Apostrophe use. If there's one things you'll see that's very common, it is the incorrect use of the apostrophe.

Apostrophe use. What can I say. Every day you'll probably see the apostrophe used incorrectly. I've used it incorrectly many times and I'm sure you probably have too. You'll see misuse of the apostrophe on signs and in written work all around you.

My work is about the preferred Australian English spelling. The apostrophe appears in my work in the form of possessives, plurals and telescoped words. Sometimes even though this seems simple it isn't.

To help those struggling with the apostrophe you may wish to check out the following article from the Macquarie dictionary site.

www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/view/resource/6/

My favourite example is when I realised that everyone I asked seemed to say Princes Highway incorrectly. Everyone including myself would say Princess Highway. Home come I kept thinking. The reason is convention. The apostrophe in Princes has been dropped due to convention. If you don't know the convention (and many people including myself didn't), then you can see how this can lead people to mispronounce the word. Once you know however, it all makes sense.

Now if you're having trouble with an apostrophe and would like to ask a question, I'm not your man. I only do words;-)

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
The preferred Australian English spelling.