Z's or S's

No, I fall into the 'big things come in small packages' school, Smiley. 5'2, mean as hell, and very strong for my size. Especially when riled...;-)

I think I'm in love ;o)

lol! :-D

Sorry to interrupt these chat up lines but going back to Enzo's punctuation within speech marks query I would say that the book he has been reading is stating absolute bollox. Punctuation ALWAYS goes within speech marks and has done for longer than I've been alive. Double speech marks: An odd one this. Like Ely, I was brought up on using doubles but it isn't what British publishers use - I checked a few years ago. So, carry on using doubles all you like but don't expect your manuscripts to be given time of day if you can't even get their required format right! PS. This isn't some new departure from the rules: The oldest book I found in my house was printed in the 1930s and the dialogue is in single quote marks. *** 5 mins later: I've just been and checked some books we possess by American writers. Some are in the American style (double quotes) but many use single quotes i.e. British imprints... don't forget, some authors/publishing houses produce different books for each side of the atlantic, changing colloquialisms and the word 'semi' into 'lorry'. Others don't. Anyway, write using the style you wan't but if you wan't to get published I suggest you take note of published works rather than saying "Bollocks, I'm English." Coz, you might just be wrong. :-)

Why did I put an apostrophe into want? Twice? I must be turning Australian.

Oh, and something else ... English english is constantly evolving. Go back 300 years or so and look at the English of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Then look at the English used during the Napoleonic wars/ American war of Independance era (200 years ago) ... vastly different. (I've been reading too many Jack Aubrey novels by Patrick O'Brien lately - he uses the archaic language of the time ... it takes getting used to but is fascinating.) One hundred years ago (ish) ... WWI ... different again and, even 60 years ago (WWII) different again. And now today, Americans still use 'gotten' which stems from the English 'begotten' which comes from Shakespeare's era. So, I think it can be safely said that English english changes fairly rapidly compared to American english. If anyone else is as fascinated by this subject as I am you might want to read 'Mother Tongue' by Bryson. It's been a few years since I read it but it was interesting and fun, too ... leading you on to check out, and think about, English english. God! Is that the time? Oh, tryple shyte as shakey might have said had he had to get up in 4 1/2 hours time.