The Council for German Orthography (RdR) caused an uproar among grammar enthusiasts on Monday when it announced that from 2025, the apostrophe used to indicate that you have will be considered correct.
Since 2004, the RdR has been considered the leading source of spelling and grammar for Standard German, and is relied upon in school textbooks in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In English, possession is almost always expressed with the use of an apostrophe, as in: Henry’s Bar, Bloomingdale’s department store.
This is not the case in German, where holding is indicated by using the grammatical genitive case, or without an apostrophe as in the case of Annes Cafe (Anne’s cafe).
However, in recent decades it has become more and more common, especially for small businesses, to use an apostrophe in German to indicate that you have: Andi’s Imbiss (Andi’s restaurant), Kiosk’s Kiosk.
Here’s the full story, an email from Mike Doherty.
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