History or historycal corres 6 doc

memento (singular) mementoes or mementos (plural)
See
PLURALS (iv).
memorandum (singular) memoranda or memorandums (plural)
See FOREIGN PLURALS.
memory (singular) memories (plural)
See PLURALS (iii).
ment Wrong spelling. See
MEANT.
mention mentioned, mentioning.
Mesdames (i) Plural of French Madame.
(ii) Used as a plural title before a number
of ladies’ names:
Mesdames Smith, Green, Brown and
Kelly won prizes.
Always used with an initial capital
letter.
message
messenger (not messanger)
metaphor (not metaphore)
A metaphor is a compressed comparison:
He wolfed his food. (note the apparent
identification with a wolf’s eating habits)
Compare
SIMILE.
meteorology (six syllables)
meter or metre? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
Put these coins in the parking METER.
You’ll need a METRE of material to make
a skirt.
Sonnets are always written in iambic

METRE.
might See
MAY OR MIGHT?.
might of This is an incorrect construction.
See
COULD OF.
MIGHT OF
117
milage/mileage Both spellings are correct.
milieu (singular) milieus or milieux (plural)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS.
militate or mitigate? To MILITATE (against) comes from the
Latin verb meaning ‘to serve as a soldier’
and it has the combative sense of having a
powerful influence on something.
Despite his excellent qualifications, his
youthful criminal record MILITATED
against his appointment as school bursar.
To MITIGATE comes from the Latin
adjective meaning ‘mild’ and it means to
moderate, to make less severe.
Don’t condemn the young man too
harshly. There are MITIGATING
circumstances.
millennium (singular) millennia or millenniums (plural)
(not -n-)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS.
millepede/millipede Both spellings are correct.

mimic mimicked, mimicking
See
SOFT C AND SOFT G.
miniature
minuscule (not miniscule)
minute (not minuit)
miracle
miscellaneous miscellany
mischief See
EI/IE SPELLING RULE.
mischievous (not mischievious, as it is often
mispronounced)
misplace See
DISPLACE OR MISPLACE?.
misrelated participles See
PARTICIPLES.
118
MILAGE/MILEA GE
misspell mis + spell
misspelled/misspelt Both spellings are correct.
mistletoe
moccasin
modern (not modren)
moment (not momment)
momentary or MOMENTARY =lastingforonlya
momentous? very short time
MOMENTOUS = of great significance
monastery (singular) monasteries (plural)
(not monastry/monastries)
See

PLURALS (iii).
mongoose (singular) mongooses (plural)
(not mongeese)
monotonous
moping or mopping? mope + ing = moping
mop + ing = mopping
See
ADDING ENDINGS (i) + (ii).
moral or morale? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
Denise is guided by strong MORAL
principles.
My MORALE suffered badly when I failed
my exams and I lost all faith in myself for
years.
Morocco
mortgage (not morgage as it is pronounced)
mosquito (singular) mosquitoes (plural)
See
PLURALS (iv).
motto (singular) mottoes or mottos (plural)
See
PLURALS (iv).
mould
mouldy
MOULDY
119
moustache
mucous or mucus? MUCOUS is an adjective, as in MUCOUS
membrane.
The name of the thick secretion of the

mucous membrane is called MUCUS.
murmur murmured, murmuring (not murmer-)
mustn’t This is the contracted form of ‘must not’.
Take care to place the apostrophe
carefully.
must of This is an incorrect construction.
See
COULD OF.
mute -e Also known as magic -e and silent -e.
See
ADDING ENDINGS (ii).
mutual reciprocal
Our dislike was MUTUAL.
Their marriage is based on MUTUAL
respect.
Some would avoid the use of ‘mutual’ in
expressions such as ‘our mutual friend’
because a third person is then introduced
and the feelings of each person for the
other two are not necessarily identical. It
might be best here to describe the friend
as one ‘we have in common’.
myself See
I/ME/MYSELF.
myth See
LEGEND OR MYTH?.
120
MOUSTACHE
N
naive/naı

¨
ve Both forms are correct.
naivete
´
/naı
¨
vete
´
/ All these forms are correct.
naivety/naı
¨
vety
nationalise or to NATIONALISE =totransfer
naturalise? ownership from the private sector to the
state
to NATURALISE = to confer full
citizenship on a foreigner
nebula (singular) nebulae or nebulas (plural)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS.
necessary
necessity
negatives See
DOUBLE NEGATIVES.
neighbour See
EI/IE SPELLING RULE.
neither See EI/IE SPELLING RULE.
neither . . .nor Compare EITHER . . .OR.
nephew
-ness Take care when adding this suffix to a

word already ending in -n. You will have
double n:
cleanness
openness
suddenness
neumonia Wrong spelling. See
PNEUMONIA.
new See
KNEW OR NEW?.
niece Se e
EI/IE SPELLING RULE.
nine ninth
121
nineteen nineteenth
ninety ninetieth
no See
KNOW OR NO?.
no body or nobody? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
It was believed that he had been
murdered but NO BODY was ever found,
and so nothing could be proved. (= no
corpse)
NOBODY likes going to the dentist.
(= no one)
none The problem with ‘none’ is deciding
whether to use with it a singular or a
plural verb.
Strictly speaking, a singular verb should
accompany ‘none’:
NONE of the passengers WAS hurt.

(= not one)
NONE of the milk WAS spilt. (= not any)
Colloquially, a singular verb is always used
with expressions of quantity but a plural
verb is often used when plural nouns
follow the ‘none of . . .’ construction:
NONE of the passengers WERE hurt.
NONE of my friends LIKE pop music.
NONE of the children WANT an ice-
cream.
Some would reserve plural verbs in these
cases for informal occasions; others would
see them as perfectly acceptable formally
as well.
no one ‘No one’ is singular and requires a singular
verb:
NO ONE likes meanness.
‘No one’ should be written as two words
and not hyphenated.
122
NINETEEN