(Doc) UNIL English Department PPG (22nd Ed.) (ACADEMIC STYLE)

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Index in ENGLISH: p.52 USE BOOKMARKS TO NAVIGATE Index in FRENCH: p.58

Signs and abbreviations used in this handbook @ Long before it was adopted for email addresses, the ‘at’ symbol (l’arobase)
expressed the idea of ‘at the price (or rate) of’: 3 books @ £4 each.
* an asterisk in front of an example indicates, as in linguistics, that it is
not acceptable English. Examples are printed in light sans serif. a- words
the ‘explosion’ flags a linguistic situation that may lead to serious mis- Adjectives and adverbs formed with the prefix a– are predicate, that is, they
understanding. It means ‘Handle with care!’ must follow the group they qualify. A man alone | They think alike. They
) The manicule (a pointing hand) flags an exception. include aback, aboard (not as a preposition of course, as in to climb aboard
| the vertical bar separates different examples, and a yacht), abroad, ablaze, adrift, afield, afire, ahoy (‘Ship ahoy!’), ajar, alive, aloft,
/ the slash separates alternatives within an example. aloof, amiss, aside (q.v.), askew, asleep, awake, aware, awry (see silent w), etc.
AmE American English ) a– words cannot generally be used as nouns. See adjectives
• Adding the prefix a– to certain verbs makes them less concrete and more
BrE British English
metaphorical. rise (stand or get up) > arise (e.g. the symbolic act of rising
cf. confer, meaning ‘compare with’.
from a kneeling position); rouse (wake up) > arouse (for emotions); wake
FA signals faux amis (‘false friends’).
(from sleep) > awaken (memories).
inv. invariable; qualifies a noun that has the same form in the plural as in
the singular. abbreviations
q.v. (quod vide) is a cross-reference meaning ‘see the entry for this word’. BrE usage omits the full stop when abbreviations end with the final letter of
s.o. someone the complete word they represent. So Mr and Dr do not need stops as both
s.t. something the words and the abbreviations end with ‘r’, whereas Prof. (Professor), etc.
vs (versus) means ‘as opposed to’ or ‘contrasted with’. (et cetera), i.e. (id est, ‘that is to say’), and e.g. (exempli gratia, ‘for example’)
do need them.
Definitions Under the influence of AmE practice, however, many editors (q.v.) now
use stops after all abbreviations that include lower-case letters (see capital
A transitive verb takes a direct object. letters).
An intransitive verb does not take an object. ) The honorific Miss is not treated as an abbreviation. See honorifics
A pronominal adjective goes in front of a noun.
A predicate adjective cannot be used in front of a noun. ability
• to be (un)able to do s.t. is usually due to physical causes, whereas
• to be (in)capable of doing s.t. is usually mental, on grounds of morality (q.v.)
Notice
or scruple.
This booklet presents the rules and conventions of modern educated BrE,
• The ability to do s.t. is a quality possessed by both able and capable persons,
which is constantly being eroded by AmE, spoken and written.
whereas the capacity for s.t. suggests quantity rather than quality. So while
So you may hear and read departures from it in Britain.
an inability to do s.t. is merely a handicap, incapacity suggests some moral or
intellectual failing. Tess’s capacity for suffering is enormous, and for most of
Feedback the novel Angel is quite incapable of perceiving it. At the moment when he might
Comments and suggestions for improving this handbook are have been more receptive, she is unable to contact him.
always welcome. Contact me by email: [email protected] adjectives
In English the adjective is invariable, whatever the gender, number, or case
© G. Peter Winnington 2018 of the noun it qualifies, including compound adjectives with numbers;
thus you could read a three-hundred-page novel about an eighteen-year-old
22nd edition, August 2018
heroine. (Note the use of hyphens in compound adjectives.)
ISBN 978-2-9700654-1-8 See also time and space
USE BOOKMARKS TO NAVIGATE 1

) A unique exception to the gender rule is blond-e, which ‘agrees’ with the policy that dictated his choice of an economical car. Here economic relates to
human gender of the following noun. A blond man. A blonde girl. money; economical relates to running costs, primarily fuel consumption,
) Nouns used as adjectives are invariable, except for man and woman which and thus only indirectly to economics.
‘agree’ with the plural: girl students but men and women students. Of course, • With classic and classical a convenient rule is to think of what is (or used
an adjectival noun may in itself be plural: the admissions office. to be) taught in class. Thus classic qualifies an instance that is often cited
) sport as an adjective and overseas as both adjective and adverb are always in the classroom (a classic approach to fiction-writing), whereas classical
‘plural’: a sports car / day / jacket | an overseas appointment. relates to traditional Greek and Roman culture, as in classical literature
• Adjectives and participles used as nouns are invariable: the young and the and classical mythology, or to whatever preceded a modern form: you
old | the quick, the dying, and the dead | the working poor | the unaware. might listen to a classic piece of classical music. Newtonian physics is classi-
• When several adjectives precede a noun, place them in this order: subjec- cal physics.
tive evaluation, size, age, appearance (e.g. shape, colour), origin, material, • The case of history is very clear: a historic event (like the battle of Waterloo)
purpose + noun. A lovely, small, antique, pear-shaped, brown, French, earthen- made history. A historical novel is merely situated in the past.
ware, wine jug. Set phrases may depart from this ‘rule’: see reduplication. • Actions that are politic seem ‘sensible and judicious in the circumstances’,
adjectives and past participles whereas political relates to ‘the state or government or public affairs of a
Many English adjectives and similar past participles with rather different country’ (NODE); it is only optatively sensible or judicious.
meanings correspond to a single word in French. As a general rule, the after having done s.t. is a Latinate structure, heavier than English generally
adjective qualifies a state, and the past participle a state resulting from a requires. Use either having done s.t. or after doing s.t.
(recent) action. This is the distinction between appropriate and appropriat-
ed; considerate and considered; corrupt and corrupted; definite and defined; all + space and time
elaborate and elaborated; incomplete and uncompleted; melted and molten; all + a preposition emphasizes continuity. Compare She spilled coffee on her
open and opened; opposite and opposed; polite and polished; requisite and dress; she spilled coffee down her dress and She spilled coffee all down her dress.
required; resolute and resolved; rotten and rotted; welcome and welcomed, etc. The first might cause a localized stain; the second something longer; the
• Note that the final –ate of adjectives, nouns and adverbs is pronounced third involves the entire length.
with a schwa [ə], e.g. separate [sepərət / seprət], whereas it is a diphthong • Use (all) along with measurable, horizontal objects: wild flowers were grow-
in all –ate verb forms, e.g. separated [sepəreitid]. So although their spelling ing all along the banks of the river. All over adds the notion of ‘everywhere-on-
is the same, their different function is signalled by pronunciation, e.g. a the-surface’ of the object. Ants were climbing all over the flowers.
delegate [deliət] vs to delegate [delieit]. cf. z/s • all … long is used with monosyllabic units of time: day, night, week, month,
adjectives in –ic and –ical year. It’s been raining all day long! Use throughout (q.v.) or for the whole with
As a general rule, prefer the –ic form of adjectives derived from nouns. Most of morning, afternoon, evening, winter, decade, etc.
those based on nouns ending –ism, like paternalistic, realistic and idealistic, • all through enters or penetrates the associated object or fills a unit of time:
pessimistic and optimistic, exist only in this form. all through the city / the day. For greater emphasis use throughout (q.v.),
• Some adjectives, however, such as ethical, hysterical, logical, practical, sceptical, which is to be preferred with objects that are not spatially measurable.
statistical and tactical, exist only in the –ical form, because there is (or used Jane Austen uses this technique throughout the novel.
to be, e.g. practic) a corresponding noun ending –ic.
all the vs the whole
• The adjectives of all the –ology sciences end with the –ical form only.
• A few adjectives exist in both the –ic and –ical forms. Consider the first as As a general rule, use all the with uncountable nouns (all the poetry), and the
the ‘true’ or ‘direct’ form, and the second as only indirectly related to the whole with countable ones in the singular (the whole poem).
concept in question. What a tragic decision! (It had a truly tragic conse- • all (of) the with plural, countable nouns (all the poems) means ‘each and
quence: people died.) Oh, he and his comical manner! (I find his behaviour every one of the [noun]’.
funny, but it is not something out of a comedy (q.v.).) It was his economic See also all + space and time, and throughout
2 USE BOOKMARKS TO NAVIGATE 3

all what? can only be a question: Tout quoi? • Distinguish between Emma’s description (what she said in describing s.t.
In French, it is possible to add tout in front of ce que without changing any- or s.o.) and the description of Emma (how s.o. else described her). The same
thing else in the sentence. In English, however, what has to change to that applies to her drawing (of Harriet), a drawing of her (by s.o. else, depicting
when it is preceded by all. Ce qu’il a dit était sensé: What he said made good Emma), and a drawing of hers (i.e. one of many drawings by her, depicting
sense. But Tout ce qu’il a dit était sensé: All that he said made good sense. For subjects unknown), the possessor being written without an apostrophe
this, you can often use everything instead, and you may have to do so on when it’s a pronoun (hers, its, ours, yours, theirs), and with when it’s a prop-
occasion to avoid the limitative meaning of all: That’s all I know. er name: Mr Elton admired a drawing of Emma’s.
altération and altérer are false friends: alteration and to alter are perfectly neutral, The Anglo-Saxon (idiomatic) plural
like modification and to modify or change. To render the idea of ‘to change When a number of individuals each possess or manipulate a countable object,
for the worse’ use to spoil, taint, mar, adulterate, or impair (depending on the that object is expressed in the plural. With their guns in their hands, they
context). drove off in their cars. Each has only one gun in one hand and drives one
car, but English sees several people, guns, hands and cars.
ancien (FA)
Ancient qualifies something that is very old, dating from classical antiquity or animation
earlier. So mon ancienne amie has to be my ex-girlfriend. Former is also possi- French likes to animate abstractions and inanimate nouns, often with reflex-
ble, but more formal: a former President (see sometime). For mon ancien prof ive verbs: La grande route étendait sans en finir son long ruban de poussière—
d’anglais, say ‘the English teacher I had at school/university.’ Madame Bovary | Les élections se sont déroulées dans le calme | Les vers suivants
se présentent …. English does not, prefering concrete nouns and active
Anglicized French words
verbs. The elections passed off without incident | The following lines are …
As French words like café and régime pass into English, they tend to lose their
accents, unless they are needed to distinguish them from English words as or like?
with the same spelling: e.g. exposé (vs expose), lamé (vs lame), résumé (vs • as is a conjunction, introducing a group with a verb, a prepositional
resume), or to indicate their pronunciation: fiancé(e), roué [ruei]. phrase, or an adverb. So Donne plays with words as often as he can, rather as
Shakespeare does, in his plays as in his sonnets.
The Anglo-Saxon genitive
Rule 1: If there’s a verb in the group that follows, or just an adverb, or a
Reserve the possessive form (i.e. an apostrophe+s after a singular noun and
preposition, it must be as. Resist the temptation to infer a verb where
irregular plurals, and s+apostrophe after regular plurals) for animate(d)
none is expressed. Do as I do!
nouns. This includes towns, countries, noun phrases (the King of Spain’s
• like is a preposition and as such can introduce only a noun or pronoun. Like
daughter), objects to which animation is traditionally attributed (the
Shakespeare, Donne plays with words.
river’s edge | the ship’s captain) and a few set phrases like a stone’s throw.
(When the object is not considered to ‘own’ the complement, the pos- In literary essays, shun the colloquial use of like as a conjunction.
sessing noun is often turned into an adjective: the group leader rather than Rule 2: If there’s no verb, use like + (pro)noun, but—
the group’s leader. Sometimes both are possible.) • as is also a preposition meaning en tant que or dans le rôle de. Did you enjoy
• Intrinsic qualities of a piece of writing may also be expressed in this way:

Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow? Thus we find minimal pairs like He went as a
the poem’s structure | the book’s title | the article’s conclusion. soldier (comme soldat: he had joined the Army) and He went like a soldier
(comme un soldat: he was not a soldier but he was behaving like one).
• The apostrophe+s may also be descriptive, as in a ladies’ hairdresser (i.e. for
ladies) and the men’s toilet. (This is often shortened to the gents, signed Rule 3: if a noun follows, without a verb, decide whether you mean ‘sim-
simply GENTS, i.e. for gentlemen, with no apostrophe.) ilar to’ (like) or ‘in the role of’ (as).
• tel que may be rendered by such as, or like if no verb follows (Rule 2).
• The designation of shops, churches, and places of abode uses this form
elliptically, omitting the following noun: the butcher’s, the baker’s (i.e. aside
their respective shops); St Paul’s; and Tom’s or Mary’s (i.e. their homes). When a character in a play or film says s.t. that only the audience (and not the
• For periods of time, see time & space; for values, see worth. other characters present) can supposedly hear, it is an aside.

aspect • in to indicate things within lines, chapters, acts, and scenes. A change of rhythm
‘Aspect is the way that a verb group shows whether an activity is continuing, is in chapter 24. Used for spans: as can be seen in lines 10–15.
repeated, or is completed’ (COBUILD). Types of aspect include: inchoative • on a certain line or page to locate something dynamically within the work.
(beginning); iterative (repeated); durative (continuing or long-lasting); The new chapter begins on p.123. | The Invocation ends on line 26. May be used
punctual (of minimal duration, brief); and terminative (ending or complet- for spans, but we tend to say on pages 24, 25, and 26 instead.
ed). See also definite article, and numbers
assister
attend (FA)
• To assist s.o. is to help them (see pronouns for this use of them); for the
To attend plus a direct object means to be present at a social or professional
noun use assistance or help. Can I be of any assistance / help?
gathering of some kind (All the staff attended the meeting), or to go regular-
• assister à is a FA. When the subject’s presence at an event is voluntary, as at
ly to an institution: What school did you attend? (This is quite formal.)
a ceremony or performance of some kind, use to attend (q.v.) (a concert | a
• To attend to s.t. or s.o. is to pay attention. You’re not attending! Listen to what
funeral); when it is fortuitous, use to witness (an accident).
I’m saying, please.
• Dans ce roman nous assistons à is a dangerous metaphor to have in mind
when analysing literature because it implies that you are a passive witness • To attend to s.t. may also mean to deal with it, especially with care and atten-
of an active text. Think rather that reading is creative; the text is nothing tion. I know this paragraph needs attending to; I’ll revise it later.
but inert little black marks on white paper until you start to read it and both vs the two
bring it to life in your mind. So use some other expression, even as neu- Generally speaking, both serves to merge the two elements in question (or
tral as This novel contains…. stress their similarity), and the two to differentiate them (in quality or in
at first suggests that things are different subsequently; it is opposed to later. First time, for instance). The heroines of Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice
(or firstly) by itself indicates merely the first (in order of importance or both marry the man they love, yet the two novels are quite different in tone. Use
time) without implying (see impliquer) subsequent change. the two when making a rapprochement: The two men are similar.
at and in with the beginning and the end capital letters (also called ‘upper case’, as opposed to ‘lower case’)
In the beginning refers to all time, as in the Bible: In the beginning (au commence- All proper nouns (including religions, languages, nationalities, and the
ment) was the Word. Use at the beginning for a story or poem. Christian God), the days of the week and the months of the year, and all
• Distinguish between what happens at the end (à la fin) of a story and what adjectives derived from them take an initial capital letter. A Buddhist
happens by the end, i.e. before the end is reached. In the end adds suspense Chinaman speaking Mandarin. A Sunday driver. See also honorifics
(finalement – see also enfin). Contrast They all get married at the end (i.e. in • The seasons and abstractions take capital letters only when personified.
the final scene) with the relief of They all get married in the end. Both Time and Death are generally male figures in English literature.
NB at the end may be followed by a defining phrase (‘of the novel’, for • For the titles of books, articles, chapters and poems, and the titles of
instance), but in the end (being an adverb of time) cannot. works of art in general, including films, operas, ballets, paintings, and
• For middle, see milieu. See also since vs from pieces of sculpture, use a capital for the initial letter of the first word, and
at and in the same time for the initial letter of all subsequent nouns and adjectives, personal pro-
Distinguish between s.t. that happens at the same time as s.t. else, i.e. simultane- nouns, verbs, and adverbs. After the first word, function words (articles,
ously (Don’t speak at the same time as her!), and two things that are done in conjunctions, prepositions, etc.) are not given capitals: Of Mice and Men |
the same time, i.e. within the same space of time or duration: We ran the The War of the Worlds | All’s Well That Ends Well.
marathon in the same time (she last year and me this year). • Capital letters are familiarly known as ‘caps’, and words ALL IN CAPITAL
LETTERS are in ‘running caps’. Don’t use running caps for emphasis in an essay.
at, in and on in text analysis
Use: at a certain line or page for a fixed point in the work. I stopped reading at page chercher may be to search for s.t. that is lost; to seek s.t. new or a solution; to try
224. Not used for spans, i.e. you cannot say *at lines 10–15. to think of a name or an idea; or to look for, or try to find, any of these.

