On 21/12/2016 02:13, Clive George wrote:
On 21/12/2016 00:38, Bob Eager wrote:
On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 00:26:56 +0000, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:37:54 +0000, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 20 Dec 2016 14:24:27 +0000, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
TimW wrote:
On 20/12/16 12:55, Tim+ wrote:


Fashions in the use of apostrophes have changed. As long as
they help to clarify rather than confuse, precisely how they
are used in any particular situation relating to plurals seems
to me to be of lesser importance.

Tim

Totally wisdom from this Tim+. A nugget of truth in the dirty
dull swamp of ukdiy.
Tim W

I'd love either of you to explain this. How does adding an
apostrophe where not appropriate help clarity? An example would
suffice.

How many i's are there in "initial"?

That is an appropriate use.

How many is are there in "initial"?

Without the apostrophe that sentence makes no sense. There is no such
noun as 'is'.

You asked for an example. You have proved that my example was
appropriate.

Not so. My request was for an example of where the use of an unnecessary
one clarified rather than confused.

In your example, one sentence makes no sense at all.

You have it back to front. The use of an unnecessary apostrophe in the
first sentence clarified what was meant. Its lack in the second sentence
served to confuse.

Or put another way, the apostrophe in the first sentence is unnecessary
for normal grammar rules. "i's" is neither possessive nor an
abbreviation, so one wouldn't normally use one there. Compare to "How
many bears are there in Alaska?" - you wouldn't write "bear's".
However putting one in helps clarity. Thus adding the apostrophe where
not appropriate helps clarity.


"How many of the letter i appear in initial?" is the way to clear it up.
Adding an apostrophe obviously does not.