What is the deal with plurals!
Why is it that nearly every time a word is plural the writer feels compelled to put an apostrophe in it? If you want to indicate that you have more than one item, in most cases you only need to add an S. Rocks, jobs, dogs, cats; no apostrophe is required unless you are talking about something that belongs to the rocks, jobs, dogs or cats!
I saw a billboard ad some years ago that read "Pinching Penny's? Come visit us!" My immediate reaction was .....pinching Penny's WHAT? and does Penny mind if you pinch it??
This example is actually a double whammy, because even if the apostrophe wasn't added it would still be wrong. The plural of penny is pennies.
Are our teachers so inept that they cannot teach English anymore or are the school officials so afraid of Johnny's mother creating a ruckus if he fails a grade, that they are content to let it slide. Poor Johnny might get his feelings hurt, his ego bruised, his self-esteem mangled or some other policitically incorrect nonsense. Better to pass him on with his friends and continue to ask the question "Why can't Johnny read?" than to humiliate him by expecting him to learn to speak and write well.
Not too many years ago only those closest to Johnny would know of his lack of knowledge. If he got a job where he had a secretary, why then she cleaned up behind him. In this age of technology, however, Johnny can now be illiterate all over the world!
Ahhh, progress!
