1. Saxophone Back in 1846, a Belgian by the name of Adolphe Sax decided to invent the sort of musical instrument he wanted to see – something with a little Sax-appeal. The result was a very cool looking single-reed woodwind design, a conical bore, and all that jazz. Along with
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. In fact, if English were a building, it would have many storeys and many stories to tell… Q: Well hello there AWC. A: How’s your week been? Q: I’ve been helping a friend move house. The elevator
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the “English” language. Like how you’re now thinking we’re being ironic because we put quote marks around English… Q: Hi AWC – I’d like to ask you about quotation marks. A: What’s your question? Q: Actually, just tell me everything
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. And sometimes, it really is enough to make you sick… Q: Hi AWC. A: Ah, there you are. Where have you been? Q: I’ve been rather sick lately. A: We’re sorry to hear that. Q: Actually, that’s
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. And sometimes that means discussing why we disobey the rules because it just sounds better… Q: Hello. I need to know about “who” and “whom”. I’ve heard conflicting opinions. A: From whom have you heard that? Q:
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. And sometimes that’s simply a chat about how we spell things in different parts of the world… Q: Hello AWC, can you clear something up for me? A: That cream you got from the doctor should do
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. And this week’s one could become quite the collectable item… Q: Hello AWC, I was watching that new show Storage Antique Pawn Shop Roadshow Wars last night. A: That’s not a show. Q: Well, something like that.
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. And this one moves in an orderly fashion for a change… Q: Hello AWC, we had a question recently from Marianne. A: Hello Marianne. Q: Her grammar gripe goes something like this: “Why do we say ‘the
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. There are, after all, more than 1000 of them. Or is that over 1000? Now we’re confused… Q: Hi AWC, I read somewhere that you’ve produced more than 24,000 graduates since you started. A: Sounds about right.
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language – for example, why did we just use that dash and is it the same as a hyphen? Read on to find out… Q: Hello AWC, would you like to know one of my pet hates? A:
The modern age has given us amazing tools like spell check, but that’s a little like having an excellent team of paramedics always waiting at the base of the cliff (surely a dubious use of medical resources?). What happens if you can’t use ‘spell check’? Wouldn’t you rather not leap
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. Although this week it’s more analogy than anomaly… Q: Hi AWC, what time is it? A: It’s GRAMMAR TIME! Q: Ah, okay. NO. That’s very cute, but I actually want to know what the actual time is.
Each week, we chat about the quirks, oddities and anomalies of the English language. Like whether we needed a comma after the word “oddities” in that last sentence… Q: Hi AWC, one of our readers recently wrote to us to say that her mother always said that you should never
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language – meaning we’ll have enough material to last us another century. This week, it’s the winter of our discontent… Q: Hi AWC, is it cold or is it just me? A: It’s winter, so we’re pretty sure
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. And this week, we are 100% sure that would like to know about percentages and fewer/less… Q: Hi AWC, I was wondering if we’d ever discussed the whole fewer vs less thing? A: We sure have –
Writers and authors; great news. If and when our fridges start talking to our mobile phones, and plotting world domination with our garage door remotes, we can be assured of one thing – we’re not so easily replaced. That’s right. A little procrastination device post appeared online this week with
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. This week comprises of an often controversial word… Q: Hi AWC, I was wondering if you could clear something up for me? A: We told you last time that if the rash persisted you should see your
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. This week it’s was vs were… Q: Hi AWC, I have a question for you. if I were to say, um, I mean, if I was to say – oh wait. Okay, new question. Is it “I
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. This week, we’re up against it with an exploration of “versus”… Q: Hi AWC, I keep hearing kids say “versing”. As in, “our team is versing your team this weekend”. Surely that’s not a “thing” is it?
It’s not every day you get the scoop on all the grammar goings-on from someone on the inside. But today, we’re fortunate to be speaking with one of the biggest players and perhaps one of the more misunderstood members of the Punctuation Team. That’s right, it’s the one and only
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