A history of punctuation for the internet age the new yorker. This is particularly useful for avoiding mixing up its and the pronoun its. The chapter break after the clock stops time is marked with a ti. The apostrophe is used to show that a letter is missing it is. Peacheshas created the term, at least in england, the greengrocers apostrophe. The apostrophe or character is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark. However, greengrocers are not the only ones to get it wrong.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It would be a great source if op were just looking for how often in writing people say the word greengrocers but thats just the name of the kind of apostrophe under. Fruit and vegetable shops are a hotspot for the apostrophe errors file picture they were guilty of a variety of slipups. An apostrophe erroneously inserted before the final s in the plural form of a word. This is a good question which many native writers seem to have forgotten. The use of this rough punctuation began among immigrant workers in liverpool for whom english was an acquired language, and is also known as the greengrocers apostrophe as it is often seen on fruit and vegetables e. John richards, who founded the society in 2001 in order to help maintain the correct use of the much abused punctuation mark, has thrown in the towel, claiming that the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won. We have finally got the hang of the grocers apostrophe. They have been affected by the dominant rise of supermarkets, but many can be found managing small shops or stores in towns and cities and in some. Baron reveals that online and mobile technologiesincluding instant messaging, cell phones, multitasking, facebook, blogs, and wikisare profoundly influencing how we read and write, speak and listen, but not in the ways we might suppose. No greengrocers apostrophe any longer posted on december 15, 2011 by btu admin during the past few days, i received emails from the uk that contained the following phrases.
Use an apostrophe when the noun that should follow is implied. The apostrophe protection society was founded as the internet was becoming the everyday and pervasive worldwide web of influence that we know and love. Punctuation and its discontents the new york times. Ok, hands up if youve heard of the greengrocers apostrophe. Remind them that the apostrophe goes instead of the missing letter, as this will help them work out where to place it. We can use professional editors, proofreaders, and services like grammarly to help us fix our mistakes, but its important to understand the fundamentals. The apostrophe at the end of a word is relevant in two situations where a word ends in s. The second feels much more right to me, if only because if theres going to be one unusual plural, there may as well be two.
Greengrocers, butchers, and supermarket managers have. Youll see it not only in the greengrocers shop but widely in the retail sector, online and in print advertising. Definition and examples of the greengrocers apostrophe thoughtco. When the term greengrocers apostrophe was first popularized, most likely in the liverpool, england, area during the 1950s, there were a number of foreignborn store owners who overused apostrophes in an effort to overcorrect their english grammatical errors in general. Where to stick grocers apostrophe uk news the guardian.
I could equally well have written greengrocers as greengrocers, because its up to me whether i mean one or several. They are sometimes humorously called greengrocers apostrophes, rogue. Carey in his nice little book on punctuation, mind the stop. The best grammar and punctuation books five books expert. Not checking your punctuation before having something printed professionally can harm your credibility. Why are so many london shops losing their apostrophes. Richardss desire to expel the intrusive greengrocers apostrophe all those mangos and tomatos on special discount mirrors that of keith waterhouse, the english columnist renowned as the author of classic comedy novel billy liar 1959 and jeffrey bernard is unwell a 1989 play about the musings of a london journalist and. For example, beginners guide guide for beginner, drivers licence licence for driver. To form the possessive of singular nouns, add s, as in homers job or the dogs breakfast. Punctuation is one of the most basic tools in the writers toolbox. But somehow the english language in general, and the apostrophe in particular, has managed to survive the intellectual assault, academic onslaught and a plurality of greengrocers. The marking of the omission of one or more letters as in the contraction of do not to dont the marking of possessive case of nouns as in the eagles feathers, or in one months time.
Fowlers a dictionary of modern english usage or karen elizabeth gordons the transitive vampire or both, really. The greengrocers apostrophe andrew coppolino world of flavour. Some of the worst culprits are allegedly greengrocers, hence the expression the greengrocers apostrophe. The socalled greengrocers apostrophe a british phrase referring to the mistaken. Leave the apostrophe alone it makes sense telegraph. Another example would be, this is sallys, not joans, book. Use an apostrophe plus s to show the possessive form of a singular noun, even if that singular noun already ends in s. Grammar geek mark nichol, a writer at daily writing tips, picks five of the best grammar and punctuation books, and tells us why bad grammar leads to anarchy.
Style guide, and the american heritage book of english usage. Greengrocer is primarily a british and australian term, and greengrocers shops were once common in cities, towns and villages. This is an apostrophe incorrectly used with an s after it to form a plural of a word. If the word is a possessive and a plural, simply put the apostrophe after the s, ie. If you want to show plural possession, you must first make the noun plural then add the apostrophe. This problem and incorrect usage actually appears to stem from the identical sound of the possessive and the plural form of most nouns used in the english language. The ubiquity of apostrophes to signal the plural of fruits and vegetablesas in carrots, bananas, and gasp. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the greengrocers apostrophe. An incorrectly used apostrophe, especially one mistakenly used to form the plural of a noun, for example to write the plural of banana as bananas instead of bananas.
