"Halloween: the one day where we encourage children to accept candy from strangers, go to strangers' homes, and vandalize property and terrorize people if they don't get their own way."
Original quote by Yvette Colomb
I also notice grammar checks often rebuke my apostrophe placements.
I am wondering if there is a missing comma and if the apostrophe at strangers is correct. Does it have to include an apostrophe for ownership?
I tend to overdo it with commas, and restricted myself this time.
the vandalize property and terrorize people if they don't get their own way
is an inclusive point after the other list items.
Usually I would write:
the one day where we encourage children to accept candy from strangers, go to strangers' homes, vandalize property, and terrorize people if they don't get their own way.
which is not the same thing or:
the one day where we encourage children to accept candy from strangers, go to strangers' homes, and vandalize property and terrorize people if they don't get their own way.
Which is the best or most correct way (if there is one) to write this?
Answer
The sentence as written is perfectly correct, and not only that, it is quite clear and well-written. It makes interesting and humorous points about Hallowe'en. There is some ambivalence about the spelling of Halloween, but that's because of that darned apostrophe. In the US (and possibly Canada?) the apostrophe is largely dropped, but is still the rule in the UK.
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