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Old 09-04-2012, 04:23 PM   #108
spindlegirl
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK View Post
I think a lot of people think:

"The book's mission...." has an apostrophe, so replace "The book" with "It" and just add the apostrophe s....

Personally, to avoid that, suggest remembering the other side: If you're not trying to say "It is" then don't use the contraction "it's".

If you catch my drift, as they say.
I was always very good with the things that many people have problems with, (their there they're etc).

But yes, the reasons why you stated above is entirely why it seems natural for an apostrophe to be in all possessives.

"The dog's paw was hurt."
"Rover's paw was hurt"
yet no apostrophe allowed for "Its paw was hurt." Pronouns are the exception.

English is one of those languages with fewer reliable rules than in other languages I've dabbled in. (I'm not fluent in French but was good at it in school). So I can see why people are frustrated that the rules for possessives seem to be bass-ackwards.
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