Where did it start? Who was the one who first put the apostrophe in where it didn’t belong? Was it some bartender who innocently printed Tequila Tuesday’s on the specials board one day?
Or maybe it was the appliance store that advertised Used Refrigerator’s and Washing Machine’s.
It used to be that the poor little apostrophe wasn’t used, even where it was needed. Like in the case of who owns what, the kind of possessive words that apostrophes were made for.
For instance, I come from the county of Grays Harbor in Washington state. It should be Gray’s Harbor because, after all, it is Captain Robert Gray’s harbor. Being that he discovered it way back in 1792, it rightly belongs to him.
And what about Starbucks Coffee Company? Coming straight from CEO Howard Schultz’s mouth, Starbucks was named after the first mate on the ship in the novel Moby Dick. The character’s name was Starbuck. So it should be Starbuck’s coffee. The coffee that belongs to Starbuck, right?
Now, a new problem: overusing the apostrophe
So we have gone from not using the apostrophe when we should to sticking it in words it has no place in.
The sign at the grocery store says:
Apple’s
$1.50
What intended to be a message that there are apples here (more than one apple) and that they cost $1.50 now means something completely different.
If the apostrophe is there, it means ownership. Something belongs to the apple. In this case, it looks like the apple owns some money, that it is the apple’s $1.50. And I’ve never seen a piece of fruit that carries around change.
Of course, there are exceptions. If you are using just letters (“I bought four new CD’s) or numbers (“I got mostly 10′s in my workshop evaluation”), then, yes, it’s okay to use the apostrophe (and, actually, okay not to, as well).
Maybe we need some help
I’m thinking about starting a new nonprofit organization called The Society to Prevent Apostrophe Abuse. Like Monty Python’s Bicycle Repairman, this charity would come to the rescue of law-abiding citizens and, wherever words are broken or menaced by apostrophe-addicted writers, right the wrongs and gently put the abusers on the road to recovery.
Because saving the world from apostrophe abuse starts at home. We can make a difference.
Some of us just may need a little help.
Okay. What do you think?
Am I just overreacting? After all, my daughter is a theatre arts major and she must have picked up those genes from someone.
Is dropping the apostrophe in a word more acceptable than putting one in where it doesn’t belong?
Do you ever see this little punctuation mark abused?
Does it even matter to you?
413 
14
it drives me crazy!
It drives me crazy too. I think people work under the assumption ‘if in doubt, put it in.’ The rules of when to use an apostrophe are so simple that I can only assume that the abusers haven’t been taught them or don’t care.
@Robin Storey I think that there are so many people confused that it is beginning to look normal. My own husband never used to confuse its and it’s, but now I catch him doing it. Aack! I didn’t even get into the contractions, but that’s the other instance where some writers are getting it wrong. It seems so simple, yet…
Haha! I hit me too! I just can’t help it..
@fergusonsarah You just can’t help it? Hey, now we ARE beginning to sound like addicts. : )
I think the apostrophe is pesky to most people. It seems so easy in speech. No one says “let’s go to McDonald.” Yet even McDonald’s drops the apostrophe in its’ URL. I’m confused these days about its, it’s, and its’. In some regional speech even the possessive apostrophe is omitted, “My baby mother,” for example, which is strange since it would seem easier to say “My baby’s mother.” (See Judge Judy.)
@jenjarratt I was going to address your point in my post and I think it’s a valid one. I think website names and email addresses might have something to do with it. You can’t put punctuation into a URL (with the exception of the period in the dot com). People get used to spelling it without the apostrophe. (My blog’s name is Cat’s Eye Writer, however the URL is catseyewriter.com.) But it is a little harder to understand why people are putting the apostrophe into words that don’t need one.
I hadn’t heard the “my baby mother” thing. (Guess I need to get out more.) : )
Probably also the amount of abbreviation going on in texts and in online messages (Twitter, for example) has something to do with it. If you then add in all the different variants of English written and spoken around the world, it’s no wonder we are confused! Good topic!
