Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage and Bryan Garner both dismiss the
apostrophe.
Among other subjects dealt with by the self confessed grammar guru it asks: "Why do
apostrophes keep turning up in the wrong place?" Gyles, a former Oxford Scholar and President of the Oxford Union, says: "I love a well-placed
apostrophe.
Why just
apostrophe, almost every punctuation mark is receiving the cold shoulder from a generation that finds no difference between a dash and a hyphen, or would care less if told that colon has another meaning apart from being a part of the anatomy.
While as a nation Britain would mount the barricades for an
apostrophe, Britons are admirably adaptable when it comes to linguistic invention.
CEEED would have been an e too far, however, so, in their wisdom, the marketing people decided to drop the final e and replace it with an
apostrophe.
mission from one such
apostrophe midway through the poem.
"With yourself being an intellectual chap and knowing all about the English language and such, in order to write your column, I wondered if it would be possible for you, or readers, to sort out the problems I have with the good old English
apostrophe.
I have a thing with
apostrophes. In this column you've heard me say, loudly and often, that
apostrophes make contractions (you've) and indicate possession (Karin's
apostrophe obsession).
Even when a singular noun ends in s, an
apostrophe and an "s" is not the way to go.
"As a journalist I am a stickler for the correct grammar and it's important that the
apostrophe is in the right place.
Sorry to be a nattering nabob of negativism and nth-degree stickler, but I noticed the last issue was chock-full of a particular grammatical misdemeanor which, for whatever neurotic reason, always makes me cringe: The unnecessary
apostrophe. There is never any reason to place an
apostrophe before the letter "s" unless it's a possessive noun or a contraction.
In general, form the possessive of a singular noun by adding an
apostrophe plus the letter s.