circumlocutions • An actor of comedy is a comedian, of tragedy a tragedian [trədidiən] – the
English is happy to repeat names or titles far more frequently than French, two words rhyme. Un comédien is a FA: it’s just an actor.
which seeks to avoid repetition, preferring ce dernier or le romancier to • A comic is a magazine containing cartoon strips for children; it is also a
repeating a writer’s name. For Fowler, ‘it is the second-rate writers, those stand-up comedian (telling jokes and funny stories).
intent rather on expressing themselves prettily than on conveying their
compare
meaning clearly’ (Modern English Usage) who are seduced (q.v.) by cir-
cumlocutions like ‘the writer’ or ‘her novel’. Use compared with for things that are similar or when you want to establish
similarity; compared to for quite dissimilar objects or for distancing. Shall
Worse, they can be misleading. If you write ‘Conrad’s character’ for
I compare thee to a summer’s day?—Shakespeare (Sonnet 18)
‘Marlow’, it might seem to designate the-personality-of-Conrad-the-
novelist, not the-character-that-he-created. Similarly, if you write ‘the compose, comprise and consist
poet’ when discussing Keats, your reader may think that you are now to be composed of applies to concrete objects: Fondue is composed of / is made of /
referring to all poets in general, not just Keats. So repeat ‘James’ or consists of cheese. to consist in (+ -ing) and to comprise relate to activities: The
‘Dickens’ ten times rather than mislead by switching to ‘the novelist’. driving test comprises / includes two parts, one theoretical and the other practi-
See also names cal. | Obtaining a driving licence consists in / entails / involves taking a theoretical
test followed by a drive on the road with an examiner. cf. impliquer
cite vs quote
You quote actual words (from a text) but cite only the title or author. She cited concrete and abstract nouns
Shakespeare as a case in point, but couldn’t quote him. English frequently has two nouns, one concrete and the other abstract, that
correspond to a single French word. Be sure to use the right one, other-
collective nouns
wise the effect can be quite comic. Contrast axe (concrete) and axis
Nouns designating institutions and groups of people may take a singular or a (abstract); base vs basis; gender vs genre; prize vs price; and statute vs status.
plural verb, depending on whether they are considered collectively or
See also freedom vs liberty
individually. They include: army, audience, committee, crowd, enemy, family,
government, group, police, public, staff, team, and unit. conscience vs consciousness
Singular and plural may be used within the same sentence: A television • The conscience is that inner moral sense that tells us whether what we are
crew was chased when they tried to interview people in the street—The Times. doing is right or wrong. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to …
• This dual aspect affects the relative pronoun; use who for the persons con- • To be conscious is to be in the normal state of wakefulness, aware of one-
cerned, and which for the unit or institution: a couple who were arguing | a self and one’s surroundings. The blow on the head caused him to lose con-
couple which was walking hand-in-hand. See also pronouns sciousness. Thus there is also the state of semi-consciousness.
• Fractions and proportions also enjoy dual aspect: The majority was in • Prefer aware(ness) for knowledge of situations or facts. Emma suddenly
favour of Brexit; a minority were not. | One third of all nurses in the UK are foreign- became aware that she really loved Mr Knightley.
ers. | Of the objects found floating on the surface of the ocean, only one fifth • For the French inconscient, meaning irréfléchi, use thoughtless (behaviour)
was/were not made of plastic. – T’es une inconsciente! How thoughtless of you! – or reckless (person or
comedy is either uncountable (the theatrical genre) or countable (a play of this
behaviour). The accident was caused by reckless driving / a reckless driver.
genre). (See countable vs uncountable) contracted forms in final position
• Le comique is usually comedy when it is a concept (comedy of character or sit- A characteristic of contemporary English is the use of contracted forms of aux-
uation), and ‘(what we find) funny or laughable’ when we refer to a spe- iliary verbs when speaking and, increasingly, in writing. There are some
cific instance of it. He could not see the funny side of / what was so funny about important exceptions to observe when they occur in final position:
his mistake: le comique de son erreur. See also laugh • auxiliaries are never contracted in affirmative statements; you have to say
• For the adjectives comic (relating directly to comedy) and comical (some- Yes, I am; Yes, you have; That’s where the book is; and Yes, I/you/it (etc) will. So
thing that we find funny) see adjectives in –ic and –ical. *Yes, I’m, or *Yes I’d, or *Yes, you’ve are not possible.

In negative statements, either the verb or the not may be contracted: he’s
• where on the body. So if you say, ‘I am just going to wash my hairs,’ you will
not or he isn’t; you’ve not or you haven’t, wouldn’t). NB ‘shall not’ becomes get some very strange looks.
shan’t. (‘Shan’t!’ is the favourite cry of rebellious children: «Veux pas!») • French uses beaucoup de before an uncountable noun (beaucoup d’argent)
) In negative questions, am becomes are when contracted, even when not in just as it does before a countable in the plural (beaucoup de jours); English
final position. So am I not? (which is possible, but rather formal) becomes requires many before countables and much before uncountables. For the
aren’t I? Aren’t I being clear enough? I’m trying very hard, aren’t I. negative, you can use not many (or a few q.v.) and not much (or a little).
control (FA) • In a new development, awareness of the distinction between countable
and uncountable nouns in English is declining. Do not imitate it (yet).
In English, you have full power over s.t. that you control (as with a radio-con-
trolled model plane, making it take off and land). In French, contrôler criterion [kraitiəriən] (le critère) has a Latin-type plural: criteria [kraitiəriə].
means simply to check or verify s.t. Un contrôleur de train is merely a ticket
critic, criticism, and to criticize
inspector. In a contrôle de police, you will have to prove your identity, or
show your driver’s licence, for instance. The verb is to criticize, the persons who do it are critics, and the product of their
activity is criticism (which is uncountable when applied to the arts, music
• This difference has sometimes given rise to costly misunderstandings.
or literature, and countable when applied to a person).
When the French declared, ‘nous contrôlons la ville,’ the English thought
they had captured it, whereas the French meant only that they were keep- The noun critique [kritik] is also used occasionally, in the sense of an
ing a close watch on all movement, in and out of the town. assessment or evaluation. In AmE it is now frequently a verb too.
countable vs uncountable dashes

• A count(able) noun is ‘a noun such as “bird”, “chair”, or “year” which
Distinguish between the hyphen, which joins two words, or parts of words –
has a singular and a plural form.’ In the singular, it must have a determin- so there is no space before or after it – and the en dash (or en rule) which
er, such as a, the or her, in front of it (COBUILD, adapted). does have a space on either side (as in the line above). In modern English,
the dash is never combined with any other punctuation mark.
• An uncount(able) noun is ‘a noun such as “gold”, “information”, or “fur-
niture” which has only one form and can be used without a determiner’ On a keyboard, type two hyphens for a dash.
(COBUILD). Gold is a precious metal. Of course, as soon as it is qualified by a • Use the dash without spaces for spans: lines 25–32 | pages 399–425.
following clause (the gold you have in your safe), it takes an article, just like • The long em dash or em rule (three hyphens when typing) serves to set off
a count noun. the source of quotations (example below), or to indicate an interrupted
• Some nouns belong to both categories. Present participles used as nouns statement (in which case it generally ends a paragraph; for an example
are uncountable when they are concepts (misspelling) or an activity (writ- see Rule 2 of as or like?). It is printed without spaces and without punctu-
ing), and countable, often plural, when they designate specific instances ation (except for closing quotation marks when required). In early fic-
(misspellings) or concrete objects (writings). tion, it replaced proper names (or letters omitted from them). ‘There’s
See also concrete & abstract nouns; critic(ism); experience; and language Mayor ——,’ says she, ‘he was an eminent pickpocket; there’s Justice Ba—r, who
was a shoplifter.’—Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (‘In Virginia’).
• Countables used as concepts or collective nouns remain countable,
• Some American presses and word-processors use em rules as dashes.
taking the definite article in the singular: as performed on the stage / in
theatres | as heard on the radio, BUT not television: as shown on tv. dates
• Beware of French plural nouns whose equivalents in English are un- • Years: when speaking, separate the hundreds and thousands from the
countable: les avions = aircraft; les informations = information or news; prévi- tens and units, saying four seventy-six (476) | ten sixty-six (1066) | nineteen o
sions (for weather) = forecast; conseils = advice; preuves = proof or evidence. four (1904) (see numbers for the zero, pronounced ‘oh’). For the current
• An uncountable noun may have a countable counterpart with a very dif- millennium, say two thousand and x (for 200x) up to 2009 (two thousand
ferent meaning in the plural. For example, hair grows on our heads. Ugh, and nine), then revert to pairs as usual: the twenty-twelve Olympics in London.
I found a hair in my soup. Hairs (les poils), on the other hand, grow else- See also nought under numbers

• For BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini), you can now write BCE (= to opposite for face à and en face de.) Before can also be used for this in more
before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) after the year (with a formal texts; it is standard for devant Dieu: before God.
space before and no space between the letters; no punctuation either). For figurative and abstract senses, use (when) faced with, in the face of (espe-
When speaking, just name the letters: 55 BC(E) = fifty-five bee see (ee). cially for threatening, dangerous objects or situations) or simply when:
• The Middle Ages (le moyen âge) are plural and take the article + caps. Of Devant tant de misère – When I see so much poverty …
course a middle-aged man (d’âge moyen) takes no caps. See hyphens Keep to be confronted by or with for instances of true confrontation.
• In writing, spell out the centuries: a seventeenth-century comedy.
See numbers for the use of arabic (and not roman) figures for centuries. différent (FA)
• Days and months: in BrE say the twenty-second of April, and write only 22 Used before a noun, différent means discrete, diverse, separate, various, or just sev-
eral. Keep different for cases where différent follows the noun.
déduire
Use to deduce for logic, to deduct for arithmetic, and deduction for both. digne corresponds to two different notions in English:
• dignified qualifies a composed and serious manner, or behaviour that
défini-tif
Note the very different meanings of definite (firm and clear) and definitive (final, commands (or merits) respect, whereas
after changes). See also adjectives and past participles • worthy means having qualities or abilities that merit recognition in some
special way. Has there ever been a worthy successor to Sean Connery as James
definite article Bond? As in the French digne de, worthy is often used with of: She’s a novelist
Omit the definite article in front of nouns like chapter, page, verse, line, etc., worthy of the name. See also worth
when they are followed by a number. In line four of stanza ten | On page 123
worthy combines with nouns: newsworthy, noteworthy, roadworthy, seaworthy
| At the beginning of chapter six | In the last paragraph of Part II
(apte à prendre la route / la mer), and trustworthy (digne de confiance; fiable). It
See also at, in and on; countable vs uncountable; next; and numbers
forms neologisms like quote-worthy.
• The names of tenses take the definite article (the simple past, the present,
and the future), whereas literary technical terms (being uncountable) do dispenser
not: free indirect speech | dramatic irony | verbal humour, etc. • With a personal subject, dispenser can mean to give or provide (a course, or
• Use the definite article in on the one hand and on the other hand. care for the needy).
depend on it! • When the subject is an institution, use to offer (or provide): The university
To count on, to depend on, and to rely on s.t. or s.o. all take an direct object. You can offers courses in English. See offrir
also say It depends and That counts (with no complement), but you cannot • With a person as the complement (as in je vous dispense de quelque chose),
say *It relies. It requires an indirect object: You can rely on that. use to dispense or excuse or exempt s.o. from s.t. As you have a cold, I’ll excuse
you from sports today. Also used passively: I was exempted (from) sports today.
dernier
Une dispense de cours is an exemption from (following or attending) a
The last designates the end of a series, whereas the latest is simply the most
course; a tax exemption is what one hopes for (and probably never gets).
recent. The last novel by Jane Austen | The latest news. See also this vs that
• Used caustically: Je te dispense de tes commentaires = I’ll thank you not to make
dès any more remarks / I could do without your remarks, or (less bitterly), Spare me
When dès means with effect from, you can use as of, but only with a date or an your comments!
expression that implies a known date in the recent past, the present, or the • Se dispenser de: to dispense with or to do without s.o. or s.t. The council decided
immediate future, not with an event. As of today | As of 1st May, 2017. So you to dispense with his services. | Let’s dispense with the formalities. | I am now
can’t say, *as of her arrival. Say rather, from the moment she arrived. recovering well and can do without my crutches. to get rid of or do away with s.t.
devant adds a sense of ‘good riddance’ (bon débarras), while to forgo s.t. or s.o.
Use in front of only when you are referring to the strictly literal spatial organi- brings a sense of self-sacrifice. Hence the irony in: ‘Do you want to meet
zation of concrete objects. The tree in front of the house. (The same applies him?’ ‘I’ll forgo that pleasure.’

• In English, justice, charity, and patronage are dispensed, and a dispensing ellipses
chemist (une pharmacie) will supply you with medicine on presentation of a French commonly uses an ellipsis (les points de suspension) at the end of a sen-
doctor’s prescription (une ordonnance). tence to mean and so on, etc. English does not generally do this.
• Dispensing machines supply goods or services in small quantities. Where’s • When quoting in English, use ellipses (without square brackets and with
the nearest cash dispenser? (That’s an ATM in AmE.) This handbook aims to three spaced points: . . . ) to signal omission in the middle of a quotation.
dispense information briefly, accurately and effectively. They are not required at the beginning or end of quotations integrated
disposer (de) is a FA. Translate it by to have at one’s disposal (He had a whole team into your own sentence structure (i.e. ‘run in’).
of researchers at his disposal); or simply to have (I don’t have much time – but empêcher, éviter, s’empêcher
bear in mind I can’t spare you much time); or to use: you can use my car while
• We cannot avoid s.t. or s.o. when we are unable to prevent an undesirable
I’m away. Finally, Merci, vous pouvez disposer = Thank you, you may go.
meeting, a collision, or an accident.
• disposer de la vie / du sort de quelqu’un is to hold their life / fate in one’s hands.
• We cannot avoid s.o., avoid doing (or get out of doing) s.t. for external reasons,
• Le droit des peuples à disposer d’eux-mêmes is the right to self-determination. often out of social obligation. Elizabeth could not avoid (speaking to) Mr Darcy,
The primary meaning of to dispose of is to get rid of s.t. (s’en débarrasser). much though she might have wished to get out of it.
Disposable objects (or simply disposables) are jetables. • We cannot help doing s.t. for internal reasons. (Her feelings were so strong that)
she could not help telling him how much she despised him. Also used with an
dollars and cents
it for the undesirable behaviour: Don’t blame him. He can’t help it.
The dollar ($), adopted as the monetary unit of the United States in 1792 at the
• We cannot prevent, or stop (q.v.), s.t. external to ourselves from happening.
suggestion of Thomas Jefferson, is divided into 100 cents (¢). Dollars are
She could not stop her sister from running off with Mr Wickham.
familiarly called bucks after the buckskins used for commercial exchange
by the early settlers. The dollar coin was made of silver until 1935. It • As a general rule use unavoidable for concrete, physical events, and
derived from the Spanish peso, which was made to be broken (when inevitable for more abstract ones. Because the accident was unavoidable, their
required) into quarters, and for this reason the 25-cent piece is still death was inevitable.
known as a quarter. The other coins are the dime (10¢), the nickel (5¢) and en + present participle (e.g. en faisant quelque chose) covers several notions.
the penny (1¢). (See penny for the British coin.) Paper money (often called Render them with
bills, and known familiarly as greenbacks because they are printed in green
• by for change in the object (By making promises, he induced her to marry him)
on the back) was introduced during the Civil War of 1860–65.
but in or through when the subject is affected: One acquires knowledge
Many other countries now call their currency dollars, too. through reading. (Some structures may require other prepositions.)
cf. pounds, shillings and pence. • on for ‘immediately after’, not ‘during’. She shut the door on leaving.
editor (FA) • while or when for simultaneity. Don’t speak while eating. | MIND YOUR HEAD WHEN
An editor is a person responsible for selecting and preparing texts for publica- LEAVING YOUR SEAT. [A notice found in public transport with overhead luggage racks.]
tion, often with an introduction and notes. A publisher, on the other hand, ) but with verbs of locomotion you can
is a firm or company whose business it is to produce and market books (a) use just the present participle, as in he went out laughing, or
and periodicals. In bibliographies, editors are mentioned only when they (b) render the manner with a verb, and the direction with a preposition: des-
figure on the title page of the book, whereas the publisher and the place cendre la rivière en nageant = to swim down the river | entrer dans la pièce en dan-
of publication should always be specified. sant = to dance into the room | quitter la pièce en boitant = to limp out of the room
effectivement (FA) is best rendered by indeed: It is indeed true. Effective(ly) means | traverser la route en courant = to run across the road.
having or producing a result and therefore efficient(ly). The aim of this handbook This also applies to lifestyles: détruire sa vie en buvant = to drink one’s life away
is to enable (cf. permettre) you to write more effectively. | se ruiner en jouant = to gamble one’s money away.

