calling new session of the grammar curmudgeon club

[hatwoman]

do any of you lot have a job that involves reading and developing/providing advice on other people's work, where your contribution is specifically not editorial? If so do you pointedly ignore rogue apostrophes or pointedly high-light them in fluorescent pink? It drives me mad. According to my current piece the war in Liberia only had one victim...

I always point them out.

point them out! every time!

Completely irrelevant, but I recently attended a presentation by high grade managers on training for all people in our area. On a powerpoint slide shown to the 100 people in the room it read :

"Who's responsibility is it ?"

Grammar and punctuation seems to be unknown by most people regardless of age.

I always note it to myself sarcastically under my breath. But, no, I don't crack out the highlighter. Oh, but I'd lie to.

My current pet peeve (one of them) is the use of "myself" in place of "me". Such as, Please reply to myself... And an apostrophe when making an acronym plural. I hate that!

But Uwila that apostrophe may be OK. It's acceptable to use it to make one or more letters, used individually or as an acronym, plural. But I'd only use it if the letters were lower-case, in which case there might be some confusion.

Hence: 'Several NGOs took part', but 'One should mind one's p's and q's'.

Do you really think it's okay to use an apostrophe to indicate plural if the letters are lower case? I wouldn't have thought so.

But, as it happens I'm talking about caps. For example, a documanet called a Technical Documents Requirements", commonly referred to as a TDR. And people will write "Some of the TDR's are not yet complete".

Ellbell's right about p's and q's - it's counterintuitive but correct (Even the Times agrees). No apostrophe for TLAs though.

Thanks Mrs B. Haven't got my MHRA Style Bible (ahem... I mean Guide) here, but will look up what it says when I'm at work next. I'm certain about this, though.

God, yes. I have to proof others' work all the time and frankly see it as my moral duty to point out their bad grammar. I'm very popular, as you can imagine.

Proofing a book at the moment where the author constantly uses 'you must try and X', e.g. try and find, try and hold on, try and secure, etc. It's try TO, for gawd's sake!

No apostrophe for TDRs.

My work's broadcast most days. I often proof colleagues' work (I have more than one colleague ).