[quote:4cff4b2635="I"]I have a bit of a thing for apostrophe abuse, it drives me nuts but I'm trying to get over it. I mean I can let it slide if someone writes 1980's instead of 1980s (as in 'I grew up in the 1980s), I can even forgive DVD's if I really try... but what the Hell is this all about: http://www.nisa-todays.com/site/index.asp ? Nisa Today's. What the Hell is that supposed to mean, it's written all over their trucks and everything? Or am I being a bit Friday night slow and not getting something? P.S. Oh God, just noticed 'See why 100's of independent retailers...'[/quote:4cff4b2635] I just posted this on another message board and Marcia told me that it was/is acceptable in America to write 100's, 1000's etc instead of 100s and 1000s. She just looked it up on an American site and it seems it's true, at least according to writersblock.ca who call this type of abuse the 'American Style' of writing 1000's etc. Anyway it always niggles me when I see it because I expect something to follow. So if it says "Loads of DVD's" in a window I always think, "DVD's what? WHAT damn it!" I think I may have a problem though, but there are places for me to go: http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/ and http://apostrophe-abuse.blogspot.com/ - just knowing there are others like me eases the burden somewhat.
With English being my second language, I find it really hard not to mix up "it's" and "its". This is a preemptive excuse from my side.
Lots of people get that wrong, most of them are English, so it's excusable if English isn't your first language. It's more bothersome for me when you see it in places where there should be someone who knows better doing the writing. Like a big sign on the side of a truck owned by a big company. Or in a letter sent by your bank et cetera.
[quote:67493248c0="Maljonic"] Nisa Today's. What the Hell is that supposed to mean, it's written all over their trucks and everything?[/quote:67493248c0] Thinking about it....perhap's its a matter of language usage on behalf of the advertiser's? Seriously, if you took "Today's" to be short for "Today's food" then it kind of makes sense. For example, it wouldn't have been unusual for somone where I grew up to ask "Is that bread today's?"* But maybe that was just us Scottish heathens. Send your bank manager to the The Apostrophe Protection Society *this pissed the baker off mightily
It's not just the Scots (I just typoed it Scto!). Saying that the bread "belongs" to today is acceptable. More notable is newspaper "Is that today's newspaper? No? Which day's is it?"
It's come to light that the company mentioned above is a recent joining of two companies, 'Nisa' and 'Today's', which kind of explains it a bit. I still think they should drop the apostrophe though.
Can someone confirm to me whether it's acceptable to write apothrophes in this sentence: "Over 21's only" I see this kind of thing all the time and am convinced it's incorrect. But I've been told it is acceptable written as 21's or 21s.
[quote:db0b7baee0="TheJackal"]Can someone confirm to me whether it's acceptable to write apothrophes in this sentence: "Over 21's only" I see this kind of thing all the time and am convinced it's incorrect. But I've been told it is acceptable written as 21's or 21s.[/quote:db0b7baee0] The apostrophe is incorrect - this is a plural, not a possessive or a contraction (and nobody should let any Americans tell them different - language lessons from people whose spelling seems to indicate a national shortage of the letter "u"?. Come on! )
[quote:c28b26e68b="Ba"]Webster's spelling reforms were a godsend, O degenerate Briton![/quote:c28b26e68b] Indeed - for one thing they help me in my current job to comply with US Export Controls (which don't allow US technical content to be exported to certain countries which we degenerates still do business with). We can detect 90% of those by spelling searches Seriously though, I'd much rather be speaking a live and vibrant language which can and does evolve, than have to report every "new" word to some arcane government committee as occurs in France. So I even gave up spelling connexion correctly!
Poor Mal... Just one thing, if you are that hungup about apostrophe abuse, NEVER come to France Not only do they mess up any english word they use (a dinner jacket/tuxedo is a "smoking", and a track suit is a "jogging" :roll: ) but they tend to add apostrophes all over the place, because that's how you can tell it's a real english word, of course... (edit for spelling mistake's )
[quote:170200fcec="TheJackal"]Can someone confirm to me whether it's acceptable to write apothrophes in this sentence: "Over 21's only" I see this kind of thing all the time and am convinced it's incorrect. But I've been told it is acceptable written as 21's or 21s.[/quote:170200fcec]Like Pixel said this is wrong, it shouldn't appear anywhere in the UK but it often does because some people are just retarded with this sort of thing. It is however acceptable and the done thing in the USA. There's a bar in York called simply "80's Bar", which isn't totally wrong but doesn't quite say what they mean. As in they want it to mean that it's a 1980s style bar, but it sounds more like a bar for people who are in their 80s to me.
Anyway, I wrote to Nisa Today's and this is what they say: [quote:274222e937]Good Morning Mr Malory Thank you for your email into the NISA Todays (Holdings) Ltd Web Site. The apostrophe in our name is to symbolise the way the wholesale side = Today's belongs and is part of the retail side = NISA. Holdings Ltd relates to our membership. NISA stands for: National - Independent - Supermarket - Association. I hope that has explained the history behind our name Mr Malory and thank you for your interest in NISA Todays. Warm Regards Karen Walker NISA Todays Consumer Services [/quote:274222e937] Notice there are a few apostrophes removed, almost an admittance of shame if you ask me!
[quote:35e8b4f09e]The apostrophe in our name is to symbolise the way the wholesale side = Today's belongs and is part of the retail side = NISA. Holdings Ltd relates to our membership. [/quote:35e8b4f09e] Indeed - and Today's NISA or NISA's Today would be perfectly correct. But they.....oh the heck with it, I will be reaching for the purple ink myself if I'm not careful!
Hee, a man after my own heart: this is the reply I just sent: [quote:e68d54aff7]I'm not sure, it would make sense if it was "Today's Nisa" but it doesn't quite work the way you say it, just sounds like really bad English. Someone told me that there used to be two companies, Nisa and Today's, with the 'Today's' meaning today's food - as in fresh food - and the two companies joined, keeping the names the same. [/quote:e68d54aff7]
[quote:182260c9cb="Maljonic"]There's a bar in York called simply "80's Bar", which isn't totally wrong but doesn't quite say what they mean. As in they want it to mean that it's a 1980s style bar, but it sounds more like a bar for people who are in their 80s to me. [/quote:182260c9cb] Might just be both ! Just to further illustrate my example about the French being apostophe maniacs, they put an apostrophe in jean's (as in a pair of dirty* jeans) and pin's (as in those stupid pin things that have no gone out of fashion only to return in some future year as the greatest invention sins magnetic sliced bread.) * anyone who owns a REAL pair of jeans knows they can only ever be dirty, even when washed and ironed... which of course never happens, because people with REAL jeans never wash or iron them. Which kind of explains why they're** always dirty. **the jeans, of course, not the people who wear them. Maybe.
