# Resolved: We abolish the apostrophe in English. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 23, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383 "2007-04-23T23:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/21 "2007-04-24T17:55:02Z")
I blame the English teachers. Actually, that’s not totally wrong. They seem to spend an awfully large block of time not explaining things very well. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/22 "2007-04-24T18:19:30Z")
Hmmm… I wonder what inspired this thread. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417972) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/23 "2007-04-24T21:37:40Z")
I believe “sic” should be enclosed in brackets, not parentheses. ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/24 "2007-04-24T22:44:36Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Hmmm… I wonder what inspired this thread. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417972) [/QUOTE] Your right. Its what got me going. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/25 "2007-04-24T23:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] I believe “sic” should be enclosed in brackets, not parentheses. [/QUOTE] Heh, there’s another thing we can discuss. In my world I have brackets, square brackets, and curly brackets, but I _think_ I agree with you. 😃 It now occurs to me that it might be amusing to start a nasty trend of spelling “square” as "“squeir” or “squey’re”. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/26 "2007-04-25T03:58:18Z")
The network evening news used to be a bastion of quality writing and editing. Now it’s just another outlet for the bastardization of the language. Now where is my copy of [Strunk](http://www.bartleby.com/141/) ? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/27 "2007-04-25T07:40:16Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] I blame the English teachers. [/QUOTE] I blame the greengrocers. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/28 "2007-04-25T11:54:12Z")
[QUOTE=Valteron] Then its cousin “ITS” should likewise be." [/QUOTE] I’m sorry, it’s cousin IT not cousin ITS. Please try again. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/29 "2007-04-25T14:04:26Z")
[QUOTE=Valteron] After lecturing everybody else about mistakes, I spelled it wrong. 😃 :smack: :smack: [/QUOTE] _Spelt_. I _spelt_ it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/30 "2007-04-25T14:10:24Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] Actually, that’s not totally wrong. They seem to spend an awfully large block of time not explaining things very well. [/QUOTE] Well, I didn’t get any formal grammar in school until senior year, and that was under an unusually strict (but nice) teacher. I bet the majority of public school kids sail through without ever learning grammar, other than a rule or two an individual teacher might throw out there after reading 20 essays with the same grammatical error. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/31 "2007-04-25T14:17:57Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] I’m sorry, it’s cousin IT not cousin ITS. Please try again. 🆒 [/QUOTE] Actually, it’s cousin Itt, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/32 "2007-04-25T14:59:06Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Actually, it’s cousin Itt, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] Cousin ITT is of course Ma Bell’s relative, who could Sprint all the way to the blue Verizon. Northeasterners will remember that he’s only a distant relative, 9X removed. 😃 (You’ll remember Phone-Deregulation Algebra: 18T / 5 = 9X. [Read it aloud.]) Actually, people who want to use “it’s” for the possessive should go whole hog, and also use _hi’s_ and _he’r_. At least that’s m’y thought on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/33 "2007-04-25T16:59:25Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Actually, it’s cousin Itt, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] You’re right. :smack: :smack: That’s why I love the dope. I learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/34 "2007-04-25T17:17:09Z")
Its’ a crazy idea but its’ time may come. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/35 "2007-04-25T17:32:08Z")
Everyone know’s what apostrophe’s mean: “LOOK OUT! Here come’s an ‘S’!” ---
**Author:** ![Fretwork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b38774/32.png) [@Fretwork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretwork)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/36 "2007-04-25T17:35:53Z")
BRAVO! I’m glad someone else came to the same conclusion I did. It means I have some chance to reform the world. I realized that since the apostrophe was unvoiced, that spelling reform would favor the opposite approach, and the apostrophe would disappear. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/37 "2007-04-25T17:45:25Z")
[QUOTE=Fretwork] BRAVO! I’m glad someone else came to the same conclusion I did. It means I have some chance to reform the world. I realized that since the apostrophe was unvoiced, that spelling reform would favor the opposite approach, and the apostrophe would disappear. [/QUOTE] Why meddle with the language when all it accomplishes is to reduce precision? With the apostrophe you can instantly tell whether your talking plural or possessive, and, if possessive, whether the possessor is singular or plural. Abolish the apostrophe and you have to spend a while working it out, or even be left completely in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Infinite\_Levels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f475e1/32.png) [@Infinite\_Levels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infinite_Levels)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/38 "2007-04-25T18:38:12Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Why meddle with the language when all it accomplishes is to reduce precision? With the apostrophe you can instantly tell whether your talking plural or possessive, and, if possessive, whether the possessor is singular or plural. Abolish the apostrophe and you have to spend a while working it out, or even be left completely in the dark. [/QUOTE] Wow. You would have to puzzle it out just the same as if someone spoke it to you. How would you ever cope? ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/39 "2007-04-25T19:21:47Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] _Spelt_. I _spelt_ it wrong. [/QUOTE] So both of us got it wrong? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383/40 "2007-04-25T19:31:47Z")
I also forgot to mention another problem with the apostrophe. As the quality of education and teaching continue to decline, and kids learn less and less, people are starting to add apostrophies in front of any given “s”, even when it is a simple plural. Abolishing these irritating little punctuation marks would put an end to their uncontrolled spread. Who among us has not seen something ridiculous such as “Banana’s” written on a sign at the grocery? The people writing the signs are semi-literates who remember having seen words in which an apostrophe preceded an “s”. So “just to be on the safe side” I suppose, they throw it in so people will not think they are ignorant. Oh sweet irony!!! 😉 In an ideal world, I would like to see people learn to write properly. Find me an ideal world and I will agree that the apostrophe can stay. Otherwise, their are times when we must grin and bear the insolences of outrageous fortune and bend before the storm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-we-abolish-the-apostrophe-in-english/401383.md?page=3)