I don’t have a spelling story per se; this is more a spelling rant. It’s about something I see somewhere at least once a day. It’s about the word “its.” (And whether it’s actually about spelling, punctuation, or grammar is up for debate.)
It’s about something I see somewhere at least once a day.
How can I say this without being obnoxious? Maybe by entertaining you:
The word “its” is perfectly okay without an apostrophe — before or after the ’s’ — even in the possessive form:
“Our love was ahead of its time…” (George Jones with Deborah Allen)
We only need an apostrophe if we mean “it is”:
“It’s all over now, baby blue…” ( Bob Dylan)
Or “it has”:
“It’s been a long, a long time coming…” (Sam Cooke)
I would include Jefferson Airplane’s “Bless Its Pointed Little Head,” but guess what? No song with that title exists, so the featured cover will have to suffice.
Okay, rant over…thanks for letting me vent!
Barbara BucklesArtist, writer, storyteller, spy. Okay, not a spy…I was just going for the rhythm.
I call myself “an inveterate dabbler.” (And my husband calls me “an invertebrate babbler.”) I just love to create one way or another. My latest passion is telling true stories live, on stage. Because it scares the hell out of me.
As a memoirist, I focus on the undercurrents. Drawing from memory, diaries, notes, letters and photographs, I never ever lie, but I do claim creative license when fleshing out actual events in order to enhance the literary quality, i.e., what I might have been wearing, what might have been on the table, what season it might have been. By virtue of its genre, memoir also adds a patina of introspection and insight that most probably did not exist in real time.
YES! Love this, Barb! A pet peeve of mine as well, though sometimes I have to stop and think about the right usage, but at least I KNOW which to use. And I think this is an excellent example of proper spelling. Also, again, love your links to music for examples. Please teach me how to do this. I needed this for my Protest prompt (it was a while ago, but still…).
Happy to tell you how…maybe we’ll have a little Retro workshop one of these days. There are a lot of handy tools we can make use of to liven up our stories if we want to.
Barb, I think that is more grammar than spelling. I can’t spell worth a bean but using its/it’s incorrectly is a pet peeve!
Believe it or not, Laurie, I was so concerned that it was grammar, not spelling, that I googled it and found that it is, indeed, debatable! (Can you say ‘obsessive,’ class?)
I am once again enchanted by your blend of prose and pop music. However, you left me mystified (sounds like a Sam Cooke title) when you wrote that the word could be spelled without an apostrophe EVEN IN THE POSSESSIVE FORM. The word its (unpunctuated) only EXISTS in the possessive form. Ain’t that the truth? (Junior Walker and the All Stars)
You’re absolutely right, Dale…I was trying to make the point that even though “its” is possessive, it doesn’t require an apostrophe as other words do.
“You Left Me Mystified” does sound like a Sam Cooke title…but now you’ve got me singing “Mystify” by INXS. Which is fine, because I was suffering from an ear worm from a Charlie Daniels song…I watched Urban Cowboy two weeks ago. I’m highly susceptible.
When you get done with “Mystify,” you might head over to “Testify,” a classic by the Parliaments that I associate with working at the post office in the summer 0f 1968. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJW643hIKMw
Love this, Barb! Misuse of its and it’s is a pet peeve of mine too. In fact, I want to do a Pet Peeves prompt some time. And yes, “You Left Me Mystified” is a perfect title for a song – maybe Dale should write it! In googling to see if there was such a song (no), I discovered that Fleetwood Mac has a song called Mystified. So when you get tired of the INXS song, you can switch to that one.
Suzy, I think Pet Peeves would make a great prompt…I’ll start making a list of mine! LOL.
Wonderful, Barb, it’s the most common error I see, and its frequency drives me crazy (examples of correct use). Love the audio clips!
Thanks, Mare!
Hey Bebe, I love you when you rant, girl!
A mini rant, Dee, but a rant to be sure.
I agree with Laurie that this may be more grammar than spelling, but it is a pet peeve of mine, too. Plus, the rule for proper usage of the apostrophe here is so damn simple.
And, more broadly, I’m very glad that Suzy is going to do a pet peeve prompt (PPP). Indeed, my bet is that we may need to do more than one week of stories on it, knowing the Retro crowd and our collective perfectionist streak.
And now, back to your story. I just wanted to add that the musical links are brilliant. They are not only amusing, but really enhance your story.
Thanks, John! Maybe the PPP will become an annual event…I can think of at least half a dozen pet peeves (I had written PPs but that just doesn’t sound right) that have just cropped up in the last year.
I was thrilled to see a reference to “Bless Its Pointed Little Head”, one of my favorite JA albums. I love Jorma Kaukonen’s guitar work on “Rock Me Baby”, and Grace Slick’s improvisation on the cut that was really meant to be an instrumental, “Bear Melt”.
After he retired from JA, Jorma moved to a farm in the hills of southeastern Ohio, which he calls the “Fur Peace Ranch”, I guess because it’s a “fur piece” away from his former life. He has session there every year (or at least used to have) in which he works with up and coming guitarists to improve their skills.
Another JA album which is not at all well known and is really, really different is “Bark”, on which Gracie sings a song in somewhat broken German about her nearly fatal auto accident. Translated into English, it begins “Stitches in my face, stitches in my crotch, mixing my gas with my spit…”
And I’m thrilled my title sparked your wonderful comment, Jeff! And now I must confess, I don’t actually remember that album…I just chose it for the title because it so perfectly suited my topic. Of course, I did love JA…without question the first band I think of when I think back to the late ’60s and the time I spent in the Haight…specifically Surrealistic Pillow for obvious reasons. Some memories are as clear as (a) window pane, others not so much.