Hershey Racquet Club apparently is offering months of tennis camps but restricting them to just one child. Of course, that’s not the case. But one misplaced apostrophe dramatically alters the club’s business plan.
“Kid’s” is singular possessive, meaning one kid. We assume that the intention was for a large number of families (plural) to call or visit the club for more information about kids’ (plural possessive) tennis lessons.
We don’t mean to pick on the club, for we see examples such as these often enough. But let’s go back to that exclamation mark at the top of the sign.
The bold capital letters in blue capture the attention of passersby. It’s best to keep the exclamation mark for something truly worth commanding or interjecting. For instance: “Stop yelling at me about tennis camps!”
Inaccurate punctuation can change meaning, and it can clutter copy.
Case in point: the quotation marks around “Year-Round Family Tennis.” Nothing is being quoted, and the yellow text stands out on its own. The quotation marks are just a distraction at this point.
If you struggle with grammar and punctuation, it’s best to get help (be it person or book) lest you put your ignorance out there for all the world to see.