@jenjarratt Great example of “My baby mother.” I didn’t understand that for quite a long time. It’s a generational thing, as I haven’t been in as much touch with younger folks in a long time. I have to ask my sister and brother (who have children) at times what something means!
Me’ too’… me’ too’…
Oh Judy – you have hit a nerve here!
A long time ago when my job including editing lots of other people’s writing to assemble into one coherent document, I kept a list of my pet peeves of bad writing. One of my big ones I called Gratuitous Capitalization. This means capitalizing words that aren’t proper nouns, like Architect and Engineer.
I get itchy when I see 1970′s instead of 1970s or ’70s, even though it is “okay,” doesn’t that just add to the confusion?
I agree that URLs and texting have added confusion to the apostrophe issue. So has the speed of life and information coming and going. We’re just moving faster these days.
Someone pointed out that with online communication increasing, writing skills are becoming more important, not less. And of course, clarity (editing) makes it easier and faster to get the message from what you’re reading.
So carry on, my friend! I’m cheering away.
I love it. This is becoming a discussion about grammar in general. Gratuitous Capitalization is a perfectly snarky, sarcastic way to describe the habit of which you speak. (I happen to be a great fan of sarcasm.) I once edited a multi-author newsletter and even without the names attached, I knew which person had written certain articles. In fact, I dubbed her the Queen of Capital Letters. They were everywhere!
On the 1970′s vs 1970s, even the English professors and renowned writers disagree on that one. And, yes, putting the apostrophe in does seem to add to the confusion.
It is so true that writing skills have become more important with so many emails, social media updates, etc. Perhaps it is just that we are seeing more people’s writing and so these errors stand out more. All great points, Barbara. Thanks for weighing in here.
It would have been interesting to know if the Queen of Capital Letters came from a German-American family? German uses more capital letters than English does and it could have been a family habit.
I learn something new from my readers every day. Did not know that about the German language. Perhaps she was. : )
It drives me crazy too Judy, as do common spelling and grammatical errors I see businesses making all the time.
Just last week I walked into KeyBank to find all new branding signs with the first sentence not capitalized. To make the signs even more odd, the second smaller sentence – their call to action – was capitalized.
Are they trying to be friendly? Web savvy? Or did someone make an error and KeyBank decided it didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars to fix the signs?
I have started collecting weird wording and errors on business signs. So far, this one takes the cake: Smoked Salmon Phone Cards.
I think people either don’t know, are too lazy to proofread, or think such errors won’t be noticed. What these word and punctuation abusers don’t understand is that people do notice and their reputations and brands are being damaged.
If you will expand the nonprofit to all punctuation, spelling and grammar abuse, I’d like to be member No. 2. After you, of course.
Hey, Sharon, thanks for sharing that story. I know that having been in the marketing business for so long, the trends come and go in advertising copy. For a time, many headlines were written in all small letters. So whether Key Bank was doing this on purpose or not, I don’t know. Can’t really understand the “smoked salmon.” Were they going for “salmon,” as in the color?
I always loved the road sign, “slow men working.” And, when I belonged to the Spokane Teachers’ Credit Union, a sign by a teller said, in the nicest script letters, “Happines is a Credit Union Savings Account.” That one was especially ironic because they served educators. : )
Thanks for making me laugh.
IT MATTERS!!!
“I went to the Smith’s” is a completely different statement from “I went to the Smiths’.”
“I went to the Smith’s” means that I visited a smithy. Maybe I had a nice chat with the smith over his anvil.
“I went to the Smiths’” meant that I visited the home of a family named Smith. Maybe they are people who communicate clearly, in which case they have a cozy little plaque that reads “The Smiths” on their door.
