Posted on 02/01/2005 11:45:09 AM PST by floridarolf
Do you have a degree in English or think you ought to have one? Please teach us the grammar. My postings here are grammar-wise mostly fired from the hip. If it would come to marks I'd do better.
Here are my two questions:
- When do I set a comma appart from an apposition? - Do I really have to use an apostrophe in the genetive? If not, (comma right?) please rant!
Just imagine a line-break after thefirst question
Forget grammar. Work on spelling. :-)
Wow, this news thread is just screaming for a bunny/pancake picture.
Many of us without degrees in English -- "apposition"? "genetive"? -- know when to use commas and apostrophes.
Read, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss or try: www.eatsshootsandleaves.com.
> use an apostrophe in the genetive
Just to clarify: is it floridarolf's or floridarolfs (<- like in any other civilized language like German)?
Sorry, civilized=roman ;)
Use the apostrophe, e.g. "Floridarolf's incorrect way of spelling, 'genitive' substitutes an 'e' for the latter 'i'."
My qustions are serious. Here's another one: do have to say "an hour" or "a hour"? I know that if the substantive starts with a vowel I have to add an "n" to the "a". But what about words where you don't pronounce the consonant?
These are serious questions. I'd be really grateful (<- gratefull?) if someone would answer them.
Do what I do when I have an english question, I use a search engine:
http://www.google.com/search?lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=apposition
http://www.google.com/search?lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=genetive
Sometimes yes sometimes no.
Ok, I spelled "genitive" wrong. A look in the dictionary would have helped me. What I was asking about was where to set the commata.
In school we were told that "It doesn't matter too much. You won't get tested on that" (and I've made my Abitur).
OK, THX. That made it clear.
The nominative reflexor should always precede the redundant. That is, unless the redundant is a repetitive clause.
Some believe the comma after a regenerative is correct but modern usage allows it to be omitted.
Slow day, huh?
Use a comma if the appositive is after the subject (and note no capitalization of the title)," i.e. "John Smith, president of Shmo Inc." However, if the appositive is before the subject, no comma -- "President of Shmo Inc. John Smith." Same capitalization rules apply when used in the middle of a sentence.
I don't even understand your other question. Commas and apostrophes are not interchangeable.
That really helped, THX. I always wondered why they use an apostrophe but as a non native you never really dare to tell 'em about it.
The only comma-rule I'm sure about is an apposition (Emma, who is a beautiful girl, loves John). Appart from that it's only guessing but I actually need that knowledge. I hoped some cool Freeper could tell me on ten lines where to use it and where not. Otherwise I'll just buy a grammar.
My question about the apostrophe was if I use it in the genitive (floridarolf's Coke or floridarolfs Coke).
Genitive: use the apostrophe between the noun and the s, unless the noun is plural, in which case you use use the apostrophe after the s. For nouns where the plural doesn't end in s, i.e. children, you put the apostrophe between the plural noun and the s. Note: People get confused about the word "its" because the genitive form (meaning "belonging to it") has an s but no apostrophe. If you see "it's" with the apostrophe, that form is a contraction meaning "it is."
As for appositives, your example really isn't one -- since it starts with "who," it's a relative clause. An example of an appositive would be: "Susie, a beautiful girl, came to my party." In both your example and mine, though, you would set the clause/appostive apart by commas because you don't need the information enclosed in the commas for the sentence to retain its meaning.
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