biweekly This word has two conflicting meanings and is perhaps best avoided. It can mean both every two weeks (i.e. fortnightly) and also twice a week. (Compare BIMONTHLY.) bizarre (not -zz-) blond or blonde? BLOND is used to describe men’s hair. BLOND 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. A BORDER is the edge or boundary of something. boisterous (not boistrous, although often mispronounced as two 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 of) 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) BORROW OR LEND? 27 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. 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. BOTH AND 28 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 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) Brittany (not Britanny) broach or brooch? You BROACH adifficulttopicor BROACH abottle. You wear a BROOCH. broccoli (not brocolli) broken (not brocken) brought See BOUGHT OR BROUGHT?. buffalo (singular) buffaloes (plural) See PLURALS (iv). building (not -iu-) buisness Wrong spelling. See BUSINESS. BUISNESS 29 bureau bureaux, bureaus (plural) Both forms are correct. See FOREIGN PLURALS. bureaucracy (not -sy) burglar (not burgular, as often mispronounced) burned/burnt Both forms are correct. business (not buisness) but See AND/BUT. buy/by Use these exemplar sentences as a guide: IneedtoBUY some new jeans. The book is BY Charlotte Bronte ¨ . Wait BY the gate. The children rushed BY. BUREAU 30 C cactus (singular) cactuses or cacti (plural) See FOREIGN PLURALS. caffeine (not -ie-) -cal/-cle Adjectives end in -cal. Nouns end in -cle. e.g. critical article logical bicycle magical circle musical cubicle nautical cuticle physical miracle practical particle theatrical spectacle tropical uncle whimsical vehicle calculator (not -er) calendar calf (singular) calves (plural) See PLURALS (v). callous or callus? CALLOUS means cruel, insensitive, not caring about how others feel. CALLUS means a hard patch of skin or tissue. Interestingly, skin may be CALLOUSED (made hard) or CALLUSED (having calluses). can or may? Strictly speaking, CAN means ‘being able’ and MAY means ‘having permission’. It is best to preserve this distinction in formal contexts. However, informally, CAN is used to cover both meanings: 31 You CAN go now (= are permitted). caning or canning? cane+ing=caning CANING is now banned in all schools. Can + ing = canning The CANNING factory is closing down. (See ADDING ENDINGS (i) and (ii).) canister (not -nn-) cannon or canon? A CANON is a cleric. A CANNON is a large gun. cannot or can not? Both forms are acceptable but the second is rarely seen. canoe canoed, canoeing, canoeist See ADDING ENDINGS (ii). canon See CANNON OR CANON?. can’t Contraction of CANNOT. canvas or canvass? CANVAS is a rough cloth. To CANVASS is to ask for votes. capital letters Use a capital letter in these circumstances: " to begin a sentence: My father will be fifty tomorrow. " to begin sentences of direct speech: ‘You will be sorry for this in the morning,’ she said. She said, ‘You will be sorry for this in the morning. You never learn.’ " for the pronoun ‘I’ wherever it comes in the sentence: You know that I have no money. " for all proper nouns – names of: people (Mary Browne) countries (Malta) CANING OR CANNING? 32 . bureaus (plural) Both forms are correct. See FOREIGN PLURALS. bureaucracy (not -sy) burglar (not burgular, as often mispronounced) burned/burnt Both forms are correct. business (not buisness) but. met her?) has won £250,000. Notice how sentences in brackets are not fully punctuated. BOTH AND 28 They don’t begin with a capital letter or have a full stop at the end if they occur within another. of something. boisterous (not boistrous, although often mispronounced as two syllables) boney/bony Both spellings are correct, although the second spelling is more commonly used. border See BOARDER OR BORDER?. bored