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Perhaps not, but it should, and I am not above being a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Joel Send a noteboard - 08/10/2011 05:17:35 PM
What, exactly, makes them "different sets" of words? Different genitive declensions? :P

It doesn't matter what makes them different; it doesn't even matter if the only thing that makes them different is the way they are made possessive. The rules are clear even if why they are rules (or should be) isn't. What is equally clear is that you are not following the rule(s), which means you are not only not right, but wrong.

If the rules lack a basis or even logic, they are once again confusing and thus counterproductive, because they are not "clear" at all, but hopelessly muddled and arbitrary. Forced to choose, I would rather be logically right than grammatically right, because the latters only merit is to aid communication and comprehension, both impossible in the absence of the former.

If I convince a majority of the public and scholars to spell "fly" with "ie" when referring to the insect, is it a legitimate rule? ;)

Well, yes :P That's kind of the whole point. So until you convince the majority of the public and scholars to adopt your treatment of possessives, you'll remain wrong. Furthermore, your readers will have to spend extra time (negligible though it may be for each individual instance) deciding from context whether you mean a word to be plural, possessive, or whether you've simply made an error. And you'll give the appearance of someone who doesn't know how to write properly, which you're obviously fine with. ;)

Bah, you lecture me on rules then end not just a sentence but the entire post with a preposition? Madness; madness, I say! :P

If it IS merely the matter of popularity I suggested, yes, it is largely irrelevant; I long ago resolved to do what I believe right rather than what is simply most popular. ;)
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Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 06:46:31 PM 1152 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... nossy - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 847 Views
I didn't see any errors Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 830 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors nossy - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 709 Views
You mean ... Nate - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 796 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. Nate - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 1025 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1307 Views
Tom can probably give you actual terms and correct rules, but here's my take on it. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:43:47 PM 795 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea... *NM* Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM 475 Views
Use them together, and only together, for fifteen years and we can discuss this again. *NM* Tom - 05/10/2011 09:32:30 PM 409 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 836 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? Nate - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 815 Views
Yeah, pretty much. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 776 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 660 Views
OK then. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 820 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have. Tom - 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM 712 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM 820 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones. Tom - 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM 668 Views
He made a mistake that I did not recognize as a mistake because I read his words as he intended. Joel - 06/10/2011 04:43:39 AM 821 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 867 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 828 Views
You're right of course! Nate - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 895 Views
I frequently am. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 899 Views
So I've noticed. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 811 Views
I like telling people, too. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 806 Views
You can use charmap. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 858 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 753 Views
Mmm, dashing. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 809 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 882 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: Tom - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 924 Views
I love this bit. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 908 Views
Bring back the BSG! Joel - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 855 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 781 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 933 Views
Re: serial comma. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 809 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 784 Views
Same here Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 686 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 769 Views
Re: Grammar junkies random thoughts - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 823 Views
Re: Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 886 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 873 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* Nate - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 400 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? Joel - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 784 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 724 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* Ghavrel - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 384 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 976 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p Nate - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 869 Views
I do not really think I am "right" on this one so much as "not wrong." Joel - 06/10/2011 12:01:36 AM 788 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! Nate - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 774 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more. *NM* Ghavrel - 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM 360 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. Joel - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 786 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. Nate - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 795 Views
Like I say, I appreciate exceptions when justified (and again, only claiming to be "not wrong." ) Joel - 06/10/2011 07:26:18 AM 688 Views
But you are wrong Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 826 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* random thoughts - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 413 Views
I disagree. Joel - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 764 Views
How utterly unsurprising Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 747 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." Joel - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 792 Views
Doesn't matter. Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 800 Views
Perhaps not, but it should, and I am not above being a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Joel - 08/10/2011 05:17:35 PM 895 Views
What. Zeeb - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 869 Views
Those cases are not the same, because those words are already possessive in their own right. Joel - 06/10/2011 10:52:06 PM 858 Views
if you have trouble understanding my post it is more likely do to typing skills than grammar random thoughts - 05/10/2011 09:31:42 PM 771 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM 745 Views
You called? Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 860 Views
Grammar schmammar! Avendesora - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 891 Views
Wongy tip #77 Two Wongs - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 757 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. TaskmasterJack - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 762 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* Nate - 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM 370 Views
I did use that once to tell the story of you and CNRedDragon going to see Ice Princess. *NM* TaskmasterJack - 07/10/2011 01:46:50 AM 390 Views
A timeless classic. Nate - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 730 Views
Re: Grammar junkies wolfsister - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 785 Views
Yes. Camilla - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 721 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." Joel - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 762 Views
I try ironclad - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 814 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 689 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. Tom - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 781 Views
I wish more people knew this. Rebekah - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 718 Views
Junky Grammar. Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 712 Views
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