Comments on: Apostrophe’s and the soap’s

By: Kristi Swayze

Kristi Swayze — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:18:55 +0000

“Last time this happened the line was ‘If I was him…,’ but I couldn’t stop saying ‘If I were him…’ The director wanted the line as it was in the script and I still cringe every time I see the copy.”
Dear CR, Now I’m cringing, because you should have wanted to say, “If I were he…” The verb “to be” takes the subjective pronoun, not objective. I know nobody says it correctly any more, but just thought I’d let you know. Regarding the mistaken apostrophe…I bet they wrote it in to the story on purpose.

By: Flaming Nora

Flaming Nora — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:16:11 +0000

Ah, I’ve just remembered something about Sally and Corrie apostrophes and have blogged it here.

http://coronationstreetupdates.blogspot.com/2009/09/sally-websters-apostrophe-mystery.html

By: MKTB FFS

MKTB FFS — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:39:42 +0000

Part of me would like to believe that the apostrophe was put there on purpose. After all, this is the soap that writes extensive histories of all the chracters before they appear on the street. As an example, years ago a couple of mates and I won a pub quiz tie-breaker by making the nearest guess to the date of Jack and Vera’s (RIP, puts it all in perspective, etc.) wedding, which was before they appeared on the street.

However, do writers really pay that much attention to detail? If the writers are this good, can someone explain to me how that horribly offensive hairdresser and Molly’s auntie get lines aplenty at the expense of the legendary Dev? No more questions you’re honour (see what I did there?).

By: Flaming Nora

Flaming Nora — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:24:49 +0000

As editor of the Coronation Street blog and a fan of Grammar blog, how could I not respond?

I think the apostrophe is deliberate and in keeping with the character of Sally Webster.

All the best

Flaming Nora
Editor
Coronation Street Blog

By: CRShelton

CRShelton — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:37:48 +0000

I am an actor in NYC and am constantly struggling with similar issues.
Apostrophes don’t come up much, but often a character will have written lines that utilize poor grammar. When I see this in a script, I have to decide if it’s a mistake or if it’s a big clue about my character.
I have also come up against lines that I have difficulty saying in the correctly incorrect way. Last time this happened the line was “If I was him…,” but I couldn’t stop saying “If I were him…” The director wanted the line as it was in the script and I still cringe every time I see the copy.
If this apostrophe was a deliberate mistake, I commend the writers on their attention to detail, and I wonder how the actress felt while shooting the scene.