An organization dedicated to preserving correct apostrophe usage has folded as its founder expressed despair at the declining standards of English grammar.
Former journalist John Richards, 96, who founded the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001, said, “With regret I have to announce that, after some 18 years, I have decided to close the Apostrophe Protection Society.” He went on to explain that he is shuttering the society because of his advanced age and because no one seems to care.
Richards, who started his society after seeing the same mistakes repeated, further lamented, “We, and our many supporters worldwide, have done our best but the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won.”
The common mistakes against which the Apostrophe Protection Society was dedicated include using “it’s” as a possessive instead of a contraction, confusing “you’re” and “your,” and using apostrophes to denote plurals.
