Word tip of the day
To create an ellipsis in Microsoft Word, hold the Ctrl and Alt keys, and select the period.
October 25 2011
July 27 2010
The problem with restaurant menus
This summer, the team at Carpenter Doc has been traveling a quite a bit to visit family and friends. In our travels, we’re sampling different menus at restaurants from Ohio to Florida. No matter where we are, we are discovering an ongoing problem with the menus—a serious grammar problem. Restaurateurs across the southeast are misusing the apostrophe in the worst way—by using it to make a noun plural. We’ve seen “mojito’s” on the menu in Lexington, Kentucky and “bottle’s of beer” available in Kennesaw, Georgia.
We’re hitting the road again this week—and we’ll be on the lookout for more misplaced apostrophes. In the meantime, remember that we do not use apostrophes to make nouns plural. Use apostrophes to join words, like in contractions, or to indicate possession.
If you spot any misused apostrophes, send your photos to barbie@carpenterdoc.com, and we’ll feature them on our blog and Facebook page!