Glad you approved of the book - and welcome to the pedants' club.
I'm struggling to find a way of faulting your theory ... and having a bit of trouble.
Well done.
John Humphrys
(BBC Journalist; Presenter, 'Today', BBC Radio 4)
Thank you for your rapid response. I was not expecting a reply at all. Your input will help me as I am updating a portion of our company website.
Thank you for your time,
Kristin Stewart
Office Manager
Anacortes, WA
USA
Thanks for the lesson!
With your permission, I borrowed your lesson on apostrophes for the class I teach (graduate level, law school). It achieved a few smiles, a few thoughtful looks, and a set of papers with far fewer errors on apostrophes than classes in prior years. Thanks! -- jgr
Judy G. Russell
USA
Thank you very much for the really excellent explanation on your dreaded-apostrophe site. I already printed the pdf for my daughter, now studying English for the second year.
groetjes, regards,
Just Vecht
Zoetermeer, Holland
http://justvecht.blogspot.com/
Excellent explanation! I'll add a link to your site from my newsletter this Friday. I have over 9,000 subscribers from around the world and all are interested in learning more about language.
Thanks ... it's great to meet others who share my concern for the poor little apostrophe!
But I really like your use of just one. The simpler the better :)
Kind regards,
Jennifer
http://www.write101.com/sample.htm
What an excellent site. It really does explain everything, and I particularly like the s's section (Cassius's book). I have as many queries about that as about almost everything else. The majority of them come from America where it seems customary to write "James' book" or "Jesus' disciples". ....
Congratulations again and best wishes - John
http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm
Thanks so much. I think I get it. You saved the day! Andrea
Andrea Fine
Westport, Connecticut. USA
Just a note to thank you for an enlightening web site and to ask a small favour.
I teach English conversation in China and would like to use the exercise on your site in my classes, along with the answer. May I have your permission to do so please?
Also, no matter which of the links I click for the answer sheet, all I get is the standard Windows error message telling me that the page is not available, and that I should try again later.
I am sure I can correctly mark up the exercise so that the students have one to compare with their work, but I would rather look at yours to check MY work!! Could you please spare a moment to send your answer sheet as an attachment to an e-mail to ensure I have the RIGHT answer for my students?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Lee Fergusson
(Sussex born and bred, but despite my handicap, loved Durham the one time I visited!)
Certainly! Spread the word!
It's a PDF file and you may have the control for PDF disabled in your browser. If Internet explorer, look for a little bubble bottom right when you click the link to enable the control.
On the other hand because of your location, you may not able to re-enable it.
Attached - I hope.
Thank you, thank you - I am driven mad by the number of times I have seen "it's" when it is the possessive, and not meaning "it is" - I shall now point everyone to your site.
Jennie Cooper, UK
Thank you for your kind words - glad it helped.
Though I myself have never had difficulty understanding proper use of the apostrophe, I have many friends who do. When I'm proofreading their papers, I correct it for them but have had trouble putting into words an easy way to explain their errors. Perhaps it may be slightly easier for me as I have studied both German and Latin. I used the examples on your page and I believe they may finally understand. I was surprised at how many of my compatriots were lacking in this area of grammar, we are all college students, but I am glad that following a substandard grammar education through high school, I can finally explain this area of grammar in a way other than, "it's just right this way".
Thank you,
Matthew Murphy
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad the website helps.
Thank you so much for your wonderful explanation of apostrophes. I was always in top set English at school and 6th Form but somehow managed to NEVER receive lessons on English Grammar. My French and German teachers often despaired upon how to teach us foreign language rules when we didn’t even understand the English ones. I was taught certain rules by my mother who has an excellent command of the English language but always used the "because it just is!" method of teaching. I can now confidently explain use of apostrophes to my own children and hopefully break the cycle!
Regards
Rachel Hayes, Manchester
Thank you for your kind words. I am glad you found the site useful.
I found the site very enlightening, I grew up in Wales and think that my teachers failed to undersand this subject at all.
Ed Clark
I was googling for some advice on use of the apostrophe and I found you webpage. I was happy with use for missing letters, plurals and single ownership, but confused with plural ownership (s').
It took me 2 read throughs before the penny dropped, brilliant thanks for explaining it so logically!
regs
Michael Batty
A Civil Servant!
Hi,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge!! I’ve been outside the English classroom for over 20 years and having been an ‘A’ student in English back then, I assumed English would be right where I had left it all those years ago. Boy, was I ever in for a surprise!! Your website has helped me clear those cobwebs and now I’m rearing to get back into the classroom. Keep up the good work.
Thks,
Diane McLean
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