Grammar Update

[CliveM]

None of the people I have seen shot in the head did a lot of blinking or anything else that I can recall. A bigger myth is that shooting someone in the leg is a only minor injury in fact if the major artery in the upper leg is hit the victim will bleed out in about 30 seconds.

[1101]

shot through the brain is different to loping of a head with the brain intact .

A chopped off head will become unconscious VERY quickly regardless , so its a moot point.

[R2x1]

The Act party hierarchy could advantageously be brought in for a part in the above tests but with the caveat that brain activity would have to have been detected prior to the decraniation, which might thin the ranks considerably.

[CliveM]

The Act party hierarchy could advantageously be brought in for a part in the above tests but with the caveat that brain activity would have to have been detected prior to the decraniation, which might thin the ranks considerably.

You could include just about any MP for that test and half the general population for that matter.

[piroska]

If I lop off a chickens head instead , & its headless body goes for a run, is the chicken alive ? If so, is both the chickens body & its severed head alive ?

Actually my mother had that, she killed a couple once, the second, launched into the air without it's head. It didn't last long, but made a hell of a mess for the few seconds it did.

So yes. To both questions. Briefly anyway

[WalOne]

Interesting that in this thread entitled Grammar Update that just about every poster has made basic errors by confusing the possessive and contraction forms of "it" ...

Where meant in a possessive form, e.g. when writing about the decapitated chicken, "its" head is correct; "it's" is incorrect. (Test: does it sound right? e.g. "[and] it is headless body goes for a run, is the chicken alive?" doesn't sound right or make sense).

Where meant as a contraction, "it's" is correct being short (or a contraction) for "it is"; the possessive form "its" is incorrect. e.g. "[and] its headless body goes for a run, is the chicken alive?" sounds right and makes sense).

Lest anyone be tempted to lay the blame on a typo or spellcheck, I would point out that one poster has repeated both those incorrect usages several times even in separate posts. Must be something in the water

And nope, I haven't reported this outrage to the Grammar Police.

[decibel]

...Where meant in a possessive form, e.g. when writing about the decapitated chicken, "its" head is correct; "it's" is incorrect. (Test: does it sound right? e.g. "[and] it is headless body goes for a run, is the chicken alive?" doesn't sound right or make sense).

Where meant as a contraction, "it's" is correct being short (or a contraction) for "it is"; the possessive form "its" is incorrect. e.g. "[and] its headless body goes for a run, is the chicken alive?" sounds right and makes sense)...

True, but "ït" is the only word (that I know of) in the English language where you don't use an apostrophe to indicate possession. For example - the chicken's head is correct.

[WalOne]

True, but "ït" is the only word (that I know of) in the English language where you don't use an apostrophe to indicate possession. For example - the chicken's head is correct.

I think you're right, but I suggest the rule of "its" vs "it's" (possessive vs contraction is fairly simple to apply. If the contraction when spoken in its extended form (it is) doesn't sound right, then it probably isn't correct.

Unlike the horrible trap laid by the Grammar Police concerning the correct use of "a" and "an". (Use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound. Other letters can also be pronounced either way. Just remember it is the sound that governs whether you use “a” or “an,” not the actual first letter of the word).

Pity the newcomer to the English language having to cope with all this stuff!

[kenj]

Garn....... (as Eliza Doolittle said)

Ken

[Kame]

I am no English scholar but I use 'an' when the word sounds of a vowel. Like an hour versus a hour, the 'h' seems silent and it just sounds better to me. I assume you could pronounce it with the 'h' sound?