Aberrant apostrophe aka greengrocers apostrophe aka. People have taken to calling it the greengrocers apostrophe, because. An introduction to apostrophes supaproofread resources. People have taken to calling it the greengrocers apostrophe, because of. But we still have little clue how to defuse, or diffuse, our other hangups about the. The greengrocers apostrophe, in which vegetables are labelled carrots. James anthony pearson reads a quirky story about the apostrophe that ends a relationship. Here are a few more reallife examples of incorrect usage. Please note i work monday wednesdays only please supply. The apostrophe is used in english to indicate what is, for historical reasons. Google books has 108 instances of greengrocers apostrophes against 333 for greengrocers apostrophes. The violence that is contained is no stronger that what would be found in the reading of a history book. If only apostrophe errors were confined to market stalls.
Definition and examples of the greengrocers apostrophe. That is the only meaning of that sentence written in that way. The greengrocers apostrophe by alexandra fox waterstones. The apostrophe probably originated in the early 16th century either in 1509, in an italian edition of petrarch, or in 1529, courtesy of french printer geoffroy. If youre an expert english grammarian, mignon fogartys grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing isnt for you. In todays article, dominic selwood, author of punctuation without tears, gives us some tips. While this seems fairly straightforward, there are few errors of apostrophe use that are commonly made.
For decades the nations pedants have sighed and tutted over the socalled greengrocers apostrophe the one you find on piles of fruit and vegetables advertising the fact that apples and bananas are for sale by the pound or kilo when no apostrophe is required to complete the plural. Going postal also features a greengrocer who suffers from a bad case of greengrocers apostrophe, as in red appless. A word in this case apostrophes can only have an apostrophe if it owns something that follows or if something is missed out in this case the first letter of is. The firm traded as hamleys until about 1911, when it started to be referred to as messrs hamleys bros. When you have a possessive plural of a collective noun.
Crime currently education history innovation politics profiles science social. The socalled greengrocers apostrophe, moreover, is a wellknown usage problem today beal, 2010. The worst offender found by john richard and the apostrophe protection society. Eilidh mccreadie, james anthony pearson, bbc worldwide ltd. The writer keith waterhouse complained in his newspaper columns for years about the misuse of apostrophes, and coined the wonderful phrase greengrocers apostrophes to describe the errors so often seen on signs in britain. If you cant use an apostrophe, you dont know your shit. Adrienne raphel on david crystals new book, making a point. Correct grammar and punctuation are key to making a good impression. Often called the greengrocers apostrophe because it was seen on market stalls and greengrocers shops. My english for journalists reference books says to extend the rule to for as well. A greengrocer, also called a produce market, is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables. You can see apostrophes used wrongly in some of the most public places. A pluralized english word and a possessive can sound exactly alike, so those learning the language may use plurals as.
But lets face it, we all struggle with it sometimes. It took me back to the style of science fiction of a number of years ago, and it had a young adult feel to it. The poor greengrocer, now almost extinct, was traditionally targeted for getting apostrophes wrong, as in apples for sale. Signs can frequently be seen advertising tasty apples, juicy pears, or the best bananas. This book rates as two stars or four, depending on who you are. Buy the greengrocers apostrophe by alexandra fox from waterstones today. In what case would i ever put an apostrophe outside a word. If a word ends in s, an apostrophe and second s are added to make it possessive if that is how it is pronounced.
The greengrocers apostrophe kindle edition by hickes. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. An apostrophe is not used to show the plural of a name. However notices in shops frequently break this rule by advertising melons, cauliflowers and carrots for sale hence the socalled greengrocers apostrophe.
Bastian sick, in his delightful series of grammarmaven books about. Pennys from heaven, alice, hanging in there, the sweet possessive bbc radio 4. It is hardly surprising that these conventions seem to be in rapid collapse, with what has been. These errors are occurring in texts that are otherwise quite well spelt, possibly. While the apostrophe is a literal apostrophe, the greengrocer is figurative. The success of trusss book in britain, however, suggests that the world at least, that small part of it floating north of france and west of norway does indeed care about proper punctuation. Theres little explanation as to why hamleys dropped its apostrophe. The greengrocers apostrophe kindle edition by hickes, martin, hickes, martin. In fact you are just as likely to see a greengrocers apostrophe emanating from a large corporation or municipal authority as you are from a real live fruit and veg merchant. Greengrocers apostrophes apostrophes that are used incorrectly to form plural words are known as greengrocers apostrophes. Although one of the citations has greengrocers apostrophes in a nonjokey context, i have changed the listed plural to greengrocers apostrophes by analogy with other plurals of the kind cats eyes, ladies men. The apostrophe or character is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the latin alphabet and some other alphabets.
Nouns with plural s in standard written english do not have an apostrophe, e. But we still have little clue how to defuse, or diffuse, our other hangups about the correct use of words and computer spellcheckers. Simon heffer, in his recent book strictly english, thinks the socalled greengrocers apostrophe is an atrocity, and that academics write. Alas, the apostrophe protection society is no more. The best grammar and punctuation books recommended by mark nichol. The greengrocers apostrophe, in which vegetables are labelled carrots, peas and potatos has spread and spread, to the point where some people evidently believe. Baron draws on a decade of research to provide an eyeopening look at language in an online and mobile world. Apostrophe catastrophes the greengrocers apostrophe and. The use of the apostrophe to form plurals of proper words, as in apples, bananas, etc.