Guide To Good English

Guide to Good English 1. PARTS OF SPEECH In this section the traditional names are used for parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, and preposition). Two other terms are sometimes used in describing grammar. One is modifier, which means any word that modifies the meaning of another word (usually a noun). It is broader in scope than ‘adjective’ and includes, for example, table in table lamp as well as bright in a bright lamp or the lamp was bright. The other is determiner, which means any word such as a, the, this, those, and every which you put before a noun to show how you are using the noun (as in a fire, the fire, this fire, those fires, and every fire).

Nouns A noun is a word that names something: a person (woman, boy, Frances), a thing (building, tree), or an idea (birth, happiness). A common noun names things generally, whereas a proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. Collective nouns, such as audience, family, generation, government, team, are nouns which refer to groups of people or things. They can be treated as singular or plural: see agreement below.

Proper nouns Proper nouns are normally spelled with a capital initial letter and refer to persons or things of which there is only one example (Asia, Ark Royal, Dickens). The term is sometimes understood more broadly to include geographical and ethnic designations such as American and Ashanti, which behave like common nouns, for example in allowing the forms an American and the Ashanti. Some genuinely proper names can also behave like common nouns in certain uses, for example a fine Picasso (= a painting by Picasso), another Callas (= a singer comparable to Callas). In these uses it is usual to retain the capital initial letter.

Verbal nouns A verbal noun (also called a gerund) is a form of a verb ending with -ing that acts as a noun, for example smoking in the phrase no smoking and in the sentence Smoking annoys people. It should be distinguished from smoking used as an adjective (a smoking fire) and as the present participle of the verb (The man was smoking).

Because a verbal noun is a part of a verb as well as being a noun, it keeps some of the characteristics of verbs in its grammatical behaviour; for example the forms They objected to me swearing (non-possessive) and They objected to my swearing (possessive) are both established in ordinary usage, although the second, in which swearing is treated as a full noun, is often preferred in more formal writing.

Verbs A verb is a word that describes an action (go, sit, put) or state (be, live) and is normally an essential element in a clause or sentence. A verb is classified as transitive when the action affects a person or thing called the object (We lit a fire), and as intransitive when there is no object (She smiled).

Using the correct tense Tense is the location in time of the state or action expressed by a verb. English verbs properly have only two tenses, the present (I am) and the past (I was). The future is formed with shall or will, other forms of the past are formed with auxiliary verbs (I have been / I was being), and the past perfect is formed with the past tense of have (I had been). The tense used mostly corresponds to actual time, apart from conventional uses such as the socalled ‘historic present’, used for dramatic effect in narratives (as in George gets up and walks over to the window), and the future used in polite requests (as in Will that be all for now?). However, choice of tense (called ‘sequence of tenses’) becomes more complex in reported speech. If a simple statement such as I’m afraid I haven’t finished is put into indirect speech by means of a reporting verb such as said, thought, etc., the tense of the reported action changes in accordance with the time perspective of the speaker: He said he was afraid he hadn’t finished. The tense of the reported verb can stay the same if the time relative to the speaker is the same as that relative to the person reported: She likes beans can be converted either to She said she liked beans or to She said she likes beans, and I won’t be here tomorrow can be converted either to I said I wouldn’t be here tomorrow or to I said I won’t be here tomorrow.

shall and will With I and we, shall should be used to form the simple future tense (expressing a prediction of a future action), while will is used to express an intention to do something: t I shall be late for work. t We will not tolerate this rudeness. With you, he, she, it, and they, the situation is reversed; simple future action is expressed with will, while shall expresses an intention or command:

Each was required to undertake that if it were chosen it would place work here. 2 be or were at the beginning of a clause with the subject following: Were I to get drunk, it would help me in the fight. All books, be they fiction or non-fiction, should provide entertainment in some form or other. 2 in certain fixed expressions and phrases, e.g. be that as it may, come what may, perish the thought, so be it, and others.

t He will be late for work. t You shall join us or die! In speech, these distinctions are often not observed.

should and would The situation is similar with should and would. Strictly speaking, should is used with I and we, while would is used with you, he, she, it, and they: t I should be grateful if you would let me know. t You didn’t say you would be late. In practice, however, it is normal to use would instead of should in reported speech and conditional clauses, such as I said I would be late.

