The Greengrocer's Apostrophe

Spelling data
 Vivian Cook

Nouns with plural 's' in standard written English do not have an apostrophe, e.g. books not book's, teams not team's. However notices in shops frequently break this rule by advertising melon's, cauliflower's and carrot's for sale - hence the so-called greengrocer's apostrophe.

Other apostrophe pages: it's/its  Odd apostrophes  Missing apostrophes
coffee's apostrophe

Kid's wrong apostrophe

 3M's apostrophe mistake

samosa's apostrophe mistake

taxi's apostrophe mistake

WC's apostrophe greengrocer's

new's apostrophe mistake greengrocer's plural

 
bevy's apostrophe

 

canopy's greengrocer's apostrophe

photo's apostrophe mistake

 

 auction's apostrophe misatke

 

idol's apostrophe mistake
No's apostrophe mistake
 

 

… writer's also have the problem of how to highlight important information. Where speaker's can use intonation writer's have no way of expressing intonation … (student essay on spelling)

 

No's

 

special's apostrophe mistake

80's apostrophe mistake



 

Theatre's apostrophe mistakes greengrocer's plural

 

Sunday's apostrophe
Honda's apostrophe mistake
tea's apostrophe mistake
  Church's apostrophe greengrocer's plural churches 
snack's drink's greengrocer's apostrophe plural

Driver's apostrophe mistake greengrocer's


Many other sites feature the Greengrocer's Apostrophe such as The Apostrophe Catastrophe

Formerly at homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c, which is defunct