Afghanistan Kabul 648,000 27,755,775 afghani = 100 puls Albania Tirana 28,700 3,544,841 lek = 100 qintars Algeria Algiers 2,319,000 32,277,942 dinar = 100 centimes Andorra Andorra la Vella 468 68,403 euro = 100 cents Angola Luanda 1,246,000 10,593,171 kwanza = 100 lwei Antigua and Barbuda St Johns 442 67,448 dollar = 100 cents Argentina Buenos Aires 2,780,000 37,812,817 peso = 100 centavos Armenia Yerevan 29,800 3,330,099 dram = 100 luma Australia Canberra 7,692,000 19,564,792 dollar = 100 cents Austria Vienna 83,900 8,169,929 euro = 100 cents Azerbaijan Baku 86,600 7,798,497 manat = 100 gopik Bahamas Nassau 13,900 300,529 dollar = 100 cents Bahrain Manama 620 656,397 dinar = 1,000 ls Bangladesh Dhaka 144,000 133,376,684 taka = 100 poisha Barbados Bridgetown 431 276,607 dollar = 100 cents Belarus Minsk 208,000 10,335,352 Belarusian rouble Belgium Brussels 30,500 10,274,595 euro = 100 cents Belize Belmopan 23,000 262,999 dollar = 100 cents Benin Porto Novo 113,000 6,787,625 franc = 100 centimes Bhutan Thimphu 46,600 2,094,176 ngultrum = 100 chetrum, Indian rupee Bolivia La Paz 1,099,000 8,445,134 boliviano = 100 centavos Bosnia-Herzegovina Sarajevo 51,100 3,964,388 dinar = 100 paras Botswana Gaborone 600,000 1,591,232 pula = 100 thebe Brazil Brasilia 8,512,000 176,029,560 real = 100 centavos Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan 5,770 350,898 dollar = 100 sen Bulgaria Soa 111,000 7,621,337 lev = 100 stotinki Burkina Faso Ouagadougou 274,000 12,603,185 franc = 100 centimes Burma (Myanmar) Rangoon 677,000 42,238,224 kyat = 100 pyas Burundi Bujumbura 27,800 6,373,002 franc = 100 centimes Cambodia Phnom Penh 181,000 12,775,324 riel = 100 sen Cameroon Yaound 475,000 16,184,748 franc = 100 centimes Canada Ottawa 9,976,000 31,902,268 dollar = 100 cents Cape Verde Islands Praia 4,030 408,760 escudo = 100 centavos Central African Republic Bangui 625,000 3,642,739 franc = 100 centimes Chad NDjamena 1,284,000 8,997,237 franc = 100 centimes Chile Santiago 757,000 15,498,930 peso = 100 centavos China Beijing 9,561,000 1,284,303,705 yuan = 10 jiao or 100 fen Colombia Bogot 1,140,000 41,008,227 peso = 100 centavos Comoros Moroni 1,790 614,382 franc = 100 centimes Congo Brazzaville 342,000 2,958,448 franc = 100 centimes Congo, Democratic Kinshasa 2,344,000 55,225,478 franc = 100 centimes Republic of (Zaire) Costa Rica San Jos 51,000 3,834,934 coln = 100 centimos Croatia Zagreb 56,500 4,390,751 kuna = 100 lipa Cuba Havana 111,000 11,224,321 peso = 100 centavos Cyprus Nicosia 9,250 767,314 pound = 100 cents Czech Republic Prague 78,900 10,256,760 koruna = 100 halers Denmark Copenhagen 43,100 5,368,854 krone = 100 re Djibouti Djibouti 23,300 820,600 franc = 100 centimes Dominica Roseau 751 70,158 dollar = 100 cents Dominican Republic Santo Domingo 48,400 8,721,594 peso = 100 centavos Appendix 1 Countries of the world Population gures are based on 2002 estimates. Ecuador Quito 271,000 13,447,494 sucre = 100 centavos Egypt Cairo 1,002,000 70,712,345 pound = 100 piastres or 1,000 milliemes El Salvador San Salvador 21,400 6,353,681 coln = 100 centavos Equatorial Guinea Malabo 28,100 498,144 franc = 100 centimes Eritrea Asmara 118,000 4,465,651 nakfa; Ethiopian birr Estonia Tallinn 45,100 1,415,681 kroon = 100 sents Ethiopia Addis Ababa 1,224,000 67,673,031 birr = 100 cents Fiji Suva 18,300 856,436 dollar = 100 cents Finland Helsinki 338,000 5,183,545 euro = 100 cents France Paris 547,000 59,765,983 euro = 100 cents Gabon Libreville 268,000 1,233,353 franc = 100 centimes Gambia Banjul 11,300 1,455,842 dalasi = 100 butut Georgia Tbilisi 69,700 4,960,951 lari = 100 tetri Germany Berlin 357,000 83,251,851 euro = 100 cents Ghana Accra 239,000 20,244,154 cedi = 100 pesewas Greece Athens 131,000 10,645,343 euro = 100 cents Grenada St Georges 345 89,211 dollar = 100 cents Guatemala Guatemala City 109,000 13,314,079 quetzal = 100 centavos Guinea Conakry 246,000 7,775,065 franc = 100 centimes Guinea-Bissau Bissau 36,000 1,345,479 peso = 100 centavos Guyana Georgetown 215,000 698,209 dollar = 100 cents Haiti Port-au-Prince 27,800 7,063,722 gourde = 100 centimes Honduras Tegucigalpa 112,000 6,560,608 lempira = 100 centavos Hungary Budapest 93,000 10,075,034 forint = 100 ller Iceland Reykjavik 103,000 279,384 krona = 100 aurar India New Delhi 3,185,000 1,045,845,226 rupee = 100 paisa Indonesia Djakarta 1,905,000 231,328,092 rupiah = 100 sen Iran Tehran 1,648,000 66,622,704 rial = 100 dinars Iraq Baghdad 438,000 24,001,816 dinar = 1,000 ls Ireland, Republic of Dublin 70,300 3,883,159 euro = 100 cents Israel Jerusalem 20,800 6,029,529 shekel = 100 agora Italy Rome 301,000 57,715,625 euro = 100 cents Ivory Coast Yamoussoukro 322,000 16,804,784 franc = 100 centimes Jamaica Kingston 11,000 2,680,029 dollar = 100 cents Japan Tokyo 378,000 126,974,628 yen = 100 sen Jordan Amman 97,700 5,307,470 dinar = 1,000 ls Kazakhstan Astana 2,717,000 16,741,519 tenge = 100 teins Kenya Nairobi 583,000 31,138,735 shilling = 100 cents Kiribati Bairiki 717 96,335 Australian dollar Kuwait Kuwait City 17,800 2,111,561 dinar = 1,000 ls Kyrgyzstan Bishkek 199,000 4,822,166 som = 100 tiyin Laos Vientiane 237,000 5,777,180 kip = 100 ats Latvia Riga 64,600 2,366,515 lat = 100 santims Lebanon Beirut 10,500 3,677,780 pound = 100 piastres Lesotho Maseru 30,300 2,207,954 loti = 100 lisente Liberia Monrovia 111,000 3,288,198 dollar = 100 cents Libya Tripoli 1,776,000 5,368,585 dinar = 1,000 dirhams Liechtenstein Vaduz 160 32,842 franc = 100 centimes Lithuania Vilnius 65,200 3,601,138 litas = 100 centas Luxembourg Luxembourg 2,590 448,569 euro = 100 cents Macedonia Skopje 25,700 2,054,800 denar = 100 deni Madagascar Antananarivo 587,000 16,473,477 franc = 100 centimes Malawi Lilongwe 118,000 10,701,824 kwacha = 100 tambala Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 330,000 22,662,365 ringgit = 100 sen Maldives Male 298 320,165 ruyaa = 100 laris Mali Bamako 1,240,000 11,340,480 franc = 100 centimes Malta Valletta 316 397,499 lira = 100 cents Marshall Islands Majuro 181 73,630 US dollar Mauritania Nouakchott 1,031,000 2,828,858 ouguiya = 5 khoums Mauritius Port Louis 2,040 1,200,206 rupee = 100 cents Mexico Mexico City 1,958,000 103,400,165 peso = 100 centavos Micronesia Kolonia 701 135,869 US dollar Moldova Chisinau 33,700 4,434,547 leu = 100 bani countries of the world Country Capital Area (sq. km) Population Currency unit Monaco 1.5 31,987 euro = 100 cents Mongolia Ulan Bator 1,565,000 2,694,432 tugrik = 100 mongos Montenegro (see Union of Serbia and Montenegro) Morocco Rabat 459,000 31,167,783 dirham = 100 centimes Mozambique Maputo 799,000 19,607,519 metical = 100 centavos Myanmar (see Burma) Namibia Windhoek 824,000 1,820,916 rand = 100 cents Nauru 21 12,329 Australian dollar Nepal Kathmandu 147,000 25,873,917 rupee = 100 paisa Netherlands Amsterdam 37,000 16,067,754 euro = 100 cents New Zealand Wellington 268,000 3,908,037 dollar = 100 cents Nicaragua Managua 120,000 5,023,818 cordoba = 100 centavos Niger Niamey 1,267,000 10,639,744 franc = 100 centimes Nigeria Abuja 924,000 129,934,911 naira = 100 kobo North Korea Pyongyang 121,000 22,224,195 won = 100 jun Norway Oslo 324,000 4,525,116 krone = 100 re Oman Muscat 212,000 2,713,462 rial = 1,000 baiza Pakistan Islamabad 804,000 147,663,429 rupee = 100 paisa Panama Panama City 77,100 2,882,329 balboa = 100 centsimos Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 463,000 5,172,033 kina = 100 toea Paraguay Asuncin 407,000 5,884,491 guarani = 100 centimos Peru Lima 1,285,000 27,949,639 sol = 100 cents Philippines Manila 300,000 84,525,639 peso = 100 centavos Poland Warsaw 304,000 38,625,478 zloty = 100 groszy Portugal Lisbon 92,000 10,084,245 euro = 100 cents Qatar Doha 11,400 793,341 riyal = 100 dirhams Romania Bucharest 229,000 22,317,730 leu = 100 bani Russia Moscow 17,075,000 144,978,573 rouble = 100 copecks Rwanda Kigali 26,300 7,398,074 franc = 100 centimes St Kitts and Nevis Basseterre 261 38,736 dollar = 100 cents St Lucia Castries 616 160,145 dollar = 100 cents St Vincent and the Kingstown 389 116,394 dollar = 100 cents Grenadines Samoa Apia 2,840 178,631 tala = 100 sene San Marino San Marino 61 27,730 euro = 100 cents So Tom and Principe So Tom 964 170,372 dobra = 100 centavos Saudi Arabia Riyadh 2,150,000 23,513,330 riyal = 20 qursh or 100 halalas Senegal Dakar 197,000 10,589,571 franc = 100 centimes Serbia (see Union of Serbia and Montenegro) Seychelles Victoria 453 80,098 rupee = 100 cents Sierra Leone Freetown 71,700 5,614,743 leone = 100 cents Singapore Singapore City 618 4,452,732 dollar = 100 cents Slovakia Bratislava 49,000 5,422,366 koruna = 100 haliers Slovenia Ljubljana 20,300 1,932,917 tolar = 100 stotins Solomon Islands Honiara 276,000 494,786 dollar = 100 cents Somalia Mogadishu 638,000 7,753,310 shilling = 100 cents South Africa Pretoria 1,221,000 43,647,658 rand = 100 cents South Korea Seoul 99,300 48,324,000 won = 100 jeon Spain Madrid 505,000 40,077,100 euro = 100 cents Sri Lanka Colombo 64,000 19,576,783 rupee = 100 cents Sudan Khartoum 2,506,000 37,090,298 dinar = 10 pounds Suriname Paramaribo 163,000 436,494 guilder = 100 cents Swaziland Mbabane 17,000 1,123,605 lilangeni = 100 cents Sweden Stockholm 450,000 8,876,744 krona = 100 re Switzerland Berne 41,000 7,301,994 franc = 100 centimes Syria Damascus 184,000 17,155,814 pound = 100 piastres Taiwan Taipei 36,000 22,548,009 New Taiwan dollar = 100 cents Tajikistan Dushanbe 143,000 6,719,567 somoni = 100 dirams Tanzania Dodoma 940,000 37,187,939 shilling = 100 cents Thailand Bangkok 513,000 62,354,402 baht = 100 satangs Togo Lom 57,000 5,285,501 franc = 100 centimes Tonga Nukualofa 668 106,137 paanga = 100 seniti Trinidad and Tobago Port-of-Spain 5,130 1,163,724 dollar = 100 cents countries of the world Country Capital Area (sq. km) Population Currency unit Tunisia Tunis 164,000 9,815,644 dinar = 1,000 milliemes Turkey Ankara 779,000 67,308,928 lira = 100 kurus Turkmenistan Ashgabat 488,000 4,688,963 manat = 100 tenesi Tuvalu Funafuti 26 11,146 dollar = 100 cents Uganda Kampala 241,000 24,699,073 shilling = 100 cents Ukraine Kiev 604,000 48,396,470 hryvna = 100 kopiykas Union of Serbia and Belgrade 102,200 10,656,929 dinar = 100 paras Montenegro United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 77,770 2,445,989 dirham = 100 ls United Kingdom London 244,000 58,789,194 pound = 100 pence United States Washington DC 9,373,000 280,562,489 dollar = 100 cents Uruguay Montevideo 176,000 3,386,575 peso = 100 centsimos Uzbekistan Tashkent 447,000 25,563,441 som = 100 tiyin Vanuatu Vila 14,800 