Newsletters & Blogs

Today, 15 August, is International Apostrophe Day – a day on which we invite everyone to spare a thought for one of the smallest, hardest-working and most frequently misunderstood punctuation marks in the English language. And this year we have an extra reason to celebrate: 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the Apostrophe Protection Society. The APS was founded in 2001 by the late journalist and sub-editor John Richards, who had become increasingly concerned about the misuse

Welcome to the July 2026 newsletter from the Apostrophe Protection Society If you're a new member, you've already received a personal welcome — but let me say it again: welcome! And to all our long-standing members, thank you, as always, for your continued support. ­ More Apostrophe Curiosities on the Website If you enjoy the more unusual corners of English punctuation, we've recently added three new articles to the APS website. Have you ever wondered why Victorian writers ha

​From time to time, members ask about words such as crack'd, bless'd or lov'd. Have the apostrophe rules changed, or are these simply old-fashioned mistakes? ​ The answer is that they're neither. ​ These spellings were once a perfectly normal way of showing that one or more letters had been omitted. Crack'd stands for cracked, bless'd for blessed, and lov'd for loved. The apostrophe tells us that the "e" has disappeared. ​ Writers, poets and printers used these contractions e