User talk:Natalie indeed

Hi, Natalie.

I am new on this site. All of you on this discussion board appear to be very smart. I just have a question...and I thought that maybe you could help me. I'm not really even sure if I can ask questions... Wikipedia seems to be more of an information-type discussion board. However, I'm a girl in need of some information, LOL. I haven't seen any questions at all though. Just comments. Anyway, we will see. Now my question...The grammar contractions...is the apostrophe always supposed to be where the vowel was in the next word...for example...the word haven't...in all the contraction words...Since the day I learned about contractions in school I have been separating the words that the contraction came from with the apostrophe...like have'nt instead of haven't. So, I was on Microsoft Word, did the spell check, and it changed my have'nt to haven't. And I just now noticed. You would think that after 20 years of writing that I would have figured that out by now. I must not have paid much attention in Language that day because it seems to me that the apostrophe should have been placed where the space in the words would have been like have'not (haven't). If you ask me, I think that the English language is a little screwed up. Like how does the word colonel sound like kernel? What were they thinking? Also...you are most definitely right about your comment in June 2006 on the contraction discussion board when you wrote about speaking formally, you wrote that you should not use the word can't you should use cannot. Although you didn't mean it like this...It's just like my father always used to tell me "Don't ever say the word "can't", you can do anything." Of course I know that that is just something you tell your kids to give them confidence but I have never heard the phrase "don't ever say the word "cannot.” You can do anything.” Anyway, I’m not a fruit loop or a ditzy person. I just thought that was funny. If I had it to do over again I would'nt (oops...apostrophe is in the wrong place. I mean wouldn't) have ever said the word can't to my children. "Cannot," sounds much more appropriate and formal. Makes you wonder why someone even invented contractions...you know? I could understand a little better if it actually shortened a word. However, in the case of "wouldn't,” the only thing you are eliminating is a space. I think that it takes longer for me to think..."hmmm...where does my apostrophe go?" then it does for me to just go ahead a hit the spacebar and spell out the two words. I am sorry to type your head off. I just can't sleep and started looking at Wikipedia and thought I would ask you those couple of questions. You just seem very smart. I probably seem like a dummy. By the way, I have one more question. This is about the words “cannot” verses "can not.” The word cannot, how is that different than using it in two separate words? Like can not. I just wondered because you had used it both ways on the comment that I saw on the contractions discussion board. I would appreciate you giving me a couple of sentences for examples on the cannot and can not thing. Since you seem to know so much more about the english language than me. LOL!

Thanks...hope to here from you soon.

--BrandyLord 09:03, 4 September 2006 (UTC)