end(ing) • A similar distinction can be made with solution: the solution to a problem
The end of a story refers to when it stops, whereas the ending refers rather to how but (in chemistry) a solution of salt in water.
it concludes. Only end is opposed to means, as in ‘ends and means’ (les fins See also prepositions, and the anglo-saxon genitive
et les moyens).
experiments are what scientists perform; (countable) experiences are events in
‘Le happy-end’ is a French expression. When it is used in English – Does the
our lives, which result in (uncountable) experience. Thus, an experiment
story have a happy end? – it is never hyphenated. (See hyphens)
may prove to be a memorable experience. The same distinction applies to
enfin corresponds to several different notions: the corresponding verbs, to experiment and to experience.
• at last (the positive Ouf! at the end of a wait);
• in the end or finally (» à la longue, finalement); and
farther vs further
• last or lastly (or finally) which are used before the final item in a series.
Use farther for measurable space and time (farther down the road), and further for
See also at and in with the beginning and the end more abstract notions (further reading provided the proof she needed).
ever few
First of all, ever is used like jamais in French. I think I’m skiing better than ever. Like peu, few without an article emphasizes the smallness of the following
(Have you ever heard that one before?) | Never more! In English it also means: quantity; a few means simply a small number. Contrast He has few friends
• increasingly, or more all the time: computers get ever more complex and ever (so he feels lonely) with He has a few friends (and he’s perfectly satisfied).
more powerful; it’s an ever-changing world. See also toujours (and hyphens). The same applies to little (+ uncountable) – but beware, le peu de can also
• always or eternally: ever more; ever open; ever present; ever ready. Some com- mean the lack (or absence) of. See also countable vs uncountable nouns
mon instances have become a single word: everlasting and forever. (See for fiction
ever contrasted with forever.) An evergreen is a plant or tree that keeps its All imaginary, invented narratives in prose are fiction, i.e. not fact. The term fic-
leaves throughout the year, unlike a deciduous one. tion is often used as though it were synonymous with the novel. Jane Austen
• Ever combines with question words for emphasis: however (However you do was a great fiction writer / a great novelist. Length is the criterion (q.v.) used
it = de quelque manière que tu le fasses | However tall he may be = si grand to distinguish between basic types of fiction: the short story (no more than
qu’il soit); whenever (chaque fois que); what(so)ever (Bring whatever you can. a few pages); the novella (which may be just long enough, say 30,000
Whatsoever you bring, I’ll find a use for it.), and who(so)ever (quiconque), the ‘so’ words, to be sold as a separate work, but is usually bundled with other
adding an absolute dimension (rarely used in however or whenever). stories); and the novel (which may run to several volumes). Fictionalized
On the other hand, in questions that express strong feeling, they are writ- documentary is docu-fiction.
ten as two separate words; here ever corresponds to something like diable
in French: Why ever did you do it? What ever were you thinking of? Who ever first
are you going to ask for help? How (or when) ever will I see you again? English distinguishes between the first two (for instance) and the two first. Take
• In familiar, spoken English, ever also serves for emphasis in ever since, ever ten different poems: the first line of each poem will make a total of ten
so, and ever such. ‘Do I like him? Oh ever so! (= énormément). He’s ever such a first lines, whereas if we take just one poem, we can refer to its first ten lines.
good dancer, so I come here ever so often. Ever since I met him in fact.’ This applies to any number as well as to last.
) With next (q.v.), only the form the next four lines is possible.
excerpt vs extract
• It’s the first time is followed by the present perfect where French uses the
Any passage, from a line or so to a whole chapter, extracted (or excerpted)
present. Well, it’s the first time I’ve heard that rule!
from a text and presented separately, is an extract (or an excerpt) from the
See also at first; at, in and on; numbers; and one
original text. Do not call quotations extracts in an essay; an anthology
contains extracts. for ever means definitive(ly) or for all time – and forever means repeatedly. Diamonds
On the other hand, the extract of s.t. is a natural or industrial product: are for ever. | James Bond is forever making love with beautiful girl spies.
Extract of coffee and extract of vanilla are used for flavouring foods. It used to • This distinction is semantically significant; only the ignorant ignore it.
figure in the names of patent remedies. Pond’s extract | Liebig’s extract. See also ever

freedom vs liberty Lord is followed by a place name or a family name when the bearer is a mar-
As a general rule, use freedom for the philosophical concept, and liberty for quis [mɑkwis], earl, viscount [vaikaunt] or baron, and by a first name
countable concrete examples, including symbolic figures (the Statue of when he is the younger son of a duke or marquis. Requires my when used
Liberty). Contrast the liberty to move (physical) with freedom of movement without a name: Yes, my lord, pronounced [məlɔd] or [milɔd].
(the principle; no article). Use freedom in contexts like the captive struggled madam is the formal and polite term of address for a woman whose name is
to reach freedom or a freedom fighter, because it is the ideal of being free not known, used especially in shops, restaurants, and hotels. Can I help you,
that motivates these people. Think of freedom of information. madam? Use Dear Madam in letters when you do not know the name of
Liberty combines easily with other nouns, as in liberty bell / day / man / ship, the woman you are writing to; cf. Sir. A madam keeps a brothel.
and civil liberties; it takes prepositions – I am not at liberty to answer your Miss is the traditional honorific for an unmarried woman, used both in front
question. It also forms phrases like to take liberties (i.e. to be unduly or of the name (with or without the first name) and alone. Schoolchildren
improperly familiar), and to take the liberty to do or say s.t. often call their teacher Miss, whatever her marital status, and in the past
See also concrete and abstract nouns all young women were addressed in this way, especially by their social
inferiors. Today, use the first name and family name when speaking;
habiter
when writing, use Ms. See also abbreviations
habiter is rendered by to inhabit (or, of course, to live in). Habitation has
Mr is used for every otherwise untitled man (e.g. not a professor or a doctor).
much the same meaning in both French and English – i.e. the concept
It should never be spelled out in front of a name unless you wish to be
(signs of human habitation) as well as ‘a place or building in which to live’
facetious, mocking, or insulting. (Begin a letter with Dear Mr A.) On the
– but habitants are inhabitants, habitable is inhabitable, and so for inhabitable
other hand, it is spelled out in popular titles. Mister Switzerland. Used with-
(meaning ‘not suitable to live in’), English uses uninhabitable.
out a name to represent uneducated speech, it is spelled out. Hey, mister!
hardly means à peine, scarcely. The adverb of hard is hard: Tess worked hard. Where d’you think you’re goin’? See also abbreviations
See also presque Mrs [misiz] is the traditional honorific for a married woman. Mrs Gaskell. It is
here, there and where all have old forms with a ‘sense of direction’: never written out, except to represent uneducated speech, spelled missis
to here : hither from here : hence or missus. Now generally replaced by Ms. (Begin a letter with Dear Ms A.)
to there : thither from there : thence Ms [məz] is the politically correct written honorific for all women, used in
to where : whither from where : whence front of the family name only (i.e. without the first name): Ms Greer. As it
is unpronounceable, say: ‘Yes, madam’ (which is very formal; fine if you’re
They are mainly found in poetry and Biblical phrases. Whither goest thou
working in a hotel); ‘Yes, Miss’ (and risk causing offence); or play safe with
(q.v.)? Some are still used in academic discourse – hence this list.
‘Yes’ plus ‘I will’ / ‘you do’ / ‘it is’, etc., as applicable – unlike French, it is
See also orientation in space
standard English to omit the honorific in direct conversation.
honorifics and forms of address in BrE (see also names) Sir (with a capital letter) is the title of a knight or baronet and is followed by
Dame is the honorary title for a woman (corresponding to Sir); it is followed by a first name, or a first name and family name, but never with just a family
a first name, or a first name and family name, but never with just a family name. So Sir Peter Teazle is addressed as ‘Sir Peter’.
name. Dame Judi Dench. Never refer to women as dames. It is also used (with a capital) in letters when you do not know the name
Esq. Until about 1970, Esquire [iskwaiə] was placed, in its abbreviated form, of the man you are writing to. Dear Sir, Please find enclosed my application for
after the full name on any letter addressed to an otherwise untitled man. the job you advertised in today’s newspaper. Use the plural when writing to
It is now replaced by Mr, which is placed before the name. Esq. survives in firms and institutions. Dear Sirs. If you do not know the gender of the per-
AmE where it designates a lawyer (male or female). son you are addressing, use Dear Sir or Madam.
Lady is followed by a place name, a family name, or a first name, depending on • sir without a name (and no capital) is used as a polite way of addressing
whether the bearer is a peeress, a female relative of a peer, or the wife or an unknown man, especially in shops, restaurants, and hotels. What can I
widow of a knight (see Sir), respectively. Used alone and without a capital do for you, sir? Schoolchildren use it for their male teachers; cf. Miss. Please
letter only in uneducated speech. Give us a penny, lady! sir, I know the answer!

honorifics and the definite article • to involve s.o. is to include them in an activity or process. Compared with
In BrE, only two honorifics are preceded by a definite article, the Reverend and to implicate, it is morally neutral. When the complement is a verb, use the
the Honourable, because they are adjectives. Write the Reverend (or Rev., or –ing form: activity x involves doing action y. Also used passively. Elizabeth did
Revd) Chasuble, and the Honourable (or Hon.) Algernon Moncrieff. Otherwise not expect Darcy to be involved in her sister’s wedding.
it’s General de Gaulle, Queen Elizabeth, and President Putin. important (FA) has only a qualitative meaning in English, not a quantitative
) For this reason it is not possible to address or refer to a clergyman as plain one, so when it precedes the noun in French, as in une importante somme
Reverend in BrE. You have to call him by his clerical status: Tell me, Vicar, d’argent, use an adjective denoting size, e.g. a large sum of money.
how close is your house to Rosings Park? AmE ignores this rule.
in to vs into
humain In may combine with to when the two prepositions fulfil similar functions in
In essays, call people human beings unless you are contrasting them with animals. the sentence. He put his hand into his pocket. When in is part of a verb (e.g.
A perfect human figure (Gulliver’s Travels, Bk IV, Ch.2). to give s.t. in) it does not combine with the to that introduces the indirect
• As a rule, keep humane for human behaviour that respects other species. complement: She handed her essay in to her teacher. Contrast this with *He
Laboratory animals must be treated humanely. handed his essay into his teacher: somehow, the essay goes by hand ‘into’
hyphens the teacher – stuffed down his throat perhaps?
Compound adjectives need hyphenating in English. A man-eating tiger is very inversion of subject and verb is less frequent in English than in French. As a
different from a man eating tiger. Contrast also to be well known (adverb + general rule, invert only
past participle, never hyphenated), and a well-known person or work. • for questions (Is that so?), or hypotheses (replacing if): ‘Had we but world
See also dashes; time & space; and word-breaks enough, and time …’—Andrew Marvell. NB ‘Had we but’ means ‘if only we had’.
ill • when a negative or a restrictive, like seldom (but not perhaps), heads the
In BrE, ill traditionally meant to be or to feel unwell, whereas sick implied that sentence. Not until the third chapter does the narrator reveal his identity. | Never
the sufferer was nauseous and might vomit. The meanings are reversed before had she written so long a novel. | At no point is the movement perceptible.
in AmE. Because BrE usage is increasingly following AmE, ‘I was sick | Rarely does the author allow her presence to be felt. | Only in the final scene is
this morning’ could now mean ‘I did not feel well’ rather than ‘I vomit- the villain unmasked. See also only
ed’. To avoid ambiguity, use well and unwell as appropriate. • when an adjective or adverb heads the sentence, as often found in poetry
The expression ‘he called in sick’ means that he telephoned his employer (‘Much have I travelled in the realms of gold’—Keats) and
to announce that, not feeling well, he would not be coming to work. • in exclamations beginning with how (How green was my valley!).
There is a familiar expression for this: to throw a sickie. • After quoted direct speech, inversion is optional, a stylistic effect that
British mothers also use poorly to mean unwell. ‘Are you feeling poorly?’ she belongs to fiction-writing rather than the critical essay. ‘Sheer magnetism,
asked her daughter. darling,’ said Bond. When the subject is a pronoun, invert only with the
• When ill qualifies a state of health, it must be used predicatively, like the verbs say and ask. ‘The things I do for England,’ said he with a sigh.
a- words: The child is ill = The child is unwell = It is a sick child. (See pronouns) • No inversion is required in statements that may seem like indirect ques-
• Meaning unfavourable it is used pronominally (ill health | ill omen | ill use tions. Exactly where the story takes place is not made clear. | I don’t know how
[jus] – see z/s), and with a verb form (often the past participle) it forms a the story ends. Unlike in French, inversion is not an option here.
compound with a similarly ‘bad’ meaning: to ill-treat | ill-advised | ill-formed, See also non plus, and what & which
etc. (See hyphens for compound adjectives) it
impliquer covers several different meanings: French structures like Comme je l’ai dit plus haut … Comme nous l’avons vu …
• to implicate s.o. is to show that the person has participated in s.t. bad. Ainsi que vous pouvez le constater … must be rendered without an it in
• to imply s.t. is to communicate in a manner that leaves the addressee to English: As we have already seen. As you may have noticed, this occurs par-
deduce what you mean. ‘Is that so?’ ‘Are you implying that I’m wrong?’ ticularly in sentences beginning with as.

