*rant*rave*

[salixbabylon]

Thou SHALT NOT Use Apostrophes with Plurals

Thou SHALT Use Apostrophes With Possessives



Viggo stood naked in the doorway, holding bowls of strawberries and cream.

NOT bowl's or strawberrie's

Orlando's knees buckled and he lunged forward, pouncing on Viggo.

JUST Orlando's


Apostrophes Are ONLY Used With Possessives And Contractions

NEVER NEVER NEVER with Plurals.



This has been a Bitchy Public Service Announcement. Thank you for your attention.

Go Forth And Sin No More


Note:
The LOTR boys' affinity for being caught snogging in the tabloids still follows the rule - plural possessive.

Comments

[arrowthroughme.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now if you could please add 'The Use of the Apostrophe for the Advanced':

Use a possessive 's' with words that end on 's': Thomas's cat.
Use only an apostrophe when you've already used a plural 's': the Petersons' cat.

Argh!

[redrouged.livejournal.com]

what have you been reading?

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I actually got out my style guides and checked this out recently, when I was writing my thesis. Most of them seem to not use s's, but there are a few which do. I guess that's one of those rules that you can pick and choose - like alright versus all right.

It could be a regional thing, too, possibly...

Don't you love being a big grammar geek? :)

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

A few too many very good stories that really needed a beta. ;)

[arrowthroughme.livejournal.com]

You have to be a grammar geek when you teach the stuff. Especially as a forgeign language.

I'm sure the 's's' rule is right, it's probably one of those rules which is dying out because people don't use it anymore. (Like past perfect, which drives me nuts!) It still seems to be correct in England, at least my professor corrected me on it!

[chaosmanor.livejournal.com]

Want to launch into the subject of POV? I can forgive almost anything in punctuation, but I will no longer read anything where POV is wilfully mistreated.

Yes, a writer can change POV midscene, but the writer had better telegraph this very clearly to the reader.

[bubble-babs.livejournal.com]

Hey, you could post more such rules - would help the non-first-language-english-speaker-whatevers ;)
*giggles*

[causette.livejournal.com]

What your going to have to realise is that not everyone is native english speaking and theyr not going to be totally sure wether its the appropriate time to use the ' thingy or when its not!!!


*giggles* And how many errors did I make in that little statement? hehehe, but yeah, I meant what I said. In Iceland we don't even have apostrophes. And with that I'd also like to thank you because I just learned something from your post :)

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Well, I do try to give a bit of margin for error to people who don't speak English as a first language. I do strongly encourage the use of a beta who DOES speak English as a first language, however. And I have very little patience for adults in England or the US who habitually mess it up or don't use a beta.

But thank you for pointing out that other languages may not use apostrophes - I didn't know that.

*cough* Grammar Police Says: you're (because it's a contraction of you are), they're (contraction of they are), whether, and it's (contraction of it is).

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*giggle* Maybe it will become an ongoing series of posts. ;)

Seriously though, I'm always happy to answer grammar questions, and to look up the answer when I don't know it. I'm a big geek that way. :)

[causette.livejournal.com]

And I have very little patience for adults in England or the US who habitually mess it up

oh yes, I agree with you on that part. I work really hard to make as few mistakes in English as possible and NEVER say anything without Spell-Checking it first, well... except when I'm just saying, 'ohmygod Orlando's so hawt!!' *g* because he is *giggles*

but yeah, it's disrespectful to the language and not to mention just plain annoying!

Grammar Police

you do know I did those mistakes on purpose, right? hehehehe

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I'm loving the phrase "willfully mistreated" in regards to POV. :)

I agree that it's massively annoying and frequently confusing when POV switches without very clear phrasing. I'm not sure if it's grammatically wrong, though. It may be simply an indication of poor writing style.

*You* could write a rant. It could be a multi-slash-author ongoing series of grammar peeves!

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, another example of "two countries separated by a common language," or however that quote goes. ;)

"it's probably one of those rules which is dying out because people don't use it anymore" -- I think you're probably 100% correct. Which always brings up the odd contradictory feeling in my head that I want hard and fast rules so that I know what is correct... but it's also nice to see proof that the language is still alive, still changing.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Yes - I've read your stories and I've never seen mistakes that jumped out at me. The Grammar Police couldn't resist though, for the benefit of anyone who might be reading the comments. ;)

but he *is* HAWT!!!11!!! OMG *DIEZ*

*giggles*

[lisagems.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. One of the reasons I have consistantly enjoyed reading your writing is your *good* use of the language. I am often jolted from an otherwise enjoyable story by grammar and word usage that leads me to further decry our public school system.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome. :) And thank -you- for the compliment. *hugs*

I, too, am often dismayed that some of the best story ideas seem to come to people who could use a little more work on their writing skills. It makes me sad to realize that the norm of public education is slipping so much. I wish there was a polite way to say "your story idea is great but you need a much better beta." Ah well.

[lisagems.livejournal.com]

If I just had that kind of time, I would offer to beta. I'm a pretty decent proofreader, but, I work fulltime, teach part time and make jewelry to sell in the rest of the time, occasionally remembering that sleep is good. It is much happymaking to find the time to read a nice bit of slash and more than a little frustrating to see writers with good potential not knowing *how* to use the language.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

It is difficult to offer to beta when you're such a busy person. I generally try to make time for friends, but *bitch mode* there are also plenty of lists at various archives and LJ-communities, so I feel there is no excuse for someone not using one. */bitch mode*

I hope you find more time to read! :)