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Original poster

to quietly correct this?

190 replies

forgotmypassagain · 23/07/2024 10:44

I want to preface this with saying at this juncture I have not uttered a word.

Through my DDs I am friendly with one of the school mums (sit with her at parties, message about the kids, take them to soft play together).
She’s recently set up a business…let’s call it The Happy Faces but on all her promotional things she’s put an apostrophe in faces so the the business is called “The Happy Face’s”…

I suppose I’m asking if anyone would point this out to her? The type of business it is lends itself to correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Mine is by no means perfect btw and I’m asking more from the point of view that she is absolutely lovely and i would like to see her succeed and wouldn’t want people to be put off the business by incorrect punctuation in the business name.

OP posts:
Waitingfordoggo · 23/07/2024 13:28

I’m also put off businesses with spelling/grammar/apostrophe errors in their marketing. I know that these skills are much harder for some people than others, and perhaps if your trade is something manual, you probably don’t need to be great at SPAG. However, I’m sure that almost everyone knows someone they can ask- a family member or friend- to check for errors.

Edited twice for typos 😂 (Haven’t got my glasses on).

pointlessopportunity · 23/07/2024 13:28

Surely she has a design and /or print company? Let them point it out for her

halava · 23/07/2024 13:27

Recently I was proof reading and editing my nephew's thesis. OMG. He got a great result from it, but I can tell you that I spent half my life correcting grammar and spelling.

I obviously didn't verbally point it out, but using Google shared docs, he saw all the changes!

I wonder if it's because people don't read as much now as we did when at school/college as a lot of their studies and work seems to be sourced online these days. I'm definitely getting old and cranky!

And I'm sure I make some grammatical and spelling errors myself.

Hankunamatata · 23/07/2024 13:25

Please tell me it's not a literacy tutoring business

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 23/07/2024 13:25

WitchyBits · 23/07/2024 11:02

@Kta7

I won't use businesses that can't use correct SPAG either.

Nor me. It shows IMO either plain sloppiness, or at least a lack of attention to detail.

MartyFunkhouser · 23/07/2024 13:22

You MUST tell her.

Prawncow · 23/07/2024 13:19

Am I the only one who’d keep their mouth shut? People shoot the messenger.

Blondeshavemorefun · 23/07/2024 13:18

zingally · 23/07/2024 12:35

I would tell her.

I once did the same thing for a friend setting up a personalised stationery company. She'd spelt it "stationary"... It's a common mistake, but I noticed it straight away. It's "e for envelopes" and "a for absence of movement."

I R.E.M. being taught that at school

Op - shit sandwich. Or printers error

Has to be

If she is a good friend you need to tell her

FalderalderaldoSittingintheWater · 23/07/2024 13:16

UpThereForThinkingDownThereForDancing · 23/07/2024 13:11

@FalderalderaldoSittingintheWater
You can see a reply to this on my post at 11:54.

Show quote history

Not a satisfactory explanation. If you cannot be totally honest with your friends, why be friends with them?

Gummybear23 · 23/07/2024 13:15

Life is too short.
Tell her.

If her grammar is generally poor she will not be mortified.

Some people find it hard even with grammar check.

UpThereForThinkingDownThereForDancing · 23/07/2024 13:15

@WhodoVoodoo Oh no. 🫣

WhodoVoodoo · 23/07/2024 13:12

I know someone with a misspelled tattoo. I have kept schtum about that one. However, in this case, I would have to say something.

UpThereForThinkingDownThereForDancing · 23/07/2024 13:11

FalderalderaldoSittingintheWater · 23/07/2024 12:24

Why blame the printer?

Show quote history

@FalderalderaldoSittingintheWater
You can see a reply to this on my post at 11:54.

BeachParty · 23/07/2024 13:10

forgotmypassagain · 23/07/2024 10:44

I want to preface this with saying at this juncture I have not uttered a word.

Through my DDs I am friendly with one of the school mums (sit with her at parties, message about the kids, take them to soft play together).
She’s recently set up a business…let’s call it The Happy Faces but on all her promotional things she’s put an apostrophe in faces so the the business is called “The Happy Face’s”…

I suppose I’m asking if anyone would point this out to her? The type of business it is lends itself to correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Mine is by no means perfect btw and I’m asking more from the point of view that she is absolutely lovely and i would like to see her succeed and wouldn’t want people to be put off the business by incorrect punctuation in the business name.

"The type of business it is lends itself to correct grammar, punctuation and spelling*

Yet her own spelling and grammar is awful?!
She's not going to get much business, is she if she's making all them mistakes.
Gone way past making an error with the name, sounds beyond help.

BigButtons · 23/07/2024 13:10

I wouldn't give anyone my business if they were too lazy to check that their advertising was grammatically correct.

ArabellaFishwife · 23/07/2024 13:09

Did you write that your own spelling and grammar aren't perfect to ward off the MN jinx of inadvertently writing howlers while pointing out someone else's mistakes? You sound as if you're a lot more competent in this department than your friend. Would you be confident enough to suggest a quick proofread of her FB page, etc? That's what I'd do.

HolyGround13 · 23/07/2024 13:06

Pedant4Ever · 23/07/2024 12:58

How has this thread reached page 4 without anyone calling out the split infinitive in the title?!
😵‍💫

A lot of people don’t seem to notice them! I do think that’s an entirely different category to apostrophe errors though

UpThereForThinkingDownThereForDancing · 23/07/2024 13:06

Pedant4Ever · 23/07/2024 12:58

How has this thread reached page 4 without anyone calling out the split infinitive in the title?!
😵‍💫

😁
But you surely wouldn't want to ruin a perfectly natural sounding sentence just to abide by an arbitrary anti-splitting rule.

AllyCart · 23/07/2024 13:05

Ones like this pic baffle me.

How do people get it right some apostrophes/pluralisations but wrong with others?

Can anyone explain what the thinking is that makes people add superfluous apostrophes sometimes but not others?

Would love to know!

to quietly correct this?
Cookerhood · 23/07/2024 13:00

We had this with a local odd job company with a name like "The Helpers" (not that). They were constantly advertising as "The Helper's" which grated on me every time I saw it. Someone must have told them as the apostrophe has now disappeared.

Misthios · 23/07/2024 12:58

Bearing this in mind … will correcting the one typo make much difference?

being picky - it's not a typo, is it? A typo is writing teh instead of the or forgetting a full stop or comma or something. This is just a common or garden mistake.

Pedant4Ever · 23/07/2024 12:58

How has this thread reached page 4 without anyone calling out the split infinitive in the title?!
😵‍💫

Finlandia86 · 23/07/2024 12:56

forgotmypassagain · 23/07/2024 12:03

I just had a good look through the Facebook page and the posts are littered with errors like “If your looking for somone to….” instead of “you’re”. I feel like the name is the tip of the iceberg.

Bearing this in mind … will correcting the one typo make much difference? You can’t correct everything. Maybe just let it lie. If and when she consults you / somebody else for help how she can improve her business, she can be told at that point to use a spell checker.

crampyi · 23/07/2024 12:56

I wouldn’t mention it, her loss.

for what it’s worth, I doubt her target audience would care as they likely make the same mistakes

Sunshineafterthehail · 23/07/2024 12:55

The entire sign above their shop is in capital letters.

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