Everyone agrees that:     Semantically "It's not" and "It isn't" mean the same thing: "It is   not".   No doubt here. See:   The reason why I'm asking is because Google is suggesting one way regardless the fact the one other one has more hits, see:  and     In general: which one is more common and what examples where it makes difference come to your mind?
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Is one stronger than the other? More correct? Just curious, one of the many abstract things to pop into my head on the drive home today...
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OK, this question has been asked over and over, and I am still unsure. I am just trying to find the thin line between a substantial and minor edit.  I find myself making edits for grammar and poor formatting, that I can see some reviewers find minor and others do not.  I have also noticed some users with high rep, or moderators will make the similar edits:     If I have edited your post with an edit summary of “ARGH”... ... or   some variation thereof, then you probably used “it’s” when the correct   word was, in fact, “its”.   Can anyone provide a definitive way to establish whether or not one should proceed to edit? It seems to be more a matter of opinion rather than an objective delineation.
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I always try to remember to use "cannot" when applicable as in "I cannot take an umbrella" (because I do not have one).  I also thought that the problem with "I can not take an umbrella" was that it was ambiguous: it could also mean that I could decide not to take an umbrella. Trying to write unambiguously most of the time, I would therefore never use it.  Now I see it claimed that it is in fact not ambiguous, and only carries the second meaning. Usually I would accept such advice at face value and start using "can not" when the second meaning is unambiguously meant, but this comes from a style guide I have other reasons not to respect very much.  Does "can not" have a single unambiguous meaning?  (I have read  but my question is more about current usage. The length of the answer to that question does confirm my prejudice a bit, though)
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What's the difference between these two phrases?
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I thought that this question  was a duplicate (sorry, as a noob meta user I can only post one link, please follow my comment on that question), but other folks don't seem to agree.  If two questions are phrased differently, but describe the same underlying problem (and therefore have the same answers) are they not same question?  Thanks, from a puzzled Binary Worrier :(  Related:
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Since "amn't I" is so clunky, is "aren't I" grammatically correct?  Or is the only way to say this "Am I not"?
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What is the difference between "I never was" and "I was never"? It seems that there is a subtle difference, but I can't quite grasp it. Is one of them informal?  For example:        I never was a good cook.   I was never a good cook.
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"Don't", "wouldn't", "couldn't" and "isn't" are all contractions of "do not", "would not", "could not" and "is not"... So what's "won't" a contraction of?  It appears to be "will not", but if so, why isn't it "willn't"? (And if there's no good reason, has it ever been "willn't" at any point in history?)
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I have just learned from what I consider a reliable source, that the following sentence is correct:     One of us is wrong, aren't we?   I would never in my life have written this, but I am assured that   As I realize comments don't live forever I will quote the relevant parts:     oerkelens : So you  would really write One of us is wrong, aren't we? I guess by analogy you would not bat an eyelid at One of these balls is blue, aren't they?   Matt Эллен : yes, "Then one of us is wrong, aren't we?" is exactly how it would be written. Same for the balls.   Could someone please enlighten me how it is possible that the number in a question tag supposedly has to be in discordance with the subject of the main clause?  I admit that I am not the youngest any more, and my school days are long gone, but back in the days, I was taught that  1. a verb and its subject concord in number 2. a question tag concords with the subject of the main clause  I was given examples like:     It is warm today, isn't it?   We will be on time, won't we?   Mary is pretty, isn't she?   John isn't the brightest, is he?   Some people may notice that the subject of the main clause seems to determine every time the subject of the question tag. When the main clause subject is singular, so are verb and subject in the question tag.  I was under the impression that a) this made sense and b) this would be a general rule.  I fully realize that grammar does not have to make sense, so a) is immaterial. As for b), today I learned I was wrong :)  So when (and possibly why?) do we form question tags that are different in number from their main clause?   To exemplify, also the other example sentence that I used and was corrected on:     One of these balls is blue, isn't it? (so this is wrong)   One of these balls is blue, aren't they? (and this is correct)   As an afterthought, does this strange grammatical number mix-up only appear in question-tags, or should I always refer to singular subjects in the plural if certain conditions are met? And what are those conditions?  Which versions are correct?     One of the cars is broken, aren't they? They (the car(s?) that is(are?) broken) should be fixed.   One of the cars is broken, aren't they? It (the car that is broken) should be fixed.   One of us must be wrong, mustn't we? We (the one(s?) that is (are?) wrong) should make amends.   One of us must be wrong, mustn't we? He (the one that is wrong) should make amends.   (In the last one, they could of course be used as the singular they, but that would avoid the issue...)