Active and passive Verbs can be either active, in which the subject is the person or thing performing the action (as in France beat Brazil in the final), or passive, in which the subject undergoes the action (Brazil were beaten by France). In the passive voice verbs are usually formed with be, and the subject is expressed as an agent introduced by the preposition by. The passive is also used for impersonal constructions with it:

Participles There are two kinds of participle in English: the present participle ending with -ing as in We are going, and the past participle ending with -d or -ed for many verbs and with -t or -en or some other form for others, as in Have you decided?, New houses are being built, and It’s not broken. Participles are often used to introduce subordinate clauses that are attached to other words in a sentence, e.g. Her mother, opening the door quietly, came into the room. A stylistic error occurs with so-called ‘unattached’, ‘misrelated’, or ‘dangling’ participles, when the participle does not refer to the noun to which it is attached, normally the subject of the sentence: p Recently converted into apartments, I passed by the house where I grew up. Certain participles, such as considering, assuming, excepting, given, provided, seeing, speaking (of), etc., have virtually become prepositions or conjunctions in their own right, and their use in a grammatically free role is now standard: t Speaking of money, do you mind my asking what you did with yours?

It is believed that no action should be taken. It is felt that your complaint arises from a misunderstanding. Other verbs besides be can be used to form socalled ‘semi-passives’ (as in He got changed, They seem bothered). Here changed and bothered are behaving almost more like adjectives.

Subjunctive The subjunctive is a special form (or mood) of a verb expressing a wish or possibility instead of fact. It has a limited role in English: It was suggested he wait till the next morning. Fundamentalist Islam decrees that men and women be strictly segregated. In these sentences, the verbs wait (in the first) and be (in the second) are in the subjunctive; the ordinary forms (called the indicative) would be waits and are. There are other typical uses of the subjunctive: 2 after if (or as if, as though, unless) in hypothetical conditions:

Adjectives and adverbs An adjective is a word used to describe a noun, such as sweet, red, or technical. An adverb is typically a word used to modify a verb, adjective, or other adverb, such as gently, lazily, or very.

Position Most adjectives can be used in two positions: either before the noun they describe, where they are called ‘attributive’, as in a black cat and a gloomy outlook, or after a verb such as be, become, grow, look, or seem, where they are called ‘predicative’, as in the cat was black and the prospect looks gloomy. Some adjectives are nearly always used in the predicative position and cannot stand before a noun (e.g. afraid), while others are only found in the attributive position (e.g. main).

Adjectives following a noun In many fixed standard expressions, adjectives denoting status are placed immediately after the

nouns they describe, e.g. in court martial, heir apparent, poet laureate, president elect, situations vacant, and the village proper. In other cases, an adjective follows a noun as a matter of sentence structure rather than peculiarity of expression: The waiter picked up our dirty glasses in his fingertips, his eyes impassive.

Conjunctions A conjunction is a word such as and, because, but, for, if, or, and when, used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. On the use of and and but at the beginning of a sentence, see SENTENCES below.

Prepositions Position of adverbs Adverbs normally come between the subject and its verb, or between an auxiliary verb and a main verb: She dutifully observes all its quaint rules. Roosevelt’s financial policy was roundly criticized in 1933. But for emphasis, or when the adverb belongs closely to what follows the main verb, it comes after the verb and before a following adverbial phrase: There is little chance that the student will function effectively after he returns home.

Sentence adverbs Some adverbs (such as clearly, happily, hopefully, thankfully, unhappily) refer to a whole statement, and form a comment associated more closely with the speaker or writer than with what is said. In this role they are called ‘sentence adverbs’. Sentence adverbs often stand at the beginning of the sentence: Clearly, we will have to think again. Sentence adverbs are well established in English, although the use of thankfully and (in particular) hopefully can arouse controversy: s Hopefully the road should be finished. Although objection to such use is artificial, be aware that some people may take exception to these words, especially in written or formal contexts.

