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Grammar pedants - help please.

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NordRunner Jul 2024 3:53pm, 30 Jul 2024 4,435 posts	0 NordRunner “The x has done a 360” is something I've heard too.
ChrisHB Aug 2024 1:08pm, 2 Aug 2024 23,158 posts	0 ChrisHB McMillan’s relaxed approach is a stark contrast to that of Bob McCalden, chair of the Apostrophe Protection Society. “Apostrophes matter,” he said. “It is important they are used correctly because it makes the written use of English that much clearer.” theguardian.com Hands up if you think the Apostrophe Protection Society should have said "It is important (that) they be used correctly..."
JCB Aug 2024 2:36pm, 2 Aug 2024 5,750 posts	0 JCB Interesting. Could read it that way with the 'that' moving to that spot. It doesn't sound quite right with two 'thats' though. 😉
paulcook Aug 2024 2:49pm, 2 Aug 2024 6,044 posts	0 paulcook "*It's important" teehee
ChrisHB Aug 2024 3:57pm, 2 Aug 2024 23,159 posts	0 ChrisHB I think it should be called the Apostrophe's Protection Society or maybe the Apostrophes' Protection Society.
LindsD Aug 2024 3:58pm, 2 Aug 2024 69,108 posts	0 LindsD
Heinzster Aug 2024 7:34am, 3 Aug 2024 2,374 posts	0 Heinzster I am curious, do any other languages use apostrophes in a similar way to English? As a bit of a pedant I do sometimes find myself having to think where to put the apostrophe, I can't imagine the difficulty for someone learning English as an extra language. On a proud pedant note, I was complimented on my use of 'whom' last week. 😅
Heinzster Aug 2024 7:36am, 3 Aug 2024 2,375 posts	0 Heinzster On re-reading I realise I should have used a semi-colon instead of a comma. I apologise.
NordRunner Aug 2024 9:45am, 3 Aug 2024 4,450 posts	0 NordRunner One of the uses is the genitive ending -es which has disappeared, but you can still see in fossils like a carol containing “that childes birth” and in “domesday book” meaning day of judgement (dom).
sallykate Aug 2024 1:01pm, 3 Aug 2024 14,664 posts	0 sallykate Interesting - some Dutch words take an aspostrophe in the plural, e.g. baby's - perhaps that's replacing an ancient e?