Writing Pet Peeves #6: Apostrophes

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Every once in a long while I’ll have to think for an extra second about using an apostrophe correctly. It’s usually when I’ve already written the rest of the sentence so poorly that I almost confuse myself. But again, this is a rare thing.

I remember in kindergarten and first grade being taught how to read. And I remember in second grade being taught how to write cursive and book reports. Somewhere along the line the rules of apostrophes were drilled into my brain. And I’ve never had any issue with them since. Too bad everyone can’t have my experience.

Here are some of the things I see all the time.

Decades written like “1940’s”.

Days of the week written like “Sunday’s”.

Plurals written like “phone’s”.

And so many more. And it’s frustrating. Maybe the education system is to be blamed. Maybe these people didn’t pay attention in English class. Maybe English is the universal second language of the world and no one knows the rules for using apostrophes. Or maybe I’m just going to have to bang my head on my desk for the rest of my life because so many people use apostrophes incorrectly.


On this day in 2014 I published Never Ask a Reader About Their Favorite Book.