Pronouns A pronoun is a word such as I, we, they, me, you, them, etc., and other forms such as the possessive hers and theirs and the reflexive myself and themselves. They are used to refer to (and take the place of) a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned or is known, especially in order to avoid repetition, as in the sentence When she saw her husband again, she wanted to hit him.

Reflexive pronouns Reflexive pronouns are the type formed with -self, e.g. myself, herself, and ourselves, used in sentences in which the subject of the verb and the object are the same person or thing, as in We enjoyed ourselves and Make yourself at home.

A preposition is a word such as after, in, to, and with, which usually stands before a noun or pronoun and establishes the way it relates to what has gone before (The man on the platform, They came after dinner, and What did you do it for?). It is sometimes stated that a preposition should always precede the word it governs and should not end a sentence. However, there are cases when it is either impossible or not natural to organize the sentence in a way that avoids a final preposition: 2 in relative clauses and questions featuring verbs with linked adverbs or prepositions: What did Marion think she was up to? They must be convinced of the commitment they are taking on. 2 in passive constructions: The dress had not even been paid for. 2 in short sentences including an infinitive with to or a verbal noun: It was my dancing he objected to.

2. INFLECTION Inflection is the process by which words (principally nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) change their form, especially their ending, in accordance with their grammatical role in a sentence.

Verbs Verbs normally add -s or -es to form third-person present-tense forms (changes, wants), -ed to form past tenses and past participles (changed, wanted), and -ing to form present participles (changing, wanting). However, some verbs form tenses by changing their stem (throw, threw, thrown), and others are completely irregular (have, had, had; go, went, gone). Verbs drop a final silent -e when the suffix begins with a vowel (as in shave, shaving). But a final -e is usually retained to preserve the soft sound of the g in twingeing and whingeing. It is also retained where it is needed to avoid confusion with similar words, for example in dyeing (from dye) as distinct from dying (from die).

Nouns English nouns normally form their plurals by adding -s, or -es if the singular form ends in -s, -x, z, -sh, or soft -ch (as in church but not loch).

Nouns ending in -y form plurals with -ies (policy, policies), unless the ending is -ey, in which case the plural form is normally -eys (valley, valleys).

Nouns ending in -f and -fe Nouns ending in -f and -fe form plurals sometimes with -fs (handkerchief, handkerchiefs; oaf, oafs; proof, proofs; roof, roofs), sometimes -ves (calf, calves; half, halves; knife, knives; shelf, shelves) and occasionally both -fes and -ves (dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves; hoof, hoofs or hooves).

Nouns ending in -o Plurals of nouns ending in -o cause difficulty in English because there are few convenient rules for choosing between -os (as in ratios) and -oes (as in heroes). As a guideline, the following typically form plurals with -os:

loudest). Words of two syllables ending in -l double the l (e.g. cruel, crueller, cruellest). Adjectives of three or more syllables use forms with more and most (more beautiful, most interesting, etc.).

Adverbs Adverbs that take -er and -est in preference to (or as well as) more and most are: 2 adverbs that are not formed with -ly but are identical in form to corresponding adjectives (e.g. runs faster, hits hardest, hold it tighter). 2 some independent adverbs (e.g. often and soon). Adverbs ending in -ly formed from adjectives (e.g. richly, softly, wisely) generally do not have -er and -est forms but appear as more softly, most wisely, etc.

2 words in which a vowel (usually i or e ) precedes the final -o (trios, videos). 2 words that are shortenings of other words (demos, hippos). 2 words introduced from foreign languages (boleros, placebos). Names of animals and plants normally form plurals with -oes (buffaloes, tomatoes).

