Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

THE USE OF THE APOSTROPHE pp. 143–144
1. Smoking in public places is an emotive issue. Opponents of a ban talk
of infringements of civil liberties. Supporters of an outright ban
emphasise the health issues involved and the rights of workers
employed in the catering and bar trade. The majority of the adult
population are now non-smokers. This fact allows the government to
take what formerly would have been a hugely unpopular measure.
2. Firstly, there is no proof to back up this thesis. Supporters of the
theory, however, argue that the onus is on its opponents to disprove
it. On the contrary, the opponents cry, the burden of proof is always
on those making the claims. Although the arguments for and against
are fairly strident, nevertheless it is mainly good-humoured on all
sides.
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3. Fashion models are often accused of being stupid and vain. These
accusations are usually without foundation. Models, in fact, have to
work hard for their money. It is true that many are vastly overpaid for
what they do. Nevertheless, they have become targets for unjustified
criticism and sheer envy.
4. It’s a problem that can cause stress to its owner when a pet behaves
badly. It’s not only an embarrassment, but it’s not fair on the animal.
Its behaviour reflects its state of overall well-being and cannot help
but be a reflection on its owner’s handling of the animal.
5. This is where our neighbours’ garden ends and ours begins. Theirs
stretches back to those trees and ours to those bushes. Our gardener’s
lawn mower broke down the other day, so we had to borrow my
friend’s mower. Look at those plants. They’ve grown a lot in a year.
We can’t claim the credit, we just don’t have green fingers at all. 
SPELLING pp. 149–150
1. The reality of the situation is that the company is facing bankruptcy.
The shareholders are demanding action and the summoning of a
special general meeting. They believe that only by drastic
manoeuvres will disaster be averted. They claim that they have been
issuing warnings about this crisis for some time, but they have been
ignored. Whether or not the firm can be rescued is very much open
to question. The debts have mounted and the creditors are banging on
the door. Their demands have to be met as they were unaware of the
state of the business when they supplied their services and goods. 
2. A Euro is roughly equivalent to 70p. However, it is not its innate
value that many British people have reservations about. It is the
surrender of the British currency. Undeniably, this is partly due to an
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insular attitude to Europe. The ‘Little Englander’ stance is still very
prevalent in this island country. Whether this will change in the future
is open to doubt. Many factors can alter the political weather and
what seemed wholly unimaginable a year or so ago can become hard
fact overnight. It may be that the British people will give up their
resistance to the Euro and the pound will belong to the historical past.
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