*sigh*
NOW you are really confusing me. My daughter is a junior at Smith College and they are endearingly called “Smithies.” : )
Your example of the Smiths shows that you know your stuff. But, I heard a discussion on the possessive of Jesus once. People were arguing for Jesus’ and Jesus’s. It all get so complicated, doesn’t it? I actually see that one both ways a lot.
Poor misunderstood little punctuation mark.
@JudyDunn Those are both correct, Judy: One can say/write Jesus’s apron (couldn’t think of another object off the top of my head), and Jesus’ apron is likewise acceptable.
Yes, both are acceptable, which makes it more confusing. Some people still tend to line up on one side or the other, though. Jesus’ apron? I kind of like that. : )
@JudyDunn I personally prefer what “looks” neater (and also sounds cleaner when spoken). Also, it’s nice IMO if the speaker is consistent throughout the piece of writing.
@JudyDunn Officially, both “Jesus’ apron” and “Jesus’s apron” are considered correct. In my writing group (and under the umbrella of my indie publisher), however, we adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, in which “Jesus’s apron” is considered correct. Assuming, of course, that Jesus is in possession of an apron in the first place. ; )
I’ve never heard of people instead of places referred to as “smithies”…but I would operate under the assumption that when it’s a nickname, anything goes. ;-D
@courtcan Unless the family is named “Smiths” or the person was referring to visiting more than one family named Smith, the correct placement of the apostrophe to mean “I went to the Smith’s” (as in “I went to the Smith’s house.”) is before the final s.
Sorry, my friend, but I must disagree. I’m looking at it from this perspective: I visited my friends, and their last name is Smith. More than one of the Smith family lives in the house I visited, so the Smiths live there. ” I went to the Smiths’ ” implies that I went to the home of the Smiths…or, I went to the Smiths’ home.
If the family’s last name is Smiths, then the correct plural is the Smithses. If I went to the home of the Smithses, then I went to the Smithses’ home…or to the Smithses’.
: )
@courtcan Hi Court,
It looks like we are saying the same thing with just a slight difference in perspective.
It doesn’t appear that you disagree with the placement of the apostrophe, but in terms of plurality in this particular instance.
When plurality enters the equation, you are right that the apostrophe goes after the s. I mentioned the same thing when I offered the case in which the writer was referring to more than one family named Smith.
Though you are also quite right in your explanation of two people named Smith living in the same house, I’ve always referred to the whole household in the singular.
That may be the crux of the (my) problem! I don’t think I’ve ever thought of the people in a family as being plural in terms of their name. I would say “I went to the Smith home” whether or not I visited 1 person or more than 1 person with the same last name when I was there.
In your example, it would be correct to say “I went to the Smith’s home,” if you actually were talking about one person…..though by the life of me, I don’t know why anyone would!
@tshombe LOL, no, if I were visiting just the one person, I’d definitely refer to him by his first name instead of just his last!
I think we’re coming from two very different backgrounds concerning the linguistic treatment of collective nouns. So, keeping that in mind — we’re both right. ; )
@courtcan I think it’s interesting how much mileage @JudyDunn is getting out of this post! I think we get into challenges when the meaning is lost because of incorrect punctuation, but it’s kind of funny the pet peeves shared here where some got riled up a bit! lol
@tshombe Yes, this post does seem to be getting quite a bit of feedback. It just brought all us nitpickers crawling out of the woordwork! ; )
I do so agree! There is another error related to the apostrophe that really bugs me too, in contractions. People drop the apostrophe and add an inappropriate word or letter such as should’ve (should have) is now commonly written as “should of”, and didn’t is now written as dident.
Is this no longer taught in schools?
