But I’m a firm believer in “everyone makes mistakes” (I’ve probably made some here) and so I refrain from doing what some of my former teaching colleagues might have done:storm into the shop to make the owners aware of their error,or,worse still,pull an indelible marker from my pocket and correct the sign like some spelling superhero paid by the council to safeguard the grammatical virtue of the community.
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Does it really matter that the apostrophe in “tomato’s” shouldn’t be there? It’s a regular old plural rather than the possessive. (Well,I’m assuming it’s plural. The breakfast special is only $10.50,so perhaps it’s singular.) But that’s not the point. The meaning of the sign is clear regardless of the fact that the only thing a tomato can possess is seeds and a little green umbilical cord that attaches it to the vine.
Context almost always makes the meaning clear,at least in regard to apostrophes,whether it’s the most common you’re/your lapse or its/it’s,which,let’s face it,when we’re firing off emails or text messages at the speed of sound we can all be guilty of from time to time. So then why must we police apostrophes if we can survive perfectly well without them? And will teaching grammar in schools really make a difference to declining literacy standards?
Yes. And better still,it will empower purist parents who are close to throwing in the towel. I’m constantly correcting my kids’ grammar,and they constantly don’t give a toss. I’m delighted their school will now be backing me up that it’s important for them to know the rules of the language they read and write. Because without rules there is chaos,and possibly more tomatoes than you bargained for.
Now we just need to like literally fix a few other issues and the world will be spinning on its correct axis again.
Chris Harrison is opinion editor.
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