The Strange Workings Of The English Language Part Two

Here is part two in my new series, where I take a look at the weird and wonderful world of words. If you missed part one, please click here.

Q. Why do you sometimes use an apostrophe for ‘its’?

A. An apostrophe is used for ‘its’ when the word is used as a contraction. The apostrophe stands in for the missing letters. Here is an example:

It’s going to rain today.

So, in this case, the apostrophe stands in for the missing ‘i’. If a contraction hadn’t been used, then the sentence would read as follows:

It is going to rain today.

Another example is:

It’s gone.

Here, the apostrophe replaces the missing ‘h’ and ‘a’ for ‘has’.

When you’re using the word ‘its’ for ownership, you don’t need an apostrophe as this example demonstrates:

The dog chased its tail.

Interesting word of the week:

DISEMBOGUE

Meaning: To emerge or be discharged into the sea or a large river.

***

Photo credit: http://www.wordsonimages.com