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Joe Blow

Joe Blow

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ASF isn't just a place to discuss the stockmarket and world events, its also a place of learning. As administrator I am unfortunately exposed on a daily basis to the regrettable spelling and grammar of some of ASF's posters. This thread is my attempt to improve people's literacy levels and consequently improve the level of posting on ASF. Take pride not just in what you say, but how you say it.

Numbercruncher, pay attention to this lesson in particular.

LESSON 1: Their, There and They're

Their is a possessive pronoun. It always describes a noun.

Note the spelling of their. It comes from the word they, so the 'e' comes before the 'i'.

There is an adverb meaning "that location." It is sometimes used with the verb to be as an idiom. It is spelled like here which means "this location."

They're is a contraction of they are. Note the spelling: The 'a' from are is replaced by an apostrophe.


Examples: Their dog has fleas. (possessive of they)

I put the collar right there. (that location)

There are five prime numbers less than ten.
(with to be)

They're 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7. (contraction of they are)

Practice here: http://www.better-english.com/easier/theyre.htm

Next lesson soon. :)
 
I here what you are saying Joe, but sumtimes those keys just get theirselves in the weigh and when you go back to reed what you have typed, well, its like those keys have a life of there own!;)
 
Prospector said:
I here what you are saying Joe, but sumtimes those keys just get theirselves in the weigh and when you go back to reed what you have typed, well, its like those keys have a life of there own!;)
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Proofread, proofread, proofread! :)

I never click 'Submit Reply' until I have read through my post at least twice to ensure that it is free of spelling and grammatical errors.
 
Prospector said:
Yup - You can't have a singular people, so it should be peoples' literacy! But for convention the ' is usually not used!:p:
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But it's possessive, so it should be people's literacy like the People's Republic of China.

Adjudicator!
 
Joe Blow said:
But it's possessive, so it should be people's literacy like the People's Republic of China.

Adjudicator!
Click to expand...

Yup - You can't have a singular people, so it should be peoples' literacy! But for convention the ' is usually not used! :p:

Too quick for me Joe! Will google some more! Pesky stuff being grammatically correct, isn't it, which is why most people just can't be bothered with it!
 
Joe Blow said:
I thought that was correct. Am I wrong?

Do we have an English teacher in the house? :D
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Joe,
Don't take any notice of me, English is my second language, my first is monosyllabic grunting... :D ...
Cheers
................Kauri
 
Prospector said:
Too quick for me Joe! Will google some more! Pesky stuff being grammatically correct, isn't it, which is why most people just can't be bothered with it!
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Sounds like lesson number two should be on the use of the apostrophe. :D
 
Yes, you are (or you're) wrong, Joe. Notice I did not say "No, you are right."

The "s" apostrophe, denotes the plural. The apostrophe is used to denote ownership or association.

Apostrophe s (‘s) is used to indicate possession for most singular nouns or plural nouns not ending in s. Example "The student's text books were out of date." (used if I were referring to one student.) However, if I was referring to all students then the sentence becomes "The students' text books were out of date."

This is also known as "Geeze, I wish youse bastards could speak English proper."
 
Judd said:
Yes, you are (or you're) wrong, Joe. Notice I did not say "No, you are right."

The "s" apostrophe, denotes the plural. The apostrophe is used to denote ownership or association.

Apostrophe s (‘s) is used to indicate possession for most singular nouns or plural nouns not ending in s. Example "The student's text books were out of date." (used if I were referring to one student.) However, if I was referring to all students then the sentence becomes "The students' text books were out of date."
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Thanks Judd! :)

Well I stand corrected. Just goes to show we can all improve our grammar and spelling irrespective of what we think we already know.
 
Except that "people" is already plural? I'm with Joe on this one (although I'm no expert) - you would say "the children's smiles", not "the childrens' smiles" - (I think!) because the plural is "children" and not "childrens"...

Good thread, Joe! We can all pull our socks up! :)

Maz
 
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