Do We Need That Apostrophe?

Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer. 

Despite months of advance planning, we weren’t ready to fill the orders for our new products.

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Monday’s post prompted an exchange with a long-time friend who’s interested in language issues. He was surprised that I proposed omitting the apostrophe in National Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

He wants to keep the apostrophe, for two reasons. First, it adds clarity. Second, he feels that we need to keep a firm hold on our grammatical traditions. When they start slipping away, we open the door to sloppy writing and – inevitably – sloppy thinking.

My position is that the apostrophe doesn’t add anything useful. Anyone can understand “National Indigenous Peoples Day,” even though the apostrophe is missing. And I can prove it: we don’t use apostrophes when we’re talking – and yet everybody understands spoken sentences like this one:

I wish I had a recipe for my grandmother’s delicious potato pancakes.

I’m a stickler myself. I’m careful with apostrophes, and I even know how to use its and it’s correctly (rare nowadays!). But there are lots of non-sticklers out there, and they have no trouble making themselves understood.

We can admire professionalism without making false claims about it. Precise punctuation demonstrates that you take pride in your writing. You’re willing to make an extra effort to get the job done correctly. Bravo!

But that doesn’t entitle you to claim that nobody will understand a sentence if an apostrophe is missing or misplaced. Sloppy punctuation isn’t the same as sloppy thinking.

The famous playwright Bernard Shaw hated apostrophes and  left them out of most contractions. In his writings, don’t became dont, couldn’t became couldnt, and so on. But nobody has ever claimed that he was a sloppy thinker!

You might enjoy reading this: “Have We Murdered the Apostrophe?”

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Planning is always done in advance! Delete “advance.”

Despite months of planning, we weren’t ready to fill the orders for our new products.  CORRECT

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