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  • Please

    I know, this is so nit picky, so unimportant, so minimal, but it just bugs me beyond belief. I can't tell people how to come up with a great idea, I can't tell people how to have a voice, but I can tell people to do this tiny little thing.

    Learn to use apostrophes.

    For God's sake. It's not that difficult. And yet I see improper use in screenplays and it's a distraction.

    You're and Your are not the same. Its and It's are not interchangeable. Not all words that end in "s" require apostrophes'.

    Buy a copy of Strunk and White, Elements of Style, and use it. Or, if your tastes are not so refined, go with English Grammar for Dummies.

  • #2
    Re: Please

    amensomuchomg
    Chicks Who Script podcast

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    • #3
      Re: Please

      Inorite? They're english Teacher's shouldve taught them that.
      what the head makes cloudy the heart makes very clear

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      • #4
        Re: Please

        Some people refer to us as "Grammar Police." I prefer to think of us as "The Standard-Bearers of Crisp Syntax." If those of us who write for a living can't even be counted upon to observe proper grammatical etiquette, then what hope is there?
        Last edited by UglyShirts; 05-08-2012, 12:57 PM.

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        • #5
          Re: Please

          omfg! rilly? srsly? stop hatin!

          ur just jellus. y i gotta rite all propper and sh*t?
          If you really like it you can have the rights
          It could make a million for you overnight

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          • #6
            Re: Please

            Intellectually and aspirationally, I am with you 100%. As a practical matter, not as much.

            I do no the difference between its/it's and there/their/they're. I not only learned sentence diagramming as a kid, I liked it. I find it frustrating to have forgotten the technical terms for the various verb tenses and such - especially since ESL friends of mine who speak exceptionally-good English (i.e., speak English exceptionally well) sometimes ask me to explain some arcane bit of grammar.

            And yet, sometimes my fingers seem to disconnect from the part of my brain where such information is stored and reroute themselves to my "homonym and near-homonym uber-alles cortex".

            Just yesterday, as I was writing something about a "red caboose", I kept typing "read caboose". All the more odd because I always thought that my brain considered the default pronunciation of "read" to be reed.

            One of the things I've found fascinating about Internet forums (aka, fora) and sites that allow reader-comments: I can now see evidence of this sort of sub-lineal brain process in soooo many other people. And I don't mean simply "there" when it shoulda been "they're". But "apple" where it should have been "able". "Force" where it should have been "forest". "****" where it should have been "duck". "Your an idiot" where it shoulda been "You're brilliant".

            IMO... If an its/it's mistake appears here in some posted script pages, not so good. Or in a post about the importance of grammar, that's bad. But otherwise, I'm either forgiving or, perhaps, giving up.

            NB: Yeh, I know. Above, where it shoulda been "I do know", I wrote "I do no".

            PS: I take the opportunity presented by this thread to renew my suggestion for a new forum section for "Grammar & punctuation" questions.

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            • #7
              Re: Please

              ...and chickens lay eggs and people lie down.

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              • #8
                Re: Please

                Originally posted by YakMan View Post
                ...and chickens lay eggs and people lie down.

                Yeah, but when you're laying a chick, it's usually better lying down.

                When you're laying bricks, not so much.

                I'm not lying.
                If you really like it you can have the rights
                It could make a million for you overnight

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                • #9
                  Re: Please

                  And you lie about it afterwords.

                  - Bill
                  Free Script Tips:
                  http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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                  • #10
                    Re: Please

                    Originally posted by YakMan View Post
                    ...and chickens lay eggs and people lie down.

                    I've found that politicians have an especially difficult time with that one. That is, when using the first person. With the second and third person, "lie" rolls right off their tongues.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Please

                      Originally posted by UglyShirts View Post
                      I prefer to think us as "The Standard-Bearers of Crisp Syntax."
                      Hm, interesting syntax.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Please

                        But wait! [Random professional screenwriter] uses [improper grammar technique] all the time. I should be able to as well!!!

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                        • #13
                          Re: Please

                          I'm sure most people have seen it, but this cartoon breaks down some of these errors in a logical fashion.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Please

                            Originally posted by SBScript View Post
                            Learn to use apostrophes.
                            Totally.

                            But at the other end of the scale...

                            ... someone needs to drag the ugly word "whom" out the back and put a bullet through its pedantic, antiquated, affected brain.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Please

                              There is one situation in which I find the incorrect/non-possessive use of 's acceptable; even helpful sometimes: To indicate the plural of non-words.

                              "There are two r's in 'tomorrow'."

                              "Yeh, great T's, but just a so-so A."

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