Inspired by the "math class" thread I'd like to express my feelings about several grammatical errors that occur around here, the most common of which revolve around the improper use of the apostrophe!
Let us first learn the two most common uses of an apostrophe in the English language:
1> The apostrophe is used before the letter "S" at the end of a word to indicate ownership. If that word already ends in an "S" then the apostrophe is usually moved to the end of the word.
PROPER EXAMPLES: Skuzzy's computer will never have Flash or Java installed.
The Axis' forces did not know how to make a good sandwich!
Those cars' tires have all been slashed!
I see a lot of people who are sticking an apostrophe in a word just because it ends in the letter "S". This is usually incorrect and more often than not the apostrophe is not required.
IMPROPER EXAMPLES (Remove the apostrophe in these examples to make them correct):
There are two car's in the parking lot.
Two computer's were used to test the most recent Aces High update.
JUST BECAUSE A WORD ENDS IN THE LETTER "S" DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO PUT AN APOSTROPHE BEFORE IT! IF IN DOUBT DON'T USE ONE!
There are some exceptions which will be discussed below.
2> The apostrophe is used to join two words together. This is usually used to represent how the English language is actually spoken.EXAMPLES:The words "we" and "are" can be combined to make the following sentence: We're going to have a memorial flight next week to observe the anniversary of 9/11.
The words "he" and "is" can be combined as well: He's not going to notice the plush sheep missing from his office.
The words "is" and "not" can also be combined to mean the same thing: He isn't going to notice the plush sheep missing from his office.
Of course there are many other ways to combine two words together in this manner just keep in mind that when in doubt forget about the apostrophe and just type out both words. "Who are the people that run Hi-Tech Creations?" looks a lot better than "Who're the people that run Hi-Tech Creations?" (Especially if you forget to type the apostrophe!)
Also when the two rules conflict with each other rule #2 usually takes precedence. Take the words "its" and "it's" for example. "It's" is a short version for "It is" therefore "its" would be an example of an exception for rule #1 above.
PROPER EXAMPLES:It's a wonderful world.
(Talking about Skuzzy's computer) Its computing power is superior because it doesn't have to run Flash or Java.
Since this relates we'll also talk about the following words below that are commonly misused:
"Your" means something the belongs to you: Your computer is faster than mine.
"You're" is short for "You are": You're going to regret stalling out in that maneuver.
"There" is a place: There is Dale's sheep.
"They're" is short for "They are": They're very cute and fluffy!
"Their" indicates ownership: The programmers at HiTech really like to make jokes about their sheep!
There are of course many other grammatical errors that occur but what I've explained here is by far the most common. For more information feel free to refer to the following website.
http://www.youryoure.com/