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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
It's mines
Most of Ebonics, I can understand how the evolution took place. However, this is one Ebonics usage that I CANNOT come up with a good explanation as to WHY people sday it. Unlike most Ebonics, it doesn't simplify or contract anything. It adds an extra letter.
"It's me's" would be sensible Ebonics. ("It belongs to me".) Just like something that's "the dog's" belongs to the dog. But, why "mines" or "mine's", whichever it actually is?
If you were to say, "the pen is mine's", it wouldn't make any sense to change the form to "the pen belongs to mine". So, why the extra "S" and is there or isn't there an apostrophe in it?
"It's me's" would be sensible Ebonics. ("It belongs to me".) Just like something that's "the dog's" belongs to the dog. But, why "mines" or "mine's", whichever it actually is?
If you were to say, "the pen is mine's", it wouldn't make any sense to change the form to "the pen belongs to mine". So, why the extra "S" and is there or isn't there an apostrophe in it?
Top answer
[nq:1]Most of Ebonics, I can understand how the evolution took place. However, this is one Ebonics usage that I CANNOT ... "the pen belongs to mine".
- [nq:1]Most of Ebonics, I can understand how the evolution took place.
- However, this is one Ebonics usage that I CANNOT ...
- "the pen belongs to mine".
- [/nq] The -s is there by analogy with forms like "It's hers, it's ours, it's yours, it's theirs", so by the same analogy there should be no apostrophe.
- It's not just found in Ebonics.
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1 Answers
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[nq:1]Most of Ebonics, I can understand how the evolution took place. However, this is one Ebonics usage that I CANNOT ... "the pen belongs to mine". So, why the extra "S" and is there or isn't there an apostrophe in it?[/nq]
The -s is there by analogy with forms like "It's hers, it's ours, it's yours, it's theirs", so by the same analogy there should be no apostrophe. It's not just found in E
The -s is there by analogy with forms like "It's hers, it's ours, it's yours, it's theirs", so by the same analogy there should be no apostrophe. It's not just found in E
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