Love is blind (and dumb)!

There’s nothing less romantic than a grammatically incorrect Valentine’s card. 

Every year people clearly blinded by love put the apostrophe in the wrong place or lose sight of it altogether.

So where should the apostrophe go?

It actually depends what you mean to say.

Valentine’s Day is called after Saint Valentine so, if that’s who you’re referring to, the apostrophe comes before the “s”. This is generally the most acceptable position.

However, the word “valentine” is also a term used to refer to a loved one so there's also an argument for putting it after the “s”, as in “Valentines' Day”, if that's what you mean.

So this year, whatever you're saying, make sure you say it with a correctly placed apostrophe.

Who says grammar's 
not life or death?

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves” may be on my top 10 favourite books list but not everyone thinks grammar is a matter of life and death. Luckily, some do...

The Over-Possessive Apostrophe

Yes, and they've gone a bit too far with that apostrophe!

I suppose when putting a euro sign in place of an "e" is your idea of creativity, what more could we expect? You can almost hear the cogs turning on this one... "It's more than one euro; isn't there a rule that says something about plurals and apostrophes? Ah sure I'll just stick one in to be on the safe side."

Paninis: know your limits

For me, it all started with a few paninis getting above their station. Appearing on sandwich boards all over town with their possessive apostrophes, acting like they owned the place. What exactly they did own was unclear but they were definitely getting above their station. They seemed to forget that they are just sandwiches, albeit toasted and on fancier bread. Pretty soon they were popping up everywhere and that’s when I realised I had a problem – I couldn’t ignore them.

Public grammar is getting worse and worse and, with the advent of “textspeak”, this deterioration looks set to continue. It’s getting to the point where people who use punctuation correctly are in such a small minority that they will soon have to use it incorrectly just to appear correct.

In spite of the general apathy to grammar, I decided to start a blog to expose the worst examples and to explore common conundrums as they arise. Most panini sellers don’t really care about apostrophes so this is the only way to get it off my chest. I also know that the few who do care about grammar really care so I’m hoping to connect with one or two kindred spirits.

Being a copywriter and a proofreader, I find myself constantly checking and double-checking the rules, which are by no means clear-cut, so I am never short of grammar topics to discuss. Although I get paid to proofread, I enjoy it so much I do it for free every day. Restaurant menus, takeaway fliers, handwritten signs, food packaging – you name it, I proofread it. Proofreading has become as automatic as reading for me.

I am aware that by blogging about grammar I am setting myself up to have all my own flaws pointed out to me. I do try my best but I am by no means infallible so I welcome any corrections that may arise.