It’s not the worst typo a writer can make, but it’s an easy one to spot if you’re writing about Ray Halbritter:
Maybe the writer needs some assistance in the proofreading department:
And editor who knows that either is singular and it’s is the contraction for it has would certainly help:
But something is afoot at Yahoo! Sports‘ “Prep Rally”: There’s no proofreader or editor at hand.
How many words can you misuse or abuse and still call yourself a writer? If you’re the writer for Yahoo! Sports’ “Prep Rally,” the answer is quite a few — at least four in a single article.
It’s clear that the writer doesn’t know when to use it’s (which is a contraction of “it is” or “it has”) instead of the possessive pronoun its:
And he can’t tell the difference between represented and representative:
Is he the only writer who doesn’t know taxes are levied and charges are leveled? I’m just wonderin’ ’cause I’ve never seen a mistake like this:
Can you call yourself a writer if you pound out an expression like this?
Anyone have a clue what that’s supposed to mean?
It’s such a common mistake, that it shouldn’t be surprising to find it on Yahoo! News:
A horse’s age can be determined by examining its teeth. A writer’s intelligence can be ascertained by their ability to appreciate the difference between a possessive pronoun (like its) and a contraction (like it’s). What does this say about the brilliance of the writer for Yahoo! TV?
Holiday time often makes people nostalgic about past Christmases, family gatherings, and Santa fantasies. What are you nostalgic for? Me? I’m nostalgic for a time when writers cared about the quality of their work and knew the basics of English, like the difference between it’s (a contraction for it is or it has) and its (a possessive pronoun):
I miss the days when professionals would be humiliated if a reader ever took a sneak peek at a homophonic horror like this:
I’m nostalgic for the days before there was a Yahoo! Shine.
The things you learn on Yahoo! Shine! I had no idea that designer Karl Lagerfeld made his runway debut in 2010 — alongside his father, who must be 100 years old, in light of the fact that little Karl is 79:
When not gleaning inside info on the world of Paris fashion, I find the most amusing use of apostrophes here, where the writer uses a contraction in place of a possessive pronoun:
and here where she thinks an apostrophe can be used to form a plural:
I guess if you’re a writer in an industry that takes itself seriously, you’d be sure to match a verb to its subject. But if you’re a writer for Yahoo!, grammar rules are meant to be broken:
But any exposure to rules of grammar has its cost:
In the case of this writer, the cost is mental overload. It’s just too much to remember: It’s means it is or it has. Its is the possessive pronoun. It’s just too much.
Well, actually, it is a contraction: It’s is a contraction of it is or it has. It’s quite different from its, which is a possessive pronoun. Except on Yahoo! News, where it’s a stand-in for the correct word:
For some, it’s not a contraction, it’s a possessive pronoun. For others, it’s a non sequitur.
For still others, it’s the typical mistakes that pepper Yahoo! Shine every day.
Grammatically challenged writers confuse its and it’s, and most often use it’s (a contraction for it is or it has) when they should be using its (a possessive pronoun). But Yahoo! writers are, if nothing else, creative in their misuse of English. But few professional writers would write two sentences in such a similar, yet completely wrong, structure to imply that “for some, it’s not Christmas; for others, it’s oysters on the half shell.” Which is true, now that I think about it.
(What the writer really meant: For some, it’s not Christmas until they have a glass of eggnog by a twinkling tree. For others, it’s not Christmas until they dig into oysters on the half shell.)
Internet giant Yahoo! doesn’t have a sterling reputation when it comes to the accuracy of its information or the grammatical ability of its writers. Here’s one example of how Yahoo! got its reputation for grammatical gaffes:
Scraping out a pumpkin? Make sure it’s very clean. And ignore the advice you’ll find on Yahoo! Shine:
Likewise, ignore the it’s on Yahoo! TV’s “Daytime in No Time.” It’s wrong and it’s should be its:
