09-04-2012, 01:17 PM | #106 |
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Loving this thread. To all my fellow language geeks, can I just say:
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09-04-2012, 04:05 PM | #107 | |
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"The book's mission...." has an apostrophe, so replace "The book" with "It" and just add the apostrophe s.... Personally, to avoid that, suggest remembering the other side: If you're not trying to say "It is" then don't use the contraction "it's". If you catch my drift, as they say. |
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09-04-2012, 04:23 PM | #108 | |
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But yes, the reasons why you stated above is entirely why it seems natural for an apostrophe to be in all possessives. "The dog's paw was hurt." "Rover's paw was hurt" yet no apostrophe allowed for "Its paw was hurt." Pronouns are the exception. English is one of those languages with fewer reliable rules than in other languages I've dabbled in. (I'm not fluent in French but was good at it in school). So I can see why people are frustrated that the rules for possessives seem to be bass-ackwards. |
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09-04-2012, 04:45 PM | #109 |
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As someone who learned English as a second language, I'm baffled that people can confuse its and it's. I never had to unlearn the mistake because I never learned it in the first place
Of course the spell checker has its own ideas and has a tendency to put in ' willy nilly, causing me to doubt myself (wait, is that right? No, why am I listening to this thing?) |
09-05-2012, 03:21 AM | #110 | |
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09-05-2012, 03:34 AM | #111 |
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But it's surely an exception that should be taught at the earliest stages of literacy, is it not? The fact that such a large proportion of otherwise reasonably literate adults are getting it wrong (even authors!) is what baffles me, because it's such a simple thing to remember.
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09-05-2012, 05:06 AM | #112 | |
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I at least expect it when someone is touting themselves as an accomplished author I give a tiny bit more latitude when it's someone I don't know or a casual exchange, because I don't know someone's hidden issues. Not everyone can grasp these things logically. I have encountered many people with many different skills (my oldest adult child has special needs which are not obvious just by looking at her), and the reality is people just 'catch on' at different rates and about different subjects. I remember one time getting annoyed after reading one person telling me for the umpteenth time, that they were trying to 'loose' weight, and my insensitivity came back in my face But yes, at least where writing and being published is a part of their profession, I expect them to have some way to make up for foibles and grammar mistakes that they know they possess. |
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09-05-2012, 05:56 AM | #113 | |
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All this is just me loosely speaking of course. |
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09-05-2012, 06:03 AM | #114 | |
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Don't do it, resist the temptation. Stop. You can do it - you can walk away. No, stop I said! Walk away now. Say nothing. Ok - I'll look at another post. |
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09-05-2012, 06:56 AM | #115 |
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.....
Last edited by david_e; 09-05-2012 at 03:22 PM. |
09-05-2012, 08:42 AM | #116 |
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09-05-2012, 09:36 AM | #117 | |
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09-05-2012, 02:43 PM | #118 |
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I'd post another message in this thread, but I am afraid my grammar, spelling and punctuation would be ripped apart. :0
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09-05-2012, 04:04 PM | #119 |
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The English language is a Rube-Goldberg creation, that is far more complicated than it has to be, but that doesn't make it ugly. Still, if I became dictator, I would standardize the "i before e, except after c, or when sounded as a as in neighbor or weigh" thing (and even then, there are exceptions).
If anyone says "I'm glad you're not the dictator," well, you're going on my list, for when I am the dictator. |
09-05-2012, 05:27 PM | #120 | |
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I don't think it's so much that people can't remember it as that they just write on autopilot what they would say in their heads and don't think about what, specifically, they are writing down as long as there are no obvious misspellings. |
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