English has two common ways of expressing possession: the ‘Saxon genitive’ form adds -’s to the end of the last word in a noun phrase referring to the possessor:the king’s wifethe King of England’s wifethe man over there’s wifeFor more on the Saxon Genitive, please see Does English really have case? – Language Miscellany the…… Continue reading Saxon Genitive
Tag: English: Canadian
Momentarily crossing the Atlantic
Listening to the BBC coverage of the Olympics yesterday, I was a little to surprised to heard the presenter (who is Scottish) say she would be handing over ‘momentarily’ to her colleague. I haven’t often heard British speakers use with momentarily with its North American meaning of ‘in a short time, very soon’. As I…… Continue reading Momentarily crossing the Atlantic
Short sitting for breakfast
In North American English, momentarily means in a short time, very soon. But in British English, it means for an infinitesimally short time. So going for breakfast in a Toronto hotel once, I was alarmed by a sign saying “we will seat you momentarily”. Update July 2024. I recently heard a (Scottish) BBC TV presenter…… Continue reading Short sitting for breakfast