Bas Aarts
Professor of English Linguistics, UCL
Here, I post on (English) language topics.
On Substack, I post on English Grammar: basaarts.substack.com
#grammar #syntax #parsing
- 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!
- This is fun www.upworthy.com/linguist-exp...
- Can you resist a 'festive grammar test'? www.express.co.uk/news/weird/2...
- New Substack post Mules of meaning: complex noun phrases open.substack.com/pub/basaarts...
- 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...
- Are you in India and are you thinking of studying at UCL? Come and see us at the UCL India Open Days in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Dehli! www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-...
- Did you attend this year's #EnglishGrammarDay? Check out this review by Peter Clark: languagemiscellany.com/2025/08/engl...
- This really annoyed me in today’s UK press, a day before A-level results day
- I’m referring to the mention of linguistics as somehow being a boring subject that someone was coerced into studying
- Great turnout at the 2025 #EnglishGrammarDay organised by UCL’s @uclenglishusage.bsky.social, @engfac.bsky.social and @britishlibrary.bsky.social
- Next week! events.bl.uk/events/engli... #EnglishGrammarDay #Grammar #EnglishLanguage @bethmalory.bsky.social @hwimbushenglish.bsky.social @debsadelight.bsky.social @robdrummond.bsky.social @billylinguist.bsky.social @artshumsucl.bsky.social @britishlibrary.bsky.social @engfac.bsky.social
- New Substack post: On so-called adjective clauses: a label to avoid tinyurl.com/yc32zr4a #grammar #adjectiveclause #TeHirangaTangata #nzcurriculum
- Another day, another daft grammar quiz: www.independent.co.uk/life-style/g...
- Come to this fabulous event, hosted by Charlotte Brewer, Jonnie Robinson and me on 7 July. tinyurl.com/36z77b29 #EnglishGrammarDay #grammar @blevents.bsky.social @engfacoutreach.bsky.social @bethmalory.bsky.social @hwimbushenglish.bsky.social @robdrummond.bsky.social @artshumsucl.bsky.social
- Reposted by Bas AartsDo our brains try to predict what’s coming next in a sentence? It may depend on the language you speak www.scientificamerican.com/article/does... #linguistics #language #neuroscience #English #Dutch @SciAm.bsky.social
- I never use semicolons, except sometimes in lists. Do you? www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
- There's more: www.independent.co.uk/life-style/s...
- "Could the English language die?" Nah.... www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
- Book now for the English Grammar Day! Teachers: do bring your GCSE and A-level students! www.ucl.ac.uk/english/engl... #EnglishGrammarDay #grammar @blevents.bsky.social @engfac.bsky.social @engfacoutreach.bsky.social @bethmalory.bsky.social @hwimbushenglish.bsky.social @robdrummond.bsky.social
- New Substack post: Can clauses function as Subject? basaarts.substack.com/p/can-clause... #grammar
- New Substack post on Subjects. basaarts.substack.com/p/subjects #EnglishGrammar
- Together with Charlotte Brewer and Jonnie Robinson I am one of the organisers of the #EnglishGrammarDay which will take place again at the British Library on 7 July. Book here: events.bl.uk/events/engli...
- English Grammar Day is back for 2025 -- and tickets are on sale now! Join us on Mon 7 July at the British Library for another great roster of speakers and discussion of all things grammar! #EnglishGrammarDay 🔗Booking and more info: www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usag...
- New verb 'anti-age' in The Times.
- New Substack post: Can prepositional phrases function as Subject in a clause? basaarts.substack.com/p/can-prepos...
- When did human language emerge? www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
- Reposted by Bas AartsThe words 'wheel', 'cycle', and 'chakra' are distantly related. Via Germanic, Greek and Sanskrit, they can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European, the reconstructed common ancestor of these languages. Sound changes made them grow apart. Moreover, 'Ku Klux (Klan)' is related too. Click for more:
- New research chapter, just published: 'Verb Phrases as Attributive Nominal Modifiers' tinyurl.com/49crkbv4
- New Substack post: 'Can adjective phrases function as Subject in a clause?' basaarts.substack.com/p/can-adject... #grammar #adjective
- New Substack post: More on Predicative Complements: 'for' and 'as' basaarts.substack.com/p/more-on-pr... #grammar #EnglishGrammar
- Reposted by Bas Aarts[This post could not be retrieved]
- This film should be fun to watch. It comes out on the Americans' National Grammar Day, 4 March. www.rebelwithaclause.com @grammartable.bsky.social #EnglishGrammarDay #grammar #EnglishGrammar
- English Grammar Day is back for 2025! We're happy to announce we'll be returning to the British Library on 7 July with another great roster of speakers. The ticketing page will go live soon, so keep checking back for updates... #EnglishGrammarDay
- This time with the correct day of the week: Monday 7 July 2025.
- Reposted by Bas Aarts
- Reposted by Bas AartsThe beautiful order of the Gəʕəz syllabary, with 7 orders (ä, u, i, a, e, ə/∅, o)
- New Substack post: What is a Predicative Complement? basaarts.substack.com/p/what-is-a-...
- Reposted by Bas AartsAdolph Diesterweg (1790-1866), educator and father of publisher Moritz Diesterweg, in 1830 wrote *Praktischer Lehrgang* for German teachers. AFAIK it contains the first clause-internal graphical analysis. The use of braces is actually well thought-out. #linguistics cysouw.github.io/graphicalgra...
- Reposted by Bas AartsOccitan is a Romance language spoken in several european regions also referred as Occitania! Es una lenga bèla! 💛❤ #langsky #langtwt #languagelearning
- Reposted by Bas AartsAmbiguity of scope. (Spotted in London.)
- Reposted by Bas AartsThis is a sewing pattern. It is also a page from a late 14th century manuscript that is one of two primary sources for an important Icelandic saga (Sturlunga saga), but that was probably not important to the 17th century person who really needed a sewing pattern. #upcycling
- "Recent studies have explored various approaches to grammar instruction, emphasizing the importance of contextualized teaching methods that integrate grammar into the writing process." tinyurl.com/4879jjww
- ‘Building sentence structure may be language specific’ www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
- Reposted by Bas Aarts#Glagolitic was used to write Old #Church #Slavonic and its local varieties from 862/3 CE, in #Moravia, #Bulgaria, #Macedonia, #Croatia, Bohemia, and Poland. Its use survived up to the 19th century in Croatia. Full page: tinyurl.com/mwy64njj #writingscripts #linguistics #history #art #map #matuww
- Reposted by Bas Aarts
- New Substack post: 'Each' as a floating quantifier basaarts.substack.com/p/each-as-a-...
- Reposted by Bas AartsReading a legal doc, I've come across what must be my favourite noun phrase for 2025 - "an aspirational floor". Semantic and pragmatic interpretations on a postcard... #Linguistics
- New Substack post: Which word class do 'possessive' words belong to? Adjectives, determinatives or pronouns? basaarts.substack.com/p/which-word...
- Reposted by Bas AartsA fascinating and balanced insight into ‘Whorfianism’ and related ideas www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
- Reposted by Bas AartsA persistent myth is that Japanese 'arigatō' (thank you) comes from Portuguese 'obrigado'. In reality, 'arigatō' was already used a century before the Portuguese first visited Japan. 'Obrigado', in turn, is first attested in the sense of "thank you" a century after the Portuguese arrival. 1/
- GDoS Update #24D open.substack.com/pub/jonathon...