Ha! Apostrophe troubles coming out of the woodwork here. You bring up a good point, and the other way apostrophes are used, to turn two words into one. I haven’t seen the “dident,” but I use “should of” in the memoir I’m writing, in my mom’s character. It isn’t correct, but it’s how she said that expression. (She wasn’t highly educated and sometimes didn’t proper grammar, but that is what makes her character unique. And, although “should’ve” may be technically correct (apostrophe takes the place of “ha-”) it’s confusing and “should have” is much more clear. Also, if one uses “should’ve,” people might think it stands for the dreaded “should of.” All good points, Pam. This is beginning to feel like an English class. : )
I’ve certainly made this mistake in haste once-and-awhile, but not out of ignorance.
It used to bother me — and it still requires me to correct students of mine who make the error in their papers — but now, I realize that if they knew better they would do better. I’m more interested in getting the message than in being right about their grammar.
That said, we have standard practices in English now so that we can be reasonably sure that we understand each other. So, it’s obviously important.
Even then, we run into ambiguity sometimes.
For example, I spent far too long trying to understand that your italicized “who owns what” in your sentence “Like in the case of ‘who owns what’, the kind of possessive words that apostrophes were made for” was not an example of where an apostrophe should go (I was thinking “How in the world does Judy think ‘owns’ should have an apostophe here?”) but rather an explanation of possession.
Come to think of it, this very sentence of yours ends in a preposition, which now has become pretty much acceptable in written English.
So, there you go. Who knows where apostrophes will end up (or not) over time! It is actual usage that drives language rather than even the best attempts at prescriptive grammar.
Fun topic you brought up, judy dunn!
@Tshombe: Love your take on things, my friend. You always make me think and that’s one of my favorite things to do. I think that a language, in order to be a living, breathing one, must change as people use it in different ways. Your example of my using a preposition at the end of my sentence is a perfect example of that. It is now acceptable. Another example was a blog post title of mine a while back: “5 Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid: 5 Things Your Teacher Was Right About.” I could have said, “5 Things About Which Your Teacher Was Right.” But when I read that aloud, it’s silly and clunky sounding. So, yes, go for the words that express your ideas clearly. But in the case of the apostrophe, it actually changes the meaning depending on whether you include it or leave it out. And sometimes it just downright doesn’t make sense at all.
I love being called on a sentence that wasn’t clear to the reader. Thanks for that. What I meant to say that sometimes the apostrophe is left out when it needs to be there to tell who owns what. “Tshombe’s eyes are beautiful” (by the way, they are). Who owns the beautiful eyes? Tshombe does. Thus the apostrophe.
And you are so right. Usage trumps the “rules” every time. Except in the case of our little punctuation friend, I hope, for clarity’s sake, he is used when it makes sense. Thanks for leaving such a thoughtful comment.
I absolutely agree, Judy. Your article was about the apostrophe (and perhaps, by extension, all standard punctuation), but it brought up all sorts of grammar pet peeves!
Great conversation going on here!
Dear dear dear… where to even begin! I’ve accepted a few things that have compromised my inner grammar goodie-goodie (such as the difference between “more than” and “over” – I used to think it was hard-and-fast, but I guess there’s wiggle room)…. but THIS, I will not budge. There are clear guidelines about what’s correct and incorrect. I see Tshombe’s point that usage trumps correctness, but bad usage shouldn’t alter what’s correct (does that make sense? It does to me, but this topic is leaving me befuddled and self-conscious about proper grammar and syntax, LOL!).
With texting and 140 characters and other convenient but quick forms of communication taking over our lives, it’s not surprising things have degraded to the point that we have to defend the apostrophe. It’s worth it!
May we now have a debate about serial commas?
Hey, Beth. I’m still in the “more than” camp. “Over” drives me nuts. Tshombe’s point about what the common people are using has merit. But I also think there are hard and fast rules that still apply, and the apostrophe is one of them : )
On serial commas? I leave the last one out. Started following the AP Guide when I began writing for newspapers.) Unless, of course, it changes the meaning of the sentence. a book dedication might say, “To my parents, Bob Dunn and God.” If I don’t put a comma after “Bob Dunn,” it sounds like he and God are my parents. LOL.
