Skicook  +  265638 Mon, 11 Sep 06 10:24 PM Doesn't it drive everyone crazy when your girl/boyfriend constantly corrects your use of verb contractions to start a sentence. In my daily conversations with others, I often begin a sentence with the use of a verb contraction. In the example I used to start this paragraph I would be interrupted in mid-sentence to be informed: "You mean, does it drive everyone crazy". My partner refuses to accept that proper English dialogue in daily informal conversation can include the use of verb contractions when beginning a sentence. I understand that the use of verb contractions is best avoided in formal writing, but is it grammatically correct to start a sentence in conversation using one. This refers to most verb contractions such as: aren't, don't, won't, wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't, etc. Skicook Joined on Mon, Sep 11 2006 New Member 01 Verbs, Conversations, Contractions, Paragraphs

	milky  +  265640 Mon, 11 Sep 06 10:32 PM Your "Doesn't it drive everyone crazy when your girl/boyfriend constantly corrects your use of verb contractions to start a sentence." is an example of a type of "question" called the rising declarative, IMO. milky Joined on Thu, Jan 15 2004 Senior Member 3,149 Hume said that if we had perfect or complete descriptive knowledge of reality, we could not, by reasoning, derive a single valid "ought". Verbs, Contractions

	Marius Hancu  +  265648 Mon, 11 Sep 06 11:09 PM You find plenty of these in good fiction. Not sure there is any such rule. Some Short Stories by James, Henry - Chapter 7 "Doesn't it depend a good deal on what you call drama?" Maud spoke as one who had already thought it out. "Doesn't it depend on what you call romance?" ... The Sea Fairies by Baum, L. Frank - Chapter 16 "Doesn't it ever get dark?" inquired Trot. "Never. We know nothing of the passage of time or of day or night. The light always shines just as you see it now ... Mary Louise by Baum, L. Frank - Chapter 1 "Doesn't it seem to reflect on our characters?" timidly asked Dorothy Knerr. "Indeed it does!" asserted Sue Finley. "But here comes Mary Louise; ... Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery, Lucy Maud - Chapter 36 Doesn't it seem wonderful? I'll have a brand new stock of ambition laid in by that time after three glorious, golden months of vacation. ... Marius Hancu Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006 Veteran Member 11,673 Verbs

	Aperisic  +  265651 Mon, 11 Sep 06 11:20 PM Doesn't it drive everyone crazy when your girl/boyfriend constantly corrects your use of verb contractions to start a sentence. Doesn't it drive you mad when you know you're right but the other person refuses to consider that a possibility? Doesn't it drive you mad when people make a huge deal about you making a small mistake? Doesn't it drive you crazy when a small client who is clearly on a shoestring budget manages to pay you on time but that huge corporate or government client keeps you waiting? All I can say is that you need a question mark: Doesn't it drive everyone crazy when your girl/boyfriend constantly corrects/is constantly correcting your use of verb contractions to start a sentence? I understand that the use of verb contractions is best avoided in formal writing, but is it grammatically correct to start a sentence in conversation using one. Why not? I found it in many interviews all around the Internet. It is not a true question. It is a call to agree with the observation that follows and to give the personal reasons or opinion. Aperisic Joined on Fri, Jul 21 2006 Full Member 409 Verbs, Conversations, Contractions, Question Marks, Interviews

	nona the brit  +  265697 Tue, 12 Sep 06 01:47 AM Isn't she silly. Presumably she would want us to say 'Is she not silly'? Contractions are fine in conversation. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all. Verbs, Conversations, Contractions

	Yoong Liat  +  265764 Tue, 12 Sep 06 05:50 AM Hi Skicook Verb contractions are acceptable in conversations. In writing a composition or a story, it is correct to use verb contractions when a character is speaking. Yoong Liat Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006 Veteran Member 6,757 Verbs, Conversations, Contractions

	nona the brit  +  265794 Tue, 12 Sep 06 08:39 AM They are also ok in informal writing. nona the brit

	Waterbaby  +  266042 Tue, 12 Sep 06 06:13 PM Today, 5:39 PM Post :266018 Grammar Geek Posts 2,460 Advanced Member Joined on 10-01-2006 Pennsylvania, USA    Re: Contractions..doesn't, aren't, won't, shouldn't.... When the question is phrased with the negative (don't you, doesn't he), it shows an assumption on the part of the speaker that he or she is correct. It can also be used to show surprise.  I don't think the phrasing makes it "negative" in the emotional sense, but the assumption the person has made can be offensive. (In other words, blame the person asking, not the grammar.) And, as said above, you simply smile and say "No, not at all." or "No, not yet." Barbara American English Waterbaby Joined on Tue, Sep 12 2006 New Member 02 American English, Grammar, Verbs, Negatives, Contractions, Images

	Grammar Geek  +  266138 Tue, 12 Sep 06 10:12 PM Uh... I'd like to point out that the posting immediately above is from another thread. In that one, the person expressed frustration with how to respond when questions DO begin in the negative, not whether they were okay grammatically. I too would feel under attack if my husband constantly corrected me. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,655 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Verbs, Negatives