Apostrophe abuse is mushrooming I AM sorry to disabuse M Robinson of her interpretive error (Letters, January 8) but the meaning of both examples of the sentence relating to the freed cat Coco in her letter is absolutely identical.
I sometimes used to help my pupils to understand the correct use of the apostrophe by giving the example of o’clock. In this case the omission of letters was indicated i.e. the ‘f ’. So it could help them understand that the apostrophe sometime indicates ‘of the’ or belonging/ possession. The 14-week-old cat’s owner literally means the owner of the 14-week-old cat.
I wish the abuse of the apostrophe, which has mushroomed from the greengrocer’s error, beyond the restaurant menu mistake, to the predictive text disaster, had the power to make me smile.
Dorothy Nicholson, Grange Garth, York
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel