The curse of knowledge
You know how it is. It’s four o’clock on Friday, you’re on the last Zoom call of the day, and suddenly you’re woken from your daydream by Jones from Marketing: “Anyway, our AB readership, many … Read more
speaking
HD English
The rapid advance in 21st-century technology affects (some would say, controls) every aspect of our lives, whether at home, school or work. And it’s now become so ingrained that we barely notice it. For example, … Read more
The unbearable lightness of lying
Business presentations have come a long way from the dry recitation of quarterly results, the predictable analysis of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, and the proposed strategic plan ‘going forward’. These days it’s pretty much de … Read more
When is ‘a ticket’ just the ticket?
I am always impressed by non-native speakers who take real pains to learn the ins and outs of English, and who get the details right in print and in conversation. It’s all the more frustrating, … Read more
A note on apostrophes
The much-maligned apostrophe is actually an incredibly useful punctuation mark, allowing writers and editors to distinguish in print between plurals and possessive forms of nouns in sentences that may sound identical but mean very … Read more
All stressed out
One of the most important lessons for English speakers is understanding how a shift of emphasis from one word to another can alter the meaning of a single sentence. In the following short story, words … Read more
English evolution
English should be a relatively easy language to learn and use. After all, it has no genders (masculine or feminine), most plurals are made by the simple addition of ‘s’, and most verbs have a … Read more