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I'm helping someone learn English (second language), and I'm having trouble explaining when to use the and when not to. For example:     Students learn better when teachers are passionate about teaching.   versus     The students learn better when the teachers are passionate about teaching.   There's a subtle difference. The first one is a general statement, whereas the second might imply a study where a group of students learned better than another.  Is the difference simply that, general v. specific?
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Usage of "%"  I'm almost positive it's a prepositional phrase since it's really means "per cent" or "per 100".  So in a sentence like:     90% of my street are doing lawn work.   It would be "are" and not "is" because both "%" and "of my street" are prepositional phrases and therefore cannot contain the subject.  Am I right?
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Is there a word to describe something that is not the first element in a sequence, but can be in any other position? A synonym of "not first", in fact.     This element is __ in this sequence.
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Whenever I see someone corrects another person on their use of "literally", it often seems to me like the corrector did not realize the sentence was supposed to be a hyperbole, and in fact depends on the correct usage of the word "literally" (to mean "actually") in order to be a hyperbole. For example:  "It is so amazing it will literally make your head explode".  Sure, nobody's head is going to "literally" explode from the sheer awesomeness of whatever "it" is, but isn't that exactly the point? If heads do not explode from something being awesome, then something would have to be extremely awesome in order to actually explode someone's head. This sentence basically says: "The intensity of how amazing this thing is is so great, that your head will actually explode from it."   This seems semantically correct to me, but people seem to criticize this use of "literally", as if it actually isn't semantically correct. Why is that?
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What is the difference between "don't" and "do not" in the English literature as well as spoken English? Are they same?   The same question goes for "wouldn't" and "would not", "couldn't" and "could not".
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Which is the correct use of these two words, and in which context should one be used rather than the other?
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Possible Duplicate:    I was having an SMS conversation with a friend and somehow &quot;Yes you're&quot; came into play in retaliation to a comment. Example:  Person 1: &quot;You are bad at English&quot;. Person 2: &quot;No I are not.&quot;. Person 1: &quot;Yes you're&quot;.  Is that acceptable? I would assume that it is. Think of &quot;don't&quot;. You can say:  &quot;No, don't.&quot;  or  &quot;I don't.&quot;  and it is a contraction like &quot;you're&quot;. So, is it okay?
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Why would using the construct &quot;is/their&quot; instead of &quot;is/its&quot; in the following examples likely be frowned upon by some native speakers and marked as incorrect on tests?  The class is working on its assignment. (AmEng) The class is/are working on its/their assignment. (BrEng) The class is working on their assignment. (disputed usage)  -and-  The government is always changing its mind. (AmEng) The government is/are always changing its/their minds. (BrEng) The government is always changing their mind. (disputed usage)  -and-  The team is putting on its uniforms. (chiefly AmEng) The team are putting on their uniforms. (chiefly BrEng) The team is putting on their uniforms. (disputed usage)  -and-  The Smith family is at the beauty parlor getting its hair and nails done for the wedding. (chiefly AmEng) The Smith family are at the beauty parlor getting their hair and nails done for the wedding. (chiefly BrEng) The Smith family is at the beauty parlor getting their hair and nails done for the wedding. (disputed usage)  On the other hand, why might other native speakers consider this usage to be acceptable?