Apostrophes - Do they exist?

I've copied this post from another forum I use:

"found out last night no more work for me so im gone nice eh its a bit odd that i was the 1st in the door and his most qualified and experianced guy on the floor and helped build the company from scratch,

any one else found them selves in this state so close to christmas

its the first situation like this iv been but already know its absolute shoot."

I'd rather aspire to correct English and fail, than murder it like that.

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by joe90:

quote:

I think that Julian is on a wind up, there was no free CD but you can purchase Naim Label CD's on our E Store

Pop Quiz!

What's wrong with the above?

There was a free CD?

quote:

"found out last night no more work for me so im gone nice eh its a bit odd that i was the 1st in the door and his most qualified and experianced guy on the floor and helped build the company from scratch,

any one else found them selves in this state so close to christmas

its the first situation like this iv been but already know its absolute shoot."

Maybe he worked for a publishing company and did the proof reading

quote:

If I start to read a technical piece, or an opinion, larded with grammatical errors, I am inclined to disregard the content or evidential base as unreliable.

Am I alone in this?

No!

quote:

Originally posted by fatcat:

quote:

Originally posted by joe90:

quote:

3. Apostrophes are NEVER ever used to denote plurals!

Apparently in the US, when it comes to numbers, they are!

Eg 1980's.

Out of fashion here, but in the strictest sense, correct.

Joe

The time period between 1980 and 1989 is not plural. It is a single decade.

It is acceptable to use 1980’s in the term 1980’s fashion.

I.E. Fashion that belongs to the single decade.


Hope this clarifies things

unfortunately it doesnt clarify anything;its' aceptable to use apostrophies with abrieviations and they dont have to be groups or period's.the problem with the english language is that its' constantly evolving and its actually pretty difficult to always be 100% correct.

cds or cd's are both fine.

quote:

cds or cd's are both fine.

Nah nah nah nah nah!

Apostrophes were "invented" to aid the comprehension of the written word ... just like spelling. Yes, we may understand the written word when spelt incorrectly and similarly we may understand the sense without the apostrophe but surely it is the writer's intention for the reader to understand what he/she is writing so why make it more difficult by spelling the word incorrectly/omitting the apostrophe?

A speaker will put some inflection into his/her voice which is not available to the writer. A simple example:

Character A shouts to character B:

"Its right!" ... but perhaps the meaning is "It's right!"

Totally different meanings distinguished by one simple mark on the page: the apostrophe.

Hell, get rid of the apostrophe? You might as well get rid of the semi-colon and colon, etc.!

quote:

unfortunately it doesnt clarify anything;its' aceptable to use apostrophies with abrieviations and they dont have to be groups or period's.the problem with the english language is that its' constantly evolving and its actually pretty difficult to always be 100% correct.

cds or cd's are both fine.

To me, poor grammar in written English is like never washing your body.

Yes you're still a person, but only in the broadest sense.

And Music mad is spot on. One misplaced punctuation mark can mean something quite different!

From Hamlet, as MacDuff crouches over a wounded soldier:

"Go, get him surgeons!"

would be quite different if it was written:

"Go get him, surgeons!"

Great place for compliments if you,heaven forbid misuse an apostrophe or comma you are thick and dirty.
Seasons greetings to you too.

there's none of us perfect, but it's worth trying, even as we evolve......

Cheers

Don

quote:

Great place for compliments if you,heaven forbid misuse an apostrophe or comma you are thick and dirty.
Seasons greetings to you too.

Maybe you'll receive a sense of humour from Santa Claus!

Merry Christmas!

May be you could find a way of indicating this humour of yours?

I thought it was an apt comment.

I'm sorry it just sounded rude and superior to me.

quote:

I'm sorry it just sounded rude and superior to me.

Now, without a comma, that could be read in different ways.....

I'm sorry it just sounded rude and superior to me

I'm sorry it just sounded rude and superior, to me

you could avoid the ambiguity with

To me, it just sounded rude and superior

Merry Xmas all

Cheers

Don

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
I'm sorry it just sounded rude and superior to me.

HELLO

Anybody who thinks Eg is an abbreviation of “for example” and MacDuff is a character from Hamlet, will struggle to sound superior.


Misuse of acronyms can be quite amusing


Acrimonious Acronyms

The question is , Joe.

Do YOU know how to use them?

Merry x'mas

I DO know how to use them, yes.

Merry Christmas!

Just testing!

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:

New CD's just in! which should read New CDs just in!

The misuse of apostrophes drives me crazy, too, but the example cited above can be construed as correct, as in "[Her] new CD [is] just in!"

What really gets my goat (not get's) is a list of plural nouns, some with apostrophes before the "s" and some without, such as the "cakes" example posted earlier. Maddening.

And as we can see in the example I excerpted, it can definitely affect meaning.

All best,
Fred

quote:

Originally posted by count.d:

unfortunately it doesnt clarify anything;its' aceptable to use apostrophies with abrieviations and they dont have to be groups or period's.the problem with the english language is that its' constantly evolving and its actually pretty difficult to always be 100% correct.

cds or cd's are both fine.

Aside from the issue of whether "CDs" or "CD's" is correct, it is never correct to write its' to convey it is. Actually, it's never correct to write its' in any situation.

Nor is it correct to use an apostrophe in the plural of period, especially when one has just (correctly) avoided its use in the plural of group.

For now, we'll leave aside the issue of omitting apostrophes from don't and doesn't, let alone the misspelling of acceptable, abbreviations, and even apostrophes itself.

Best,
Mr. Knowitall

quote:

HELLO

Anybody who thinks Eg is an abbreviation of “for example” and MacDuff is a character from Hamlet, will struggle to sound superior. Big Grin

Good Lord, you're right!

Phew. At least I spelled 'Macduff' correctly! Yes, that's a character from, ahem, Macbeth.

But the quote is from Hamlet!

Happy to be corrected without getting all upset,

Joe90

eg

1. Informal way of writing e.g.

A grey (gray?) area for sure. Both are considered acceptable.

CDs or CD's?

One could argue that the missing letters 'ompact' and 'isc' means that you can put in an apostrophe.

But then shouldn't it be C'D's ?

I maintain that because 'CDs' is a pluralisation of 'compact discs', it is correct to put 'CDs", as plurals don't use apostrophes.

quote:

Originally posted by joe90:

I maintain that because 'CDs' is a pluralisation of 'compact discs', it is correct to put 'CDs", as plurals don't use apostrophes.

I agree: plural of CD is CDs, no apostrophe.

But as I pointed out earlier, "CD's" is correct if "the CD's in" is intended to mean "[the] CD is in [the store, the CD player, etc.]."

All best,
Fred

Given that CD is an accepted term meaning compact disk (or is it disc), then the use of the apostrophe with CD should match it's (or is that its) use with compact disk.

Cheers

Don