@JudyDunn I’m totally in the “more than” camp, too. OH, and “try and” vs “try to” – it’s TRY TO. I hear everyone getting that wrong, but now I just have a nervous tick about it rather than yelling at the television. Well, I still yell… sometimes.
I also agree w/you about the serial commas. It’s not necessary to say “I had milk, cereal, and toast for breakfast” – it’s like saying, “I had milk and cereal and and toast for breakfast.” Your notable exception is well said, LOL! I’d probably avoid it altogether and write “To God, Bob Dunn and My Parents.”
And Arden’s rant about it’s vs its? I’m so with her! I think we need a national billboard “its/it’s awareness” campaign!!!
This is all making me want to re-read “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”!!
@BethBuelow Beth, I really must get that book. It’s been recommended to me so many times, most often when I’ve gone off on a grammar rant in a blog post. My Kindle Fire has just been shipped. Maybe that will be my first digital book. : )
I purposely didn’t go near the contractions, most notably, its and it’s, in this post. I thought my readers can only get so angry in one blog post. I’ll save that for another day. Arden is absolutely right on that one, though.
Hot topic Judy. Here’s the one that drives me crazy; when people use the apostrophe in its when it doesn’t need it or vice-versa. The apostrophe makes “it is” a contraction – “it’s”. Just like “do not” becomes “don’t” with the apostrophe. If you write “It’s going to rain today” you use the apostrophe because it substitutes for the i in “is”. But if you were to write “Starbucks changed its logo” you don’t use the apostrophe because “its” refers to a noun. I know you know all this, but thought I’d put my English Literature major hat on and share the rules with those who don’t. Forgive my zealousness.
Now, that said, if you would write a post on comma usage I would be eternally grateful. That one I flunked in school. I know I either over or under use the comma.
Thanks.
@ArdenClise I think that the distinction (between its and it’s) is the hardest one for many people. I stayed away from it here because it really deserves a post all of its own. See, “all of ITS own.” : Thanks for that mini-lesson. : )
You are most definitely fortunate to have that English degree. I wish I had gone that route— for many, many reasons. I didn’t even take Latin in high school (all that talk about it being a dead language). But then I began to see that many of our root words come from Latin and I would have done much better in the vocabulary section of the SAT. LOL.
And commas? I just notice that, if anything, people ten to overuse them. Another post, perhaps. Thanks for sharing your English expertise here, Arden
Ha ha ha… I do love this banter. Think that Gratuitous Capitalisation (yes I’m from Australia so we use s instead of z) has a twin sister though – Wanton Exclamation
@Di Mace | Word Swords Ha! Having known (and worked with) the fine Canadian Danny Brown for a while, I am VERY familiar with the “s” replaces “z” spelling. You must sometimes think people will assume you don’t know how to spell, especially in a post that focuses on such issues. : )
I love your twin sister, Wanton Exclamation. I may, with your and @Barbara Breckenfeld ‘s permission and with credit to you, have to do a post with those two in it (that would be just my style)—namely, Gratuitous Capitalization and Wanton Exclamation. Now THERE are two colorful characters.
You started my day out with a laugh. Thank you for that. : )
Judy – now I am enjoying a smile as I imagine how the two colorful characters Gratuitous Capitalization and Wanton Exclamation are dressed, what they say, and what they are doing . . . together??? It sounds a bit racy. Can’t wait to hear more!
Oh I can’t wait to hear their adventures…especially after dark. I imagine them as tall willowy figures, confident and strangely self assured – but (of course) with outrageous assemblies of clothing to suit all those situations they get themselves into ….
@JudyDunn @Barbara Breckenfeld
@Di Mace | Word Swords@Barbara Breckenfeld Oh, well, only a writer (or a lover of writing) would look forward to a story with an exclamation point and a capital in it. I’m thinking that the exclamation point is rather loud, always blurting things out. And the capital is big, fat, and self-important. I may change those character traits as I think more, though.
