Y L F M A E T Team-Fly® The A to Z of Correct English Books to change your life and work. Accessible,easytoreadandeasytoacton– othertitlesintheHowToseriesinclude: PolishUpYourPunctuation&Grammar MasterthebasicsoftheEnglishlanguageandwritewithgreaterconfidence ImprovingYourSpelling Boostyourwordpowerandyourconfidence ImprovingYourWrittenEnglish Howtoensureyourgrammar,punctuationandspellingareuptoscratch WritinganEssay Howtoimproveyourperformanceincourseworkandexaminations IncreaseYourWordPower Howtofindtherightwordwhenyouneedit Forfulldetails,pleasesendforafreecopyofthelatestcatalogueto: howtobooks 3NewtecPlace,MagdalenRoad, OxfordOX41RE,UnitedKingdom E-mail:[email protected] http://www.howtobooks.co.uk The A to Z of Correct English ANGELA BURT 2nd edition howtobooks PublishedbyHowToBooksLtd,3NewtecPlace, MagdalenRoad,OxfordOX41RE.UnitedKingdom. Tel:(01865)793806.Fax:(01865)248780. email:[email protected] www.howtobooks.co.uk Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisworkmaybereproduced orstoredinaninformationretrievalsystem(otherthanfor purposesofreview)withouttheexpresspermissionofthe publisherinwriting. #Copyright2002AngelaBurt Firstedition2000 Secondedition2002 AngelaBurthasassertedtherighttobeidentifiedastheauthor ofthiswork,inaccordancewiththeCopyright,Designsand PatentsAct1988. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritish Library. CoverDesignbyBaselineArts,Oxford ProducedforHowToBooksbyDeerParkProductions TypesetbyPDQTypesetting,Stoke-on-Trent,Staffs. PrintedandboundbyTheCromwellPress,Trowbridge, Wiltshire NOTE:Thematerialcontainedinthisbookissetoutingood faithforgeneralguidanceandnoliabilitycanbeaccepted forlossorexpenseincurredasaresultofrelyinginparticular circumstancesonstatementsmadeinthebook.Lawsand regulationsarecomplexandliabletochange,andreaders shouldcheckthecurrentpositionwiththerelevantauthorities beforemakingpersonalarrangements. Introduction The A–Z of Correct English is a reference book which has been written for the student and the general reader. It aims to tackle the basic questions about spelling, punctuation, grammar and word usage that the student and the general reader are likely to ask. Throughout the book there are clear explanations, and exemplar sentences where they are needed. When it’s helpful to draw attention to spelling rules and patterns, these are given so that the reader is further empowered to deal with hundreds of related words. The aim always has been to make the reader more confident and increasingly self-reliant. This is a fast-track reference book. It is not a dictionary although, like a dictionary, it is arranged alphabetically. It concentrates on problem areas; it anticipates difficulties; it invites cross-references. By exploring punctuation, for example, and paragraphing, it goes far beyond a dictionary’s terms of reference. It is not intended to replace a dictionary; it rather supplements it. Once, in an evening class, one of my adult students said, ‘If there’s a right way to spell a word, I want to know it.’ On another occasion, at the end of a punctuation session on possessive apostrophes, a college student said rather angrily, ‘Why wasn’t I told this years ago?’ This book has been written to answer all the questions that my students over the years have needed to ask. I hope all who now use it will have their questions answered also and enjoy the confidence and the mastery that this will bring. AngelaBurt v This page intentionally left blank How to use this book For ease of reference, all the entries in this book have been listed alphabetically rather than being divided into separate spelling, usage, punctuation and grammar sections. You will therefore find hypocrisy following hyphens; paragraphing following paraffin; who or whom? following whiskey or whisky?; and so on. WANT TO CHECK A SPELLING? Cross-referencing will help you locate words with tricky initial letters. aquaint Wrong spelling. See ACQUAINT. Plural words are given alongside singular nouns, with cross- referencing to relevant rules and patterns. knife (singular) knives (plural). SeePLURALS(v). There is also a general section on plurals and another on foreign plurals. If it’s the complication of adding an ending that is causing you trouble, you will find some words listed with a useful cross- reference. dining or dinning? dine + ing = dining (as in dining room) din + ing = dinning (noise dinning in ears) See ADDINGENDINGS(i)and(ii). There are individual entries for confusing endings like -able/-ible; -ance,-ant/-ence,-ent; -cal/-cle; -ise or -ize? and for confusing beginnings like ante-/anti-; for-/fore-; hyper-/hypo-; inter-/intra- and many others. vii A abandon abandoned, abandoning, abandonment (not -bb-) abattoir (not -bb-) abbreviate abbreviated, abbreviating, abbreviation (not -b-) abbreviations See CONTRACTIONS. -able/-ible Adjectives ending in -able or -ible can be difficult to spell because both endings sound identical. You’ll always need to be on guard with these words and check each word individually when you are in doubt, but here are some useful guidelines: (i) Generally use -able when the companion word ends in -ation: abominable, abomination irritable, irritation (ii) Generally use -ible when the companion word ends in -ion: comprehensible, comprehension digestible, digestion (iii) Use -able after hard c and hard g: practicable (c sounds like k) navigable (hard g) (iv) Use -ible after soft c and soft g: forcible (c sounds like s) legible (g sounds like j) See also ADDINGENDINGS (ii); SOFTCAND SOFTG. 1 ABRIDGEMENT/ABRIDGMENT abridgement/ Bothspellingsarecorrect.Useeitherbutbe abridgment consistent within one piece of writing. abscess This is a favourite word in spelling quizzes. (not absess or abcess) absence absent (not absc-) absolute absolutely (not absoloute, absoloutely) absorb absorption. Notice how b changes to p here. abstract nouns See NOUNS. accept or except? We ACCEPT your apology. Everybody was there EXCEPT Stephen. accessary If you want to preserve the traditional or accessory? distinction in meaning between these two words, use ACCESSARY to refer to someone associated with a crime and ACCESSORY to refer to something that is added (a fashion accessory or car accessories). However, the distinction has now become blurred and it is perfectly acceptable to use one spelling to cover both meanings. Of the two, accessory is the more widely used, but both are correct. accessible (not -able) accidentally The adverb is formed by adding -ly to accidental. (not accidently) accommodation This is a favourite word in spelling quizzes and is frequently seen misspelt on painted signs. (not accomodation or accommadation) accross Wrong spelling. See ACROSS. accumulate (not -mm-) 2