Charlie Self wrote:

Possibly. I do wonder if anyone, anywhere in the English speaking world,
bothers to teach the difference between plurals and possessives any more.

Yes. I'll never forget the day one of my English profs felt the need to
lecture us on "its" vs. "it's." I just couldn't believe a university
English class could *need* such a lecture. That was all part of my rude
awakening about the state of education in America.

I used to work in a copy center too, and I had to type peoples term paper's.
(Note, for those who are getting ready to hit the reply button with a
smartass gotcha comment, I said "peoples term paper's" on purpose. It's
called irony people.)

No damn wonder no one has paid any heed to my college degree. It's about
the same as my grandfather's high school diploma.

(I hafta admit on it's vs. its, I sometimes write the wrong thing in spite
of knowing better. You're vs. your too. I edit myself, and I certainly
know the difference, but it's still easy to do. I let one through
occasionally.)

On this topic though, I still can't decide how to properly handle things
like "He got straight A's" or similar. Gut says apostrophe for
pluralization is *always* wrong, but "He got straight As" just doesn't work
either. Best avoided as much as possible.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/