cannot vs can not + apostrophe vs acute accent

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Anonymous

#276923 Fri, 06 Oct 06 02:15 PM

Hey all

I'm just starting up as an Instructional Designer and I've just run into two problems.

1. What's the difference between "cannot" and "can not"? Is it simply that one of them is bad English? Or is it american vs imperial?
2. In English, apostrophe (') is used as an aid for possessive constructs and shorts with omitted letters, but what about acute accent (´)? In what situations is it being used?

I'd appreciate a rather quick answer, although you will not loose any money or your neck if you're late.

Andreas

Anonymous

Accents, Apostrophes, Difference between, Possessives

Mister Micawber

#276942 Fri, 06 Oct 06 03:05 PM

1-- Can not is a less common form of cannot.

2-- accents (acute and grave) are diacritical marks used over certain letters in foreign words or words of foreign origin, as in déjà vu, cliché and ménage à trois.