Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Taylor Swift Doesn't Need Your Grammatical Approval. In Love. Foil Lump Surprise.

Feb 13, 2024

Taylor Swift's use of 'Poets' without an apostrophe, the distinction between plural and possessive forms in phrases, exploring the meaning and complexity of love in different languages, and the challenges posed by the semantic broadness of love in English.

13:24

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Quick takeaways

Leaving off the apostrophe in 'The Tortured Poets Department' gives a sense of a department for poets rather than the poets owning the department.

English lacks specificity in the word 'love,' leading to the use of descriptive terms and metaphors to differentiate between different types of love, such as being in love versus simply loving someone.

Deep dives

Taylor Swift and the Apostrophe

Taylor Swift's album title, the Tortured Poets Department, sparked a discussion about the use of apostrophes. While some questioned the absence of an apostrophe in 'Poets,' it was explained that nouns can also be attributive and describe things. Leaving off the apostrophe gives a sense of a department for poets rather than the poets owning the department.

Introduction

2min

Taylor Swift's Use of 'Poets' without an Apostrophe

3min

Exploring the Use of Apostrophes in Phrases

4min

Exploring the Meaning and Complexity of Love in Different Languages

2min

Exploring the Semantic Broadness of Love

6min

968. This week, I expand on my comments for the New York Times about Taylor Swift's grammatically sound but apostrophe-free new album title: "The Tortured Poets Department." Plus, we dive deep into the nuances between "loving" someone and being "in love," tracing how the word evolved from the ancient Proto-Indo-European root "leubh" yet still doesn't fully capture love's complexity across languages.

The "in love" segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English." You can find her at valeriefridland.com.

| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/taylor-swift-apostrophe/transcript

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