About Me

Twenty years ago I asked a Tarot card reader what would I be doing when I was 50. She replied, “I see you doing something so wildly creative, it defies a job title.” Only recently did I realize that was a slick way of saying, “I have no idea of what you’ll be doing.” But that prediction kept me charging ahead to the fifties with zeal and anticipation. Now that the future is today, I’m ready for anything!

Knocking the Misplaced Apostrophe

I recently was gifted with a number of small items, among them, a door nameplate.
Giving the gifts was a lovely and thoughtful gesture. 
But being a proofreader makes it awfully hard sometimes to be a gracious recipient.

TheMaricle's

Not only is the nameplate incorrect, it is incorrect in its incorrectness. It of course should read The Maricles, a plural noun, as in "You will find the Maricles at this address." A plural possessive, as in the sentence "The Maricles' ability to work together is a thing of beauty," takes an apostrophe after the sThis site is a good one for punctuation rules presented with authority and aplomb.


The Maricle's opens up a dimension of Donald Trump–like grandiosity. "The Maricle's time is short. Therefore, she will grant you five minutes."

I’m used to getting my name mispronounced: MarKILL, MarSEEL, MARkel,
MERkel. (For the record it’s MARE uh kl.) But misplaced apostrophes—I can’t help
but knock ‘em.
 







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