*ahem*

Post #146,508 by ben_tilly 3/16/04 2:09:38 PM Reply	ahem First of all I would say don'tcha rather than dontcha. (Because of the nestled don't in there.) But I'm not sure which of those is wrong. However the possessive of a plural does not always work like you said. For instance, "The mice's burrowing noises bothered me." The American rule is much simpler in this regard. If you have to add the s to make the possessive, put ' before the s. Otherwise add it after the s. That covers both fans' and mice's. Cheers, Ben "good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not" - [link\|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html\|Stefano Mazzocchi]
Post #146,514 by pwhysall 3/16/04 2:22:39 PM Reply	Point. On "mice's" and related words, yes, good point. The American rule is simpler, but IMNAAHO, produces uglier words. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home Page - Now with added Zing!]
Post #146,517 by Nightowl 3/16/04 2:24:53 PM 3/16/04 2:25:41 PM Reply	Better Both of you helped clear up the confusion! Thanks! I wasn't good in grammar because they jumped me over basic grammar to honors English. I was so mad, because I wanted to be a writer, so I've had to more or less learn it on my own, plus a college course or two I took. Nightowl >8# Edit: Corrected sentence "Don't be a cynic and disconsolate preacher. Don't bewail and moan. Omit the negative propositions. Challenge us with incessant affirmatives. Don't waste yourself in rejection, or bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good." Ralph Waldo Emerson Edited by Nightowl March 16, 2004, 02:25:41 PM EST Expand All History
Post #146,521 by Andrew Grygus 3/16/04 2:36:52 PM Reply	The most usable book on the subject . . . . that I've encountered was given to me when I was in Jr. High (Middle School now) by a union guy who had two. English for Printers from the ITU (International Typographical Union) is completely no nonsense and designed to look thins up as quickly as possible. My copy is c1945 so it's probably been updated by now. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #146,531 by Another Scott 3/16/04 3:04:51 PM Reply	A couple of other books. [link\|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679418601/\|The Transitive Vampire] is a fun book on grammar. [link\|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0395628830/\|The New Well Tempered Sentence] - a book on punctuation, etc., by the same author - may be worth considering too. Cheers, Scott.
Post #146,942 by jb4 3/18/04 1:54:26 PM Reply	Re: ahem The American rule is much simpler in this regard. If you have to add the s to make the possessive, put ' before the s. Otherwise add it after the s. That covers both fans' and mice's. Of course, the "American Rule" is also wrong. jb4 shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub* + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating that facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf.* BULLSHIT

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