Apostrophe's arrgh

edited July 2013 in Chit chat
Watching the tennis. Someone keeps holding up a sign "lets make history"... there aren't too many lets in a match though?

Then I got some spam email:
Why don't women want you to watch this video? Simple...Because when you use the "mind control" secret...Their panties drop, Their pussy's get wet and they want to bang you. No matter WHAT You Look like. Regular guys world wide (even ugly guys) [snip]

a) They got the apostrophe usage correct for panties and then failed in the same sentence for pussies (why would their cats get wet if I use a mind control secret anyway?)? Why don't I want to read your spam? It's because of your terrible grammar!

b) Are they trying to insinuate I am ugly?
Post edited by Paradigm Shifter on

Comments

  • edited July 2013
    The fact that you misused an apostrophe in your own thread title makes me wonder why you're ranting about this.

    (Hint: google "grocer's apostrophe". Opinion is divided on whether one should use a lower case "g" or not. It's a verb in this context.)

    Or is that part of the joke?

    :)
  • edited July 2013
    You don't look at the tag's then!
  • edited July 2013
    I'm just worried if I watch the video one of my neighbours' cats will explode after getting wet - in my direction, they want to do it! :(
  • zx1zx1
    edited July 2013
    I'm not sure what the point of this thread is?
    The trouble with tribbles is.......
  • edited July 2013
    Pfft, kids today (and spammers) can't do grammar right proper like what we used to?
  • edited July 2013
    Speaking of tennis, whos the winner?
  • Speaking of tennis, whos the winner?

    Sebastian Vettel won by 3 runs although he did miss a penalty in the final furlong.
  • edited July 2013
    Sebastian Vettel won by 3 runs although he did miss a penalty in the final furlong.

    checkmate!!!!!
  • edited July 2013
    Although English isn't my first language and I don't claim to be 100% fluent, I do get annoyed when I see certain mistakes made by people whose first language is English...

    Shouldn't the thread title read "Apostrophes' arrgh" instead of what it is now? Also, why do people confuse "whose" with "who's"? Why do they ommit apostrophes when they're needed? Why do they confuse "they're" with "there" and "their" if they all have different meanings?

    I see these mistakes being made all the time by people who studied a lot more than I did, by people who call themselves doctors, etc.

    I don't claim to know it all, but those mistakes are so bad that it's difficult to understand why people still make them, and get upset when someone points it out. I don't get upset when someone corrects me. I thank them and learn from it.
  • edited July 2013
    The title is a joke but I have to say this is something that has turned into a peeve for me and is sadly proof that I probably won't escape 'old man' syndrome.

    <getting old>

    I first noticed big problems with apostrophes on css and wos. It turns out it is a British problem. There is something wrong with the British education system that systematically turns out a large number of people who don't know how to use apostrophes. If I see consistently misused apostrophes in anything written, nine times out of ten the author is British. It's become a signature of the English, it's that bad.

    Close to where I live (ie not England) a shop opened that services cell phones and various small appliances. Painted all over the windows were things like "CD's", "cell's", "vacuum's" etc. I thought could it be this problem is spreading to North America? I walked into the shop to find out and sure enough it was a couple of British expats running the business.

    From the comments on this in the past, it seems people who don't know when to use apostrophes don't see it as such a big deal. It's seen as something akin to a spelling error. But it isn't -- to people who know when they should be used, errors practically jab you in the eyes whilst reading. It really stands out. I may miss a "there/their" error while quickly reading but I never miss an apostrophe error.

    In fact, if people stopped using apostrophes at all, I think it may be less aggravating.

    </getting old>
  • edited July 2013
    Sebastian Vettel won by 3 runs although he did miss a penalty in the final furlong.
    mile wrote: »
    checkmate!!!!!

    lol's!
    The comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition 2015
    "Let's not be childish. Let's play Spectrum games."
  • edited July 2013
    Sorry AA you're absolutely right, and I'm 100% with you on this.

    Regarding people for whom English is a second language: I think they are taught formal grammar much more than UK kids are, and as a result tend to be better at it. Hmm, that rankles!
  • edited July 2013
    JonB wrote: »
    Regarding people for whom English is a secong language

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law
    The comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition 2015
    "Let's not be childish. Let's play Spectrum games."
  • edited July 2013
    leespoons wrote: »

    Edited... cough, cough...
  • edited July 2013
    There is something wrong with the British education system

    It's not just grammar either...
  • guesser wrote: »
    It's not just grammar either...

    Yep, Grampa's equally to blame!
  • edited July 2013
    there's a site devoted to this stuff...

    Sandwiches%2BBaguettes%2BCakes.jpg

    http://www.apostrophecatastrophes.com/
  • edited July 2013
    This is my favourite:

    IMG_2758.jpg

    Part of me is silently weeping with rage at this stuff, but there's another, larger part of me which is saying "Your 38 year's old, lifes' too short, who give,s a sh*t?"
    The comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition 2015
    "Let's not be childish. Let's play Spectrum games."
  • edited July 2013
    I do think that over time people have become lazy with this sort of thing especially kids but at the end of the day you can still read and understand what is being said so maybe it is quite irrelevant anyway.Look how some people txt on their mobiles C U LTR, but the message is still understood.Actually i have seen a whole Facebook profile written in mobile text speak and that made my head want to explode lol.
  • edited July 2013
    a lot of these are down to professional sign writters. i wonder if there grammer check is an extra charge.
  • edited July 2013
    Rest assured this happens in other countries too :p

    In fact there's a couple of hilarious books full of photos showing all kinds of ridiculous mistakes, including apostrophes.
  • edited July 2013
    If I owned a shop, I'd do that on purpose, just to wind up folk with nowt better to do.
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