I noticed a bit of bathroom graffiti on campus today that, as an English teacher, makes me a little sad: “Jesus Love’s [sic] You!” For some reason, forming possessives and plurals troubles a wide range of students. It’s an error that cuts across all demographic lines. Now, it could be that the graffiti artist is attempting to communicate a deeper message. If the “love’s” is a contraction, rather than a mistake in forming a plural, then the mistaken formation of what ought to be “loves you” is, rather, “love is you.” And, assuming the near universal trouble students have forming possessives for words that end in ‘s’, the sentiment could be “Jesus’ love is you,” a much more complex and almost gnostic notion, if you follow the linking verb in both directions. But maybe I’m trying too hard to wrestle meaning out of bad grammar.