It’s not extraneous, since it separates lines of verse.
OK, Lynne Truss. Mea maxima culpa.
You do realize, don’t you, the difference between a typo and a mistake made out of ignorance, and that nobody seriously objects to the former?
Oh yeah?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
If you’ll recall (I know, it was so long ago), the discussion had veered to whether apostrophes were necessary at all. I submitted that if they served to differentiate one word from another (pairs of words that had entirely different meanings with and without the apostrophe), then they were necessary.
If you have read very much at all, you know that the use of an apostrophe to indicate a contraction–not just something like “can’t” or “they’re,” but also the omission of a syllable—is not just a “specialized use” but a very, very common tool. Aside from its use in plays, poems, and the like, it’s often used to indicate vernacular speech. Without it, the tone and flavor of such speech can’t be captured (using it was part of Samuel Clemens’ genius).
The first two pairs are contrasting nouns with auxiliary verbs and the second two pairs (let me pause for a second while I take some joy in that construction) are contrasting a noun and an adjective with pronoun/model contractions. I think there’s little danger of getting them confused within context.
Dipshit, you use a slash, not a comma.
And how many poems and plays are you reading here that are fucked up because there was apostrophe misused or unused?
Though I guess if you have to read EVERYTHING here to yourself out loud to understand it I guess that might be a problem.
This thread use to be funner.
I’ve accepted that the word “fewer” is going the way of the dodo and now just sigh when I see “Now with less calories!” or “Ten or less items.” But misuse of “literally”? I won’t go down without a fight.
Yes, I get all huffy when people misuse incredible, too.
And terrific.
Bzzt! Wrongo-dongo! Its supposed to be “Your a moron”
I don’t like it when people use usage to sound fancy when they should use use.
And “awesome” only to mean something really, really good.
Cool the rage, billfish. My argument was not restricted to the posts on this thread.
As far as how many poems and plays in general have been fucked up for that reason–thousands, and the number of times, millions.
And try to control your urge to make snarky comments like that–it just makes you look stupid and degrades whatever point you were feebly trying to make.
Until them that do’nt think propurr English speling and usige matters, an’ started name call’in to coverup there feelings of inferiorness.
Us grammer Notzees git peepul SO upsetful!
No, what makes you look stupid is when you complain about improper use of the language while misusing misconstrues. Unless you are actually pitting people who look at the word its and mistake it for a word with a different meaning.
Why not snark?
You expect us to take your complaint (much less your arguements) seriously?
I have plenty of things in my life in the real world to be proud of or thankful for. I don’t need a reputation on the interconnected series of tubes for being smart or (gawd help me even more) for having perfect grammar and spelling, to pull out an existential “hail mary” to feel good about myself.
Your mileage may vary.
What could go wrong with using literally to mean its exact opposite?
Awesome.
I like “High Fullutent” and “Sport’s Nut’s” (apostrophes sic).
Any worshipers at the altar of description may not laugh though - anything goes, after all.