Apostrophe Placement in Proper Names

Apostrophe Placement in Proper Names Apostrophe Placement in Proper Names Apostrophe Placement in Proper Names By Mark Nichol What do the brand names Bakers Choice, the Diners Club, and Mrs. Fields Cookies have in common? Besides prompting hunger, they’re all â€Å"supposed† to have apostrophes in their names. So, why don’t they? A choice that belongs to bakers is a bakers’ choice, a club that belongs to diners is a diners’ club, and cookies that belong to Mrs. Fields are Mrs. Fields’s (or, depending on which style tradition you adhere to, Mrs. Fields’) cookies. The name for the Diners Club gets a pass because it can also be argued that it refers to a club for diners, and thus is attributive (for the same reason that, for example, the name of the California Teachers Association lacks an apostrophe it serves, rather than is a possession of, teachers). But the baking-products company and the cookie maker, like Barclays Bank and many other businesses, evidently decided that apostrophes are confusing or distracting and opted to omit them. Similarly, the Hells Angels opted for a streamlined look at the expense of proper style, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to walk into the local chapter headquarters and start complaining about the motorcycle club’s error. (You go ahead I’ll wait for you here.) The Levi’s brand name for jeans and other apparel is problematic; technically, something that belongs to the company would be referred to as Levi’s’s, but we’ll yield to practicality and pretend that the owner is Mr. Strauss, and anything of his is Levi’s. And though I prefer that the possessive case be signaled with an apostrophe and an s, not the symbol alone, though â€Å"Thomas’s† would look better, I’ll cut Thomas’ English Muffins some slack. But the one company name that is indefensibly wrong is Lands’ End; this labels clumsily conjures multiple capes or points converging on one geographical coordinate. The misplaced apostrophe is reportedly the result of an early typographical error deemed too costly to correct; on such small but momentous decisions is derision based. Regardless of which possessive style you or your employer prefers, when it comes to proper names, writers and editors must bow to the usage of a name’s owners and in order to guarantee that the usage you use is correct, verify company, organization, and brand names on the website of the business or group itself. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers15 Great Word GamesHow to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications

Does Your Business Need a Proofreader

Does Your Business Need a Proofreader Does Your Business Need a Proofreader? Does your business need a proofreader? Yes. Yes, it does. That’ll be all. Thank you for reading. What? You want to know why your business needs a proofreader? Okay, we’ll set out a few reasons below. But by the end of this post, you’ll wonder how you could ever have questioned it! 1. Polished Professionalism Whatever your business, you need to make a good first impression. And the first thing anyone will see is often something you’ve written (e.g., a company website or press release). Think about it this way: If you were meeting a client for the first time, would you turn up with your hair in a mess, odd socks on, and a coffee stain on your shirt? No? Well, you need to apply the same standards to your writing! Unlike a bad hair day, you cant cover up typos with a hat.(Photo: Bruce Guenter/flickr) 2. Typos Can Be Costly Errors in business writing can be costly in two ways. First of all, it can cost you the trust of customers and clients. Mistakes in website copy, for example, may make customers think twice about using your services, since it suggests a lack of care or attention to detail. More literally, though, typos can be expensive: For instance, the publisher Penguin once had to destroy 7,000 copies of The Pasta Bible at a cost of $20,000 because the book accidentally recommended using â€Å"freshly ground black people† instead of â€Å"freshly ground black pepper.† Pasta is definitely better seasoned with pepper. It’s fair to say that a thorough proofreader could have saved everyone involved a lot of trouble! 3. Proofreading Is a Skill We don’t blame anyone for not knowing all the rules about comma usage. Nor do we expect everyone we meet to be as keen on correct pronoun choice as we are. That’s because it takes a special kind of person to obsess over the details of spelling, grammar, and punctuation: a proofreader. In other words, the only way to be sure of great proofreading is to hire a professional. This also lets you and your colleagues concentrate on other work, boosting efficiency across your business. 4. Letting Your Content Shine! If you’ve gone to a lot of effort writing copy, you owe it to yourself and your business to let it shine. But self-editing is difficult, especially if you’re too close to what you’ve written. A professional proofreader, on the other hand, will bring a fresh pair of eyes to your work. This means we can spot errors you might miss, ensuring that your message comes through loud and clear. Eyes, fresh and ready for proofreading. Still not convinced? Then send us a 500-word sample and we’ll show you what we can do for free.