To suggest it’s a uniquely British thing to pluralise company names?

[ApertureGLaDOS]

I actually may be unreasonable as I have no idea about what the rest of the world do, BUT…

… I was watching an episode of Food Theory on YouTube and he mentioned repeatedly, ‘Cadbury’. I found it so weird and jarring because it is known as ‘Cadbury’s’ to me. I suppose on reflection it makes sense because I think we are sold ‘Cadbury’s chocolate’ rather than just a product from Cadbury, but it sticks and I refer to it in that sense all the time (I don’t say Nestle’s or Mars’ for example).

And it’s not just that - I go to Tesco’s, not Tesco. And whilst I don’t say it myself I’ve heard friends shopping at ‘Lidl’s’ and even Asda’s.

So is it a British thing or is pluralising companies in common usage a thing done world over?

@RightOnTheEdge
@Keepitonthedownlow

You're both wrong.

It's Wet-Her-Spoons.

I think this is generally true in the US as well. I say "Macy's", but not Walmart's.

I live in Scotland and we don’t do that here but my husband is originally from north of England and I’ve noticed his family says Tesco’s Asda’s etc
maybe also a regional thing

Surely it's possessive? The company owns the shop that you are visiting, but instead of saying I'm going to Tesco's supermarket or Marks and Spencer's clothing shop it just gets shortened in spoken English to Tesco's or Marks and Spencer's.

Yes I agree I think we convert things into the possessive, not the plural, and probably dates from names such as “Smith’s Emporium” and “Barker’s trading co”.

It used to be the Co-operative Wholesale group which people shortened to the Co-operative. With it’s new branding, we just call it the Coop.

It was always The Co-operative Store round my way & it's been shortened to just the store for as long as I can remember.

If someone owes you money (usually a small amount & you know you wouldn't ask for it back but they insist) you say "it's fine, I'll just put your name up in the store windae" as a reference to when you could get credit at the store & non-payers were put on a list in the window.

Australians are notorious for adding an 's' to nouns of any type. For example:

McDonalds: Macca's
Woolworths: Woolies
Aldi: Aldi's
Myer: Myers'

But if you note my apostrophe placement in the Myers' example, that's where I believe it is born from. "I bought this from Myer's" - ie. the store of Myer, and the usage has become corrupted over time.

Also add to that having "a Chinese" in relation to takeaways. Where I like it would be Chinese food, or a Chinese takeaway.

Mark and Pencer?

I’m Canadian, I hate when people do this, sorry op. I have heard people do this here but it just sounds (and is) wrong and irritating.

Not just British I’ve noticed Americans doing the same thing. It’s annoying lol

Nope.

In Australia one of the top department stores is called Myer; so many Aussies call it MYERS.

(After living in several countries I do find it amusing how many people think certain things are unique to their country)

I was floored when I looked up at a wagamama sign and clocked there was no 's' on the end.

It's definitely about ownership and perhaps because some of the original household brands began as family companies. However IME we're more likely to say I'm going to the baker's for a loaf of bread, American relatives of mine say I'm going to the bakery. It's almost personification of nouns

This is really interesting.

I've never given it any thought before, but I definitely say Marks and Spencers and Tescos. But would always say Aldi and Asda. .

I'm from Norfolk and you often hear Boots's, Asda's and my personal favourite Nexts's. There's a pub/hotel King's Lynn called Knight's Hill and quite a lot of people call it Knights's Hill.

I do say Tesco with no 's but I have to make myself do it 😂

The one that annoys me most that lots of people I know seem to say is 'Mataland'.

We always had 'the shop' (as in 'do you want anything from the shop?') to denote whatever the nearest convenience type store was, regardless of brand or how many other shops are nearby.

Currently 'the shop' is a Tesco Express a few minutes' walk away, but any Big Shop is done at the Big Sainsbury's about two miles up the road.

Have you had The Covid?😊

Yes we do do it in Scotland. Maybe not all of us, but it’s common.

Some older Scottish people (ie those now in their 70s or older) have a weird name for the Co-op- it’s often called “The Coperative” pronounced “coh-per-AY-tive”. A mis- reading/mispronunciation that became widespread.

No, lol just JD Wetherspoon.
I work there and I still call it Wetherspoons sometimes 😂
It just sounds better!

We call an Indian a cash and curry....

I have often heard Americans say Lego’s

I thought it was just my family (my nephew saying to ds what Lego’s shall we build, do you want to do to the Lego’s shop) but no I’ve heard others say Lego’s too

I'm pretty sure the Lego company has publicly confirmed that it's Lego, not Legos, so the Americans are wrong on this one!

I'm hopelessly inconsistent on this. Sainsbury's is definitely a possessive and that's the name on the actual shops, but I go to Tesco's, which isn't, and Aldi, Lidl and Asda are just the name. Marks and Spencer's is another possessive though, even though that's not what the shops are actually called. And Morrisons call their shops just that, so if I went to one, that's what I'd call it.

And Waitrose is just Waitrose.