Lorna at Vicenza

The possessive of names ending in S should not have another S at all, but it has become more common. Personally I would not use James's

agoreira

I live near a large secondary modern in UK, and I frequently comment to my wife of the number of kids walking the streets at all hours of the school day. Certainly where we are I agree with DD, they seem to be able to wander out the nearest shop for their coke (in a can!), sweets, junk food etc at will. We were never allowed out, except in exceptional cases, we were bussed in and that's where we stayed until going home time.

Domino

well I left mid 60's and we weren't allowed to wander, we weren't allowed to get up as soon as the bell went, the wrath of a teacher if we hadn't done (or left at home) our homework
but then many of our teachers were ex wartime forces - the senior maths teacher took great delight in wearing his demob suit one day a week.

Pocaloca

After year 10 we were allowed out at lunchtime and during free periods. But that's not the same as being allowed to wander freely round the classroom during lessons, which is what DD suggested was a reason for poor literacy standards.

Dick Dasterdly

You tell me.
Was it the area education authorities who insisted on the removal of individual desks to allow total chaos to reign supreme or was it govt policy as a whole ?

I'm sure neither individual parents nor teachers would be allowed to make such decisions on there own.

Fred James

[QUOTE=Lion in Winter;10232453] But why would anyone ever write it like that - it is always referred to as a DVD

similarly a CD.

Sally Redux

Not a great example for clarity as both are arguably initials (which Lion in Winter was pointing out).

In plurals, tomatoe's is wrong but hippo's is correct (even if it should be hippopotami).

Fred James

Technically it is an Initialism which do not contain full stops.

More info here http://www.dailywritingtips.com/init...-and-acronyms/

Note the last paragraph.

Lion in Winter

[QUOTE=Fred James;10232631] I don't suppose they would, really.

But there is a Ph.D. school of thought, as well as a PhD school of thought. Same wtih BA or B.A.

I think it's actually a fairly recent phenomenon that people cared this much about standardized grammar at all, and certainly about spelling. In Elizabethan times, for example, I think people cared little. Languages change a lot via usage.

Sally Redux

That is a different point. It could still be argued that DVD's is correct, although outdated.

Domino

[QUOTE=Lion in Winter;10232643] perhaps in Elizabethan times people had better things to do, or just couldn't give a toss. Look at original documents, it was a totally different mind set to that of today..
However, they are responsible for some of the changes that came about leading to today's useage

things started to change drastically in the early 80's with the fax explosion (initiated by a long running Royal Mail strike) where all of a sudden people started to use more abbreviations. As technology advanced and texting then email became more prevelent then so did changes in language, grammar, abbreviations, spelling that previously too a couple of centuries to come about.

and when texting, emailing, foruming etc I will not use apostrophes and other formal thingys unless I feel like it. That also goes for using TLAs wherever and whenever.

Rambling Rose

Me to and we didn't have free reign until the 6th form. They didn't teach us any english grammar though.

Rambling Rose

[QUOTE=Lion in Winter;10232643] That's certainly true - look at Shakespeare. He didn't even spell his name the same way all the time.

However, (which I'm told is a word that should never be used to start a sentence) surely the most important point is to be understood. It's all too easy to be ambiguous when you don't use correct punctuation.
There was a very funny book on the subject a few years ago called "Eats shoots and leaves." This can either mean a gunman or a panda depending on whether you use a comma or not.

jimenato

[QUOTE=Rambling Rose;10233531] However you look at it, starting a sentence with 'however' is fine. However, the meaning changes if you use a comma.

Dick Dasterdly

Bloody sharp aren't you, little wonder they didn't give you free rein.