2 ms·

I never got what the confusion is over the possessive form of "it". I mean, nobody ever writes "hi's" or "her's"; why would they want to do so with "it"? One r

I never got what the confusion is over the possessive form of "it". I mean, nobody ever writes "hi's" or "her's"; why would they want to do so with "it"? One rule he alluded to but didn't make explicit is over the possessive form of words already ending in "s". We know that one does not add an "s" if the word is a plural form that already ends with that letter. What he doesn't directly address is singular words that end in "s". For example, my first name is "Chris". I've seen many people refer to "Chris' stuff", but I believe this is incorrect. Because my terminal "s" was not the result of pluralization, I'm still entitled to a possessive "s": "Chris's stuff".

hugh3 17y ago
I never got what the confusion is over the possessive form of "it". I mean, nobody ever writes "hi's" or "her's"; why would they want to do so with "it"? Because "it" is the only personal that has a possessive form consisting of the personal pronoun followed by an "s". The briefcase belonging to him is his briefcase, not hims briefcase. The purse belonging to her is her purse, not hers purse. The mama belonging to you is your mama, not yous mama. The nasty case of chlamydia belonging to me is my nasty case of chlamydia, not mes nasty case of chlamydia. Similarly it's "our" not "uss" and "their" not "thems". I think that's covered all of 'em. So "its" is unique as being the only one where you could reasonably make this mistake.
hackermom 17y ago
That's actually the correct way - at least so say all of the old (and most new) books on English grammar. If the word ends with a written S, you don't add another one after the "possessive apostrophe". Some teachers go the extra mile by saying that this rule also goes if the word ends with any consonant pronounced with an S sound; "Alix' room"; but not if it ends with a pronounced S sound followed by a silent vowel; "Belize's beaches". I personally follow this rule.
- hugh3 17y ago
  That's the rule (not sure about the X thing, that just looks wrong). Where I really get confused is the correct pronunciation for that. If it was "Chris' stuff" I'd probably put in an extra "es" sylalble at the end of "Chris" just to make it clear. On the other hand if you're talking about, say, "Jesus' stuff" then saying "Jesuses" sounds silly.
misanto 17y ago
It's singular vs plural - You are one person, your stuff is "Chris's Stuff" (with the extra "s"). If you and another Chris pool your belongings, that stuff would be "the Chris' stuff" (without the extra "s", pronounced identically).
sesqu 17y ago
Assume "Chris" is an "it". Now "Chris's stuff" becomes "it's stuff". "Its" breaks the rule of the possessive suffix being -'s, except for plurals. What would that be, anyway? "Chris's' stuffs"? [edit] n/m, I see this was addressed below.

hugh3 17y ago

I never got what the confusion is over the possessive form of "it". I mean, nobody ever writes "hi's" or "her's"; why would they want to do so with "it"? Because "it" is the only personal that has a possessive form consisting of the personal pronoun followed by an "s". The briefcase belonging to him is his briefcase, not hims briefcase. The purse belonging to her is her purse, not hers purse. The mama belonging to you is your mama, not yous mama. The nasty case of chlamydia belonging to me is my nasty case of chlamydia, not mes nasty case of chlamydia. Similarly it's "our" not "uss" and "their" not "thems". I think that's covered all of 'em. So "its" is unique as being the only one where you could reasonably make this mistake.

hackermom 17y ago

That's actually the correct way - at least so say all of the old (and most new) books on English grammar. If the word ends with a written S, you don't add another one after the "possessive apostrophe". Some teachers go the extra mile by saying that this rule also goes if the word ends with any consonant pronounced with an S sound; "Alix' room"; but not if it ends with a pronounced S sound followed by a silent vowel; "Belize's beaches". I personally follow this rule.

hugh3 17y ago
That's the rule (not sure about the X thing, that just looks wrong). Where I really get confused is the correct pronunciation for that. If it was "Chris' stuff" I'd probably put in an extra "es" sylalble at the end of "Chris" just to make it clear. On the other hand if you're talking about, say, "Jesus' stuff" then saying "Jesuses" sounds silly.

misanto 17y ago

It's singular vs plural - You are one person, your stuff is "Chris's Stuff" (with the extra "s"). If you and another Chris pool your belongings, that stuff would be "the Chris' stuff" (without the extra "s", pronounced identically).

sesqu 17y ago

Assume "Chris" is an "it". Now "Chris's stuff" becomes "it's stuff". "Its" breaks the rule of the possessive suffix being -'s, except for plurals. What would that be, anyway? "Chris's' stuffs"? [edit] n/m, I see this was addressed below.