April 1, 2023: Ever Yours -

Consider the pronoun pin, with SHE, HER, HERS, or HE, HIM, HIS, or THEY, THEM, THEIR. 

That plural version needs four instances: THEY, THEM, THEIR, THEIRS. The third person plural has four variations, while those singulars cleverly manage four USES with only three FORMS.

I am so grateful that I don’t have to learn English as a second language.

I’ve always thought that listing even three forms on those pins was overexplaining. It should probably be enough to have just HER, for instance, and people could infer the SHE, and the HERS, from that. Anyone who wanted to switch gender and number for every usage would be asking a lot: SHE, HIM, OUR, THEIRS.  It would be tough on one’s friends.

Ooh! One's friends!!

ONE, ONE, ONE’S.

Interesting. ONE manages four uses with only TWO forms. Talk about clever.

When I first saw pronoun pins, I wanted one that said I, ME, MINE, in tribute to George Harrison, my favorite Beatle when I was a preteen, because I wanted to be “different,”  and ever after because I just kindof got stuck on George. Preteen fandom is potent.

But today I wanted to bring back our abandoned second person singular, and wear a pin that read THOU, THEE, THY, THINE.  Or maybe just THINE. THINE has a little thrill built right in, as if the person addressing you has brought along a sonnet, and you are going to swoon when you hear it, and then go gather rosebuds like crazy.

I remain, ever thine,

C