I have just been asked by a (Spanish) client how I know when to use inverted commas, italics, etc. when writing documents in English. She wants a neat one-stop-shop offering an immediate answer to all these concerns. As far as I know, such a thing does not exist in any format, digital or otherwise as everyone has different ideas on the matter (I’m not saying I make it up as I go along but…).

The nearest I could think of off the top of my head was the Times Style Guide (online version).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/

The book “The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language” seems to be as near as you can get to a grammar bible, but there doesn’t seem to be an online version. And a review I read on Amazon says that: “Although the title may suggest that this is a usage manual or style guide, it is actually a reference work that, in the authors’ words, aims to ‘outline and illustrate the principles that govern the construction of words and sentences…without recommending or condemning particular usage choices.’” (Now is that the right way of writing quotation marks alongside full stops? I’d better order this book NOW…)

It would be good to know if any other writers or translators have any other suggestions for similar resources where we can find all the answers… My client despairs of trying to explain to her clients that the English language seems to have no rules! And as for pronunciation, see my post on Chespir in Love. More on that another time…

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