It should be "Straight As" unless Straight A is the name of a person or a place and the title refers to something that said person or place possesses. I know that it's a common mistake to write "10's" or "B's" or something similar when using the plural, but the apostrophe is misused. I find it hard to believe that no one said anything during or after production.
"I was cured, all right."
[deleted]
No, it is not quite proper to use the apostrophe to provide clarity, though you are right that writing it as "As" would create confusion, with lots of people thinking it was "straight as", as in very straight.
Surely they could have just made the title "Straight A" or "Straight A Student", though... The first thought I had on reading the title was "a straight-A student wouldn't use an apostrophe like that!". :P
Violet
*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´
[deleted]
If teachers don't have high grammatical standards, then god help their students. :(
*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´
[deleted]
So, you encouraged students not to follow formal style guides, and just kind of "wing it" based on how their peers used language?
Chicago's perfectly clear on the use of apostrophes in cases like this.
[deleted]
You nailed it here. I too noticed the grammatical error and came to start a new discussion. To my delight, there's a one already in progress. Yes, an apostrophe should never be used to pluralize, even if the teacher in this thread thinks otherwise. Teachers can be wrong too :)
In fact, I think the only time the appearance of an apostrophe to pluralize is acceptable is in the case of the Oakland A's. My reasoning is that, in this case, "A's" is an abbreviation for the Oakland Athletics.
Regardless, seeing the title of this film on a marquee is going to bug the hell out of me... I'll be especially bothered knowing that it won't be fixed, and that almost everyone will probably justify it.
*My lists: http://www.imdb.com/user/ur7367234/lists
[deleted]
Sorry, but this isn't about being anally retentive, it's a very basic error some people make which makes them look illiterate, and considering that the title alludes to someone getting perfect marks, then don't you think it ridiculous to think that an "A" student wouldn't know how to use an apostrophe?
But I digress... to answer your question, the title could be re-written several ways:
- Perfect "A"s;
- Perfect Grades (grade referencing both academic scores and drug purity, thereby maintaining the double entendre); or
- "A" students
All the best,
Violet
*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´
[deleted]
I didn't have an issue with "Inglorious Basterds", because it matched the generally uneducated, generally southern, characters - the title matched the characters it represented.
For what it's worth, I gave alternate titles, because you said it wasn't possible to have a title without an apostrophe, or people wouldn't understand the title's meaning.
Take care :)
Violet
*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´
I actually like the title Perfect Grades
sharewtf is this, www.englishforums.com?
shareI thought the exact same thing. I immediately noticed the annoying apostrophe and thought "A typo in the title, that's not a good sign."
Actually, it is proper usage.
From grammerbook.com on apostrophes.
Rule 11
The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes.
Exception:
Use apostrophes with capital letters and numbers when the meaning would be unclear otherwise.
This, like many other previously incorrect uses of the English language, may be becoming more acceptable in this, the technological age. The "suggestions" on my phone will bring up capital letters with an apostrophe "s" anytime I begin to type a word. How can a letter have ownership?
My guess is that in a decade or so, this will be quite common. Think of all the words that Webster has added, that in decades past would have been considered slang or garbage words not fit for a dictionary of that caliber.
"Arguing with idiots is like trying to play chess with a pigeon..."