Posts Tagged ‘apostrophe’
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
As part of an email discussion about an upcoming workshop, I received this question yesterday:
Can you let me know what you're daily rate is?
Whoops! As I have "preached" before, YOU'RE is a contraction of the two words YOU and ARE. It can only be used where the words YOU and ARE (subject and verb) would fit in a sentence.
This writer needed the word YOUR, which is a possessive pronoun that describes something (in this case, DAILY RATE) that belongs to YOU. The sentence should read this way:
Can you let me know what your daily rate is?
EASY REMINDER: YOUR and YOU'RE are not interchangeable. They have different meanings and different functions.
Tags: apostrophe, pronoun
Posted in apostrophe, pronoun | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Here is part of a "Job Wanted" ad that appeared in my local newspaper this week:
Christian lady looking to clean one families home.
Whoops! The epidemic of apostrophe problems continues. This lady only wants to clean ONE HOME. The HOME should belong to ONE FAMILY. The proper way to show that ONE HOME belongs to ONE FAMILY is to add an apostrophe and an S to the end of FAMILY.
Changing the Y to I and adding ES makes the word refer to several FAMILIES, and I am sure the lady did not mean to suggest that this should be one HOME belonging to several FAMILIES. The sentence should read this way:
Christian lady looking to clean one family's home.
Tags: apostrophe
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar, plual forms | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
I make a point of not pointing out Grammar Glitches in what people say out loud. However, when a reporter writes down what someone says, that reporter ought to use correct punctuation. Consider this paragraph from a front page story about Oak Mountain Missions in this month's issue of 280 Living:
"I'll be dressed up and help load items into the client's cars when they pull around to the warehouse," said Collins. "You should see the look on some of the kids faces. It means a lot to me."
Whoops #1: It would be quite difficult for one CLIENT to drive several cars around to the warehouse, but that is what is stated here. We know the speaker is referring to more than one CLIENT because he uses the pronoun THEY later in the sentence. It should read this way:
"I'll be dressed up and help load items into the clients' cars when they pull around to the warehouse," said Collins.
Whoops #2: None of the kids I know have more than one face, so I suspect this speaker is talking about more than one KID. There should be an apostrophe (after the S) to indicate that the FACES belong to multiple KIDS:
"You should see the look on some of the kids' faces. It means a lot to me."
Tags: apostrophe
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar | 2 Comments »
Monday, October 24th, 2011
I came across the following question on a LinkedIn discussion site this morning:
Whats everybodies opinion on printing and its impact on the Environment? Online Vs Print?
Whoops #1: WHATS is supposed to be a contraction of WHAT and IS. Therefore, it needs an apostrophe to indicate where the letter "I"was left out.
Whoops #2: The word EVERYBODY is treated as a singular pronoun (takes a singular verb), and it cannot be made plural even though it appears to refer to more than one person. The concept suggests "every single individual person within a group." In other words, EVERYBODIES is not a word and does not exist.
Accolade #1: The writer of this question did get the grammar right when choosing ITS (without the apostrophe) to modify IMPACT.
The question should read this way:
What's everybody's opinion on printing and its impact on the Environment? Online Vs Print?
NOTE: If anyone wishes to comment on the impact of printing on the environment, I will be happy to pass the comments along to the LinkedIn discussion.
Tags: apostrophe, plural forms
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar, plual forms | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Apostrophe Glitches continue! Below is an advertisement for a party plan company that appeared in a local club newsletter.
The word VANDERBILTS (plural) refers to the elite family (more than one person) who built and occupied the Biltmore estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The legacy simply began WITH THE VANDERBILTS. There is nothing possessive in this sentence.
All readers please stand and repeat after me (AGAIN!!)–It is not necessary to use an apostrophe to create the plural of a word. I don't know where this bad habit originated. Do any of my readers have a theory about this?
I would also change the ampersand (&) before CONTINUES to the word AND. The last sentence of the advertisement should read this way:
Be a part of the legacy of hospitality and entertaining that began with the Vanderbilts and continues today.
Tags: apostrophe
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar | 6 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
The US National Cowboy Fast Draw Championship is being held this weekend in Pendleton, Oregon. More than 100 gunfighters from all over the country will compete. I didn't know we still had any of those–even out west–and under age to boot! 
A press release for this event contains two apostrophe problems. Here is the first:
The competitor's ages range from 8 or 9 years old to 80.
Whoops #1: AGES is plural, so it is logical to conclude that COMPETITORS should also be plural. The process is to make the word plural first (COMPETITORS), and then add the apostrophe to show that the AGES belong to the COMPETITORS. The sentence should read this way:
The competitors' ages range from 8 or 9 years old to 80.
Here is the second apostrophe problem:
Thursday kicks off with a practice match that let's the gunfighters get in a warm up on the range….
Whoops #2: LET'S is a contraction of LET US. In this sentence, all the press release writer needs is the plain old 3rd person singular verb LETS. I don't really know what a WARM UP is–an UP that's been out in the sun maybe? When used as a noun, it should be WARMUP. The sentence should read this way:
Thursday kicks off with a practice match that lets the gunfighters get in a warmup on the range….
BONUS GLITCH FOR THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Here is a usage glitch I've never seen before, one I think I'll share with Tammy Gross who did the list of commonly misused words for LinkedIn. (See August 23 post.)
I like this site its a master peace !
Where do I begin? First of all, it is a run-on sentence. (See yesterday's post on those.) There should be a period between SITE and ITS. Second, IT'S needs the apostrophe because it is a contraction of IT and IS. Finally, PEACE is a homonym for PIECE, which is the correct choice here, and it should be a compound word with MASTER–MASTERPIECE. The sentence should read this way:
I like this site. It's a masterpiece !
I do thank the writer for liking this site, and I hope he or she will come back often in spite of (or because of) my comments on the statement. Thanks!
Tags: apostrophe, sentence structure, word usage
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar, sentence structure, word usage | 2 Comments »
Monday, August 29th, 2011
A local ad brochure arrived in my mailbox this week. It contained many colorful and attractive advertisements, including one for original artwork by a public relations student. Although the artwork samples shown were beautiful, the ad copy contained three apostrophe errors. I sincerely hope this college student will get her punctuation straight before she applies for a job in PR.
Here is the first error:
While being here in college and not being able to paint inside my apartment, I have turned my grandparent's home into my own personal art studio. I use their kitchen, den, front door hallway, and covered garage as my own personal design workspace.
Whoops #1: When I read the first sentence, I concluded that this student had only one grandparent living in the house where she creates her art (because the S came before the apostrophe in GRANDPARENT'S). Then I read the second sentence, which uses the word THEIR and clearly indicates two grandparents. The apostrophe should come after the S. Make GRANDPARENTS plural first, then plural possessive. It should look like this:
While being here in college and not being able to paint inside my apartment, I have turned my grandparents' home into my own personal art studio. I use their kitchen, den, front door hallway, and covered garage as my own personal design workspace.
I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE, AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN: THE APOSTROPHE SHOULD NOT BE USED TO MAKE A WORD PLURAL. Consider this sentence:
A few years ago one of my teacher's saw some of my doodling on my notebook…..
Whoops #2: In this sentence, TEACHERS is just plural, not possessive. Nothing belongs to the TEACHERS in this sentence; therefore, no apostrophe is needed. It should read this way:
A few years ago one of my teachers saw some of my doodling on my notebook…..
There are several options to consider when correcting the third apostrophe error. Consider this sentence:
There is no better feeling than seeing individual's eye light up, and hearing such positive, happy compliments after they view my whimsical, eclectic artwork!
Whoops #3: An INDIVIDUAL is one person. Does only one of that person's EYES light up when viewing this artwork? If we are talking about one INDIVIDUAL, why is the pronoun THEY used in the second part of the sentence? The simplest way to untangle this sentence is to make it plural, suggesting that lots of people's eyes light up. Then there is the problem of whether or not SEEING and HEARING should be described as FEELINGS. I would rewrite it this way:
There is no better experience than seeing people's eyes light up and hearing such positive, happy compliments after they view my whimsical, eclectic artwork!
Certainly, the art student should have learned how to use apostrophes correctly, but I would also fault the copy editor for not spotting the three errors and correcting them before the publication went to the printer. If I were hiring someone in PR, neither of them would get the job!
