Did You Know That . . . . . . . Hard to believe, but the U.S. Board on Geographic Names sanctions only four apostrophes to make place names possessive. If a U.S. town insists on a possessive for local consumption, fine. In a poll of its readers, The New York Times found that a majority of respondents consider E-mail a countable noun. A count noun refers to a countable thing, like a letter or an envelope.
Many respondents prefer the lowercase form, e-mail .
Listeners have short memories, according to consultant Allen Konopacki. To help others remember what you say, repeat your main points, paraphrase them in different ways, and have the listener repeat your message to you. But some noun conversions stick in the craw.