Adjectives and adverbs: comparatives and superlatives Adjectives An adjective has three forms: a positive (hot, splendid), a comparative (hotter, more splendid), and a superlative (hottest, most splendid). Adjectives that form comparatives and superlatives using -er and -est in preference to (or as well as) more and most are:

3. SENTENCES A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense, contains a main verb, and begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (or the equivalent such as a question mark or an exclamation mark). There are three basic kinds of sentence: 2 a simple sentence normally contains one statement: the train should be here soon. 2 a compound sentence contains more than one statement, normally joined by a conjunction such as and or but: I have looked at the evidence and I have to say it is not sufficient. 2 a complex sentence contains a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses, such as a conditional clause beginning with if or a relative clause introduced by which or who: The story would make headlines if it ever became public.

2 words of one syllable (e.g. fast, hard, rich, wise). 2 words of two syllables ending in -y and -ly (e.g. angry, early, happy, holy, likely, lively) and corresponding un- forms when these exist (e.g. unhappy, unlikely). Words ending in -y change the y to i (e.g. angrier, earliest). 2 words of two syllables ending in -le (e.g. able, humble, noble, simple), -ow (e.g. mellow, narrow, shallow), and some ending in -er (e.g. clever, tender). 2 some words of two syllables pronounced with the stress on the second syllable (e.g. polite, profound, but not antique, bizarre, and others). 2 other words of two syllables that do not belong to any classifiable group (e.g. common, cruel, pleasant, quiet). Words of one syllable ending in a single consonant double the consonant when it is preceded by a single vowel (glad, gladder, gladdest; hot, hotter, hottest) but not when it is preceded by more than one vowel (clean, cleaner, cleanest; loud, louder,

Relative clauses: using words like who and when A relative clause is one connected to a main clause by a relative pronoun or adjective such as who or whom, which, whose, or that, or by a relative adverb such as when and where. (These words, apart from that, are collectively called wh- words, and a wh- word means any of these.) Most problems with this kind of clause are to do with the choice between that and a wh- word, principally which, who, or whom. For much of the time that is interchangeable with any of these words, and it is the more usual choice in everyday writing and conversation. There are two types of relative clause, called ‘restrictive’ and ‘non-restrictive’. A restrictive clause gives essential information about a noun or noun phrase that comes before (She held out the hand that was hurt). A non-restrictive clause gives extra information that could be left out without

affecting the structure or meaning of the sentence (She held out her hand, which I clasped in both of mine). A restrictive clause can be introduced by that, which, who, or whose and is not normally preceded by a comma, whereas a non-restrictive clause is normally introduced by which, who, or whose (and not usually that), and is preceded by a comma. Sometimes that is more idiomatic than which, for example when the construction is based on an impersonal it or an indefinite pronoun such as anything: There is something that I forgot to mention. Is there anything that you want? That is also more usual when which already occurs earlier in the sentence in another role, for example as an interrogative word: Which is the one that you want?

Beginning sentences with and and but It is not wrong to begin a sentence with a conjunction such as and or but. The practice is common in literature and can be effective. It is also used for other rhetorical purposes, especially to denote surprise (And are you really going?) and sometimes just to introduce an improvised afterthought (I’m going to swim. And don’t you dare watch).

Negatives and double negatives A repeated negative of the type He never did no harm to no one is incorrect. However, a double negative is acceptable when it is used with intentional cancelling effect as a figure of speech, as in It has not gone unnoticed. Double negatives also occur, especially in speech, in uses of the type You can’t not go (= you cannot consider not going, i.e. you have to go), in which not go is effectively a single idea expressed in a verb phrase.

4. AGREEMENT Agreement is the process of making words fit the context of sentences, for example ensuring that the singular form of a verb accompanies a singular subject. For most of the time we apply the rules of agreement instinctively, but problems can arise in sentences involving certain phrases and combinations.

Agreement within phrases Awkward phrases Some expressions can cause uncertainty because they are grammatically ambiguous or combine

seemingly contradictory roles, for example phrases such as more than one and either or both: More than one dealer has shown an interest in the painting. The meaning is clearly plural, but the grammar remains singular because one is closer to the verb as well as being the dominant word in its phrase (we could not say More than one dealer have shown an interest in the painting). s The purchaser gets a licence to use either or both products. Here there is a problem of agreement with the following noun, because either calls for the singular form product whereas both calls for the plural form products; both wins out because it is closer to the noun. Usually a better solution is to rephrase the sentence to avoid the problem altogether: t The purchaser gets a licence to use either or both of the products.

Compound subjects Two nouns joined by and are normally treated as plural: Speed and accuracy are top of the list. But when the two nouns form a phrase that can be regarded as a single unit, they are sometimes treated as singular, even when one of them is plural: Fish and chips is my favourite meal When a singular noun forming the subject of a sentence is followed by an additional element tagged on by means of a phrase such as as well as, accompanied by, or together with, the following verb should be singular and not plural, since the singular noun is by itself the true subject: The little girl, together with her friend Kerry, was busy filling her bucket with sand.

Singular and plural nouns Singular nouns treated as plural Some nouns are singular in form but are used with a verb that can be either singular or plural, or in some cases only plural. The commonest of these are the collective nouns which stand for a group or collection of people or things, such as audience, committee, crew, family, generation, government, group, jury, team, and many others. The general rule with words like these is to treat them as singular when the emphasis is on the group as a whole and as plural when the emphasis is on the individuals that form the group: A group of four young men in overalls was standing close to him. (singular) The jury retired at the end of the day to consider their verdict. (plural) Some collective nouns are fully plural: By and large the police do a good job.

Plural nouns treated as singular Other nouns are plural in form but are treated as singular, either always or in some meanings. Chief among these are the names of branches of knowledge or science, such as acoustics and mathematics, activities such as billiards and gymnastics, and diseases such as measles: Acoustics is taught as part of the extended course. The figures show that measles is on the increase. Other plural nouns, such as data, media, and agenda, are now commonly treated as singular. Depending on their meaning, they are either countable nouns, which can be used with a or an and have plural forms, e.g. agendas, or mass nouns, which do not have a plural form but are used in the singular with words such as this and much: The media has lost interest in the subject. This data is in a form that can be used by other institutions. Some plural words adopted unchanged from other languages, such as spaghetti and graffiti, develop singular meanings: The furniture had been damaged and graffiti was daubed on the walls.

Subjects and objects When the subject of the verb be is singular but the part that follows is plural, the verb should generally agree with its subject, regardless of what follows: The only traffic is ox carts and bicycles. When the subject is a singular collective noun, the verb may be in the plural, following the usual pattern with such nouns: Its prey are other small animals.

Indefinite pronouns Pronouns such as each, either, neither, and none are called indefinite pronouns. When used on their own like a noun, they can vary between singular and plural. They are treated as singular when the emphasis is on the individuals: Neither the chairman nor the chief executive is planning any dramatic gestures. None of them has had enough practical experience to run the company. and as plural when the emphasis is on the collection or group as a whole:

word (his, her, etc.) to use when referring to a subject whose gender is not specified. The safest option is to put his or her: Every student should hand in his or her assignment by Tuesday. But this can be awkward, especially when the sentence continues for some time with repeated references back to the original subject. In cases like this it is now acceptable to use a plural form of pronoun: Every student should hand in their assignment by Tuesday.

Either … or … and neither … nor … A problem arises when one of the alternatives in an either ... or ... or neither ... nor ... construction is singular and the other plural. Here, the normal choice is to make the verb agree with the one closer to it: t Either the twins or their mother is responsible for this. But often a better solution is to recast the sentence to avoid the problem: t Either the twins are responsible for this or their mother is.

Personal pronouns I, we, he, she, and they are subjective pronouns, which act as the subjects of verbs, while me, us, him, her, and them are objective, acting as the objects of verbs and prepositions: It’s a tiny bit boring, between you and me. The boys are coming with Gavin and me. After the verb be it is more natural and usual to use me, us, him, her, or they (the objective pronouns), although what follows be is not an object but a complement: I said it was only me. That’s us sitting on the bench. The subjective forms (I, we, he, she, or they) are not wrong but often sound stilted, especially the first-person forms I and we: s I said it was only I. It is, however, usual to use the subjective forms when a relative clause (introduced by who or that) follows: t It was I who did it.

