04-23-2012, 09:40 AM | #31 | |||
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Sadly, it's not possible to make assumptions about either a child's toilet training or reading age any longer! |
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04-23-2012, 09:47 AM | #32 | |
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What's difficult about that |
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04-23-2012, 09:49 AM | #33 | |
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Jones', Jones's, Joneseses's'? |
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04-23-2012, 09:53 AM | #34 | |
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More generally, the apostrophe in a possessive comes after the "s" when the word ends in an "s". Eg: the cat's dinner <-- the dinner of one cat the cats' dinner <-- the dinner of many cats BUT, with a proper name, it's conventional to use "'s" even when the word ends in an "s". Eg, Dickens's novels not Dickens' novels |
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04-23-2012, 09:53 AM | #35 | |
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If that's the goal. You can also use it to undermine someone's ability and keep them from ever developing competence. |
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04-23-2012, 10:01 AM | #36 |
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This is one of those "rules" that's currently in rather a state of flux, with several of the most prominent style guides disagreeing. The "old" rule, stated in the Holt Guide to English was basically that if the syllable was pronounced then 's would be used (Lewis's) and if the syllable wasn't pronounced then the s was dropped (James'). AP style now tends to eschew that, whereas the Chicago Manual still sticks with it, and Fowler seems to be sitting on the fence, pointing out that it is more usual now to use "Jones's", with more than one Jones remaining as "Joneses".
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04-23-2012, 10:01 AM | #37 | |
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But by the same token, you can undermine someone's education and ability to perform later on by ignoring or not correcting mistakes. I keep hearing stories of kids who are graduated out of high school as functional illiterates because the schools didn't want to damage their self esteem by failing them. ApK |
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04-23-2012, 10:30 AM | #38 |
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And I think that, you, Stitchawl, are just playing the devil's advocate here to get a good discussion going. And it worked.
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04-23-2012, 11:02 AM | #39 |
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But does this, as Doc Nafario suggests, make you feel as though you are doing all the work of the author, or shouldn't we all just lighten up a little and accept things for what they are?
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04-23-2012, 11:14 AM | #40 |
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"Split infinitives" are merely an example of the Victorian obsession with trying to force English into the mold of Latin grammar, even when it doesn't really fit. In Latin, an infinitive is a single word, and hence can't be split, therefore (the argument ran) you also shouldn't split an infinitive in English. Absolute nonsense (IMHO).
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04-23-2012, 11:17 AM | #41 |
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Let me ask you, Justin: why do you feel that it's unreasonable to expect an author to be able to use grammar correctly? I would expect a carpenter to know how to use a saw; shouldn't I equally expect an author to be able to know how to use his tools correctly?
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04-23-2012, 11:17 AM | #42 |
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04-23-2012, 11:19 AM | #43 |
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I have to entirely agree with you!
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04-23-2012, 11:36 AM | #44 |
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Count me in with Harry's original post as well. You have to know the rules before you break them. Otherwise you're just a hack.
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04-23-2012, 11:49 AM | #45 |
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Let me ask you Harry: where the hell did I say that?
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