Viola!

Okay, this is becoming a serious pet peeve of mine, and I must rant for just a moment. Folks, the word of french origin that is used to call attention, express satisfaction, or suggest an appearance as if by magic is spelled VOILA, not VIOLA. A viola is a musical instrument of the violin family. It is silly to proclaim "Viola!" with a flourish, you see? So just stop it, okay?

Now that I'm on a rant about poor grammer, let's tackle their, there, and they're, shall we? Their suggests possession, as in "their furniture, "their dog", "their complete lack of ability to select the right word within the context of the sentence". There suggests place, as in "go over there and rant about poor grammer usage - we don't want to hear it". They're is a contraction of the words "they" and "are". So it is quite silly to say "they're dog" - unless you really do mean "they are dog" in some slang or spiritual sense of the word.

And finally, let's address its and it's. It's is a contraction of "it is" or "it has", as in "would you stop with the grammatical holier than thou bit, it's really getting on my nerves". Its is used for all other cases where the word "its" is needed, including the possessive, as in "the dog licked its paws" or "the grammer nazi wouldn't get off its high horse". Putting an apostrophe in there is just wrong, as you'll see if you play the contraction out - "the dog licked it is paws". Okay?

Yes friends, I am a grammer nazi. I'm certainly not suggesting that I don't make mistakes with the language myself. I'm certain that I do, and often. But I hope I have a grasp on a few of the more obvious, and oblivious, ones.

If you're uncertain, look it up! And Voila, you'll find the answer! Merriam Webster is online, you know.