17 January 2012

Stop abusing that apostrophe!

A couple of years ago there was a shop here in Paignton called 'Lot's of Bargains'. As an apostrophe pedant I couldn't bear to go in there, the venture failed - was it due to many like me who couldn't stand that unnecessary apostrophe?  I doubt it, but never mind.  
Apart from the ubiquitous apostrophes greengrocers insert everywhere on their price tags, here are a few more bloomers, which we see all around us:

It’s not tattoo’s unless you’re saying, “The tattoo’s color faded.”
It’s not you’re unless you mean you are.apostrophe2 Stop abusing that apostrophe!
It’s not visitor’s unless you’re saying “It’s because of my visitor’s loyalty that I remain motivated to blog.”
It’s not taco’s and burrito’s. It’s not “kid’s have fun on the weekend.”
It’s not pizza’s or computer’s or banana’s.
Just because it has an “s” at the end, doesn’t mean the word needs the little twiddly icon.
Typos happen. I get it.
But in most cases, incorrect usage has more to do with ignorance or confusion than mistakenly inserting or deleting an apostrophe!

From: http://www.mansibhatia.com/2010/04/apostrophe/
and this site gives the rules of apostrophes.


To reiterate what Sir George Bernard Shaw, the famous playwright, said: 'if in doubt - leave it out'.

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