Comments on Apostrophe Catastrophes: This Is Pretty Tacky, Even for Wal-Mart

To S.D. and others -- Let's not proclaim some...

2010-07-25T13:39:45.033-07:00

To S.D. and others --

Let's not proclaim something as fact because we think it should be true. You'd think it would be "Fathers' Day" but consider this:

People in the 1800s may have said "Today we honor Father" or "Today we honor Mother."

Not counting stepfathers, or biological fathers vs. adoptive fathers, etc., everyone has one father, so it's (your) Father's Day.

But as braincrisp noted, we honor multiple U.S. Presidents and multiple Veterans on their respective days.

I agree with Sophisticate's Diary's (that ...

2009-08-21T21:49:47.139-07:00

I agree with Sophisticate's Diary's (that looks weird with the double apostrophe) point about how the apostrophe should be after the s in Fathers since the holiday is for all dads, but unfortunately it's not that way (same with Mother's Day). Note, however, that Presidents' and Veterans' Day get the plural advantage. How strange...

http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w011.html

2009-08-17T07:27:18.277-07:00

http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w011.html

I beg to differ; the apostrophe comes after the s ...

2009-07-07T11:52:15.198-07:00

I beg to differ; the apostrophe comes after the s in Fathers' Day. It is a day for all fathers, not just one.

anyways, i fully support taking corporations and i...

2009-07-01T14:27:52.232-07:00

anyways, i fully support taking corporations and instituions to task for shitty grammar skillz but individuals not so much. a magazine i worked at once did a piece about lousy public grammar and bound in "grammar citations" readers could issue to offenders. somebody rightfully pointed out that several examples we used were probably created by people undereducated through no fault of their own, and went on to chastise us college-educated folk for being so snooty. lesson learned. many walmart employees fall into the undereducated category, and while it's amusing to us, it's rather sad for them. such people are fair game for me if they are asking for it by, for example, holding a sign reading "get a brain! morans."

interesting for copyeditors. nobody else on the pl...

2009-07-01T14:17:51.723-07:00

interesting for copyeditors. nobody else on the planet gives a crap.

Wow, that's really interesting! Thanks for the...

2009-07-01T10:27:41.755-07:00

Wow, that's really interesting! Thanks for the insight.

it's Walmart for individual retail stores and ...

2009-07-01T09:46:23.688-07:00

it's Walmart for individual retail stores and Wal-Mart for the corporate entity...I called them once to clear it up

Traditionally, the name of the store contained a h...

2009-07-01T09:11:04.097-07:00

Traditionally, the name of the store contained a hyphen. I think both are correct. http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/less_hyphen_more_burst_for_wal.php

It's "Walmart."

2009-06-30T16:16:21.428-07:00

It's "Walmart."

I think it should be What are your Father's...

2009-06-25T08:15:20.845-07:00
I think it should be What are your Father's Day plans? The apostrophe goes before the s in Father's Day.

If two out of three are correct then it follows t...

2009-06-25T08:12:28.859-07:00
If two out of three are correct then it follows that the writer means, "What is your father planning for the day?" (if there is such a thing as a 'day plan').

I would say that almost nothing is correct about this sign; what's should be what are. Father's should be Fathers' or Fathers and, of course, plan's should be plans

My comment doesn't have to do with grammar or ...

2009-06-24T04:07:05.393-07:00
My comment doesn't have to do with grammar or punctuation (which has already been covered thoroughly) but just to say this is one lame-ass sign to be up in a store like that. It looks like it belongs in some mom & pop corner store somewhere.

Well, "Father's Day" is the name of ...

2009-06-23T08:02:24.157-07:00
Well, "Father's Day" is the name of the holiday, so both of those words should be capitalized, but not "plans." Good point about the subject-verb agreement (is vs. are). I should have mentioned that.

oops, typo, "sould" should be "shou...

2009-06-23T07:37:03.176-07:00
oops, typo, "sould" should be "should" - I should have read that better.

Very strange capitalisation, the only word I'd...

2009-06-23T07:34:43.027-07:00
Very strange capitalisation, the only word I'd put with a capital would be "Father", and certainly not Day and Plans

Also, since "plans" are plural, it sould be "What are you plans?" and not "What is your plans?"