• Conversely, an idiomatic, anticipatory it is required after verbs of delib- a following infinitive (cf. quitter); if it has one, it will be with to; and it
eration like consider, find, judge, think and to give it as one’s opinion that.… means either to permit or to go away (s’en aller; partir).
I thought it useful to bring this to your attention. The same applies to struc- ) Let go and leave go both mean lâche! – but if a direct complement is added,
tures like: I take it that you agree with me (Je pars de l’idée que vous êtes d’ac- only let is possible. Let him go! With an adverb it remains let: Let him go
cord). | Stop proposing solutions! You’re making it hard for me to choose. alone! (Qu’il aille seul!) But with an adjective, the verb must be leave: Leave
See also to leave s.o. to do s.t.; so; and also worth him alone! (Laissez-le tranquille!)
jusqu’à • let cannot be used in a passive structure; use allow: They would not let me
Use until (’til or even till) only for time; for movement use to or as far as. Lady speak = I was not allowed to speak.
Catherine offered to take Elizabeth with her as far as London, in her barouche. • Verbs of movement, such as go and come, may be omitted after let, the
In writing, an old form, hitherto, meaning until now (jusqu’alors), is still direction being expressed by a preposition. ‘Let me in – let me in!’ cried
used for time; see here, there and where. Catherine at the window. | Estella approached with the keys to let me out.
For ‘space’ in texts use down to or up to. Down to the end | Up to p.123. • Both to let s.o. do s.t. and to leave s.o. to do s.t. convey the idea that the subject
does not intervene, let inclining more to the idea of permission, and leave
juxtaposition vs coordination
to the notion of desertion or leaving the object alone. So Let me do it by
French tends to juxtapose ideas, whether as nouns, phrases, or whole sen-
myself means I want you to allow me to do it without your help, and Leave me
tences. English does not, preferring to show the relationship between
to do it by myself means I want you to go away while I do it without another per-
them. So put and between two items, and before the last item in a list. X,
son, including you, being present. Contrast Let him speak! You’re hindering him,
y, and z (or or, depending on the context: X, y, or z.)
and Leave him to speak (while we go for a beer).
• In English, two grammatically independent sentences must be separated
• to leave s.o. to do s.t. may include the notion of entrusting the person with
by at least a semi-colon, not just a comma (as in French). The French
the (possibly unwelcome) responsibility of performing a task. I’ll leave you
practice is deplored in English as a run-on sentence or comma splice.
to do that while I’m away. The same idea may be expressed with an idio-
• For the same reason, verbless sentences are unacceptable in expository
matic it: I’ll leave it to you to put in the corrections. See also it
prose (as found in essays and articles).
loose vs lose
language
English, French, and German are each a (countable) language. Language is • loose [lus] means not tight (loose clothes); not attached or not firmly fixed (a
uncountable when it means a style of speech – metaphorical language, for loose end | a loose tooth | to break loose); or not assembled into a compact unit
example – and in this case it takes no article. Contrast What a language! Is (loose hair | loose change). It is also a noun: on the loose = en liberté.
it Hindustani? with What language! Stop swearing, please! • to lose [luz] is the verb corresponding to perdre. Compared with loose it
See also capital letters, and countable vs uncountable has lost an o, which makes the spelling easy to remember.
Contrast looser [lusə] = moins serré with a loser [luzə] = un perdant, un(e)
laugh, laughing and laughter raté(e). See also z/s
All three correspond to le rire: laugh is countable and punctual (a short laugh | his
fooling raised a few laughs); laughing (uncountable) is durative (There is gen- Ltd
erally no laughing at a funeral) and more directed towards the action, where- Placed after the name of a company, Ltd indicates that the financial responsi-
as laughter (also uncountable) may be concrete, evoking the sound (Their bility of the shareholders is limited (cf. the French Sàrl). When speaking,
laughter echoed down the corridor) or abstract, as in Bergson’s 1900 study of say [limitid]. Like Inc. (short for incorporated; say [iŋk]), it is an abbrevia-
laughter, Le Rire. (For punctual and durative see aspect) tion, not an acronym, so it does not need to be spelled out. Not written
in capital letters. For the punctuation, see abbreviations
leave vs let
Both translate laisser, and the difference in usage is as much a question of struc- make vs do
ture as of meaning. First of all, let is an auxiliary that requires an infinitive Both make and do translate faire. As a general rule, make is punctual, used for
without to and means to allow. On the other hand, leave can stand without constructive, creative activities (love | an effort | a fortune) or ones involving

personal responsibility (a promise | a mistake | a mess | war), whereas do is • a reminder is anything that causes s.o. to remember s.t.
durative, used for routine, habitual activities (the shopping | the washing | • a reminiscence is an account of one or several memories. Old men love rem-
one’s teeth), including studies (I’m doing English at school), jobs and – in iniscing about the exploits of their youth.
questions – professions: What does he do? He’s a lawyer but he also does odd • a souvenir (FA) is an object, often of little use or value, that is sold to
jobs at the weekend. (For punctual and durative see aspect) tourists, or something kept as a reminder of a past event or person. Don
Thus we can contrast to make a crossword (i.e. create one) with to do a Juan kept souvenirs (a hairpin, for example) of all the women he had slept with.
crossword (i.e. resolve one); and to do time (in prison as a punishment)
memory: verbs
with to make time (create or find the time to do s.t.).
• to memorize is to deliberately and consciously commit s.t. to memory; to
• In passive constructions, the contrast is clear: You’re made! (i.e. your learn by heart. The actress was memorizing her lines (see réplique).
future is assured) | You’ve been done (i.e. swindled; cf. se faire avoir). • to recall s.t. – a deliberate act of remembering; cannot be intransitive. Can
• Note also: That’s a nice new car! What speed does it do? | She does for the you recall what you were doing at this time last week? Also used when an
Hadley-Smiths (i.e. does the housework for them). | He did (i.e. enquired at) object has similarities with s.t. else. This story recalls the early work of James
all the food shops in search of a cucumber for the sandwiches, without success. Joyce. No indirect complement can be added; cf. to remind s.o. of s.t.
marked vs unmarked forms • to recollect s.t. emphasizes the ability to remember s.t. A formal verb, it is
The marked form of a pair of words carries more distinguishing features than often used interrogatively, negatively, or with if. ‘Do you recollect what you
the unmarked. Compared with animal, words like cow, horse, mouse, and were doing on the night of November 5?’ enquired the judge.
pig are all marked forms; compared with horse, words like foal, gelding, • to remember (to do) s.t. – a spontaneous or a deliberate act; can be either
mare, and stallion are marked forms. This distinction can be applied to transitive or intransitive; must have an animate subject. I remember, I
syntactic structures: I know is unmarked whereas I do know is marked (or remember / The house where I was born—Th. Hood. You can tell s.o. to
emphatic). remember to do s.t.: Remember to hand in your essay on time!
• to remind s.o. of s.t. or to do s.t. – an interpersonal transaction; cannot be
marriage & matrimony vs wedding
intransitive. Bulstrode reminded the doctor of his promise (= that he had
Use marriage for the state and the relationship; matrimony for the institution; promised) to give his services free of charge. | Remind me to hand in my essay!
and wedding for the ceremony. Their wedding lasted two days and their mar- • to remind s.o. of s.t. – a subjective experience: a characteristic of s.o. or s.t.
riage only three – matrimony obviously didn’t agree with them. An old- makes s.o. think of s.o. or s.t. else. Always with both direct and indirect
fashioned word for the institution of marriage, wedlock, would be complements. This story reminds me of the early work of James Joyce.
possible here (wedlock obviously didn’t agree with them), but it might sound
pompous. It is still used in the phrase ‘born out of wedlock,’ meaning mépris(er)
‘born on the wrong side of the blanket’, i.e. illegitimate. • to despise s.o. or s.t. is a verb only. The noun is scorn (or contempt).
• to scorn is generally used with things rather than people, with the mean-
memory: nouns ing of to refuse s.t. with disdain. Jane scorned his assistance in descending from
• a memoir is a short personal account of past events; usually plural when
the carriage at Thornfield. | Scorn not the sonnet—Wordsworth.
used in the title of an autobiography: Memoirs of a Cavalier.
• a memory is a trace in the mind of a past event. Treasure happy memories!
milieu
• remembrance is generally used only in the sense of honouring the memory
Use middle (e.g. in the middle of the novel) unless the idea of surrounded by (au
of s.o. or s.t. I summon up remembrance of things past—Shakespeare (Sonnet milieu de la foule) is implied, in which case use in the midst (of the crowd).
NB You can say by or in the middle, but not at.
30). Remembrance Day honours the dead of two world wars.
• Use milieu for the social circle or class in which a person moves.
• a recollection is a memory that you bring to consciousness, often used neg-
atively, e.g. He had no recollection of what happened after he drank the bottle moment and moment cover much the same semantic fields, but à tout moment
of vodka. As an uncountable, it emphasizes the act of remembering, most can be tricky: at any moment works when the actual time is unknown,
often used in the set phrase, ‘to the best of my recollection’. while for an event which you know is soon to occur, and therefore expect,

it has to be any time now (or, of course, shortly (q.v.)): Her baby is due any • With next time, notice how the article is required if there is a comple-
time now, so her husband may arrive at any moment. ment: Remember this next time. | Remember this the next time you write.
moral, morals, morale, and morality no meaning pas de or aucun
• The moral [mɔrəl] (countable) of a story is the lesson that can be drawn Use no before nouns and comparatives. No man is an island—John Donne. | No
from it; it may be explicitly expressed by the writer or left for the reader way! | No hope! | no fewer than before | no greater love | no less a man
to deduce. La Fontaine’s Fables often end with a moral. The moral of the no longer vs no more
story is that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Prefer no longer for time, and no more for other quantities. When Silas looked
• Morals (always plural) are the principles and values (q.v.) which underlie
round, she was no longer there. There was no more gold either.
the acceptable ways of behaving, for an individual or a society. Uriah
) When the no longer or no more precedes the verb, no auxiliary is required,
Heap’s lack of morals makes him one of Dickens’s most detestable villains.
because the no qualifies the longer or more and not the verb. At this point in
• The morale (uncountable; stress the second syllable [mərɑl]) of a person
the novel, she no longer wishes to marry him. See not only for a similar case.
or group is the level of optimism and confidence they feel, particularly in
See also no, and inversion
adverse situations. The morale of the soldiers that we glimpse in Jane Austen’s
• Remember that any more is always written as two separate words.
novels is consistently high, despite the war with France. See also stressing
• Morality (uncountable) is the principle or belief that some ways of behav- non plus
ing are right, proper, and acceptable, and that others are wrong. Does To express this notion, negate the main verb(s), and place either at the end of
Hardy question the morality of Tess’s murder of Alec D’Urberville? the second statement. She wasn’t there. He wasn’t either. (The first statement
may be implicit, or made earlier in the text.) In this structure only either
names
is possible.
Always use the customary names of famous people (such as writers). This is
Alternatively, you can use neither or nor as the first word of the second
usually the form found on the title page of their works, but may differ.
phrase + inversion. She wasn’t there. Neither was he. In this structure there
Thus we speak of the poet Keats, for example, as ‘Keats’ or ‘John Keats’. If
is no semantic difference between neither and nor. Let euphony and
you suddenly refer to ‘J. Keats’ in an essay, the reader may well think that
rhythm dictate your choice.
this is another Keats, since you are not using the customary form. Beware
Otherwise use nor only after neither or with an inversion after a negation.
of local traditions: Anglo-Saxons speak of ‘Poe’ or ‘Edgar Allan Poe’ but
Neither she nor I find this difficult. Nor do our friends.
never ‘Edgar Poe’ (as the French do).
• Nonplussed means to be surprised, confused or bewildered, so that the
• Do not call writers by their first name alone, as though they were old
person is not sure how to react. The question left me nonplussed.
friends of yours, except to distinguish between members of the same
) A new meaning – more or less opposite to this traditional meaning – has
family. When it came to writing poetry, Emily far surpassed her sisters.
recently appeared in AmE, as in he was clearly trying to appear nonplussed.
• When amongst speakers of English, wherever you may be, always give
This probably originated from the mistaken belief that non- was a nega-
your own name in the order: first name + family (or last) name. Of course
tive prefix. Avoid imitating this usage.
you may say, My name is Bond. Jane Bond, but never say *Bond Jane.
See also circumlocutions, and honorifics not only
next with and without the definite article
In sentences where not only precedes the verb, no auxiliary is required because
Without the definite article, next week / year means la semaine / l’année prochaine. the not governs the only and not the verb. Tess not only christens her child
but buries it as well. See no longer for a similar case. For sentences beginning
With the article, the next week / year (like the following week / year) means la
semaine / l’année suivante. The next day is le lendemain.
with not only, see inversion. See also only
• The next door is merely la porte suivante, whereas next door is the house or nouns ending –ic(s)
flat adjacent to the speaker’s, or the people who live there, les voisins. Next Of the more common abstract uncountable –ic nouns, only arithmetic, logic,
door wants us to turn down the volume. Next door (inv.) can take either a sin- magic, music and rhetoric do not have an ‘s’ at the end; they are always treat-
gular or a plural verb (see collective nouns). ed as singular. All the others (e.g. linguistics, mathematics, pragmatics, and

semantics) are treated as singular until they are qualified in some way, • In everyday speech, the zero is pronounced ‘oh’ [əu], represented in writ-
when they become plural. Acoustics is the science of sound. | The acoustics of ing by the lower-case letter o. Agent double-o-seven (007). In maths and
the concert hall were near perfect. | Their politics are dubious. the sciences it is nought [nɔt]. Nought point one (= 0.1). (In Britain, the years
) In BrE, mathematics is abbreviated to maths; in AmE it is math. 2000 to 2009 are punningly referred to as ‘the noughties’.)
• As a general rule, prefer the more concrete form of abstract –ic nouns. Use zero to name the number in isolation (The progression tends towards
Symbolism rather than the symbolic, theme rather than the thematic, and zero) and for counting down. Three. Two. One. Zero. We have lift-off!
problem rather than the problematic. These abstract forms have special- Beside nought there is the archaic word naught, also pronounced [nɔt],
ized meanings which may be thought of as the state produced by the cor- meaning nothing; it is used in set phrases such as it was for naught (cela ne
responding verb: the problematic is what is produced by problematizing servait à rien), bring to naught (= to ruin), and he’s naught but a fool.
something; the symbolic is produced by symbolizing. • Stress thir‘teen clearly on the second syllable, and ‘thirty on the first. The
• As a rule, countable nouns never end with the ‘s’ in the singular. For the same applies to all the numbers from 14 to 19 versus 40 to 90.
exceptions see nouns ending –s. >101 After one hundred, we use figures when writing, unless we are being
See also adjectives in –ic and –ical approximate: Barbara Cartland wrote more than seven hundred books.
• When speaking, we have two options. A number used as a means of refer-
nouns ending –s
ence is usually ‘named’ digit by digit: ‘Look at page one two three four (=
A few countable nouns end with s in the singular. The common ones are: a
p.1234) in your Norton Anthology.’ This also applies to telephone numbers,
barracks, a crossroads, a means, and a series [siəriz]. Their plural form being
post codes, car number plates, etc. When we feel we are counting, on the
exactly the same as the singular, only the verb will indicate the number.
other hand, we name the hundreds and thousands: ‘I’ve written two thou-
The means employed is /are as important as the desired end.
sand, six hundred and thirty-seven words today!’ Remember to say the ‘and’
• news (les nouvelles) is always singular; the news is not good this morning.
after the hundreds in BrE, and after the thousands when no hundred is
• the Middle Ages (see dates), surroundings, and thanks are always plural. mentioned. 2018: two thousand and eighteen.
• For maths see nouns ending –ic(s) • Use roman numerals for monarchs, e.g. Henry VIII. We say ‘Henry the Eighth’
nous sommes but do not write the article. Where the printed source does so, use roman
Journalistic French commonly introduces the time and/or place of a scene or numerals for acts and scenes in plays and parts of novels. When not
action with ‘Nous sommes’ (en France en 1914 et la guerre vient d’éclater, for spelled out, centuries are always written in arabic numerals. In no case
example). This is not done in written English. In fact, using ‘we are’ like should you write the st, nd, rd, or th that we pronounce; cf. dates.
this might give the impression that the writer is thoroughly confused. See also dates, and definite article
Write something like, The novel opens in France at the outbreak of the first offrir is a FA when used to mean to give (a present): ses parents lui ont offert une voi-
world war. cf. we can notice ture pour ses vingt ans. Translate this using offer and an English speaker
numbers would expect the statement to continue with something like, and (s)he
When a number, however large or small, is the first word of a sentence, it declined at once, saying (s)he would prefer a trip round the world. to offer means
should always be spelled out. Three days later … | Nineteen Eighty-Four is by far to propose s.t. that the other may refuse, hence an offer of marriage.
the most famous of George Orwell’s novels. See also dates one(s) substitutes for a noun that has just been mentioned. This poem is a
< 100 All numbers up to one hundred should be spelled out in literary prose difficult one. | It was not really an issue of black or white but one of perceived
(the first sixty chapters of Bleak House), except in page references (see ‘num- notions of right and wrong. It is not required after a colour (I prefer the blue),
bers after one hundred’, below). an ordinal number, a genitive, a comparative or a superlative, including
• When speaking, pronounce numbers as you do when counting (I’m quot- first and last. This book was his third. It was his best and last. | Charlotte’s view of
ing line twelve of stanza twenty-seven), except for digits after the decimal marriage was not the same as Elizabeth’s.
point; name them one by one: 3.142 = three point one four two. • Ones cannot be used after quantifiers like a few, many, several, etc.

