[Goober5000]

Okay, come on guys, one more time:

"Oh, if you want it to be possessive, it's just I-T-S; but if it's supposed to be a contraction then it's I-T-apostrophe-S."  Scalawag.

[Taristin]

Okay, come on guys, one more time:

"Oh, if you want it to be possessive, it's just I-T-S; but if it's supposed to be a contraction then it's I-T-apostrophe-S."  Scalawag.

The trouble is that that's contradictory to names and ownership. We say Goober's item. Or we say the tree's branches. So in our minds, It's looks like belonging to, rather than being a contraction.  It's one of those words that just suck. >..>

[Ford Prefect]

Unless your command of the English language is flawless like mine. In fact, the only thing that rivals it is my humility.

[Goober5000]

The trouble is that that's contradictory to names and ownership. We say Goober's item. Or we say the tree's branches. So in our minds, It's looks like belonging to, rather than being a contraction.

Except that it is a pronoun, and no pronouns use apostrophes in their possessives.  Yours, his, hers, its.  See?

It's one of those words that just suck. >..>

You mean, sucks.

[Nuke]

i reserve the right to butcher the english language

[Ford Prefect]

You mean, sucks.

Nope, "suck". The verb's subject is "words", not "it".

[Rictor]

Okay, come on guys, one more time:

"Oh, if you want it to be possessive, it's just I-T-S; but if it's supposed to be a contraction then it's I-T-apostrophe-S."  Scalawag.

Good going Professor Grammar, you put the end quote in the wrong place!

 

And if you would care to direct you gaze upwards, you'll notice that I did use the proper form, without the apostrophe.

[Goober5000]

You mean, sucks.

Nope, "suck". The verb's subject is "words", not "it".

Minus ten points for reading comprehension.  The verb's subject is the noun phrase "one of those words".  One is singular.

Good going Professor Grammar, you put the end quote in the wrong place!

No I didn't.  I'm quoting the entire sentence.

And if you would care to direct you gaze upwards

You mean "your"?

you'll notice that I did use the proper form, without the apostrophe.

I was referring to Swantz's YTMND.

[Ford Prefect]

Are you sure? Because the way I learned it, when you have a noun phrase like "one of those words", the verb is being done by the plural noun, not the pronoun. It's like the sentence, "He was one of the few who were spared." It's being described as "one" because it's doing the noun indirectly by virtue of membership in the collective. I remember having this discussion in English class and it turned into a similar debate.

[Goober5000]

Are you sure? Because the way I learned it, when you have a noun phrase like "one of those words", the verb is being done by the plural noun, not the pronoun. It's like the sentence, "He was one of the few who were spared." It's being described as "one" because it's doing the noun indirectly by virtue of membership in the collective. I remember having this discussion in English class and it turned into a similar debate.

True, collective nouns use plural verbs.  But the subject of Raa's sentence wasn't a collective noun, it was the singular noun "one".  The subject of your sentence isn't a collective noun either; it's "he", as in "he was one".  The phrase "who were spared" is subordinate to the collective noun "few", which is itself subordinate to the phrase "one of the few" which is the object of the sentence.

[Ford Prefect]

I still feel not on the same page. The subject of Raa's sentence is "It", which is followed immediately by the verb "is", then the noun phrase "one of those words". The relative pronoun "that" refers to "words", which means, according to what I thought was the case, that the verb "suck" is being done by "words". But, if I understand correctly, you're saying that "suck" is actually being done by "one", which I'm having a harder time wrapping my brain around logically.

[Flipside]

1 g0t p41nz0rs in t3h br41nz0rs!!

[Goober5000]

I still feel not on the same page. The subject of Raa's sentence is "It", which is followed immediately by the verb "is", then the noun phrase "one of those words". The relative pronoun "that" refers to "words", which means, according to what I thought was the case, that the verb "suck" is being done by "words". But, if I understand correctly, you're saying that "suck" is actually being done by "one", which I'm having a harder time wrapping my brain around logically.

No, the relative pronoun "that" refers to "one".

As a general rule of thumb, when in doubt, remove phrases that don't change the core meaning.  So:

It's one of those words that just sucks.

becomes

It's one that just sucks.

If you wanted to emphasize words instead of one, the second sentence would read:

They're words that just suck.

See where the verbs link up?

1 g0t p41nz0rs in t3h br41nz0rs!!

Back in the day this would have been standard sentence diagramming in any grammar course, but the public school system nowadays is terribly superficial.

[Ford Prefect]

Okay, I see what you're saying. It's disconcerting, though. But that's my inner demon to battle.

[watsisname]

I just love how this topic went from a discussion on Soviet pig launching to a discussion of proper grammar.    Oh dear, I hope my Bill Gates spell checking system doesn't fail me now...

[achtung]

Wow, finally got to see a Grammar Inquisition.

[Goober5000]

I just love how this topic went from a discussion on Soviet pig launching to a discussion of proper grammar.

Good point. Thread split.

[WeatherOp]

Goob rocks.

*hides with his poor southern *gramar.

*note: The other "m" was left out of porpose. Why? Cause I wanted.

[Ace]

Prescriptive grammar is so pase'...

[Rictor]

Goober, how do you survive on the Internet with the present state of affairs? I mean, you must go into shock pretty regularly, what with all the illiterate 14 year-olds which infest most forums and chat rooms. Do you have some sort of special goggles that filter out the soul-crushing, blinding stupidity, and if so could you send me a pair