However, it can be difficult to keep up in a long sentence: ONE never knows if ONE'S husband is likely to approve of ONE'S choice but that is a risk ONE has to take.. If you wish to writ
Trang 1an OFFICIAL visit
an OFFICIAL invitation
OFFICIOUS = fussy, self-important, interfering
an OFFICIOUS secretary
an OFFICIOUS waiter
often
(not offen)
omission
omit
omitted, omitting
See ADDING ENDINGS (iv).
one
This can be a useful impersonal pronoun:
ONE never knows
However, it can be difficult to keep up in a long sentence:
ONE never knows if ONE'S husband is likely to approve of ONE'S choice but that is a risk ONE has
to take
Use 'one' sparingly and beware the risk of
pomposity
only
The position of 'only' in a sentence is crucial to meaning
See AMBIGUITY (ii).
onnist
Wrong spelling See HONEST
onto or on to?
There are circumstances when the words must always be written separately We will consider these first
Trang 2Always write the words separately if 'to' is part
of an infinitive (e.g to eat, to speak, to be, to watch, etc.):
She drove ON TO test the brakes.
As a matter of interest you can double-check the 'separateness' of the two words by separating them further:
She drove ON because she wanted TO test the brakes
Always write the words separately when 'to' means 'towards':
We cycled ON TO Oxford.
Once again, the two words can be further separated:
We cycled ON the few remaining miles TO Oxford
It is permissible to write 'onto' or 'on to' when you mean 'to a position on':
The acrobat jumped ONTO the trapeze.
The acrobat jumped ON TO the trapeze.
It should be borne in mind, however, that many careful writers dislike 'onto' and always use 'on to' 'Onto' is more common in American English but with the cautions expressed above
ophthalmologist
(not opth-)
opinion
(not oppinion)
opposite
oral
See AURAL OR ORAL?.
Trang 3Both spellings are correct
original
originally
original + ly
ought
'Ought' is always followed by an infinitive (to visit,
to read, to do, etc)
We OUGHT to write our thank-you letters.
The negative form is 'ought not'
We OUGHT NOT to hand our work in late.
The forms 'didn't ought' and 'hadn't ought' are
always wrong.
He didn't ought to say this
He OUGHT NOT to say this.
He hadn't ought to have hit her
He OUGHT NOT to have hit her.
ours
There are eight possessive pronouns:
mine, thine, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs They never need an apostrophe:
This house is OURS.
outfit
outfitted, outfitting, outfitter
(exception to 2-1-1 rule)
See ADDING ENDINGS (iv).
out of
Avoid using 'of unnecessarily:
He threw it OUT OF the window.
He threw it OUT the window.
Trang 4(not outragous)
See SOFT c AND SOFT G
over-Take care when adding this prefix to a word already beginning with r- You will have -rr-:
overreact
overripe
overrule, etc
overreact
over + react
ovum (singular) ova (plural)
See FOREIGN PLURALS.
owing to
See DUE TO/OWING TO
Trang 5We took a pack lunch with us
We took a PACKED lunch with us.
paid
(exception to the -y rule; not payed)
See ADDING ENDINGS (iii).
paiment
Wrong spelling See PAYMENT
pajamas
American spelling See PYJAMAS
palate, palette, pallet
PALATE = the top part of the inside of your mouth PALETTE = a small board with a hole for the
thumb which an artist uses when mixing paints
PALLET = a platform used to lift and to carry
goods
panic
panicked, panicking, panicky
See SOFT c AND SOFT G
paparazzo (singular) paparazzi (plural)
See FOREIGN PLURALS.
paraffin
paragraphing
There is no mystery about paragraphing although many students find it difficult to know when to end one paragraph and begin another
A paragraph develops a particular point that is relevant to the overall subject If you wish to write a letter or an essay that develops five or six points, then each point will have its own paragraph and you will add two more, one by way of an introductory
^•^H
Trang 6paragraph and another at the end as a conclusion There are no rules about how long a paragraph should be Some paragraphs, often the introduction
or the conclusion, may be a single sentence; other paragraphs may be a page or more long Too many short paragraphs in succession can be very jerky; too many very long ones can look forbidding It is best
to mix long and short paragraphs, if you can
You may also find that a paragraph which is becoming very long (a page or more) will benefit from being subdivided The topic of the paragraph may be more sensibly developed as two or three subsidiary points
Clear paragraphing is not possible without clear thinking Think of what you want to say before you begin to write List the topics or points you want to make in a sensible order Then develop each one in turn in a separate paragraph
A paragraph usually contains within it one
sentence which sums up its topic Sometimes the paragraph will begin with this sentence (called a topic sentence) and the rest of the paragraph will elaborate or illustrate the point made Sometimes the topic sentence occurs during the paragraph It can be effective, from time to time, to build up to the topic sentence as the last sentence in a paragraph
Careful writers will try to move smoothly from one paragraph to the next, using link words or phrases such as: on the other hand; however; in conclusion
In handwriting and in typing, it is usual to mark the beginning of a paragraph either by indenting it
by 2cm or so, or by leaving a clear line between paragraphs The only disadvantage of the latter method is that it is not always clear, when a
sentence begins on a new page, whether a new paragraph is also intended