Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why do we still have so many apostrophes in English?

304 replies

Boliviabae · 27/06/2025 19:35

It takes so much longer to type anything on the phone.

Apostrophe's were originally in place to show two words shortened into one. But the shortened versions of the words have been in the English langauge for so long now, why do we need the apostrophes.

The word 'Dont' for example, is easily understandable, without an apostrophe.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
WingBingo · 30/06/2025 13:26

Ah I get it. This is another Reddit poster winding us all up.

CautiousLurker01 · 30/06/2025 13:04

Ablushingcrow · 30/06/2025 12:54

Because...
Panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

True story, dat.

Ablushingcrow · 30/06/2025 12:54

Because...
Panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

ProperLavs · 30/06/2025 12:38

The whole point is that YOU started a thread about punctuation. You were the one getting aggressive and angry. Others simply matched your tone.
You absolutely refuse to concede any arguments: that you might have misunderstood or got things wrong. All you want to do is bleat on about people being rude- this is clearly a hill you wish to die on. A bloody strange choice of hill.

CautiousLurker01 · 30/06/2025 12:33

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Why would you assume I would correct punctuation in a friend’s text? I corrected yours as you have intentionally belittled and disparraged people on this thread and thus indicated that it was open season on editing each other’s replies.

You have posted that you think apostrophes and similar punctuation should be redundant. You invited comment by your thread and have then been belligerent and offensive in response to pretty much every single reply. You are not interested in understanding WHY apostrophes are necessary or what their function is in response to your OP. You merely wanted reflected approval and a round of applause and are defensive because that was not what the response you received.

BTW the meaning of ‘pathetic’ is 1) arousing pity and 2) miserably inadequate. Nothing in my PPs - or that of many of the others responding to your OP - satisfy the use of that word.

XWKD · 30/06/2025 12:29

Boliviabae · 27/06/2025 19:51

But how is it "correct English".

When the word 'It's' evolved from two words 'It is'.

Languages evolve along the way. There is no single correct version

Show quote history

"It's" and "its" mean different things. "Your" and "you're" mean different things.

How is the use of pronouns in other languages relevant?

Why do we use pronouns all the time when Japanese doesn't?
Why do we use "a" and "the" when most languages don't even use articles?

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 12:25

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

CautiousLurker01 · 30/06/2025 12:21

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

You are trying very hard to be deeply offensive, aren’t you?

I’m an English teacher - 16plus and undergraduate. I have multiple degrees in English literature and creative writing. Just spent the weekend with 450 published authors, agents and publishers. Completing my PhD this year. We all understand the need for apostrophes, amongst other linguistic devices.

Nothing in my post is pathetic. The wilful refusal to understand the form and function of grammar and punctuation, is, arguably, more than pathetic.

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 12:18

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

grumpygrape · 30/06/2025 12:17

CautiousLurker01 · 30/06/2025 11:01

Obviously not. The correct punctuation for that post is:

“Yes, they really are my thing.

Go away, bully.”

But I am guessing you consider commas - and, no doubt, the Oxford comma in particular - as being another form of inconvenient, draconian, and redundant punctuation too?

Show quote history

I only ‘discovered’ the Oxford comma in the last couple of years and think it’s brilliant…….sadly, just as it is apparently ‘going out of fashion’. 😥

CautiousLurker01 · 30/06/2025 11:01

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 10:27

Yes they really are my thing.

Go away bully.

Show quote history

Obviously not. The correct punctuation for that post is:

“Yes, they really are my thing.

Go away, bully.”

But I am guessing you consider commas - and, no doubt, the Oxford comma in particular - as being another form of inconvenient, draconian, and redundant punctuation too?

Jackiepumpkinhead · 30/06/2025 10:54

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 10:27

Yes they really are my thing.

Go away bully.

Show quote history

,, there’s a couple of commas for you. HTH.

BoudiccaRuled · 30/06/2025 10:39

You could use the same crap argument for all sorts of things. Table manners, Ps&Qs, queueing, spelling, playing music loudly on public transport. It's all things that "don't matter" in the grand scheme of things, but, once neglected we are left with a big old mess.