only governs the word that follows immediately after it, so place it carefully. • For d’où in argumentation use hence or whence – see here, there and where.
Only she could hate him for what he had said. | She could only hate him for what
own (adj.) must be preceded by a possessive article: my / her / our / their own
he had said. | She could hate only him for what he had said. | She could hate him
book, for example. *An own book is impossible.
only for what he had said (and therefore not for what he had done) | She could
hate him for what he had only said (and not done). passive voice
See also inversion of subject and verb In literary analysis, avoid impersonal statements like ‘it is said’. The passive
or voice deletes the agent, whereas one of the major components of close
To render the French conjunction or, you have to choose between although, reading consists in determining who (particularly between narrator and
and, but, however, and yet, or various phrases. To introduce: character, poet and persona) says what.
• conflicting evidence (and mean et pourtant), use although, but or (and) yet: pendant
His diary records that he sent the poem off at once, but / (and) yet the editor When something happens in the course of an (implied) period of time, use dur-
claims he never received it. However requires a fresh sentence: However, the ing. During the night | During those two days. During the story is possible only
editor claims he never received it. A milder form uses just and: Tu m’as dit que when ‘story’ means the telling of it or the lapse of time that it covers. In
tu serais là, or tu n’y étais pas = You told me you’d be there and you weren’t. the latter case, in the course of the story would be preferable.
• clinching evidence (le coup de grâce), use a phrase like Now the fact (of the
• To express a period of or a duration of, use for: She stayed for the night / for two
matter) is that | It just so happens that | What actually happened was that …
days / for the rest of her life.
orientation in space and the sense of direction For pendant tout(e) (la nuit, for example) see throughout
English has a more developed sense of spatial orientation than French.
Consider King Dagobert who put his trousers on à l’envers: were they penny
upside down, inside out, back-to-front, the wrong way round, or just on back- In the past, the British penny (see pounds, shillings and pence) had two plural
wards? Each term has a slightly different meaning. Another example: Je forms: pennies for the coins, and pence for their value; so s.t. worth
suis là! means ‘I am here!’ In English, only a schizophrenic could say, ‘I twopence (pronounced and sometimes spelled 'tuppence) could be pur-
am there’! chased with two pennies. Since decimalization in 1971, people say [pi] for
• Many English verbs imply direction with respect to the speaker, as in bor- both: It’s only worth 3p. | Have you got a 2p piece? [ə tu pi pis]
row vs lend (see prêter), bring vs take or send, come vs go, drive vs lead (mener).
people is either singular, corresponding to peuple, or the standard plural of per-
When you pay to live in a house or flat that belongs to some other party, son (q.v.). Some people began to say, ‘Let’s consult the people.’
you rent it; the owner lets it.
• Beware of French words in which the re– prefix does not imply repetition, permettre covers a much wider semantic field than to permit, which is generally
as in se retourner for to turn round, and réunir for bring together or unite. used only for the act of giving s.o. permission to do s.t., often passively.
Rendre: students hand in their work; teachers hand it back. Visitors are often permitted to view stately homes. In negative and passive
See also here, there and where, and this vs that sentences, to allow is frequently employed: Unauthorized persons (q.v.) not
allowed beyond this point. See also leave, and let
où
French habitually uses où with reference to time (le jour où); English generally Other ways of expressing permettre depend on the complement:
does not. When the period of time (day, week, month, etc.) is specified, • When the object is a person, use to enable or to make it possible for s.o. to do
use when. Elizabeth would never forget the day when she first saw Pemberley. s.t. This approach enables the novelist to …
You can also use on which for days, and in which or during which for longer • When the object is a thing, use to make s.t. possible, or to make it possible to
(and less definite) periods of time. That was the year in which / the summer do s.t. That’s what makes the tragedy possible.
in which / the holiday during which / she first saw Pemberley. • for permettre + an infinitive, use to enable and add a direct complement: Le
• For conditions, states and situations use in which or which … in – or of course couplet final permet de résoudre la situation. The closing couplet enables the
nothing: ‘given the situation I’m in …’ (la situation où je suis). speaker to resolve the situation.

• permit, allow and enable all require a direct object. In other words, you can- [θripni bit] (3d), the sixpence [sikspəns] (the smallest of the silver coins,
not say *This allows to draw the following conclusion. familiarly called a tanner), the shilling (familiarly bob (inv.); thus 10s was
person has two plurals: ten bob), the florin or two-shilling piece (2s), the half-crown (2s–6d or 2/6),
and the crown (5s; from 1850 onwards, minted only in small quantities for
persons, which is generally used in formal and legal contexts (This table
commemorative purposes).
seats four persons | Several missing persons have recently been found), and
people (q.v.) corresponding to gens. People think I’m mad.
These coins were often referred to collectively by the name of the princi-
pal metal they contained: pennies were coppers, and the sixpence
See also pronouns
upwards silver (inv.). They begged for coppers and were astonished to receive
persuader a shower of silver.
As a general rule, use to persuade for the process of making s.o. change their • The £1 coin, made of gold and called a sovereign [sɔvrin], was withdrawn
mind (cf. points of view), and to be convinced for the state of having been in 1914 after 450 years and replaced with a paper note, which in turn gave
persuaded or having a fixed opinion or prejudice about s.t. Thus j’en suis way to a round £1 coin in 1971 – superseded by a 12-sided coin in 2017.
persuadé is I’m convinced (of it). | Are you convinced? Have I succeeded in per- • Another old gold piece, the guinea [ini], worth 21s (£1–1s–0d) was not
suading you to use these verbs like this? minted after 1813, but some prices, particularly of luxury goods, were still
points of view quoted in guineas right up until decimalization in 1971.
Your views and opinions express your own thoughts and ideas. Note the prepo- préciser has no single, precise(!), equivalent verb in English. You can use to clar-
sition: you have an opinion of a person, and about or on a topic. With views, ify or to specify or phrases like to make it clear that, to be quite clear about s.t., to
only on is possible: What are your views on gay marriage? be (or more) specific about s.t., to spell s.t. out, etc.
• Point of view contains an implicit spatial metaphor of being situated in a Il faut préciser que may be rendered by it must (or should) be pointed out that
certain spot. You express your ideas about s.t., or opinion of s.t., from … Alternatively, use I should (like to) add or mention that …
‘where you stand’; you cannot have a point of view about s.t. • precision is uncountable and refers to the fact or condition of being accu-
Point of view is synonymous with perspective: a mountain seen from a high- rate or precise. What detailed precision in this short story!
flying aeroplane may appear a mere pimple, while from the riverbed at • To render the French notion of additional facts, use further (q.v.) details,
its foot it towers to heaven. Thus we can share the same opinion (It’s a or more information. Une précision! introducing an intervention at a meet-
mountain!), even though our points of view (or standpoints) are quite dif- ing or debate would be On a point of information, I should like to add that ….
ferent. Elizabeth had a low opinion of Mr Darcy. From her point of view he was • In an essay, plus précisément is best rendered by more specifically.
proud and snobbish (q.v.), and Wickham offered her a similar perspective. From prepositions
Darcy’s standpoint, of course, the matter was quite otherwise.
English is rich in prepositions, each with specific uses and collocations;
• Where opinions are polarized into for or against, another metaphor, posi-
French has fewer, making de work extremely hard. Depending on what
tion, is sometimes used: What is your position on state intervention?
precedes it, de may correspond to any preposition in English from about
• For un changement d’avis English uses a change of mind; the verb is to change
to with – or none at all (my father’s house | a money matter). And when de
one’s (or s.o. else’s) mind – not opinion – as in to make up one’s mind. NB No means en tant que (son rôle d’écrivain) you need as (q.v.).
other verbs collocate with mind to express this.
The best thing is to learn the way native speakers do, through attentive
• Do not use vision for opinion; it refers to future possibilities.
listening and reading. Then you’ll know which prepositions go with
pounds, shillings and pence each noun, verb, or adjective, and in what context, e.g. careful about / of /
Until it was decimalized in 1971, the British system of currency was based on to / with; absent from; close to; far from; synonymous with; the reason for s.t.; the
the penny (q.v., abbreviated d), the shilling (s), and the pound (£). There story about / of | a story by; and to suffer from, etc.
were twelve pennies in a shilling, and twenty shillings in a pound (famil- The situation is complicated by differences between BrE and AmE, and
iarly quid (inv.); thus £2 is two quid). The coins included the farthing the enduring tendency of BrE to ape AmE usage. For example, until very
[fɑðiŋ] (¼d), the ha’penny [heipni] (½d), the penny, the threepenny bit recently, standard BrE speakers filled in documents that have spaces for

answers; AmE said fill out. I recently had an email over the signature of • In short answers (Non, presque pas.), almost collocates with never and none,
the President of the Society of Authors, who is as English as you can get, and hardly with any and ever. ‘Is there any wine left?’ ‘No, hardly any / almost
inviting me to fill out a questionnaire. none.’ ‘In any case, do you drink?’ ‘Hardly ever / almost never.’
In addition, AmE speakers attempt to compensate for their lack confi- prétendre (FA)
dence in the ‘correctness’ of their English by doubling up, saying, for to pretend means faire semblant. For prétendre (que) use to claim (that), except in
instance, ‘to jump from off a bridge’, whereas BrE makes a semantic differ- the very specific noun form: the pretender to the throne.
ence between to jump from a chosen point of departure with an implied
‘destination’ (jumping from rock to rock) and ‘to jump off s.t.’ (having been prêter
on it) with the landing place left unclear. He broke the world free-fall record lending is usually casual. Would you lend me your book? If you borrow £10 from a
by jumping from a balloon on the edge of space. (‘Off a balloon’ would imply friend, (s)he lends you £10. (See orientation in space) You could write ‘IOU
that he was initially standing on the top of it!) £10’ (the names of the letters sound like ‘I owe you’) on a slip of paper;
See also depend on it!, and excerpt vs extract this would be informal, almost facetious, yet a formal acknowledgement
of a debt (une reconnaissance de dette) is called an IOU (written like this).
present vs future to loan is more formal, requiring a written agreement; Banks loan money. The
In English, the simple present tense often fulfils functions that correspond to corresponding noun is a loan. Beware of loan sharks (les usuriers).
the future in French. When discussing events in a work of fiction (q.v.) • For the French idiom, prêter une opinion à qq., use to attribute an opinion
and the reader’s experience of that work, use the present rather than the to s.o., or to believe one knows, or to claim to know, another person’s
future (which tends to sound like a prediction). Ultimately, the reader dis- opinion. On m’a prêté des mauvaises intentions: people believe I have evil inten-
covers that Emma marries Mr Knightley. tions. Neither lend nor loan is used for this.
present vs past • prêter attention à qqn or qqch is to pay attention to s.o. or s.t.
Use the present to recount fictional events – In the end Elizabeth marries Mr Darcy priceless is used (pronominally) for something that is so precious or rare that
– and the simple past for historical events. Charles meets Sarah in the spring its value cannot easily be determined (a priceless work of art). Used infor-
of 1867, the year the first volume of Das Kapital was published. mally, and usually as a predicate, it means extremely funny, hilarious. Her
See also nous sommes comment was priceless; it had us all in fits (i.e. endlessly laughing).
presque to procure is a FA! While basically meaning to obtain s.t., especially with care
In affirmative statements, reserve nearly for concrete (We’re nearly there), rather or effort (she procured the drugs that he depended on), it is often used with
than abstract, contexts or situations; almost and practically can be used in the meaning of obtaining a prostitute for another person (so a procurer is
any context. (virtually does not mean quite the same thing.) a proxénète) or causing s.o. to do s.t., often illegal or illicit.
• As very nearly belongs rather to the spoken language, when writing use all Safer verbs are to obtain, to provide, or with sensations, to arouse.
but (the poem was all but finished) or well-nigh, a literary word which adds a pronouns
tinge of regret. Such a marriage was well-nigh impossible for Romeo. English possessive pronouns ‘agree’ with the gender of the human owner of
• Use almost to qualify an adverb: Darcy turned to go almost immediately. an object, thus Le livre de la femme dans la main de l’homme is simply her book
• Where presque can be replaced by quasi, prefer practically. Elizabeth was in his hand. Other species and things like machines take personal pro-
practically certain that she would never see him again. nouns only when we attribute human qualities to them.
In negative statements (i.e. presque pas), use hardly, or barely. • English lacks an impersonal pronoun for a person, someone, no one, collec-
• For presque plus, you can say almost no (q.v.) in addition to barely, hardly and tive nouns, and adjectives and past participles used as nouns (see adjec-
scarcely + any: She felt there was almost no hope left (= barely / hardly / scarcely tives). So we use they and their: Someone has left their coat here.
any hope left). • In the case of baby and child, however, we cannot use the plural, so we fall
• For presque rien think of virtually nothing as well as almost nothing and barely back on it. This avoids the unpronounceable ‘(s)he’ and ‘her or his’ etc.,
anything. not to mention the embarrassment of getting the gender wrong.

• Beware of inadvertently changing pronoun in mid sentence. If you start • Rhyming reduplication: argy-bargy, hanky-panky, scallywag, ragtag, raggle-taggle,
with one, carry on with one. Do not slip to I or we by mistake. razzle-dazzle, walkie-talkie, and Pall Mall; the bee’s knees, easy-peasy, squeaky
See also thou, thee and thy/thine clean, teenie-weenie, helter-skelter, and pell-mell (the latter is interesting
because it comes from the French pèle-mèle, suggesting that, at some
provoquer is a FA when it means to cause s.t. to happen or to bring s.t. about.
point in the past, French enjoyed the same game); higgledy-piggledy, nitty-
To provoke s.o. is to (deliberately) make them angry. The corresponding
gritty, silly-billy, willy-nilly (from ‘will ye, nill ye’, i.e. whether you want to or
noun is provocation. The present participle is often used adjectivally in
not; volens nolens), wingding; bow-wow, hocus-pocus, hoity-toity, hokey-pokey,
this sense when addressing a child: Don’t be so provoking! (i.e. Your behaviour
honky-tonky; boogie-woogie; Humpty Dumpty, fuddy-duddy, mumbo-jumbo,
is annoying me.). Beware: the primary meaning of provocative is ‘tending
lovey-dovey, super-duper, and hurdy-gurdy.
to arouse sexual desire’—NODE.
• In what is known as ablaut reduplication, the vowel changes but not the
quoting from poetry consonants. The most common pattern is [i] to [ ]: dilly-dally, jibber-jabber,
When you make a quotation that includes the break between lines of verse, flimflam, Kit-Kat and kitty-cat; mish-mash, pitter-patter, spick-and-span (i.e.
use a slash (‘/’) to show where the line end falls. Full many a glorious morn- clean, neat and tidy), splish-splash, tit-for-tat (comes from ‘this for that’: un
ing have I seen / Flatter the mountain-tops—Shakespeare (Sonnet 33). coup pour un coup); wigwam, and zig-zag. Words formed like this tend to
• Poetry (or ‘verse’ when it is rhymed) comes in lines; as a countable, verse have a somewhat pejorative or demeaning connotation: chit-chat is light-
is a familiar word for stanza, so it is a FA. See also definite article hearted, often disrespectful, conversation; knick-knacks are small worth-
rather less ornaments; riff-raff are disreputable or undesirable people; and to
Be careful of rather, first because it often evokes the spoken rather than the shilly-shally is to fail to act resolutely or decisively. Exceptions: ship-shape
written language; then because its effect varies according to the adjective (‘in good order; trim and neat’ — NODE), a rare instance of this pattern
it qualifies; and finally because of differences in word order between with the letter a as a diphthong; a see-saw with two long vowels [siso].
French and English. • Then there is the letter i to o sequence: criss-cross, ding-dong, flip-flop, hip-
• Meaning: rather enhances a positive adjective (This is rather interesting); hop, ping-pong. Many instances relate to sound: tick-tock is a clock ticking,
gives a negative connotation to a neutral one (She came rather early); and and clip-clop (or trit-trot) a horse trotting; with clippety-clop it is walking. (A
makes a negative adjective a little more positive (The film was rather boring). child may go hoppity-skip or hoppity hop; the reversed order of the vowels
Not recommended for use in essays. suggests how unlike walking it is.)
• Word order: the French plûtot x que y can go directly into English when It is imperative to get the order right in established pairs: *zag-zig is
it forms a complete optative statement, with adjectives or verbs: Rather impossible, and Kong King ridiculous.
dead than red. | Rather starve than surrender. But when plûtot x que y is a fac- • English loves triplets too, going /i/ > / / > /ɔ/ as in ding-dang-dong! This
tual complement, we say, for clear-cut cases, His face was white rather than may be why the Big Bad Wolf breaks the rule of the order of adjectives.
pink or They preferred to starve rather than surrender. For less affirmative refrain vs restrain
statements, use rather more: His face was rather more red than pink. to refrain from doing s.t. is simply to abstain from an action whereas to restrain one-
receipt self (without an indirect object) means to hold oneself back.
As an uncountable, receipt is the act of receiving something – I acknowledge To refrain is never reflexive. Elizabeth could not restrain herself: ‘Would you
receipt of your letter – and as a countable it is a document acknowledging kindly refrain from making derogatory comments about my family?’
a payment (un reçu). In the past (in novels by Jane Austen, for example), regard as a verb (active and passive) commonly means to esteem (she is highly
it could also mean the same as recipe [resipi] (une recette). regarded by her boss); it also means to consider: they regarded him as a hero.
Pronunciation: [risit]. See p under ‘See but not Say’ • as a singular noun in with regard to s.t. (in regard to s.t. in AmE), regard
reduplication means concerning, in respect of, or simply about. Without regard for/to is neg-
English loves playing with sound, not just in poetry but in everyday speech as ative: sans égard pour, sans se soucier de. He was talking on his mobile phone
well. A common form is without regard for the other people in the library. In the plural,

