Skip to content

grammar

Parts of Speech

People are always emailing me asking grammar questions – friends, relatives, Bang2writers, colleagues. They must think I do nothing but sit around reading about the damn stuff… Alright, I admit it: sad it is, I’m a grammar junkie. I find it really interesting – especially when people go off on one about a particular point. Virtually nothing in grammar is written in stone, not really: that’s why language can change and we’re not all talking now like Shakespeare. And thank God for that! Just imagine how long this blog would be if it was written in Shaky’s language – much… Read More »Parts of Speech

Share this:

Apostrophes Explained

Since “grammar” and “correct uses of apostrophes” are two of the most searched for terms on this site, I thought I would draw your attention to this rather fabulous resource courtesy of The University of Melbourne. Consistent apostrophe misuse is one of the most common errors I see in spec scripts and it’s a real shame, since it’s easy to put right if you know how. The reason this resource is so cool is because it’s concise and to the point – plus it’s a pdf so you can download it and go back to it later. It also has… Read More »Apostrophes Explained

Share this:

Grammar Revisited

Since there has been the second outing of the tri-annual scrap about grammar on Shooting People this week and since the lovely Lianne requested it, now seems an opportune time to revisit an article on grammar from the old blog. Enjoy.—————————————————————————— The two things I correct most in people’s drafts are grammar and spelling. That’s the nature of script reading as far as I’m concerned and I’m happy to do it (maybe I’m an anal retentive). However, in the past on various writing initiatives in particular (my private clients usually do not do this, thank goodness) I have had to… Read More »Grammar Revisited

Share this:

Grammar – Again

Another debate on grammar is raging on the Screenwriters’ Bulletin of Shooting People. It’s funny, but it seems nothing like the machinations of the English Language get us writers talking more: there have been so many interesting, controversial and bizarre questions regarding actual screenwriting posed on that list, yet the average poster is lucky if they get two replies… Unless they post about grammar. Then the floodgates open: insults, accusations and assertions fly with abandon. It’s extraordinary. Regular Readers know that I’m a bit of a Grammarian. I think when you send your work out it should be the best… Read More »Grammar – Again

Share this: