Spotting Signs That Need Help

Cover image
Sign with incorrect grammar
Body

When driving around town, I look at signs. The image posted shows one I see weekly, and its mistakes jump out every time. Let's take a look at it.

First, let's look at spelling, The Canadian Press Caps and Spelling book lists homemade as one word. An other acceptable correction would be to use a hyphen.

Next, we need to see if the apostrophe is needed. To decide, read the sentence without the contraction, as in this example: Homemade food at it is best. The sentence doesn't makes sense, which tells us that we don't need the apostrophe.

So, the corrected sign will read: Homemade food at its best.

Marie Antaya avatar

By Marie Antaya, CTDP

Author of The Eclectic Writing Series.

Continue reading

woman writing policies and procedures
Analyzing When to Create Policies and Procedures
Professional Writing and Editing, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
woman reading her many emails
Is Email the Best Choice? Factors to Consider Before Hitting “Send”
Professional Writing and Editing, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
Four people on a video conference call
Boost Your Digital Body Language
Professional Writing and Editing, Interpersonal Communication
woman sitting at a desk contemplating grammar rules
Avoiding Common Apostrophe Mistakes
Professional Writing and Editing
Two people editing a document.
How to Provide Useful Feedback When Editing Documents
Professional Writing and Editing, Interpersonal Communication, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness