Gransnet forums

Pedants' corner

It's and its

(133 Posts)
Ana Thu 26-Jan-17 17:55:18

It's is short for 'it is'.

Its means belonging to or associated with.

That's all I wanted to say...smile

FarNorth Sat 04-Feb-17 09:33:02

Fora!
Yes, quick, get on to GNHQ to sort that out!

annifrance Sat 04-Feb-17 09:30:21

Can I be uber pedantic about Gransnet please? It has always irritated me that the click on button is labelled Forums. It should be in the neuter third person plural latin. And now I can't remember if it should be fori or fora, but definitely not forums!

NfkDumpling Sat 04-Feb-17 09:02:53

Yes, double negatives is normal in this part of East Anglia rising to treble negative when more emphasis is required! I don't know if it's as bad in Suffolk.

Christinefrance Sat 04-Feb-17 08:55:28

Nfkdumpling I did wonder if using double negatives was a regional thing. My husband does it all the time and it drives me mad. He is Norfolk born and bred. smile

hildajenniJ Sat 04-Feb-17 08:47:36

,This is very funny if I've pasted it properly.

hildajenniJ Sat 04-Feb-17 08:45:44

[[https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1546358618712464&id=100000150212213 This is very funny]

Esspee Fri 03-Feb-17 23:50:42

Have any of you noticed that according to Tesco there is "a shortage ON iceberg lettuce"? Grrrrrrrrrrr.

tiffaney Fri 03-Feb-17 20:22:38

Not just apostrophes, It really annoys me when people say 'should of' instead of 'should have'. Just saying!

Jalima Fri 03-Feb-17 19:13:44

so that means there are no words such as 'is not' or abbreviation such as isn't

It's INNA!

Jalima Fri 03-Feb-17 19:12:00

Why use one word when you can use three grin love it!
It's the Royal 'We' (Nfk*

and as my DM used to say
You munna say wunna it inna polite

NfkDumpling Fri 03-Feb-17 18:58:54

(Goodness knows where that capital W came from!)

NfkDumpling Fri 03-Feb-17 18:57:44

Regional accents are a bit to blame. My English teacher gave up and told us we had to learn English as well as Norfolk. "I was sat" is Norfolk. The triple negative drove him mad as in "He didn't not never hev it". Why use one word when you can use three "He'd bin an' went an' got it". He would stamp his feet and shout that there is no such word as got, which We threw in anywhere with seeming abandon,

However, that's speech. The written word has to be done properly. In correct English.

mcem Fri 03-Feb-17 18:49:35

I once had a PGDE student who had an art degree from an English university. One task I set her was marking a grammar/spelling exercise for my P7 class.
She worked her way through and every time she came to the word 'shining'she corrected it to 'shinning'. She also gratefully accepted a couple of exercises so she could practise using apostrophes.

Bertie10 Fri 03-Feb-17 18:34:21

Well done Ana for raising & other contributors for augmenting wine.
Feel like tackling the broadsheets now???

And how about 'their' - when we mean 'his/her'.
Or 'them' when we mean 'him/her'.

jayce125 Fri 03-Feb-17 18:27:39

Here is another one I cannot stand, between the three, four of us....you can only get between TWO.

When my children were in primary school their teacher sent a note home to everyone containing a glaring mistake. I corrected it in red and returned it. (I was not the only parent to do the same). Too much? No.

HootyMcOwlface Fri 03-Feb-17 18:11:29

May I get this off my chest please! Just watching the news and they keep referring to children as 'kids' - am I unusual in that this really grates on my nerves? Kids are baby goats, I have children not goats! Grrrr!

acanthus Fri 03-Feb-17 18:03:52

Ooh, how I love a bit of pedantry! Agree with everything here, especially Conni7's list. A couple more.... "I should of" instead of "should have", the obligatory "So" at the beginning of any explanatory sentence, and "invite" used as a noun instead of "invitation".

pollyperkins Fri 03-Feb-17 17:28:04

I agree with most of the above comments. One incorrect plural that I hear all the time is Media which is plural (ie many media) not singular (the media of television for example should be the medum!)
I know I am sometimes guilty when typing quickly on my phone(as I am now) of forgetting to press the arrow to turn i into I!! It's not becaus I don't know but just because I'm in a hurry. Likewise for missed apostrophes.
By the way I , like most of you) leaned grammar at school in the 1950s ) but all of my children , now in their 40s did not. However children in primary school ARE now learning it again in some detail because of the National Curriculum) so this will carry through as they grow up. Some of the poor teachers who are teaching it are having to learn it for the first time.

Conni7 Fri 03-Feb-17 17:13:21

different to (from, please)
comprises of (consists of, comprises doesn't need it)
bored of (with, please. I know it's not logical because you are tired of, but that's what the grammar book says)
like, instead of as if
myself,enough said about this
Would you say "He gave it to I". No, so why "He gave it to John and I"
Don't get me started on "fantastic".

Griselda Fri 03-Feb-17 16:54:57

Greatgranny, you just beat me to it. The use of 'sat' where 'sitting' would be correct is almost universal now and it is driving me mad.

carolmary Fri 03-Feb-17 16:25:47

I have always been a bit fussy about grammar, although I'm beginning to be a bit unsure about some of it nowadays. Years ago, my younger daughter, who used to speak "proper English" and "schoolkids' English" (you know what I mean) often said "me and Katie are going... etc.",
I would reply "you mean Katie and I are going..." to which she would reply " no Mum, you're not going, I am!" I shut up after a while! By the way, she has become as pedantic as I am about apostrophes.

janetta46 Fri 03-Feb-17 15:56:25

I thought I was nit-pickingly pedantic so it's nice to find that I'm not alone. I agree with all the previous comments, and would like to add my particular "favourite". I always understood that they was the plural of he, she or it. But now it seems that they is used in the singular sense instead of he or she. Is this advanced political correctness where gender must not be mentioned for fear of offence?

quizqueen Fri 03-Feb-17 15:36:52

greatgranny, I also hate it when tv presenters say 'gonna' instead of 'going to'. Even George Osbourne used to say it. His expensive private education was wasted on him unless he thought he was trying to connect with the plebs!

quizqueen Fri 03-Feb-17 15:30:25

Polremy, I would have definitely had to say something to the teacher as I cannot bear it when children are taught things incorrectly. I am waiting to speak to my granddaughter's teacher about her misuse of capital letters when referring to the seasons! She is young and will repeat this mistake forever if not pulled up about it now.

As well as the misuse of apostrophes, especially for plurals, I hate it when people say or write 'off' followed by 'of' e.g. 'I got off of the bus'. If it is said out loud very slowly perhaps people might realise how ridiculous it sounds. Also, the use of 'of' instead of 'have' as in ' I could of eaten another one.' The word 'of' seems to cause as many problems as it's and its.

jennyg Fri 03-Feb-17 14:49:56

another one becoming more common is using ' is ' instead of 'has', as in 'the minister is yet to decide.' once you start to notice , you see it everywhere, especially in newspapers - anyone else spotting it ?