When speaking of animals, do we use the term his/her, or it?
Here's an example....Honilov brought her dog to my house, but she forgot to bring his/it's chain.
Do I say his, or do I say it's? *********************************************************** 04-20-03, 03:26 PM honilov On the above post, is it it's or its? Big Grin
04-20-03, 03:57 PM maiku
quote:Originally posted by honilov ...Honilov brought her dog to my house, but she forgot to bring his/it's chain.
Do I say his, or do I say it's?
Your follow-up question first, honilov. The correct spelling would have been "its" in the sentence quoted above. Here's a simple way to avoid confusion between "its" and "it's": "It's" is the contraction for "it is." "Its" is a possessive prounoun, and in English, none of these is ever written with an apostrophe: thus, we also have "his," "hers," and "yours," but not "her's," "your's," and certainly not "hi's."
If the dog was a female, then you forgot to bring her chain, not his or its chain. If it is male, his chain. I can't think of any usage here in the U.S. where pet owners themselves don't use "natural gender" to refer to their pets (assuming they know enough about their pet to know what sex it is). If you're talking about what someone who doesn't know the sex of the dog might say, then, yes, I suppose you might hear "its" in place of "his" or "her." In fact, you sometimes hear this pronoun even in reference to human babies, where the speaker can't tell. Typically, of course, the parents of the baby will be deeply offended by this. Dog owners often are, too, I've found. Smile
(And if you don't believe me, honilov, see below for corroboration from the excellent frankvan. Wink)
[This message was edited by maiku on 04-20-03 at 04:19 PM.]
04-20-03, 04:00 PM frankvan I may get shot down in flames. but in the meantime, here's my take on it: If you know the dog's gender you can say "her chain" or "his chain", otherwise you would say "its chain". "It's" is only used when it is a contraction of "it is", not to indicate possesion. It's not unusual to see examples of its misuse. IMHO.
I was typing this when maiku posted. I am proud to find that I had the right answer. If maiku agrees with me. I know I'm right, period!. Wink
04-20-03, 07:14 PM honilov Thanks Frankvan, and Maiku, but I was in a conversation yesterday about how afraid I am of dogs, and in the conversation, I was told that animals were considered 'Property'. If that is so, then, 'it/its' would be correct.
Does this make sense?
04-20-03, 08:15 PM methos Honi - It isn't a matter of possession. It is a pronoun used in place of nouns that either do not have a gender or for which the gender is unknown. It is best to refer to animals as he or she, unless you do not know the gender. By the way, more information can be found by looking up it, he, and she using the dictionary link above.
04-20-03, 08:50 PM honilov Thanks Methos. I've been criticized so much about bad grammar, so I better start studying again. Wink
04-20-03, 11:47 PM emkayess Nah, Honilov, just avoid people who think a dog is PROPERTY. Love me, love my dog. And I will not associate with people who are so nit-picky about grammar. Wink
04-21-03, 02:41 AM Ewood27 Honilov, I think you are on the right track already. If you are speaking about any dog in general terms, as in "When meeting a strange dog, it is best to approach it gently", then it is at least acceptable. A particular dog, however, is a he/she or a him/her, certainly in the eyes of the owner, and should be referred to as such.
My dog may be "property" in law, but he is my friend, companion and also a restriction on my activities and frequently a pain in the fundament. He is not an it!
04-21-03, 10:57 AM Elexina Technically, a dog may be property, but a dog is still a living creature with a personality and a gender. If you know an animals' gender, you ought to refer to that animal as "he" or "she." Otherwise, "it" is appropriate. Heck, sometimes I refer to babies as "it" when I don't know the gender. Smile
What I hate is when pet owners call their own pets by the wrong sex! I mean, they know darn well it's a boy dog, why do they insist on calling him "her"???
04-25-03, 07:57 PM frankvan Elexina, you know some strange pet owners! I can't imagine anyone calling his/her own pet dog by the wrong gender designation. We have always owned female dogs, and so we usually assume that all strange dogs who are Smile well behaved and affectionate, must necessarily be female. But I find that most people usually assume the opposite.
04-29-03, 06:46 AM Elexina Yes, Frank, yes I do. My grandparents are just not the bright.
05-01-03, 10:34 PM Tree Pets are not property really.... they are our friends!!
I call my cats - he's and she's without doubt!
Wink
05-02-03, 10:21 AM Texan-In-Exile My cats are not property - I'M the property! Roll Eyes Although I have had people ask me if my big black cat was going to have kittens, and I'd have to tell them "No - he's just fat!" Red Face
05-03-03, 11:08 PM cattywampus If you know the gender, it's "he" or "she." If you don't know the gender, "it" is correct. I'd rather use "it" than have some unhappy pet owner snarl at me, "It's a SHE!"
Another thing: Don't say, "The people that -" People are "whos" and animals and inanimate objects are "that."
