Is anyone using Grammarly?

Never heard of it, but it sounds like a helpful tool, if accurate.

I use Grammarly as a browser plug-in and it works reasonably well. It does make mistakes from time to time, however. Some word and punctuation suggestions are not accurate. Horizontal lines inserted into blog pages get it totally confused. And it isn't active in this reply, either.

I can also say from first-hand experience that it does not like Splinter's UK spelling (I have mine set to US English.)

Quote from Richard Pedersen

I can also say from first-hand experience that it does not like Splinter's UK spelling (I have mine set to US English.)

Sorry, Splinter - it’s just not a fair world.

Doesn't seem to work with Edge.

Ha-ha!!!

There were a couple of questions highlighting mistakes I often hear Brits and Americans make.

I would have liked to add a few, starting with “would have” instead of “would of” and “going to” instead of “gonna.”

Not to mention that new millennial favorite, “Me & Jack are going,” and the egotistic politician standby, “I and my colleagues have proposed legislation....”

Aberrations, but because language is fluid and constantly changing, who knows? We may live to see them in the OED.

I ain’t fer shur.

Here’s a classic from Grammarly.com :

“Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Sometimes it’s called the grocer’s apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements (3 orange’s for $1!). Don’t do it!”

I’m laughing so hard I think I’m hurting myself. Take THAT, you Oxford Comma! I’m going with the Grocer’s apostrophe!

To be honest, every time I thought I got the apostrophe straight, I then read something that makes me question it.

For example, I thought the rule was that if the noun ends in -s, then you just add the apostrophe and omit the possessive S - i.e. Marcos' book, Travis' house, my boss' plan

Instead, it seems the rule is only valid if the noun is a plural noun - i.e. the bikes' lockers, the Smiths' anniversary, my cousins' birthday

According to these links, both are acceptable and it is a matter of style and modern vs. traditional grammar: Link 1 - Link 2

I don't remember ever having given the explanation modern rule vs. traditional rule about the usage of 's in English. I just learned it one way. I am also wondering if US English is any different than UK English, in this regard. When I first started studying English in school, we were taught UK English (also because that's what our teacher of English had studied) using textbooks that used UK English, exclusively. This was also 30 years ago, so perhaps things have changed in schools.

Quote from Strategically

The Debate: Chris’s or Chris’?

Traditionally, the possessive form of a singular noun ending in 's' is made by adding an apostrophe and another 's'. This rule applies to names as well. Therefore, according to this guideline, the correct possessive form of Chris would be Chris’s.

Example: Chris’s bike was left in the yard.

However, some style guides and grammar rules suggest that adding just an apostrophe (without an 's') after a singular noun ending in 's' is also acceptable. This leads to the form Chris’.

Example: Chris’ book is on the table.

Display More

According to the strategically.co article, I guess I’m a traditionalist, because I would always choose Chris’s over Chris’. The same with names or words ending in an “s” sound, though not an actual “s,” like “Tim Walz’s candidacy.”