![]() ![]() These all look a little old-fashioned and you don't need to bother, although I have kept fo'c'sle (forecastle) in the Guardian style guide for nostalgic reasons as it is a survivor from the very first "Style-book of the Manchester Guardian" in 1928. The way to avoid confusing them with the apostrophe-less equivalents its, whose, their or there, and your is to do a quick check of the meaning: in the sentence "there are many people who count their blessings even when they're poor", "they're" is clearly a contraction of "they are" so needs an apostrophe.Įxamples of abbreviated words that are sometimes given apostrophes include 'flu (short for influenza), Hallowe'en (All Hallows Evening), and Jo'burg (Johannesburg). Many pronouns are routinely abbreviated and need an apostrophe – it's (it is), who's (who is), they're (they are), you're (you are) and so on. I'd rather buy my own beer if you won't put your hand in your pocket. Some books list as many as eight uses for them but they are just trying to confuse you: there are only three to worry about. No wonder people are confused: a colleague coined the word apostrofly – "an insect that lands at random on the printed page, depositing an apostrophe wherever it lands".Īpostrophes are, however, quite simple. #CANT USE APOSTROPHE MTG CARDSMITH HOW TO#You might pass Boots (that's Jesse Boot you can hear spinning in his grave, although he lost his apostrophe many years ago) Waterstones (or, as it was known until 2012, Waterstone's) Sainsbury's (founded by a couple of Sainsburys, and which might therefore be known as Sainsburys', although its official name is J Sainsbury) Marks & Spencer (widely known as Marks & Spencer's) and Tesco (which has also never had an apostrophe – that may explain why it doesn't know how to use them – but, perhaps by allusion with Sainsbury's, is often referred to as Tesco's). The difficulties many people have with apostrophes can be explained by a walk along any high street. ![]() I wonder how far I'd get with a job application to Tesco if I wrote something like this: "Id really like a job at Tescos, I think its a great company, it sell's everything from kids toys to Mens. The meaning may be clear but the sloppiness demonstrated by this insult to the intelligence of its customers makes you wonder what else the company gets wrong. It gets worse in the clothing department: a simple "Kids" seems fair enough, but the signs nearby are a scarcely credible "Mens" and "Womens". You'd think that someone among its half a million employees would know better than to put up signs saying "Kids toys". Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, is in a class of its own when it comes to apostrophe abuse. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |