'You will never doubt your written English again.' London Evening Standard; 'A single reference point to look up all manner of spelling, grammar or punctuation queries...this is going to have a permanent place on my desk (both at home and work!).' A Sendall, a reader from England; 'Should be prescribed reading for all undergraduates and postgraduates too!' Prof Tony Stockwell; 'I've been helped a great deal by Angela's other books, but this one is exactly what I've been waiting for...A book that will grow dog-eared with use. But you'll always be grateful that it was written.' Michael Carson, Author of 'Sucking Sherbet Lemons' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
WANT TO CHECK A SPELLING?
Cross-referencing will help you locate words with tricky initial
letters.
letters.
Plural words are given along side singular nouns, with cross-
referencing to relevant rules and patterns.
referencing to relevant rules and patterns.
knife (singular) knives (plural)
abandon
abandoned,abandoning,abandonment
(not -bb-)
abattoir (not -bb-)
abbreviate
abbreviated,abbreviating,abbreviation
(not -b-)
-able/-ible
Adjective sending in -able or -ible can be
difficult to spell be cause both endings
sound identical.You’ll always need to be
on guard with these words and check
each word individually when you are in
doubt,but here are some useful
guidelines:
(i)
Generally use -able when the
companion word ends in -ation:
abominable, abomination
irritable, irritation
(ii)
Generally use -ible when the
companion word ends in -ion:
comprehensible, comprehension
digestible,digestion
(iii)
Use -able after hard c and hard g:
practicable (c sounds like k)
navigable (hard g)
(iv)
Use -ible after soft c and soft g:
forcible (c sounds like s)
legible (g sounds like j)
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