Who wants to teach or learn about grammar?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

I may have seen on here, once or twice, unsolicited grammar lessons.

So I thought it would be naice to have a safe place for grammar help.

If you don't know your arse from your aspostrophe, or your stushe from your subordinate clause, please feel free to ask on here with impunity.

Also, if you can offer guildance on here, please feel free to pop along and gently steer.

I'll start with two questions and one lesson.

If I would like to say "Oh, yes, I went to their house, and had a super time" but wanted to miss out the word house, does their become "their's" or "theirs"?

I'm never sure which is correct in this instance - when at MacDonald's the pub and they ask "What drink do you want?", I'm always sure it should be "Which drink do you want?", but I can't articulate why. Please help.

And my mini lesson. The word "it's" is only ever used to denote missing letters, and not to indicate belonging/possession. So "the cat licked it's arse" is bang wrong.

We probably do with Bof here for her semi-colon masterclass.

Please come and join me for Grammar Fun but don't mention the typos.

Good idea.

I need the definitive answer to the CD's problem.

What is the CD's problem tethers?

Both CDs and CD's is correct, though the latter makes me grit my teeth. It just looks unpleasant, but the apostrophe can stand for the missing letters.

it's easier to say their house

oo ooo ooo I have one which I share with my DCs ....

no you can't have a lend of my pen but I will lend it to you
yes you can borrow my book but I won't borrow you it!

Thanks a bunch sea.

"What drink do you want?" - no specific drinks on offer
"Which drink do you want?" - some to choose from.

Oooh! I'd like to sign-up for the semi-colon masterclass!

And theirs

I completely agree with you Loops, but, [gulp] by extednig that logic - shouldn't it be C'D's? [unhelpful]

Q1: I would never miss out house (is that a regional thing?) and have no idea.

Q2: No idea, but again I would never use that phrasing. "What can I get you?" is more commonly used here, I would say.

And can I say that I hate hate hate, "Can I get a large pizza and a coke?".

Good thread, Chaos.

Thank you for the its / it's - that is one that always confuses me.

No. It should be C.D's

I thought it was theirs.

And, so, I was right about which then, wasn't I? They are asking me to choose from a finite selection?

Well, it depends. Do they point to the selection in the fridge?

mini? Hmmph.

It's CDs. If it was CD's, you'd be talking about something belonging to the CD (eg the CD's cover).

I think I gave a bad example tbh, Mme.

If you said "Is that your car?", and I replied "No, it's their car." buut wanted to miss out the word "car", it shold be "no, it's theirs." - I think that example is more, umm, normal.

What is mithering me about it is the fact that if you replace their with a proper noun like, say, Gerard Butler, you'd have to say, "No, it's Gerard's."

Putting an aspostrophe in "theirs" looks wrong, although it seems logical. As it's an ownershippy word anyway, perhaps it's superfluous?

YY to "Can I get...". It's "May I have?... please" or "I'd like... please " and "their house", never "theirs".

Does CD stand for compact discs? If so, then it should be "CDs", surely?

Wel,l they only sell so many drinks at MacDonald's or so I've heard.

Aargh. Strange comma placement.

Yes, it ought to be CDs, but CD's is arguable, as is C.D's.

Ah, don't be fooled, Nyx- I thought that too, but Loopy is correct, I think... Since CD is an acronym, the apostrophe can be used in order to differentiate between the plural (CD's) and a different acronym (CDS). I think.

Or...?

Same as 'hers' Chaos.

Also, I need a which/that rule.

Hactuwally, CD is not an acronym, it is an abbreviation. An acronym sounds out a word, eg. NATO, LOL, ROFL.