• regards express friendly respectful greetings. You can end a letter with rien d’autre by itself is nothing else. Rien d’autre que is either nothing other than or
regards (quite simply) or (my) warm regards, and safely send your com- nothing (else) but.
pliments to s.o. else’s spouse with my (best) regards to your husband/wife. risquer should be rendered by to risk only when it means to endanger (Maggie
regarder covers two separate notions in English: risked her life to save her brother from the flood). In less dramatic situations,
• to look (at / in / through etc.) is simply to direct one’s gaze in a specific use to venture. Elizabeth ventured only one glance at Darcy.
direction, whereas • When risquer expresses possibility, use a modal: Don’t eat that; it may be
• to watch is reserved for looking at something dynamic that is happen- poisonous. | Don’t climb up there: you might fall.
ing. Contrast: to look at the mountains | to watch the sun set | She looked at • When it expresses probability, use to run the risk of being + past participle for
the tv; it was dusty. | He was watching an exciting match on tv. passive situations (Oliver ran the risk of being arrested), and likely or sure to for
• look as a noun is first of all the act of casting one’s gaze upon s.t. in active ones. David knew that Mr Murdstone was likely to beat him if he did not
particular – take a long look! – and then, by extension, the emotion or learn his lesson properly. ( . . . would surely beat him … is old-fashioned.)
message conveyed by that act (assisted by facial expression). She gave • To add a habitual aspect, use liable to. At any moment (q.v.) Betsy Trotwood
him a serious look. It’s also the (superficial) appearance of s.t. or s.o. She was liable to jump up and chase the donkeys away from her garden.
liked the look of him but not the look he gave her. The present participle is • In legal contexts, use to face. Fagin faced at least twenty-five years in prison.
often used to form compound adjectives: an evil-looking villain. scarce [skεəs] (i.e. insufficient in quantity for the need or demand) is best used
• look is also a synonym for a style or a fashion (the latest look from Paris) but as a predicate: strawberries are scarce this year. Pronominal use is rare; in
only in a general and not a personal sense. So for Elle soigne son look you this position it means ‘less than wished or hoped for’. She made use of the
have to use appearance, or a phrase like she always tries to look smart / attrac- scarce opportunity to comment on the lecture. More neutral terms for this
tive / dress fashionably. use would be infrequent (+ plural noun), rare, or possibly exceptional.
• the plural noun looks is used approvingly for a person’s facial appearance:
to have good looks is to be good-looking or handsome. seduce, seduction, and seductiveness
to seduce s.o. is to induce s.o. to have sexual relations, especially for the first
repetition time. Arthur seduced Hetty in the orchard. Consequently her seduction was
English practises minimal repetition of prepositions, (relative) pronouns, and an event that she experienced (q.v.). Her seductiveness, on the other hand,
function words such as this and that (and not *such as this and such as that). refers to her sexual attractiveness.
So to his mother and father rather than *to his mother and to his father. • to be seduced, usually with an inanimate agent, means that a person (q.v.)
réplique is drawn into doing s.t. (not only sexual) against their better judgment.
In a play, an uninterrupted statement by one character to another is a speech. Seduced by the prospect of making an instant fortune, he …
Use answer and reply for responses to questions or remarks. When an selon may be according to (a source of information; like d’après) or depending on
actress learns her speeches, she says she is learning her lines. (a condition; like suivant). The Gospel according to St John. | Depending on the
In English, there is no exact equivalent to donner la réplique. Use to reply, Gospel you read, you get a slightly different story.
to answer, to respond, etc., as appropriate. shortly may relate to time, meaning soon (I’ll be with you shortly) or it may qualify
rien à faire may mean a manner of speaking, signifying bad temper or impatience. In He answered
• ‘Sorry, there is nothing I can do about it,’ or else me shortly, context will determine which sense is intended. For brevity
• there is (objectively) no remedy. For this, use a passive construction: there
(shortness of expression, especially in writing) use briefly.
is nothing to be done (about s.t.). si
• It may also mean: ‘(I am bored because) I have nothing to do.’ In French, it is common to begin sentences with si to express a logical relation-
• The second and third structures are used to express rien à dire: ‘there is ship: S’il a réussi, c’est grâce à …. As a rule English does not use if like this
nothing to be said’ and ‘I have nothing to say (to that)’. when the statement is a matter of fact, rather than a hypothesis. We would

say Thanks to …, he succeeded in … or He succeeded because …. When there’s a partner. | Tess was entirely dependent on her husband. In more gendered sens-
change of subject, use whereas (x does this, whereas y does that). es, along the lines of la femme était soumise à l’homme, think of: Women were
• The same applies to même si: use even though, or even even when, for mat- ruled by men. | They had to obey men. | They were treated as inferior to men. |
ters of fact. The mood of the following verb reflects this: even if it were true They had no independence, being legally subservient to men.
and even though it is true. In short, reserve if for hypotheses. When a person has been ill-treated (q.v.), use subjected to. The prisoners had
• When the structure suggests the idea ‘… or not,’ use whether. She was not been subjected to extreme humiliation. For active repression, there are many
sure whether she should accept him. verbs: The natives, dominated / downtrodden / oppressed / subdued / subjugat-
since vs from (meaning à partir de) ed / by the colonists …
Use since for past time, and from for future time and space: Since last month | For more neutral and passive meanings, use phrases like the stock market
From next October | From line twenty-four | From the beginning of the book. is liable to violent fluctuation. | He was subject to fits of coughing.
NB The English have a sneaking sympathy for the underdog.
Use since with parts of books only when you are referring to the temporal
experience of reading, e.g. we have been in doubt as to the fate of the hero since For soumis à la condition de use conditional on.
the beginning of this chapter. Use submitted only for things that are put forward or proposed for discus-
) Since requires a past tense and cannot be used with the present. sion or approval. The draft project was submitted to the commission.
snob is a noun; the adjective is snobbish – and the behaviour snobbery or snob- stop
bishness. There is no corresponding verb. The French snober quelqu’un is Contrast to stop to do s.t. (in order to do) with to stop doing s.t. (Clearly, you have
to cut, or to cold shoulder s.o. to be doing it before you can stop doing it.)
See also empêcher
so
Use so rather than it (q.v.) in short answers after verbs like expect, hope, say, sup- Stressing words correctly when speaking is just as important as spelling them
pose, and tell. Had you forgotten? I’m afraid so. Will you now remember? I think correctly while writing. When you learn a new word, make sure you
so. Also when there is no verb: How so? Just so! Note this usage: There is remember where the stress falls in it. This is crucial for English poetry.
nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so—Shakespeare. Incorrect stress can be just as misleading as incorrect vowel sounds – in
) Remember the particular word order when so is used to emphasize an fact, incorrect stress often leads to wrong vowels. Notice, for instance,
adjective: so long a story, for instance. This is equivalent to saying ‘such a how the first vowel changes from strong to weak as the stress changes in
long story.’ The same word order occurs with that: it’s not that big a prob- record as a noun, /rεkɔd/, and as a verb, /rikɔd/; or moral vs morale (q.v.).
lem, really = it’s not such a big problem = it’s not so big a problem. A notorious instance of incorrect stressing occurred when Madame de
Gaulle was interviewed by a British reporter after the General had finally
some time vs sometime
announced he was going to stand down. ‘What are you looking forward
It is easy for French speakers to distinguish between some time (du temps; un cer-
to in retirement?’ she was asked. ‘Appiness,’ she replied, dropping the ‘h’
tain laps de temps) and sometime (une fois ou l’autre). In Pride and Prejudice
in true French style; she got the stress wrong and everyone heard ‘a penis’.
Elizabeth spends some time with her friend Charlotte, and some with her aunt
and uncle. | ‘Why don’t you come up sometime ‘n’ see me?’—Mae West. suffer-ing
• any time corresponds to some time in negative and interrogative sentences, When a person suffers (from s.t.), they experience suffering.
(Do you have any time to spare?) whereas anytime is n’importe quand. As a general rule, the only use of sufferance [sfrəns] is in the idiom on suf-
• sometime may be used pronominally with the meaning of former (ancien – ferance. ‘If you are allowed to do s.t. on sufferance, you can do it although
q.v.): Barack Obama, sometime president of the United States … you know that the person who gave you permission would prefer that
soumis
you did not do it’ (COBUILD).
To render soumis you must first identify the notion you wish to convey, and susceptible (FA)
then find a suitable verb or phrase. For example, when people do not Of a person, susceptible means vulnerable (to a disease or illness); sensitive, easily
stand up for themselves, use submissive or dependent on. He was a submissive hurt or offended. The French notion, as in La police est à la recherche de toute

personne susceptible de les aider, is best rendered with might: the police would time and space in adjectives
like to hear from anyone who might be able to help with their investigation. There are two adjectival structures in English for expressing time and space.
• Of things, susceptible can be used as in French: Do you think this handbook • In the first, the unit of measure is hyphenated and invariable (cf. adjec-
is susceptible of improvement? tives); a singular noun requires a determiner. She took a two-week holiday.
• The second structure contains an anglo-saxon genitive. No determiner is
tell takes a direct object (or two, as in to tell s.o. a story, a tale, or a lie). Thus you required in addition to the number; ‘a’ may be used to mean ‘one’: at a
cannot say *He told that he had some problems. For this, you must add a moment’s notice | a fortnight’s sick leave (i.e. sick leave lasting for two weeks)
direct object or use another verb like admit, confess, confirm, reveal, say, etc. | She took two weeks’ holiday | Cancellation requires three months’ notice (i.e.
thing is used affectionately of people in English: You lucky thing! (You’ve won the three months in advance) | last season’s fashions. See also worth
lottery.) | You poor thing! (You’ve cut yourself.) | Your grandmother is a dear old • The difference between the two is sometimes subtle: in Five hours’ climbing
thing. There’s no explaining an idiomatic usage like this. If it shocks you, brought her to the summit, the implied point of view is the climber’s. A five-
remember Alphonse Daudet’s novel Le Petit Chose, and think of the hour climb brought him to the summit is more objective. Between Her three-
French endearment, mon chou. (To an English speaker, that’s like calling week holiday was pure heaven and The three weeks’ holiday did him a world of
s.o. a vegetable! Try honeybunny instead.) good, on the other hand, the difference lies in the emphasis: in the first,
it’s the holiday that was heaven; in the second, it’s the duration, as much
this vs that as the holiday itself, that’s important.
As demonstrative articles, this and these are for things that are close, such as toujours covers two different meanings:
something just mentioned, and that and those for things farther away in • always is for something that has happened (often frequently) in the past,
time and space, like s.o. else’s argument. The latter are best reserved for happens now and is likely to continue happening in the future. Water has
creating contrast or opposition. Beware: the distance of that may also be always been wet and always will be.
emotive, conveying rejection, humour, irony, etc. Take that smile off your • still suggests that something was the case in the past and has not yet
face! changed, although we expect it to, or know that it will change soon. Is it
) Use this for both the immediate past and the immediate future (this morn- still raining? | I still haven’t finished my essay.
ing, this afternoon, this evening) except for last night (cette nuit), today, and • Depuis toujours is typically rendered by since the beginning of time.
tonight (ce soir), which require no demonstrative. • For pour toujours see for ever. See also ever
• As a pronoun and the subject of a sentence, this announces what is to fol- trouble is a troublesome word, often a FA.
low (This is what Shakespeare wrote: ‘This above all: to thine own self be true’), • Use the uncountable noun for
whereas that refers back to what immediately precedes: ‘To be or not to be; (a) difficulties corresponding to de la peine (With all this traffic I had trouble
that is the question’—Shakespeare | That’s a simple enough rule, isn’t it? getting here on time) and to ennuis: He’s got money trouble again.
cf. what and which. See also marked vs unmarked forms, orientation in space, (b) the state in which s.o. deserves (or is liable) to be punished (You’ll get into
and so trouble if you do that | He’s in trouble again); and for
(c) the care that s.o. takes to do s.t., as in prendre la peine de and se donner de
thou, thee and thy/thine are archaic forms for the second person singular. You
la peine. He took the trouble to check the word before using it. | She went to a lot
will find them in poems, prayers, and dialects. Shall I compare thee to a
of trouble to find the information.
summer’s day?—Shakespeare (Sonnet 18) | Our Father, which art in Heaven, hal-
• As a plural countable noun, usually with a possessive article, it means per-
lowed be Thy name | Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
sonal worries. She shared all her troubles with her best friend. But with a capital
throughout is a most useful preposition (rhyming with ‘threw out’) that means letter, it refers to Ireland’s violent struggle for independence in the early
all (the way) through, during all, and from start to finish. This is a technique that twentieth century. He was killed in the Troubles.
Jane Austen uses throughout Emma. For emphasis add whole before the • The noun gives us troublesome, meaning vexing or annoying, and com-
noun: Emma observed Frank throughout the whole evening. pound nouns like a troublemaker (fauteur de troubles) and a troubleshooter (a

person who traces and corrects malfunctions in machines and systems of • Something that is valuable, on the other hand, has monetary value.
all kinds). Antonym: worthless. Noun: valuables (plural only). Keep your valuables safe!
• The verb denotes a perturbed emotional state. His reluctance troubled her. | • Values (always plural) are personal standards and principles of behaviour;
She was deeply troubled (or upset) by his change of attitude. cf. morals. To avoid inciting customers to debauchery or licentiousness,
• The verb is used with a modal for polite requests: Could I trouble you to the hotel notice, Prière de laisser vos valeurs à la réception, must read: Please
open the door for me? (Auriez-vous la gentillesse de …). Beware of irony: if leave your valuables at reception.
someone says to you, Would it trouble you to stop smoking? with a level or • BrE. This computer is good value = it is well worth (q.v.) what it cost.
threatening tone of voice, you are either in a non-smoking area or you Against all expectation, invaluable means precious in a non-monetary sense.
have ignored a previous polite request. One day this information may be invaluable to you! | Invaluable advice.
• The verb is also used for apologies prefaced with ‘I’m sorry’ – I’m sorry to
trouble you (Je suis navré de vous déranger) – although (as in French) the ini- (se) venger
tial ‘I am’ is frequently omitted: Sorry to trouble you: there’s no other way out. The usual verb is to take revenge (on s.o. for s.t., or for s.t. on s.o.). More literary:
to avenge (s.t. like a crime or an insult) for the principle, whereas to wreak
urgence vengeance (on s.o. for s.t.) is concrete. Use the noun revenge for a specific
Something that is urgent needs to be attended to (q.v.) as soon as possible (an instance, and vengeance for the concept. ‘Vengeance is mine,’ saith the Lord.
urgent message), but une urgence is an emergency. In a British hospital, A&E
handles Accidents and Emergencies; in the US, it’s the Emergency Room verbs vs nouns
(ER). In a crisis, a government may apply emergency measures, or request French loves nouns, especially abstract ones; English prefers verbs and verbal
emergency powers, etc. forms. A classic example: the British road sign corresponding to Absence
used to has two different pronunciations – see z/s – with different meanings: de signalisation horizontale reads NO ROAD MARKINGS. So if you are tempted to
• In passive constructions, used [juzd] + infinitive means that the subject is
write of the problems of the interpretation and translation of these texts, think
utilized to do s.t. Vacherin and gruyère are used to make fondue. rather of the problems of interpreting and translating them.
• Pronounced [just], used expresses familiarity in the present or habit in want of s.t. means a lack of s.t. Want of foresight can lead to disaster.
the past. For the present, the structure is with –ing. I’m used to making fon- for want of means for lack of (faute de, or à défaut de): I’ll call him simply ‘the
due. For the past, signifying that the action is no longer performed or is speaker’, for want of a better term.
no longer the case, the structure is with the infinitive. Heidi used to make
fondue, but she stopped because her grandfather could no longer digest it. ‘We can notice x’ (e.g. the regular form of this poem) is best avoided in literary anal-
In spoken English, used is commonly reduced to just use [jus] in negative ysis. While it is possible to use the imperative – Notice the regular form of
this poem – it is preferable to make ‘x’ the subject of your statement: The
sentences: You didn’t use to make fondue out of a packet!
If you say /juzd/ instead of /just/, your statement may become absurd:
regular form of this poem suggests that …
imagine saying, ‘Heidi used [juzd] to make fondue.’ It sounds as though ‘It is interesting to notice’ s.t. is superfluous, for if it was not interesting,
she was put into the caquelon! That would make a fondue for cannibals. you would not draw your reader’s attention to it. cf. nous sommes
valid vs valuable and values what and which translate both ce que and ce qui
Something that is valid has operative effect, like a contract that has been drawn What refers to what is to follow, which to that which precedes. What makes
up in accordance with the law, or the right railway ticket for you and the this novel so convincing is its realism. | This novel is very realistic, which makes it
journey you are making at that moment, or (in an essay) an argument particularly convincing. See also all what?
that is well founded on the text. It may be applied to a period of time: This • As a relative pronoun, what signals a choice among an unlimited number
ticket is valid 30 days from the date of issue. Noun: validity. The validity of this of alternatives, whereas which implies a limited number (which may or
special offer expires at midnight on 31 December. may not be specified). Which day is the party – and what are you going to wear?
Antonym: invalid, stressed [inv lid]. I’m sorry, sir: this ticket is invalid. – NB an • There is no inversion (q.v.) in a clause introduced by what: We do not know
[invəlid] is a disabled or sick person. cf. stressing what the source of his inspiration was.

