A pedant writes....

[Arch]

I've just sent this to TransPennine Express:

"Firstly, may I congratulate you on keeping services running in the recent bad weather. I had a weekend away planned this weekend and was concerned that I would have to cancel, but in the event I suffered little disruption to my plans.

Secondly, having watched the scrolling information displays in your carriages over a total of 3 hours, could I point out a couple of small grammar and punctuation errors? You say in one message "Theres lots of fun places to visit..." This should be "There are" or "There're" as the places are plural. Also, note the need for an apostrophe. In another, you say "Youll find..." - again, a missing apostrophe in "You'll". Since the mesages are otherwise well supplied with commas and full stops, the lack of apostrophes really grates! "

I might have been the only person on the train who noticed, or even read the scrolling displays, but I can't read a book on a train, it makes me feel ill, and I didn't get a window seat, so I just plugged in the earphones and switched off - except every time those messages came up, I winced.... What are the chances of a result?

 

[Yellow Fang]

Is it firstly or just first?

 

[TheDoctor]

You've thought about this far, far too much...

 

[Maz]

You've misspelt "messages". Bad mistake.

 

[Arch]

Is it firstly or just first?

You reckon the person who reads it will know?

I was looking at the damn display for a total of 3 hours. I didn't really have to think about it...

If, the next time I use them, it's changed, I will know I've had a little victory...

 

[Arch]

You've misspelt "messages". Bad mistake.

Ah, I knew I'd cock it up... Ah well, it'll give some poor soul in communications a laugh....

 

[longers]

Is this your boat Arch?

 

[Arch]

Is this your boat Arch?

Oh, that's very pretty!

 

[Silver Fox]

You'll probably get a nice reply from them thanking you for pointing out those things.

Whether they do anything about it remains to be seen.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

"I had a weekend away planned this weekend"


Clumsy at best.

 

[gbs]

Arch: Bravo for defending the apostrophe but don't blame the buses'; them and the greengrocers' have been nicking 'em for years.

 

[Over The Hill]

Secondly, having watched the scrolling information displays in your carriages for a total of 3 hours, may I point out a couple of small grammatical and punctuation errors?

 

[2Loose]

Arch, are you related to the Grammar Vandal?

 

[wobbler]

As we're on the subject, there is a brewery here named Banks's. From the dim and distant passed I can remember something about names ending in S have the apostrophe only and not another S. Like what they have done. Are they right or wrong?

 

[Bromptonaut]

As we're on the subject, there is a brewery here named Banks's. From the dim and distant passed I can remember something about names ending in S have the apostrophe only and not another S. Like what they have done. Are they right or wrong?

I think they're right. The s' convention applies to plurals eg Members' Dining Room?