English question

**Mikeus Caesar** · 03-12-2006, 15:03

Eheheh...i love our confusing language.

**aw89** · 03-12-2006, 15:19

English grammar is nothing against German grammer, there is a reason why it's called grammar nazi you know!

**L'Impresario** · 03-12-2006, 16:01

Well,the "'s" isn't anything overly peculiar,it's jut a remnant of the Anglo-saxon language, with its nice germanic cases, "'s" being the ending fr the genetive one.
English slowly lost its highly inflective character and therefore the role of cute morphemes like "'s" became quite a topic for discussion.
From what I 've come to read the last few years, I 'm more inclined to classify it as a clitic, like "will" becomes " 'll " and sticks near the personal pronoun, similarly the ending -es became over the years "'s" and find a nice home behind the noun.

**Somebody Else** · 03-13-2006, 11:26

To me, it's " 's " , even if the word ends in "s". Unless it's a plural, in which case it ends in " ' ".

Jesus's cross: The disciples' teacher's cross.

**Avicenna** · 03-13-2006, 15:05

One very common misuse of the apostrophe is in it's.

It's = it is
It's =/= the possession of it

If it owns a pencil, it is its pencil.

Don't ask me why, but this is a peculiar rule in the language.

**L'Impresario** · 03-13-2006, 15:12

It's = it is
It's =/= the possession of it

If it owns a pencil, it is its pencil.

Don't ask me why, but this is a peculiar rule in the language.

Nothing of any peculiarity;)
"Its" is a possesive pronoun, not a noun. Maybe in a century or so, pronouns will get their "'s" divided, but then there would be an identification problem with the "'s" clitic as in "he's" (is/has).

**Big King Sanctaphrax** · 03-13-2006, 20:18

Originally Posted by Somebody Else

To me, it's " 's " , even if the word ends in "s". Unless it's a plural, in which case it ends in " ' ".

Jesus's cross: The disciples' teacher's cross.

This is the way I do it.

I hope no-one asks about semi-colons...

**lancelot** · 03-13-2006, 20:40

Dont get me started on semi-colons. I have yet to find an understandable explanation as to their use...

**Craterus** · 03-13-2006, 23:27

Learn how to use semi-colons

Oddly (?) enough, I have more trouble with apostrophes than semi-colons.

**Sjakihata** · 03-15-2006, 13:38

Originally Posted by aw89

English grammar is nothing against German grammer, there is a reason why it's called grammar nazi you know!

German grammar is much easier than English grammar.

**Dutch_guy** · 03-15-2006, 21:17

Originally Posted by Sjakihata

German grammar is much easier than English grammar.

Don't agree with you on that Sjak, personally I find English grammar way easier than German...

**Sjakihata** · 03-15-2006, 22:57

But there is no logic in english grammar what so ever, unlike german grammar. You can analyze everything and have a set of rules (with some exceptions, but then a subrule) and you can easily learn it theoretically, whereas english requires practical hands-on work.
The only reason, probably, you and I are better at english than german, is because we were taught english from a much earlier age. Looking at it objectively I'd claim german grammar is easier.