The apostrophe (that’s this little sign here: ‘) is normally only used to show possession or omission.

Example sentences:
This is my colleague’s office. (possession)
We watched the boys’ football team. (possession)
There’s a lovely lamp on her desk. (omission)
They grew up in the ’90s. (omission)

We don’t normally use apostrophes to form plurals.

Example sentences:
We bought eggs, mushrooms and peas in the supermarket.
This book was written in the 1990s.

However, apostrophes can be used to avoid confusion or misreading:

She received two A’s, three B’s and two C’s.

I hope that helps!

You offer something to someone. They respond with a “thank you”. What do you say?

In German we would say “bitte”, “bitte sehr”, “keine Ursache”, “aber gerne” or “gern geschehen”. And in English?

You could say “No problem”, but it’s not a very positive message.

What about?:

You’re welcome.
You’re very welcome.
My pleasure.
I’m pleased you like it.
Always happy to help.
Thank you.

Do you have a favourite response?

“If you’re willing to be disturbed and confused, I recommend that you begin a conversation with someone who thinks differently than you do. Listen as best you can for what’s different, for what surprises you. Try and stop the voice of judgment or opinion. Just listen. At the end of this practice, notice whether you learned anything new. Notice whether you developed a better relationship with the person you talked with. If you try this with several people, you might find yourself laughing in delight as you realize how many unique ways there are to be human.“
Meg Wheatley

Isn’t this great food for thought?

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Food for thought = something worth thinking seriously about

Would you like to test yourself?

Take a look at these punctuation marks and see if you know what they’re called in English.

1. .
2. ,
3. :
4. ;
5. –
6. —
7. ( )
8. ‘
9. ” “
10. [ ]
11. ?
12. !
13. &
14. /
15. _
16. @

1. full stop or period
2. comma
3. colon
4. semicolon
5. hyphen
6. dash
7. brackets or parentheses
8. apostrophe
9. quotation marks
10. square brackets
11. question mark
12. exclamation mark or point
13. ampersand
14. slash
15. underscore
16. at sign

So how did you do?

PS The position of the quotation marks in English is different to German. Take a look here: “Quotation marks”.

The world’s first library of things looks very much like the photo I’ve posted here.

The Share Shed, based in Devon (UK), has over 350 items that members can borrow, including: tools, household appliances, camping and gardening equipment, sewing machines, suitcases and much more.

Members pay an annual membership fee and can then borrow items for a reasonable sum of money (from £5 to £50).

It’s a great way for people to save money, space and resources, to reduce clutter, and to support a more collaborative and sustainable lifestyle.

I would have borrowed a suitcase for my return journey from Hamburg, because I came back with a suitcase, two rucksacks and holdall!

Is there anything you would borrow?

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shed = Schuppen
clutter = Gerümpel, Krimskrams