How is it so many contributors can't grasp that a lot meaning many is 2 words and is not alot which isn't a word at all? And don't give me "they've just missed their space bar". It appears far, far too often.
The apostrophe's wanton and idiotic misuse is truly dispiriting. It ain't difficult really. On the end of a noun it indicates possession. Billy's blood pressure is elevated by the apostrophe's misuse. In the middle of an abbreviation such as ain't, it indicates missing letters. It has no place in plurals, plural's plural is plurals. If it's really baffling you, its omission is probably your best bet.
Pre-brexit grammar doesn’t count. Nul and void the whole thread.
Null and void, surely? It's only "nul" in Eurovision-style "nul points", cos that's French. 😉
Nul and Null are both acceptable versions of the word (but I accept Null is probably more common). @Aliwibble would you be so kind as to pick up the microphone from where you dropped it please and return it to its cradle.
'Cradle' from Old English cradol, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to German Kratte ‘basket’.
Not grammar but pronunciation. All I hear on radio, podcasts and TV is: Twenny. Twenny minutes, twenny grand, twenny dead people. I'm no pedant, but it's become so ubiquitous that twenty is seriously being lost.
The apostrophe's wanton and idiotic misuse is truly dispiriting. It ain't difficult really. On the end of a noun it indicates possession. Billy's blood pressure is elevated by the apostrophe's misuse. In the middle of an abbreviation such as ain't, it indicates missing letters. It has no place in plurals, plural's plural is plurals. If it's really baffling you, its omission is probably your best bet.
Pre-brexit grammar doesn’t count. Nul and void the whole thread.
Null and void, surely? It's only "nul" in Eurovision-style "nul points", cos that's French. 😉
Nul and Null are both acceptable versions of the word (but I accept Null is probably more common). @Aliwibble would you be so kind as to pick up the microphone from where you dropped it please and return it to its cradle.
'Cradle' from Old English cradol, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to German Kratte ‘basket’.
But that’s etymology, not grammar. I demand a new thread!
Not grammar but pronunciation. All I hear on radio, podcasts and TV is: Twenny. Twenny minutes, twenny grand, twenny dead people. I'm no pedant, but it's become so ubiquitous that twenty is seriously being lost.
The apostrophe's wanton and idiotic misuse is truly dispiriting. It ain't difficult really. On the end of a noun it indicates possession. Billy's blood pressure is elevated by the apostrophe's misuse. In the middle of an abbreviation such as ain't, it indicates missing letters. It has no place in plurals, plural's plural is plurals. If it's really baffling you, its omission is probably your best bet.
The apostrophe's wanton and idiotic misuse is truly dispiriting. It ain't difficult really. On the end of a noun it indicates possession. Billy's blood pressure is elevated by the apostrophe's misuse. In the middle of an abbreviation such as ain't, it indicates missing letters. It has no place in plurals, plural's plural is plurals. If it's really baffling you, its omission is probably your best bet.
Guy's Hospital is named after the philanthropist Thomas Guy, hence it's Guy's Hospital.
St Thomas' Hospital is named after two saints, both called Thomas, St Thomas Becket and St Thomas the Apostle. So the 'correct' version of the name of the hospital should be St Thomases' Hospital, that is, a hospital named after two St Thomases. (Or even St Thomases's Hospital).
Grammar only exists because printing was invented and lack of order in language was anathema to the self important Latin and Greek scholars of the day.
And the rules of grammar, like not starting a sentence with “And”, were inventions of those scholars; the first self appointed grammar police.
Knowledge of the rules defined your superior status and set you apart from the uneducated unwashed majority.
If printing and books were developed by Geordies we might be following the Steve Bruce oral style who thought “we’re team played well today and you’s can see it on MOTD later”
Absolutely. One does like having an easy way with which to point out one's superiority.
By the way, you missed out the hyphen in self-important and self-appointed.
very ancient game of skill with 32 pieces, played by two on a checkered board of 64 squares, 13c., from Old French esches "chessmen," plural of eschec "game of chess, chessboard; checkmate" (see check (n.1)), from the key move of the game. Modern French distinguishes échec "check, blow, rebuff, defeat," from plural échecs "chess."
