Italian help wanted

I can't help you with the Italian thing, but just thought (being the grammar freak that I am) that I'd point out that in English, there's no apostrophe for plurals - unless you're a greengrocer.

Maar veel geluk met jouw onderzoekingen!

Torak

If you are referring to the use of the apostrophe in the word "photo's" then there IS an apostrophe, not because it's a plural, but because it is a shortened word - from photographs. You used the same rule in your use of can't instead of cannot. For what it's worth, I think Jurgen's English is bloody good!

Steve '84 110 V8 Durban

Whilst the pedants are out in force I will add that there is at least one surplus comma in your sentence. That is unless you are Tony Blair, in which case there is a comma after every third word. I cannot watch the man speak due to his infuriating pauses every two seconds. He looks like he's giving dictation to someone who doesn't do shorthand.

On or around Tue, 23 Nov 2004 11:02:23 +0200, "Steve Maloney" enlightened us thusly:

me too, but you missed the fact that he's got an apostrophe in his possessive its...

photo's might be blaggable by the logic you stated, 's a nice try anyway, although I'd tend to argue that photo is a word now in its own right - COD has it (=photograph) as a word, not as an abbreviation.

Well, yes and no. Certainly that was the case at the beginning of the century, but now "photo" is a full word in its own right. Thus no apostrophe.

Yeah, I'm picky. Mamma was a journalist, I've got subbing in the blood. ;-)

It is, yes. That's the only reason I commented; because Dutch uses apostrophes for plurals, it's a very common mistake when they then learn English. (I went to school in Brussels - lots of Dutch friends!)

Hehe, yes... Although the comma isn't strictly speaking excessive. It's... well, optional. Its use in that context neither more nor less grammatical than if it were absent.

And anyway, there were only two commas - it can't have been Blair. :-Þ

Yeah, but I reckoned that would be picky... 0:-)

Bugger, you got there before me. I just posted that.

So Tim Hobbs was, like

And his inablilty to pronounce words ending in "im" or "in" - somewhere between victm and victum. And don't get me started on the choppy "let me make this absolutely clear" hand movements.

You know when a relationship's over when you start to hate someone for the everyday little oddities that you once thought were charming. I'm like this now with TB. I voted for him in 97 (along with a lot of others), but now I can't stay in the room if he's on the TV.

And his "people's princess" speech on the death of Diana (complete with deliberate catch in the throat) caused projectile vomiting in the Brookman household.

So Torak was, like

Well, they would do, with all the veg they grow. They probably get taught the grocer's apostrophe at school as a national institution.

:-)

Dutch friends - I'm kidding - I love you all. Nicest country in the world after UK.

Gad, you're right!

After UK and *Sweden*. (I'm half Swedish)

And it's such a great language, too - I've had to learn French, but I learnt Dutch for the fun of it. Het is mooier dan duits en leuker dan frans... ja, mooier dan frans, dat ook.

Cue Dead Ringers: "Well, Kirsty, *angry* hand gestures, *annoyed* frown,

*sod* the lot of you hand gestures, there were WMDs there. I've got one here - his name's Skippy."

Well, you've seen the error of your ways. ;-)

I never liked Diana anyway - yes, she did a lot of good, but I just got the feeling that she was doing it for her own sake, if that makes any sense.

Ja, maar kan jy so lekker vloek soos in Afrikaans?

Hehe... Afrikaans, dat kan ik niet.

Hopelijk heeft mijn antwoord jou niet beledigd?

It's not the "grocer's apostrophe". It's all due to Apostrophe Man!

He flits from sign to sign "fixing" them.

Ron Beckett Emu Plains, Australia

1995 P38A Range Rover HSE 4.6 Litre V8

Ahh, then I take it you've watched Dead Ringers

Ron Beckett Emu Plains, Australia

1995 P38A Range Rover HSE 4.6 Litre V8

"Tim Hobbs" wrote

So Torak was, like

Never been to Sweden, but I'm sure you're right :-)

"It is more beautiful than German, and funnier than French - yeah, more beautiful than French as well." Near enough?

I tried to learn some Dutch when I went there for a holiday a few years ago. I think I am right in saying that, historically, Dutch is closer to English than it is to Swedish - but it beat me. I managed "good morning" and so on, but then I developed such a coughing fit I had to give it up.

Netherlands - great place, lovely people (at least, they seemed to like the Brits - makes a change), best holiday ever. Seriously.

So Torak was, like

LOL

Oh yes. Oh, yes yes yes.

So The Becketts was, like

He must be like bloody Santa, then - everywhere in the world, all in one night. :-)

But the beginning of the century was only 4 years ago, and if you are old enough to drive a Landy then you must have been to school before then! ;-)

Steve