I’ m hopeless/ I traumatized my child when she was five because I gave all the candles in the Thanksgiving centerpiece names (they were part of a family, you see). Made them talk in little voices and all that. When it came time to blow them out, she started sobbing. She is a junior in college (theatre arts major, wouldn’t you guess it) and she still remembers the devastating event.
Bad mother.
Think we should work on an anthology of ‘bad mother’ stories together. I have more than a few similarly scarring stories – but wouldn’t have it any other way
@JudyDunn @Barbara Breckenfeld
@Di Mace | Word Swords@Barbara Breckenfeld Ha! An anthology of bad mother stories. i think you are onto something. Everyone else writes about how to be the perfect parent. We’ll show people what NOT to do. : )
Sigh… I just finished a large proof-reading job and have been gritting my teeth all the way through about careless punctuation, careless formatting, careless spelling, and most of all careless editing. Underneath all my grumbling about how people should have been more professional, more responsible, etc. is just a real sorrow about seeing the language come slowly apart. It reminds me of a lovely house being chewed up bit by bit by carpenter ants with no one caring enough to keep it maintained. Asking if an apostrophe really matters is like asking why a little nail is important. Can’t we just do without it? Maybe… depends what it’s holding together.
@mdyak Don’t you just hate when someone asks you to “proofread” something and what they really need is serious editing, or perhaps, a rewrite? : )
Love the carpenter ants analogy. I’m definitely not saying that whichever is the popular use is the right one. I think that rules still matter, especially when the integrity and clarity of the writing will suffer without them. Very good points, Miriam.
Exceptions for CD’s and 10′s? Them thar’s fightin’ words!
Please! The CDs don’t own anything and there’re no letters missing. There’s no justification for accepting that usage. That said, the signwriters’ grammar guide must specify apostrophes for CDs, DVDs, TVs and the like as that is the ubiquitous usage. But that still doesn’t make it right.
A local takeaway food store is respendent with a front window sign for “Hamburger’s and Souvlakis”. Now, I’m not that partial to either, but I’ve always wondered what the hamburgers did to deserve the special treatment.
@Murph Ha! Knew that one would get SOMEONE riled. It depends on the writing guide one is using. The Associated Press Guide (which I used as a reporter) opts for consistency and says always use the apostrophe (CD’s, 1970′s, straight A’s). The Chicago Style Manual, another popular guide, says just add “s” (with no apostrophe), IF you can do so without confusing the reader. So that would be CDs, 1970s, but, in the third case, it would be straight A’s (because straight As is confusing).
It can get complicated. : ) And I don’t think “Hamburger’s” is ever an option. Unless, as you point out, the hamburger owns something. Thanks for making us think.
Judy, we could go back and forth until the end of time on this — and I won’t, I promise — but I’m fascinated by the notion that CD’s and 1970′s is for consistency. That would, of course, make hamburger’s perfectly correct. That sort of consistency is for the birds — or should that be bird’s?
@Murph Okay, I see where you are going with this. I think the the style guide rules apply just to words that are abbreviated with letters (CD’s) or are comprised of number (1970′s). But hamburgers? Now that’s a bird of a different feather. It’s the plural of a full-fledged, unabbreviated noun (like horses, birds, pizzas, apples…). Who knows what these style guide guys were thinking when they made up these rules. : )
@JudyDunnJudy, I can’t say I’m totally shocked that a media writing guide would have a different conception of consistency to we mere mortals [tongue in general area of cheek].
You won’t be surprised, I’m sure, if I tell you that I’m rather old school on these things. In my view, we’re writing to convey a meaning. If I want my audience to derive the meaning that I intended in writing, it helps if we’re all using the same conventions.
I acknowledge that rules in English often have almost more exceptions than examples, yet the CD’s and 1970′s exception seems to me to be more about a lack of leadership, too much a careworn acceptance that Pandora’s Grammar Box has been opened. I want to try to put some of that toothpaste back in the tube.