196,178 vatu = 100 centimes Vatican City 0.44 1,000 euro = 100 cents Venezuela Caracas 912,000 24,287,670 bolivar = 100 centimos Vietnam Hanoi 330,000 81,098,416 dong = 100 xu Yemen Sanaa 540,000 18,701,257 riyal = 100 ls Zambia Lusaka 753,000 9,959,037 kwacha = 100 ngwee Zimbabwe Harare 391,000 11,376,676 dollar = 100 cents countries of the world Country Capital Area (sq. km) Population Currency unit Appendix 2 Prime Ministers and Presidents [1721]1742 Sir Robert Walpole Whig 17421743 Earl of Wilmington 17431754 Henry Pelham 17541756 Duke of Newcastle 17561757 Duke of Devonshire 17571762 Duke of Newcastle 17621763 Earl of Bute Tory 17631765 George Grenville Whig 17651766 Marquess of Rockingham 17661768 William Pitt the Elder 17681770 Duke of Grafton 17701782 Lord North Tory 1782 Marquess of Rockingham Whig 17821783 Earl of Shelburne 1783 Duke of Portland coalition 17831801 William Pitt the Younger Tory 18011804 Henry Addington 18041806 William Pitt the Younger 18061807 Lord William Grenville Whig 18071809 Duke of Portland Tory 18091812 Spencer Perceval 18121827 Earl of Liverpool 1827 George Canning 18271828 Viscount Goderich 18281830 Duke of Wellington 18301834 Earl Grey Whig 1834 Viscount Melbourne 1834 Duke of Wellington Tory 18341835 Sir Robert Peel Conservative 18351841 Viscount Melbourne Whig 18411846 Sir Robert Peel Conservative 18461852 Lord John Russell Whig 1852 Earl of Derby Conservative 18521855 Earl of Aberdeen coalition 18551858 Viscount Palmerston Whig 18581859 Earl of Derby Conservative 18591865 Viscount Palmerston Liberal 18651866 Earl Russell Liberal 18661868 Earl of Derby Conservative 1868 Benjamin Disraeli 18681874 William Ewart Gladstone Liberal 18741880 Benjamin Disraeli Conservative 18801885 William Ewart Gladstone Liberal 18851886 Marquess of Salisbury Conservative 1886 William Ewart Gladstone Liberal 18861892 Marquess of Salisbury Conservative 18921894 William Ewart Gladstone Liberal 18941895 Earl of Rosebery 18951902 Marquess of Salisbury Conservative 19021905 Arthur James Balfour 19051908 Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Liberal 19081916 Herbert Henry Asquith 19161922 David Lloyd George coalition 19221923 Andrew Bonar Law Conservative 19231924 Stanley Baldwin 1924 James Ramsay MacDonald Labour 19241929 Stanley Baldwin Conservative 19291935 James Ramsay MacDonald coalition 19351937 Stanley Baldwin 19371940 Neville Chamberlain 19401945 Winston Churchill 19451951 Clement Attlee Labour 19511955 Sir Winston Churchill Conservative 19551957 Sir Anthony Eden 19571963 Harold Macmillan 19631964 Sir Alec Douglas-Home 19641970 Harold Wilson Labour 19701974 Edward Heath Conservative 19741976 Harold Wilson Labour 19761979 James Callaghan 19791990 Margaret Thatcher Conservative 19901997 John Major 1997 Tony Blair Labour 18671873 John A. Macdonald Conservative 18731878 Alexander Mackenzie Liberal/Reform 18781891 John A. Macdonald Conservative 18911892 John J. C. Abbott Liberal-Conservative 18921894 John S. D. Thompson Conservative 18941896 Mackenzie Bowell 1896 Charles Tupper 18961911 Wilfrid Laurier Liberal 19111920 Robert L. Borden Conservative 19201921 Arthur Meighen Liberal 19211926 W. L. Mackenzie King 1926 Arthur Meighen Conservative 19261930 W. L. Mackenzie King Liberal 19301935 Richard B. Bennett Conservative 19351948 W. L. Mackenzie King Liberal 19481957 Louis Stephen St Laurent 19571963 John George Diefenbaker Progressive Conservative 19631968 Lester B. Pearson Liberal 19681979 Pierre Trudeau 19791980 Joseph Clark Progressive Conservative 19801984 Pierre Trudeau Liberal 1984 John Turner 19841993 Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative 1993 Kim Campbell 19932003 Jean Chrtien Liberal 2003 Paul Martin Prime Ministers of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom Prime Ministers of Canada prime ministers and presidents Prime Ministers of Australia 19011903 Edmund Barton 19031904 Alfred Deakin Liberal 1904 John C. Watson Labor 19041905 George Houstoun Reid Free Trade 19051908 Alfred Deakin Liberal 19081909 Andrew Fisher Labor 19091910 Alfred Deakin Liberal 19101913 Andrew Fisher Labor 19131914 Joseph Cook Liberal 19141915 Andrew Fisher Labor 19151923 William M. Hughes Nationalist 19231929 Stanley M. Bruce 19291932 James H. Scullin Labor 19321939 Joseph A. Lyons United Australia Party 19391941 Robert Gordon Menzies Liberal 1941 Arthur William Fadden Country Party 19411945 John Curtin Labor 19451949 Joseph Benedict Chiey Labor 19491966 Robert Gordon Menzies Liberal 19661967 Harold Edward Holt 19671968 John McEwen 19681971 John Grey Gorton 19711972 William McMahon 19721975 Gough Whitlam Labor 19751983 Malcolm Fraser Liberal 19831991 Bob Hawke Labor 19911996 Paul Keating 1996 John Howard Liberal 18911893 John Ballance Liberal 18931906 Richard John Seddon 1906 William Hall-Jones 19061912 Joseph George Ward 1912 Thomas Mackenzie 19121925 William Ferguson Massey Reform 1925 Francis Henry Dillon Bell 19251928 Joseph Gordon Coates 19281930 Joseph George Ward Liberal 19301935 George William Forbes 19351940 Michael J. Savage Labour 19401949 Peter Fraser 19491957 Sidney G. Holland National Party 1957 Keith J. Holyoake National Party 19571960 Walter Nash Labour 19601972 Keith J. Holyoake National Party 1972 John R. Marshall 19721974 Norman Kirk Labour 19741975 Wallace Rowling 19751984 Robert D. Muldoon National Party 19841989 David Lange Labour 19891990 Geoffrey Palmer 1990 Mike Moore 19901997 James B. Bolger National Party 19971999 Jenny Shipley 1999 Helen Clark Labour Prime Ministers of New Zealand (since the emergence of party government in 1891) Presidents of the United States of America 17891797 1. George Washington Federalist 17971801 2. John Adams 18011809 3. Thomas Jefferson Democratic Republican 18091817 4. James Madison 18171825 5. James Monroe 18251829 6. John Quincy Adams Independent 18291837 7. Andrew Jackson Democrat 18371841 8. Martin Van Buren 1841 9. William H. Harrison Whig 18411845 10. John Tyler Whig, then Democrat 18451849 11. James K. Polk Democrat 18491850 12. Zachary Taylor Whig 18501853 13. Millard Fillmore 18531857 14. Franklin Pierce Democrat 18571861 15. James Buchanan 18611865 16. Abraham Lincoln Republican 18651869 17. Andrew Johnson Democrat 18691877 18. Ulysses S. Grant Republican 18771881 19. Rutherford B. Hayes 1881 20. James A. Gareld 18811885 21. Chester A. Arthur 18851889 22. Grover Cleveland Democrat 18891893 23. Benjamin Harrison Republican 18931897 24. Grover Cleveland Democrat 18971901 25. William McKinley Republican 19011909 26. Theodore Roosevelt 19091913 27. William H. Taft 19131921 28. Woodrow Wilson Democrat 19211923 29. Warren G. Harding Republican 19231929 30. Calvin Coolidge 19291933 31. Herbert Hoover 19331945 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt Democrat 19451953 33. Harry S. Truman 19531961 34. Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican 19611963 35. John F. Kennedy Democrat 19631969 36. Lyndon B. Johnson 19691974 37. Richard Nixon Republican 19741977 38. Gerald Ford 19771981 39. Jimmy Carter Democrat 19811989 40. Ronald Reagan Republican 19891993 41. George Bush 19932001 42. Bill Clinton Democrat 2001 43. George W. Bush Republican Ruler Dates of Life reign Saxon Line Edwy 955957 died 959 Edgar 959975 944975 Edward the Martyr 975978 c.963978 Ethelred the Unready 9781016 c.9691016 Edmund Ironside 1016 c.9801016 Danish Line Canute (Cnut) 10171035 d.1035 Harold I 10371040 d.1040 Hardecanute 10401042 c.10191042 Saxon Line Edward the Confessor 10421066 c.10031066 Harold II 1066 c.10191066 House of Normandy William I (the 10661087 c.10271087 Conqueror) William II 10871100 c.10601100 Henry I 11001135 10681135 Stephen 11351154 c.10971154 House of Plantagenet Henry II 11541189 11331189 Richard I 11891199 11571199 John 11991216 11651216 Henry III 12161272 12071272 Edward I 12721307 12391307 Edward II 13071327 12841327 Edward III 13271377 13121377 Richard II 13771399 13671400 House of Lancaster Henry IV 13991413 13671413 Henry V 14131422 13871422 Henry VI 14221461, 14211471 14701 House of York Edward IV 14611483 14421483 Edward V 1483 1470c.1483 Richard III 14831485 14521485 Ruler Dates of Life reign House of Tudor Henry VII 14851509 14571509 Henry VIII 15091547 14911547 Edward VI 15471553 15371553 Mary I 15531558 15161558 Elizabeth I 15581603 15331603 House of Stuart James I 16031625 15661625 Charles I 16251649 16001649 Commonwealth (declared 1649) Oliver Cromwell, 16531658 15991658 Lord Protector Richard Cromwell 16581659 16261712 House of Stuart Charles II 16601685 16301685 James II 16851688 16331701 William III and 16891702 William Mary II (Mary 16501702 d.1694) Anne 17021714 16651714 House of Hanover George I 17141727 16601727 George II 17271760 16831760 George III 17601820 17381820 George IV 18201830 17621830 William IV 18301837 17651837 Victoria 18371901 18191901 House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Edward VII 19011910 18411910 House of Windsor George V 19101936 18651936 Edward VIII 1936 18941972 George VI 19361952 18951952 Elizabeth II 1952 b.1926 Appendix 3 Kings and Queens of England and the United Kingdom Appendix 4 Weights, Measures, and Notation British and American, with Metric Equivalents Linear measure 1 inch = 25.4 millimetres exactly 1 foot = 12 inches = 0.3048 metre exactly 1 yard = 3 feet = 0.9144 metre exactly 1 (statute) mile = 1,760 yards = 1.609 kilometres 1 int. nautical mile = 1.852 kilometres exactly = 1.150779 miles Square measure 1 square inch = 6.45 sq. centimetres 1 square foot = 144 sq. in. = 9.29 sq. decimetres 1 square yard = 9 sq. ft = 0.836 sq. metre 1 acre = 4,840 sq. yd = 0.405 hectare 1 square mile = 640 acres = 259 hectares Cubic measure 1 cubic inch = 16.4 cu. centimetres 1 cubic foot = 1,728 cu. in. = 0.0283 cu. metre 1 cubic yard = 27 cu. ft = 0.765 cu. metre Capacity measure british 1 uid oz = 1.7339 cu. in. = 0.0284 litre 1 gill = 5 uid oz = 0.1421 litre 1 pint = 20 uid oz = 34.68 cu. in. = 0.568 litre 1 quart = 2 pints = 1.136 litres 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 4.546 litres 1 peck = 2 gallons = 9.092 litres 1 bushel = 4 pecks = 36.4 litres american dry 1 pint = 33.60 cu. in. = 0.550 litre 1 quart = 2 pints = 1.101 litres 1 peck = 8 quarts = 8.81 litres 1 bushel = 4 pecks = 35.3 litres american liquid 1 pint = 16 uid oz = 28.88 cu. in. = 0.473 litre 1 quart = 2 pints = 0.946 litre 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 3.785 litres Avoirdupois weight 1 grain = 0.065 gram 1 dram = 1.772 grams 1 ounce = 16 drams = 28.35 grams 1 pound = 16 ounces = 