It's all really very simple, isn't it?

Yes, I'm still talking about the "its/it's" dilemma. To make it even trickier these days, when you want to type "its," autocorrect will usually change it into the incorrect "it's."

What?

It's all about context. Autocorrect doesn't always recognize context. Or to put it more simply, the way you use "it's/its" in you sentence will determine whether or not autocorrect replaces it with a correct form or an error.

Remember, when you use "it's" as a contraction of the pronoun "it" and the verb "is," you require an apostrophe to indicate the letter "i" has been removed.

And when you use "its" as a possessive pronoun, no apostrophe is required. Only you, as the writer, know what you mean to say. Autocorrect does not. It just does what it's been programmed to do.

This means that the chance of making an apostrophe error as you fire off a text or email is huge. If you care about using the language properly, you have to slow down and reread what you've written and actually ask yourself if you want your "it's" to mean "it is."

If not, you have to use "its."

For example:

It's pretty good for a frozen pizza. (It is pretty good...).

But its crust was soggy. (The crust that belonged to the pizza was soggy).

In the last example, autocorrect erroneously corrected my word "its" to "it's." I had to manually change it (or else turn autocorrect off).

So you see, not understanding the rules is just one reason so many people make errors with apostrophes. And technology isn't making it any easier for us to get it right.