Leaving off the n't

[chipperMDW]

I can never understand why people sometimes write or type a word that was clearly intended to be a contraction like "didn't" or "couldn't," but completely leave off the "n't."

Examples:
[ul]
[li]I would want to be in that mess.[/li]
[li]I waited for hours but he did show up.[/li]
[li]I was late because I could find my car keys.[/li]
[/ul]


Any idea what this behavior is a symptom of?

Are these people who have never read a book and are incorrectly imitating what they hear people saying?

Is there some language (or family of languages) whose native speakers have a predisposition for making these types of mistakes when they learn English?

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think the correct plural of 'typo' is 'typos' - simply add an 's'. The only time the apostrophe should be used for plurals is for numbers when written numerically.

The eighties or the 80's.

Good Luck
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[SantaMufasa]

I'm taking this from the Dan Quayle Unabridged Dictionary:

typoes: two or more typographical errores.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

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[ESquared]

In my opinion, 80's is incorrect.
'80s is correct.
80s is fine.

See, the apostrophe isn't necessary, since there's no confusion between numbers and letters.

A's requires an apostrophe because As looks like another word, and because it's hard to tell that one wishes the plural of the single letter A. Other letters also need the apostrophe: Bs Cs Ds is hard to decipher.

The reason I say '80s instead of 80s is because there IS something missing/elided, the 19. 1980s. '80s.

CDs on the other hand, doesn't need an apostrophe. Now it's clear that there's a capital/word part and a lower-case/plural part.

 

[brendasql]

I guess I'm from an old school where apostrophes were used in contractions or to show possession not to show that a word is pural. Or was this the part in English to I failed.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Nope, Brenda, the parts you failed where either telling the difference between "singuar" and "pural", keyboarding, spelling, or a combination of the above...you choose.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[stormbind]

I ave made the blunders similar to those in the opening post: It happens when thinking two similar sentences at the same time!

I have a MUCH WORSE TRUE example, and in speech no less:

This was years ago, in sales, and I was waiting for a customer.. pacing up and down, anticipating his opening statement and me, jumping at the chance to say "Go ahead!" or "Fire away!"

Do you know what I said to this guy? "Go... Away!"

It was an honest mistake, seriously! Stupid brain

Anyway, I think it's the same cause & effects for this example and the typos in the opening post

----------
Memoria mihi benigna erit qui eam perscribam

 

[SantaMufasa]

Actually, StormBind, there are cases like yours that exhibit certain functional and marketing appeal.

For example, in Oracle, we often need to "bounce" our database: that is, bring the database down, then start it back up again. The commands in Oracle to do so are:

shutdown
startup

Why can't Oracle create a command that combines the functionality?:

shutup

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[SilentAiche]

stormbind.

Do you know what I said to this guy? "Go... Away!"

Laughed my butt off.

Reminded me of when I was in Cancun, Mexico, and needed to thank a native (I know, I've referred to this one before...)

My big ol' brain called upon my "foreign words," so I said "Merci!" (given my training in French.)

Ah, travels.

Tim




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[SantaMufasa]

...Then there was the time our family were in Ft. Lauderdale and my teenaged daughter unsuccessfully tried out her high-school Spanish on some teenaged Latin American soccer players there in a tournament. One of the boys said something that made my daughter blush. After teasing her about blushing, she thought she was admitting her embarrassment to the guys saying, "Yo soy muy embarazada." It got even worse for her when I explained to her that she had just told them, "I am very pregnant."

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[ESquared]

Hey, every time I've been pregnant, I was embarrassed.

 

[flapeyre]

Ah, those Spanish cognates..

If you want preserves to spread on your breakfast toast in Mexico, the word to use is not preservativos.

That word means:

[COLOR=white]condoms.[/color]

Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni!

 

[SantaMufasa]

But what if that is what you want on your toast?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[CajunCenturion]

That could get you in a jam.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[SantaMufasa]

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.