We’ve written about the greengrocer’s apostrophe on this blog before, but what about these other people, footballers (known for their use of the perfect when other people would use the past tense in English instead), sports commentators (who seem to … Continue reading
I came across an interesting generalisation concerning the use of the apostrophe with plurals on the website of the Apostrophe Protection Society, quoted in Beal (2010): 3. Apostrophes are NEVER ever used to denote plurals! Common examples of such abuse (all seen in … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Reading Hoffman’s Honger (1990) by Leon de Winter, a Dutch writer (b. 1954) who divides his time between living in The Netherlands and Los Angeles, I was struck by the apostrophe in the title of this novel. Dutch usage of the apostrophe … Continue reading
During the past few days, I received emails (from the UK) that contained the following phrases: An Out-of-Office reply: Please note I work Monday – Wednesday’s only Please supply: Passengers full name (as stated on passport); Passengers date of birth; Passport number … Continue reading
During the final month of 2022 I read two of Ian McEwan’s novels, an earlier one, Saturday (2005), and his most recent Lessons (2022). Ever since reading his short story “Mother tongue” (2001) I’ve been keeping track of his metalinguistic … Continue reading
Out today, and open access: Of greengrocers, sports commentators, estate agents and television presenters: who’s in a usage guide and why, published in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. With thanks to Olivia Walsh for organising the symposium In the … Continue reading
Just finished my article “Of greengrocers, sports commentators, estate agents and television presenters: Who’s in a usage guide and why” for a special issue with papers from Liv Walsh’s workshop In the Shadow of the Standard September last in Nottingham. … Continue reading
Here is the last feature by a member of our project in the new issue of English Today. It is republished on this blog with permission from Cambridge University Press, which owns the copyright to this piece. The original is available at Cambridge Journals Online. To … Continue reading
In the Bridging the Unbridgeable project we’ve been trying to find out what people’s pet hates are. So far, we’ve done so directly by asking them in attitudes surveys, both online and face-to face, but another great source is to … Continue reading
Here is the latest feature by a member of our project in the new issue of English Today. It is republished on this blog with permission from Cambridge University Press, which owns the copyright to this piece. The original is available at Cambridge Journals Online. … Continue reading
Bridging the Unbridgeable 