BENEFIT We BATHE every day (= swim). BATHE the wound with disinfectant (= cleanse). We have a BATHE whenever we can (= a swim). beach or beech? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide: Budleigh Salterton has a stony BEACH. BEECH trees retain their leaves in autumn. beautiful Use your knowledge of French beau to help you. before (not befor) begin Note these forms and spellings: I begin, I am beginning. I began, I have begun. beginner (not -n-) beige (not -ie-) See EI/IE SPELLING RULE. belief (not -ei) See EI/IE SPELLING RULE. believe believed, believing, believer See EI/IE SPELLING RULE. See ADDING ENDINGS (ii). benefit benefited, benefiting It is a common mistake to use -tt 29 BERTH OR BIRTH? berth or birth? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide: We have a spare BERTH on our boat. We are proud to announce the BIRTH of a daughter. beside or besides? Use BESIDE in the sense of next to, by the side of: Your glasses are BESIDE your bed. May I sit BESIDE you? Use BESIDES in the sense of also, as well as: BESIDES, I can't afford it. BESIDES being very clever, Ann also works hard. between See AMONG OR BETWEEN?. between you and I Incorrect. Write: between you and me. See PREPOSITIONS. bi- This prefix means 'two'. Hence bicycle bifocals bigamy, and so on. Note, however, that some words beginning with 'bi' can be ambiguous. See BIMONTHLY and BIWEEKLY. See also BIANNUAL OR BIENNIAL?. biannual or biennial? BIANNUAL means twice a year (not -n-). BIENNIAL means every two years (a biennial festival) or taking two years to grow (horticultural, etc), (not -ual) 30 BIWEEKLY bicycle bi + cycle (not bycycle or bycicle) bidding or biding? bid + ing = bidding The BIDDING at the auction was fast and furious. BIDDING farewell, the knight cantered away. bide + ing = biding Her critics were just BIDING their time. See ADDING ENDINGS (i) and (ii). biege Wrong spelling. See BEIGE. biennial See BIANNUAL OR BIENNIAL?. bimonthly Avoid using BIMONTHLY as it has two conflicting meanings. It can mean both every two months and also twice a month. (Compare BIWEEKLY.) binoculars (not -nn-) biography See AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR BIOGRAPHY?. biscuit (not -iu-) biulding Wrong spelling. See BUILDING. bivouac bivouacked, bivouacking See SOFT c AND SOFT G. biweekly This word has two conflicting meanings and is 31 perhaps best avoided. It can mean both every two weeks (i.e. fortnightly) and also twice a week. (Compare BIMONTHLY.) bizarre (not -22-) blond or blonde? BLOND is used to describe men's hair. BLOND/BLONDE is used to describe women's hair. A BLONDE is a woman. board or bored? A BOARD is a piece of wood, also a committee or similar group of people. To BOARD means to get on (train, etc.) and also to pay for living in someone's house and having food provided. BORED means uninterested. boarder or border? A BOARDER is a person who pays to live in someone's house or school. A BORDER is the edge or boundary of something. boisterous syllables) boney/bony Both spellings are correct, although the second spelling is more commonly used. border See BOARDER OR BORDER?. bored See BOARD OR BORED?. bored by, bored with (not bored or) 32 BIZARRE (not boistrous, although often mispronounced as two BOUGHT OR BROUGHT? born or borne? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide: Dickens was BORN in Portsmouth. She has BORNE five children. He has BORNE a heavy burden of guilt all his life. borrow or lend? May I BORROW your pen? (= use your pen temporarily) Please LEND me your pen. (= pass it to me and allow me to use it) both and Take care with the positioning of each half of this paired construction. Each must introduce grammatically similar things: He is BOTH clever AND hardworking. (not: He both is clever and hardworking!) He BOTH paints AND sculpts. He bought BOTH the gardening tools AND the DIY kit. Notice, however, the ambiguity in the last example. It could mean that there were just two gardening tools and he bought both of them. In the case of possible confusion, always replace: He bought the gardening tools and also the DIY kit. He bought the two gardening tools and also the DIY kit. He bought both of the gardening tools and also the DIY kit. bought or brought? BOUGHT is the past tense of to buy. She BOUGHT eggs, bacon and bread. BROUGHT is the past tense of to bring. 33 They BROUGHT their books home. bouncy (not -ey) See ADDING ENDINGS (ii). brackets Round brackets enclose additional information which the writer wants to keep separate from the main body of the sentence. Jane Austen (born in 1775) died in Winchester. My neighbour (have you met her?) has won £250,000. Notice how sentences in brackets are not fully punctuated. They don't begin with a capital letter or have a full stop at the end if they occur within another sentence as in the example above. They do, however, have a question mark or an exclamation mark, if appropriate. Square brackets indicate that the material has been added to the original by another writer: When I [Hilaire Belloc] am dead, I hope it may be said: 'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.' breath or breathe? BREATH is the noun, and rhymes with 'death'. He called for help with his dying BREATH. BREATHE is the verb and rhymes with 'seethe'. BREATHE deeply and fill those lungs! brief, briefly (not -ei-) Britain (not -ian) 34 BOUNCY . RULE. See ADDING ENDINGS (ii). benefit benefited, benefiting It is a common mistake to use -tt 29 BERTH OR BIRTH? berth or birth? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide: We have a . to the original by another writer: When I [Hilaire Belloc] am dead, I hope it may be said: 'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.' breath or breathe? BREATH