Learn to use colons and semi-colons properly.
And if you think that's easy, you are probably not using them correctly yourself. I know that my father, English graduate and author though he is, isn't.
But don't bother with colons and semi-colons unless you have the hang of apostrophes and commas. Colons and semi-colons are just the icing on the cake, but if you aren't using apostrophes and commas properly, then you aren't writing English.
Posted to Apropos of nothing by Simon Brunning at January 22, 2004 03:41 PMThe wrong use of 'it's' is one of my bugbears - and it's amazing how many times, and where, you see it.
Posted by: Sujatin on January 22, 2004 04:18 PMA teacher of mine once gave me the simple, blanket rule that explains how to use "its" / "it's" correctly. (I already knew how, but the rule itself is interesting.)
There are two spellings (with apostrophe and without), and two uses (the possessive of "it" and the contraction of "it is"). The trick is to remember which is which. This is only tricky if you believe there are two rules ("possessives use apostrophes" and "contractions use apostrophes") one of which is arbitrarily violated for "it".
Well, "contractions use apostrophes" is, indeed, a rule. But "possessives use apostrophes" is incorrect for *ALL* pronouns, not just "it". Consider: "he" -> "his", "she" -> "her", "they" -> "their", "us" -> "our"... "it" -> "its". The correct rule would be "possessives of NOUNS use apostrophes, but not pronouns".
Gosh!
Posted by: Sujatin on January 23, 2004 10:25 AMDoncha just love that simple rule of thumb. It's amazing how its meaning is so clear.
Posted by: Steve on January 23, 2004 09:59 PM