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five-ninths iii Hyphens are used to join compound words so that they become one word: my son-in-law a twenty-pound note her happy-go-lucky smile You will sometimes need to check in a dic

five-ninths

(iii) Hyphens are used to join compound words so that they become one word:

my son-in-law

a twenty-pound note

her happy-go-lucky smile

You will sometimes need to check in a

dictionary whether a word is hyphenated or not Sometimes words written separately in a ten-year-old dictionary will be hyphenated in a more modern one; sometimes words hyphenated in an older dictionary will now be written as one word

Is it washing machine or washing-machine, wash-basin or washbasin, print-out or printout? Such words need to be checked individually (iv) Hyphens are used with some prefixes:

co-author, ex-wife, anti-censorship

Check individual words in a dictionary if you are

in doubt

Always use a hyphen when you are using a prefix before a word that begins with a capital letter:

pro-British, anti-Christian, un-American

Sometimes a hyphen is used for the sake of clarity There is a difference in meaning between the words in these pairs:

re-cover and recover

re-form and reform

co-respondent and correspondent

(v) Hyphens are also used to indicate a range of figures or dates:

There were 1 2 - 2 0 people in the room.

He was killed in the 1914 - 18 war

hypocrisy

(not -asy)

hypocrite

hypocritical

See HYPERCRITICAL OR HYPOCRITICAL?.

hypothermia

See HYPERTHERMIA OR HYPOTHERMIA?.

hypothesis (singular) hypotheses (plural)

See FOREIGN PLURALS.

hypoventilate

See HYPERVENTILATE OR HYPOVENTILATE?.

These three words are pronouns and cause a great deal of confusion

(i) Most people use the pronoun T correctly when

it is used on its own:

I love cats

I like chocolate

I mow the lawn every Sunday

I am trying to lose weight

I have two sisters

Confusion generally arises with phrases like 'my husband and I' and 'my husband and me' Which should it be?

The simplest method is to break the sentence into two and see whether T or 'me' sounds right:

My husband likes chocolate

I like chocolate

MY HUSBAND AND I like chocolate.

(ii) Most people use the pronoun 'me' correctly when it is used on its own:

The burglar threatened ME

It was given to ME

Once again confusion arises when a pair is involved The advice remains the same Break the sentence into two and see whether T or 'me' sounds right:

The burglar threatened my husband

The burglar threatened ME

The burglar threatened MY HUSBAND AND ME.

It was given to my husband

n

It was given to ME.

It was given to MY HUSBAND AND ME.

(iii) The pronoun 'myself has two distinct functions

It can be used in constructions like this where it

is essential to the sense:

I cut MYSELF yesterday.

I did it by MYSELF

It can be used to help emphasise a point In these cases, it can be omitted without changing the overall sense:

I'll wrap the parcel MYSELF.

MYSELF, I would disagree.

'Myself should never be used as a substitute for T

or 'me'

My friend and myself had a wonderful time in Austria

My friend and I had a wonderful time

They presented my brother and myself with a silver cup

They presented my brother and me with a silver cup

This is from Henry and myself

This is from Henry and me

-ible

See -ABLE/-IBLE.

idea or ideal?

Bristolians have particular difficulty distinguishing between these two because of the intrusive Bristol

T These exemplar sentences should help:

Your IDEA is brilliant.

This is an IDEAL spot for a picnic.

His IDEALS prevent him from eating meat.

(not -cy)

-ie-See EI/IE SPELLING RULE.

illegible or ineligible?

ILLEGIBLE = not able to be read

INELIGIBLE = not properly qualified

illusion

See ALLUSION, DELUSION OR ILLUSION?

imaginary or imaginative?

IMAGINARY = existing only in the imagination IMAGINATIVE = showing or having a vivid

imagination, being creative, original

imformation

Wrong spelling See INFORMATION

immediately

(not immeadiately or immediatly)

immense

immensely (not immensly)

immigrant

See EMIGRANT OR IMMIGRANT?.

imminent

See EMINENT, OR IMMINENT?.

immoral

See AMORAL OR IMMORAL?.

implicit

See EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT?

imply or infer?

To IMPLY something is to hint at it:

She IMPLIED that there were strong moral objections

to his appointment but didn't say so in so many words

To INFER is to draw a conclusion:

Am I to INFER from what you say that he is

unsuitable for the post?

impossible

(not -able)

imposter/impostor

Both spellings are correct The second form (-or) is, however, more common.

impractical or impracticable?

IMPRACTICAL = could be done but not worth

doing

IMPRACTICABLE = incapable of being done incidentally

incidental + ly (not incidently)

incredible

(not -able)

indefensible

(not -able)

indelible

(not -able)

independence

(not -ance)

independent

(not -ant)

index (singular) indexes or indices (plural)

See FOREIGN PLURALS.

See INDEXES OR INDICES?.

indexes or indices?

Both are acceptable plural forms of 'index' but they are used differently.

Use INDEXES to refer to alphabetical lists of

references in books.