Save the Apostrophes!

The poor little apostrophe, so often misunderstood, neglected, or abused. The apostrophe, that small but important mark that indicates this is Sarah’s writing or shows where a letter is missin’. I, for one, think it’s high time we put an end to the abuse and misuse of this inoffensive little doohickey, a doohickey that all too often is either left out entirely or applied with too much enthusiasm.

I know I’m not the only person who feels this way. In fact, I am a little behind on this one: The Apostrophe Protection Society has been around since 2001. The APS, as you have undoubtedly already guessed, is dedicated to encouraging the correct use of the apostrophe.

Examples of misplaced apostrophes are everywhere. The most common form of abuse seems to be overuse. People love to use apostrophes to form plural’s. You don’t need an apostrophe to say you have three kitten’s, two sandwich’s, or a thousand dollars’. A plain old “s” (or “es”) will do just fine.

Do we just love our apostrophes too much? Alas, no. Our love is too little, not too much. If we truly loved our apostrophes, we would take the time to get to know them, learn all about them, use them in the right places. But instead we leave them in such embarrassing situations as “two drink’s for the price of one.” Or we forget them entirely when we say, “I’m going to Freds house.” That, my friends, is not love.

So I encourage you all to hug an apostrophe today. Or, if you’re not the demonstrative type, at least encourage their correct use. The apostrophes will thank you.