Apostrophe S

[ManlyBanisters]

:biggrin1HG... Alright, I'm not going to keep beating you. ManlyBanisters, I'll save this one for you!

Love ya, Hazel, I know it's just because I got ya flustered, and you were thinking about the untimely split of the auxilliary and the participle in that present progressive construction.

*pats HG on the head and passes him a consolitary pork chop*

Muppet!

Sorry about that. I was in too much of a hurry earlier. Am I forgiven?

No - I'm going to sulk for another 34.12 seconds, THEN you will be forgiven :smile:

 

[Viking_UK]

It's one of my bugbears since I deal with written language every day. Even when I worked in science, our papers had to be grammatically correct however good the science was or the supervisor would blow a gasket.

I had a job working for a QUANGO while at uni and every letter, press release or official report had to go through the office manager first. She'd go through them with a red pen and mark us! The best I ever got was 97% when she couldn't find anything wrong. She marked me down 3% in case I got cocky! Even the directors got that treatment. Still, it hasn't done me any harm, and, having seen some howlers coming from my last boss, (her best memo was one about the use of course - as opposed to coarse - language) I think more companies should have a grammatical guru on staff.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Still, it hasn't done me any harm, and, having seen some howlers coming from my last boss, (her best memo was one about the use of course - as opposed to coarse - language) I think more companies should have a grammatical guru on staff.

Forgive me, Viking, but I didn't spend six years of my life at the Rishikesh Grammar Police Academy fer nuttin'.
The comma should go after the second parenthesis.

 

[alex8.5]

I'm sorry but this needs doing. Again.

's is NEVER plural. NEVER NEVER NEVER.

Bicycles = more than one bicycle.

Bicycle's = something belonging to a bicycle.

Bicycles' = something(s) belonging to more than one bicycle.

Exmaples:
I own two bicycles.
My bicycle's bell goes 'ding'.
Our bicycles' bells go 'ding'.

Thank you, It's nice to know someone else can use the written language properly.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I usually do not argue with the dated dictum against splitting the infinitive. However, boldness is commendable when one has to be split. :fing26:

Dated dictum? I'm not sure how you can make that claim. There may be some few cases where splitting a compound verb may improve scansion, but I can't think of a single case where it improves clarity.

Speaking of dated dicta, how about the old "never use the passive voice"? Two points: if it exists as a part of the grammar, why is its use forbidden? (notice the subtle use of the pv there...:biggrin1 And sometimes, it better conveys the mood of the statement.

For whatever reason, the statement

"The victims' families were overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers"

seems much more effective at conveying emotion than

"The generosity of strangers overwhelmed the victims' families."

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Dated dictum? I'm not sure how you can make that claim. There may be some few cases where splitting a compound verb may improve scansion, but I can't think of a single case where it improves clarity.

I think a lot of grammar books would now describe the rule against splitting the infinitive as more and more desanctioned (to use a not quite sanctioned word) by usage.
Very often, not splitting the infinitive just sounds pretentious now.
Do we lose clarity by splitting the infinitive?
Only infinitesimally, I would say, in most cases.

 

[Viking_UK]

Forgive me, Viking, but I didn't spend six years of my life at the Rishikesh Grammar Police Academy fer nuttin'.
The comma should go after the second parenthesis.

I know. I noticed I'd done that after posting and couldn't be bothered correcting it. Maybe laziness is the real reason I only got 97%.

 

[WifeOfBath]

[quote=x704;1568823]:You_Rock_Emoticon:If I ever go to college every damned one of you grammarians are proof reading every sentence I write for a paper.:joke:
I'll await my :smashfreakB: over yonder's.:bowdown:

Heck I went to college, a few times. :biggrin1: Now, I'm afraid to post a response, for fear of being beat up by the LPSG Punctuation Police. :redface:

I think most of us here are still busy fretting at your inability to use the quote function properly to start in on your punctuation and grammar.

 

[220483]

thanks man, I such a loser with 's....!

 

[Mem]

It's (written) conversational English. No one should be grading papers.

 

[marleyisalegend]

^Conversational English?! BLASPHEMY!! This site is supposed to be full of Harvard-Grad dialogue and nothing less!!

Post lyke your fucking edumucated for Christs sake's!!

 

[WifeOfBath]

Look, let the geeks with big brains have fun. After all, when you were out having fun at recess we were all avoiding bullies by hiding in the library reading The Elements of Style.

The structure of that sentence is totally fucked up. HG? DC? Manly? Please fix for me?

 

[Catchoftheday]

Look, let the geeks with big brains have fun. After all, when you were out having fun at recess we were all avoiding bullies by hiding in the library reading The Elements of Style.

The structure of that sentence is totally fucked up. HG? DC? Manly? Please fix for me?

What about us geeks with only little brains :frown1:

 

[DC_DEEP]

Look, let the geeks with big brains have fun. After all, while you were out having fun at recess, we all were avoiding bullies by hiding in the library, reading The Elements of Style.

The structure of that sentence is totally fucked up. HG? DC? Manly? Please fix for me?

That may not be perfect, but I think it is close.

 

[WifeOfBath]

That may not be perfect, but I think it is close.

Actually, underlining the titles of books is only used when writing longhand or where italics aren't available (like on a typewriter). In general, book titles are indicated by italics only, unless they are in a paragraph that is already italicized. In that case, the title of the book would not be italicized.

For example:

In the text, Collection of Great American Short Stories, my favorite is “The Hills Are Like White Elephants.”

Quotations are used for stories, articles, papers, chapters, etc.

HA! Take that, bitch!

However, your other corrections were spot on.

 

[DC_DEEP]

HA! Take that, bitch!

However, your other corrections were spot on.

:biggrin1: I added my caveat that it was not perfect...

Now give it to me, bitch!

 

[marleyisalegend]

What you mean say WoB? Huh shawty? What fo' you be talkin' 'bout? Why come how you be say them thar words huh?

See if you can translate that into some form of English.

 

[HazelGod]

HA! Take that, bitch!

Now give it to me, bitch!

I have so got to get back up there...

Heh, have fun with that monstrosity!

 

[DC_DEEP]

I have so got to get back up there...

Heh, have fun with that monstrosity!

Hmm, let's have fun with this one, yes...

You split your compound verb, and you ended with a prepositional phrase. You used "so" as an intensifying adverb, without a comparative adverb... Hmm.

*parse, parse...*

"The proper grammar and syntax of the above statement is equal to infinity divided by the square root of negative zero."

 

[marleyisalegend]

DC, why fo' come yo' se'ences be all structuralistic and shit? Why fo' come you not just be talk like all us?

That's not an exaggeration, I've got family in GA that would make that statement sound like Shakespeare. Kinda fun though, I be think I be talk like dat da rest of dis here day!!