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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 1174 Views
I'm not always sure that I'm correct, but.... nossy - 05/10/2011 07:04:13 PM 871 Views
I didn't see any errors Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 07:24:27 PM 849 Views
Re: I didn't see any errors nossy - 06/10/2011 03:14:07 PM 731 Views
You mean ... Nate - 06/10/2011 03:58:32 PM 824 Views
Must ... have ... grammar. Nate - 05/10/2011 07:53:34 PM 1045 Views
For you and Tom as well, the same question about question eight. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:33:39 PM 1338 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 815 Views
Er...yes I meant them as a singular idea... *NM* Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:47:34 PM 485 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 421 Views
That makes sense as far as it goes. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:02:42 PM 880 Views
But do you actually regard them that way? Nate - 05/10/2011 09:08:36 PM 835 Views
Yeah, pretty much. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:25:18 PM 796 Views
Re: Yeah, pretty much. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:29:33 PM 683 Views
OK then. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:59:50 PM 843 Views
No, Joel. You're just wrong. Again. Get used to it. We have. Tom - 05/10/2011 09:31:21 PM 737 Views
I can live with being wrong, at least in the sense of technical error. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:06:30 PM 846 Views
Let's just pare this down to the bare bones. Tom - 06/10/2011 01:37:30 AM 690 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 842 Views
You bring up a point that I was researching the other day Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:53:40 PM 890 Views
You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:00:25 PM 854 Views
You're right of course! Nate - 05/10/2011 09:13:44 PM 922 Views
I frequently am. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:16:38 PM 917 Views
So I've noticed. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:19:38 PM 839 Views
I like telling people, too. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:34:50 PM 827 Views
You can use charmap. Joel - 05/10/2011 10:21:32 PM 880 Views
Re: You guys mean a hyphen, not a dash. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:15:02 PM 777 Views
Mmm, dashing. Nate - 05/10/2011 09:02:53 PM 832 Views
Emdashing is an entirely different form of punctuation. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:07:36 PM 905 Views
Achtung! Grammatik! :insert Nazi-saluting smiley as the Wehrmacht marches by: Tom - 05/10/2011 08:10:45 PM 947 Views
I love this bit. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:26:52 PM 930 Views
Bring back the BSG! Joel - 05/10/2011 08:55:32 PM 879 Views
Re: your 2nd irritating error for question 2 Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:12:49 PM 803 Views
Good poll, especially for this site. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:11:10 PM 956 Views
Re: serial comma. Nate - 05/10/2011 08:31:58 PM 833 Views
Maybe I was being a little anal there. Joel - 05/10/2011 08:35:33 PM 809 Views
Same here Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:43:34 PM 709 Views
I think it's conventional to use a comma before "etc". Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:55:11 PM 791 Views
Re: Grammar junkies random thoughts - 05/10/2011 08:33:06 PM 842 Views
Re: Grammar junkies Dark Knight - 05/10/2011 08:49:43 PM 907 Views
People should talk in a way that can be understood, else they are not communicating. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:17:37 PM 900 Views
Re: "everyone's". ~winky~ *NM* Nate - 05/10/2011 09:22:18 PM 409 Views
Is it time for my lecture on superfluous apostrophes again? Joel - 05/10/2011 09:43:47 PM 806 Views
You mean your lecture on "superfluous" apostrophes. Rebekah - 05/10/2011 09:53:31 PM 742 Views
As have I. Multiple times. *NM* Ghavrel - 05/10/2011 09:55:08 PM 394 Views
I am not stubborn, just true to my convictions. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:56:39 PM 997 Views
Unsurprisingly, I don't really agree with you at all on this point. :p Nate - 05/10/2011 10:29:59 PM 893 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 812 Views
But contradictions are inherent in the entire English language! Nate - 06/10/2011 01:25:39 AM 801 Views
Ghoti. Also, this is why Rebekah and don't argue this any more. *NM* Ghavrel - 06/10/2011 04:44:42 AM 371 Views
Sure, but not deliberate ones created by grammarians who know better. Joel - 06/10/2011 05:40:58 AM 807 Views
I'm going to listen to the others. Nate - 06/10/2011 06:17:18 AM 825 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 710 Views
But you are wrong Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 02:17:40 PM 853 Views
that is OK he is very good at being wrong *NM* random thoughts - 06/10/2011 03:43:23 PM 425 Views
I disagree. Joel - 07/10/2011 12:15:14 AM 790 Views
How utterly unsurprising Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 02:21:38 PM 779 Views
"We want to be nothing if not persistent." Joel - 07/10/2011 02:39:19 PM 815 Views
Doesn't matter. Sareitha Sedai - 07/10/2011 03:12:14 PM 820 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 921 Views
What. Zeeb - 06/10/2011 06:17:41 PM 896 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 884 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 798 Views
Likely so; I have the same problem, but usually when writing by hand. Joel - 05/10/2011 09:53:08 PM 767 Views
You called? Rebekah - 05/10/2011 08:53:54 PM 882 Views
Grammar schmammar! Avendesora - 05/10/2011 09:01:47 PM 918 Views
Wongy tip #77 Two Wongs - 05/10/2011 11:15:12 PM 781 Views
#1) I do not use NetSpeak while playing games, texting or using social media. TaskmasterJack - 05/10/2011 11:34:12 PM 784 Views
What about NateSpeak? *NM* Nate - 06/10/2011 04:01:08 PM 380 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 400 Views
A timeless classic. Nate - 07/10/2011 01:53:36 AM 755 Views
Re: Grammar junkies wolfsister - 06/10/2011 01:17:28 AM 808 Views
Yes. Camilla - 06/10/2011 06:53:46 AM 745 Views
I forgot about "of" for "have." Joel - 06/10/2011 07:31:11 AM 789 Views
I try ironclad - 06/10/2011 09:18:29 AM 839 Views
I freebase split infinitives on a regular basis. Stephen - 06/10/2011 01:53:36 PM 709 Views
The split infinitive is not grammatically incorrect. Tom - 06/10/2011 02:04:34 PM 803 Views
I wish more people knew this. Rebekah - 06/10/2011 07:38:46 PM 741 Views
Junky Grammar. Sareitha Sedai - 06/10/2011 04:24:01 PM 741 Views
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