So I'm at a party Sunday night, and I overhear two post-graduate Ivy-leaguers having a discussion. One of them apparently had a cat that died last year. The other said, "Do you miss not having a cat?" The other said, "You mean, 'Do I miss having a cat?'" So the first one said, "How can you miss something you have?" And the second one said, "No, it's not referring to the present tense." The first one then said,"What if I said, 'Do you miss that you don't have a cat'...isn't that effectively what I was saying?" They could not come to a consensus, and frankly, neither could I. What do you think? Other than these are two, pretentious pedants?

 

I have never had a cat, I could not know about having a cat or not.

 

The second speaker was correct. You can only miss not having a cat (or anything else) if you currently have one and wish you didn't. The first speaker might have made his/her meaning clearer if he/she had said, "Do you miss your cat?" instead.

(I'm a high school teacher ... I have to deal with this stuff all the time.)

 

Do I miss having a cat? Yes
Do I miss NOT having a cat. This means that I have a cat and I miss NOT having one?

Full disclosure: I have a technical degree from a small(ish) college in the midwest. 1 English course.

 

The second is correct in my estimation. I'm really not sure what they are debating.

 

+1 for this explanation.
Full disclosure. I am actually English

 

The first one's mother must have paid to get him into college.

 

While the later is correct. Either would be understood in conversation.

Let’s talk about the Oxford comma which should always be used!!!

 

"How can you miss something you have?"

Seems to be exactly the point. You can't miss something you currently have; so in order to miss it, you must not currently have it. He currently does not have a cat, therefore he cannot miss not having a cat. Naturally, the inverse applies; He can miss what he does not have: a cat.

"Do you miss having a cat?" would be correct

 

Well now that I think about it.. the former could be correct assuming it’s rhetorical based on the preceding conversation.

 

I missed my wifes cat.

But I got it with the second barrel and now all is well in my world.

 

'Later,' or 'latter'?

 

'Wifes' or 'wife's'?

 

what about a simple: 'Do you miss your cat?'
BTW, second guy is correct

 

Mr Fluffles does not do grammar, but he is worried about the cat and if it was anything other than natural causes he will find them and trust me......he will scratch them!

 

After careful study I have determined there was obviously not enough booze at this soirée. I could not have enough liquor at this party and I wouldn’t miss the cat in the morning.

 

Just how bored are we all that THIS is the thread we are in?



So here is a photo - just working out a new lighting / focus setup

Go on, zoom in, I dare you

 

If you are English you are probably the least well qualified since we don't speak any languages properly including our own ...

 

I am more green than cabbage-looking! In honour of St. Patrick’s Day. To be or not to be, that is the gazorninplat. A tribute to Bob Newhart on his 80th birthday.