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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:33:38
i'm sure someone has mastered this...
'... when it is rightly associated with the persons anomalous experience'
it is the anomalous experience of the person...
but there are lots of people each with their own anomalous experience...apostrophe???
where abouts???
ta.
Posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:37:56
In reply to apostrophe rule..., posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:33:38
'delusional subjects...'
(lots of different people who experience delusion)
???
(i think that is no apostrophe...)
how about
'confronting delusional subjects with their contradictions'
(many people each with their own contradiction)
??
ta again.
:-)
Posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 20:57:58
In reply to apostrophe rule..., posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:33:38
I think the apostrophe would be at the end of persons' like that, to indicate that it is plural.
I *think*
Posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 20:59:47
In reply to Re: apostrophe rule..., posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:37:56
> 'delusional subjects...'
>
> (lots of different people who experience delusion)
>
> ???
>
> (i think that is no apostrophe...)That's right.
>
> how about
>
> 'confronting delusional subjects with their contradictions'
>
> (many people each with their own contradiction)
>
> ??
>
That's fine as it is.
Posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 21:02:30
In reply to apostrophe rule..., posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:33:38
I just checked, yes, if there is more than one person, you put the apostrophe after the final 's'
Posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 21:05:11
In reply to Re: apostrophe rule... » alexandra_k, posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 20:59:47
> > 'confronting delusional subjects with their contradictions'
> > (many people each with their own contradiction)> That's fine as it is.
Hmm. Are you sure?
I worried a bit about whether the subjects have the contradictions and there is more than one subject so maybe it went like this: subjects'but i dunno...
my supervisor has given me many a lecture on this but i get lost... and he's given it so many times i get a little afraid of asking him again...thanks for the help :-)
Posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 21:06:23
In reply to Re: apostrophe rule... » Gabbix2, posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 21:05:11
thanks - just saw your third post :-)
how are you today???
Posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 21:10:39
In reply to Re: apostrophe rule... » Gabbix2, posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 21:05:11
you've already shown ownership by saying "Their" contradictions" Now, had you said simply 'Subjects contradictions' you would have needed an apostrophe at the end of Subjects because there is no other way to indicate ownership.
The only time you need an apostrophe is to replace a missing letter, or to show ownership.
Posted by Damos on September 22, 2005, at 23:22:41
In reply to apostrophe rule..., posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:33:38
For future reference. The Apostrophe Protection Society.
Posted by alexandra_k on September 23, 2005, at 10:25:15
In reply to Re: apostrophe rule... » alexandra_k, posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 21:10:39
I get a mental block dealing with language sometimes...
It can be as bad as math :-(But I know it isn't that bad because I can get it sometimes... Then it just seems to escape me again.
Good link :-)
I'll keep that one for future reference
Ta.
Posted by caraher on September 23, 2005, at 10:45:33
In reply to Re: apostrophe rule... » alexandra_k, posted by Gabbix2 on September 22, 2005, at 21:10:39
> The only time you need an apostrophe is to replace a missing letter, or to show ownership.
I have no source for this but it seems plausible...
The origin of 's to indicate ownership was as a contraction of "his" so "the cat's pajamas" is shorthand for something like "the cat - his pajamas."
And of course, you only need "his" if women don't own property ;)
Posted by Joslynn on September 23, 2005, at 15:27:46
In reply to apostrophe rule..., posted by alexandra_k on September 22, 2005, at 20:33:38
I hate to confuse matters, but I work in the language field, and I really think it should be the person's, singular possessive, with the apostrophe before the s. I say this because you wrote THE person's, and using the makes it singular. The person, just one person. The individual. If you do in fact mean more than one person, than the word the needs to come out.
If you want, you could change it to people's, no THE, if you want it to be plural. Persons plural isn't that common and people sounds more natural. Sometimes you see persons plural in phrases like "persons of color," in which case, it is plural, because it refers to more than one person, not just THE one person. If you use THE before person, you are referring to one person, unless you delineated persons as plural previously in the sentence? The word the is "used as a function word to indicate that a following noun is a unique or particular member of its class." (webster's)
If in fact you really mean all people in general, then say people's.
Does that make any sense or am I confusing the matter more?
