Howto Books The A-Z Of Correct English_U

U
ultimatum (singular) ultimata or ultimatums (plural)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS
.
umbrella (not umberella)
umpire See
REFEREE OR UMPIRE?
.
un- Remember that when un- is added to a
word beginning with n-, you will have
-nn-:
un + natural = unnatural
un+nerve=unnerve
unconscious
under- Remember that when you add under- to a
word beginning with r-, you will have -rr-:
under + rate = underrate
underlay or underlie? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
to UNDERLAY = to lay or place under
You should UNDERLAY the carpet with
felt if your floorboards are very uneven.
I UNDERLAID this carpet with very thick
felt because the floorboards were so
uneven.
This carpet IS UNDERLAID with felt.
to UNDERLIE =tobesituatedunder
(esp. rocks)
Granite UNDERLIES the sandstone here.
Granite UNDERLAY the sandstone, as we
soon discovered.

The sandstone here IS UNDERLAIN by
granite.
­
175
also:
The UNDERLYING problem is poverty.
Compare
LAY OR LIE?
.
underrate under + rate
undoubtedly
unequivocally unequivocal + ly (not unequivocably)
unexceptionable or UNEXCEPTIONABLE = inoffensive, not
unexceptional? likely to cause criticism or objections
UNEXCEPTIONAL = ordinary, run-of-
the-mill
Compare
EXCEPTIONABLE OR EXCEPTIONAL?
.
unget-at-able (not un-get-at-able)
uninterested See
DISINTERESTED OR UNINTERESTED?.
unique Remember, that ‘unique’ is absolute. It
means ‘the only one of its kind’.
Something is either unique or it’s not. It
can’t be ‘quite unique’ or ‘very unique’.
unmanageable (not unmanagable)
See
SOFT C AND SOFT G
.

unmistakable/ Both spellings are correct.
unmistakeable
unnatural un + natural
unnecessary un + necessary
unparalleled
until (not untill)
unusually unusual + ly
upon (not apon)
upstairs (one word)
urban or urbane? URBAN = relating to a town or city
URBAN population
URBANE =suave,courteous
176
UNDERRATE
used to  I USED TO like him very much
The negative form is:
 I USED NOT TO like him very much.
 I didn’t used to like him.
useful
useless
usurper (not -or)
USURPER
177
V
vase
vechicle Wrong spelling. See
VEHICLE
.
vegetable (not vegtable)
vegetation

vehicle (not vechicle)
veil See
EI/IE SPELLING RULE
.
vengeance (not vengance)
See
SOFT C AND SOFT G
.
ventilation (not venta-)
veracity or voracity? VERACITY =truthfulness
VORACITY =greed
veranda/verandah Both spellings are correct.
vertebra (singular) vertebrae (plural)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS
.
veterinary (five syllables!)
vice versa
vicious
view
vigorous (not vigourous)
See also
RIGOROUS OR VIGOROUS?
.
vigour
villain
violent
virtuoso (singular) virtuosi or virtuosos (plural)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS

.
visible (not -able)
178
visitor (not -er)
vocabulary (five syllables)
volcano (singular) volcanoes or volcanos (plural)
See
PLURALS (iv).
voluntary
volunteer volunteered, volunteering
voracity See
VERACITY OR VORACITY?
.
vortex (singular) vortexes or vortices (plural)
See
FOREIGN PLURALS
.
vowels Five letters of the alphabet are always
vowels:
aeiou
The letter y is sometimes a vowel and
sometimes a consonant. It is a vowel
when it sounds like e or i:
pretty, busy
sly, pylon
Y is a consonant at the beginning of
syllables and words and has a different
sound:
yellow, beyond
VOWELS

179
W
waist or waste? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
Tie this rope around your WAIST.
Don’t WASTE paper.
What do you do with WASTE paper?
Industrial WASTE causes pollution.
waive or wave? WAIVE = to give something up or not
exact it
IshallWAIVE the fine on this occasion.
WAVE = to move something to and fro
WAVE to the Queen.
wander or wonder? IlovetoWANDER through the forest.
(rhymes with girl’s name, Wanda)
I WONDER what has happened to him.
(rhymes with ‘under’)
wasn’t Place the apostrophe carefully.
waste See
WAIST OR WASTE?
.
wave See
WAIVE OR WAVE?
.
weak or week? WEAK =feeble
WEEK =sevendays
weather or whether? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
The WEATHER this winter has been
awful.
I don’t know WHETHER I can help.
(= if)

Wednesday (not Wensday)
week See
WEAK OR WEEK?
.
weir (exception to the -ie- rule)
See
EI/IE SPELLING RULE
.
180
­
weird (exception to the -ie- rule)
See
EI/IE SPELLING RULE
.
Wensday Wrong spelling. See
WEDNESDAY
.
were or where? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
We WERE walking very fast. (rhymes
with ‘her’)
WHERE are you? (rhymes with ‘air’)
Do you know WHERE he is?
This is the house WHERE I was born.
weren’t Place the apostrophe carefully.
wharf (singular) wharfs or wharves (plural)
Both spellings are correct.
where See
WERE OR WHERE?
.
whether See

WEATHER OR WHETHER?
.
whilst (exception to magic -e rule)
See
ADDING ENDINGS (ii).
whiskey or whisky? WHISKEY is distilled in Ireland.
WHISKY is distilled in Scotland.
who or whom? The grammatical distinction is that ‘who’
is a subject pronoun and ‘whom’ is an
object pronoun.
(i) Use this method to double-check
whether you need a subject pronoun
or an object pronoun when who/
whom begins a question:
Ask yourself the question and
anticipate the answer. If this could be
one of the subject pronouns (I, he,
she, we or they), then you need ‘who’
at the beginning of the question:
Who/whom is there?
The answer could be: I am there.
 WHO is there?
WHO OR WHOM?
181
If the answer could be one of the
object pronouns (me, him, her, us or
them), then you need ‘whom’ at the
beginning of the question:
Who/whom did you meet when you
went to London?

The answer could be: I met him.
 WHOM did you meet?
(ii) Use this method if who/whom comes
in the middle of a sentence:
Break the sentence into two
sentences and see whether a subject
pronoun (I, he, she, we, they) is
needed in the second sentence or an
object pronoun (me, him, her, us,
them).
Here is the man who/whom can help
you.
Divide into two sentences:
Here is the man. He can help you.
 Here is the man WHO can help you.
He is a writer who/whom I have
admired for years.
Divide into two sentences:
He is a writer. I have admired him for
years.
 He is a writer WHOM I have admired
for years.
whole See
HOLE OR WHOLE?
.
wholly (exception to the magic e- rule)
See
ADDING ENDINGS (ii).
who’s or whose? Use these exemplar sentences as a guide:
WHO’S been eating my porridge? (= who

has)
WHO’S coming to supper? (= who is)
182
WHOLE