Have You Eaten Grandma?

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Brilliant, clear, entertaining, very funny and often outright silly. Brandreth excels . . . in all his linguistic joie de vivre' Guardian My husband is dark and handsome. when it is dark he's handsome. I will now have a funny example to explain a subordinate clause. Then do not despair, Have You Eaten Grandma? is the definitive (and hilarious) guide to punctuation, spelling, and good English for the twenty-first century. I love that this book is written for current society and that the author holds to conventional rules and still embraces modern language. From text speech and new abbreviations and initialisations, to the mistakes make in Tweets or statements by past or current politic leaders, as well as the embracing of gender neutral language. My particular favourite is the new ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) for older generations, ROFLACGU (rolling on floor laughing and can’t get up).

The guide does cover some ground with regard to some key areas of grammar (punctuation, commas, confused words, etc.) and even some of the linguistic differences between British and American words and expressions, but at the end of the day, I think you can find a better guide for grammar out there if that is something you are looking for to help you improve your craft. At times, this book is a little unfocused and tends to wander or drift for a while on a topic that could have been condensed a little. PDF / EPUB File Name: Have_You_Eaten_Grandma_-_Gyles_Brandreth.pdf, Have_You_Eaten_Grandma_-_Gyles_Brandreth.epub Overall a fun and informative read that's already come in useful at work (it settled a discussion on the plural of clerk of works?) Another handbook for those who love precision in language and who are not going gentle into that good night.me on The meaning of “Would you rather have unlimited bacon but no more video games or games, unlimited games, but no more games?” Ok, forget that. We’re starting off with the bad stuff in this book. Because it’s mostly bad. The bad Lies, lies, lies Chapter one, ‘Basic Punctuation or Have You Eaten Grandma?’, begins the foray into punctuation, followed by ‘Dashes, Hyphens, Slashes and more’, and ‘Apostrophes, Possession and Omission’. Brandreth also covers spelling in this book, with common (and sometimes less than helpful) rules, guides to prefixes and silent letters. There are also chapters on British English versus American English, abbreviations with a fresh inclusion of many that are commonly used today and on social media (some with a very humorous twist), slang, and rules for good communication. There are also fun sections that keen wordsmiths will enjoy, such as the A to Z of useful Scrabble words, and new words. Have You Eaten Grandma? is a fun and handy book about the complexities of the English language and the power it holds (it just might save your grandma’s life).

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own. This is my guide to that minefield. When it comes to punctuation, spelling, and the use of English in today’s world, I’m here to tell you what’s right, what’s wrong, when it matters, and when it doesn’t.Our language is changing, literacy levels are dwindling and our grasp of grammar is at crisis point, so you wouldn't be alone in thinking WTF! But do not despair, Have You Eaten Grandma? is here: Gyles Brandreth's definitive (and hilarious) guide to punctuation, spelling, and good English for the twenty-first century. I’m a language obsessive and a punctuation perfectionist. (That doesn’t mean to say I always get it right, but I always aim to.) My mother was a teacher; my father was a lawyer; they brought me up with a love of words. And they sent me to good schools. I was educated by teachers of English who knew their grammar and the value of it. As a child I read dictionaries at breakfast and asked for a copy of Fowler’s Modern English Usage for my tenth birthday. I have loved word games all my life. When I was twenty-three, I founded the National Scrabble Championships. Since then, whether as a journalist or a broadcaster, an actor or a member of parliament, words have been central to my life. I am proud to be the longest-serving resident in Countdown’s Dictionary Corner on Channel 4, the host of BBC Radio 4’s Wordaholics, a regular on Just a Minute, a reporter on The One Show on BBC1, and the Chancellor of the University of Chester. Words are my everything. It can be much harder than it seems; commas, colons, semi-colons, and even apostrophes can drive us all mad at times, but it riles no one more than the longest-serving resident of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, grammar guru Gyles Brandreth. It’s a shame, though, that Brandreth also feels he needs to pay lip service to the idea of “political correctness” as some kind of dark language-inhibiting force, perhaps because the market for such books skews to an older demographic. “You can have lots of fun with political correctness,” he says brightly, before hoping to demonstrate his point by making up a list of things that literally no one has ever said, eg: “Don’t call them ‘dead’ – say ‘they’re metabolically challenged’.” But it’s clear his heart is not really in it, because elsewhere he writes: “The Brandreth Rule is simple: at all times avoid racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic language – and, when in doubt, err on the side of sensitivity. In my book, bigoted language, and language that can be perceived as bigoted, is bad language [...] Good communication is about courtesy and kindness as well as clarity and getting your message across.” Prove it, Brandreth. Because these kinds of comments are not made by people who study language. Linguists don’t rank languages in terms of how “rich” they are – because that doesn’t make any sense. You can like a language more than another, but that’s akin to liking one kind of fruit more than another. It’s doesn’t make your favorite fruit better or worse than others. And your opinion matters about as much as a rotten banana.

The person or thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence. The subject is either a noun or a pronoun.” (p. 288, bolding Brandreth’s)This is what we call anecdotal evidence. One schoolboy on one bus in one city on one day and in one sentence is given as evidence that like “has become the go-to linguistic filler of our times”. I know you think you’re good with language, Gyles, but that’s not how linguistics works. No double language is ever changing but it’s also important that we cling to what is the most accurate when it comes to expressing ourselves. Research has shown that those who speak good English have an advantage over those who don’t in many aspects of life. What a fabulous book! Gyles Brandreth combines his love of the English language with his inimitable humour making an often dry, boring topic interesting. Not only is it clear, informative and accessible, but it had me laughing out loud multiple times! It breaks often complex rules down into manageable chunks and discusses grammar, spelling and punctuation. It also gives examples of each rule in action making everything very understandable. I learned a lot, and the most fascinating exploration for me was the part that looks at recent language trends.

Language is power. Emojis, slang, the subjunctive mood . . . all colour our words with meaning. Interested? Then you’re in the right place. Welcome to the Have You Eaten Grandma? podcast.Join Gyles Brandreth, Natalie Haynes and a group of fellow word nerds as they journey through the intricacies and everyday pitfalls of the English languageDiscover more about the book behind the podcast at http://bit.ly/HYEGwts Best thing ever, laugh-a-lot, spanning everything. Great book, I'm loving this Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2 It is a little daunting to write a review for a book dealing with the importance of correct punctuation, grammar, and good English - but I like a challenge, so here goes…In a recent survey, four out of five teachers expressed concern about the vocabulary range of their teenage pupils. Apparently, “many are unable to understand questions in GCSE [single-subject exams] and SATs test papers, leading in some cases to low self-esteem.” Some eleven-year-olds did not know words such as “complete,” “replace,” and “insert.” Some sixteen-year-olds struggled with “explain,” “identify,” and “analyze.” Another survey revealed that while nine out of ten primary school children in the UK could identify a Dalek, only a third could recognize and name a magpie. The world is changing and words are disappearing. The majority of primary school children these days are city-dwellers, and up to two-thirds of them, it seems, are unfamiliar with such lovely words as these: I’m going to focus on two parts here: Brandreth’s misunderstanding of discourse markers and his misunderstanding of grammar (including his own). First, let’s talk about everyone’s favorite word: like. Join Gyles Brandreth and Natalie Haynes as they ponder apostrophes, grammar catastrophes, and how to literally eat your grandma. This is a grammar guide that only Gyles Brandreth could write! Full of humour throughout, this is his definitive guide to punctuation, spelling and good English for the twenty-first century Stratford-Upon-Avon Herald