As a side remark inspired by these US elections, most European countries excepting the strict north are blessed with idiotic politicians anyway; we seem to be suffering in the REIGN of the MORON in many European countries, especially in the south.
As a diversion, I thought I would delve in spelling instead.
And begin with the ubiquitous apostrophe: ' Especially as it confers with s, along with other considerations.
There is a widespread misuse of this apostrophe with the consequent incomprehensible results in the text being offered -- so much so, that it could be intentional, or a fad. But there is no indication of a fashion trend for misusing the apostrophe, so it must be illiteracy. Either that or a glitch in the spell-checker, which comes back to illiteracy -- of the programmer.
Here is a variety of apostrophes:
IT + S:
It's = it is OR it has. Nothing else. As in, "it's a very nice day today", "it's been a long time",
Its = possessive that which belongs to it: "it's been the longest game in its history", "the sun shone, ITS rays reflecting off the silver...". NO apostrophe when it mes to the word "it".
Use an apostrophe to show possession:
We use an apostrophe to show possession: when the possessor is singular, the ' goes before the s. When plural, after the plural "s". The exception is (1) when the plural word itself does NOT end in an s: i.e., children, people,OR (2) a non-plural word ending in an "s".
John's car= the car that belongs to John.
Julia's bedroom= i.e. the bedroom attributed to Julia.
The car's upholstery= the upholstery of that car.
The voters' response= the response of many voters
The voter's response= the response of one voter
(1)"The men's chambers"= chambers for many men
(2) "Charles' latest purchase is a bicycle..."
Apostrophe with plurals:
The plural is usually formed by adding an "s" at the end. There is NO apostrophe. No exceptions! To use an apostrophe is a superlative blunder.
One car. Many cars. One girl. Two girls. "Pearls melt in vinegar". "The results of this election are dire". NO apostrophe for plural.
Contractions:
We use an apostrophe to replace letters in contractions, mostly the words, not, is, have, us, are, will...
| aren't | are not |
| can't | cannot |
| couldn't | could not |
| didn't | did not |
| doesn't | does not |
| don't | do not |
| hadn't | had not |
| hasn't | has not |
| haven't | have not |
| he'd | he had, he would |
| he'll | he will, he shall |
| he's | he is, he has |
| I'd | I had, I would |
| I'll | I will, I shall |
| I'm | I am |
| I've | I have |
| isn't | is not |
| it's | it is, it has |
| let's | let us |
| mustn't | must not |
| shan't | shall not |
| she'd | she had, she would |
| she'll | she will, she shall |
| she's | she is, she has |
| shouldn't | should not |
| that's | that is, that has |
| there's | there is, there has |
| they'd | they had, they would |
| they'll | they will, they shall |
| they're | they are |
| they've | they have |
| we'd | we had, we would |
| we're | we are |
| we've | we have |
| weren't | were not |
| what'll | what will, what shall |
| what're | what are |
| what's | what is, what has |
| what've | what have |
| where's | where is, where has |
| who'd | who had, who would |
| who'll | who will, who shall |
| who're | who are |
| who's | who is, who has |
| who've | who have |
| won't | will not |
| wouldn't | would not |
| you'd | you had, you would |
| you'll | you will, you shall |
| you're | you are |
| you've | you have |
Reminder" you / we + have, are:
-You've= you have, "you've been a good student..."
-YOU'RE= you are, NOT "your":"you're diligent and your marks have gone up..."
-WE'RE= we are "we're sure of our course..."
-WE'VE= we have "we've gone far enough in these fields; Let's turn back..."
Time related (temporal):
All in a day's work"= the work of one day
"Three days' notice"= it is more than one day
"A month's salary"= one month
"Six months' bonus"= many months
I hope this can be of some little use to some people, somewhat interested in ridding their texts of common mistakes...
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