I think there might be a principle behind Petra's post - something like 'those who are picky deserve to be picked on'. ( You could call it the Glass House principle, except that that phrase now calls to mind a lamented (by some) ABC program.) Applying this principle to Brian's post again, I'm now going to be picky enough to ask him: what do you mean by 'just like <his> and <hers>'? Surely forming <its> from <it> isn't parallel to forming <his> and <hers> from <he> and <she>? And, in any case, shouldn't it be <her> rather than <hers>? And, yes, I think Petra's right about 'ellipsis'. Howard LIVERANI Petra <Petra_LIVERANI@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent by: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 24/05/2007 04:01 PM Please respond to austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx cc Subject atw: Correction - This can go on and on Topic TRIM File Ref No doubt I'm making an error myself somewhere - I believe the correct term is contraction. Ellipsis is when a complete word (or words) is left out but understood as in "John can play the guitar but Mary can't" instead of "John can play the guitar but Mary can't play it". Regards, Petra For those who must correct, <it's> is an ellipsis of <it is>, only. The possessive ot <it> is <its> just like <his> and <hers>. Brian. <snip> > > And Christine: > > "We cow tow to people" > -> > kowtow, kow tow or kow-tow > > It's origin is Chinese. Wikipedia has a fascinating article on it. You > use > the term correctly, according to it's meaning in English, which has > shifted significantly from its original meaning in traditional Chinese > culture. > > Peter Fagan IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachment to it are intended only to be read or used by the named addressee. It is confidential and may contain legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistaken transmission to you. The RTA is not responsible for any unauthorised alterations to this e-mail or attachment to it. Views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, and are not necessarily the views of the RTA. If you receive this e-mail in error, please immediately delete it from your system and notify the sender. You must not disclose, copy or use any part of this e-mail if you are not the intended recipient. ************************************************** To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field. To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field. To search the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **************************************************