0.4536 kilogram = 7,000 grains (0.4535923 exactly) 1 stone = 14 pounds = 6.35 kilograms 1 hundredweight = 112 pounds = 50.80 kilograms 1 short ton = 2,000 pounds = 0.907 tonne 1 (long) ton = 20 hundredweight = 1.016 tonnes Metric, with British Equivalents Linear measure 1 millimetre = 0.039 inch 1 centimetre = 10 mm = 0.394 inch 1 decimetre = 10 cm = 3.94 inches 1 metre = 100 cm = 1.094 yards 1 kilometre = 1,000 m = 0.6214 mile Square measure 1 square centimetre = 0.155 sq. inch 1 square metre = 10,000 sq. cm = 1.196 sq. yards 1 are = 100 square metres = 119.6 sq. yards 1 hectare = 100 ares = 2.471 acres 1 square kilometre = 0.386 sq. mile = 100 hectares Cubic measure 1 cubic centimetre = 0.061 cu. inch 1 cubic metre = 1,000,000 cu. cm = 1.308 cu. yards Capacity measure 1 millilitre = 0.002 pint (British) 1 centilitre = 10 ml = 0.018 pint 1 decilitre = 10 cl = 0.176 pint 1 litre = 1,000 ml = 1.76 pints 1 decalitre = 10 l = 2.20 gallons 1 hectolitre = 100 l = 2.75 bushels 1 kilolitre = 1,000 l = 3.44 quarters Weight 1 milligram = 0.015 grain 1 centigram = 10 mg = 0.154 grain 1 decigram = 100 mg = 1.543 grains 1 gram = 1,000 mg = 15.43 grains 1 decagram = 10 g = 5.64 drams 1 hectogram = 100 g = 3.527 ounces 1 kilogram = 1,000 g = 2.205 pounds 1 tonne (metric ton) = 1,000 kg = 0.984 (long) ton The conversion factors are not exact unless so marked. They are given only to the accuracy likely to be needed in everyday calculations. weights, measures, and notation Temperature Fahrenheit water boils (under standard conditions) at 212 and freezes at 32. Celsius or Centigrade water boils at 100 and freezes at 0. Kelvin water boils at 373.15 K and freezes at 273.15 K. To convert Centigrade into Fahrenheit: multiply by 9, divide by 5, and add 32. To convert Fahrenheit into Centigrade: subtract 32, multiply by 5, and divide by 9. To convert Centigrade into Kelvin: add 273.15. F C C F 40 40 40 40 10 23 10 14 0 18 0 32 10 12 10 50 20 7 20 68 30 1 30 86 40 4 40 104 50 10 50 122 60 16 60 140 70 21 70 158 80 27 80 176 90 32 90 194 100 38 100 212 (approx.) (exact) The metric prexes Abbreviations Factors deca- da 10 hecto- h 10 2 kilo- k 10 3 mega- M 10 6 giga- G 10 9 tera- T 10 12 peta- P 10 15 exa- E 10 18 deci- d 10 1 centi- c 10 2 milli- m 10 3 micro- 10 6 nano- n 10 9 pico- p 10 12 femto- f 10 15 atto- a 10 18 Pronunciations and derivations of these are given at their alphabetical places in the dictionary. They may be applied to any units of the metric system: hectogram (abbr. hg) = 100 grams; kilowatt (abbr. kW) = 1,000 watts; megahertz (MHz) = 1 million hertz; centimetre (cm) = 1 100 metre; microvolt (V) = one millionth of a volt; picofarad (pF) = 10 12 farad, and are sometimes applied to other units (megabit, microinch). Power notation This expresses concisely any power of 10 (any number that is formed by multiplying or dividing ten by itself), and is sometimes used in the dictionary. 10 2 (ten squared) = 10 10 = 100 10 3 (ten cubed) = 10 10 10 = 1,000 10 4 = 10 10 10 10 = 10,000 10 10 = 10,000,000,000 (1 followed by ten noughts) 10 2 = 1/10 2 = 1/100 = 0.01 10 10 = 1/10 10 = 1/10,000,000,000 6.2 10 3 = 6,200 4.7 10 2 = 0.047 SI units 1. Base units Physical quantity Name Abbreviation or symbol length metre m mass kilogram kg time second s electric current ampere A temperature kelvin K amount of substance mole mol luminous intensity candela cd 2. Supplementary units Physical quantity Name Abbreviation or symbol plane angle radian rad solid angle steradian sr 3. Derived units with special names Physical quantity Name Abbreviation or symbol frequency hertz Hz energy joule J force newton N power watt W pressure pascal Pa electric charge coulomb C electromotive force volt V electric resistance ohm electric conductance siemens S electric capacitance farad F magnetic ux weber Wb inductance henry H magnetic ux density tesla T luminous ux lumen lm illumination lux lx Element Symbol Atomic no. actinium Ac 89 aluminium Al 13 americium Am 95 antimony Sb 51 argon Ar 18 arsenic As 33 astatine At 85 barium Ba 56 berkelium Bk 97 beryllium Be 4 bismuth Bi 83 bohrium Bh 107 boron B 5 bromine Br 35 cadmium Cd 48 caesium Cs 55 calcium Ca 20 californium Cf 98 carbon C 6 cerium Ce 58 chlorine Cl 17 chromium Cr 24 cobalt Co 27 copper Cu 29 curium Cm 96 dubnium Db 105 dysprosium Dy 66 einsteinium Es 99 erbium Er 68 europium Eu 63 fermium Fm 100 uorine F 9 francium Fr 87 gadolinium Gd 64 gallium Ga 31 germanium Ge 32 gold Au 79 Element Symbol Atomic no. hafnium Hf 72 hassium Hs 108 helium He 2 holmium Ho 67 hydrogen H 1 indium In 49 iodine I 53 iridium Ir 77 iron Fe 26 krypton Kr 36 lanthanum La 57 lawrencium Lr 103 lead Pb 82 lithium Li 3 lutetium Lu 71 magnesium Mg 12 manganese Mn 25 meitnerium Mt 109 mendelevium Md 101 mercury Hg 80 molybdenum Mo 42 neodymium Nd 60 neon Ne 10 neptunium Np 93 nickel Ni 28 niobium Nb 41 nitrogen N 7 nobelium No 102 osmium Os 76 oxygen O 8 palladium Pd 46 phosphorus P 15 platinum Pt 78 plutonium Pu 94 polonium Po 84 potassium K 19 praseodymium Pr 59 Element Symbol Atomic no. promethium Pm 61 protactinium Pa 91 radium Ra 88 radon Rn 86 rhenium Re 75 rhodium Rh 45 rubidium Rb 37 ruthenium Ru 44 rutherfordium Rf 104 samarium Sm 62 scandium Sc 21 seaborgium Sg 106 selenium Se 34 silicon Si 14 silver Ag 47 sodium Na 11 strontium Sr 38 sulphur S 16 tantalum Ta 73 technetium Tc 43 tellurium Te 52 terbium Tb 65 thallium Tl 81 thorium Th 90 thulium Tm 69 tin Sn 50 titanium Ti 22 tungsten W 74 uranium U 92 vanadium V 23 xenon Xe 54 ytterbium Yb 70 yttrium Y 39 zinc Zn 30 zirconium Zr 40 Appendix 5 Chemical Elements Appendix 6 Greek Alphabet a alpha a B beta b 1 , gamma g Z ) delta d E c epsilon e Z . zeta z H n eta e O 0 theta th I t iota i K t kappa k H z lambda l A u mu m N v nu n 2 . xi x O o omicron o H pi p F p rho r, rh 2 o . sigma s T t tau t Y o upsilon u c phi ph X / chi kh Y o psi ps D c omega o Principal Planetary Satellites Planet Satellite Year of Diameter Mean distance from Orbital discovery (km) centre of planet (10 3 km) period (d) Earth Moon 3,476* 384.4 27.32 Mars Phobos 1877 27* 9.4 0.319 Deimos 1877 15* 23.5 1.262 Jupiter Amalthea 1892 262* 181 0.498 Io 1610 3,630* 422 1.769 Europa 1610 3,138* 671 3.551 Ganymede 1610 5,262* 1,070 7.155 Callisto 1610 4,800* 1,883 16.69 Saturn Mimas 1789 390* 199 0.942 Enceladus 1789 500* 238 1.370 Tethys 1684 1,050* 295 1.888 Dione 1684 1,120* 377 2.737 Rhea 1672 1,530* 527 4.518 Titan 1655 5,150* 1,222 15.95 Hyperion 1848 340* 1,481 21.28 Iapetus 1671 1,440* 3,561 79.33 Phoebe 1898 220* 12,952 550.5(R) Uranus Miranda 1948 480* 130 1.414 Ariel 1851 1,160* 191 2.520 Umbriel 1851 1,190* 266 4.144 Titania 1787 1,600* 436 8.706 Oberon 1787 1,550* 583 13.46 Neptune Proteus 1989 400* 118 1.12 Triton 1846 2,700* 354 5.877(R) Nereid 1949 340* 551 360.2 Pluto Charon 1978 1,190* 20 6.387 *Irregular: maximum dimension. (R) retrograde. Many other small satellites are known for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune Appendix 7 The Solar System The Sun and Planets Planet Mean distance Equatorial Mass Volume Orbital Rotation from sun diameter (earth1) (earth1) period period (10 6 km) (km) or year or day Sun 1,400,000 330,000 1,300,000 25d* Mercury 57.9 4,878 0.06 0.06 87.97d 58.65d Venus 108.2 12,102 0.81 0.86 224.7d 243.0d(R) Earth 149.6 12,756 1.00 1.00 365.3d 23.93h Mars 227.9 6,786 0.11 0.15 687.0d 24.62h Jupiter 778.3 142,980 318 1,323 11.86y 9.93h* Saturn 1,427 120,540 95.2 752 29.46y 10.66h* Uranus 2,871 51,120 14.5 64 84.01y 17.24h*(R) Neptune 4,497 49,530 17.1 54 164.8y 16.11h* Pluto 5,914 2,280 0.002 0.01 248.5y 6.39d(R) *At equator. (R) retrograde. a *shrewdness of apes a herd or *pace of asses a *cete of badgers a *sloth or *sleuth of bears a hive of bees; a swarm, drift, or bike of bees a ock, ight, (dial.) parcel, pod, *eet, or *dissimulation of (small) birds; a volary of birds in an aviary a sounder of wild boar a *blush of boys a herd or gang of buffalo a *clowder or *glaring of cats; a *dowt (= ?do-out) or *destruction of wild cats a herd, drove, (dial.) drift, or (US & Austral.) mob of cattle a brood, (dial.) cletch or clutch, or *peep of chickens a *chattering or *clattering of choughs a *drunkship of cobblers a *rag or *rake of colts a *hastiness of cooks a *covert of coots a herd of cranes a litter of cubs a herd of curlew a *cowardice of curs a herd or mob of deer a pack or kennel of dogs a trip of dotterel a ight, *dole, or *piteousness of doves a raft, bunch, or *paddling of ducks on water; a team of wild ducks in ight a ing of dunlins a herd of elephants a herd or (US) gang of elk a *business of ferrets a charm or *chirm of nches a shoal of sh; a run of sh in motion a cloud of ies a *stalk of foresters a *skulk of foxes a gaggle or (in the air) a skein, team, or wedge of geese a herd of giraffes a ock, herd, or (dial.) trip of goats a pack or covey of grouse a *husk or *down of hares a cast of hawks let y an *observance of hermits a *siege of herons a stud or *haras of (breeding) horses; (dial.) a team of horses a kennel, pack, cry, or *mute of hounds a ight or swarm of insects a mob or troop of kangaroos a kindle of kittens a bevy of ladies a *desert of lapwing an *exaltation or bevy of larks a *leap of leopards a pride of lions a *tiding of magpies a *sord or *sute (= suit) of mallard a *richesse of martens a *faith of merchants a *labour of moles a troop of monkeys a *barren of mules a *watch of nightingales a *superuity of nuns a covey of partridges a *muster of peacocks a *malapertness (= impertinence) of pedlars a rookery of penguins a head or (dial.) nye of pheasants a kit of pigeons ying together a herd of pigs a stand, wing, or *congregation of plovers a rush or ight of pochards a herd, pod, or school of porpoises a *pity of prisoners a covey of ptarmigan a litter of pups a bevy or drift of quail a string of racehorses an *unkindness of ravens a bevy of roe deer a parliament or *building of rooks a hill of ruffs a herd or rookery of seals; a pod of seals a ock, herd, (dial.) drift or trip, or (Austral.) mob of sheep a *dopping of sheldrake a wisp or *walk of snipe a *host of sparrows a *murmuration of starlings a ight of swallows a game or herd of swans; a wedge of swans in the air a herd of swine; a *sounder of tame swine, a *drift of wild swine a *glozing (= fawning) of taverners a *spring of teal a bunch or knob of waterfowl a school, herd, or gam of whales; a pod of whales; a grind of bottle-nosed whales a company or trip of wigeon a bunch, trip, or plump of wildfowl; a knob (less than 30) of wildfowl