The original word for "chess" is Sanskrit chaturanga "four members of an army" -- elephants, horses, chariots, foot soldiers. This is preserved in Spanish ajedrez, from Arabic (al) shat-ranj, from Persian chatrang, from the Sanskrit word.
One of the pictures in a tomb near the Valley of the Kings clearly shows two people playing chess so either someone's been faking pictures or chess predates the C13th by some way.
The apostrophe's wanton and idiotic misuse is truly dispiriting. It ain't difficult really. On the end of a noun it indicates possession. Billy's blood pressure is elevated by the apostrophe's misuse. In the middle of an abbreviation such as ain't, it indicates missing letters. It has no place in plurals, plural's plural is plurals. If it's really baffling you, its omission is probably your best bet.
As one of the great unwashed who attended a Secondary Modern school in the 60s I look in on this thread with envy.
We did a bit of English, a bit of Maths and lots of Physical Exercise. At the end of our final term we went to the careers office and were offered jobs in the Army or the Royal Navy. (The RAF was reserved for high(er) achievers).
Anyway, we covered the basics - full stops, commas, capital letters etc, but we were allowed nowhere near prepositions, conjunctions, interjections and pronouns. I subsequently bought Craig Shrives book 'Grammar Rules', but I'm afraid it has had little affect on me ... or should that be effect? Oh hold on, Craig says in order to understand which one to use, you must know the difference between a noun and a verb, so it's back to the drawing board for me.
As one of the great unwashed who attended a Secondary Modern school in the 60s I look in on this thread with envy.
We did a bit of English, a bit of Maths and lots of Physical Exercise. At the end of our final term we went to the careers office and were offered jobs in the Army or the Royal Navy. (The RAF was reserved for high(er) achievers).
Anyway, we covered the basics - full stops, commas, capital letters etc, but we were allowed nowhere near prepositions, conjunctions, interjections and pronouns. I subsequently bought Craig Shrives book 'Grammar Rules', but I'm afraid it has had little affect on me ... or should that be effect? Oh hold on, Craig says in order to understand which one to use, you must know the difference between a noun and a verb, so it's back to the drawing board for me.
Comments
This is why: I always admired my parents, David Beckham, and Posh Spice.
NB This is not a true statement with or without the Oxford Comma.
(They married on that date despite the card).
Actually fewer lessers and fewer fewers
And don't give me "they've just missed their space bar". It appears far, far too often.
It ain't difficult really.
On the end of a noun it indicates possession. Billy's blood pressure is elevated by the apostrophe's misuse.
In the middle of an abbreviation such as ain't, it indicates missing letters.
It has no place in plurals, plural's plural is plurals.
If it's really baffling you, its omission is probably your best bet.
He's going on about his pet peeve, a lot.
Pronouns: he, she, it, they
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, theirs.
'Cradle' from Old English cradol, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to German Kratte ‘basket’.
Twenny. Twenny minutes, twenny grand, twenny dead people.
I'm no pedant, but it's become so ubiquitous that twenty is seriously being lost.
I like Jess’s car.
I like Jess’ car.
I may have got that wrong.
Guy's Hospital is named after the philanthropist Thomas Guy, hence it's Guy's Hospital.
St Thomas' Hospital is named after two saints, both called Thomas, St Thomas Becket and St Thomas the Apostle. So the 'correct' version of the name of the hospital should be St Thomases' Hospital, that is, a hospital named after two St Thomases. (Or even St Thomases's Hospital).
By the way, you missed out the hyphen in self-important and self-appointed.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
We did a bit of English, a bit of Maths and lots of Physical Exercise. At the end of our final term we went to the careers office and were offered jobs in the Army or the Royal Navy. (The RAF was reserved for high(er) achievers).
Anyway, we covered the basics - full stops, commas, capital letters etc, but we were allowed nowhere near prepositions, conjunctions, interjections and pronouns. I subsequently bought Craig Shrives book 'Grammar Rules', but I'm afraid it has had little affect on me ... or should that be effect? Oh hold on, Craig says in order to understand which one to use, you must know the difference between a noun and a verb, so it's back to the drawing board for me.