I just invented the "double contraction"!
robert
works where one could not have done something, like "She couldn't've picked a
worse time to arrive," as opposed to "She could not have another donut.")
This is so brilliant, it will take the English speaking world by storm! From
here on out, I declare double contractions to be both valid and mandatory. Face
it, you'd've been using them for years now if it hadn't taken me so long to
have my epiphany.
Sincerely, Robert
P.S. Sorry about my grammar, it would appear that somebody stole my English
textbooks. Now that I think of it, could somebody check to see that I am indeed
the inventor of double contractions? And although I'mn't (I am not) trying to
claim all the glory for this, if there's a possibility for a triple
contraction, I invented those as well (at least in theory).
Chris Kern
the following:
>For example: "could not have" can be contracted as "couldn't've".
This is standard colloquial English usage as far as I'm concerned. "I
couldn't've done any better" is something that I would be likely to
say.
-Chris
Einde O'Callaghan
>
> For example: "could not have" can be contracted as "couldn't've". (This only
> works where one could not have done something, like "She couldn't've picked a
> worse time to arrive," as opposed to "She could not have another donut.")
>
> This is so brilliant, it will take the English speaking world by storm! From
> here on out, I declare double contractions to be both valid and mandatory. Face
> it, you'd've been using them for years now if it hadn't taken me so long to
> have my epiphany.
>
late. I've been using such contractions all my life and I learned them
on my Granny's knee. I presume she learned them on her Granny's knee and
the trend goes back to Shakespeare's time. so you're aboiut 500 years
late.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan