Language Overflow

Q: Used to or past simple with the adverb 'When'

5:52 AM

Hello chat

2 hours later…

Feeds

8:07 AM

I know that both 'Used to' and past simple can be used to talk about things that happened in the past, and that 'Used to' is informal in negative sentences but is the preferred construction when the sentence is positive. The main function of 'Used to' is expressing a habit that you had in the p...

5 hours later…

Pandya

1:33 PM

Can I optimize "I have not" to "I'ven't"?

Q: Can a word be contracted twice (e.g. "I'ven't")?

I've seen a contraction of two words. I can't see why it wouldn't be possible to contract twice. Is it possible and how should it be punctuated? Update: Ok, to sum up the answers so far This appears in spoken British and American English It is from one of the lower registers of English Even...

punctuation contractions

@Pandya that's not correct.

Pandya

@Man_From_India actually I am having the same question title on ELU. worth to ask on ELL?

3 hours later…

4:27 PM

Answered to some old questions -

A: "We all" or "all we"?

The word all is a Determinative (WORD CLASS). One main difference between a noun and a pronoun is that a noun can take a determinative at it's head, but a pronoun can't. And hence the following sentence is incorrect - It's an important point that all we need to understand. [INCORRECT] Ther...

A: What is this "all"?

I was connected to the all there is. [INCORRECT] It is incorrect to use the there. Generally a Pre-Determiner (here all) precedes the Central-Determiner (here the). Drop that "the" and the sentence would be correct. There are situations where the can come before all as in the following s...

All my answers today was about ALL :-)

Oh, cause "this is all they asked ..."

Good evening @Man_From_India

Good evening @SBM @snailplane

DT is still untraceable. No mail replies from him yet. I wish we exchanged FB, twitter or anything else.

DT?

Anonymous

I hope he's well.

Oh me too

4:32 PM

Damkerng T

I hope everyone's well

@snailplane I hope too.

Anonymous

@Pandya If you choose to ask it on ELL, your question would be welcome. I'm not sure, but you might get a different sort of answer on ELL.

I guess you can't use two contractions

I'ven't looks unnatural

@SBM You can in special cases: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecastle

Though I'm not sure that counts.

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English_double_contractions I don't know that many people use these regularly but I've heard and used some of them... "can't've"... "He can't've said that"... But I wouldn't use them in professional writing, more just in speaking.

Or "Y'all're crazy... standing out all night in the rain."

4:47 PM

Isn't that just the phonology? The Wikipedia page suggest that it's a syncope

Syncope (phonology)

In phonology, syncope (/ˈsɪŋkəpi/; from Ancient Greek: συγκοπή sunkopḗ "cutting up") is the loss of one or more sounds from the interior of a word, especially the loss of an unstressed vowel. It is found both in synchronic analysis of languages and diachronics. Its opposite, whereby sounds are added, is epenthesis. == Synchronic analysis == Synchronic analysis studies linguistic phenomena at one moment, usually the present. In modern languages, syncope occurs in inflection, poetry, and informal speech. == In inflections == In languages such as Irish, the process of inflection can cause syncope...

only in very informal speech or poetic devices

@Catija

I do say "I'm not sure that counts"... And then list two others.

And a link with 53...

I heard only spoken variants

mostly

I'ven't

== English == === Etymology === I've +‎ -n't. === Contraction === I'ven't (nonstandard) I have not === Anagrams === venti...

nonstandard

I'm not a linguist... so I don't know what "phonology" is or whether it's "just" phonology... But I don't know that I've ever heard anyone say "Forecastle".

Not that I spend much time around sailors.

Me neither

Is that your baby? She/he's cute.

Yes. He. Thanks :D

4:55 PM

Auto-cannibalism :D