Its vs. It's

Last night, while working on my final paper for one of my MBA classes, I realized that I had lost the ability to properly use "its" and "it's". My paper was inundated with improper use of both. To give myself a little credit, at least I didn't use: its' anywhere - that would've really been a sign of trouble. But how could I possibly have forgotten something so easy? Fortunately when a grammatical crisis like this occurs, I have two experts who I can turn to: My brother Tim, and my Dad. Tim is simply a great writer. My Dad is a former English teacher and is no slouch himself when it comes to matters of the pen (or the keyboard, in some cases). Anyway, here's how Tim responded:

"'It's' is a contraction of 'it is'.

i.e. 'It's ... Monty Python's Flying Circus.'

'Its' is a possessive adjective that is used as a modifier before a
noun.

i.e.  Patt Frankerson forgot to put his Noel Henry's Irish Showband
album back in its sleeve, much to the joy of Art Berluti."

My Dad, on the other hand, sent me two responses. The first was a reply to my original message, with a blank body: no text. The second was reply was simply this: "It's obvious that I sent an e-mail without its message."

So long story short, I finished my paper, and I will never mix up its and it's again.

Comments

[Patt Frankerson]

...and did you ever get 'tis straight?