May newsletter

Dear APS members,

I'm delighted once again to welcome all the new members to the Apostrophe Protection Society, and to warmly thank existing members for being there and helping to support the APS.

The new APS website store that I wrote about last time has received a good deal of activity, and some of that turned into purchases. Thank you for those - they generate a small amount of commission that is used to offset some of the costs of running the APS. If you've not looked at the store yet, please do so - the official APS T-shirts are popular, and I can personally recommend the Apostrophe red wine! If you see any other products that are apostrophe related that you think should be included in the store, please let me know.

I saw a short newspaper column in the (UK) Times recently that queried the use of an apostrophe in the phrase "a friend of Bob's", asking if it should have the apostrophe or if it should be "a friend of Bob" without the apostrophe. I was, of course, pleased to be able to reply with an explanation of the use of the "double genitive" (or "double possessive"), and to refer the newspaper to the relevant section on our website. For more of that explanation, have a look at section 8 on the "Apostrophe Use" page on the APS website.

As I mentioned in my last email, I'm working on contacting various parts of the media to build broader awareness of the APS and our mission to protect the correct use of the apostrophe. I'll continue with that over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully I'll be able to report back to you on my progress.

It's been quite a busy month for me outside the world of the APS, so that's all this time. As always, thank you for your support of the Apostrophe Protection Society.

Best wishes,

Bob