Why is it that so many people seem to confuse 'your' (belonging to you) with 'you're' (a contraction of 'you are')? It seems pretty simple but so many people on the internet confuse the two. Also, what's the problem with 'their' (belonging to them), 'they're' (a contraction of 'they are') and 'there' (referring to location)? We keep being told that exam results are getting better yet simple grammar seems to be going horribly wrong!
2007-02-26 03:33:28 · 9 answers · asked by Cpt. Willard 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
Okay, for those who complained - here we go!
The possesive appostrophe appears before the 's', for example 'John's book'. Pluralisation does not require an appostrophe. The exception to this rule is in the case of 'IT'. Since the plural of it (usually them) changes form comletely the possesive form is 'its' without an apostrophe and this means that it cannot be confused with 'it's' (with apostrophe) which is actually a contraction of 'it is'.
2007-02-26 04:00:59 · update #1
Okay! Mistyped 'completely'. That was a typo, people...realx!
2007-02-26 04:01:48 · update #2
you're right!
i'm not an english native speaker and sometimes i can't understand what they mean because of these mistakes...
using "your and you're" is a really big mistake...
2007-02-26 03:50:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was taught a very simple rule that I can only imagine they don't teach anymore. If the word you are writing has a letter or letters missing, put an apostrophe in to replace the missing letters. eg.
It's = it is
you're = you are
they're = they are.
It is very simple, but I really don't think people get taught this stuff at school any more.
2007-02-26 03:48:47 · answer #2 · answered by Jooles 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is a combination of public schooling not teaching these types of things properly any more and people writing informally on the Internet. You will see this problem more and more, even in business settings from even the higher ups in a company. People are lazy and use abbreviations and make simple punctuation errors just because they are in a hurry.
2007-02-26 03:59:36 · answer #3 · answered by russell s 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a pet peeve of mine as well, but I forgive people online. Most of the times, we're in a rush and typing informally. If someone had even the slightest difficulty with contractions in school (where writing is formal), I think it's reasonable to expect that s/he will slip up when online and informal.
2007-02-26 03:45:33 · answer #4 · answered by TinyDancer77 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By the way, Internet is with capital 'I'.
Also, it's apostrophe, not appostrophe. As they say, people in glass houses......! Actually,as far as I'm concerned, if people can communicate, what is the problem?
2007-02-26 03:47:34 · answer #5 · answered by Ginny Jin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
These words are considered to be homophones. They are also confusable words. Some people might not differentiate between these words.
2007-02-26 04:39:21 · answer #6 · answered by Nana 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I couldn't agree with you more. It's (note correct punctuation) either ignorance or laziness.
2007-02-26 03:44:32 · answer #7 · answered by champer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
who's the monkey now then
2007-02-26 03:43:36 · answer #8 · answered by Snot Me 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you left out apostrophe missuse as well!!!
: - ))
2007-02-26 03:39:10 · answer #9 · answered by frogg135 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