Apostrophe Abuse: This National Epidemic Must Be Stopped
It’s not like I’ve been living in a cave for the last hundred years. In my lifetime, still shy of the 100 year mark, I have seen the decline of society in many areas: natural disasters, war, terrorism, AIDS, school shootings, the Patriots in the Super Bowl again.
It’s a scary world, and with the increasing popularity of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, these fears come to us in our homes, complete with commentary that tells us how to think, feel and talk about the terrifying world in which we live. While I cannot pretend to understand all of the problems in society, I can see how some things, even horrible things, can have a purpose.
Still, when one sees a sign advertising the specials at “Joes Café,” or a sign that reads, “Caution: Slippery Step’s,” one begins to wonder just how lost society can be.
Identifying the Problem
I first became acquainted with the plight of the apostrophe in graduate school, while working as a consultant for a writing center. We spent many hours discussing how, in much of our students’ work, commas were often misplaced or how pronouns often failed to get along with their antecedents. While many of these issues would linger, most of our efforts paid off. After a few visits, students would begin to correct their grammar issues on their own.
The apostrophe, however, didn’t fare so well. Not only did its abuse appear again and again in student writing, once we started focusing on it, we saw that this was an epidemic that extended far beyond student essays. We regularly found abuse in billboards, window signs, newspaper ads, and so on. Many of us dared to look for this abuse online; some of us never returned.
Finding a Solution
In graduate school, we ran a contest to find and report apostrophe abuse on campus. The incidents numbered in the hundreds. Imagine, hundreds of poor, innocent apostrophes forced into a life of anti-grammatical slavery. We knew then and there that something must be done. We held vigils and visited classrooms. I even dressed up as a giant yellow apostrophe and had my fellow writing center workers beat me up in front of the student union (well, we thought about that — we decided that the suit looked too much like a big banana and figured we would only confuse people). We concluded that the way to stop this abuse was through education and persistence. Now, years later, I am continuing the effort. Will you stand with me in an effort to give the apostrophe the freedom to live the life it was meant to live?
Know the Signs of Abuse
Curing this epidemic relies on awareness. The following should serve as a list of the proper ways to use apostrophes. Take note, students enrolled in online degree programs:
1. Apostrophes can be connectors. They bring words together — kind of like a grammatical matchmaker. For example:
We are can become
we’re; they are can become
they’re;
did not can become
didn’t; and so on. Another way to think of this usage is to think of apostrophes as markers for the omission of letters. For instance, if you wanted to refer to the eighties, you could say ‘80s (not 80’s). Note: contractions are not generally accepted in formal academic writing. It is best to steer clear of this usage altogether in your academic essays.
2. Apostrophes can show ownership. For example:
Joe owns a horse. It is Joe’s horse or
Andrea has a daughter. She is Andrea’s daughter. If you really want to get crazy, you can say things like:
This is Joe’s daughter’s horse.
3. Apostrophes do not show plurality. We are abusing our apostrophes when we write: Andrea loves horse’s, or Joe was born in the 1970’s. Apostrophes can show ownership of something plural, like: That is Andrea’s horses’ barn (when saying that the barn belongs to the horses).
4. When using its or it’s, know what you’re saying. It’s is a contraction of it is. For example: It’s hot today.
Its shows ownership. For example: This was its function; this was its purpose.
Sometimes it becomes our duty to defend those who cannot defend themselves. The apostrophe, even while trapped in this cycle of abuse, remains a steady marker, whether it is in the right place or not. The apostrophe is a loyal and helpful friend; when not used correctly, however, it can cause confusion and chaos. Treat your apostrophes right, and they will return the favor ten-fold. Please join me and everyone in the Writing Center in our efforts to stamp out the abuse of our friendly apostrophe.
For further assistance working with apostrophes or with any other writing related issues, visit us at the Writing Center.
Photo credit: stock.xchng
Timothy P. Goss is a full-time English faculty member with Grantham University and one of the Co-Directors of the Writing Center. No apostrophes were harmed in the writing of this blog.
Interested in more grammar tips? Stay tuned to the GU blog Thursday morning, when we reveal the six most common grammatical mistakes to avoid when writing papers for your online degree program.