when [jusləs], along with to excuse [iksjuz] vs the excuse [iksjus]. Similarly, to
Use the present or past perfect after when (and as soon as) to express anteriority close [kləuz] and a closer (derived from the verb, hence [kləuzə]) contrast
compared with the rest of the sentence, exactly as you would with after : with the adjective close [kləus] and its comparative closer [kləusə]. We have
When they have got to know each other, they discover … The same applies to to house [hauz] (héberger) and housing [hauziŋ], as both noun and adjective,
future events: I’ll tell you as soon as (or when) I have finished (or I finish) my e.g. a housing estate, opposed to the familiar house [haus].
essay (dès que je l’aurai fini) | When I’m dead and gone … See also en faisant This contrast is also found in words whose stress changes with their
word-breaks grammatical function, e.g. to refuse [rifjuz] vs the uncountable noun
refuse [refjus] (= rubbish; détritus or ordures). It is sometimes reflected in
Do not use the French hyphenation routine of your word processor to
the spelling too, as in to advise [ədvaiz] vs the advice [ədvʃs]. See stressing
break English words at the end of the lines: it will make nonsense of
) Both to practise and the noun practice are pronounced [pr ktis]; AmE tries
them, e.g. *thin-king for think-ing. Change the language option to English.
to make the spelling reflect the pronunciation by writing practice in both
When hyphenating manually, insert the hyphen (q.v.) between syllables,
cases. Applying the same principle, it introduces analyze for the verb,
especially prefixes and suffixes. If in doubt, don’t hyphenate.
whereas BrE writes analyse; both are pronounced [ nəlaiz]. In both BrE
word order and AmE the noun is spelled analysis [ən lisis].
As a general rule, avoid putting adverbial clauses or phrases between subject • Both AmE and (quite commonly today) BrE use the spelling –ize rather
and verb, or between verb and direct object. Adverbs and phrases of time than –ise for verbs and (when they exist) the corresponding nouns: orga-
go best first (or last) in the sentence. nize and organization | realize and realization.
See also adjectives; inversion; non plus; not only; only; rather; so; what & which • See the separate entries for used to, and lose vs loose.
worth often corresponds to valoir la peine. Is this film worth watching?

Note the idiomatic it (q.v.) in sentences like Was the concert worth it? and
Don’t bother, it isn’t worth it.
Combine worth with while (I think it would be worth your while doing x) to sug-
gest that it would be advantageous or useful to do x, despite the effort
that may be required, i.e. that it would be worthwhile.
• The other common use of worth is for monetary value: What’s it worth?
(Qu’est-ce que ça vaut?) When combined with amounts of money or time,
it corresponds to pour: He bought her a hundred francs’ worth of chocolate. |
They stocked the chalet with a whole month’s worth of food. Notice the use of
the genitive; see time & space in adjectives. See also valid
• The large fortune of a man of worth commands respect. His language (q.v.)
distinguishes the man of spirit from the man of worth.
• When you do something for all your worth, you do it with great energy and
determination. Maggie was rowing for all her worth against the current.
See also digne, and penny
z/s
To distinguish between certain words which look alike but have different
grammatical functions, English uses a phonemic opposition: /z/ in verbs
and their participles (plus nouns ending –er derived from them), and /s/
in nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Thus we find to (ab)use [juz] and the
(ab)user [juzə] versus the (ab)use [jus], and adjectives like useful and useless

• It is silent when followed by n in final position (align, arraign, assign, design,
See but not Say malign, sign) both in their verb forms (designed, signing) and in words in
Silent Consonants in (British) English -er and -ment formed on them (designer, signer; alignment, assignment),
BUT pronounced in all others: designation, malignant, signature. In these the
NB These guidelines do not generally apply to proper names. /ai/ becomes /i/ and the syllabication is ma-lig-nant, for example.
• It is silent in -eign words (feign, foreign, reign, and sovereign) and words
B Always silent before a final t (debt, doubt, redoubt – think of le réduit natio-
formed on them (feigning, foreigner). Another awful pun: Why do the
nal) and -tle (subtle rhymes with scuttle) and in words formed on them
English always carry an umbrella? Because the Queen is still reigning.
(doubtful, redoubtable, subtlety), so debtor rhymes with better, for instance.
• It is also silent in words from French like champagne (rhymes with sham
• It is always silent in final position after the letter m: bomb, climb, comb,
pain); followed by a syllable, it becomes /nj/ as in cognac [kɔnj k].
crumb, dumb, lamb, succumb, thumb, tomb, etc. It remains silent in all words
formed on them (except for crumble), so for instance dumber rhymes with • It is not silent in words beginning gh– (ghastly, ghost).
summer, bomber with comma (in BrE at any rate), and climbing rhymes H Silent in initial position in just four words: heir, honest, honour, and hour.
with … rhyming. The same applies to words formed on them, like honesty [ɒnisti].
NB Neither bombard nor bombast is derived from bomb, so both bs are pro- In AmE, the word herb is pronounced without the h, which can puzzle
nounced in them. Similarly, the noun number [nmbə] has nothing to do speakers of BrE, since the American ‘herbs’ sounds like the Latin urbs.
with numb, so the b is pronounced there too. • It is silent in gh- and wh– words. Exceptionally, to distinguish between
C Silent in corpuscle and muscle (which both rhyme with mussel) BUT pro- homophones such as whale / wail (Did I hear a whale wail?), where / wear,
nounced /k/ in corpuscular and muscular. which / witch (Which witch is she?), why / Wye, the presence of the h may be
• There is one verb in which the c is elided before t: indict [indait], meaning indicated by blowing through the rounded lips before the w. See also w
‘to formally accuse s.o. of a serious crime’ (NODE). This also applies to • Two exceptional silent aitches: Anthony, and the river Thames [temz].
words derived from it, e.g. indictment [indaitmənt]. • In final position, the h is never aspirated (so always silent). Hurrah!
• The ch in yacht (which rhymes with not), yachting and yachtsman, are both
silent. K Silent in initial position when followed by n (knack, knee, knight, knob,
• c in front of k forms a single /k/ sound. See also k
knock, knot, know) and in words formed on them (knacker, knocker, knobbly,
knotted, knowledge), including acknowledge-ment [əknɔlid] – here it’s the
D Silent in a few common words when followed by a consonant, e.g. hand- c that sounds /k/.
kerchief and handsome, and many people omit it in Wednesday.
L For the silent ell, learn this rhyme:
G Silent in initial position when followed by n (gnaw – rhymes with nor –
After o and a (Say: After oh and ay
gnash, gnat, gnome, gnostic) and in words formed on them (but not in
agnostic, since the gn is not in initial position). Even the African gnu [nu], Before m and k Before em and kay
a kind of antelope, follows this rule. No ell. – Christmas!)
• It is silent when followed by h or ht in final position, and in words A few examples: chalk, talk, and walk (NB a mobile telephone used to be
formed on them, irrespective of whether the gh group is pronounced /f/ called a walkie-talkie [wɔkitɔki]); the Falkland Islands (see also s); folk, yolk
(as in cough, enough, and tough) or is silent (as in (al)though, thought [θɔt], (le jaune d’oeuf); almond, alms (aumône), balm, calm, palm (both the tree and
and through, which rhymes with threw). More examples: fight, might, right; the part of your hand), psalm (note the silent p), and salmon (rhymes with
sigh; laugh and laughter; also daughter, slaughter. Weigh rhymes with way, gammon); Sherlock Holmes, and the holm oak (le chêne vert).
and weight with wait. (A pun. A: ‘Tell me how heavy you are.’ Americans are confused about this rule, so you will sometimes hear them
B: ‘No way/weigh!’ (i.e. both ‘certainly not’ and ‘I haven’t weighed myself.’) pronouncing the ell in common words like palm and calm.
• It is silent in words ending -gm, as in diaphragm, paradigm, and phlegm but This rule does not apply to words formed by combining two other words,
not in words formed on them (paradigmatic, phlegmatic). like almost [ɔlməust], or foreign words like polka (the dance).

The ell is also silent in words ending -alf like calf and half, and in words
• T Silent in words ending –ften and –sten like chasten, christen, fasten, glisten,
formed on them, even when the f becomes a v as in calving (said of a cow hasten, listen, moisten, often, and soften. Also in words formed on them like
giving birth to a calf; unfortunately, in BrE it rhymes with carving). christening [krisniŋ] (le baptême), listener [lisnə], and softener [sofnə].
• Then of course there is a silent ell in could, should, and would (but not in NB Some people pronounce the t in often, and some use both forms,
any other apparently similar words like boulder and shoulder). depending on the formality of the context.
) Two exceptional cases: no ell in (Abraham) Lincoln [liŋkən], nor in the • Also silent in words ending –stle like castle; trestle (le tréteau), and wrestle;
military rank of colonel – it rhymes with kernel [knəl]. bristle, mistle > mistletoe (le gui) and mistle thrush (la draine, a kind of grive),
thistle (le chardon), and whistle; apostle, jostle; hustle & bustle, rustle.
M Silent in initial position before n: mnemonic(s) [nimɔnik], mnemosyne.
• Also silent in chestnut (châtain and châtaigne), Christmas, and mortgage
N Silent after m in final position (autumn, column, condemn, damn, hymn, (l’hypothèque).
solemn) and in their verb forms (so condemning rhymes with lemming) but ) In AmE, words of foreign origin beginning ts– like tsar, tsetse, and tsuna-
not in nouns or adjectives formed on them (autumnal, condemnation, mi are generally pronounced without the initial t. BrE maintains the t
solemnity) – the syllabication is au-tum-nal and sol-em-ni-ty, for example. and, what is more, says [tetsi] for tsetse (see the silent s).
P Silent in initial position in words of Greek origin beginning pneu– (pneu- W In initial position, it is silent in front of h in just six words: who, whole,
matic, pneumonia), ps– (psalm (see l), pseudo-, Psyche, psychi-, and psycho-), whom, whose, whooping-cough (la coqueluche) and whore (meaning prosti-
and pt– (ptomaine, Ptolemy). tute), and in words formed on them (whosoever, wholesale, wholesome,
• Mid-word, it is silent before b in cupboard and raspberry, and before t in whoreson, etc.). In all other wh– words (what, when, where, whistle, whoop,
just one word: receipt [risit] (q.v.), which rhymes with deceit. why) the w is pronounced and the h is not (see also h).
) The silent p and s in corps [kɔ] (a group of ballet dancers, diplomats, or • Also silent in initial position in front of r as in: wrap, wreck, wriggle, wright,
soldiers) significantly distinguish it from corpse [kɔps] (a cadaver). wrist, write, writhe, wrong, wrought, wry (and therefore awry [ərai]: a- words).
• It is silent in words ending (vowel)+w: claw [klɔ], law, raw, straw; few, new,
R In BrE, not pronounced before a consonant. In monosyllabic words, it
knew, view; below, fellow, know; brow, cow, how, now; and in words formed on
lengthens the vowel: contrast am with arm, had with hard, bid with bird,
them (even in nowadays [nauədeiz]), so knowing rhymes with going.
head with heard, pot with port, hut with hurt, etc. If the vowel is already
) Some BrE speakers pronounce an intervocalic /r/ in drawing: [drɔriŋ].
long, it becomes a diphthong: bead [bid] > beard [biəd].
• It is silent in the sequence (vowel)+w+(consonant) in initial, medial and
• In BrE it is also silent in final position; it lengthens a single vowel (con-
final positions: awkward, awl, awning; hawk, squawk; bawl, brawl; dawn, yawn;
trast fit with fir, hen with her, not with nor), and turns -er and -our (spelled
newt (le triton); strewn; howl, down, town. Also in words ending with e: awe,
-or in AmE) – monosyllabic words excepted – into a schwa /ə/: ardour, armour,
ewe (a mother sheep, which sounds just like you – not you personally, of
clamour (rhymes with hammer), endeavour, favour, flavour, glamour, harbour,
course), and owe; and in words formed on them: awful.
honour (see h), humour, labour, odour, rancour, rigour, rumour, saviour, savour,
• NB the -ow sequence is pronounced either /au/ (as in now) or /eu/ (as in
succour – so it rhymes with sucker! – valour, vigour, and vapour, etc.
know); in some words both are possible, depending on the meaning: a
) Only in the word iron (meaning both the metal (le fer) and the object (le
deep bow [bau] (une révérence profonde) | a bow [beu] and arrows. The pro-
fer à repasser)), and in words formed on it, is the r silent between two vow-
nunciation is generally /au/ when ow is followed by a consonant: brown,
els. In BrE iron sounds just the same as ion [aiən].
owl (NB owls don’t howl (hurler), they hoot); but not in bowl or own.
Do you do your own ironing? [aiəniŋ]? I ask the question without irony (in
) It is silent in the middle of two (rhymes with too).
which the r is pronounced as usual: [airəni]).
• It is pronounced in common nouns like sandwich and candlewick, BUT is
S Silent in aisle, island, and isle. (This enabled Janet Frame to play with multiple elided in many proper names: Greenwich [renitʃ], Southwark [sðək] and
meanings in the title of her remarkable autobiography, To the Is-land: Vers le Pays Warwick [wɔrik] (and therefore Warwickshire [wɔrikʃə]).
de l’être and J’Atterris as well as the obvious À l’Île or Vers l’Île.) Also in corps [kɔ] Only the silent w in sword [sɔd] (l’épée) distinguishes it from une pelouse, a
(see p), and tsetse [tetsi] (see t). lawn: (green)sward. Get it right if you say, ‘He fell on the sword’!

