Punctuation

Question

Hi,Can anyone suggest a sensible way to punctuate this?  (I go crazy every time it happens!)The final "it" 's in both sentences need antecedents.Thanks,   - A.

Futurist · Accepted Answer

Italics are your friend. You could write:

The final its in both sentences need antecedents.

Alternatively, you could rephrase the sentence and write:

The final instances of the word it in both sentences need antecedents.

If you can't use italics because you're handwriting, and you don't want to rephrase, I would still just write:

The final its in both sentences need antecedents.

It's clear that you're talking about multiple instances of the word it and not one instance of the word its because you've used the plural form of the verb need. The first sentence I suggested is the recommendation of Garner's Modern American Usage. The third sentence I suggested is the recommendation of The Chicago Manual of Style. You're on safe ground either way.

The above advice only applies if there is really more than one problem it in each sentence, which is how your sentence sounds to me. If there's only one problem it in each sentence, your quandry evaporates. I would write one of the following:

The final it in each sentence needs an antecedent.
The final it in each of the above two sentences needs an antecedent.

Avangi · Answer

Thanks for your suggestions, Futurist.
At present, I have problems with all of them except the rewrites, which is not really what I wanted to do.
I'll see how they look to me tomorrow.

- A.

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