When I saw “men’s’ clothing” with two apostrophes, I figured it must be a typo. I was editing a professional writer who’s been on the job for years, and I know from experience that writers make typos, ...

Have you ever corrected someone mid-conversation because what he said just didn't sound right? What I'm talking about is words that sound like plurals and possessives but shouldn't be and vice versa.

Pluralizing a last name can seem confusing—and it gets even more confusing when you want to make a name both plural and possessive. Let’s suppose your last name is Jones, and you and your family want ...

As 2025 winds down, June Casagrande writes about the correct punctuation for all the holidays to come in 2026.

According to the Internet, there's a car dealer whose service department has a "kid's play area," but competitor offers a "childrens play area." The former makes you wonder: Who is this kid and does ...

Every year, as the holidays approach, I like to offer tips to help readers avoid embarrassing mistakes on those Christmas cards that some of us relics still like to send out. Then, every year, as the ...

What's the rule for making a name ending in 's' possessive, or plural possessive? NPR's David Folkenflik talks with grammarian Ellen Jovin, who's watched the confusion over the Harris-Walz ticket.

Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter. Last week we dealt with some possessive questions when there were plural possessors. Now we’ll deal with other possessives ...

While walking through Delhis roads and admiring private housing one often encounters incorrect signages An imposing granite and steel houses often sport a house numbers and a nameplate display saying ...

Mark Twain’s encounter with a particular foreign tongue inspired an essay called “The Awful German Language.” Welcome to a new feature of this column. We won’t call it “The Awful English Language.” ...