Apostrophe Catastrophe
Can someone please explain to me why ordinary, seemingly intelligent AI members think that an apostrophe is used to pluralize nouns? I never saw this phenomenon until about two years ago and now it's an epidemic.
This is VERY basic stuff people. Pluralizing a noun with an apostrophe will flunk you out of third grade spelling.
Here's a post by Elderloc:
"I'm an independant dealer affiliated with an Apple Specialist and Apple customers from CompUSA's and MicroCenter's over 60 miles away seek us out because we take the time to find out where the problem REALLY lies and then explain the solution to the customer."
It's CompUSAs and MicroCenters. The plural of cat isn't "cat's", so why the hell would it be "MicroCenter's".
Here's one by TiFighter:
"I almost hit the buy now button last night on a 15" Pbook until I read what everyone said about the new one's coming out.
Something wrong with "new ones"?
Here's a particularly brutal one from Bbazzarrakk:
"When Apple put's 512MB in a G5 they do it with two 256MB chips."
Here the apostrophe actually sneaks in to a verb! AAHHHH!!
Here's the rule people:
Apostrophes never indicate a plural. NEVER! Got that? Not on a word ending in a vowel, not on proper nouns, not on abbreviations, not on acronyms, not on numerals, and most of all, not just because you feel like it.
Mac Macs
taco tacos
CD CDs
PowerBook PowerBooks
G5 G5s
dog dogs
See, isn't that easy?
There is one, very rare expection to this rule. Letters of the alphabet and two letter words may be pluralized with an apostrophe if the lack of an apostrophe would indicate a different word. For example, the Oakland A's have an apostrophe in their logo so that it doesn't read as the word "as".
Seriously can anyone explain to me why people are doing this now when they never did before? Why is this suddenly such a problem?
P.S. Yes, this is an important issue. The rest of the English-speaking world laughs at America's butchery of the language. Besides, if you can't spell on a third grade level, you have no right to own a computer, especially a Mac.
This is VERY basic stuff people. Pluralizing a noun with an apostrophe will flunk you out of third grade spelling.
Here's a post by Elderloc:
"I'm an independant dealer affiliated with an Apple Specialist and Apple customers from CompUSA's and MicroCenter's over 60 miles away seek us out because we take the time to find out where the problem REALLY lies and then explain the solution to the customer."
It's CompUSAs and MicroCenters. The plural of cat isn't "cat's", so why the hell would it be "MicroCenter's".
Here's one by TiFighter:
"I almost hit the buy now button last night on a 15" Pbook until I read what everyone said about the new one's coming out.
Something wrong with "new ones"?
Here's a particularly brutal one from Bbazzarrakk:
"When Apple put's 512MB in a G5 they do it with two 256MB chips."
Here the apostrophe actually sneaks in to a verb! AAHHHH!!
Here's the rule people:
Apostrophes never indicate a plural. NEVER! Got that? Not on a word ending in a vowel, not on proper nouns, not on abbreviations, not on acronyms, not on numerals, and most of all, not just because you feel like it.
Mac Macs
taco tacos
CD CDs
PowerBook PowerBooks
G5 G5s
dog dogs
See, isn't that easy?
There is one, very rare expection to this rule. Letters of the alphabet and two letter words may be pluralized with an apostrophe if the lack of an apostrophe would indicate a different word. For example, the Oakland A's have an apostrophe in their logo so that it doesn't read as the word "as".
Seriously can anyone explain to me why people are doing this now when they never did before? Why is this suddenly such a problem?
P.S. Yes, this is an important issue. The rest of the English-speaking world laughs at America's butchery of the language. Besides, if you can't spell on a third grade level, you have no right to own a computer, especially a Mac.
Comments
Bi the weigh I luv those joke's about suthern grammer two¡
{(eDit: it wasnt you was it?})
But seriously, can someone explain why this incredibly basic error has become so rampant so quickly? I worked as a copy editor for years and never saw it, but now it's everywhere.
