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“I love language and languages but have always been quite confused by grammar. Why are some things allowed in English and others not? This book finally helped it all fall into place. You’ll also find out lots of interesting facts about words. Did you know that buxom used to mean obedient? Or that it’s OK to say ‘Can I?’ rather than ‘May I?'” Read more...
Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018
Sophie Roell, Journalist
“Where prescriptivists insist on the observance of certain linguistic norms—not splitting infinitives, never ending a sentence with a preposition—Mr Greene shows that these so-called rules are little more than arbitrary stylistic preferences imposed upon English earlier in its history.”
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