Where to find … avoid – empêcher considerate – adjectives & past participles Esq(uire) – honorifics
awake(n) – a-words considered – adjectives & past participles esteem – regard
aware(ness) – a-words; conscience vs con- contempt – mépris eternally – ever
aback – a-words sciousness convinced – persuadé ethic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical
ablaut reduplication – reduplication awry – a-words coordination – juxtaposition & coordina- even if – si
ablaze – a-words axe – concrete & abstract nouns tion evening – this vs that
absence – few axis – concrete & abstract nouns coppers – pounds, shillings & pence even though – si
abstract – concrete & abstract nouns corrupt(ed) – adjectives & past participles everything – all what?
baby – pronouns
AD – dates count on – depend on it! evidence – countable vs uncountable
back-to-front – orientation in space
adrift – a-words crew – collective nouns ewe – silent W (See but not Say)
backwards – orientation in space
adulterate – altérer crossroads – nouns ending –s excuse – dispenser; z/s
barely – presque
adverbs – word order crowd – collective nouns exempt(ion) – dispenser
base – concrete & abstract nouns
advice/advise – z/s crown – pounds, shillings & pence experience – experiments
basis – concrete & abstract nouns
afire – a-words cut – snob exposé – Anglicized French words
BC (E) – dates
ahoy – a-words beginning – at & in the beginning etc. Dame – honorifics extract – excerpt
aisle – silent S (See but not Say) beginning of time – toujours dance – en face – risquer
ajar – a-words bill (=banknote) – dollars & cents days of the week – capital letters faced with – devant
alike – a-words blond(e) – adjectives deal with s.t. – assister à false friends – faux amis
alive – a-words bob – pounds, shillings & pence dear – honorifics family – collective nouns
all but – presque borrow – orientation in space; prêter defined – adjectives & past participles farthing – pounds, shillings & pence
all the way through – throughout briefly – shortly definite – adjectives & past participles; défini feel sick – ill
all through – all + space and time bring – orientation in space definitively – for ever feel unwell – ill
all … long – all + space and time bring s.t. about – provoquer dependent on – soumis finally – enfin
all over – all + space and time bring together – orientation in space desertion – leave vs let find – it
allow – leave vs let; permettre buck – dollars & cents despise – mépris first(ly) – at first
almost – presque by the end – at & in the beginning etc. details, more – préciser florin – pounds, shillings & pence
alone – a-words dime – dollars & cents for – during
cannot help doing s.t. – empêcher
along – all + space and time direction, sense of – orientation in space for all time – for ever
cannot prevent – empêcher
always – ever; toujours discrete – différent forecast – countable vs uncountable
capable – ability
amiss – a-words disdain – mépris forgo – dispenser
capacity – ability
analyse/analysis/analyze – z/s diverse – différent former – ancien; some time vs sometime
cause – provoquer
animate(d) – adjectives & past participles; do – make vs do forms of address – honorifics
CE – dates
anglo-saxon genitive do without – dispenser from – since vs from
cent – dollars & cents
answer – réplique docu-fiction – fiction from the beginning to the end – throughout
century – dates; numbers
any more – no longer vs no more down to – jusqu’à further – farther vs further
change one’s mind – points of view
anytime – sometime Dr – abbreviations future – present vs future; since vs from;
chapter – at, in & on; definite article
any time now – moment drive – orientation in space when
child – pronouns
apostrophe – anglo-saxon genitive dual aspect – collective nouns
claim – prétendre gamble one’s money away – en faisant
appropriate(d) – adjectives & past participles duration – at & in the same time
clarify – préciser gender – concrete & abstract nouns; pro-
arabic numerals – numbers durative – aspect
classic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical
arise – a-words during – pendant nouns
close – z/s genitive – anglo-saxon genitive
arithmetic – nouns ending –ic(s) dying – adjectives
cold shoulder – snob genre – concrete & abstract nouns
army – collective nouns colonel – silent L (See but not Say) economic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical
arouse – a-words; procure get out of doing – empêcher
come – leave vs let; orientation in space effect (with … from) – dès get rid of s.t. – dispenser; disposer (de)
as + it – it comic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical efficiently – effectivement
as of – dès give – dispenser
comma splice – juxtaposition vs coordina- e.g. – abbreviations go – leave vs let; orientation in space
as soon as – when tion elaborate(d) – adjectives & past participles
asleep – a-words good-looking – regarder
committee – collective nouns emergency – urgence good riddance – dispenser
at last – enfin common era – dates enable – permettre
government – collective nouns
attention – attend compliments – regard end – at & in the beginning and the end
greenback – dollars & cents
ATM (automated teller machine) – dispenser conditional on – soumis endanger – risquer
guinea – pounds, shillings & pence
audience – collective nouns confronted – devant enemy – collective nouns
avenge – venger consider – it; regard entail – compose hair(s) – countable vs uncountable

half-crown – pounds, shillings & pence invalid – valid vs valuable & values middle – milieu pence – penny; pounds, shillings & pence
hand – definite article invaluable – valid vs valuable & values Middle Ages – dates; nouns ending –s penny (AmE) – dollars & cents
hand back / in – orientation in space involve – impliquer midst – milieu perhaps – inversion of subject & verb
ha’penny – pounds, shillings & pence IOU – prêter mind – persuadé, points of view permission – leave vs let
hardly – presque Miss – honorifics permit – permettre
heir – silent H (See but not Say) iron(y) – silent R (See but not Say) missis – honorifics (Mrs) perspective – points of view
help (doing s.t.) – empêcher island – silent S (See but not Say) mister – honorifics (Mr) pessimistic – adjectives in –ic & –ical
hence – here, there & where isle – silent S (See but not Say) months – capital letters point out – préciser
herb – silent H (See but not Say) iterative – aspect Mr(s) –abbreviations; honorifics police – collective nouns
historic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical Ms – honorifics politic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical
lack – few; want
hither – here, there & where much – countable vs uncountable poor – adjectives
Lady – honorifics
hitherto – jusqu’à music – nouns ending –ic(s) poorly –ill
lamé – Anglicized French words
honest – silent H (See but not Say) possession – anglo-saxon genitive
last – dernier; first nationalities – capital letters
honeybunny – thing practice/ise – z/s
last(ly) – enfin naught – numbers
honour – silent H (See but not Say) practical – adjectives in –ic & –ical
later – at first nauseous – ill
honourable – honorifics & the definite arti- practically – presque
latest – dernier nearly – presque
cle precious – valid vs valuable & values
lead – orientation in space neither – non plus
hour – silent H (See but not Say) precision – préciser
lend – orientation in space; prêter never – inversion of subject & verb
house/housing – z/s prescription – dispenser
lending – prêter news – nouns ending –s
however – ever present perfect – first; when
let – leave vs let newsworthy – digne
human(e) – humain prevent – empêcher
let (vs rent) – orientation in space next – first price – concrete & abstract nouns
–ic & –ical – adjectives in –ic & –ical letters, writing – honorifics nickel – dollars & cents prize – concrete & abstract nouns
–ics – nouns ending –ic(s) liable to – risquer; soumis night – this vs that problem – nouns ending –ic(s)
idealistic – adjectives in –ic & –ical liberty – freedom no more – no longer Prof. – abbreviations
i.e. – abbreviations like – as or like? nonplussed – non plus proof – countable vs uncountable
if – inversion of subject & verb; si limited – Ltd no one – pronouns proposed – soumis
illegitimate – marriage & matrimony vs wed- limp – en nor – non plus provide – dispenser; procure
ding Lincoln – silent L (See but not Say) noteworthy – digne provoke – provoquer
impair – altérer line – at, in & on; definite article nothing (else) but – rien d’autre public – collective nouns
impatience – shortly lines – réplique nothing other than – rien d’autre publisher – editor
implicate – impliquer literary terms – definite article nothing to be done / to do – rien à faire punctual – aspect
imply – impliquer little – few notice – time and space … / we can notice put forward – soumis
in + beginning/end – at & in the beginning loan – prêter nought(ies) – numbers
and the end logic – nouns ending –ic(s) novel – fiction quarter – dollars & cents
in (+ page references) – at, in & on long – all + space and time novella – fiction quick – adjectives
in fact – effectivement look(s) – regarder quid – pounds, shillings & pence
look for – chercher o(h) – numbers quote – cite vs quote
in front of – devant
Lord – honorifics offer – dispenser; offrir quote-worthy – digne
in the end – enfin
lower case –abbreviations; capital letters obtain – procure
in the same time – at & in the same time rare – scarce
occasional – scarce
inability – ability madam – honorifics rarely – inversion of subject & verb
on (+ page number) – at, in & on
incapacity – ability made of – compose realistic – adjectives in –ic & –ical
only – inversion of subject & verb; not only
inchoative – aspect magic – nouns ending –ic(s) recall – memory: verbs
open(ed) – adjectives & past participles
incomplete – adjectives & past participles make – it receipt – silent P (See but not Say)
opinion – points of view
increasingly – ever make s.t. clear – préciser reckless – conscience vs consciousness
opposed – adjectives & past participles
indeed – effectivement make s.t. possible – permettre recollect – memory: verbs
opposite – adjectives & past participles;
indict – silent C (See but not Say) many – countable vs uncountable recollection – memory: nouns
devant
indirect questions – inversion mar – altérer refuse – mépris; z/s
optimistic – adjectives in –ic & –ical
inevitable – empêcher math[ematic]s – nouns ending –ic(s); nouns religions – capital letters
overseas – adjectives
information, more – préciser ending –s; numbers rely on – depend on it!
owe – prêter
infrequent – scarce matrimony – marriage & matrimony vs wed- remember – memory: verbs
inhabit(ant) – habiter ding page – at, in & on; definite article remembrance – memory: nouns
inside out – orientation in space means – end(ing); nouns ending –s paternalistic – adjectives in –ic & –ical remind – memory: verbs
interesting – we can notice memory – memory: nouns pay attention – attend reminiscence – memory: nouns

rent – orientation in space simultaneously – at & in the same time thoughtless – conscience vs consciousness virtually – presque
repeatedly – for ever since the beginning of time – toujours tonight – this vs that vision – points of view
reply – réplique sir – honorifics tragedy – comedy vomit – ill
required – adjectives & past participles sixpence – pounds, shillings & pence tragic(al) – adjectives in –ic & –ical vulnerable – susceptible
requisite – adjectives & past participles slash – quoting from poetry trustworthy – digne
watch – regarder
resolute – adjectives & past participles solution – excerpt and extract try to think of – chercher
wedding – marriage & matrimony vs wedding
resolved – adjectives & past participles someone – pronouns tuppence – penny
wedlock – marriage & matrimony vs wedding
résumé – Anglicized French words souvenir – memory: nouns turn round – orientation in space
well-nigh – presque
revenge – venger sovereign – pounds, shillings & pence two, the – both vs the two
whatever – ever
reverend – honorifics & the definite article span(s) – dashes; at, in & on
unavoidable – empêcher when – où
revise – points of view spatial orientation – orientation in space
unaware – a-words; adjectives whence – here, there & where
rhetoric – nouns ending –ic(s) specific – préciser
uncompleted – adjectives & past participles whether – si
rhyming reduplication – reduplication speech – réplique
uncountable – countable & uncountable where – où
riddance, good – dispenser spell s.t. out – préciser
underdog – soumis whereas – si
right to self-determination – disposer spoil – altérer
unfavourable – ill which – what & which
rise – a-words sport(s) – adjectives
uninhabitable – habiter while – en faisant; worth
risk – risquer staff – collective nouns
unit – collective nouns whither – here, there & where
roadworthy – digne standpoint – points of view
unite – orientation in space whoever – ever
roman numerals – numbers stanza – quoting from poetry
units of time – all + space and time whole – all the vs the whole; throughout
rotted – adjectives & past participles statue – concrete & abstract nouns
until now – jusqu’à whosoever – ever
rotten – adjectives & past participles status – concrete & abstract nouns
unwell – ill will – present vs future
roué – Anglicized French words statute – concrete & abstract nouns
upside-down – orientation in space with effect from – dès
rouse – a-words still – toujours
up to – jusqu’à working poor – adjectives
run – en style of speech – language
upper case – capital letters worthless – valid vs valuable & values
run a risk – risquer subject(ed) to – soumis
wreak – venger
running caps – capital letters submissive – soumis various – différent
writing(s) – countable vs uncountable
run-on sentence – juxtaposition vs coordi- submitted – soumis vengeance – venger
writing letters – honorifics
nation such as – as or like verse – definite article; quoting from poetry
surroundings – nouns ending –s view – points of view zero – numbers
salutations in letters – honorifics swim – en
same time – at & in the same time sword – silent W (See but not Say)
scarcely – hardly; presque symbolism – nouns ending –ic(s)
sceptical – adjectives in –ic & –ical
scorn – mépris taint – altérer
search – chercher take – orientation in space
seasons – capital letters tanner – pounds, shillings & pence
seaworthy – digne television – countable vs uncountable
seek – chercher tense(s) – aspect; definite article; present vs
self-determination – disposer future; when
seldom – inversion of subject & verb terminative – aspect
semi-colon – juxtaposition vs coordination tsetse – silent S and silent T (See but not Say)
semi-conscious – conscience vs conscious- thanks – nouns ending –s
ness that – so; this vs that
send – orientation in space thee – thou, thee, thy/thine
sense of direction – orientation in space theme – nouns ending –ic(s)
sensitive – susceptible thence – here, there & where
separate(d) – adjectives & past participles; dif- these – this vs that
férent thine – thou, thee, thy/thine
series – nouns ending –s think – it
several – différent thither – here, there & where
shilling – pounds, shillings & pence those – this vs that
short story – fiction threepenny bit – pounds, shillings & pence
sick(ie) – ill thy – thou, thee, thy/thine
silver – pounds, shillings & pence though – si

Où trouver … gens – person
hier soir – this vs that
à défaut de – want inconscient – conscience vs consciousness References
à jamais – ever information – countable & uncountable
à la fin – at & in the beginning and the end irréfléchi – conscience vs consciousness
à la longue – enfin jamais – ever Most of the entries in this handbook are entirely of my own composition;
à l’envers – orientation in space je suis là! – orientation in space a few are adapted from suggestions by colleagues. When in doubt I have
à partir de – since vs from jetables – disposer
à peine – hardly checked them in
lâche! – leave vs let
à tout moment – moment laisser – leave vs let
au commencement – at & in the beginning and lamé – Anglicized French words
Barrie, W. B. Which and How. 2 vols. Paris: Didier, 1968.
the end laps de temps – some time vs sometime The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2010.
bon débarras – dispenser lendemain – next Collins COBUILD English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. 3rd ed. London and
ce que – what & which louer – orientation in space Glasgow: Collins, 2001.
ce qui – what & which même si – si Debrett’s Etiquette and Modern Manners. Ed. Elsie Burch Donald. London: Pan,
ce soir – this vs that mener – orientation in space
cette nuit – this vs that ne servir à rien – numbers
1982.
changer d’avis – points of view n’importe quand – some time vs sometime Fowler, H. W. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1929). Oxford: OUP, 1959.
chaque fois que – ever
comédien – comedy ouf! – enfin Jones, Daniel. English Pronouncing Dictionary. 16th ed. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.
comique – comedy partir – leave vs let Lambotte, Paul. Aspects of Modern English Usage. Brussels: De Boeck, 1998.
comme – as or like; it peine – trouble The New Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford: OUP, 1998.*
commencement, au – at & in the beginning and perdant – loose vs lose
the end personnes – person
The Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary. French–English, English–French. Ed. Cor-
comprendre – compose, comprise & consist peu – few réard & Grundy. Oxford: OUP, 1994.
conseils – countable & uncountable peuple – people The Oxford Writer’s Dictionary. Oxford: OUP, 1990.
d’après – selon plûtot x que y – rather
points de suspension – ellipses
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. 2nd ed. New York: Ran-
débarras, bon – dispenser
défaut de – want pour – worth dom House, 1987.
de quelque manière que – ever preuves – countable & uncountable
diable – ever prévisions – countable & uncountable
proxénète – procure
For further comparisons between French and English see:
d’où – here, there & where
du temps – some time vs sometime qu’est-ce que ça vaut? – worth Chuquet, Hélène, et Michel Paillard. Approches linguistiques des problèmes de tra-
en face de – devant quiconque – ever
quitter – leave vs let
duction anglais-français. 2e éd. Paris: Ophrys, 1989.
en liberté – loose vs lose
en tant que – as or like Grellet, Françoise. Initiation au thème anglais. The Mirrored Image. Paris:
raté(e) – loose vs lose
ennuis – trouble recette, reçu – receipt Hachette, 1992.
énormément – ever résumé – Anglicized French words Guillemin-Flescher, Jacqueline. Syntaxe comparée du français et de l’anglais. Prob-
entrer en dansant – en se retourner – orientation in space
et pourtant – or lèmes de traduction. Paris: Ophrys, 1981.
réunir – orientation in space
éviter – empêcher rien à dire – rien à faire Vinay, J.-P., et J. Darbelnet. Stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais.
exposé – Anglicized French words rire – laugh 2e éd. Paris: Didier, 1977.
face à – devant roué – Anglicized French words
faire – make vs do se faire avoir – make vs do
faire semblant – prétendre se ruiner en jouant – en
faute de – want suivant – selon * This handbook follows the spelling of NODE.
fauteur de troubles – trouble
fiable – digne tel que – as or like
finalement – at & in the beginning and the end; tout ce que – all what?
enfin traverser en courant / nageant – en
fins et moyens – end(ing) valoir la peine – worth
fois ou l’autre, une – some time vs sometime voisins – next


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Index in ENGLISH: p.52 USE BOOKMARKS TO NAVIGATE Index in FRENCH: p.58

USE BOOKMARKS TO NAVIGATE 1

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• Intrinsic qualities of a piece of writing may also be expressed in this way:

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countable vs uncountable dashes

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worth often corresponds to valoir la peine. Is this ﬁlm worth watching?

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