GROCERS’ PLURALS
IN MEMORY OF ST FRANCIS DE SALES
Apostrophes are everywhere
From Arial to Times
Often where they shouldn’t be
And even in some rhyme’s
Burger’s, tea’s and coffee’s too
And MOT’s abound
They’re now a fact of modern life
Just take a look around
No longer just for grocers
Apostrophes prevail
On goods of every size and shape
When more than one’s for sale
I doubt you’ve heard of Francis
Of Francis Sales, no less
The patron saint of writers
Who hates the stranded S
Each night his grave it trembles
In Gallic stony ground
For Francis though long sound asleep
Is turning round and round
Upon his headstone in the moon
The words will long abide
For those who know St Francis
And wonder how he died
THE GROCER AND HIS PLURAL
IT WAS THE DEATH OF ME
TWO OR MORE OF ANYTHING
NEEDS NO APOSTROPHE!
I hate those wretched things, no matter how hard I try and believe me I really do I cannot get those little monsters right I wish they were all eliminated!
Very much enjoyed this poem it made me smile 🙂 Sue.
Sweetwater Confusing ‘its’ with ‘it’s’ is a common error. The first (its) means ‘belonging to’ as in ‘ the zebra has stripes on its back’. The second (it’s) is short for ‘it is’, as in ‘it’s raining outside’. If you’re not sure which spelling to use, just try saying the phrase using ‘it is’ – if it doesn’t make sense then you need to use ‘its’. What also adds to the confusion is that ‘its’ (no apostrophe) is a possessive, but so is John’s, as in ‘John’s book’, or ‘Terry’s car’. – with an apostrophe S. Oh, the joys of… Read more »