Happy National Grammar Day

I'm apprehensive about writing a post on grammar. My punctuation isn't the greatest; I love me some comma splices. But I thought I'd do a list of my grammar pet peeves. I don't want to miss out on all the fun.

"Its" versus "it's"

This is a common error, both because of a lack of understanding and because it's very easy to add or forget an apostrophe when writing. I know I've done it. Once or twice.

"Its" is possessive. Ex. "The kitten lost its mittens". This is confusing, because apostrophes are often employed to show ownership, Ex. "I lost the kitten's mittens." "It's" is never possessive. Rather it is a contraction of "it is". Ex. "It's five o'clock." Or "It's my birthday today."

"Whose" vs "Who's"

These words are misused for the same reason as "its" and "it's". "Whose" is possessive. Ex. "Whose shoe is this?" Whereas "who's" is a contraction of "who is". Ex. "Who's going to bake the cake?"

They're/Their/There

They're is a contraction of "they are". Ex. "They're going to the fair." "Their" is possessive. Ex. "It's their car". And "there" indicates a location. Ex. "I don't like going there".

Those three problems are my biggest grammar pet peeves.