The apostrophe in one's is hotly debated, I gather.
Interesting. Never come across that debate, but I guess removing the apostrophe might be a popular idea among those who like to try to make language more logical. Is it debated in the UK, or more a US thing? I think 'it' is a bit of an odd one out among the conventional list of pronouns, as they primarily apply to people. It is the only one which simply uses its pronoun form with an 's' added to form a possessive determiner. So it's easy to pull it apart into a full word with an 's' added, same as the apostrophe possessives, which you can't do with the other pronouns that have had their entire form changed.
There was a good article or booklet on apostrophes in the Queen's English Society if I remember correctly when a member some years ago!
Another occasion where things would be so much simpler if we all spoke Welsh.
Do you speak Welsh? I can sing the first verse of the Welsh national anthem accurately, but I don't know anything about its grammar system. I tend to think Italian would be a good universal language. Its phonology is so consistent in its spelling. Much less diagnosis of dyslexia in Italy, apparently - not that it doesn't exist in the same prevalence as in the UK, but it simply causes much less of a barrier. According to some research by Uta Frith, at least, but it makes sense logically to me.
I'm studying it. I think Karl is too.
Him/his etc are the same word - but then there are many different kinds of Welsh, so they seem to get over the "Grammar Nazi" problem by just accepting that different people speak it differently with different levels of formality.
Yes. I'd say "mae o isio afal" because I am learning the Northern dialect, whereas I think Cheesy might learn something like "mae e'n moyn afal" but apart from in a sort of north/south rivalry manner neither of us would call the other wrong.
I think the "standard", such as there is one, is "mae e eisiau afal" but the formal Sunday Best (which you'd never use in speech) would be something like "y mae arno eisiau afal".
Seems that when the differences are bigger people care less.
(all above forms mean "he wants an apple")
Learners tend to pick a dialect and learn that, but always being aware of what else one might hear if travelling more than six yards beyond ones own town boundary.
Comments
Yes. I'd say "mae o isio afal" because I am learning the Northern dialect, whereas I think Cheesy might learn something like "mae e'n moyn afal" but apart from in a sort of north/south rivalry manner neither of us would call the other wrong.
I think the "standard", such as there is one, is "mae e eisiau afal" but the formal Sunday Best (which you'd never use in speech) would be something like "y mae arno eisiau afal".
Seems that when the differences are bigger people care less.
(all above forms mean "he wants an apple")
Learners tend to pick a dialect and learn that, but always being aware of what else one might hear if travelling more than six yards beyond ones own town boundary.
So while we keep this thread open for poking Betts with a pooey stick, the grammar discussion can bugger off to say, Heaven.
DT
HH
Late to this thread, but let me point out that this suggests that some find said fruit quite palatable. On Mr Betts I reserve judgement.
Whatever shall we do with such a superabundance of shipboard pedants (myself included)?
Shall we all be forced to walk the plank that is Mark Betts?
AFF