How is the book organized?......Page 5
Does the book cover every aspect of English usage?......Page 6
Other books in this series......Page 7
Recommended reading......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
1.1 regular plurals......Page 17
1.2 irregular plurals......Page 18
1.3 nouns ending in - s......Page 19
1.4 nouns indicating a group of people......Page 20
1.5 number-verb agreement......Page 21
1.6 countable nouns: use with articles......Page 22
1.7 singular countable nouns: use with and without a / an in scientific English......Page 23
1.8 uncountable nouns: general rules......Page 24
1.9 uncountable nouns: using a different word or form......Page 25
1.10 uncountable nouns: more details......Page 26
2: Genitive: the possessive form of nouns......Page 27
2.1 position of the ’s with authors and referees......Page 28
2.2 theories, instruments etc.......Page 29
2.4 universities, departments, institutes etc.......Page 31
2.5 animals......Page 32
2.7 periods of time......Page 33
3.1 a versus an: basic rules......Page 34
3.2 a versus an: use with acronyms, digits, and symbols......Page 35
3.3 a / an versus one......Page 36
3.4 a / an versus the: generic versus speci fi c......Page 37
3.5 a / an versus the: definitions and statements......Page 38
3.6 a / an, the, possessive pronoun: parts of the body......Page 39
4.1 definite article (the): main usage......Page 40
4.2 specific versus general: examples......Page 41
4.3 other uses of the definite article......Page 42
5.1 zero article versus definite article (the): main usage......Page 43
5.2 other uses of the zero article......Page 44
5.3 nationalities, countries, languages......Page 45
5.4 zero article and the: contradictory usage in scientific English......Page 46
5.5 zero article versus a / an......Page 47
5.6 zero article and a / an : contradictory usage in scientific English......Page 48
6.1 quantifiers used with countable and uncountable nouns......Page 49
6.2 any versus some......Page 51
6.4 a little, a few vs. little, few......Page 52
6.5 much, many, a lot of, and lots of......Page 53
6.6 each versus every, every versus any......Page 54
6.7 no versus not......Page 55
7.1 that, which, who, whose......Page 56
7.2 that versus which and who......Page 57
7.3 omission of that , which and who......Page 58
7.4 avoiding ambiguity by using a relative clause in preference to the - ing form......Page 60
7.6 avoid ambiguity with which......Page 61
8.1 present simple vs present continuous: key rules......Page 62
8.2 present perfect: key rules......Page 63
8.3 present perfect: problem areas......Page 65
8.4 past simple: key rules......Page 66
8.5 present simple vs past simple: specific rules (aims and methods)......Page 67
8.6 present simple, present perfect and simple past: reference to the literature......Page 68
8.7 present simple vs past simple: specific rules (results and discussion)......Page 69
8.9 past continuous and past perfect vs simple past......Page 70
8.10 will......Page 71
9.1 zero and first conditional......Page 72
9.2 second conditional......Page 73
9.3 other uses of would......Page 74
9.4 present simple versus would......Page 75
9.5 third conditional......Page 76
10: Passive versus active: impersonal versus personal forms......Page 77
10.1 main uses of passive......Page 78
10.2 passive better than active: more examples......Page 79
10.3 active better than passive......Page 80
10.4 ambiguity with passive......Page 81
11.1 imperative......Page 83
11.2 infinitive......Page 84
11.3 in order to......Page 85
11.5 perfect infinitive......Page 86
11.6 gerund (−ing form): usage......Page 87
11.7 by versus thus + gerund to avoid ambiguity......Page 88
11.8 other sources of ambiguity with the gerund......Page 89
11.10 verbs that express purpose or appearance + infinitive......Page 90
11.11 verbs that require an accusative construction (i.e. person / thing + infinitive)......Page 91
11.13 active form: verbs not used with the infinitive......Page 92
11.14 let and make......Page 93
11.15 verbs + gerund, recommend, suggest......Page 94
11.16 verbs that take both infinitive and gerund......Page 95
12.1 present and future ability and possibility: can versus may......Page 96
12.2 impossibility and possibility: cannot versus may not......Page 98
12.3 ability: can, could versus be able to, manage, succeed......Page 99
12.4 deductions and speculations about the present: must, cannot, should......Page 100
12.5 deductions and speculations: could, might (not)......Page 101
12.6 present obligations: must, must not, have to, need......Page 102
12.7 past obligation: should have + past participle, had to, was supposed to......Page 103
12.8 obligation and recommendation: should......Page 104
13.1 about, as far as … is concerned......Page 105
13.2 also, in addition, as well, besides, moreover......Page 106
13.4 although, even though versus even if......Page 107
13.5 and, along with......Page 108
13.7 as versus like (unlike)......Page 109
13.8 as, because, due to, for, insofar as, owing to, since, why......Page 110
13.9 both … and, either … or......Page 112
13.10 e.g. versus for example......Page 113
13.11 e.g., i.e., etc.......Page 114
13.12 for this reason versus for this purpose, to this end......Page 115
13.13 the former, the latter......Page 116
13.14 however, although, but, yet, despite, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding......Page 117
13.16 in contrast with vs. compared to, by comparison with......Page 119
13.17 instead, on the other hand, whereas, on the contrary......Page 120
13.18 thus, therefore, hence, consequently, so, thereby......Page 122
13.19 omission of words in sentences with and, but, both and or......Page 123
14.1 above ( below), over ( under)......Page 124
14.2 across, through......Page 125
14.3 already, still, yet......Page 126