Neither his mother nor his father earn much money now. None of the staff were aware of the ransom demand.

Plural pronouns used in the singular There is often uncertainty about what possessive

5. PUNCTUATION The purpose of punctuation is to make writing clear, by clarifying the structure of continuous writing and indicating how words relate to each other.

Full stop The principal use of the full stop is to mark the end of a sentence that is a statement: Bernard went over to the bookcase and took down an atlas. This applies to sentences when they are not complete statements or contain ellipsis: London. Implacable November weather. If an abbreviation with a full stop comes at the end of a sentence, another full stop is not added: Bring your own pens, pencils, rulers, etc.

Comma The role of the comma is to give detail to the structure of sentences and to make their meaning clear by marking off words that either do or do not belong together. It usually represents the natural breaks and pauses that you make in speech, and operates at phrase level and word level:

At phrase level You should use a comma to mark off parts of a sentence that are separated by conjunctions (and, but, yet, etc.). This is especially important when there is a change or repetition of the subject, or when the sentence is a long one: Mokosh could foretell the future, and she could change herself into any form she pleased. Readings are taken at points on a grid marked out on the ground, and the results are usually plotted in the form of computer-drawn diagrams. It is not normally correct to join the clauses of a compound sentence without a conjunction: p His was the last house, the road ended with him. Nor is it correct to separate a subject from its verb with a single comma: p Those with the lowest incomes and no other means, should get the most support. A comma also separates parts of a sentence that balance or complement each other, and can introduce direct speech, especially in continuation of dialogue: He was getting better, but not as fast as his doctor wished. Then Laura said, ‘Do you mean that?’ An important function of the comma is to prevent ambiguity or momentary misunderstanding: Mr Hogg said that he had shot, himself, as a small boy. Commas are used in pairs to separate elements in a sentence that are asides or not part of the main statement: All history, of course, is the history of wars. Commas are also used to separate a relative clause that is non-restrictive (see relative clauses above):

The money, which totals more than half a million, comes from three anonymous donors. A single comma sometimes follows adverbs, phrases, and subordinate clauses that come at the beginning of a sentence: Moreover, they had lied about where they had been. When the sun began to sink, she could take the riverside walk to the hotel. A comma is always needed with however when it means ‘by contrast’ or ‘on the other hand’: However, a good deal of discretion is left in the hands of area managers.

At word level A comma is used to separate adjectives having the same range of reference coming before a noun: a cold, damp, badly heated room The comma is omitted when the adjectives have a different range of reference (for example, size and colour) or when the last adjective has a closer relation to the noun: his baggy green jacket a distinguished foreign politician Commas are used to separate items in a list or sequence: The visitors were given tea, scones, and cake. (The final comma before and is regarded by many people as unnecessary and left out; this dictionary always includes one.) Leave out the comma between nouns that occur together in the same grammatical role in a sentence (called apposition): My friend Judge Peters was not at home. But use one when the noun is a piece of extra information that could be removed from the sentence without any noticeable effect on the meaning: His father, Humphrey V. Roe, was not so fortunate.

Semicolon The main role of the semicolon is to mark a grammatical separation that is stronger in effect than a comma but less strong than a full stop. Normally the two parts of a sentence divided by a semicolon balance each other, rather than leading from one to the other: The sky grew bright with sunset; the earth glowed. Honey looked up and glared; the man scurried away. You can also use a semicolon as a stronger division in a sentence that already contains commas: What has crippled me? Was it my grandmother, frowning on my childish affection and turning it to formality and cold courtesy; or my timid,

fearful mother, in awe of everyone including, finally, me; or was it my wife’s infidelities, or my own?

Colon Whereas a semicolon links two balanced statements, a colon leads from the first statement to the second. Typically it links a general or introductory statement to an example, a cause to an effect, or a premise to a conclusion. He was being made to feel more part of the family: the children kissed him goodnight, like a third parent. You also use a colon to introduce a list: The price includes the following: travel to London, flight to Venice, hotel accommodation, and excursions.

