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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 1079 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... nossy - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 773 Views
I didn't see any errors Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 755 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors nossy - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 633 Views
You mean ... Nate - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 686 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. Nate - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 943 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1206 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 712 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea... *NM* Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM 448 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 379 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 751 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? Nate - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 746 Views
Yeah, pretty much. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 705 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 569 Views
OK then. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 746 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have. Tom - 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM 648 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM 741 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones. Tom - 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM 603 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 749 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 795 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 728 Views
You're right of course! Nate - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 809 Views
I frequently am. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 808 Views
So I've noticed. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 718 Views
I like telling people, too. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 721 Views
You can use charmap. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 767 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 688 Views
Mmm, dashing. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 727 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 775 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: Tom - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 844 Views
I love this bit. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 837 Views
Bring back the BSG! Joel - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 750 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 703 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 843 Views
Re: serial comma. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 718 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 687 Views
Same here Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 621 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 699 Views
Re: Grammar junkies random thoughts - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 737 Views
Re: Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 786 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 784 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* Nate - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 365 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? Joel - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 687 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 646 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* Ghavrel - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 352 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 896 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p Nate - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 770 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 676 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! Nate - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 694 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more. *NM* Ghavrel - 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM 324 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. Joel - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 701 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. Nate - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 717 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 611 Views
But you are wrong Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 742 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* random thoughts - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 386 Views
I disagree. Joel - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 685 Views
How utterly unsurprising Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 637 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." Joel - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 699 Views
Doesn't matter. Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 727 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 790 Views
What. Zeeb - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 783 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 777 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 696 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM 676 Views
You called? Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 745 Views
Grammar schmammar! Avendesora - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 820 Views
Wongy tip #77 Two Wongs - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 681 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. TaskmasterJack - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 693 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* Nate - 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM 340 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 339 Views
A timeless classic. Nate - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 662 Views
Re: Grammar junkies wolfsister - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 707 Views
Yes. Camilla - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 645 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." Joel - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 685 Views
I try ironclad - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 744 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 621 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. Tom - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 646 Views
I wish more people knew this. Rebekah - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 644 Views
Junky Grammar. Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 637 Views
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