grammar is an advisor to the IBM Silicon Valley Laboratory Editing Council. Each month, she sends a lesson to the technical writers at the laboratory. Many of Professor Grammar's lessons are based on tenets described in the Prentice-Hall book, Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors, which was recently authored by the Council.
