It often happens that you read or hear phrases like “This thing has nothing to do with it”. Yet, if you look closely, there is something that doesn’t convince: why should it “center”that is, getting to the heart of something, an issue that has no connection to the topic you are talking about? The correct form, in fact, is “has anything to do with it”. And behind that seemingly insignificant apostrophe lies a more interesting grammatical story than it might seem: every time we write it has something to do with itwe are using a linguistic form born from the contraction of “it enters”; when we write centerinstead, we are using the verb “to center.” These are two expressions that seem almost the same to the ear, but which tell very different stories.
The reason is simple: “has anything to do with it” is not the voice of the verb “to center”but it is the contraction of the phrase “comes in”. Originally, therefore, it was said literally “this thing comes into it”in the sense of “has to do”“is part of the issue”“It connects to the topic we’re talking about.”. With the passage of time and due to the phonetic similarity with the third person singular of the present indicative of the verb centrare, Italian speakers have no longer been able to recognize the correct etymology of the expression, which today is not very clear.
“Center” has a completely different meaning. As already mentioned, it is the third person singular of the present indicative of the verb centerwhat does it mean “hit the center”“put at the centre” or “hit the target”. For this reason phrases like “you’ve nailed the problem” they are perfectly correct.
To get your bearings, a very simple test is enough: if the expression can be replaced with “has to do”then you have to write it has something to do with it. For example: “This question has nothing to do with it” is equivalent to saying «This question has nothing to do with the discussion». If, however, we are talking about a target, a center or an objective achieved with precision, then the verb comes into play center: «You got the point».
This mistake is so common because, in speech, it has something to do with it And center they have an almost identical pronunciation. However, when we move on to writing, the difference becomes fundamental: a simple apostrophe changes not only the form of the word, but also its origin and meaning. It’s one of those cases where grammar seems like a negligible detail, but in reality it completely changes the meaning of a sentence.