I was in an upscale clothing store last weekend that featured a sign reading "Shawl's $39.99".
Originally posted by Ensign Pulver
P.S. Yes, this is an important issue. The rest of the English-speaking world laughs at America's butchery of the language.
Ya know, I took a German cla's's in college, and the profes'sor 'said one year he had some German 'student's in his clas's that butchered German.
I guess people always butcher the language they grow up speaking because they don't have daily reminders and grades reprimanding them when they go astray. However, if you're taught a new language it's ingrained into your brain to say things a specific way through books, teachers, etc.
I agree with your sentiments, though. I have no problems seeing people correct other people, including myself, when it comes to grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Good post!
Mac's
Store's
One's
Member's
UUGGHH!!!
Placing an apostophe in the word "car's" is no different than using an exlamation point or question mark. Nobody would write the word "car!s" or "car?s" and expect it to be accepted as a plural. Why then is "car's" OK?
WHY????
Originally posted by Ensign Pulver
I was in an upscale clothing store last weekend that featured a sign reading "Shawl's $39.99".
That kind of "spells it out", doesn't it? Apostrophes ARE upscale. They are the single item that the newly arrived rich use to indicate their arrival, so to say. Hints at French too, as in [ic'est chique[/i] or c'est fou. Apostrophes galore, that's French for you. And that's upscale for you too.
On a serious note, language is a flowing thing. You know the same river twice? The same language twice is a perfect analogy. Language (and ESPECIALLY its arbitrary bastard son, spelling) should be bent to suit the people, NOT vice versa.
You will understand that I am a supporter of the progressive branch within the wonderful world of linguistics.
I have always considered people who get upset over faulty spelling to be people who never really understood the concept of language. School marms will pound you with an iron rule, on your writing hand, if you spell something with one or two e's, whatever may be the wrong choice at that time. These marms will know little or nothing about why that mistake might be bad. They'll happily brush off your question and go home and microwave a TV-dinner and watch the President's speech on the tube. University professors in linguistics will raise their eyebrow in mildly amused surprise whenever they see an error that one of their students made. They'll consider the mistake, see if it tells them something about language. I believe that anyone with a little background in linguistics will be able to tell you that we learn a inordinate amount more about a language from a perceived mistake therein, than from mere neurotical rule-determined usage of that language.
But then again, that's just my opinion (albeit not mine originally, in these postmodern times, there's probably not one among us who will claim to have a new idea all too soon. The real trick is assimilation. Fetch that stick, and DO something with it).
Carry on.
An apostrophe is for elisions, as in ?I can?t do nuttin? for you man,? or the poetic ?t?is?. It indicates a missing letter.
It also indicates posession, as in ?Hassan?s computer?: but this a fossilised elision!!!!!!!!
How so?
Well, even up until Elizabethan times in formal language you might say ?Hector his horse?, to say that the horse belongs to Hector, or ?Dick his sword? to indicate that the sword belongs to Dick. The ?his? eventually became ??s?, the apostrophe indicating that the ?h? and the ?i? were missing: elided.
Remember this hard and fast rule. Never fails.
Apart from with ?it?s? and ?its?, the little bastards.
Originally posted by Ensign Pulver
There is one, very rare expection to this rule. Letters of the alphabet and two letter words may be pluralized with an apostrophe if the lack of an apostrophe would indicate a different word. For example, the Oakland A's have an apostrophe in their logo so that it doesn't read as the word "as".
Is that the rule? I've always wondered about that, because you often see, even in newspapers and magazines, acronyms with a plural 's' and an apostrophe.
What about:
Learn your ABCs. or
DVDs for sale.
I always thought that those should go without the apostrophe, but I swear I've seen that type of acronym with the apostrophe with the plural 's'. I use the APA publication manual for my writing, and as far as I know, the rule isn't in there.
Originally posted by BRussell
Didn't I catch you with an incorrect 'its' or 'it's' a couple months ago? It was someone with a sig like yours, anyway, and I pointed it out with a sense of satisfaction.
