The James Dean of the grammar world: "its" vs. "it's"

 

 

When it comes to the possessive form, the word it is a rebel with a clause - the anguished street punk with a heart of gold who loves to cause trouble, and a lot of it, but nothing that can't be worked out.

The trouble it causes has to do with the possessive form vs. the contraction form. In my opinion, it's (it is) in the top three mistakes made  by writers, especially those who don't write often. Heck, even the grammar checker that came with my computer gets it wrong all of the time, telling me to do the opposite of what I should do.

Other singular words form a possessive with the apostrophe-s combination: the boy's ball, Dad's car, the doctor's practice. But the word it is contrary. The possessive is its - with no apostrophe: its food, its length.

The apostrophe comes in with the contraction of it is. The contraction is it's.

So the rules are:
Possessive: its
Contraction for it is: it's

Is your goose cooked if you don't bring home the bacon? Only in Canada

It's Canada goose but Canadian bacon.

I have no idea why there's a difference. I grew up saying Canadian goose until I was told I shouldn't say Canadian because the goose isn't a citizen of Canada. So then what about bacon? Don't get me wrong - I am all for bacon being eligible for citizenship in any country, but there does seem to be a contradiction here.

So, I looked up the issue on a couple of websites (trust me, I didn't spend a lot of time researching this) and the posters were all over the place regarding the usage of these words.

In the end, because The AP Stylebook uses Canada goose and Canadian bacon, that's what I use.

And one last thought - if Canada geese aren't really Canadians, then does that make them illegal immigrants?

Word usage tip: "farther" vs. "further"

Here's a classic word usage problem: farther vs. further.

You can hear and see these words getting mixed up frequently on television, radio, in print and in everyday speech. The rules are simple:

Farther is to be used  only for physical distances.
Further is to be used for any other extension of time or degree.

Pretty simple, right?

Here are two examples:

He went farther into the woods than I did.
He went further in his career than I did.

So, just keep in mind: Farther is for distances and further is for all other uses.

What the H E double toothpicks is your motivation for using certain words?

A high school diploma is being withheld from an Oklahoma girl, a valedictorian by the way, because she used the word hell in her graduation speech. Here's the link: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/20/13377164-oklahoma-high-school-valedictorian-denied-diploma-for-using-hell-in-speech?lite

My first reaction was probably the same as yours: Some ultra socially conservative southern school officials  who don't have enough things to worry about are going way overboard on this.

But then I read the story all the way through and started to think a little deeper. The copy of the speech she gave to school officials ahead of time used the word heck instead of hell. Could she have had a slip of the tongue in her speech? Or could she have changed the word at the last second? Yes to both, but I don't think either was the case. In my mind, the girl intentionally deceived school officials. 

That's not a nice thing to do. Does it merit withholding a diploma? Of course not. In this case, I think it's a no real harm done sort of thing.

But I do wonder why she changed it. Would she have received less of a positive response by using heck? Probably not. So why change it? And if she thought there was nothing wrong in using hell, then why not include it in the copy given to school officials and discuss the issue then? Because she knew they would object and she knew she would lose.

So, I think she made an end run around the wishes of school officials in the form of a mini teenage rebellion wrapped in a valedictorian speech.

In the grand scheme of things, is it a big deal? No, not even close. But it might make for an interesting discussion. So, what do you think? Let me know.

Talk about overkill: the ultimate example of verbosity

A Facebook friend and former colleague at The Times Leader newspaper, Rob Fucci, posted this image today, and I couldn't resist using it here. Perhaps you know some ridiculous examples of verbosity or word usage. Feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Grammar tip: when to use "less" and when to use "fewer"

Although I see the words less and fewer confused in many of the documents I edit, I think it is abused more often in everyday speech and by people who should know better, such as TV news broadcasters.

The rule is simple. Use less for a bulk item or one amount. Use fewer for individual items.

 For example:

-        I have less sugar, but I have fewer grains of sugar. The first part refers to a bulk item; the second part refers to individual items.

 Here are some examples from The Associate Press Stylebook:

-        Wrong: The trend is toward more machines and less people. (This should be fewer people because we’re referring to individuals.)

-        Correct: Fewer than 10 applicants applied. (individuals)

-        Correct: I had less than $50 in my pocket (one amount)

-        Correct: I had fewer than 50 $1 bills in my pocket. (individual items)

-        Wrong: She was fewer than 60 years old. (This should be less because we’re referring to a one period of time, not individual years.

