Barrie England

78,936 reputation

487169

bio	website	caxton1485.wordpress.com
	location	United Kingdom
	age	71
visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
	seen	23 hours ago
stats	profile views	5,927

I have spent most of my career in government service, much of it abroad. I have a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford and the Diploma in English Language Studies from the UK's Open University, and am qualified as a teacher of English to foreign learners. I have studied several other languages including French, German, Latin, Arabic and Old and Middle English.

My blog, Caxton, is mostly, but not entirely, about the English language.

Elsewhere on the web I have attempted to write in the constrained style of the 'Ouvroir de littérature potentielle' (OULIPO) in Variations on an Incident in Paris and in Variations on Jane Austen. I have also created a full set of 256 Syllogisms by figure and mood and showing which are valid and which are not.

	78,936 reputation	bio	website	caxton1485.wordpress.com	visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
487169 badges		location	United Kingdom		seen	23 hours ago

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Mar 27	answered	“This may get confused” or “This may get confusing”
Mar 27	comment	“Italy-based company” or “Italian-based company” As always, it depends on context. In a headling, for example, Italy-based would be fine. Italian-based is confusing, because it sounds as if it might refer to something based on the Italian language.
Mar 27	answered	Fill in blanks {who vs whom}
Mar 27	answered	Is it gramatically a good start to say “It is definitely not unheard that people say”?
Mar 27	comment	“Italy-based company” or “Italian-based company” Dodge the issue and write a company based in Italy.
Mar 27	answered	“Appear” followed by a verb: Necessarily a copula (linking verb)?
Mar 27	awarded	Enlightened
Mar 27	awarded	Nice Answer
Mar 24	comment	Why is this marked ungrammatical? @rhetorician. Because I didn't want to sound dictatorial.
Mar 24	comment	Why is this marked ungrammatical? @Peter Shor. In the UK too, but the sense is sought or required rather than desired.
Mar 24	comment	Why is this marked ungrammatical? Ah yes, I see. The OED’s earliest citation is dated 1865. Perhaps it started as a facetious use.
Mar 24	comment	Why is this marked ungrammatical? A good time was had by all is permissible, I suppose, because have there has the sense of experience, rather than possess.
Mar 24	revised	Why is this marked ungrammatical? added 2 characters in body
Mar 24	answered	Why is this marked ungrammatical?
Mar 23	answered	What is the definition of a word?
Mar 18	answered	Double negation in English Grammar
Mar 17	revised	“Ride a bicycle” or “ride on bicycle”? edited title
Mar 16	comment	Is 'that' necessary for this sentence? @TimLymington. You're right. Answer amended.
Mar 16	revised	Is 'that' necessary for this sentence? deleted 51 characters in body
Mar 16	answered	Is 'that' necessary for this sentence?