TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Common Errors in English From:"Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- com> To:techwr-l Date:Sat, 28 Feb 2004 19:48:22 +1100
John Posada wrote:
>> case. Clearly this is not a possessive, since
>> the years do not own the experience...
>
> EXACTLY!
>
> You said what I felt and couldn't verbalize.
Can we assume, then, that you would say "I have a
year experience" or "I took a week leave"?
"Years" and "weeks" can be treated as possessives
or as adjectival nouns, but if you're writing a resume,
be aware that many, if not most, educated readers
will consider "Nine years experience" to be a minor
grammatical blunder. Maybe you can justify it on
theoretical grounds, but you may never get the chance.
--
Michael West
