A state representative’s recent comment about the apparent unconcern of some colleagues for “children and vagina’s” suggests that the Legislature may contain too many penises, including at least one who thinks that the plural of vagina is formed using an apostrophe. It is never redundant to remind all that most plurals add an s, including ones that end in a vowel. No banana’s on the supermarket signs, please, and no martini’s on the drink menu at the pub. Some add es. Fox becomes foxes and lunch lunches. Apostophes (not apostrophe’s)are reserved for possessive forms(with the exception of its) and contractions (and that is where it’s does mean it is). This is stupefyingly simple, something that everybody should have learned in elementary school. The representative has wisely apologized for using the the word; now he needs to own up to his wretched punctuation.
