Grammar 101, ... or, pet peeves Options

[agrippa]

Here's a place for us to bore eachother to death about grammar. I'll go first.

I. POSSESSIVES AND PLURALS

Most nouns are made plural by the addition of 's' or 'es'.
computer -> computers
house -> houses

Some nouns have irregular plurals.
mouse -> mice
fish -> fish

A noun is never made plural with an apostrophe.

The apostrope and 's' are used to show possession.
Ron's (belonging to Ron)
Ginny's (belonging to Ginny)

However, pronouns have their own possessive forms:
his (belonging to him)
hers (belonging to her)
theirs (belonging to them)
its (belonging to it; it's means 'it is')

[agrippa]

Technically:

"Can I" means "am I able (physically, mentally, etc.)"

"May I" means "am I allowed, am I permitted"

So when kids ask me, "Can I go to the bathroom?" I usually say, "Well, I hope you're able to go to the bathroom, because otherwise life may be very painful for you."

Then they roll their eyes at me and say "MAY I?" and I say "Sure."

But the two are become more and more interchangable, colloquially.