Shoth · 30/06/2025 10:33

RockaLock · 27/06/2025 19:52

Your whole argument seems to be “we use more apostrophes than other languages, therefore we shouldn’t have them.”

Would you prefer to be typing accents instead? A lot of languages use a variety of accents, but we don’t use any.

Leave our apostrophes alone. And if you are going to use them in your OP, please use them correctly Hmm

English doesn’t use more apostrophes than Gaelic! Learn that for a sense of proportion!

Original poster
Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 10:27

Jackiepumpkinhead · 30/06/2025 10:23

Reading comprehension, spelling and grammar really aren’t your thing, are they?

Show quote history

Yes they really are my thing.

Go away bully.

OP posts:
Jackiepumpkinhead · 30/06/2025 10:23

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 08:00

"You're getting the battering you deserve".

Jesus that's like something a domestic abuser would say.

Edited
Show quote history

Reading comprehension, spelling and grammar really aren’t your thing, are they?

LostFuse · 30/06/2025 10:20

Boliviabae · 28/06/2025 12:47

'Apostrophes' is spelled correctly in my thread title.

Why ignore that?

Because people are nasty bullies that's why, and they just love laughing at other people's mistakes.

As people are so utterly petty and nasty on here, I am going to go back through people's posts and point out their mistakes.

Show quote history

Oh, let’s just hope no one takes a stroll through your old posts—there are some absolute gems in there.

ProperLavs · 30/06/2025 10:16

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 09:36

I'm just shocked at the extremely violent language that the poster used. This place has become a cesspit. Violent langauge like that is disgusting.

My friend used to go out with a very abusive man. I remember after he hit her he would say to her "you deserved it".

She managed to get away from him

You deserved a battering is disgusting language.

Show quote history

It is figurative speech though. Do you generally go through your daily life getting upset about small things?

Pinkissmart · 30/06/2025 10:04

Boliviabae · 27/06/2025 19:35

It takes so much longer to type anything on the phone.

Apostrophe's were originally in place to show two words shortened into one. But the shortened versions of the words have been in the English langauge for so long now, why do we need the apostrophes.

The word 'Dont' for example, is easily understandable, without an apostrophe.

For heaven's sake it's one extra second- for the sake of proper spelling and grammar.

Original poster
Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 09:36

ProperLavs · 30/06/2025 09:24

Op you are like a dog with a bone and are white upright shall we say.

Show quote history

I'm just shocked at the extremely violent language that the poster used. This place has become a cesspit. Violent langauge like that is disgusting.

My friend used to go out with a very abusive man. I remember after he hit her he would say to her "you deserved it".

She managed to get away from him

You deserved a battering is disgusting language.

OP posts:
ProperLavs · 30/06/2025 09:24

Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 08:00

"You're getting the battering you deserve".

Jesus that's like something a domestic abuser would say.

Edited
Show quote history

Op you are like a dog with a bone and are white upright shall we say.

ChristmasFluff · 30/06/2025 08:54

OP, I think you need to learn Welsh. It will give you SO MANY MORE difficulties to get het up about, and you'll realise how very easy English is, even including apostrophes.

I mean, why do they even bother with all those mutations? And predictive text is of absolutely NO use in those situations. The apostrophe is a minor blip in comparison.

Original poster
Boliviabae · 30/06/2025 08:00

Jackiepumpkinhead · 29/06/2025 17:39

You’re getting the battering you deserve. Ridiculous post.

Show quote history

"You're getting the battering you deserve".

Jesus that's like something a domestic abuser would say.

OP posts:
KeepDancing1 · 29/06/2025 19:01

Boliviabae · 27/06/2025 19:47

How come we use more than other languages do?

Show quote history

Because, for example, we say ‘the girl’s coat’ and not ‘the coat of the girl’!

Jackiepumpkinhead · 29/06/2025 17:39

Boliviabae · 27/06/2025 20:29

Oh my dear God.

Does anyone read a thread.

Show quote history

You’re getting the battering you deserve. Ridiculous post.