Perhaps another name for elf prison?

Perhaps another name for elf prison?

Don’t you think you should be engaged first?

As we’re preparing for Christmas, I will share a Grammar Giggle each day. So on to Day 1! And we might as well start with an improper possessive. What belongs to the candy canes? NOTHING! Thus, there should be no apostrophe.

This was recently in my Facebook feed and caught my attention. Yes, the children belong to each celebrity, but they belong to eight different celebrities so should have been “8 Celebrities’ Children . . .” to talk about the children of eight celebrities. See the formula here.

This is an example of the fact that headlines (and document headings as well) also need to be proofread. They need to be checked not just for misspellings but also for whether or not they make sense, as in this example. A “homicide victim” would be dead because they were the victim of a homicide. The dictionary definition of “homicide” is “murder,” so I’m pretty sure that victim is not talking. The fact that homicide victims rarely talk to police is inaccurate and doesn’t make sense. I would venture a guess that homicide victims NEVER talk to police.

While correct elsewhere in this email advertisement, the heading grabbed my attention. The subject lines of email are the first thing the recipient sees, so it’s important that it is right.

I love watching the news and finding issues. I listen to the news a lot, but don’t always pay attention to the words on the screen. This was on our local news the other day.

A friend sent this one to me from a rule book. It is correct in the online version of the rules, but books are forever (or until the next one comes out).

I am definitely thankful for all of my faithful readers and those of you who just happen to stumble on my blog. Enjoy this Thanksgiving Day with friends and family and remember all that you have to be thankful for! I love this sign that I borrowed from one of my favorite Facebook pages – I am not a grammar cop. I am an English language enthusiast. Happy Thanksgiving!

As we prepare for Thanksgiving Day here in the USA, I found this one on the Internet. Those of you who are regular readers know how little patience I have for errors on school grounds. It’s almost as much patience as I have for errors in tattoos, but I digress. I wish you all a blessed, safe, and happy Thanksgiving holiday.
