6 ms·

Is that true? A statement like, "Drive Tom's car" is grammatically correct, but I don't think it is expanded to "Drive Tom is car".

by jjw1414 12y ago

_puk 12y ago
It's possessive in that instance.
zacharycohn 12y ago
Usually, -'s can mean either singular possessive or a contraction for "- is." "It," however, is a special case. "Its" is possessive, and "It's" is reserved only for the contraction of the phrase "It is."
jerhinesmith 12y ago
That's because "Tom's" is possessive in this case. The possessive form of "it" is "its" (no apostrophe). The way I remember it: if you can substitute "his" or "hers" for "its", then don't use an apostrophe.
- wuliwong 12y ago
  I like that, I'll use it. I still forget it's vs. its.
- baddox 12y ago
  This is precisely why I think usage is changing and will continue to change. The current "rule" (which isn't really a rule, since there is no official governing body of the English language) is an unnecessary and arbitrary special case. The meaning can nearly always be easily understood from context.
  - cgriswald 12y ago
    You are completely mistaken. "Its" isn't violating the apostrophe rule at all. "Its" is a possessive pronoun just like hers, theirs, his, ours, mine.
    - baddox 12y ago
      All the other pronouns have different pronunciations for their possessive and contraction forms, and also vary in spelling more than a single apostrophe, so the written mistake is unlikely to occur for those.
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    Arguing that there are no rules in English on the basis that there isn't a governing body seems to misunderstand what rules are. Being largely dead, the Romans no longer defend classical latin, but that doesn't mean it has no rules. Rules can change over time and you do not need a governing body for rules to exist as rules are just as easily defined by consensus as by imposition. It is generally known that its and it's have different meanings. People may regularly confuse them and the confusion may eventually eliminate the rule, but that does not mean there is currently no rule. Or to put it another way, if English has no rules, have understand problem no will sentence you this to.
wuliwong 12y ago
Hah yea, this is a particularly nasty part of the language IMO. I was wrestling with it recently. For pronouns, the apostrophe is only to indicate a contraction. Possessive pronouns like "hers" do not use an apostrophe. So "it's" always means "it is." Where "its" always is expressing that "it" possesses something. I usually refer to this handy illustrated guide http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe :D
- coldpie 12y ago
  > So "it's" always means "it is." Sadly, no. "It's been like this for days."
jjw1414 12y ago
Apologies if I did not post my question in the proper format. It was my first post. I am not sure why I was down-voted. My question was sincere. I couldn't find a clear answer with a quick search.

Is that true? A statement like, "Drive Tom's car" is grammatically correct, but I don't think it is expanded to "Drive Tom is car".

by jjw1414 12y ago

Is that true? A statement like, "Drive Tom's car" is grammatically correct, but I don't think it is expanded to "Drive Tom is car".

_puk 12y ago

It's possessive in that instance.

zacharycohn 12y ago

Usually, -'s can mean either singular possessive or a contraction for "- is." "It," however, is a special case. "Its" is possessive, and "It's" is reserved only for the contraction of the phrase "It is."

jerhinesmith 12y ago

That's because "Tom's" is possessive in this case. The possessive form of "it" is "its" (no apostrophe). The way I remember it: if you can substitute "his" or "hers" for "its", then don't use an apostrophe.

wuliwong 12y ago
I like that, I'll use it. I still forget it's vs. its.
baddox 12y ago
This is precisely why I think usage is changing and will continue to change. The current "rule" (which isn't really a rule, since there is no official governing body of the English language) is an unnecessary and arbitrary special case. The meaning can nearly always be easily understood from context.
- cgriswald 12y ago
  You are completely mistaken. "Its" isn't violating the apostrophe rule at all. "Its" is a possessive pronoun just like hers, theirs, his, ours, mine.
  - baddox 12y ago
    All the other pronouns have different pronunciations for their possessive and contraction forms, and also vary in spelling more than a single apostrophe, so the written mistake is unlikely to occur for those.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  Arguing that there are no rules in English on the basis that there isn't a governing body seems to misunderstand what rules are. Being largely dead, the Romans no longer defend classical latin, but that doesn't mean it has no rules. Rules can change over time and you do not need a governing body for rules to exist as rules are just as easily defined by consensus as by imposition. It is generally known that its and it's have different meanings. People may regularly confuse them and the confusion may eventually eliminate the rule, but that does not mean there is currently no rule. Or to put it another way, if English has no rules, have understand problem no will sentence you this to.

wuliwong 12y ago

Hah yea, this is a particularly nasty part of the language IMO. I was wrestling with it recently. For pronouns, the apostrophe is only to indicate a contraction. Possessive pronouns like "hers" do not use an apostrophe. So "it's" always means "it is." Where "its" always is expressing that "it" possesses something. I usually refer to this handy illustrated guide http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe :D

coldpie 12y ago
> So "it's" always means "it is." Sadly, no. "It's been like this for days."

jjw1414 12y ago

Apologies if I did not post my question in the proper format. It was my first post. I am not sure why I was down-voted. My question was sincere. I couldn't find a clear answer with a quick search.