I’m thinking of creating a new reality TV show called “Apostro-Cop.” Each week I’ll pound on the door of an unsuspecting person or business or government agency and expose their ignorance to the Entire World and—
No, wait! Their poor punctuation has already done that!
In a single afternoon, I observed the following mistakes on signage around town, which I shall now type exactly as they appeared: “Condo’s For Sale,” “Parking for Customer’s Only,” and the ever-maligned, “President’s Day.”
Menus are another place where apostrophes sprout up in error. I’ve seen “Taco’s,” “Omelet’s,” and even inserted into the bastardization of the word “Sandwich’s.”
It’s enough to set a former English teacher’s teeth on edge.
Which brings me to the confusion over the word “it’s”… I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: It’s is a contraction, it is NEVER used to indicate possessive case.
I’d love to see “Apostro-Cop” catch on, but I’m not optimistic. Too many people, especially those born in the 1980’s or 1990’s, think apostrophes actually belong in this very sentence!
I (temporarily) rest my case.
