Grammar Police Monday - There They're

As an extension of our confusable homophones from last week, I've decided to tackle a few in particular. Some of you may find this lesson simple, but enough people get these wrong that I felt it was worth addressing. Let's start off easy...

Two, Too and To:

Two = the number of something. 
     Sally has two kittens.

Too = also / very.   
     I have kittens, too. They are too young to give away.
Note: When using 'too' to mean 'also,' set it off with a comma(s). [Edited 6-24-13: Apparently, the comma-before-too rule is no longer a rule. See this post for clarification.]

To is a preposition.  
     I took them back to their mother.

There, Their and They're:

There = location.   
     The ball is over there.

Their = possessive pronoun.   
     Hurry! Go get their ball!.

They're = contraction of 'they are.'  

     They're going to be angry if you lose their ball.

(Hint: If you can substitute 'they are,' then use 'they're.')

Whose and Who's:

This one often stumps people.

Whose = possessive form of 'who.'  
     Whose ball is that?

Who's = contraction of 'who is' or who has.'

     Peter is the one who's been stealing my ball. 

(Hint: Nouns form their possessives using an apostrophe. Ex: Carrie's ball.  Pronouns don't. Ex: The ball is hers.  They only use them to form contractions. Ex: She's got the ball.)

Same thing goes for It's and Its:

Its = possessive pronoun. 
     The roof fell when we removed its support beam.

It's = contraction of 'it is' or 'it has.'   
     It's about time!

(Hint: Only use it's if you can substitute 'it is' or 'it has.' Use its for everything else.)

For a great resource, try Common Errors in English Usage. 

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