Grammarian: All about (E)

Grammar: Which word to use (E)

https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-e

1.CORRECT USAGE

1.1. Similar words mean different things…

each other or one another?

each other should apply only to two people (“Iniesta and Xavi hugged each other”); one another to more than two (“all 11 Spanish players hugged one another”).

elegy or euology?

elegy poem of mourning; eulogy speech of praise.

The adjective elegiac (often misspelt “elegaic”), is very popular with writers on upmarket newspapers seeking an alternative to “sad”.

elemental or elementary?

elemental basic; elementary simple

ensure or insure?

ensure make certain; insure against risk;

“you can assure someone’s life by taking out an insurance policy”.

equable or equitable?

equable unvarying; equitable fair.

“His temperament, like the climate, was equable. None the less, he demanded a more equitable share of the proceeds”.

erupt or irrupt?

erupt burst out; irrupt burst in

especially or specially?

especially means particularly (“he was especially fond of crab”); specially means for a special reason (“she made crab sandwiches specially for him”).

Note: if a company claims a product has been designed “especially for you”…it hasn’t!

invoke or evoke?

If you invoke the spirit of Picasso, you’re trying to summon his soul up from the grave; if your paintings evoke the spirit of Picasso, it means their style reminds viewers of that artist’s work.

exalt or exult?

exalt praise someone; exult rejoice.

“Tony Blair was exalted as exultant New Labour supporters exulted.”

exceptional or exceptionable? 

exceptional above average; exceptionable something you take exception to; eg

“The roast beef was exceptional, the yorkshire pudding exceptionable”.

exhausting or exhaustive?

exhausting tiring; exhaustive thorough.

exorcised or exercised?

exorcised having had evil spirits removed; often used erroneously for exercised having one’s passions inflamed by something.

1.2 Use the right word in context…

electrocution
death by electric shock, so don’t say survivors of torture were “electrocuted” during their ordeal – rather that they were given electric shocks.

emotional

showing emotion; emotive causing emotion.

“Badger culling is an emotive issue. No wonder people get emotional about it.”

enamoured of

not ‘by’ or ‘with’.

enervate

to deprive of strength or vitality.

enormity

It might sound a bit like “enormous”, but enormity refers to something monstrous or wicked, such as a massacre, and is not just another word for “big”.

enquiry

use inquiry.

epicentre

point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake or underground explosion; frequently misused to mean the centre or focus itself and is also not a synonym for “dead centre”.

[Note: the prefix -epi is derived from the Greek preposition meaning: above, on, over, nearby, upon; outer; besides, in addition to; among; attached to; or toward.]

escapers

not escapees, despite the apparently unstoppable advance of the -ee suffix!

Otherwise, readers will soon become “readees”?)

execution

the carrying out of a legally authorised death sentence, so a terrorist or soldier, for example, does not “execute” someone.

expat, expatriate

not ex-pat or expatriot; this is “ex” meaning “out of” (as in export, extract), not “ex-” meaning “former” (as in ex-husband).

2.SPELLINGS

2.1 To hyphenate (or not)?

YES

EXCEPTIONS

e-cigarette, e-commerce, e-learning, e-petition, e-reader BUT ebook, email

eco-friendly BUT ecohome, ecosystem, ecotown, ecowarrior

eye-watering BUT eye level, eyewitness

2.2 One word or two?

One word

easygoing

earring, earshot

everyday (commonplace) BUT every day (daily)

Two words

en route (not on route!)

en suite

2.3 Frequently misspelt

earned NOT earnt

educationist NOT educationalist

encyclopedia NOT  encyclopaedia

enforceable

enrol, enrolling, enrolment

enthral, enthralling

espresso NOT expresso

exploitative NOT exploitive

extrovert NOT extravert

2.4 Change with form or plural

2.5 Take note of capitals

[ic = initial capitals | lc = lowercase]

ic

Earth [when talking about the planet], but earth [lc] in such idioms as “down to earth”, “what on earth?”.

ic & lc

British embassy

countries, regions, districts: east Africa, central Europe BUT East Anglia, East End

Note: if it’s a name, all [ic]; e.g. East Midlands airport BUT east Midlands, eastern Europe, western Europe

British empire (but British Empire Medal)

European commission / council / court of justice

estuary English

lc

the equator

establishment, the

3. EXPRESSIONS & STYLE

champ at the bit NOT chomp at the bit

4. PUNCTUATION 

Exclamation mark !

The exclamation mark is a mark of terminal punctuation. As such, it should never be followed by a period or question mark.

• Do not combine with a question mark (unless the question mark is part of a title or a proper noun: “I can’t stand Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?!”
• Omit a comma when a quotation ends with an exclamation point: “Get out!” Marcus yelled.

UNLESS

• The exclamation mark is part of a title or a proper noun: “His latest short story,’Don’t Make a Sound!,’ is his best yet.”
• If the exclamation mark is part of quotation, place it inside: “Her letter of resignation was a single sentence: ‘I’m out of here!’”, otherwise, place it outside – “Stop asking, ‘Why me?’!”

 

Ellipses

An ellipsis is a set of three periods ( . . . ) indicating an omission. Each period should have a single space on either side, except when adjacent to a quotation mark, in which case there should be no space.

Informal writing

• Trailing off of thought: If only she had . . . Oh, it doesn’t matter now.
• Hesitation: I wasn’t really . . . well, what I mean . . . see, the thing is . . . I didn’t mean it.

Quoted material

YES

• Omitted material within a single sentence: Use ellipsis points to show omission within the quotation. Omit any punctuation on either side of the ellipsis, unless the punctuation is necessary to make the shortened quotation grammatically correct. “‘I learned this . . . : that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, . . . he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.’”
• Omitted material spanning two or more sentences:When a quotation is presented as a single sentence made up of material from two or more original sentences, ellipses should be used for all omitted segments. “Thoreau believes that ‘if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, . . . he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.’”

NO

• Introducing a quotation: It is rarely necessary to use ellipsis points at the beginning of a quotation, even if the quotation begins mid-sentence. It is also usually acceptable to change the capitalisation of the first word of the quotation to match the surrounding material: “‘If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,’ writes Thoreau,” [no ellipsis points before the quote].
• Citing a part of a quotation: When a quotation is included within a larger sentence, do not use ellipsis points at the beginning or end of the quoted material, even if the beginning or end of the original sentence has been omitted: “When Thoreau argues that by simplifying one’s life, ‘the laws of the universe will appear less complex,’ he introduces an interesting idea.”

5. GRAMMAR