Is that the rule? I've always wondered about that, because you often see, even in newspapers and magazines, acronyms with a plural 's' and an apostrophe.
What about:
Learn your ABCs. or
DVDs for sale.
I always thought that those should go without the apostrophe, but I swear I've seen that type of acronym with the apostrophe with the plural 's'. I use the APA publication manual for my writing, and as far as I know, the rule isn't in there.
If you go to www.dictionary.com they have a "common errors" section that discusses many things and one being, apostrophes. ABC's, they say, is appropriate to put an apostrophe and also if you say "mind your P's and Q's". Pretty much everything else you don't put one if it's plural.
Here's the link in the Grammar, usage & style section.
This is the internet. The land where you can write in bad english and substitute numbers for letters at free will.
Quit being such a ballbuster and revel quietly in your intellectual superiority.
edit: in an attempt to gain the respect of Ensign Pulver, I have edited the hideous glaring error in my post. I hope I haven't lost the respect of the rest of you during this episode. Thank you and good day.
Originally posted by X X
also if you say "mind your P's and Q's".
Well, this one fits with what Hassan was discussing about contractions (or whatever silly British word he used for them), since P's means pints, the apostrophe-s is indicative of the missing letters, I would say.
(The expression is from British pubs [from I don't know what time period], where patrons [or punters, if you will] were told to 'mind their pints and quarts', ie, not get rowdy or such).
Originally posted by rageous
This is the internet. The land where you can write in bad english and sustitute numbers for letters at free will.
Thank you sir, you have just (sadly) proved my point.
How much further does the English language have to degrade before you care?
Originally posted by X X
If you go to www.dictionary.com they have a "common errors" section that discusses many things and one being, apostrophes. ABC's, they say, is appropriate to put an apostrophe and also if you say "mind your P's and Q's". Pretty much everything else you don't put one if it's plural.
Here's the link in the Grammar, usage & style section.
Thanks for the link. That's exactly what I'm talking about. However, it is my understanding that pluralizing acronyms is no longer accepted. Look at any of Steve's slides during a keynote. It's always, CDs, DVDs, G5s, etc.
Originally posted by agent302
(The expression is from British pubs [from I don't know what time period], where patrons [or punters, if you will] were told to 'mind their pints and quarts', ie, not get rowdy or such).
I had heard that it was when printing presses would (I don't know the process, so forgive me) write out the article to print using the little metal lettars that would have the ink rolled across, and the letters 'p' and 'q' would be almost identical in appearance so they told the guy who was placing the letters to mind his p's and q's.
I don't care enough to actually look up the history of that saying, but if you do I'd be interested.
Regards!
Quit being such a ballbuster and revel quietly in your intellectual superiority.
But it's much more entertaining to give people a hard time. How can one revel in their intellectual superiority if they don't make a point of demonstrating it to everyone?
A few years ago even people who couldn't spell worth a damn would never think the plural of taco is "taco's". Why now?
Big Deal !
Apostophes & commas, semi colans etc have had a colorful history that is still in fluid development.
They didn't always exist in the way they are used now.
Try reading an original piece of Roman text chiselled into stone..Once you get past the beautiful font..you'll note there are no commas, apostrophes or even full stops..* period is an american vulgarism..
But personally, I like the idea of James Joyce seeking to liberate english...as it is written...." streams of conciousness.."
Unlike dying French, stultified & legislated into an iron lung existence with linguistic gendarmes hovering, english is vibrant and full of quirky side roads of evolution. It is one of the most abmbiguous languages and all the more beautiful for it..!
So rejoice at peoples' foul ups..they're the precursers, not of good or bad english, ( for that is a relative term ) , but the users & makers of a fine contradiction in terms...the....English language.
As long as I can remember being online I've seen the error everywhere.
And thank you for pointing out my spelling error in my other post. Instead of just responding to what I said you chose to attempt to publicly humiliate me. Good show!