a pack or *rout of wolves a gaggle of women (derog.) a *fall of woodcock a herd of wrens Appendix 8 Collective nouns Terms marked * belong to 15th-century lists of proper terms, notably that in the Book of St Albans attributed to Dame Juliana Barnes (1486). Many of these are fanciful or humorous terms which probably never had any real currency, but have been taken up by Joseph Strutt in Sports and Pastimes of England (1801) and by other antiquarian writers. English, like all languages, is used at many differ- ent levels of formality depending on the context and purpose of the speech or writing. In the most formal register, a machine might be said to be mal- functioning; in a neutral or everyday register (stan- dard English) it will be described as not working, and in informal contexts it will be said to be bust or kaput. Each situation or context calls for its own different kind of language. No one style of vocabu- lary and grammar is superior to another; it is their appropriateness to the occasion that matters. In general people naturally vary the way that they speak or write in different situations, be they mak- ing a speech, chatting to a friend, or writing to an elderly relative. The technical term for a particular level of use in language is register. Register is not the same as accent: a person with a strong regional accent may speak standard English, and a speaker of Received Pronunciation (the standard accent of English as spoken in the south of England) may use the latest street slang. Unless otherwise stated, the words and senses recorded in this dictionary are classed as standard English. Standard English is generally appropriate in most situations and contexts. It is typically the language of ofcial communications, broadcast- ing, and printed matter. It is not the same as cor- rect English; a particular form of dialect or slang may have syntactical rules that are just as strict and consistent as those of standard English. Informal language Informal language is used more in conversation than in writing, especially among people who know each other, or by particular social groups or occupa- tions. It is sometimes called slang; slang also refers specically to the informal vocabulary of particu- lar groups of people, for example teenagers or members of the armed forces. Informal language is also sometimes described as colloquial language. Informal speech is marked by short sentences, a preference for the active over the passive voice, and unconventional syntax features such as omis- sion of the subjectas in Just been shopping or Wanna go for a drink? Informal vocabulary typically includes exten- sions or reversals of meanings of established words (e.g. wicked = very good), shortenings of words (e.g. brill from brilliant and cred from credibility), compound formations (e.g. airhead and couch potato), and blends (e.g. ginormous from gigantic and enormous), contractions such as Ill, hes, and gonna (for going to), as well as special processes such as rhyming slang (e.g. butchers = butchers hook = look) and back slang, in which words are reversed (e.g. yob = boy). Inclusion of informal terms in dictionaries is not a new idea: Samuel Johnson included some in his Dictionary of the English Language (1755), although he used the disapproving term low word. Much informal vocabulary is short-lived, and rela- tively few words and uses pass into standard Eng- lish. Exceptions include bogus, clever, og, joke, prim, rogue, and snob, which were all classed by Johnson as low words. Conversely, some words that were once standard have passed into vulgar slang(e.g. arse, shit, and tit): this is taboo language, typically relating to sex or bodily functions. Formal and technical language In more formal writing, as is found in reports, ofcial letters, etc., sentences tend to be longer with more subordinate clauses, and the passive is commoner than it is in standard or informal Eng- lish. The indenite personal pronoun one is more likely to be used than the less formal you, and upon may be used rather than on. Formal vocabulary includes such words as ascertain, desirous, pur- chase, and endeavour. More formal words are sometimes also used for humorous effect, for example purloin (meaningsteal). Formal words are usual in instructions and notices: alight (from a bus or train), conveyance (for vehicle), enquire (rather than ask), notify (rather than tell), and select (rather than choose). The language of technical writing has its own terminology: for example, gravid, meaning pregnant, occurs only in medicine and biology. Old uses and literary language Some expressions that were formerly common are no longer in ordinary use but remain in the general word stock, and are employed to give a deliberately old-fashioned effect, for example in historical ction or in humorous contexts. This dictionary distinguishes between archaic expressions, which have generally not been everyday currency for a century or more (e.g. fain or bedchamber), and Appendix 9 Types of language types of language those that are dated: these may still be encoun- tered occasionally, especially among older people, or they may be words that were coined relatively recently but then fell out of use again, such as gasper (a cigarette) or wizard (excellent). Some words are found chiey in literature or poetry written in an elevated style, such as corus- cate, dolorous, enshroud, or eve. Many such expres- sions are old words that have dropped out of ordinary use. The table above gives some standard English words with their equivalents in different registers. Dialect A dialect is a non-standard form of language that is used in a particular local region. Examples of Eng- lish dialects are those of NE England (known as Geordie) and of Liverpool (known as Scouse). A dis- tinction can be made between traditional dialect, which is generally to do with rural life and farming practices which have mostly died out, and contem- porary dialect, where speakers may not be aware that a particular term is in fact a regional one. This dictionary aims to include the more frequently encountered contemporary dialect terms, such as claggy, emmet, and scran, but in general does not set out to record traditional dialect. Scottish and Irish Scottish and Irish English have a long history and a number of distinctive features, which have in turn inuenced North American and other varieties of English. This dictionary gives a wide coverage of Scottish and Irish English expressions, such as agley, dreich, howff, jaggy, and scoosh (Scottish) and filte, gossoon, and make a hames of (Irish). World English English is spoken as a rst language by more than 300 million people throughout the world, and used as a second language by many millions more. One in ve of the worlds population speaks English with a good level of competence, and within the next few years the number of people speaking Eng- lish as a second language will exceed the number of native speakers. This could have a dramatic effect on the evolution of the language: in the process of being absorbed by new cultures, English develops to take account of local language needs, giving rise not just to new vocabulary but also to new forms of grammar and pronunciation. At the same time, however, a standardized global English is spread by the media and the Internet. The main regional standards of English are British, US and Canadian, Australian and New Zealand, South African, Indian, and West Indian. Within each of these regional varieties a number of highly differentiated local dialects may be found. This dictionary includes thousands of region- alisms encountered in different English-speaking areas of the world, although its scope must neces- sarily be limited. In general it is the similarity rather than the difference between the regional varieties that is striking, particularly in terms of grammar. Standard attractive, good-looking clothes, clothing criminal, villain criticize die drunk, intoxicated house, home praise small walk Informal bootylicious, dishy, t, foxy, lush clobber, duds, gear, glad rags, threads, togs baddy, crim, crook, gangsta, hood bad-mouth, put down, slag off, slam, slate buy it, croak, kick the bucket, pop your clogs, snuff it lashed, legless, plastered, smashed, tight, wrecked crib, gaff, pad big up teeny, titchy, weeny mosey, toddle, pootle, trog Formal apparel, attire malefactor excoriate expire inebriated abode, domicile, dwelling, habitation laud exiguous ambulate, perambulate Old/literary use beauteous, comely, fair, pulchritudinous habiliment, raiment, vestments knave, rogue dispraise decease besotted drum cry up, magnify, panegyrize minikin fare types of language US English US English is of course particularly inuential, on account of Americas dominance of cinema, televi- sion, popular music, trade, and technology, includ- ing the Internet. Many terms that enter the dictionary from the US quickly become established in British English: some examples from the last ten years or so are geek, nerd, school student, and 24/7. Many US equivalents for British terms are familiar: sidewalk for pavement, checkers for draughts, cookie for biscuit, and vest for waistcoat. Other dif- ferences are more subtle. Some words have a slightly different form, e.g. dollhouse (US)/dolls house (Brit.), math (US)/maths (Brit.), tidbit (US)/titbit (Brit.), while American constructions that are strange to British ears include I just ate, teach school, and a quarter of ten (rather than a quarter to ten). Canadian English Canadian English is subject to the conicting inuences of British and American English. In vocabulary there is a lot of US inuence: Canadians use billboard, gas, truck, and wrench rather than hoarding, lorry, petrol, and spanner; but on the other hand they agree with the British in saying blinds, braces, porridge, and tap rather than shades, suspenders, oatmeal, and faucet. Australian and New Zealand English The vocabularies of Australian and New Zealand English are very similar. Both have been enriched by words and concepts from the hundreds of indigenous languages that pre-dated European settlers, only about fty of which continue as rst languages. The line between formal and informal usage is perhaps less sharply drawn in Australasian English than it is elsewhere: sufxes such as -o and ie, giving us expressions such as arvo (afternoon), reffo (refugee), and barbie (barbecue), are freely attached to words even in more formal contexts. South African English Since 1994 South Africa has had eleven ofcial