Tags: apostrophe, pronoun/antecedent agreement
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar, pronoun/antecedent agreement | No Comments »
Friday, August 19th, 2011
An online headline for New York Daily News caught my eye on Tuesday. Here it is:
Whoops! IT'S with an apostrophe is always the contraction of IT + IS or IT + HAS. The copy editor should have corrected to ITS without the apostrophe to show that the 'wealthy economy' belongs to the U.S. (Or so we continue to hope!) This headline should read as follows:
Fitch Ratings: U. S. and its 'wealthy economy' still AAA.
FOOTNOTE: To the credit of New York Daily News, when I searched for this article again this morning, the headline had been corrected.
My sincere thanks to Michelle Baker for her two guest posts last week, which I'm sure you enjoyed.
Tags: apostrophe, pronoun, word usage
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar, pronoun/antecedent agreement, word usage | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Yesterday's "News Feed" in The Birmingham News contained a sad story about a double homicide. The story also contained an apostrophe error that was committed twice. I have changed the last name of the victims but changed it to a different last name that makes the same point. I have also left out other names from the story.
Here is what reporter Thomas Spencer wrote (except for the name change):
According to ———– County Coroner —————, the double homicide occurred around 5 a.m. on ———- Street, where the victims Sharon Chambers and her daughter Patricia Chambers lived…..Police named Patricia Chamber's estranged boyfriend———— as a suspect and are seeking him for questioning. ———— is the father of Chamber's ——— children.
Whoops! CHAMBERS, with the S, is a complete name. When you want to make it possessive, you cannot put the apostrophe before the S.
You have two choices: Put an apostrophe after the S in the name OR put an apostrophe and an S after the name. My choice here would be just the apostrophe after the S because I don't want to have to pronounce the result as "CHAMBERSUZ." The sentence should read this way:
According to ———– County Coroner —————, the double homicide occurred around 5 a.m. on ———- Street, where the victims Sharon Chambers and her daughter Patricia Chambers lived…..Police named Patricia Chambers' estranged boyfriend———— as a suspect and are seeking him for questioning. ———— is the father of Chambers' ——— children.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: Notice that there is no apostrophe after CHAMBERS when it simply names the woman and her daughter.
Tags: apostrophe, The Birmingham News
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
The heated debate about the importance of good spelling continues on LinkedIn (see previous blog post). When I opened my local newspaper yesterday morning, page 8A carried a perfect example of the kind of poor advertisement that can detract from a company's professional image. Today's ad for Patillo Balance and Hearing Center, a respected business in Birmingham, contains not one but SEVEN spelling and usage errors in ONE ad! I believe that is a record in my collection, and I cannot imagine how it got past proofreaders at Patillo and at The Birmingham News. Yoo-hoo, anybody in that capacity on duty?
 Whoops #1–Although PREFORM is a word, it is not the one needed here. It should be PERFORM, which is what you would want your hearing aid to do when you want to hear. PREFORM means to shape something ahead of time.
Whoops #2–THROUGH is a word, but it is not the one needed here. You don't want a THROUGH computerized hearing test, you want one that is comprehensive (THOROUGH).
Whoops #3 and #4–POWERFULL is simply misspelled. It should have only one L at the end (POWERFUL), and a quick spell check (if someone had bothered) would have caught that one. The same is true with DESCREET, which is not a word at all. You want your hearing aid to be DISCREET (not standing out like a sore thumb).
Whoops #5–MANUFACTURERS refers to the producers of the hearing aids, so possession should be indicated with an apostrophe. This coupon entry should read: FREE CLEANING AND INSPECTION OF ANY MANUFACTURER'S HEARING AIDS.
Whoops #6 and #7–The word CLEARER is a comparative adjective, as in CLEARER hearing or CLEARER sound. CLEARER describes a noun. In this sentence, the writer is referring to the word HEAR, which is a verb. Therefore, the comparative adverb MORE CLEARLY is needed. This is followed by the phrase ON THE PHOTO. I read that three or four times before I figured out that it should have been PHONE, not PHOTO. That sentence should read as follows:
- Hear more clearly on the phone, in the car, even outside.
Tags: adjectives and adverbs, apostrophe, spelling, The Birmingham News, word usage
Posted in apostrophe, Grammar, spelling, word usage | 4 Comments »
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