Today's "Gotcha" Grammar Glitch--That Pesky Apostrophe Again!

When to flick an apostrophe before or after an "s" and when not to is really a problem these days. In the December 2007 edition of 280 Living, this glitch reared its ugly head no less than five times:

1) "Many years later, during the Reformation in the 1500's....When the Dutch settled in America during the 1600's..."

It is no longer necessary to use an apostrophe with references to decades and centuries. These phrases can be written as follows:

the 1500s the 1600s the 1980s the 1960s

2) Please take a moment to read this petition to help a child right here in Birmingham who's family recently experienced a house fire.

"Who's" with the apostrophe is a contraction that means one thing--who is.

When you want to write possessively about a family that belongs to a child, the correct word is "whose," which refers to possession or belonging. Therefore, this sentence should read:

Please take a moment to read this petition to help a child right here in Birmingham whose family recently experienced a house fire.

3) "I felt awful going back to work on Monday's after eating junk all day on Sunday."

The apostrophe is never used in making a word plural. This person is writing about more than one Monday, NOT something belonging to a Monday, so the sentence should read as follows:

I felt awful going back to work on Mondays after eating junk all day on Sunday.

4) Florida's Gainesville Airport will be surprising it's early morning travelers...."

"It's" is like "who's." It is a contraction that has only ONE meaning--it is. Here, the writer is referring to early morning travelers belonging to this airport. It would not work to substitute "it is" for "it's" in this sentence. Therefore, it should read as follows:

Florida's Gainesville Airport will be surprising its early morning travelers....

5) Here are a few simple ways to safeguard your luggage from going on it's own holiday...."

See 4) just above. This sentence should read as follows:

Here are a few simple ways to safeguard your luggage and keep it from going on its own holiday....