It really get's my goat

It really get's :-0 my goat that more and more people persist in using the apostrophe inappropriately, and worse, that they positively bristle at correction: "How *dare* you tell me my usage is incorrect! What are you, some sort of snob!? Don't you know the is no 'right' way to write a language!!?"


For example: "who's" and "it's"

The words 'who's' and 'it's' are not the genitive/possessive case for 'who' and 'it,' they are contractions for 'who is' and 'it is' -- the genitive/possessive for these words are 'whose' and 'its.'

Oddly enough, the persons who write 'who's' and 'it's' when they ought to write 'whose' and 'its' almost invariably write 'whose' and 'its' when they ought to write 'who's' and 'it's.'

And, of course, such persons will nearly always improperly use '~'s' in a vain attempt to indicate the plural ... while failing or declining to properly use '~'s' to indicate the genitive/possessive.

And, how many times has one seen, for example, 'cities' or 'countries' where the correct usage is 'city's' or 'country's;' and from the same person 'city's' or 'country's' where the correct usage 'cities' or 'countries'?

It's a plague! <<-- that, by the way, is correct;
Its a plague! <<-- that is incorrect.


I have a nastly little secret, Gentle Reader: I have a hard time reading the writing -- or respecting the thoughts -- of those who wontonly misuse the apostrophe, even if I otherwise like (or, in some cases love) the person.