Punctuation Marks and Etc. of the English Language

[Robin2]

Not like that


Like this


...R

[ardly]

The above sentence is taken from some other Section of this Forum. I am looking for some kinds of improvements that could be contributed in this sentence in respect of subject-verb and antecedent-pronoun agreements. I would like to propose the following form of the above sentence.  

"The best projects often use a microcontrollers with external chips to enhance and complement their it's capabilities."

My query/question: Is there any chance that a reader might associate the pronoun (their) with projects or chips and not with microcontrollers? Is there a way to paraphrase the sentence so that the said ambiguity (if any) could be avoided/minimized in respect of antecedent-pronoun agreement?

In your solution the fact that the 'projects' and the 'microcontrollers' are now both plural does make the meaning of 'their' ambiguous. It could also be taken as meaning that the best projects use multiple micropocessors.
I thought the the original was clear. The best projects use a single microprocessor and it's (the microprocessor) capabilities are enhanced by external chips.

[AWOL]

The best projects use a single microprocessor and it's (the microprocessor) capabilities are enhanced by external chips.

sp. "its capabilities"

[ardly]

sp. "its capabilities"

I always get confused by its v it's , you are correct;
     The word it's is always short for 'it is' (as in it's raining), or in informal speech, for 'it has' (as in it's got six legs).
     The word its means 'belonging to it' (as in hold its head still while I jump on its back). It is a possessive pronoun like his.

[GolamMostafa]

I thought the the original was clear. The best projects use a single microprocessor and it's (the microprocessor) capabilities are enhanced by external chips.

sp. "its capabilities"

Knowing that it's is a contraction for 'it is or it has' and its is a 'possessive case', the original sentence may take the following form

"The best projects often use a microcontroller with external chips to enhance and complement its (microcontroller) capabilities."

[Robin2]

I always get confused by its v it's , you are correct;

In typical English fashion it behaves exactly opposite to the usual way to create possessive nouns which are normally denoted by a single quote as in the man's shoes

...R

[ardly]

Knowing that it's is a contraction for 'it is or it has' and its is a 'possessive case', the original sentence may take the following form

"The best projects often use a microcontroller with external chips to enhance and complement its (microcontroller) capabilities."

Yes, that is the way I understood the original.
Because 'projects' is plural and 'micronctroller' is singular there is no ambiguity that "its capabilities" means the microcontrollers capapbilities.
If both are plural you get;
"The best projects often use microcontrollers with external chips to enhance and complement their capabilities."
Which could be read as
"The best projects often use microcontrollers (with external chips) to enhance and complement their capabilities." or
"The best projects often use microcontrollers (with external chips to enhance and complement their capabilities)."
if that makes sense.

[Robin2]

Which could be read as
"The best projects often use microcontrollers (with external chips) to enhance and complement their capabilities." or
"The best projects often use microcontrollers (with external chips to enhance and complement their capabilities)."

Both of those versions are technically correct   

...R

[ChrisTenone]

Chips enhance micro-controllers.

Not like that


Like this


...R

We call those fries. If it's to enhance micros, it's called ... fries electronics.

[dougp]

If you're into this sort of thing - Eats, Shoots & Leaves

[ardly]

In typical English fashion it behaves exactly opposite to the usual way to create possessive nouns which are normally denoted by a single quote as in the man's shoes

...R

There are lots of rules like 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' , but not much science.

[AWOL]

There are lots of rules like 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' , but not much science.

Fiesty!

[neiklot]

English spelling rules are weird..

[Robin2]

There are lots of rules like 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' , but not much science.

Neat.

I think you will discover that the I before E rule only applies when the sound is an eee

...R

[GolamMostafa]

There are lots of rules like 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' , but not much science.

Was the word 'science' formed based on the stated rules?  If not, why are we so aware about the syntactical and semantic rules (the rules that we have deduced from the language itself) of the Language?