Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't think we're envious of children nowadays having it to easy. We're just worried, the planet is going to be left in the hand's of dumber people less smartphone's, less tablet's more analog experience may do the trick...
I'm just wondering -- how do people learn to use apostrophe's to make word's plural?
Maybe the same way people learn to use seemingly random quotation "mark's" for "emphasis."
I'm just wondering -- how do people learn to use apostrophe's to make word's plural?
Maybe the same way people learn to use seemingly random quotation "mark's" for "emphasis."
If you ever figure it out, please let me know? I am always baffled by the seemingly random usage of apostrophes some people utilize. One word ending in "s" will have an apostrophe, while another won't, and it seems so unfair.
There is a sign in my neighborhood for a church and they have the word, "welcome" in quotation marks and I read it as sarcasm. I just can't help but picture the minister being snarky at the door, "Oh, you're here. Greeeeeaaaat. Welcome. Whateverrr."
I'm just wondering -- how do people learn to use apostrophe's to make word's plural?
I think it's a matter of NOT learning--or perhaps more correctly, not paying attention when they were in school.
I know that there are lots of folks who like to attribute this type of misusage to "modern schools", but that opinion doesn't help to explain the folks whom I know--in their 60s, 70s, and 80s--who seem to be clueless regarding the difference between plurals and possessives, who use "there" in place of "they're or "their", and who think that "a lot" is one non-word, namely "alot".
We have always had people who did not pay proper attention when they were students, but their inability to communicate correctly in their native language was mostly hidden--until the advent of internet blogs and forums. And, this lack of learning isn't limited to language skills. Back in the '70s, my brother repeatedly tried to teach one of his middle-aged sales clerks how to calculate a 10% discount by simply moving the decimal point. After about 40 minutes of attempted instruction, his employee was just as clueless as she had been before he began, and he simply gave up.
if you ever figure it out, please let me know? I am always baffled by the seemingly random usage of apostrophes some people utilize. One word ending in "s" will have an apostrophe, while another won't, and it seems so unfair. :d
there is a sign in my neighborhood for a church and they have the word, "welcome" in quotation marks and i read it as sarcasm. I just can't help but picture the minister being snarky at the door, "oh, you're here. Greeeeeaaaat. Welcome. Whateverrr."
I think it's a matter of NOT learning--or perhaps more correctly, not paying attention when they were in school.
I know that there are lots of folks who like to attribute this type of misusage to "modern schools", but that opinion doesn't help to explain the folks whom I know--in their 60s, 70s, and 80s--who seem to be clueless regarding the difference between plurals and possessives, who use "there" in place of "they're or "their", and who think that "a lot" is one non-word, namely "alot".
We have always had people who did not pay proper attention when they were students, but their inability to communicate correctly in their native language was mostly hidden--until the advent of internet blogs and forums. And, this lack of learning isn't limited to language skills. Back in the '70s, my brother repeatedly tried to teach one of his middle-aged sales clerks how to calculate a 10% discount by simply moving the decimal point. After about 40 minutes of attempted instruction, his employee was just as clueless as she had been before he began, and he simply gave up.
And most seem mystified by the ellipsis...
Some use it as decoration "Welcome! Take off your...shoes!" (The suspense! What will they ask me to remove?)
Some seem to think it's like a period plus spaces "You should do it...It's important...I always like when someone does it..."
Sometimes they use MORE dots for emphasis "I like dogs.Dogs are great..Everybody should have a dog..."
In the NJ forum, we have a semi-regular poster who expresses the ellipsis with a series of commas.
'tis a mystery
Do they use the commas where a ellipsis belongs? I've seen several commas used instead of a period,,,What are they thinking?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