I don’t know about the US media, but sub-editors — those guardians of language, style and typography — are a dying breed in Australian media. It used to be that you could hold up quality newspapers as shining examples of good English. Online newspapers don’t seem to use sub-editors at all and mistakes in print versions are becoming almost commonplace.
End of rant.
@Murph I agree with much of what you say here. It is a certain careless, inattention to detail and, generally, a high-speed, let’s-get-this-done-and-get-on-to-the-next-thing culture we live in today. I still take time to find just the right word and check that grammar before I put my stuff out there, but yes, the writing to convey meaning part sometimes gets lost.
I love the way you describe it: the “guardians of language, style and typography.” It shows that you respect language and that’s very cool. Thanks for expressing your ideas so eloquently. I’ve enjoyed this back and forth. (And for the record, I am in my 60s, so Im pretty “old school” myself. : )
@JudyDunn@Murph I’m so glad you raised this subject, Judy, as it seems to me that the idiosyncracies of the English language have, in the last couple of decades, become an irritant to the general populace. The Oxford English has lost so many delicious words through lack of use and gained so much slang through over-use that our language is slowly disappearing. It makes me shudder to think what twenty-second Century conversation will sound like – wel ya no wot i mean sortalike innit wicked!
@LauraHart3 Unfortunately, we grammar, style, syntax and punctuation mavens are modern Canutes, vainly commanding the tide of change to be still! Look at Elizabethan English, for example, or Jane Austen and compare them to modern idiom. I wonder what Shakespeare or Austen would make of today’s language. Laura, I fear your nightmare has arrived a century early.
@Murph Murph, I couldn’t agree more. What concerns me most is that we guardians will be considered language snobs and vilified by modern media for our grammatical pedantry. I find myself curbing my vocabulary when speaking to most people for fear of initiating either a blank expression or one of contempt. But then, it seems to me that ‘Big Brother’ encourages banality and ignorance; a cursory glance at the TV guide says it all – and that’s all I give it these days!
@LauraHart3@Murph Laura, I cringe each year when I see some of the new words that made it into the dictionary. And don’t get me started on clichés. :
http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/why-you-dont-want-to-be-a-rockstar-blogger-the-trap-of-cliches/
I think that maybe good writing has been on the decline for a while, but we notice it more because everyone’s writing is more public in these days of social media, if you get what I’m saying.
@LauraHart3 Ha! It’s the reason I own a flat screen TV but have no cable. Nothing worth watching. We mostly rent the old, classic movies. : )
@CatsEyeWriter yes, language pawists ourselves r. who does know wot is hard bout prawper use of apawstrophe. http://t.co/CDVMVLa5
It appears to me that correct placement of apostrophes is an anathema to most people these days. My best friend’s daughter is taking her ‘O’ Level exams (UK) this year and she asked me to take a look at her English language mock paper. I nearly cried with frustration whilst trying to simplify apostrophe usage. Her face was a complete blank! I wonder if her English teacher’s face would be similarly vacant?
@LauraHart3 Very good question. When did teachers stop teaching apostrophes? When I was a teacher, it was in the very early grades/levels and kids were still working on one-syllable, short vowel words. But I know that my colleagues in the upper grades worked very hard on punctuation with their students. But then that was YEARS ago. Have we reached a time where even the teachers have grown up without any “apostrophe education”? And if so, how did they get to be teachers?
@SrGaff Glup es bacan!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love this, Judy! Why are apostrophes so hard for people to understand? I seriously don’t get it.
This is the first post of yours that I’ve read and I’m already a fan. Thanks for being a voice of reason in a world gone mad
@WordsDoneWrite Your reputation precedes you. Have heard about your talent from Danny Brown and other friends. Thanks for visiting! This has been an interesting post and has brought up many other grammar-related issues. it’s been fun. : )
@JudyDunn Ha ha! Wow! Who knew?
