The Poor, Neglected Apostrophe

Photo from source, TimesOnline

Back in the early days of this blog, I ran a post about the neglected apostrophe. I'm a sign-maker by trade, and have won (and lost) battles over the proper use of the little critter. And while I've misplaced one or two on occasion, I do know where they go. A primer:

- Apostrophes indicate possession. For instance, "Jane's computer." Or if the possessing name ends in an s, "James' Computer."

- Apostrophes indicate a contraction--or missing letters--such as, "it's" for "it is," "can't" for "can not" or "intern'l" for "international."

- Apostrophes are not needed within proper pronouns such as "hers" or "its."

- Apostrophes are not needed for plural initialisms or anagrams. It is "DVDs" not "DVD's."

But almost nobody gets it right. I've seen "WOMENS" on restroom signs, "VCR's" at electronics stores, and even worse, "Managers Special's" at the grocery store. And since some are so vexed by apostrophes, they either use them every time a word ends with an s, or they just stop using them altogether. Which brings us to this story. . .

[Excerpt]

Scene is set for a pedants’ revolt as city dares to banish the apostrophe from its street signs

For defenders of the apostrophe, who are more used to fighting minor skirmishes against greengrocers and butchers, it amounts to a major defeat: the day they lost Birmingham. . .

Read more at: TimesOnline