THEIR, THERE OR THEY'RE? tenses See SEQUENCE OF TENSES. See entries for individual verbs. terminus (singular) termini or terminuses (plural) See FOREIGN PLURALS. terrible (not -able) testimonial or testimony? TESTIMONIAL = formal statement in the form of an open letter bearing witness to someone's character, qualifications and relevant experience TESTIMONY = formal written or spoken statement of evidence, especially in a court of law thank you or thank-you? (never thankyou!) I should like to THANK YOU very much for your help. THANK YOU for your help. I have written all my THANK-YOU letters. You will see that 'thank you' is NEVER written as one word. It is hyphenated only when used as a compound adjective describing 'letter' or another noun. Those who care about such things can never bring themselves to buy otherwise attractive thank-you cards that have THANKYOU or THANK-YOU printed on them! their, there or they're? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide: They have sold THEIR house. He is waiting for you over THERE. THERE is no point in lying to me. THEY'RE going to Krakow for Christmas. (= they are) 199 THEIRS theirs (no apostrophe) This is my dog; THEIRS has a white patch on his forehead. theirselves Incorrect formation. See THEMSELVES. themselves They blame THEMSELVES for the crash. They THEMSELVES were there. there See THEIR, THERE OR THEY'RE?. there is/there are See SINGULAR OR PLURAL? (iii). thesis (singular) theses (plural) See FOREIGN PLURALS. they're See THEIR, THERE OR THEY'RE?. thief (singular) thieves (plural) See PLURALS (v). thorough thoroughly thorough + ly threshold (not -hh-) tingeing See SOFT c AND SOFT G. tiny (not -ey) tired (not I am tiered) 200 TOMATO I feel very TIRED today. titbit (not tidbit) titles When punctuating the title of a book, film, poem, song, etc., take care to begin the first word and all subsequent key words with a capital letter. Have you read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee? Titles can be italicised (in print and word-processing) or underlined or enclosed in inverted commas (single or double). The film Schindler's List is based on the book by Thomas Keneally called Schindler's Ark. I'm so pleased that Diary of a Nobody is being serialised. Have you seen the new production of 'Macbeth' at the Barbican? to, too or two? You should give this TO the police. Do you know how TO swim? (part of infinitive = to swim) I was TOO embarrassed to say anything. (= excessively) Can we come TOO? (= also) They have TWO houses, one in London and one in France. tolerant (not tollerant or tolerent) tomato (singular) tomatoes (plural) (an exception to rule) See PLURALS (iv). 201 TOMORROW tomorrow (not tommorrow) tonsillitis tornado (singular) tornadoes or tornados (plural) See PLURALS (iv). torpedo (singular) torpedoes (plural) (an exception to rule) See PLURALS (iv). tortuous or torturous? TORTUOUS = full of twists and turns, complex, convoluted TORTUROUS = painful, agonising, excruciating total totally total + ly toupee (not toupee) traffic trafficked, trafficking, trafficker See SOFT c AND SOFT G. tragedy (not tradgedy) tragic (not tradgic) transfer transferred, transferring, transference See ADDING ENDINGS (iv). transpire Strictly speaking, this verb has two meanings: to give off moisture (of plant or leaf) to come slowly to be known, to leak out (of secret information) 202 TRY It is often used loosely in the sense of 'to happen'. Why not use 'to happen' instead of this rather pompous word? travel travelled, travelling, traveller See ADDING ENDINGS (iv). trivia This is a plural noun and should be matched with a plural verb. Such TRIVIA are to be condemned. troop or troupe? TROOP refers to the armed forces or to groups of people or particular animals: a TROOP of scouts a TROOP of children a TROOP of monkeys TROUPE refers to a group of touring actors, dancers, musicians or other entertainers. trooper or trouper? TROOPER = cavalry soldier or member of an armoured unit He swears like a TROOPER at nine years old. TROUPER = a touring entertainer Jack Densley is a grand old TROUPER. truly (not truely, an exception to the -y rule) See ADDING ENDINGS (ii). try tried, trying See ADDING ENDINGS (iii). 203 TUMULUS tumulus (singular) tumuli (plural) See FOREIGN PLURALS. turf (singular) turfs or turves (plural) See PLURALS (v). twelfth (not twelth, as it is often mispronounced) twentieth See ADDING ENDINGS (iii). twenty typical typically typical + ly 204 . exception to the -y rule) See ADDING ENDINGS (ii). try tried, trying See ADDING ENDINGS (iii). 2 03 TUMULUS tumulus (singular) tumuli (plural) See FOREIGN PLURALS. turf (singular) turfs or