Apostrophe The principal role of the apostrophe is to indicate a possessive, as in Tessa’s house and the town’s mayor. Singular nouns form the possessive by adding ’s (the dog’s bark = one dog), and plural nouns ending in -s add an apostrophe after the -s (the dogs’ barks = more than one dog). When a plural noun ends in a letter other than s, the possessive is formed by adding ’s : the children’s games, the oxen’s hoofs, etc. Beware of an apostrophe wrongly applied to an ordinary plural, particularly in words ending in -o but also in quite harmless words such as apples and pears (e.g. p pear’s 30p a pound). Beware also of confusing the possessive whose with who’s, which is a contraction of who is (e.g. p Who’s turn is it?). For names ending in -s, the best course is to add ’s when you would pronounce the resulting form with an extra s in speech (e.g. Charles’s, Dickens’s, Thomas’s, The Times’s); and omit ’s otherwise (e.g. Bridges’, Connors’, Herodotus’). With French names ending in (silent) -s or -x, add ’s (e.g. Dumas’s, le Roux’s) and pronounce the modified word with a final -z. An apostrophe should not be used in the pronouns hers, its, ours, yours, and theirs. Be careful to distinguish its from it’s. Its (no apostrophe) is a possessive meaning ‘belonging to it’, whereas it’s (with an apostrophe) is a contraction meaning ‘it is’ or ‘it has’: Give the cat its dinner. It’s hard to know where to start. An apostrophe is not normally used in the plural of abbreviated forms (e.g. several MPs were standing around), although it is used in the possessive (e.g. the BBC’s decision to go ahead with the broadcast). Another important use of the apostrophe is to mark contractions such as I’ll, they’ve, couldn’t, and she’s.

Hyphens In print a hyphen is half the length of a dash, but in writing there is often little noticeable difference. While the dash has the purpose of separating words and groups of words, the hyphen is meant to link words and parts of words. The use of hyphens is very variable in English, but the following guidelines reflect generally agreed principles. The hyphen is used to join two or more words so as to form a single word (often called a compound word), e.g. free-for-all, multi-ethnic, right-handed, and punch-drunk. Straightforward noun compounds are now much more often spelled either as two words (boiling point, credit card, focus group) or as one, even when this involves a collision of consonants, which used to be a reason for putting in the hyphen (database, earring, breaststroke). In American English compound nouns generally written as two words in British English are often written as one word. There are two cases in which a compound spelled as two words is made into a hyphened form or a one-word form: 2 when a verb phrase such as hold up or back up is made into a noun (hold-up, backup); 2 when a noun compound is made into a verb (e.g. a date stamp but to date-stamp). Note that a normal phrasal verb should not be hyphenated: write continue to build up your pension not continue to build-up your pension. A hyphen is often used: 2 to join a prefix ending in a vowel (such as coand neo-) to another word (e.g. co-opt, neoImpressionism), although one-word forms are becoming more usual (cooperate, neoclassical). 2 to avoid ambiguity by separating a prefix from the main word, e.g. to distinguish re-cover (= provide with a new cover) from recover and resign (= sign again) from resign. 2 to join a prefix to a name or designation, e.g. anti-Christian, ex-husband. 2 to stand for a common second element in all but the last word of a list, e.g. two-, three-, or fourfold. 2 to clarify meanings in groups of words which might otherwise be unclear or ambiguous (e.g. twenty-odd people came to the meeting). You should also use a hyphen to clarify the meaning of a compound that is normally spelled as separate words, when it is used before a noun: an upto-date record but the record is up to date. There is no need to insert a hyphen between an adverb ending in -ly and an adjective qualified by it, even when they come before the noun: a highly competitive market, recently published material. When the adverb does not end in -ly, however, a hyphen is normally required to make the meaning clear when the adverb precedes the noun: a wellknown woman (but the woman is well known).