Of course, to my chagrin, the errant apostrophe is alive and kicking in my house: the second grader has frequent lapses in which she turns plurals into possessives. To be fair, she’s also confused about which and witch, and your and you’re. But the extra apostrophe?
She had some homework last week which involved reading a poem, identifying words in the poem which had either a short a vowel sound or a long a, and making a list of said words on the page. Despite the fact that the poem was printed out, right there, so all she had to do was copy, she managed to turn faces into face’s, and apples into apple’s.
I need to nip this one in the bud, like right this very minute.
at least you can identify the errant apostraphe. you are light years ahead of a high percentage of people in this country.
ReplyDeleteMy kids have picked up the "make lunch for G. and I" (as opposed to the correct "make lunch for G. and me")travesty at school.
ReplyDeleteI'm coming down hard.
The world needs more grammar police--you need to raise the next generation!
ReplyDeleteI say this sheepishly, because I frequently mock both people who get uptight over small things and people who police grammar -- when I see a plural turned into a possessive my blood pressure spikes and my temples bulge -- literally, I've checked it in the mirror. It's a wonder I have any facebook friends left at all. The other day I almost missed an 'it's' instead of an 'its' in a blog post and I hyperventilated and had to put my head between my knees for a while.
ReplyDeleteThis word geek appreciates your efforts. It will make the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteI am hugging you so hard in my head right now.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like SUCH boring homework. I think I would have sprinkled in an apostrophe or two just for excitement.
ReplyDeleteOuch. That would hurt my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying very hard to teach my son (he's 6) to say "I've seen... " rather than "I've sawn..." I long ago lost count of the times I've corrected him. I keep hoping that some day he'll remember...
Poor kiddies. They try so hard to do it right that they write it wrong. Get her a copy of 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves'.
ReplyDeleteForgot how much I adore you! Yes, nip it in the bud. She will thank you for your standards some day.
ReplyDelete