Cruel abuse of apostrophes

[venator]

The apostrophe must be the most widely misused bit of punctuation in the English language, but the rules are few and simple. Check it out -

http://www.apostrophe.org.uk/

Am I a boring old fart?

[cazzz1975]

I think you are double teaming with madmaggott!

[Buenchico]

Yes, you are, Venator!

But that makes two us ;-)
(You'll note that I'm not averse to starting a sentence with a conjunction, though!)

[jno]

the rule are few but not all that simple.

madmaggot's wrong too.

[boxtops]

I'm a great fan of the apostrophe, but only in the right place.

[DTCwordfan]

what's your avatar, venator; it look's like a painting. If so, by whom?

[Mick-Talbot]

it's just his lunch

[Prudie]

Are you being deliberately provocative DT ? :-)

[gingejbee]

Not as boring as me when it comes to misusing "number" and "amount". It's "number" for things that can be counted and "amount" for things that can't (if you are guilty of this particular crime).

[factor-fiction]

I've battled against misuse of apostrophes for years but I think it's a losing battle.
I'm a teacher. Whenever I write a plural word on the board such as graphs, books shapes and Maths, most pupils write it down as graph's, book's, shape's and Math's. I correct their English everytime but it makes no difference- I think they genuinely believe they are right and I'm wrong.
I've often tried to find out why the mistake is so common but I've never found an answer.
I have a feeling apostrophes will die out within the next fifty years.

[micmak]

I'm sure I saw a programme on the BBC about abolishing the apostrophe because of it's misuse. !!!

[boxtops]

Fewer, or less?

[DTCwordfan]

No Prudie, I am not. I am interested in who the artist is?

Why do you think so?

[factor-fiction]

LOL, mickmak.

[gingejbee]

Fewer for things that can be counted, otherwise less.

[jno]

except that's the opposite of what's happening to you, factor30? They're not dying out, they're taking over the world.

[Mick-Talbot]

Surely it's the internets fault factor?
kids reading americano all the time?

[micmak]

I'm serious Factor.

[Prudie]

look's DT -sorry thought you were being funny in light of the subject topic.

[boxtops]

It's nothing to do with the internet, the apostrophe was misunderstood years before the internet was available to mere mortals. I remember trying to explain the difference between "its" and "it's" to an office colleague in the 1970s. In the end she decided not to bother, and just to miss out the apostrophe all the time.

[Arksided]

'I have a feeling apostrophes will die out within the next fifty years.'

I don*t believe ya.