languages: English, Afrikaans (descended from Dutch), Zulu, Xhosa, and other largely regional African languages. English is the rst language of only about 10 per cent of the population, but the second language of many others. The English of native Afrikaners has inevitably inuenced the standard English of white South Africans, exam- ples being such informal usages as the afrmative no, as in How are you?No, Im ne and the all- purpose response is it?, as in She had a baby last weekis it? Indian English The role of English within the complex multilin- gual society of India is far from straightforward: together with Hindi it is used across the country, but it can also be a speakers rst, second, or third language, and its features may depend heavily on their ethnicity and caste. The grammar of Indian English has many distinguishing features, of which perhaps the best-known are the use of the present continuous tense, as in He is having very much of property, and the use of isnt it as a ubiquitous question tag: We are meeting tomorrow, isnt it? The rst example reects another characteristic of the language, which is to include intrusive articles such as in or of in idiomatic phrases. Verbs are also used differently, with speakers often dropping a preposition or object altogether: I insisted immedi- ate payment, while double possessivesour these prices (instead of the British English these prices of ours)are commonplace. West Indian English Standard British English has traditionally been the linguistic model for the Commonwealth Caribbean, although recently the import of US television, radio, and tourism has made American English an equally powerful inuence. The many varieties of Creole, inuenced by West African languages, are also productive. A characteristic usage is that of the objective pronoun where British English would use the subjective or pos- sessive, as in me can come an go as me please or he clear he throat. Jamaican Creole is the most wide- ly known, and has spread beyond the region, espe- cially to the UK, where it inuences the speech of black Britons. Electronic text communication takes a number of different forms, chiey email, posting to online chat rooms and newsgroups, and SMS (Short Mes- saging Service) messages between mobile phones. Although all electronic communication shares cer- tain features, each form is developing its own specic conventions. The vocabulary, syntax, and style of electronic text communication is much more uid than that found in formal writing, and may also be highly personalized. Electronic communication is typi- cally very informal in nature and characterized by many features more often found in conversational speech. SMS (text messages) Text messages are necessarily the most abbrevi- ated form of communication; most mobile-phone networks restrict users to around 160 characters per message and the handset does not facilitate the composing of lengthy messages. Although many users develop their own codes, there are basic prin- ciples that govern the formation of abbreviations: 2certain words or syllables can be represented by letters or numbers that sound the same but take up less space. For example, U sounds the same as you and C sounds the same as see (e.g. CU = see you), while the number 8 can be substituted wherever the sound /-ayt/ occurs in a word (e.g. GR8 = great, L8R = later) 2words are shortened by simply omitting certain letters, especially vowels (e.g. MSG = message) 2abbreviations are formed from the initial let- ters of familiar xed phrases, such as BFN bye for now or TTYL talk to you later. These principles, and the abbreviations them- selves, are also found to a lesser extent in conversa- tions in chat rooms and in email. A fuller list of SMS abbreviations is given below. Chat rooms and email The language used in email, chat rooms, and news- groups is not as restricted by space considerations as text messaging , but short messages are favoured because they save disk space, are more likely to be read by browsing users, and because composition time is limited if users are participating in real- time conversations. Plain text is favoured, since it ensures that a message will be readable on almost any hardware or software conguration, but this means that one cannot use italics, bold face, and other presentational effects to indicate tone, atti- tude, signicance, etc. Instead, capital letters, punctuation, and emoticons (arrangements of key- board characters to represent facial expressions) are used to comment on ones text. Sentences often follow patterns typical of speech, with features including the omission of subjects (e.g. Going back to the missus every Sunday instead of Hes going back to the missus every Sun- day) and the use of llers such as like and innit. Informality or light-heartedness is also signalled by the users choice of spelling, correct forms often being less favoured than phonetic or semi- phonetic spellings (the shop seems to have bin closed for a cuppla daze). Other features of spelling and punctuation include the writing of two or more words as one (abit, alot), the disregard of commas and full stops, and the omission of the apostrophe (e.g. dont instead of dont). Some of the more established abbreviations used in all types of electronic communication are listed below: AFAIK as far as I know AFK away from the keyboard ASL age, sex, location ATB all the best B be BAK back at the keyboard BBL be back late(r) BCNU be seeing you BFN bye for now B4 before BRB be right back BTW by the way C see CUL8R see you later F2F face to face F2T free to talk FWIW for what its worth FYI for your information GAL get a life GR8 great HAND have a nice day H8 hate HSIK how should I know? HTH hope this helps Appendix 10 English in Electronic Communication english in electronic communication IANAL I am not a lawyer, but (as a disclaimer) IMHO in my humble opinion IMO in my opinion IOW in other words JIC just in case JK just kidding KIT keep in touch KWIM know what I mean? L8R later LOL lots of luck/laughing out loud MOB mobile MSG message MYOB mind your own business NE any NE1 anyone NOYB none of your business NO1 no one OTOH on the other hand PCM please call me PLS please PPL people R are ROTF(L) rolling on the oor (laughing) SIT stay in touch SOM1 someone SPK speak TTYL talk to you later TX thanks U you WAN2 want to W/ with WKND weekend WU whats up? X kiss XLNT excellent XOXOX hugs and kisses YMMV your mileage may vary (i.e. your experience may differ) YR your 2 to, too 2DAY today 2MORO tomorrow 2NITE tonight 3SUM threesome 4 for Emoticons Emoticons typically represent a facial expression and are used chiey to mark the tone of the preceding sentence or to indicate the writers feelings. The following are some of the more commonly seen: :-) happy (a smiley) :-( unhappy :-c very unhappy :-X my lips are sealed :-Q I dont understand ;-) winking X= ngers crossed :-P sticking ones tongue out :-D laughing :-( crying :-/ sceptical :-| bored, indifferent :-o surprised :-* kiss O:-) angel :-Y aside comment :-V shouting 1. PARTS OF SPEECH In this section the traditional names are used for parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pro- noun, conjunction, and preposition). Two other terms are sometimes used in describing grammar. One is modier, which means any word that modies the meaning of another word (usually a noun). It is broader in scope than adjective and includes, for example, table in table lamp as well as bright in a bright lamp or the lamp was bright. The other is determiner, which means any word such as a, the, this, those, and every which you put before a noun to show how you are using the noun (as in a re, the re, this re, those res, and every re). Nouns A noun is a word that names something: a person (woman, boy, Frances), a thing (building, tree), or an idea (birth, happiness). A common noun names things generally, whereas a proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. Collective nouns, such as audience, family, generation, gov- ernment, team, are nouns which refer to groups of people or things. They can be treated as singular or plural: see agreement below. Proper nouns Proper nouns are normally spelled with a capital initial letter and refer to persons or things of which there is only one example (Asia, Ark Royal, Dickens). The term is sometimes understood more broadly to include geographical and ethnic desig- nations such as American and Ashanti, which behave like common nouns, for example in allow- ing the forms an American and the Ashanti. Some genuinely proper names can also behave like com- mon nouns in certain uses, for example a ne Picasso (= a painting by Picasso), another Callas (= a singer comparable to Callas). In these uses it is usual to retain the capital initial letter. Verbal nouns A verbal noun (also called a gerund) is a form of a verb ending with -ing that acts as a noun, for example smoking in the phrase no smoking and in the sentence Smoking annoys people. It should be distinguished from smoking used as an adjective (a smoking re) and as the present participle of the verb (The man was smoking). Because a verbal noun is a part of a verb as well as being a noun, it keeps some of the characteris- tics of verbs in its grammatical behaviour; for example the forms They objected to me swearing (non-possessive) and They objected to my swear- ing (possessive) are both established in ordinary usage, although the second, in which swearing is treated as a full noun, is often preferred in more formal writing. Verbs A verb is a word that describes an action (go, sit, put) or state (be, live) and is normally an essential element in a clause or sentence. A verb is classied as transitive when the action affects a person or thing called the object (We lit a re), and as intransitive when there is no object (She smiled). Using the correct tense Tense is the location in time of the state or action expressed by a verb. English verbs properly have only two tenses, the present (I am) and the past (I was). The future is formed with shall or will, other forms of the past are formed with auxiliary verbs (I have been / I was being), and the past per- fect is formed with the past tense of have (I had been). The tense used mostly corresponds to actual time, apart from conventional uses such as the so- called historic present, used for dramatic effect in narratives (as in George gets up and walks over to the window), and the future used in polite requests (as in Will that be all for now?). However, choice of tense (called sequence of tenses) becomes more complex in reported speech. If a simple statement such as Im afraid I havent nished is put into indirect speech by means of a reporting verb such as said, thought, etc., the tense of the reported action changes in accordance with the time perspective of the speaker: He said he was afraid he hadnt nished. The tense of the reported verb can stay the same if the time relative to the speaker is the same as that relative to the person reported: She likes beans can be converted either to She said she liked beans or to She said she likes beans, and I wont be here tomorrow can be converted either to I said I wouldnt be here tomorrow or to I said I wont be here tomorrow. Appendix 11 Guide to Good English guide to good english shall and will With I and we, shall should be used to form the simple future tense (expressing a prediction of a future action), while will is used to express an intention to do something: t I shall be late for work. t We will not tolerate this rudeness. With you, he, she, it, and they, the situation is reversed; simple future action is expressed with will, while shall expresses an intention or com- mand: t He will be late for work. t You shall join us or die! In speech, these distinctions are often not observed. should and would The situation is similar with should and would. Strictly speaking, should is used with I and we, while would is used with you, he, she, it, and they: t I should be grateful if you would let me know. t You didnt say you would be late. In practice, however, it is normal to use would instead of should in reported speech and condi- tional clauses, such as I said I would be late. Active and passive Verbs can be either active, in which the subject is the person or thing performing the action (as in France beat Brazil in the nal), or passive, in which the subject undergoes the action (Brazil were beat- en by France). In the passive voice verbs are usual- ly formed with be, and the subject is expressed as an agent introduced by the preposition by. The passive is also used for impersonal con- structions with it: It is believed that no action should be taken. It is felt that your complaint arises from a misunderstanding. Other verbs besides be can be used to form so- called semi-passives (as in He got changed, They seem bothered). Here changed and bothered are behaving almost more like adjectives. Subjunctive The subjunctive is a special form (or mood) of a verb expressing a wish or possibility instead of fact. It has a limited role in English: It was suggested he wait till the next morning. Fundamentalist Islam decrees that men and women be strictly segregated. In these sentences, the verbs wait (in the rst) and be (in the second) are in the subjunctive; the ordinary forms (called the indicative) would be waits and are. There are other typical uses of the subjunctive: 2after if (or as if, as though, unless) in hypotheti- cal conditions: Each was required to undertake that if it were chosen it would place work here. 2be or were at the beginning of a clause with the subject following: Were I to get drunk, it would help me in the ght. All books, be they ction or non-ction, should provide entertainment in some form or other. 2in certain xed expressions and phrases, e.g. be that as it may, come what may, perish the thought, so be it, and others. Participles There are two kinds of participle in English: the present participle ending with -ing as in We are going, and the past participle ending with -d or -ed for many verbs and with -t or -en or some other form for others, as in Have you decided?, New houses are being built, and Its not broken. Participles are often used to introduce subordi- nate clauses that are attached to other words in a sentence, e.g. Her mother, opening the door quietly, came into the room. A stylistic error occurs with so-called unattached, misrelated, or dangling participles, when the participle does not refer to the noun to which it is attached, normally the subject of the sentence: p Recently converted into apartments, I passed by the house where I grew up. Certain participles, such as considering, assuming, excepting, given, provided, seeing, speaking (of), etc., have virtually become prepositions or con- junctions in their own right, and their use in a grammatically free role is now standard: tSpeaking of money, do you mind my asking what you did with yours? Adjectives and adverbs An adjective is a word used to describe a noun, such as sweet, red, or technical. An adverb is typi- cally a word used to modify a verb, adjective, or other adverb, such as gently, lazily, or very. Position Most adjectives can be used in two positions: either before the noun they describe, where they are called attributive, as in a black cat and a gloomy outlook, or after a verb such as be, become, grow, look, or seem, where they are called predica- tive, as in the cat was black and the prospect looks gloomy. Some adjectives are nearly always used in the predicative position and cannot stand before a noun (e.g. afraid), while others are only found in the attributive position (e.g. main). Adjectives following a noun In many xed standard expressions, adjectives denoting status are placed immediately after the guide to good english nouns they describe, e.g. in court martial, heir apparent, poet laureate, president elect, situations vacant, and the village proper. In other cases, an adjective follows a noun as a matter of sentence structure rather than peculiarity of expression: The waiter picked up our dirty glasses in his ngertips, his eyes impassive. Position of adverbs Adverbs normally come between the subject and its verb, or between an auxiliary verb and a main verb: She dutifully observes all its quaint rules. Roosevelts nancial policy was roundly criticized in 1933. But for emphasis, or when the adverb belongs closely to what follows the main verb, it comes after the verb and before a following adverbial phrase: There is little chance that the student will function effectively after he returns home. Sentence adverbs Some adverbs (such as clearly, happily, hopefully, thankfully, unhappily) refer to a whole statement, and form a comment associated more closely with the speaker or writer than with what is said. In this role they are called sentence adverbs. Sentence adverbs often stand at the beginning of the sentence: Clearly, we will have to think again. Sentence adverbs are well established in English, although the use of thankfully and (in particular) hopefully can arouse controversy: sHopefully the road should be nished. Although objection to such use is articial, be aware that some people may take exception to these words, especially in written or formal con- texts. Pronouns A pronoun is a word such as I, we, they, me, you, them, etc., and other forms such as the possessive hers and theirs and the reexive myself and them- selves. They are used to refer to (and take the place of) a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned or is known, especially in order to avoid repetition, as in the sentence When she saw her husband again, she wanted to hit him. Reexive pronouns Reexive pronouns are the type formed with -self, e.g. myself, herself, and ourselves, used in sen- tences in which the subject of the verb and the object are the same person or thing, as in We enjoyed ourselves and Make yourself at home. Conjunctions A conjunction is a word such as and, because, but, for, if, or, and when, used to connect words, phras- es, clauses, and sentences. On the use of and and but at the beginning of a sentence, see SENTENCES below. Prepositions A preposition is a word such as after, in, to, and with, which usually stands before a noun or pro- noun and establishes the way it relates to what has gone before (The man on the platform, They came after dinner, and What did you do it for?). It is sometimes stated that a preposition should always precede the word it governs and should not end a sentence. However, there are cases when it is either impossible or not natural to organize the sentence in a way that avoids a nal preposition: 2in relative clauses and questions featuring verbs with linked adverbs or prepositions: What did Marion think she was up to? They must be convinced of the commitment they are taking on. 2in passive constructions: The dress had not even been paid for. 2in short sentences including an innitive with to or a verbal noun: It was my dancing he objected to. 2. INFLECTION Inection is the process by which words (princi- pally nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) change their form, especially their ending, in accordance with their grammatical role in a sen- tence. Verbs Verbs normally add -s or -es to form third-person present-tense forms (changes, wants), -ed to form past tenses and past participles (changed, wanted), and -ing to form present participles (changing, wanting). However, some verbs form tenses by changing their stem (throw, threw, thrown), and others are completely irregular (have, had, had; go, went, gone). Verbs drop a nal silent -e when the sufx begins with a vowel (as in shave, shaving). But a nal -e is usually retained to preserve the soft sound of the g in twingeing and whingeing. It is also retained where it is needed to avoid confu- sion with similar words, for example in dyeing (from dye) as distinct from dying (from die). Nouns English nouns normally form their plurals by adding -s, or -es if the singular form ends in -s, -x, - z, -sh, or soft -ch (as in church but not loch). guide to good english Nouns ending in -y form plurals with -ies (policy, policies), unless the ending is -ey, in which case the plural form is normally -eys (valley, valleys). Nouns ending in -f and -fe Nouns ending in -f and -fe form plurals sometimes with -fs (handkerchief, handkerchiefs; oaf, oafs; proof, proofs; roof, roofs), sometimes -ves (calf, calves; half, halves; knife, knives; shelf, shelves) and occasionally both -fes and -ves (dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves; hoof, hoofs or hooves). Nouns ending in -o Plurals of nouns ending in -o cause difculty in English because there are few convenient rules for choosing between -os (as in ratios) and -oes (as in heroes). As a guideline, the following typically form plu- rals with -os: 2words in which a vowel (usually i or e ) pre- cedes the nal -o (trios, videos). 2words that are shortenings of other words (demos, hippos). 