Which Word?

I am willing to guess that at one time or another you have been in the midst of writing and had to stop, scratch your head or tap your finger on the table and ask yourself, which word? I have done this. Is it its or is it it's? Do I go farther or further? Did I lie or did I lay? The time has come to clear this up short and straightforward.

It's represents the contraction form of the verb it is. It's wonderful you are reading this, is the same as if you were to write, it is wonderful you are reading this.

Its on the other hand represents a possessive adjective, showing ownership. Its fur was all over my pants. In other words, the kitty's fur was all over my pants.

Lie refers to a position of reclining or rest. I lie on the bed. Whereas lay refers to placing something somewhere. She lay the flowers on the table. Oops, I made this mistake in a book; instead of using lie, I used lay.

Farther refers to distance. We traveled farther down the road. Easy to remember if you think of it as we traveled far down the road. Further refers to advancement. We will read further tonight in the book called MISTAKE written by Brigitta Moon.

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