Credibility can be in the details

Another friend and former colleague at The Times Leader newspaper, Joe Student, sent me a comment regarding an article about grammar. Here’s the link to the article: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/i_wont_hire_people_who_use_poo.html.

The gist of the article and comments is about how much weight should be given to job applicants’ grasp of grammar/punctuation, even if the job has little to do with those areas. Some of the people writing comments are very strict - more strict than me (and that’s saying something), and others are more lenient.

The comment Joe sent me started me thinking on one of my pet peeves: credibility. The comment is the following:

Truth: last week, my vice-president sent me a document and asked that I check it for "typoes and grammer."

OK, obviously this was an in-house communication – not something for public consumption. So, even I think leeway on grammar and spelling can be given in these situations. The occasional misspelling or grammar error in a business memo is understandable, especially in a hectic environment; many in-house notes are just that - notes quickly written in note form or in company shorthand.

However, there are limits. Even though this is an in-house note, the damage the vice president did to himself/herself could be in the form of mocking criticism from the employee at best, or a permanent dent to credibility at worst. And, that dent could get bigger and cause some severe damage with employees if the vice president has a pattern of this sort of thing. That credibility issue could grow into a lack of trust and respect of the vice president and the company.

I’m sure you have heard the following phrase used regarding politicians: character matters. Well, so does credibility. Although little mistakes – and even some big ones – can be excused with a little empathy from your readers, it is best to sweat the details so empathy isn’t needed in the first place. If you keep  using your readers’ goodwill and understanding as excuses for your mistakes, your readers will eventually run out of both and you’ll run out of credibility – and readers.

Catching "up" with my friend, Ray

Ray Blockus, a good friend and fellow copy editor for many years at The Times Leader newspaper, where I worked for more than 17 years, recently read some of my blog posts and responded with an email about his “favorite” unnecessary word. Here’s what Ray had to say in the way only Ray can say it:

“As for one of my pet peeves, in a word, the most overused and unnecessary word is up. … People need to know that up is a two-letter word that indicates direction. Rooms need not be cleaned UP. The leaves need not be raked UP. The car need not be started UP. I'm certain that you are well aware of those things, and I realize that I'm not the first - or only - one to object to the overuse of up. But, before I die, I hope my crusade against that little invader of good writing has succeeded in eliminating its overuseivesness and unnecessariessness forever and ever, to wit, that it stops turning UP in seemingly everything I read and hear. Perhaps you wish to follow UP on this?”

Thanks, Ray, for keeping me up on something everyone should be cracking down on – or should I say on which everyone should be cracking up?

Remember three things: 1. Focus. 2. Focus. And what was that last one? Oh yeah, FOCUS.

I'm taking a walk, doing some window shopping, and I come across one of those things that drive copy editors crazy. I walk by a store called:

JUST CABINETS Furniture and More

My face starts to twitch and my breathing gets strained. While shaking a mental fist at the owners of this place, I'm thinking: "OK, which is it? Does this store have just cabinets or does it have furniture and more? Make up your mind!"
So, I go inside. The bulk of the store consists of all types of furniture and relatively few cabinets. Sigh.

The lessons?
1. Some people don't know how to name their stores.
2. For writers and editors:
- Beware of contradictions.

- Stay focused on your message; don't try to say too much at one time. In an effort to get as much information in their stories as possible (because all of the info is soooo important), writers will often spew all of their notes into their stories with little regard to focus and flow. And that can result in confusion for the readers.
  When writing, remember: Take one point at a time, and stay focused on a point until you're through with it. Then, make a transition to your next point, and then write about it.

- Readers almost never care as much about what you're writing as you do, so there's no need to tell them everything you've found during the research of your story. Writers have readers' attention for only a short time, so concise, focused writing with a smooth flow is extremely important to keep them reading. 

Now, back to that sign. Perhaps:
   ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE JUST CABINETS
 

It's literally raining cats and dogs out there - that's gotta hurt.

Ah, one of my favorite misused/overused words: literally. The word means in a literal sense or manner, or actually: The house literally burned to the ground.

But there are some dictionaries that are lenient, giving leeway to use the word for effect. Merriam Webster, for example, allows for the word to be used as in effect, or virtually: He will literally turn the world upside down to combat injustice. Webster's New World College Dictionary acknowledges this usage but adds, thank goodness, it "is objected to by some."

Count me as one of the "some." I'm a strict interpreter of the word.

But, the bottom line is it doesn't matter if you're on the strict side or the lenient side because I can't see any circumstance in which the word needs to be used at all.

So, if you're ever in doubt when to use literally, the lesson here is ... don't.