It can be much harder than it seems; commas, colons, semi-colons and even apostrophes can drive us all mad at times, but it riles no one more than the longest-serving resident of Countdown’s Dictionary Corner, grammar guru Gyles Brandreth.

In this brilliantly funny tirade and guide, Gyles anatomizes the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us where we’ve been going wrong (and why) and shows us how, in future, we can get it right every time. Is ‘alright’ all right? You’ll find out right here.

From dangling clauses to gerunds, you’ll also discover why Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses. In Have You Eaten Grandma? he waxes lyrical about the importance of language as, after all, it is what we use to define ourselves and, ultimately, is what makes us human.