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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 1002 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 694 Views
I didn't see any errors - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 674 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 551 Views
You mean ... - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 602 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 861 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1077 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 633 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 664 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 654 Views
Yeah, pretty much. - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 612 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 489 Views
OK then. - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 651 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 711 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 652 Views
You're right of course! - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 724 Views
I frequently am. - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 729 Views
So I've noticed. - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 647 Views
I like telling people, too. - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 635 Views
You can use charmap. - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 682 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 602 Views
Mmm, dashing. - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 640 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 691 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 753 Views
I love this bit. - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 758 Views
Bring back the BSG! - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 673 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 622 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 742 Views
Re: serial comma. - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 640 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 601 Views
Same here - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 537 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 615 Views
Re: Grammar junkies - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 652 Views
Re: Grammar junkies - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 705 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 693 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 329 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 608 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 561 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 295 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 815 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 675 Views
I do not really think I am "right" on this one so much as "not wrong." - 06/10/2011 12:01:36 AM 589 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 608 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 609 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 633 Views
Like I say, I appreciate exceptions when justified (and again, only claiming to be "not wrong." ) - 06/10/2011 07:26:18 AM 529 Views
But you are wrong - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 661 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 353 Views
I disagree. - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 608 Views
How utterly unsurprising - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 555 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 601 Views
Doesn't matter. - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 649 Views
What. - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 701 Views
Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right. - 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM 696 Views
You called? - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 660 Views
Grammar schmammar! - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 738 Views
Wongy tip #77 - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 600 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 606 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* - 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM 307 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 307 Views
A timeless classic. - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 576 Views
Re: Grammar junkies - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 629 Views
Yes. - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 562 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 600 Views
I try - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 655 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 533 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 558 Views
I wish more people knew this. - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 550 Views
Junky Grammar. - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 544 Views

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