14.4 among, between, from, of (differentiation and selection)......Page 127
14.5 at, in, to (location, state, change)......Page 128
14.6 at, in and on (time)......Page 129
14.7 at, to (measurement, quality)......Page 130
14.9 beside, next to, near (to), close to (location)......Page 131
14.10 by and from (cause, means and origin)......Page 132
14.12 by and within (time)......Page 133
14.13 by now, for now, for the moment, until now, so far......Page 134
14.14 during, over and throughout (time)......Page 135
14.15 for, since, from (time)......Page 136
14.16 in, now, currently, at the moment......Page 137
14.17 in, inside, within (location)......Page 138
14.18 of and with (material, method, agreement)......Page 139
15.1 maximum two ideas per sentence......Page 140
15.2 put information in chronological order, particularly in the methods section......Page 141
15.3 avoid parenthetical phrases......Page 142
15.4 avoid redundancy......Page 143
15.6 use adjectives rather than nouns......Page 144
15.7 be careful of use of personal pronouns: you, one, he, she, they......Page 145
15.8 essential and non-essential use of: we, us, our......Page 146
15.9 avoid informal words and contractions......Page 147
15.10 emphatic do / does , giving emphasis with auxiliary verbs......Page 148
15.11 ensuring consistency throughout a manuscript......Page 149
15.12 translating concepts that only exist in your country / language......Page 150
15.13 always use the same key words: repetition of words is not a problem......Page 151
15.14 avoid ambiguity when using the former / the latter , which , and pronouns......Page 152
15.15 avoid ambiguity when using as, in accordance with, according to......Page 153
15.16 when expressing a negative concept using a negation......Page 154
16.2 decide what to put first in a sentence: alternatives......Page 155
16.3 do not delay the subject......Page 156
16.4 avoid long subjects that delay the main verb......Page 157
16.5 inversion of subject and verb......Page 158
16.6 inversion of subject and verb with only, rarely, seldom etc.......Page 159
16.7 inversions with so, neither, nor......Page 160
16.8 put direct object before indirect object......Page 161
16.9 phrasal verbs......Page 162
16.10 noun + noun and noun + of + noun constructions......Page 163
16.11 strings of nouns: use prepositions where possible......Page 164
16.12 deciding which noun to put first in strings of nouns......Page 165
16.13 position of prepositions with which, who and where......Page 166
17.1 frequency + also, only, just, already......Page 167
17.3 manner......Page 168
17.5 first(ly), second(ly) etc.......Page 169
17.6 adverbs with more than one meaning......Page 170
17.7 shift the negation word ( no, not, nothing etc.) to near the beginning of the phrase......Page 171
18.1 adjectives......Page 172
18.2 multiple adjectives......Page 173
18.3 ensure it is clear which noun an adjective refers to......Page 174
18.4 past participles......Page 175
19.1 form and usage......Page 176
19.3 comparisons of (in)equality......Page 178
19.4 the more … the more......Page 179
20: Measurements: abbreviations, symbols, use of articles......Page 180
20.1 abbreviations and symbols: general rules......Page 182
20.3 use of articles: a / an versus the......Page 183
20.4 expressing measurements: adjectives, nouns and verbs......Page 184
21.1 words versus numerals: basic rules......Page 185
21.2 words versus numerals: additional rules......Page 186
21.3 when 1–10 can be used as digits rather than words......Page 187
21.4 making numbers plural......Page 188
21.5 singular or plural with numbers......Page 189
21.6 abbreviations, symbols, percentages, fractions, and ordinals......Page 190
21.7 ranges of values and use of hyphens......Page 191
21.8 definite article (the) and zero article with numbers and measurements......Page 192
21.10 once, twice versus one time, two times......Page 193
21.11 ordinal numbers, abbreviations and Roman numerals......Page 194
21.12 dates......Page 195
22.1 main usage......Page 196
22.2 foreign acronyms......Page 197
22.3 grammar......Page 198
22.4 punctuation......Page 199
23.1 usage......Page 200
23.2 punctuation......Page 201
23.3 abbreviations found in bibliographies......Page 202
23.4 common Latin expressions and abbreviations......Page 204
24.1 titles and section headings......Page 206
24.2 days, months, countries, nationalities, natural languages......Page 207
24.3 academic titles, degrees, subjects (of study), departments, institutes, faculties, universities......Page 208
24.5 keywords......Page 209
24.7 euro, the internet......Page 210
25.1 apostrophes (’)......Page 211
25.2 colons (:)......Page 212
25.3 commas (,): usage......Page 213
25.4 commas (,): non usage......Page 214
25.5 dashes (_)......Page 215
25.6 hyphens (-): part 1......Page 216
25.7 hyphens (-): part 2......Page 217
25.8 parentheses ()......Page 218
25.9 periods (.)......Page 219
25.10 quotation marks (‘ ’)......Page 220
25.11 semicolons (;)......Page 221
25.12 bullets: round, numbered, ticked......Page 222
25.13 bullets: consistency and avoiding redundancy......Page 223
26.1 most common styles......Page 224
26.2 common dangers......Page 225
26.4 punctuation: parentheses......Page 226
26.5 et al......Page 227
27.1 figures, tables......Page 228
27.2 legends......Page 229
27.3 referring to other parts of the manuscript......Page 230
28.1 rules......Page 231
28.2 some differences in British (GB) and American (US) spelling, by type......Page 233
28.3 some differences in British (GB) and American (US) spelling, alphabetically......Page 234
28.4 misspellings that spell-checking software does not fi nd......Page 236
Erratum......Page 238
Appendix 1: verbs, nouns, adjectives + prepositions......Page 239
Appendix 2: Glosssary of terms used in this book......Page 249
Index......Page 251
