On 7/11/2014 5:06 PM, Brian wrote:
> On Fri 11 Jul 2014 at 16:33:52 -0400, Jerry Stuckle wrote:
>
>> On 7/11/2014 3:25 PM, Brian wrote:
>>
>>> You are going to hate me for this: there is no "." after Mr; it is a
>>> contraction. (Off-topic is that way ----------->).
>>>
>>
>> No, it's an abbreviation, not a contraction. As a contraction it would
>> be M'r.
>
> Contractions *are* abbreviations. The reverse doesn't apply.
>
No, there is a difference between a contraction and an abbreviation.
"Can't" is a contraction. "Mr." is an abbreviation.
> Please say "e.g. Mr Smith".
>
> Louder, please. We cannot hear you.
>
> That's better.
>
> Now the difference between an abbreviation which is a contraction and
> one which is not is clearer.
>
> Does the following make sense?
>
> Dr Moriarty, Prof. Andrews and Miss Gladstone all taught at the
> University of St Andrews and worked at the BBC?
>
>
Nope. It should be "Dr. Moriarty" and "St. Andrews". Both are
abbreviations. If they were contractions, they should have an
apostrophe (') in them.
Contractions have apostrophes which replace the missing characters.
Abbreviations are terminated with a '.'. If the word(s) is (are)
shortened, you need one or the other.
But then that is standard English, not British :)
Jerry
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