I saw your hubby speak at Blogworld and he used your site as one of the examples. I recognized your handle, but realized I hadn’t visited your blog. So, you’ll have to thank Bob for getting me here!
Sorry that I’ve been missing out on all your goodness prior to this, but you’re in my reader now
@WordsDoneWrite Yeah, it gets pretty expensive paying @bobwp to pimp my blog, but I do get a new visitor now and then. : )
Thank you for subscribing! Look forward to getting to know you better. And I certainly will check out your blog. I’m looking to filter out some blogs and add new ones as I continue to move closer to a pure writing blog.
Sometimes I think that I’m the only one who gets wound up about apostrophe misuse, that and excessive use of exclamation marks. Check out Eat, Shoots, And Leaves by Lynn Truss – her bete noir also.
@Charlotte74 Charlotte, Thanks for reading. And, yes, there are a few of us purists left. Lynn’s book is on my list. I just got my new Kindle Fire and am looking for stuff to load into it. : )
A local car dealership had a billboard in a very prominent location that read, “Where Your Alway’s A Winner!” I’m not kidding.
Thanks for the post!
@Paryl Ha! See? It’s everywhere. Ack! Make it stop!
Hello again Judy,
Plainly this subject tweaks my irritable button. I’m new to your blog page by the way and glad to be here.
Anyway, commas that have no place – I was taught, ooh at least four decades ago, that there is no need to precede the word – and – with a comma. ‘And’ in the middle of a sentence should create a natural pause – the purpose of the comma. Having said this, I see the ubiquitous comma preceding ‘and’ just about everywhere. Is it just one of those things that has crept in over the years and is now generally accepted? Am I a dinosaur?
@LauraHart3 An irritable button? Thinking how one of those might come in handy once in a while. : )
Though this post was on apostrophe misuse, many readers have expressed strong feelings about other cases of English language atrocities. Obviously we writers don’t take errors in grammar and punctuation lightly. On your serial commas question, @BethBuelow and I were discussing this in the comments below.
The only authorities who still preach leaving out that last comma are some of the newspaper style guides for journalists (“The Associate Press Guide,” for example). Their reason is not necessarily style-motivated. Newspapers have only so much paper, so many pages, for stories. Omitting that last comma saves them much needed space.
Most of the “regular” writing authorities (Strunk and White’s “Elements of Style,” for example) say, “Use a comma after every term, except the last.” However, as I said to Beth, if I dedicate my book:
“To my parents, Bob Dunn and God,” it looks like Bob Dunn and God are my parents.
So in that case, to avoid confusion, I would say: “To my parents, Bob Dunn, and God.” Or as Beth so astutely pointed out, I could just reword the dedication to take make it more clear.So there you go. I feel a blog series coming on. Gratuitous capitalization! Wanton exclamation marks! Serial commas!
@JudyDunn@BethBuelow Their, there, they’re – how’s about them beauties?
@LauraHart3 Oops. There’s that other box of Pandora’s opened now.
Let’s add:
where, were, we’re
hear and here
and the new black — could/should/would OF. Now THAT one I can get upset about at a moment’s notice.
Hi Judy,
I used to work with a person who could not keep straight the difference between possessive and plural. I explained the purse’s handle and two purses until I was blue in the face. I wonder if you can unlearn the misplaced apostrophe.
@avoidmederrors I’ve often pondered that very same question. I always thought that the difference between ownership and a plural was so obvious and simple. Someone should come up with a catchy slogan, like the one I used with first graders in reading, “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” Or maybe, better yet, bring back “Electric Company.” (Remember “Conjunction Junction” and the “Song About Contractions.” And how many of us still remember, “I’m Just a Bill on Capitol Hill”?)
I digress a little, but I was always amazed at how music could help kids learn and retain diffcult concepts. Thanks for stopping by and reading this post. : )