2words introduced from foreign languages (boleros, placebos). Names of animals and plants normally form plu- rals with -oes (buffaloes, tomatoes). Adjectives and adverbs: comparatives and superlatives Adjectives An adjective has three forms: a positive (hot, splendid), a comparative (hotter, more splendid), and a superlative (hottest, most splendid). Adjectives that form comparatives and superla- tives using -er and -est in preference to (or as well as) more and most are: 2words of one syllable (e.g. fast, hard, rich, wise). 2words of two syllables ending in -y and -ly (e.g. angry, early, happy, holy, likely, lively) and corre- sponding un- forms when these exist (e.g. unhappy, unlikely). Words ending in -y change the y to i (e.g. angrier, earliest). 2words of two syllables ending in -le (e.g. able, humble, noble, simple), -ow(e.g. mellow, narrow, shallow), and some ending in -er (e.g. clever, tender). 2some words of two syllables pronounced with the stress on the second syllable (e.g. polite, profound, but not antique, bizarre, and others). 2other words of two syllables that do not belong to any classiable group (e.g. common, cruel, pleasant, quiet). Words of one syllable ending in a single conso- nant double the consonant when it is preceded by a single vowel (glad, gladder, gladdest; hot, hotter, hottest) but not when it is preceded by more than one vowel (clean, cleaner, cleanest; loud, louder, loudest). Words of two syllables ending in -l dou- ble the l (e.g. cruel, crueller, cruellest). Adjectives of three or more syllables use forms with more and most (more beautiful, most interest- ing, etc.). Adverbs Adverbs that take -er and -est in preference to (or as well as) more and most are: 2adverbs that are not formed with -ly but are identical in form to corresponding adjectives (e.g. runs faster, hits hardest, hold it tighter). 2some independent adverbs (e.g. often and soon). Adverbs ending in -ly formed from adjectives (e.g. richly, softly, wisely) generally do not have -er and -est forms but appear as more softly, most wisely, etc. 3. SENTENCES A sentence is a group of words that makes com- plete sense, contains a main verb, and begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (or the equivalent such as a question mark or an exclama- tion mark). There are three basic kinds of sentence: 2a simple sentence normally contains one state- ment: the train should be here soon. 2a compound sentence contains more than one statement, normally joined by a conjunction such as and or but: I have looked at the evidence and I have to say it is not sufcient. 2a complex sentence contains a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses, such as a con- ditional clause beginning with if or a relative clause introduced by which or who: The story would make headlines if it ever became public. Relative clauses: using words like who and when A relative clause is one connected to a main clause by a relative pronoun or adjective such as who or whom, which, whose, or that, or by a relative adverb such as when and where. (These words, apart from that, are collectively called wh- words, and a wh- word means any of these.) Most prob- lems with this kind of clause are to do with the choice between that and a wh- word, principally which, who, or whom. For much of the time that is interchangeable with any of these words, and it is the more usual choice in everyday writing and conversation. There are two types of relative clause, called restrictive and non-restrictive. A restrictive clause gives essential information about a noun or noun phrase that comes before (She held out the hand that was hurt). A non-restrictive clause gives extra information that could be left out without guide to good english affecting the structure or meaning of the sentence (She held out her hand, which I clasped in both of mine). A restrictive clause can be introduced by that, which, who, or whose and is not normally pre- ceded by a comma, whereas a non-restrictive clause is normally introduced by which, who, or whose (and not usually that), and is preceded by a comma. Sometimes that is more idiomatic than which, for example when the construction is based on an impersonal it or an indenite pronoun such as anything: There is something that I forgot to mention. Is there anything that you want? That is also more usual when which already occurs earlier in the sentence in another role, for exam- ple as an interrogative word: Which is the one that you want? Beginning sentences with and and but It is not wrong to begin a sentence with a con- junction such as and or but. The practice is com- mon in literature and can be effective. It is also used for other rhetorical purposes, especially to denote surprise (And are you really going?) and sometimes just to introduce an improvised after- thought (Im going to swim. And dont you dare watch). Negatives and double negatives A repeated negative of the type He never did no harm to no one is incorrect. However, a double negative is acceptable when it is used with inten- tional cancelling effect as a gure of speech, as in It has not gone unnoticed. Double negatives also occur, especially in speech, in uses of the type You cant not go (= you cannot consider not going, i.e. you have to go), in which not go is effectively a single idea expressed in a verb phrase. 4. AGREEMENT Agreement is the process of making words t the context of sentences, for example ensuring that the singular form of a verb accompanies a singular subject. For most of the time we apply the rules of agreement instinctively, but problems can arise in sentences involving certain phrases and combina- tions. Agreement within phrases Awkward phrases Some expressions can cause uncertainty because they are grammatically ambiguous or combine seemingly contradictory roles, for example phras- es such as more than one and either or both: More than one dealer has shown an interest in the painting. The meaning is clearly plural, but the grammar remains singular because one is closer to the verb as well as being the dominant word in its phrase (we could not say More than one dealer have shown an interest in the painting). s The purchaser gets a licence to use either or both products. Here there is a problem of agreement with the fol- lowing noun, because either calls for the singular form product whereas both calls for the plural form products; both wins out because it is closer to the noun. Usually a better solution is to rephrase the sentence to avoid the problem altogether: t The purchaser gets a licence to use either or both of the products. Compound subjects Two nouns joined by and are normally treated as plural: Speed and accuracy are top of the list. But when the two nouns form a phrase that can be regarded as a single unit, they are sometimes treated as singular, even when one of them is plur- al: Fish and chips is my favourite meal When a singular noun forming the subject of a sentence is followed by an additional element tagged on by means of a phrase such as as well as, accompanied by, or together with, the following verb should be singular and not plural, since the singular noun is by itself the true subject: The little girl, together with her friend Kerry, was busy lling her bucket with sand. Singular and plural nouns Singular nouns treated as plural Some nouns are singular in form but are used with a verb that can be either singular or plural, or in some cases only plural. The commonest of these are the collective nouns which stand for a group or collection of people or things, such as audience, committee, crew, family, generation, government, group, jury, team, and many others. The general rule with words like these is to treat them as singular when the emphasis is on the group as a whole and as plural when the emphasis is on the individuals that form the group: A group of four young men in overalls was standing close to him. (singular) The jury retired at the end of the day to consider their verdict. (plural) Some collective nouns are fully plural: By and large the police do a good job. guide to good english Plural nouns treated as singular Other nouns are plural in form but are treated as singular, either always or in some meanings. Chief among these are the names of branches of knowl- edge or science, such as acoustics and mathemat- ics, activities such as billiards and gymnastics, and diseases such as measles: Acoustics is taught as part of the extended course. The gures show that measles is on the increase. Other plural nouns, such as data, media, and agen- da, are now commonly treated as singular. Depending on their meaning, they are either countable nouns, which can be used with a or an and have plural forms, e.g. agendas, or mass nouns, which do not have a plural form but are used in the singular with words such as this and much: The media has lost interest in the subject. This data is in a form that can be used by other institutions. Some plural words adopted unchanged from other languages, such as spaghetti and grafti, develop singular meanings: The furniture had been damaged and grafti was daubed on the walls. Subjects and objects When the subject of the verb be is singular but the part that follows is plural, the verb should gener- ally agree with its subject, regardless of what fol- lows: The only trafc is ox carts and bicycles. When the subject is a singular collective noun, the verb may be in the plural, following the usual pat- tern with such nouns: Its prey are other small animals. Indenite pronouns Pronouns such as each, either, neither, and none are called indenite pronouns. When used on their own like a noun, they can vary between sin- gular and plural. They are treated as singular when the emphasis is on the individuals: Neither the chairman nor the chief executive is planning any dramatic gestures. None of them has had enough practical experi- ence to run the company. and as plural when the emphasis is on the collec- tion or group as a whole: Neither his mother nor his father earn much money now. None of the staff were aware of the ransom demand. Plural pronouns used in the singular There is often uncertainty about what possessive word (his, her, etc.) to use when referring to a subject whose gender is not specied. The safest option is to put his or her: Every student should hand in his or her assign- ment by Tuesday. But this can be awkward, especially when the sen- tence continues for some time with repeated ref- erences back to the original subject. In cases like this it is now acceptable to use a plural form of pronoun: Every student should hand in their assignment