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Re: [Phys-l] Sir, Can We Do Something Easier?



Be warned." Finally,
Lynne Truss in "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" gives several pages of misplaced
apostrophes, e.g. Dear Mr. Steven's, XMA'S Trees, Glady's (badge on
salesgirl), and Did'sbury.

Some of these examples could be ambiguous.
Could XMA's Trees be implying that the trees belong to XMA?
As to Glady, perhaps it is labeling a part of the anatomy as belonging to
her, depending on where she wears it!

One of the reasons for misapplied things like apostrophes is that English is
a polyglot language and foreign examples then influence common English
usage. The apostrophe is used in completely different ways in some other
languages, for example Hebrew. I am not claiming that Hebrew is the
influence here, but just pointing out a language which uses the apostrophe
in completely different ways.

A good example of this is the grammar maven's "It is I". French says "C'est
moi" or in literal translation "It's me". The "It is I" construction is
from the Latin, and may actually be alien to English. The double negative
which has become all too common in everyday English is probably a
misapplication of the romance language usage. French and Spanish use a two
word negative. In the case of French the two words form a single negative.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX