We might as well get this one out of the way. As I mentioned earlier, the misuse of apostrophes is one of my two main grammar pet peeves. I don't think a day goes by that I don't see a misused apostrophe - in signs, on t-shirts, in articles...they are everywhere!
According to Grammar Girl, "Apostrophes have two main uses in the English language: they stand in for something that's missing, and they can be used to make a word possessive. Apostrophes first showed up in the 1500s as a way to indicate omissions. Today, the most common place to find this kind of apostrophe is in contractions such as can't (for cannot), that's (for that is), and it's (for it is or it has)." Apostrophes can also be used to replace omitted letters in words to reflect a dialect, such as 'em for them.
One very common error is the use of apostrophes in dates, e.g. 1500's or 1970's. The correct way to write those dates is 1500s and 1970s, because nothing is omitted and no possession is indicated.
Another common error is the use of apostrophes in writing plural nouns, particularly proper nouns. In referring to more than one Smith, for example, it is incorrect to write Smith's. Again, since possession is not indicated, Smiths is correct.
We'll look at the correct use of apostrophes in possessive nouns next week. I can hardly wait! : )
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