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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 1144 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... nossy - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 838 Views
I didn't see any errors Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 823 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors nossy - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 702 Views
You mean ... Nate - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 790 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. Nate - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 1016 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1301 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 790 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea... *NM* Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM 474 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 406 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 825 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? Nate - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 808 Views
Yeah, pretty much. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 769 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 651 Views
OK then. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 811 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have. Tom - 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM 707 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM 815 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones. Tom - 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM 662 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 817 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 860 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 820 Views
You're right of course! Nate - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 885 Views
I frequently am. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 894 Views
So I've noticed. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 806 Views
I like telling people, too. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 800 Views
You can use charmap. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 851 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 749 Views
Mmm, dashing. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 802 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 873 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: Tom - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 917 Views
I love this bit. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 901 Views
Bring back the BSG! Joel - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 838 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 774 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 926 Views
Re: serial comma. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 803 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 776 Views
Same here Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 680 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 757 Views
Re: Grammar junkies random thoughts - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 818 Views
Re: Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 877 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 866 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* Nate - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 399 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? Joel - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 776 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 719 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* Ghavrel - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 382 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 968 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p Nate - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 861 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 780 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! Nate - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 767 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more. *NM* Ghavrel - 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM 359 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. Joel - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 780 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. Nate - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 788 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 679 Views
But you are wrong Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 815 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* random thoughts - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 412 Views
I disagree. Joel - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 758 Views
How utterly unsurprising Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 737 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." Joel - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 786 Views
Doesn't matter. Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 796 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 883 Views
What. Zeeb - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 864 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 852 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 766 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM 742 Views
You called? Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 852 Views
Grammar schmammar! Avendesora - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 886 Views
Wongy tip #77 Two Wongs - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 750 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. TaskmasterJack - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 754 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* Nate - 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM 368 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 389 Views
A timeless classic. Nate - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 727 Views
Re: Grammar junkies wolfsister - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 779 Views
Yes. Camilla - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 716 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." Joel - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 754 Views
I try ironclad - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 810 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 685 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. Tom - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 774 Views
I wish more people knew this. Rebekah - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 710 Views
Junky Grammar. Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 707 Views
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