Grammar: All about (W)

Grammar: Which word to use (W)

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

1. CORRECT USAGE

1.1. Similar words mean different things…

waiver or waver?

To waive is to relinquish a claim or right. The associated noun is waiver, which can lead to confusion with waver, meaning to hesitate (or a person waving).

weave (fabric) or weave (from side to side)

weave (fabric)  past tense wove, past participle woven, as in “Obama’s speech was woven throughout with the language of the US constitution”. 

weave (from side to side) past tense weaved, past participle weaved, as in “the politician dodged and weaved”.

 

1.2 Use the right word in context…

ward, wards

Used as an adjective words such as backward, forward, downward, upward, outward should not end in ‘s’

BUT

Used as an adverb they should, so downward slope, forward planning, outward looking; but peer downwards, move forwards, spread outwards.

welch

(not welsh) to fail to honour an obligation.

whence 

means “where from”, so don’t write “from whence”.

whereabouts 

singular: “her whereabouts is not known”.

which or that? 

“that” defines, “which” gives extra information (often in a clause enclosed by commas):

• “This is the house that Jack built” BUT “This house, which John built, is falling down.”
• “I am very proud of the sunflowers that I grew from seed”. (some of the sunflowers) BUT “I am very proud of the sunflowers, which I grew from seed” (all the sunflowers),

Note that in such examples the sentence remains grammatical without “that” (the house Jack built, the paper I admire, the sunflowers I grew), but not without “which”.

while 

not whilst.

with

not “together with”.

wounds

combatants in battle are wounded, not injured.

wrack

seaweed; racked with guilt and shame, not wracked; rack and ruin.

wreaked

is the past tense of wreak (eg wreaked havoc); wrought is not – it’s an archaic past tense form of work, and is used as an adjective, eg wrought iron, finely wrought embroidery.

wrest

as in wresting back, rather than wrestling back, your title.

 

2. SPELLINGS

2.1 To hyphenate (or not)?

YES

wah-wah pedal

washing-up liquid

white-van man

Winnie-the-Pooh

EXCEPTIONS

working-class adjective BUT working class (noun)

witch-doctor, witch-hunt BUT witchcraft

 

2.2 One word or two?

One word

warship, wartime

washout (noun) BUT wash out (verb)

wastewater, rainwater BUT flood water, flood waters

watchdog, watchmaker, watchword

watercolour, watercourse, watermark, waterproof, waterskiing, waterworks

web, webpage, website BUT world wide web

wellbeing

wellnigh

welly, wellies

windfarm

wipeout (noun( BUT wipe out (verb)

wishlist

wrongdoing

wrongfoot

Two words

white paper

war crime, war dance, war game, war zone BUT warhead, warhorse, warlord, warpath

 

2.3 Frequently misspelt

wacky NOT whacky

wagon NOT waggon

wifi NOT Wi-Fi

wisteria NOT wistaria

wits’ end

woeful

Worcestershire sauce NOT Worcester sauce

wriggle room NOT wiggle room

wryly NOT wrily

 

2.4 Change with form or plural

whisky, whiskey

scotch whisky, or simply scotch, plural whiskies

Irish and American whiskey, plural whiskeys

2.5 Take note of capitals

[ic = initial capitals | lc = lowercase]

ic

World Health Organization; WHO on second mention

Wales Office NOT Welsh Office

Washington DC (no comma or full stops)

wine regions are ic;  one might drink a burgundy from Burgundy, or a muscadet from the Loire valley – as are wines of individual chateaux, eg “I enjoyed a glass of Cos d’Estournel 1970”.

ic + lc

Welsh assembly, Welsh government

wars: Boer war, Crimean war, Korean war, Vietnam war

Gulf war (1991), Iraq war (2003)

war of Jenkins’ Ear (1739-48)

Wars of the Roses (1455-85) [Lancaster won!]

lc

west, western, the west, wild west BUT western Europe

wendy house

world championship BUT World Cup, World Cup final

world heritage site

welsh dresser, welsh rarebit

wines  normally lc, whether taking their name from a region (eg beaujolais, bordeaux, burgundy, chablis, champagne) or a grape variety (eg cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, muscadet).

wars civil war (England), American civil war, Spanish civil war

first world war, second world war (so do not say “before the war” or “after the war” when you mean the second world war)

hundred years war [which actually lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453]

six-day war (1967)

thirty years’ war (1618-48) [ended by the peace of Westphalia]

 

3. EXPRESSIONS & STYLE

wake

“in the wake of” is overused; there is nothing wrong with “as a result of” or simply “after”.

warn

“Warns” implies that a genuine warning is being made, but is inappropriate, say, when it is just political point-scoring or making a threat eg “The RBS chief warned that a yes vote would wreck Scotland’s economy” implies a degree of disinterest that is misplaced. If in doubt, “said” is always a safe alternative.

well

• “He gave a well-prepared speech” but “his speech was well prepared”;
• “She liked a well-done steak” but “she liked her steak well done”;
• “A well-known song” but “the song was well known” (but note that, as with famous, if something is well known it is not normally necessary to say so).

who or whom? 

If in doubt, ask yourself how the clause beginning who/whom would read in the form of a sentence giving he, him, she, her, they or them instead:

• if the who/whom person turns into he/she/they, then “who” is right;
• if it becomes him/her/them, then it should be “whom”.

In this example: “Jack was criticised for attacking Nick, whom he despised” – “whom” is correct because he despised “him”.

BUT

In “Jack attacked Nick, who he thought was wrong” – “who” is correct, because it is “he” not “him” who is considered wrong.

woman, women 

are nouns, not adjectives, so say female president, female MPs etc rather than “woman president”, “women MPs”.

worldwide

often redundant, eg “it has automotive plants in 30 countries worldwide” (as opposed to galaxy-wide?).

4. PUNCTUATION

5. GRAMMAR