New Wave Outpost Forum

Ok, I have many grammar issues, and this one has me puzzled.

"It isn't" vs. "It's not"

Which is right? Any rules regarding their use?

Sure, I could Google for the answer, but I'd rather hear it from the NWO collective.

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They're both wrong. "It t'aint" is how y'all are supposed to say it.

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Hmm, since I can't use contractions in in the kind of writing and editing that I do, I've never been confronted with this question.

They're both contractions of "it is not," so as far as I'm concerned they're the same thing. ("It's not" may also be a contraction of "it has not.") Choosing one or the other would be based on what you wanted to emphasize, IMHO.

KYYX may know of more obscure rules governing their use known only to English teachers.[:)]

I think what drives Grammar Dominatrices nuts (speaking for myself, anyway) is confusing the contraction "it's" (= it is, with apostrophe) with the possessive "its" (no apostrophe).

My posts my not indicate it, because I often type quickly and proofread poorly, but I have a passing interest in grammar (there will probably be a number of mistakes in this post). I looked up "It isn't" vs "It's not" in my handy copy of Garner's Modern American Usage and found... no entry. This either means that it's a matter of personal choice or that Garner hasn't gotten around to writing the rule for this case.

I think it boils down to emphasis. For example, if I say "It isn't important" I mean something different than if I say "It's not important". Both phrases are structurally correct, but, in my case, the former implies that something isn't important right now (but may be important later), while the latter implies that something is insignificant.

Over on Word Reference Forum, most people agree that it's a matter of personal choice. Someone posted the following example and rule based on the idea that the choice is determined by "how...the sentence is going to sound in that final pre-speech mental process":

"Is it raining? No, it isn't.
It's not raining."

The writer then posts "...at the end of a sentence I would say it isn't. But when there's more to come, I would say it's not...."

It doesn't matter either way, as long as you don't write "its' not".

Plagiarism, You mean its not.

*peeks up and around*

did someone say "grammar" ?

Both "it's not" and "it isn't" mean the same thing. hex and Don Gately both explained their uses very nicely. The only difference between these 2 phrases would be, perhaps, what you are trying to emphasize. Also, "it's not" could very well be a contraction for "it has not", which has quite a different meaning.

Grrr..."it's" and "its"....don't get me started !

[quote][i]Originally posted by KYYX4ever[/i]
<br>....."it's not" could very well be a contraction for "it has not".....[/quote]

As opposed to "it has'nt" or is it "hasn't"?

Misusing "how much" and "how many" is particularly ulcer inducing for me. Ever hear someone say something like "[i]How much[/i] presents did you get?" ARGH!

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Alot of well advice hear.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>Alot of well advice hear.
[/quote]

[b][i]AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/i][/b]

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[quote][i]Originally posted by marvymarv[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by KYYX4ever[/i]
<br>....."it's not" could very well be a contraction for "it has not".....[/quote]

As opposed to "it has'nt" or is it "hasn't"?
[/quote]
[:D][:D]

"It has not" could possibly be shortened to "it's not" as in [i]"[b]It's not[/b] happened to me yet that my teeth have fallen out"[/i]. However, although this is grammatically correct, it is clearer to say [i]"[b]It hasn't[/b] happened to me yet that my teeth have fallen out."[/i]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>Alot of well advice hear.
[/quote]

[:D][:D]
*head explodes*

[quote][i]Originally posted by KYYX4ever[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by marvymarv[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by KYYX4ever[/i]
<br>....."it's not" could very well be a contraction for "it has not".....[/quote]

As opposed to "it has'nt" or is it "hasn't"?
[/quote]
[:D][:D]

"It has not" could possibly be shortened to "it's not" as in [i]"[b]It's not[/b] happened to me yet that my teeth have fallen out"[/i]. However, although this is grammatically correct, it is clearer to say [i]"[b]It hasn't[/b] happened to me yet that my teeth have fallen out."[/i]
[/quote]

How about "Ah still gots all ma muhfuckin' teefuses" instead?

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