Apostrophe plural's

[I.D.10-t]

Personally, I think it is partly do to the pronouns that make the rule seem inconsistent. Of course this is due to contractions like it's for it is. If we eliminated contractions (which are arguably more conversational and should not be in proper writing any way) I think that we could bring consistency and improve writing.

[avanutria]

I don't know why but, Firefox won't let me type a quotation or apostrophe unless I follow this by pressing the Space bar, so these marks are, perforce, a deliberate act for me.

You may be in a different keyboard mode. This happens when I am in the International English mode. If I type an apostrophe and then a vowel, I get an accented version of the vowel.

Re: British placenames, people have noted that the London underground has "Earl's Court" and "Barons Court" nearly next to each other.

[anniemcu]

Apostrophe plural's'll getcha!

[djm]

Yes, the keyboard setting seems to be based on Windows' language setting. "Canadian" includes the built-in function to type accented characters in case you want to switch back and forth from English to French. I just wanted it for spelling, but I guess I am gifted with this keyboard glitch as well.

djm

[FJohnSharp]

The Brits also use a different verb tense for collectives. Ex: The team ARE leaving tomorrow. In the U.S. we consider that a singular collective noun.

[s1m0n]

I'm sure one arm of the confusion is due to the collapse of periods as a marker of initials. When I was in grade school, the only correct way to write T.V. was with periods. Now, I'd never do so, nor would I use periods for BBC, etc., and hundreds of other forms.

This then creates a problem when you're trying to indicate a plural, especially if you're also doing so using all caps. That's how you end up with signs that say "TURN OFF ALL TV'S AND RADIOS". Which in turn contributes to a situation in which a great many people no longer know what's right.

I think that the folks who gave us the 'whole language' teaching revolution (which sprang from the observation that it's possible to teach people to read/write by reading and writing, rather than by rules and drill, because humans are programmed to learn this stuff) were correct, but that this system breaks down when it comes to places in which the language is in flux. Then, observation or copying stops working because the world itself isn't consistent enough to indicate which is the correct example..

[MTGuru]

If we eliminated contractions (which are arguably more conversational and should not be in proper writing any way) I think that we could bring consistency and improve writing.

Yes, but then you might be mistaken for an android. Everyone knows that Dr. Sung's early models, including Data, are incapable of using contractions. It's the android shibboleth!

[Protean]

If we eliminated contractions (which are arguably more conversational and should not be in proper writing any way) I think that we could bring consistency and improve writing.

Yes, but then you might be mistaken for an android. Everyone knows that Dr. Sung's early models, including Data, are incapable of using contractions. It's the android shibboleth!

Nice! Truly geeky, sir. I'm proud.

[I.D.10-t]

It is unfortunate that my suggestion is unacceptable.

[Walden]

But I also observe that weird usage frequently in (for example) hand-lettered signs by the roadside where someone's advertising that he'll buy used "car's" and "truck's."
Clearly, not a typo.

This reminds me of something I read in Dave Barry's writings. He also remarked on a few other peculiarities of hand-lettered signs, such as the use of the word except and of extraneous quotation marks. He gave an example along these lines: We do not except "personal" check's.

I notice, by the way, that there is an advertisement at the top of the screen for "Waltons Irish Whistles."

[s1m0n]

...and of extraneous quotation marks.

Known in the biz as 'scare quotes'.

[Martin Milner]

I've given up trying to correct people. Two colleagues at work do scare quotes, and they're not listening or learning. They're both over 30 so I can't blame recent drops in educational standards. I think they are just stupid.

I've also noted a lot of recent word substitutions on other forums - spade for spayed, peek for peak etc. Generally I can figure out what they mean, and it is not worth getting upset over.

[emmline]

We do not except "personal" check's.

to which an appropriate response could be: "Great! I'll write a personal check then."
Unless, of course, what they really meant was that they don't except checks from overly-familiar Czechs, and just spelled Czech wrong. (this might explain the apostrophe. I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt. Though, if you happen to be a "personal" Hungarian, they might except you from the exception. In which case--stinks for you. You'll have to pay in cash or by credit card.)

I think, though, it would be useful here to re-post a link to the Stephen Fry podcast originally brought to my attention by Martin Milner himself:
I think it's the one called "language."
Excellent therapy if you find yourself getting a little too hung up on this stuff.

This is of particular interest to me as a foreign language-learner, in that if I can ever communicate with any comprehensibility in...say...Japanese, I hope it won't bother anyone too much when I commit multiple errors roughly equivalent to misplacing apostrophes.
Knowing I can barely communicate in the Euro-based languages I've attempted inclines me to cut people some slack.

[Jack]

I absolutely hate the phenomenon. When I see it, I automatically judge the person(s) who wrote it as mentally inferior.

[Walden]

I absolutely hate the phenomenon. When I see it, I automatically judge the person(s) who wrote it as mentally inferior.

When I accidentally do it, my self-esteem goes down.