Almost half of us can't use the possessive apostrophe according to an independent poll of nearly 2000 people in the UK by SpinVox [writing this article's going to be fun!]. 46% of those faced with "people’s choice" in the poll's test incorrectly thought that in the given context it was wrong.

Teachers have often been criticised for their standard of English but in this poll they came out top with over 80% getting full marks. In second place came journalists and PR people. On average women got higher marks than men and they also claimed to care more about incorrect punctuation.

The poll also asked which mistake makes good punctuators the most annoyed. Among those who have mastered punctuation the poll found that the use of "they’re" where "their" is required is the most irritating. Not surprisingly, using an apostrophe to indicate a plural, for example, "boy’s" instead of "boys" came next. After that was confusing "its" and "it's".

Professor Christopher Mulvey from the Museum of the English Language at Winchester University, admits that confusion is forgivable: "The problems people have with apostrophes arise from the hopeless state of English punctuation and spelling. The situation is so confusing that people panic and hypercorrect."

One controversial finding was that those over 55 (who "benefitted" from formal grammar lessons) came out worst of the age ranges.

If all this is making you feel paranoid about your ability to punctuate you can visit www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk to find out more.