New Substack post: “I don't imagine they probably will”: Transferred negation and syntactic priming basaarts.substack.com/publish/post...
Bas Aarts
@englishgrammar.bsky.social
Professor of English Linguistics, UCL Here, I post on (English) language topics. On Substack, I post on English Grammar: https://basaarts.substack.com/ #grammar #syntax #parsing
New Substack post: Manner adverbs: do they need a human agent? basaarts.substack.com/p/manner-adv...
Manner adverbs
Do they need a human agent?
basaarts.substack.com
Dates in 2026-2027 for the CPD courses 'English Grammar for Teachers' and 'Teaching English Grammar in Context' You can book here: tinyurl.com/2xj43u9z tinyurl.com/y9c9ufrs #grammar #EnglishGrammar #CPD
I just had a look at the 2026 KS2 English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test (Yr 6). These tests normally undergo a great deal of scrutiny at the Standards and Testing Agency, but this question got through the test reviews, which is very unfortunate. @departmentforedu.bsky.social #grammar #SPAG
What are your thoughts on this? #SPAG #grammar spectator.com/article/does...
Does Lucy Powell really think ‘knight’ is an obscure word?
Knight. Through. Rewarded. Adventure. Explosion. Ok, so I know Spectator readers are of above-average intelligence, and so hardly a representative sample, but I’m going to stick my neck on the line an...
spectator.com
Nice little sketch to explain modal meanings to students. x.com/its_The_Dr/s...
Johnny Midnight ⚡️ (@its_The_Dr) on X
British Humor.
x.com
New Substack post: 'Henry James's long sentences. Are they unreadable?' basaarts.substack.com/p/henry-jame...
Bookings open for the English Grammar Day on 29 June in the British Library. Do bring your students! Organised by: Bas Aarts @artshumsucl.bsky.social Jonnie Robinson @britishlibrary.bsky.social Charlotte Brewer @hertfordcollege.bsky.social events.bl.uk/events/engli... #EnglishGrammarDay
Quick reminder: you can now book a place for the English Grammar Day, 29 June at the British Library. Bring your students! Organisers: Bas Aarts @ucl.ac.uk Jonnie Robinson @britishlibrary.bsky.social Charlotte Brewer @hertfordcollege.bsky.social events.bl.uk/events/engli... #EnglishGrammarDay
English Grammar Day 2026 | British Library
Are you sat down or sitting down while reading this? Have you got or do you have a preference for one form over the other? English has a number of ways of
events.bl.uk
Another daft grammar quiz. www.buzzfeed.com/audreyworboy... In the question below, none of the answers is correct. (And that's not even mentioning the outdated terminology.)
We filmed some Year 4 kids in a London primary school. I just love listening to them talking so confidently about the grammar they learnt. They're amazing! www.youtube.com/watch?v=X13l...
What do Year 4 pupils think about grammar?
YouTube video by Englicious
youtube.com
Are you an English teacher? Bring your students to the English Grammar Day on 29 June in the British Library. Organised by Bas Aarts @artshumsucl.bsky.social, Jonnie Robinson @britishlibrary.bsky.social and Charlotte Brewer @hertfordcollege.bsky.social Book here: events.bl.uk/events/engli...
New Substack post by Bas Aarts: Tricky Relative Clauses (2) basaarts.substack.com/p/tricky-rel... #EnglishGrammar #Grammar
Bookings are now open for the English Grammar Day 2026, which I co-organise with Jonnie Robinson at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social and Charlotte Brewer @ox.ac.uk. #EnglishGrammarDay Teachers, do bring your students! events.bl.uk/events/engli...
"A massive new analysis of over 1,700 languages shows that some long-debated “universal” grammar rules are actually real." www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
Study of 1,700 languages reveals surprising hidden patterns
A massive new analysis of over 1,700 languages shows that some long-debated “universal” grammar rules are actually real. By using cutting-edge evolutionary methods, researchers found that languages te...
sciencedaily.com
Great piece. Why the verb “to be” is so irregular open.substack.com/pub/colingor...
Why the verb “to be” is so irregular
The answer is six thousand years old
open.substack.com
Dates in 2026 for the CPD courses 'English Grammar for Teachers' and 'Teaching English Grammar in Context'. You can book here: tinyurl.com/2xj43u9z tinyurl.com/y9c9ufrs
Happy 200th birthday UCL! Today, we begin a year of celebration to mark UCL’s Bicentenary. Since UCL’s establishment in the arts and humanities have been foundational to the university’s ethos. Find out more about UCL Arts & Humanities: buff.ly/4UiCmC7 #UCL200
Save the date of the English Grammar Day 2026 on 29 June at the British Library in London. Bookings will open in due course. #grammar #EnglishGrammar #EnglishGrammarDay
Very sad news to hear about the death of Deborah Cameron. Only just before Christmas Debbie agreed to chair the panel at the English Grammar Day this coming June. She will be missed!
New publication Recent grammatical change in English by Jill Bowie and Bas Aarts The New Cambridge History of the English Language: Transmission, Change and Ideology, 2025, 505-535 www.academia.edu/145369089/Re...
Whither the National Curriculum for English? New Substack post open.substack.com/pub/basaarts...
Whither the National Curriculum for English?
Response to the Becky Francis Review of the National Curriculum
open.substack.com
