38. Apostrophes

38
Apostrophes

The little apostrophe can make a big difference in meaning. The following sign at a neighborhood swimming pool, for instance, says something different from what the writer probably intended:

Please deposit your garbage (and your guests) in the trash receptacles before leaving the pool area.

The sign indicates that guests, not their garbage, should be deposited in trash receptacles. Adding a single apostrophe would offer a more neighborly statement: Please deposit your garbage (and your guests’) in the trash receptacles before leaving the pool area.