On a related topic, there was a new wave band in the eighties called The The.
Posted by Gabbix2 on September 23, 2005, at 17:38:30
In reply to person's, posted by Joslynn on September 23, 2005, at 15:27:46
> I hate to confuse matters, but I work in the language field, and I really think it should be the person's, singular possessive, with the apostrophe before the s. I say this because you wrote THE person's, and using the makes it singular. The person, just one person. The individual. If you do in fact mean more than one person, than the word the needs to come out.
>
I hate to confuse matters, but I work in the language field, and I really think it should be the person's, singular possessive, with the apostrophe before the s. I say this because you wrote THE person's, and using the makes it singular. The person, just one person. The individual. If you do in fact mean more than one person, than the word the needs to come out.
>Putting "the" before it doesn't necessarily make it singular. As in "the persons involved"
To make a plural noun possessive, simply add an apostrophe to the word. If the plural does not end in an s, then add an apostrophe plus s.
Examples: The girls' dresses
(The dresses belonging to the girls.)This was taken from "The rules of apostrophes"
Concurring with that from Damos's great suggestion "The apostrophe protection society"
... however, if there are two or more dogs, companies or Joneses in our example, the apostrophe comes after the 's':
the dogs' bones
the companies' logos
Joneses' bakeries
Posted by alexandra_k on September 23, 2005, at 19:13:33
In reply to Re: person's » Joslynn, posted by Gabbix2 on September 23, 2005, at 17:38:30
okay...
so i'll admit that i got a little lost...
so i went and got someone down the hall to check it.i don't know why but i start to get a mental block in considering all this.
but... i need to do something about it.
i shall learn the rule by christmas, okay?
thanks for the thoughts everyone
:-)
Posted by Gabbix2 on September 23, 2005, at 19:48:13
In reply to Re: person's, posted by alexandra_k on September 23, 2005, at 19:13:33
> okay...
> so i'll admit that i got a little lost...
> so i went and got someone down the hall to check it.
>That just shows how smart you are!
> thanks for the thoughts everyoneYour welcome, How are you?
Posted by alexandra_k on September 24, 2005, at 0:18:57
In reply to Re:, posted by Gabbix2 on September 23, 2005, at 19:48:13
> That just shows how smart you are!
Yup. You should have seen me in extra help stats ;-)
> Your welcome, How are you?I'm okay, thanks for asking.
Posted by Joslynn on September 27, 2005, at 16:57:10
In reply to Re: person's » Joslynn, posted by Gabbix2 on September 23, 2005, at 17:38:30
Now I'm confuzzled!
I thought it was singular not just because of the 'the', but because it said "the person's anomalous experience" singular (not experiences with an -s).
And if it's an anomalous experience, something unusual, then that also makes me think that the writer means the individual, not all people. I am just trying to guess the original intent of the writer.
Anyway, this was probably already handed in one way or another, as I am late in responding to this.
Posted by Tamar on September 27, 2005, at 17:44:40
In reply to Re: person's, posted by Joslynn on September 27, 2005, at 16:57:10
Just adding my voice to the discussion…
> Now I'm confuzzled!
>
> I thought it was singular not just because of the 'the', but because it said "the person's anomalous experience" singular (not experiences with an -s).The apostrophe would appear in the same place whether the experience is singular or plural.
> And if it's an anomalous experience, something unusual, then that also makes me think that the writer means the individual, not all people. I am just trying to guess the original intent of the writer.
On the other hand, several people could have anomalous experiences. And, for example, a group of six people could share an anomalous experience.
Sometimes it’s easier to see how it works in a full sentence:
Harriet said the person’s anomalous experience was like being in bed with an elephant.
Harriet said the person’s anomalous experiences were happening only on Mondays.
Harriet said the people’s anomalous experience was a collective delusion.
Harriet said the people’s anomalous experiences were potentially dangerous.Just my two cents’ worth…
Tamar
Posted by Joslynn on September 28, 2005, at 11:27:56
In reply to Re: person's » Joslynn, posted by Tamar on September 27, 2005, at 17:44:40
Oh, that makes sense, I guess it could be either way.
I myself have had anomalous experiences on Mondays! (But not involving elephants.)
This is the end of the thread.
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