Know your english!

Blahness

Okay, quick question.

Can the word "it's" be used to signify ownership?

e.g.

"To argue whether or not secularisation is occurring, or has occurred, in our society today one must first define religion itself, then define secularisation- how influential is it now, compared to that of the past, and finally define it's significance."

Would this be proper usage, or must it be used without an apostrophe despite signifying property or ownage?

J77

Without!!!

http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/

d_leet

The way I learned is that the possessive form of it is "its" without an apostrophe, so that "it's" with an apostrophe is always it is.

Chi Meson

J77 and d_leet are correct unequivocally.

selfAdjoint

It's a rule! Follow its dictates!

brewnog

For completeness, "english" should be written with a capital letter.

berkeman

Even when used for the spin on a tennis ball or ping-pong ball?

brewnog

Ooh interesting one. I suspect not, though I don't know the etymology of this use. Anyone?

George Jones

I had a look at the OED, doesn't which say much about its origin. It did give a second-hand (or more) apocryphal-sounding story about an English pool player named English coming to the U.S., with english being named after him.

I then found the website of the Online Etymology Dictionary, which states

English (2) (Look up English at Dictionary.com)
"spin imparted to a ball" (as in billiards), 1860, from Fr. anglé "angled," which is similar to Anglais "English."

brewnog

Excellent! Thanks George, that's a much more rational explanation.

I don't know what the rule would be now regarding capitalisation; if the ambiguity is all in the French language, and your story is the truth, I don't see how you could get away without spelling English with a capital E. But I don't know!

Gokul43201

Okay, but which one?

Edit : Nevermind. I see you anticipated the extent of my illiteracy in your subsequent post.

Danger

Agreed. Good one, George.

Actually, if it's from the French it would be spelled with a capital 'A'.