Failing to make a difference in either case

[vilakins]

If you opened a business, what kind would it be?
Proofreading. It's badly needed - just look at all the apostrophised plurals - but it wouldn't be a viable business because people just don't think that getting it right matters.

If you are an only child, do you wish you had siblings? If you have siblings, do you wish you were an only child?
The latter. My sister drives me crazy. She's a rabidly right-wing conspiracy-theory nutter who refuses to be vaccinated and thinks Covid is "just a cold" and that the government is making it all up just to control us. It's no use using logic with her. I've told her I refuse to engage with her about any of that, and that's finally got through. I'm glad she lives on another island.

Comments

[gwendraith]

I'm an only child, it was lonely at times and I always wanted siblings. Maybe I should be careful what I wish for ;)

[jhall1]

I'm with you 100% on the proofreading. Regarding apostrophised plurals, you might be interested in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe#Greengrocers'_apostrophes

[vilakins]

I worked out years (decades) ago that the grocers' apostrophe is usually applied to foreign words ending in a vowel because adding a plain S felt wrong to the writer. It's expanded though, not just to family's and company's but to any word ending in a consonant - and not even consistently in one text. I've seen option's, street's, and other horrors.

In a cafe last week, they had a poster on the wall listing their frittata's (OK, standard grocers' there) but below it was their chefs special. We had to laugh.

IMO missing apostrophes are far less annoying than invasive ones because possessives make me expect more. If English got rid of the whole damned lot, I think it would make things so much easier for many writers and most readers.