This comic is funny because it’s so painfully accurate. In the comic, an old man and an old woman are depicted sitting at a table. The old man asks the old woman if she is making any New Year’s resolutions, and she tells him that she will try to criticize him less. In response, the old man tell the old woman “Thanks dear. Your great.” The old woman corrects him and he says, “I agree. We’re both great.”
I think the first thing that makes this comic funny is the dynamic between the two elderly people. We all know people like this, which makes the comic relatable. Next, the old woman says at the beginning that she is going to try to stop criticizing the old man as part of her New Year’s resolution, but she immediately criticizes him when he makes a usage error. I thought this was really humorous. She seemed to have the best intentions, but she couldn’t let the error slide. I’m constantly correcting people as well, even over text message. Errors like that drive me up a well. Lastly, the old man doesn’t realize his error, so he doesn’t understand what the old woman is really saying when he is being corrected. He is oblivious, like so many people seem to be when it comes to contractions and apostrophe usage.
I also visited The Oatmeal’s How To Use An Apostrophe page. The examples they gave were funny and clever and could be potentially useful for people who don’t know the difference between your/you’re, its/it’s, and so on. At the bottom, the illustration suggests to hold off on using apostrophes when in doubt. I don’t know how good of a rule this really is, but still. I think usage rules are something everybody should be sure to learn. They aren’t that difficult and they make a big difference.
