I have so much to say, I wish the whole world would read what I have to say

because some things I post up are directed to the world to reflect on, not just myself or a particular person.

Heh. I'm not trying to be egoistical by saying I want people to read my blog. I mean, I want my thoughts to be known. I want people to ponder over the things I ponder over, to share my sentiments.

 

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Eh, I buay tahan already. Like, SAVE MY SANITY.

I told myself I wouldn't do a post about grammar again because I know mine isn't all that great either, and it makes me sound like an arrogant snob. But really, I need to do this. I've been wanting to do this for a really long time. I can't resist the temptation anymore.

Contractions - commonly made mistakes

- a shortened form of a word or group of words, with the omitted letters often replaced in written English by an APOSTROPHE. E.g. It's, you're, he's, she's

It's vs. Its

(I corrected my P1 teacher once because she made this mistake. NGYAHAHA)

1. It's = it is.

E.g. It's so hot outside / It's time / It's free with every purchase! / It's hurting me

2. Its = the possessive form of "it".

E.g. Its cage is dirty / The cat turned its back on me / Fate has its way of twisting things around / Everything has its advantages

I see way too many people making this mistake. People always think "it's" and "its" are the same. IT'S NOT! One's a contraction. If you're unsure of which to use in a sentence, replace "it's" with its long form, "it is", and put it into the sentence and see if it sounds weird.

E.g. "Dieting has it's/its disadvantages"? Replace "it's" with "it is" and you get "Dieting has IT IS advantages", which doesn't make sense. So the one to use is "its": Dieting has ITS disadvantages".

You're vs. Your

1. You're = you are.

E.g. You're so stupid / You're the one who caused it to happen / This is why you're so smart

2. Your = The possessive form of "you".

E.g. This dress is yours / Your hair looks terrible / I detest your attitude / Your lack of respect is appalling / This is your fault / Reach our for your dreams / Find your strengths

When you're unsure of which one to use in a sentence, expand "you're" to "you are" and fit it into the sentence, and see if it fits. 

E.g. "Unleash your/you're creativity"? If you expand "you're", it would become "Unleash YOU ARE creativity", which obviously doesn't make sense, so "your" should be used in that sentence: Unleash YOUR creativity.

Who's vs. Whose

1. Who's = who is.

E.g. Who's at the door?, Who's responsible for this?, She's the one who's at fault.

2. Whose = The possessive form of "who"/"which".

E.g. She is the girl whose painting won the first prize, Whose pencils are these?, She is the girl whose mother abandoned her.

I think this is another very commonly made mistake. If you're unsure of which to use, replace "Who's" with "Who is" and put it back into the sentence.

E.g. "She is the orphan who's/whose parents died in the war"? If you replace "who's" with "who is", the sentence becomes "She is the orphan WHO IS parents died in the war" which is obviously wrong, so the answer is "whose": She is the orphan WHOSE parents died in the war.

He's vs. His

1. He's = he is.

E.g. He's mad / He's my brother / This is why he's a drug addict / He's got a great voice

2. His = the possessive form of "he".

E.g. This is his property / I don't know why you're obsessed over his dimples / His voice sucks

When you're unsure of which to use in a sentence, replace "He's" with "He is" and put it back into the sentence.

E.g. "Yao De's friend stole he's/his girlfriend"? If you expand "he's", it becomes "Yao De's friend stole HE IS girlfriend" which makes no sense so the answer is His: "Yao De's friend stole HIS girlfriend".

Okay fine my examples suck, but they're all I can think of now. I'll give better examples when I come across them.

Examples of other contractions:

- They're = they are, We're = we are

- She's = she is/has, He's = he is/has, It's = It is/has (Depending on how it's used)

- I'd = I would/had, She'd = she would/had, He'd = he would/had, We'd = we would/had, They'd = they would/had (Depending on how it's used)

- I'll = I will, She'll = she will, He'll = he will, We'll = we will, They'll = they will, It'll = it will

- I'm = I am

- I've = I have

- Isn't = is not, Aren't = are not, Doesn't = does not, Won't = will not, Weren't = were not

- Can't = cannot, Couldn't = could not, Wouldn't = would not

By the way, please please please let me know if I've made any stupid mistakes in this post. In my last grammar post, I made a huge mistake by saying the "right" examples were "wrong" and vice versa. *Slaps self*