Watch that apostrophe

Thank you, Gail Ginelli, for your articulate statement regarding the incorrect usage of punctuation (the apostrophe) in our written language. I’m sure that you have also noticed another irritant that has permeated our spoken language: the use of "I" when "me" should be used.

I first heard its misuse about 25 years ago but passed it off as one person trying to be cute. Since then, I have heard the subjective pronoun used when the objective pronoun should be used by speakers (and writers) across the gamut of education and expertise.

The mistake occurs when a person speaks of someone in addition to him or her self: "The letter was addressed to John and I" (should be ‘me’). A simple test for accuracy is to omit the other person in the sentence: "The letter was addressed to I". No well-spoken person would make that mistake.

Whenever I hear the grammatical error, I hear the proverbial fingernails on the chalkboard. Spoken language, even more than written language, immediately impresses the listener with the speaker’s education or lack thereof.

Connie Gray

Thousand Oak