Monday, 18 April 2016

Exclusively for apostrophe aficionados.



This, above, was in the Daily Mail online, what WERE they thinking!

                               

And this one's a beauty! Anyone who asks for this to be tattooed deserves everything he gets.

Thank heaven for the apostrophe.


Posted by at

29 comments:

  1. Coppa's girl18 April 2016 at 06:54

    Potato's, pear's, plum's - you name it, someone will put an apostrophe where it's not needed !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 06:58

      Even my vegetable patch, Haddock's, is proud to display one; but there it's essential.

      Delete
  2. Maria18 April 2016 at 06:59

    I am the last person that can comment on these errors but, I think that even I know when and when not to make use of the apostrophe. Greetings Maria x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 07:10

      A lot of English people don't even know what an apostrophe is, let alone how to use it. Illiteracy is endemic in the UK. Worrying.

      Delete
  3. lovelygrey18 April 2016 at 07:41

    You know that post the other day that you wrote about the things that make you irritable? I think that the only things that really get my goat are incorrect punctuation and spelling. Mind you if you look through my blog you could probably find a few examples. Typos become rife when I have my sleepy head on whilst writing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. potty18 April 2016 at 07:55

      Lovelygrey: I know it isn't, but why don't we have 'whil'st'?

      Delete
    2. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 09:39

      We all make mistakes, but most of us know that we've made them and correct ourselves. It's the curse of the computer age.

      Delete
    3. lovelygrey18 April 2016 at 15:48

      Oh I like the idea of whil'st! x

      Delete
  4. Aril18 April 2016 at 08:36

    Its and it's......I spent a lot of time teaching my former students the difference..wonder if it made any difference?
    Arilx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 09:42

      I had all those little things beaten into me as a young child.... I'm sure I still make silly mistakes though.

      Delete
  5. The Weaver of Grass18 April 2016 at 09:24

    When in doubt leave it out was always my advice to my students. Once they had learned to do that then it was much easier to teach where it should go.
    I have a friend who goes around chalk boards outside cafes rubbing out the apostrophes - esoecially on ice's!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 09:43

      English is a strange language, but wonderful once we've learned its little nuances.

      Delete
  6. KK18 April 2016 at 09:24

    Touch typing and auto correct are making us forget grammar.

    Not a lot of people type in Hindi and Punbjabi, written using Devnagri and Gurmukhi scripts, so these languages are safe till now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 09:45

      Auto correct/Spell check is responsible for a big decline in people's ability to spell. Texting is even worse, with all its abbreviations.

      Delete
  7. Tom Stephenson18 April 2016 at 09:45

    The Ancient and Royal Order of Greengrocer's is the only sector of society who are allowed free and unfettered use of the apostrophe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 09:46

      And one has to wonder why!

      Delete
    2. Tom Stephenson18 April 2016 at 10:58

      A greengrocer once saved the life of a king, and was granted a royal favour to use the apostrophe in anyway he wished, in perpetuity.

      Delete
  8. Gerry Snape18 April 2016 at 10:35


    I love the tattoo....must get one!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. coffeeontheporchwithme18 April 2016 at 12:15

    Drives me insane. I remember wanting to stop and speak to the people who put up roadside advertising sign that said, "For Sale Poodle's". Were they selling something that belonged to the poodles? I admit to misusing "it's" until a university professor circled it on one of my papers in red and wrote a scathing explanation of how to use it properly. -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 13:09

      I must admit to using it's instead of its on a printed form. Only after the forms were distributed did I notice my silly mistake. Luckily no-one else did!

      Delete
  10. Shawn18 April 2016 at 14:00

    I could rant on and on about this, Cro. And don't even get me started on quotation marks when nothing is being quoted!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon18 April 2016 at 15:58

      I was hoping to raise some blood pressure!

      Delete
    2. Fat Dormouse18 April 2016 at 18:52

      Oh yes! Those errant speech marks. Somebody once wished me "Happy" Birthday in a card. I couldn't work out why they had put speech marks/quotation marks around "Happy". VERY bizarre!

      Delete
    3. Cro Magnon19 April 2016 at 04:39

      I find "that" very "bizarre" too.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous18 April 2016 at 19:26

    I am with you on the apostrophe. Not least because father of son is a fully signed up (no, make that "sighed") member of the Keith Waterhouse fight on crimes against the apostophe.

    However, dear Cro, don't try to run before you can walk. What's it with the full stops at the end of your blog posts' headings? It's not correct. Don't argue. It's not correct.

    U

    ReplyDelete
  12. Janie Junebug18 April 2016 at 23:03

    I am on a quest to teach the world about punctuation and everything else grammatical.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cro Magnon19 April 2016 at 04:41

      If I could guarantee my knowledge, I'd join you. Good for you!

      Delete

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