R. L. Trask
Say What You Mean!
A Troubleshooter’s Guide
to English Style and Usage
David R . Godine
Publisher · Boston
a
, an Which form of the article should be used before a word beginning with h? If the h is silent, of course, then an must be used: an honest
man, an hour or two. If the h is pronounced, and the first syllable is
stressed, then only a is possible: a history of Sussex is right, while ✘an history of Sussex is never acceptable.
The problems arise when the first syllable is unstressed. Should we
write a historical event or an historical event? The second derives from
the days when many people pronounced these words with no h; that is,
they really said an ’istorical event, and so that’s what they wrote. Today,
though, almost everyone now pronounces an h in such words, and you
are firmly advised to prefer a historical event. The other now looks strange
or worse to most readers. The same goes for a hotel, which is better than
an hotel.
Otherwise, the choice between a and an depends entirely on the pronunciation of the following item, not on its spelling. Write a union, because
union is pronounced with an initial consonant sound (just like a Yule log),
but write an M.D., because M.D. is pronounced with an initial vowel
sound (just like an empty box).
abattoir The word is so spelled, with one b and two t’s.
a, an |
abbreviations An abbreviation is a short way of writing a word or
phrase that could also be written out in full, using only letters of the
alphabet and possibly periods. Examples include Dr. for Doctor, lb. for
pound(s), and e.g. for for example. An abbreviation does not normally have
a distinct pronunciation of its own. These properties distinguish abbreviations from acronyms and initialisms like NATO and BBC, from
clipped forms like gym and phone, and from symbols like ✘ and 5.
With only a few exceptions, it is poor style to use abbreviations in the
body of your writing. The only abbreviations that are properly used in
most writing are the following: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. (with surnames, though
the middle two are only abbreviations by courtesy, since they abbreviate
nothing), a few titles like MP and C EO, a.m. and p.m., and a.d. and b.c.
(or their variants c.e. and b.c.e. [see a.d.]).
You should write for example, not ✘e.g.; the second volume, not ✘the
2nd vol.; the twentieth century, not ✘the 20th cent. or ✘C20; miles per hour,
not ✘m.p.h.; Professor Chomsky, not ✘Prof. Chomsky; and so on. It is far
more important to make your writing easy to read than to save a few seconds in writing it.
One important exception arises in scientific writing, in which names
of units are always abbreviated in a standard way, with no periods and no
plural -s: write 50 kg, not ✘50 kilograms or ✘50 kg. or ✘50 kgs.
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Note that, when the abbreviation contains the first and last letters of
the word, British usage favors no period, while American usage prefers
the period: hence British Mr and Dr versus American Mr. and Dr., for
example.
See also L atin abbreviations.
ability, capacity, capability Applied to a person, the first two
mean about the same, but they don’t behave grammatically in the same
way. You have an ability to do something, but a capacity for doing something. As for the third, this is best used in the plural and with no material
following: your capabilities are your abilities and your talents as a whole.
abjure, adjure To abjure something is to renounce it, especially under
oath, to swear to have nothing more to do with it: He abjured his homeland forever. To adjure somebody to do something is to entreat him
earnestly to do it or to make him swear to do it: They adjured him to stay
away from gambling. The two should not be confused. If you have trouble
with them, avoid them in favor of simpler words.
| ability, capaciity, capability
able Only a human being is able to do anything: Jan will be able to join us
after lunch. It is poor style to write that an animal or a thing is able to do
something and very bad style to follow able with a passive. Do not write
✘This equation is able to be solved by computer; write This equation can
be solved by computer.
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-able, -ible As a general rule, a word of English or French origin takes
-able (washable, portable), while a word of Latin origin takes -ible (audible). But there are exceptions, and anyway this rule is unlikely to be of
much use to you. Since -able is far more frequent than -ible, I list below
the most frequent words ending in -ible. I omit rare, obsolete, and technical words.
accessible
admissible
audible
collapsible
combustible
comestible
compatible
comprehensible
compressible
constructible
contemptible
controvertible
convertible
corruptible
credible
deducible
deductible
defensible
destructible
digestible
dirigible
discernible
dismissible
dispersible
divisible
edible
eligible
exhaustible
expansible
expressible
fallible
feasible
flexible
forcible
gullible
horrible
immersible
indelible
incorrigible
intelligible
invincible
irascible
legible
miscible
negligible
omissible
ostensible
perceptible
perfectible
permissible
plausible
possible
reducible
refrangible
reprehensible
repressible
resistible
responsible
reversible
risible
sensible
submergible
submersible
submissible
suggestible
suppressible
susceptible
tangible
terrible
transmissible
visible
Many of these form negatives. Their negatives are usually formed with
in- (inaudible, indigestible), or with im- before p (impermissible), with irbefore r (irresponsible), or with il- before l (illegible). The exceptions are
unfeasible, unintelligible, and unsusceptible.
Other common words take -able, like reliable, potable, and comfortable. A final e in the source word is usually dropped before the suffix (love,
lovable), but the e is retained if the spelling would otherwise suggest the
wrong pronunciation (replace, replaceable, not ✘replacable; pronounce,
pronounceable, not ✘pronouncable). A short stem like dye may take either
spelling: dyable or dyeable.
The derived nouns follow the same spelling: accessibility but reliability.
When in doubt, consult a good dictionary.
abolition, abolishment In most contexts, the noun derived from
the verb abolish is abolition, but abolishment is sometimes preferred in
legal and financial contexts. So, we write of the abolition of slavery but
possibly of the abolishment of mortgage relief.
abridgment, abridgement Both are correct. British English strongly
prefers abridgement, with the e; American usage prefers abridgment.
abrogate, arrogate |
aborigine, aboriginal The word aborigine is now widely considered offensive and should be avoided. The alternative aboriginal is still
acceptable and is widely preferred in Australia. But this is an adjective,
and outside Australia, many readers will be annoyed to see it used as a
noun (➧ the aboriginals). It is always safe, and recommended, to avoid
both words and write the indigenous people, or something similar. When
writing about a particular place, you are advised to write native Australians, native Americans, or whatever.
abrogate, arrogate To abrogate something is to cancel it or annul
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it. You can abrogate a treaty or an agreement, but it is usually better to
prefer an everyday word like revoke or repeal. To arrogate something is to
claim it for oneself without justification, most often to claim powers or
authority.
absence The phrase in the absence of is an example of wordiness.
Don’t write the clumsy ✘in the absence of the latest figures; write without
the latest figures.
absorb, adsorb The word absorb is an everyday word meaning “soak
up,” both literally and figuratively. The derived noun is absorption, and
✘absorbtion does not exist. But adsorb is a technical term in chemistry,
meaning “collect (molecules of gas or liquid) on the surface.”
abstinence The noun derived from abstain is abstinence, and there is
no such word as ✘abstination.
abstract nouns See nouniness.
abuse, misuse, disabuse To misuse something is to use it wrongly.
To abuse it is to misuse it so badly that you damage it. The noun form of
abuse is familiar to us from expressions like child abuse, and also drug
abuse, which is odd, because it is not the drugs that are abused but the
user’s body. To disabuse somebody of an idea is to show her that that idea
is wrong: They will be quickly disabused of the notion that linguistics is an
easy subject.
| absence
academic The central sense of this adjective is “pertaining to universities
or to scholarly research,” and the related noun academic means “person
who holds a teaching and research post in a university.” But the adjective
now has a second sense: “of no significance in the real world,” as in This
discussion is purely academic. Even academics use the term in this sense.
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academic titles If you hold an academic title such as Doctor or Professor, you should use that title only within the context of a university,
and even then only in formal contexts. In all other contexts, calling yourself Dr. Sylvia Horner or signing yourself Sylvia Horner, Ph.D. is pretentious
and will suggest to many readers that you are a shallow and ostentatious
phony hoping to awe gullible people. Look at any serious book written by
a real academic, and you will find the author’s title buried in small print
in the brief paragraph giving his or her background and credentials.
Note, by the way, that the system of academic ranks and titles is very
different in the United States and in Britain, and that no American title
corresponds very closely to any British one. The American titles are assistant professor, associate professor, (full) professor. The British titles, from
lowest to highest, are as follows, with a few complications ignored: lec-
turer, senior lecturer, principal lecturer (only in some of the newer universities), reader, professor. In both countries, there is a cachet attached to
holding a named chair (professorship).
accede To accede to something is to agree to it. The word is too
pompous for everyday use; write agree or consent instead.
accent An accent is a particular way of pronouncing a language. It is
important to realize that everybody has an accent; it is not possible to
speak a language without using some accent or other. Accordingly, it is
wrong to write things like ✘She spoke English without an accent. If she is
not a native speaker, and what you mean is that she had no trace of a foreign accent, then you can write She spoke English like a native. However,
if she is a native speaker, then you must choose some more accurate
wording, such as She spoke English with a Boston accent.
accent marks See diacritics.
accentuate This verb means “make prominent,” “put into relief ”: This
recording accentuates her Scottish accent. The word does not mean
“aggravate,” “make more serious,” and it should not be so used. Avoid
writing things like ✘The shortage of spare parts has accentuated the airline’s problems.
accept, except The word accept is a verb meaning “agree to”: We have
accepted their offer. The word except is usually a preposition meaning
“other than,” as in Everyone is here except Brenda, though it can also be a
verb meaning “exempt, exclude,” as in You will be excepted from this
requirement. Do not write the second when you mean the first.
accessible This word is applied to something that you can easily reach
or get hold of. Recently, it has become a vogue word for readable. Use the
plain word.
accommodation The word is so spelled, with two c’s and two m’s. Do
not write ✘acommodation or ✘accomodation.
accord, accordance When you do something of your own accord,
you do it voluntarily, without being asked or instructed to do it. Note the
preposition of here: ✘on your own accord is not standard English. However, when you do something in obedience to instructions, you do it in
accordance with those instructions.
accord, accordance |
accessory The word is so spelled, with two c’s and two s’s. In the sense
of “person indirectly involved in a crime,” the variant spelling accessary
was formerly usual in Britain, but is now rather old-fashioned, and accessory is recommended for all senses.
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