Timeline for Can I use the "ll" contraction with proper names?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
21 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 15, 2020 at 7:40 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Oct 28, 2013 at 23:00 | answer | added | Brooklynite | timeline score: -1 | |
| May 15, 2013 at 16:04 | comment | added | GEdgar | If this English-translated version of the game is to be used also by those whose native language is not English, then maybe avoid John'll and write John will. | |
| May 15, 2013 at 11:18 | history | edited | RegDwigнt |
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| May 15, 2013 at 1:12 | vote | accept | Panda Pajama | ||
| May 14, 2013 at 20:45 | answer | added | J.R. | timeline score: 1 | |
| May 14, 2013 at 17:40 | answer | added | Marthaª | timeline score: 10 | |
| May 14, 2013 at 17:12 | comment | added | Mitch | Yes, that contraction is just fine for informal English. Contractions in general are considered bad form in formal written English, but are used unnoticeably in speech. This particular contraction sounds a little more informal, but is also probably not noticed in speech. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:59 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | I'm not with you. Clearly native speakers use contractions all the time, as I just did there. Idiomatically, many of us would probably avoid writing Reg's right here, even though we might write Panda's wrong. But that's just because it's meaningless to contract the former (since it would sound identical to the "non-contracted" version). You could consult a relevant style guide to establish whether certain contractions are "acceptable" in certain written contexts, but that's got very little to do with most English usage, which is primarily spoken. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:48 | comment | added | Panda Pajama | @FumbleFingers: correct as in "it abides by the rules of the English language". For example, "vxxsaxcd" is not correct English, as it is plain gibberish, while "Good morning!" is a correct English phrase. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:46 | comment | added | GEdgar | John'll visit you tomorrow seems fine to me for spoken English. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:44 | history | edited | Panda Pajama | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Explained the context of the question. I'm still baffled as to why some people are reluctant to answer, and even downvote based on the context of the question...
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| May 14, 2013 at 16:42 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @ Panda Pajama: I have no idea what you mean by "correct". I agree John'll probably wasn't the best choice of proper name because it gets mixed up with John II (king, pope, etc.). But you could easily change it to Jane'll. Nearly all of those are contractions. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:42 | review | Close votes | |||
| May 15, 2013 at 11:18 | |||||
| May 14, 2013 at 16:29 | comment | added | Panda Pajama | @FumbleFingers: Most of the references there are not using the contraction. Are you trying to tell me that since some published books use that construction, it is automatically correct? | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:26 | comment | added | Panda Pajama | @RegDwighт: Okay, to be more precise, it's not a book, but the currently in-progress English translation of a game I originally wrote in Japanese. My native English translator came up with such a construction, and I would like to know if it is correct, or under which circumstances it would be correct, so I can know whether or not to ask him to revise that passage. I honestly have no idea why the context of the question is relevant to the grammar though. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:25 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | General Reference | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:15 | comment | added | RegDwigнt | Do you by any chance still remember the name of that book? Or can you perhaps even cite the corresponding passage? Also, I am certain you don't really wish to imply that something that is a common feature of dialogue between native speakers can be "plain wrong", and hopefully neither does the book, but that's what you end up saying right now, and that of course doesn't compute. Thank you. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:10 | comment | added | Panda Pajama | @tchrist: mostly spoken, but I'm also interested in the written form. Just like with other contractions, I'm sure it's more likely to come out in dialogue than in written English. In fact, I read something like that on a book, so I want to know if it is trying to imply a specific dialect/level of education, or if it is just plain wrong. | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:08 | comment | added | tchrist♦ | Written? Spoken? Reported dialogue? | |
| May 14, 2013 at 16:06 | history | asked | Panda Pajama | CC BY-SA 3.0 |