Your Shop blasts new Nisa branch for grammar error… then makes similar mistake

By Jack Gevertz

You wouldn’t usually take any notice at the average shop sign thanking customers for purchasing their goods.

But one has taken Twitter by storm after an all too common error was spotted at the new branch of Nisa on Market Square.

Eagle-eyed students noticed an unnecessary apostrophe in the store sign’s message above the cash registers which read: “Thank’s for shopping with us”.

Campus competitor Your Shop snapped Nisa’s blunder and was quick to criticise, saying: “Poor grammar on one of our competitors signs. #grammarpolice.”

But it wasn’t long before savvy students noticed that in fact the convenience store had made a similar mistake.

Third-year linguistics student Alice O’Mahony responded: “Awkward that you should have put an apostrophe in ‘competitor’s’.”

And Seb Spain, a research fellow at the University of Nottingham, added: “@YUSUYourshop should that not be “competitors’ signs”.”

The student store quickly apologised for the error, joking that at least it was “only on Twitter”.

But it’s not the first time a storm has been created over grammar.

A rogue apostrophe on a road sign in Hartlepool left residents bewildered and irritated after stating: “Parking Bay’s Suspended”.

The error, which the local council denied responsibility for, was blasted by the chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society who told the BBC that it meant that the apostrophe still needed protection.

Vision has contacted Nisa for a response but is awaiting a comment.

The new Nisa store, which replaces Costcutter on Market Square, opened to students following the Christmas and New Year break.

It is not known why the change took place, but it has been reported that Nisa Retail bosses shrugged off a supply deal with Costcutter as it looked to build on reported pre-tax profits of £3.3 million.

9 thoughts on “Your Shop blasts new Nisa branch for grammar error… then makes similar mistake”

  3. Seriously Jack was this even worth your time writing this? Is this even worth my time commenting?

    Who knows.

    What is for sure is “But one has taken Twitter by storm” is stretching it even by your standards. Hang on, even starting a sentence with the word “but” is questionable grammar at best.

    Up your game fella.

  4. Starting a sentence with ‘but’ is fine. For the millionth time, you can start a sentence with a coordinating or subordinating conjunction whenever and wherever you want. But you’re a bit silly if you do.

  5. “Your Shop blasts new Nisa branch”
    “taken Twitter by storm”
    “blasted by the chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society”

    This article is quite a disappointing way to put off exam revision. A “whoopsie!” each for Nisa and Your Shop, but not news by any standard.

    John Richards’ full statement in the BBC article in question was: “My reaction is mainly bewilderment mixed with irritation.

    “What on earth does the apostrophe mean? On my web page I make it clear that plurals never need an apostrophe.

    “The apostrophe obviously still needs protection.”

    There is no indication that he “blasted” the error, nor is there any sense that Your Shop’s tweet was any more than cheeky. To claim that a handful of people mentioning Nisa’s sign amounts to Twitter being taken by storm is just untrue really, isn’t it?

  6. It isn’t worth your time commenting. I don’t know why you or anyone else ever thinks it is. Hell why am I even bothering.

  7. So no actual article on quite a big change to the campus, but an appalling non-story about a tweet? Jack Gevertz seems to have written 90% of your output this Christmas, is this because all the decent writers are enjoying their vacation?

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