Grammar Glitches Elsewhere in the Country

I am on the road this week, but that hasn't stopped me from spotting grammar glitches in what I've had time to read. My Alabama readers will be happy to know that other parts of the country goof, too. Of course, that's not an excuse to ignore careful proofreading!

Here is a glaring example of an apostrophe error that appears in the 2009 Tulsa Visitors Guide. It appears in a letter of welcome from the mayor of the city. I won't speculate on whether the mayor goofed, somebody who keyed in her letter goofed, or the proofreader goofed. It might have been all three.

Here is the offending sentence:

One of the best western art collection's in the nation is housed in oil magnate Thomas Gilcrease's former property, the Gilcrease Museum, just north of downtown.

Only one of the apostrophes in red above is correct. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know that the primary purpose of an apostrophe is to SHOW POSSESSION. The primary purpose of an apostrophe is NEVER to show PLURAL.

Therefore, collections is plural (add JUST the s). However, Gilcrease's indicates that the property once belonged to (SHOWING POSSESSION) Thomas Gilcrease, so it needs the apostrophe.

The sentence should read as follows:

One of the best western art collections in the nation is housed in oil magnate Thomas Gilcrease's former property, the Gilcrease Museum, just north of downtown.

Hope this is helpful. Check again tomorrow to see what I caught in Sunday's The Denver Post.