As we all know, there are quite a few differences between Vanagon models sold in different countries. For example, I think all sold in the USA were FI, but some sold in other countries had carbs. Grammar discussions assume that everyone in the discussion speaks the same language, as granmmar rules differ from language to language. We have list members from several countries where "English" is spoken, but the language spoken in these various countries is not the same one. Similar, but not the same. Compare the use of the word "fanny" in England and the USA. We should keep these differences in mind when people from several countries begin arguing grammar. In addition, there is often disagreement about correct usage even within one country, which is why newspapers and publishers use style books, and they don't all use the same one, either. Another use of the apostrophe is to indicate a phonetic stop or click, particularly when rendering a word from another language into English. So, does your Vanagon run on gas, or does it use petrol? Do you clean your parts in kerosene, or do you use parrafin? Bill |
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