Comments on: When to Form a Plural with an Apostrophe http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-form-a-plural-with-an-apostrophe/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:00:10 -0600 hourly 1 By: Paul http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-form-a-plural-with-an-apostrophe/comment-page-1/#comment-194696 Paul Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:23:36 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=2571#comment-194696 I am grammatically challenged but, its -possessive it's - it is contradicts the possessive rules, no? I am grammatically challenged but,

its -possessive
it’s – it is

contradicts the possessive rules, no?

]]> By: Beverly http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-form-a-plural-with-an-apostrophe/comment-page-1/#comment-183627 Beverly Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:31:30 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=2571#comment-183627 How seemingly simple, to eradicate apostrophe abuses by abolishing it! What is so difficult about understanding possessions and contractions? What is so difficult about understanding singular and pleural? How seemingly simple, to eradicate apostrophe abuses by abolishing it! What is so difficult about understanding possessions and contractions? What is so difficult about understanding singular and pleural?

]]> By: Niall http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-form-a-plural-with-an-apostrophe/comment-page-1/#comment-181268 Niall Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:30:03 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=2571#comment-181268 As an irritatingly pedantic professional writer, it is a great relief to find a website where I can vent my frustrations. I know I'm coming late to this conversation, but I really wanted to add that I recently had the same thought myself: it's hopeless trying to save the apostrophe from its ubiquitous/iniquitous abuse. Better to simply abolish it. The difference between 'the boys books' and 'the boys books' would be obvious from the context, and if it weren't, a small effort would make it obvious. The apostrophe today is like a hangnail - we only notice it when it snags on something and then it hurts like hell. As an irritatingly pedantic professional writer, it is a great relief to find a website where I can vent my frustrations.

I know I’m coming late to this conversation, but I really wanted to add that I recently had the same thought myself: it’s hopeless trying to save the apostrophe from its ubiquitous/iniquitous abuse. Better to simply abolish it.

The difference between ‘the boys books’ and ‘the boys books’ would be obvious from the context, and if it weren’t, a small effort would make it obvious. The apostrophe today is like a hangnail – we only notice it when it snags on something and then it hurts like hell.

]]> By: Randell http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-form-a-plural-with-an-apostrophe/comment-page-1/#comment-160888 Randell Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:55:05 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=2571#comment-160888 What is the plural form of the grades A-, A+, B+, etc.? What is the plural form of the grades A-, A+, B+, etc.?

]]> By: Peter http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-form-a-plural-with-an-apostrophe/comment-page-1/#comment-159193 Peter Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:18:08 +0000 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/?p=2571#comment-159193 As late as the mid 1980s, in some cases, the standard use of "byte" didn't mean 8 bits (except in IBM, where the "8 bit" definition originates). MS Windows (really, IBM x86 compatible processors) uses a 32 or 64 bit <i>word</i> size, but the addressing unit is still 8 bits; but older computers often had an <i>addressing unit</i> of different width (the last one I know of to use a non-8-bit "byte" size was the last generation of Lisp Machine hardware, the Symbolics Ivory processor, using 48-bit bytes). As late as the mid 1980s, in some cases, the standard use of “byte” didn’t mean 8 bits (except in IBM, where the “8 bit” definition originates). MS Windows (really, IBM x86 compatible processors) uses a 32 or 64 bit word size, but the addressing unit is still 8 bits; but older computers often had an addressing unit of different width (the last one I know of to use a non-8-bit “byte” size was the last generation of Lisp Machine hardware, the Symbolics Ivory processor, using 48-bit bytes).

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