Albreda of Quarrymill uses the invalid conjunction "elementals've" in there optional dialogue. Should this not be changed to "elementals have"?
https://i.imgur.com/T0noDjt.png
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Albreda of Quarrymill uses the invalid conjunction "elementals've" in there optional dialogue. Should this not be changed to "elementals have"?
https://i.imgur.com/T0noDjt.png
A plural + the contraction for "have" is invalid now?
And, more importantly, would the character give a damn that it is, even if it were considered inappropriate in their own dialect?
It's very possible I'm just bad with grammar. It was awkward to read and I figured it was either an error or a dialect so just to be safe I posted it here.
It's representing casual, phonetic speech. You can see it's deliberately catching the way someone might skip the first bit of "have" as they say that sentence.
If you want to pick on this, you'll also need to go through all the Lominsans' dialogue and pick on their missing H's and such.
You make a fair point. Like I said, I figured it was either a typo or a dialect. I guess it was the latter. :D
It's fine; you can contract have/had if it's part of a past perfect tense (have + past participle):
- nouns have verbed → nouns've verbed.
- They have gone too far. → They've gone too far.
- You had been gone all night. → You'd been gone all night.
It's also okay to contract have/had when followed by an object or number, though some might find this slightly peculiar:
- They have five. → They've five.
- We have a car. → We've a car.
It's really only awkward when you try to contract "have" when nothing follows it, and this will probably sound wrong to just about any first language English speaker:
- That's what we have. → That's what we've.
- Have they gone? Yes they have. → Yes they've.
- Give me everything you have in your pockets. → Give me everything you've in your pockets.