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Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right. Joel Send a noteboard - 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM
I'm going to ignore everything apart from the bits I managed to actually read like this bit here:
No, that is the ruleS. Two of them. In direct contradiction. One of them only applied to a single word. It is not the "contraction rule" or the "possessive rule," but the "it's/its" rule. Far worse, it exists, not to make the language richer, more versatile or, heaven forbid, easier to understand, but because... well, because someone said we should ignore the rule we observe in ALL OTHER CASES, and other people, for reasons known but to them and God, accepted that decision.

Because someone is WRONG ON THE INTERNET and I feel the need to correct, obviously. It is not a rule observed in all other cases. "Its" is the same as "hers", "yours", "ours" and "theirs". Possessive pronoun. "Everyone" is an indefinite pronoun so it's different.

Except for "her" (which can be a possessive pronoun OR simply the second person feminine pronoun,) each word you list is already always a possessive pronoun. Adding "s" does not signify their (already unambiguously established) possessive nature, but that they do not refer to the word immediately following them (e.g. "your car" but not "yours car," rather, "that car is yours.") That is closer to true genitive declension than the makeshift relic apostrophe+"s" represents. I cannot recall ever seeing "its" used in that way; "it" is analogous to "my" not "mine." I (and almost certainly you) would say, for example, "the governments power to print money belongs to it," not "the governments power to print money is its."

I would also like to teach you the meaning of succinct.

In the interest of full disclosure, before moondog joined wotmania he introduced me to xkcd with "Duty Calls" to illustrate his impression of my wotmania posting habits. ;) Around that same time someone posted a wotmania thread about the Flame Warriors site, and you can probably understand why I felt this entry hit a little close to home. :<img class=' /> Beyond that I can only reiterate one of my Pithy Pet Phrases: Few things are difficult; many are complicated.
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Grammar junkies - 05/10/2011 06:46:31 PM 1079 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 773 Views
I didn't see any errors - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 756 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 634 Views
You mean ... - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 686 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 943 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1207 Views
Tom can probably give you actual terms and correct rules, but here's my take on it. - 05/10/2011 08:43:47 PM 713 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 751 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 747 Views
Yeah, pretty much. - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 705 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 569 Views
OK then. - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 746 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 796 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 728 Views
You're right of course! - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 810 Views
I frequently am. - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 808 Views
So I've noticed. - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 719 Views
I like telling people, too. - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 722 Views
You can use charmap. - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 767 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 688 Views
Mmm, dashing. - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 727 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 775 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 844 Views
I love this bit. - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 837 Views
Bring back the BSG! - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 751 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 703 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 843 Views
Re: serial comma. - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 718 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 687 Views
Same here - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 622 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 699 Views
Re: Grammar junkies - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 738 Views
Re: Grammar junkies - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 787 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 784 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 365 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 687 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 646 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 352 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 896 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 770 Views
I do not really think I am "right" on this one so much as "not wrong." - 06/10/2011 12:01:36 AM 676 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 694 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 701 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 717 Views
Like I say, I appreciate exceptions when justified (and again, only claiming to be "not wrong." ) - 06/10/2011 07:26:18 AM 611 Views
But you are wrong - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 742 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 387 Views
I disagree. - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 685 Views
How utterly unsurprising - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 638 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 699 Views
Doesn't matter. - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 727 Views
What. - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 784 Views
Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right. - 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM 778 Views
You called? - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 745 Views
Grammar schmammar! - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 820 Views
Wongy tip #77 - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 682 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 694 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* - 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM 341 Views
I did use that once to tell the story of you and CNRedDragon going to see Ice Princess. *NM* - 07/10/2011 01:46:50 AM 339 Views
A timeless classic. - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 662 Views
Re: Grammar junkies - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 707 Views
Yes. - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 646 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 685 Views
I try - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 744 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 621 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 646 Views
I wish more people knew this. - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 644 Views
Junky Grammar. - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 637 Views

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