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Communications and External Relations
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A Brief Guide to Grammar and PunctuationGlossary
Spelling and GrammarPluralsCertain words change their spelling when pluralised:
Some have odd, or irregular spellings in the plural:
Words ending in <y> normally drop the <y> and add <ies>:
Words ending in <vowel + y> take the usual <s>
Prefixes (stuck on to the beginning of a word)Adding a prefix to a word does not alter its basic spelling:
Suffixes (stuck onto the end of a word)< - ly> - This suffix creates an adverb. It is straightforward and added to most words:
< - ing> - This is added straight onto the ends of words, except those which end in <e>. Words that end in <e> + <-ing> = drop the <e>
If a word ends in a consonant and the suffix begins with a vowel, the consonant is doubled:
These suffixes can all double a consonant: <-ing, -er, -est, -ed> Consonant changes before a suffixWord ending in <t> + <sion> = <t> changes to <s>
Word ending in <y> + <ness> = <y> changes to <i>
Words ending in single vowel + single <l> = <l> changes to <ll> before any suffix
-able and -ibleThese simply have to be learnt! Here are some of the more common ones:
Homophones (Words which sound the same but are spelt differently)Be aware of:
PunctuationApostrophesSignify:
a) Possession With a singular noun, the apostrophe goes before the <s>:
With a plural noun, the apostrophe goes after the <s>:
If a word already ends in <s>, then the apostrophe alone signifies possession; no <s> is needed:
A word with an irregular plural still takes the <’s>
b) Omission of a letter
*NB. It’s always means ‘it is’. If it does not mean this, don’t use an apostrophe. Apostrophes are never used to denote the plural:
HyphensThe hyphen is a link which joins two words together. The University House Style has the following rule: Nouns which are comprised of two words have no hyphen:
Adjectives (which refer to nouns) do have a hyphen:
<well> + an adjective uses a hyphen:
To indicate an aside in a sentence, use a hyphen with a space on either side (the computer will automatically convert it to an em-dash which is slightly longer than a hyphen):
CommasAre used to separate lists of nouns or phrases side by side:
A comma should not normally be used before ‘and’ in a list:
Except when a comma puts a necessary pause in a sentence, or when a list would not make clear sense without one. Look at the difference between these sentences in terms of comma use:
Commas can also indicate a pause in a sentence:
ColonsA colon indicates a substantial pause between two parts of a sentence, but suggests a close connection between them. It is used: a) to introduce lists
b) to make a strong contrast between ideas in a sentence
SemicolonsIndicates a pause shorter than a colon, but longer than a comma. It splits phrases that a grammatically complete (ie they can stand alone as a sentence) but which are very close in meaning:

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