USE OF APOSTROPHES

IT’S unlikely that many of the perpetrators of the sins against the apostrophe will be reading this, but I must try do my best to save it from abuse.

I went to a state school, last century, where we had excellent English classes in .... shudder ..... grammar, and usage of language.

First, the apostrophe is never used to denote a plural. So - no tomato’s, potatoe’s, cd’s or any thing like that please! Oops, that sentence lacks a verb, but we can accept that as a fragment of thought perhaps .... Oh, and while we’re at it, “it’s” always means “it is” not the possessive form of “it”. If in doubt, might be better to leave it out!

Signs amuse me. One boutique sign I remember stated: “Everything goe’s!” And real estate descriptions sometimes make me giggle.

One that I’ll never forget said: “Veiws (sic) of the mountain rangers” - hmmmm, that sounds nice!

A recent Facebook campaign said that even the humble comma can save lives, if used correctly: “Let’s eat Grandma” is entirely different to “Let’s eat, Grandma.”

Yes, spell checkers can be blamed, and there is the dreaded auto-correct which befuddles everything.

However, there is one skill I admire, and that is the one known as proofreading. Seems we don’t have time for this any more.

Now, I must check this letter three times before I click “send”! Please be kind to the apostrophe today, people.

KAT ADAMS, Blue Mountain Heights