by Tuesday. Either or and neither nor A problem arises when one of the alternatives in an either ... or ... or neither ... nor ... construction is singular and the other plural. Here, the normal choice is to make the verb agree with the one clos- er to it: t Either the twins or their mother is responsible for this. But often a better solution is to recast the sen- tence to avoid the problem: t Either the twins are responsible for this or their mother is. Personal pronouns I, we, he, she, and they are subjective pronouns, which act as the subjects of verbs, while me, us, him, her, and them are objective, acting as the objects of verbs and prepositions: Its a tiny bit boring, between you and me. The boys are coming with Gavin and me. After the verb be it is more natural and usual to use me, us, him, her, or they (the objective pro- nouns), although what follows be is not an object but a complement: I said it was only me. Thats us sitting on the bench. The subjective forms (I, we, he, she, or they) are not wrong but often sound stilted, especially the rst-person forms I and we: s I said it was only I. It is, however, usual to use the subjective forms when a relative clause (introduced by who or that) follows: t It was I who did it. 5. PUNCTUATION The purpose of punctuation is to make writing clear, by clarifying the structure of continuous writing and indicating how words relate to each other. guide to good english Full stop The principal use of the full stop is to mark the end of a sentence that is a statement: Bernard went over to the bookcase and took down an atlas. This applies to sentences when they are not com- plete statements or contain ellipsis: London. Implacable November weather. If an abbreviation with a full stop comes at the end of a sentence, another full stop is not added: Bring your own pens, pencils, rulers, etc. Comma The role of the comma is to give detail to the structure of sentences and to make their meaning clear by marking off words that either do or do not belong together. It usually represents the natural breaks and pauses that you make in speech, and operates at phrase level and word level: At phrase level You should use a comma to mark off parts of a sen- tence that are separated by conjunctions (and, but, yet, etc.). This is especially important when there is a change or repetition of the subject, or when the sentence is a long one: Mokosh could foretell the future, and she could change herself into any form she pleased. Readings are taken at points on a grid marked out on the ground, and the results are usually plotted in the form of computer-drawn diagrams. It is not normally correct to join the clauses of a compound sentence without a conjunction: pHis was the last house, the road ended with him. Nor is it correct to separate a subject from its verb with a single comma: pThose with the lowest incomes and no other means, should get the most support. A comma also separates parts of a sentence that balance or complement each other, and can intro- duce direct speech, especially in continuation of dialogue: He was getting better, but not as fast as his doctor wished. Then Laura said, Do you mean that? An important function of the comma is to prevent ambiguity or momentary misunderstanding: Mr Hogg said that he had shot, himself, as a small boy. Commas are used in pairs to separate elements in a sentence that are asides or not part of the main statement: All history, of course, is the history of wars. Commas are also used to separate a relative clause that is non-restrictive (see relative clauses above): The money, which totals more than half a million, comes from three anonymous donors. A single comma sometimes follows adverbs, phrases, and subordinate clauses that come at the beginning of a sentence: Moreover, they had lied about where they had been. When the sun began to sink, she could take the riverside walk to the hotel. A comma is always needed with however when it means by contrast or on the other hand: However, a good deal of discretion is left in the hands of area managers. At word level A comma is used to separate adjectives having the same range of reference coming before a noun: a cold, damp, badly heated room The comma is omitted when the adjectives have a different range of reference (for example, size and colour) or when the last adjective has a closer rela- tion to the noun: his baggy green jacket a distinguished foreign politician Commas are used to separate items in a list or sequence: The visitors were given tea, scones, and cake. (The nal comma before and is regarded by many people as unnecessary and left out; this dictionary always includes one.) Leave out the comma between nouns that occur together in the same grammatical role in a sen- tence (called apposition): My friend Judge Peters was not at home. But use one when the noun is a piece of extra information that could be removed from the sentence without any noticeable effect on the meaning: His father, Humphrey V. Roe, was not so fortunate. Semicolon The main role of the semicolon is to mark a gram- matical separation that is stronger in effect than a comma but less strong than a full stop. Normally the two parts of a sentence divided by a semicolon balance each other, rather than leading from one to the other: The sky grew bright with sunset; the earth glowed. Honey looked up and glared; the man scurried away. You can also use a semicolon as a stronger division in a sentence that already contains commas: What has crippled me? Was it my grandmother, frowning on my childish affection and turning it to formality and cold courtesy; or my timid, guide to good english fearful mother, in awe of everyone including, nally, me; or was it my wifes indelities, or my own? Colon Whereas a semicolon links two balanced state- ments, a colon leads from the rst statement to the second. Typically it links a general or intro- ductory statement to an example, a cause to an effect, or a premise to a conclusion. He was being made to feel more part of the family: the children kissed him goodnight, like a third parent. You also use a colon to introduce a list: The price includes the following: travel to London, ight to Venice, hotel accommodation, and excursions. Apostrophe The principal role of the apostrophe is to indicate a possessive, as in Tessas house and the towns mayor. Singular nouns form the possessive by adding s (the dogs bark = one dog), and plural nouns end- ing in -s add an apostrophe after the -s (the dogs barks = more than one dog). When a plural noun ends in a letter other than s, the possessive is formed by adding s : the childrens games, the oxens hoofs, etc. Beware of an apostrophe wrongly applied to an ordinary plural, particularly in words ending in -o but also in quite harmless words such as apples and pears (e.g. p pears 30p a pound). Beware also of confusing the possessive whose with whos, which is a contraction of who is (e.g. pWhos turn is it?). For names ending in -s, the best course is to add s when you would pronounce the resulting form with an extra s in speech (e.g. Charless, Dickenss, Thomass, The Timess); and omit s otherwise (e.g. Bridges, Connors, Herodotus). With French names ending in (silent) -s or -x, add s (e.g. Dumass, le Rouxs) and pronounce the modied word with a nal -z. An apostrophe should not be used in the pro- nouns hers, its, ours, yours, and theirs. Be careful to distinguish its from its. Its (no apostrophe) is a possessive meaning belonging to it, whereas its (with an apostrophe) is a contrac- tion meaning it is or it has: Give the cat its dinner. Its hard to know where to start. An apostrophe is not normally used in the plural of abbreviated forms (e.g. several MPs were stand- ing around), although it is used in the possessive (e.g. the BBCs decision to go ahead with the broad- cast). Another important use of the apostrophe is to mark contractions such as Ill, theyve, couldnt, and shes. Hyphens In print a hyphen is half the length of a dash, but in writing there is often little noticeable differ- ence. While the dash has the purpose of separat- ing words and groups of words, the hyphen is meant to link words and parts of words. The use of hyphens is very variable in English, but the fol- lowing guidelines reect generally agreed princi- ples. The hyphen is used to join two or more words so as to form a single word (often called a compound word), e.g. free-for-all, multi-ethnic, right-handed, and punch-drunk. Straightforward noun com- pounds are now much more often spelled either as two words (boiling point, credit card, focus group) or as one, even when this involves a collision of consonants, which used to be a reason for putting in the hyphen (database, earring, breaststroke). In American English compound nouns generally written as two words in British English are often written as one word. There are two cases in which a compound spelled as two words is made into a hyphened form or a one-word form: 2when a verb phrase such as hold up or back up is made into a noun (hold-up, backup); 2when a noun compound is made into a verb (e.g. a date stamp but to date-stamp). Note that a normal phrasal verb should not be hyphenat- ed: write continue to build up your pension not continue to build-up your pension. A hyphen is often used: 2to join a prex ending in a vowel (such as co- and neo-) to another word (e.g. co-opt, neo- Impressionism), although one-word forms are becoming more usual (cooperate, neoclassical). 2to avoid ambiguity by separating a prex from the main word, e.g. to distinguish re-cover (= provide with a new cover) from recover and re- sign (= sign again) from resign. 2to join a prex to a name or designation, e.g. anti-Christian, ex-husband. 2to stand for a common second element in all but the last word of a list, e.g. two-, three-, or four- fold. 2to clarify meanings in groups of words which might otherwise be unclear or ambiguous (e.g. twenty-odd people came to the meeting). You should also use a hyphen to clarify the mean- ing of a compound that is normally spelled as sep- arate words, when it is used before a noun: an up- to-date record but the record is up to date. There is no need to insert a hyphen between an adverb ending in -ly and an adjective qualied by it, even when they come before the noun: a highly competitive market, recently published material. When the adverb does not end in -ly, however, a hyphen is normally required to make the meaning clear when the adverb precedes the noun: a well- known woman (but the woman is well known).