Mumsnet Talk

I like the idea of awarding apostrophies to people who know how to use apostrophes correctly.

<rehearses acceptance speech> I'd like to thank the Academy...

'Id like to thanks's the Academy, my parent's and the university's in various city's for my proud knowledge of how to use apostrophys'.'

^^ That would be mine, apparently. Ever regret starting a thread?

But back to the point - Devon, eh? Tut.

Discos - No apostrophe here...

This one might actually work

Can't believe I'm wasting valuable nap time by Googling 80s crisp manufacturers' punctuation mistakes....

Back to the point Lion, I think you're probably right and that apostrophes are on their way out.

By the way, how do you like your new user name to be shortened? It is a little unwieldy in the shortening department.

Ah, KP may have bowed to pedant pressure. Or I might be making it up. It's been known...

argue with Pedants' Corner at your peril

"proofreader Mary de Vere Taylor from Ashburton" (from the article in the OP) is my new heroine for this:

"It's almost as though somebody with a giant eraser is literally trying to erase punctuation from our consciousness... Some may say I should get a life and get out more, but if I got out more and saw place names with no apostrophes where there should be, I shudder to think how I'd react"

Oh, I'd forgotten about UnquietDad on that pedant thread. He used to provoke some massive bunfights on religion threads.

Nooooo Helen. Leave it to stand. The thread won't make sense and it's funny seeing the OP squirm.

I will be in a minority of one here I'm sure, but I think there's an argument for introducing a new punctuation symbol so that possession and omission are represented by different symbols it'll never happen .

I agree with the person who said above that too many unnecessary commas can look messy- though I'd imagine this only really becomes an issue in sentences which include lists and several clauses. This can be solved with judicious use of semi-colons; however, this often seems to introduce another layer of confusion.

The use of apostrophes is taught in primary schools, as is the use of other punctuation.

Oh I love a good semi-colon.

That Talcy is very nifty with a semi-colon.

As an aside, the rule about punctuating direct speech also seems to catch a lot of people out- though I'm sure all the experts on this thread would spot it immediately!

Oh I love you, Helen. Thanks for making me look clever again. Shame it wont last

Should have let the thread title stand

I really don't see why apostrophes are so difficult. I presume I was taught their correct use at primary school in the eighties, but I can't actually remember.

I thought the official line on things like James'/James's was that either was correct, so it's a stylistic choice? I always go with James' unless it's a place name with an official spelling. Place names can do what they like, I thought, as they are proper nouns, so not governed by quite the same rules.

I don't recall being taught colons and semi-colons with quite the same rigour, so have never fully mastered their use.

Can someone help me please, I am a grammar pedant and never knowingly use it incorrectly, however I have a question about my own name...

My surname ends with an S, think Atkins, though it isn't. How do I pluralise? The Atkins? The Atkinses? The Atkinsii (joke, before anyone calls off their chair in horror)?

Oh and btw, I am led to believe, by my good friend James, that he can be possessed, as it were, as James' or James's, both are correct.

MrsW- we are in a similar position with surnames. I don't know what the correct answer is, and have to admit to skirting round the issue by referring to the Atkins family.

The late and wonderful Christopher Hitchens used the extra 'S' for possession with nouns ending in 'S' (Charles's book) and that's good enough for me. I think it's the British way also; Americans I think prefer the more reductive 'S' (Charles' book).

I would say 'Atkinses' but not sure if it's correct... However from now on you should certainly start saying 'Atkinsii'

I would refer to the Atkins in writing I think, and hope that context made it clear.
I'd probably say something more like Atkinses though.

I bought some cheap party invitations and noticed they said 'Your invited to my party' Needless to say I binned them and bought another set!

Surely the Atkins are a collective noun.

So you are already plural. Like sheep or children.

Look, there's the Atkins.

But then again - you would say the Smiths when it's Mr and Mrs Smith.

It's all very confusing - but TBH, most people would get the meaning without all the extra "es" etc.

If it's possessive and singular then it can end s' or s's; if it's possessive and plural it should be s'

So, all the Atkins' wellies were lined up in the hall (in the sense of lots of members of the Atkins family, not just lots of wellies)
Susie Atkins' wellies were in the hall OR Susie Atkins's wellies were in the hall

I think.