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.

Category
Professional Writing and Editing
Marie Antaya avatar

By Marie Antaya, CTDP

Author of The Eclectic Writing Series.

Continue reading

Happy people working together around a computer.
Motivating Writers Through Positive and Constructive Feedback
Professional Writing and Editing, Interpersonal Communication, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
Person seated at a bright desk near a window, smiling while holding a smartphone beside an open laptop, suggesting thoughtful, human-led, ai supported writing.
Human-Led, AI-Supported Writing and Thinking
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
A business leader is standing in front of their team teaching to ensure training translates into real-world results
Beyond Learning: How to Ensure Training Translates into Real-World Results
Presentation and Facilitation, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
Two people sitting at a table looking at each other.
Communicating with Empathy
Interpersonal Communication, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness