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Prose Parade
Grammar and writing basics


Verbs and Plurals

OK, I saw a posting from the Urban Dictionary on Facebook today: mechanic – A paid assassin who “fixes” a problem, i.e. off’s someone who has been causing trouble.

Do you see the verb to off? Do you see the apostrophe? Can you tell me why a dictionary, for heaven’s sake, even a popular dictionary, would make a verb plural with an apostrophe. Why don’t I just beat my head against a wall.

One more time:

The plural is formed by adding an -s or an -es (or changing the -y to -i and adding -es). So simple, yet so challenging apparently.

The entry should read: mechanic – A paid assassin who “fixes” a problem, i.e. offs someone who has been causing trouble.

Just because the verb to off is colloquial doesn’t mean the rules of grammar don’t apply. English is hard enough without making it even harder.

« -self, -selves – 

Author:
admin
Date:
December 28, 2010 um 5:24 pm
Category:
Punctuation/Those Pesky Marks
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