Grammar: All about (L)

Grammar: Which word to use (L)

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

 

1.CORRECT USAGE

1.1. Similar words mean different things…

laager or lager?

laager South African encampment; lager beer.

last or past?

often interchangeable; eg in such phrases as “six times in the last week”, “twice in the past year”.

But note the difference between most recent (last) and ever (past):

• “United have beaten Wednesday five times in their last six meetings” (suggesting the six most recent meetings).
• “United have beaten Wednesday five times in their past six meetings” (suggesting they have only ever played each other six times).

leach or leech?

leach (verb): percolate, remove with a percolating liquid.

leech (noun): a bloodsucking worm, or used figuratively to describe, say, bankers.

led or lead?

Lead in the present tense only! The verb form is led in any other tense, but this does not stop frequent misuses, such as: “he was lead to the slaughter” or “the singing will be lead by Cliff Richard” – it should be led in both instances.

legend or legendary?

Johnny Cash, say, may be a country music legend, but he is not legendary; the adjective is better reserved for mythical figures or events that have perhaps grown exaggerated in the telling: “King Arthur was a legendary figure, Oliver Reed’s alcohol consumption was legendary” etc.

less or fewer?

less means smaller in overall quantity, eg less money; fewer means smaller numerically (think of counting) eg fewer coins.

Hence, a common mistake is supermarket signs, which should say “7 items or fewer”, not “7 items or less”.

licence or license?

In British English, licence is the noun and license the verb. So you need a licence to run a licensed bar, or you may need to visit the off-licence.

like or such as?

“Cities like Birmingham are wonderful” suggests the writer has in mind other cities, say, Sheffield or Manchester; it’s clearer to say “cities such as Birmingham” if that is what is meant.

like or as if?

Use like as a preposition (“ride like the wind”); use as if as a conjunction, introducing a clause that contains a verb: “he behaved as if he was drunk” rather than “like”.

limpid or limp?

limpid means clear or transparent, not limp

loathe or loth?

loathe (rhymes with clothe) detest; loth (rhymes with oath) reluctant:  “I’m loth to do anything he says because I loathe him so much.”

luxuriant

luxuriant lush; luxurious expensive: “He had his luxuriant moustache waxed at the most luxurious salon in Bootle”.

1.2 Use the right word in context…

lag

pipes are lagged; other things lag behind.

latter

Use latter only in contrast with former. Saying an item is “the latter” of more than two things is wrong;  in such cases, it should be “the last”.

lay off

lay off does not mean to sack or make redundant, but to send workers home on part pay because of a temporary lack of demand for their product.

learned

not learnt, unless you are writing old-fashioned poetry (he learned his tables, a message well learned, etc).

lent

past tense of lend; we sometimes misspell it as “leant” as in “a gritty drama, leant added authenticity by Jean Tournier’s monochrome photography …”. 

lie, lied, lay, laid

• lie (tell an untruth), past tense lied.
• lie (down), past tense lay: he lay there for an hour.
• lay (a table, an egg, put something down), past tense laid.

loan

loan noun; the verb is lend.

loch

loch Scottish; lough Irish.

 

2.SPELLINGS

2.1 To hyphenate (or not)?

YES

laid-back

laissez-faire

lamp-post

lese-majesty

looking-glass

life-cycle (adj)

EXCEPTIONS

let-up, let-down (noun) BUT let up, let down (verb)

left-field (adj) BUT left field (noun)

long-term (adj)BUT long term (noun)

[note: lying in state, no hyphens]

2.2 One word or two?

One word

landmark

landmine

lapdance

laptop

lawsuit

layby BUT lay off

leftwing (adj) BUT the left wing, hard left, soft left

lifeguard, lifejacket, lifelong, lifesize, lifecycle

lightbulb

lighthearted

likewise

lineup (noun) BUT line up (verb)

line out

lock-in, lockout

nouns; lock in, lock out verbs

logbook, logjam

log in, log on, log out, log off (verbs) BUT login, logon (nouns)

nouns (“I’ve forgotten my login/logon”)

longlist, shortlist

longsighted, shortsighted

longstanding, longsuffering

longtime

lunchtime

Two words

lance corporal

last post

level crossing

light year

2.3 Frequently misspelt

laissez-faire NOT laisser-faire

liaise, liaison

likable NOT likeable

linchpin NOT lynchpin

liquefy NOT liquify

liquorice NOT licorice

lovable NOT loveable

2.4 Change with form or plural

lasso: noun (plural lassos) and verb: “you lasso a horse with a lasso”.

2.5 Take note of capitals

[ic = initial capitals | lc = lowercase]

ic

Lakes: Lake Baikal, Lake Erie, etc

Lord’s (cricket ground)

Love’s Labour’s Lost (name of a play)

ic + lc

Labour party BUT labour movement

Long Island iced tea

House of Lords but the house (not the House); their lordships

lc

lance corporal

lord chief justice BUT Lord Haw-Haw [proper name]

lord mayors are mayors, not lords

3. EXPRESSIONS

last rites

last rites are given, not “read” (although someone might read you your rights if you were being arrested).

lay bare

lay bare (revealed) past tense laid, not lay: so “almost a decade after the human genome project lay bare …” should have read “laid bare”.

4. PUNCTUATION & STYLE

latitude

like this: 21 deg 14 min S

longitude

like this: 149 deg 18 min E

Limited

Ltd is preferable

lyrics

As with poetry, run song lyrics line by line if space permits:

Do you really want to hurt me?

Do you really want to make me cry?

If there is no room to do this, separate the lines with spaces and a slash:

Sex and drugs and rock’n’roll / Is all my brain and body need. / Sex and drugs and rock’n’roll / Are very good indeed.

5. GRAMMAR