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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87
journeyman
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OP
journeyman
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87 |
Why are people who write for the media, advertising, etc. unable to master the possessive and correct use of the apostrophe!!!??? Do these poor hacks think they'd better use that apostrophe-s just in case not using it would be a big blooper? Am I the only person in the world driven to distraction by seeing the possessive wrongly applied? Is this a losing battle just like the already lost battle of "there is" when "there are" should be used? 
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
You are not alone. I'd bet that most of us here are driven to distraction by the random '''''''s found on public writing everywhere. There is a special place in purgatory for sign writers who cannot write.
Apple's .50/lb
Arghhhhhhh!
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Amen. Finally getting laconic as the day closes.
consuelo
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218 |
I notice that often, people will incorrectly use "there's" for "there is" when the verb should be plural, as in "There's fourteen dogs in my neighborhood." It bugs me, but I guess people do it because it flows off the tongue easier...
Brandon
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Brandon is (as are others) bothered by "there is" when the verb should be plural but he guesses people do it because it flows off the tongue easier.
There is that, but it's also not unknown in other languages for the corresponding idiom to be regular and singular, even in languages that have far less regularity in their verb conjugations than do we in English. See the German es gibt as in es gibt vierzehn Hünde in meinen Nachbarschaft or the Spanish hay as in en mi barrio hay catorce perros.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
Try saying "there're"! It's a bit of a mouthful (like "rural", which is a word I hate, and the name "Gareth", which my dad has trouble with). I think that's why I use "there's" in speech, although I tend to be much more careful in written stuff. As we probably all do! 
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
What I hate is when people use quotation marks for emphasis. For example, there was a sign at a 7-11 store that read:
There will be a $15 charge for "each" returned checks!
Never mind the grammar, it was the quotation marks that raised my hackles. Why can't people underline anymore?
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
Alex W > it was the quotation marks that raised my hackles
New headline writers and reporters are always cautioned about the use of quotes. The example given as to how quotes change a meaning follows:
Bishop and wife stayed overnight
Bishop and "wife" stayed overnight
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
"mea culpa","mea culpa" -- but not mea maxima culpa-- i know i am guitly of this-- and so i often edit out half the the useless quotes that have lodged them selves into a post or document... and try an go back to bold or bold and italic or color-- even thought the tags are a pain in the neck..
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87
journeyman
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OP
journeyman
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87 |
Try saying "there're"! It's a bit of a mouthfulFunny, I just run the two r's together and have no problem. To me, the lack of agreement between subject and verb is far more jarring than the flow of saying "there's" verus "there're." Faldage - vorsicht mein lieber, sonst geht's bald mit'em Deutsch bei mir auch noch los! 
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