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Apostrophe Abuse!

post #1 of 30
8/7/08 at 4:43am
Thread Starter 
There is a new trend in the abuse of the apostrophe and suddenly, it seems, everyone on SF is doing it. It's driving me batty. You do not need to employ an apostrophe to make a plural of a proper name of some item you possess, as in "my new Alden's." This is wrong. "My new Aldens," is absolutely correct, and one keystroke shorter. As a matter of fact, you never need to use and apostrophe to make anything plural! The occasion where you might need an apostrophe in that situation is if and only if you are referring to something that the item in question possesses, such as "my new Aldens' soles are scratched," (employing the apostrophe after the 's' to indicate the plural possessive) which is correct though stilted. If the proper name ends in 's,' you get off easy, with "my new pair of Allen Edmunds." Do it for your health -- those extra keystrokes you save will delay the onset of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! ~ Huntsman
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post #2 of 30
8/7/08 at 5:42am
Thank you for this post.
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post #3 of 30
8/7/08 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky Strike View Post
Thank you for this post.
Yes, thanks for the reminder.
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post #4 of 30
8/7/08 at 8:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntsman View Post
There is a new trend in the abuse of the apostrophe and suddenly, it seems, everyone on SF is doing it. It's driving me batty.

You do not need to employ an apostrophe to make a plural of a proper name of some item you possess, as in "my new Alden's." This is wrong. "My new Aldens," is absolutely correct, and one keystroke shorter. As a matter of fact, you never need to use and apostrophe to make anything plural! The occasion where you might need an apostrophe in that situation is if and only if you are referring to something that the item in question possesses, such as "my new Aldens' soles are scratched," (employing the apostrophe after the 's' to indicate the plural possessive) which is correct though stilted. If the proper name ends in 's,' you get off easy, with "my new pair of Allen Edmonds."

Do it for your health -- those extra keystrokes you save will delay the onset of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

~ Huntsman

This seemed appropriate.
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post #5 of 30
8/7/08 at 9:17am
I am reminded of this: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/11/03/
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post #6 of 30
8/7/08 at 10:47am
Nicely done, Huntsman.

Next? The comma.

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post #7 of 30
8/7/08 at 11:24am
Thank you, Huntsman. This has been driving me insane for years, but I just kept it to myself because I figured nobody cared. Apparently I was wrong.
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post #8 of 30
8/7/08 at 11:27am
Gee whiz, I like a few good malapropism's now and then.

But when I see it in the grocery store (Apple's $1.69) it does set my teeth on edge.
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post #9 of 30
8/7/08 at 11:31am


What about this, Huntsman? Is the apostrophe correct because 'Hotel' is implied?
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post #10 of 30
8/7/08 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
Whoa, surprised and pleased to see a positive response! Brad, thanks -- I don't own any and was unawares. Audio, it's my understanding that Hotel is implied, but that's the Queen's English and I'm not entirely sure. I am sure that I won't be tackling the comma; too often it is used for creative effect, and is more challenging to regulate for that reason. ~ Huntsman
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post #11 of 30
8/7/08 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by audiophilia View Post


What about this, Huntsman? Is the apostrophe correct because 'Hotel' is implied?

British English appears much more likely to use the genitive case or to refer to proper nouns in this sort of strange possessive thing -- Selfridges, Burberry's, Harrods -- the original founders' names were all in the singular.
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post #12 of 30
8/7/08 at 7:17pm
Thank's!

I hope that "rediculous" is next on the list.
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post #13 of 30
8/7/08 at 7:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaizen View Post
Thank's!

I hope that "rediculous" is next on the list.

He should finish the topic of apostrophes and do: its vs. it's.
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post #14 of 30
8/7/08 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumbie View Post
He should finish the topic of apostrophes and do: its vs. it's.

Which is it? Is it it's or its? Its so unclear to me.
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post #15 of 30
8/7/08 at 7:27pm
its is the possessive. it's is an abbreviation of it is. Frankly, I think they should not have made this word an exception. One can easily tell the difference from the context just as one can in the case of other words. Henry's can be both possessive and mean Henry is. It depends on the context.
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