to apostrophe or not to apostrophe 2

[jakeyg]

Which side of this fence does everyone sit on?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4102728.stm

 

[sleipnir214]

I disagree with Ms. Burridge. The apostrophe can be a useful disambiguation tool.


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[strongm]

Oh, I have to agree with Ms Burridge's overall view that "the emphasis should be on clarity" is correct and reasonable.

But I've never been convinced by the argument that where to use an apostrophe is confusing, and the article does not change my mind.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I have no quarrel with the notion that the rules of language should be reviewed, and completely agree that the purpose of punctuation should be clarity and disambiguation. To that end, I disagree that context should be relied upon to distinguish between singular and plural possessive.

I also feel that if something is confusing, education might be preferable to omission.

Where I have seen confusion with the apostrophe is not with respect to the possessive, but rather when the apostrophe is used for pluralization. "There are two ATM's at the bank". Although common, I don't think that apostrophe is proper. On the other hand, "There are four a's in the previously quoted sentence" is, I believe, a correct use of the apostrophe for pluralization.

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[jakeyg]

I use them mainly as a replacement for missing letters as in "That's" instead of "That is"

Isn't it also used if something belongs to someone "Jake's car"?

My biggest annoyance with modern language of an apostrophe nature is "your" instead "you're

 

[AnotherHiggins]

"your" instead "you're"

I hate that, too. They are two entirely different things, yet many people just don't seem to know the difference.

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[sleipnir214]

We've had a discussion similar to this one once before. Someone contributed a link to The Dreaded Apostrophe, which propounds the use of a single, simple rule: Use an apostrophe where letters are missing.

The site goes on to clarify the use of the rule by taking a look at contractions and English's vestigal genetive case.


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[jakeyg]

Saw it written on a shop window, I can't remember the exact question written on the window, but the shop owner was out touting for business and asked me the question.

I asked him what he was on about as the question made no sense, he looked at me blankly until I corrected his grammer. He said "should it be spelt that way" and went in to get onto the sign writers. Ah, causing strife wherever I go

 

[kmcginn]

I agreee with one of the comments to the article. I think peopl who don't want to learn the correct use of the apostrophe are just being lazy. That's no reason for us to omit it from grammar rules.

It's really not that difficult to learn. I think one of the problems may be in our education structure - I don't think grammar is taught in schools to the same extent that it was when I went to school. That's the real shame in the issue!

 

[SilentAiche]

I think the possessive apostophe should be preserved. It serves a useful purpose, in my opinion. Someone mentioned context - I think context will differentiate between "missing letters" vs. "possession" when an apostrophe is used.

My biggest problem (personally) when using the possessive apostrophe is when a word ends with "s" or "es." I can never remember if it's "James' car" or "James's car" or what.

As to Cajun's example about ATM's vs. a's, at first I disagreed that the former was incorrect (I saw no difference). Upon reflection, he makes a good point, although ATMs somehow looks funny to me.

Tim'
(is that inappropriate? the "othy" is missing, after all...)

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[LTeeple]

I think one of the problems may be in our education structure - I don't think grammar is taught in schools to the same extent that it was when I went to school. That's the real shame in the issue!

True, true! Back when I was in high school (not THAT long ago...) english class was mandatory every year of high school. However, only one particular class emphasized grammar and the proper mechanics of writing. Sadly, it was the least popular class.

As of late, I have noticed, working in a top academic institution, that many distinguished academics can not use proper grammar or spell! I find it disturbing that a PhD does not know when to use "its" and "it's".


Cheers!
Laura

 

[SantaMufasa]

Bob's car", ergo "James's car". Those who quote the misbegotten rule, "If the word ends in 's', just add an apostrophe to make it possessive," are sorely incorrect.

We simply add an apostrophe to show possession if the possessive word has become plural via an ending 's': Example: "That is the boys' locker room." If, however, the possessive word becomes plural by some other method, then plural possessive comes from an apostrophe-'s': Example: "That is the men's locker room."

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[Sheco]

I think Apostrophe would be an excellent name for a daughter but my wife disagrees.

 

[SantaMufasa]

I believe that "Apostrophe" is a lovely girl's name...much more poetic than my manager at Oracle, Simmie Kastner, who married Robert Colen, and she, of course became "Simmie Colen". Full stop.

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[sleipnir214]

It would be pretty enough, I suppose, to English ears.

But the question is probably, "Do you want to give your daughter a name that means, 'to turn away'?"

From

http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0372700.html

:

[French, from Late Latin [tt]apostrophus[/tt], from Greek [tt]apostrophos[/tt], from [tt]apostrephein[/tt], to turn away : [tt]apo-[/tt], apo- + [tt]strephein[/tt], to turn; see [tt]streb(h)-[/tt] in Indo-European roots.]


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[chipperMDW]

Please, don't name a daughter after any sort of punctuation mark; she'd grow up having to deal with an excessive number of jokes about periods.

 

[SilentAiche]

Don't do it Sheco!

Guys might find her too possessive, or at least prone to short cuts.

She might also grow up to be a mid-wife, given her expertise with contractions...

Tim

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[tsdragon]

Tracy Dryden

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[BobRodes]

I'm tempted to say that the Germans do fine without one, but then I remember that they have 7 different inflections of the word "the" to take care of nuances. I suspect that they wouldn't be willing to simplify, either.

 

[sbudzynski]

It's not always that people do not know how to use the terms or are not intelligent. Most of the time it's simply laziness or people just don't take the time to insert the correct punctuation. Depending on the situation i think it's okay to let some things slide.

For instance when sending informal emails or typing on this forum i think its okay to say

its theyre youre no need to insert because we all know it goes there



Steve Budzynski
Metro Office Products Inc

http://www.metoffpro.com