Occasionally question marks are included when they are not called for, as in this sentence by Trollope, cited by Fowler: “But let me ask of her enemies whether it is not as good a method as any other known to be extant?” The problem here is a failure to distinguish between a direct question and an indirect one. Direct questions always take question marks: “Who is going with you?” Indirect questions never do: “I would like to know who is going with you.”
When direct questions take on the tone of a command, the use of a question mark becomes more discretionary. “Will everyone please assemble in my office at four o’clock?” is strictly correct, but not all authorities insist on the question mark there.
A less frequent problem arises when a direct question appears outside a direct quotation. Fieldhouse, in Everyman’s Good English Guide, suggests that the following punctuation is correct: “Why does this happen to us, we wonder?” The Fowler brothers, however, call this an amusing blunder; certainly it is extremely irregular. The more usual course is to attach the question mark directly to the question. Thus: “Why does this happen to us? we wonder.” But such constructions are clumsy and are almost always improved by being turned into indirect questions: “We wonder why this happens to us.”
quotation marks (inverted commas). An issue that arises frequently in Britain but almost never in America is whether to put periods and other punctuation inside or outside quotation marks when they appear together. The practice that prevails in America and is increasingly common in Britain is to put the punctuation inside the quotes. Thus, “He said, ‘I will not go.’” But some publishers prefer the punctuation to fall outside except when it is part of the quotation. Thus the example above would be “He said, ‘I will not go’.”
When quotation marks are used to set off a complete statement, the first word of the quotation should be capitalized (“He said, ‘Victory is ours’”) except when the quotation is preceded by that (“He said that ‘victory is ours’”). Fowler believed that no punctuation was necessary to set off attributive quotations; he would, for instance, delete the commas from the following: “‘Tomorrow,’ he said, ‘is a new day.’” His argument was that commas are not needed to mark the interruption or introduction of a quotation because the quotation marks already do that. Logically he is correct. But with equal logic we could argue that question marks should be dispensed with on the grounds that the context almost always makes it clear that a question is being asked. The commas are required not by logic but by convention.
semicolon. The semicolon is heavier than the comma but lighter than the period. Its principal function is to divide contact clauses—that is, two ideas that are linked by sense but that lack a conjunction. For instance, “You take the high road; I’ll take the low road.” Equally that could be made into two complete sentences or, by introducing a conjunction, into one (“You take the high road and I’ll take the low road”). The semicolon is also sometimes used to separate long coordinate clauses. In this role it was formerly used much more extensively than it is today.
Words Ending in-able and-ible
-able
-ible
abominable
accessible
amenable
admissible
appreciable
collapsible
available
collectible (U.S., alt. UK)
collectable (UK, alt. U.S.)
compatible
conformable
comprehensible
confusable
contemptible
culpable
credible
delectable
deductible
dependable
defensible
describable
digestible
dispensable
forcible
estimable
discernible
execrable
divertible
expandable
exhaustible
impassable
impassible
impressionable
incorrigible
innumerable
irresistible
inscrutable
perceptible
inseparable
perfectible
knowledgeable
reprehensible
manageable
resistible
marriageable
revertible
peaceable
suppressible
perishable
recognizable
refusable
reputable
salable (U.S., alt. UK)
saleable (UK, alt. U.S.)
separable
sizable (U.S., alt. UK)
sizeable (UK, alt. U.S.)
unconscionable
* * *
Major Airports
Abbr.
City
Airport Name
AMS
Amsterdam
Schiphol
ATH
Athens
Elefthérios Venizélos
ATL
Atlanta
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
BCN
Barcelona
Barcelona International or El Prat
SXF
Berlin
Schönefeld
THF
Tempelhof
TXL
Tegel
BOS
Boston
Logan International
EZE
Buenos
Aires Ministro Pistarini (informally Ezeiza)
ORD
Chicago
O’Hare International
CPH
Copenhagen
Copenhagen Airport (informally Kastrup)
HAM
Hamburg
Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel
HEL
Helsinki
Helsinki-Vantaa
LHR
London
Heathrow
LGW
Gatwick
LAX
Los Angeles
Los Angeles International
VNY
Van Nuys (pronounced Van Nize)
MAD
Madrid
Barajas
YUL
Montreal
Montreal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International
YMX
Mirabel
SVO
Moscow
Sheremetyevo
VKO
Vnukovo
DME
Domodedovo
Munich
Franz Josef Strauss International
EWR
Newark
Newark Liberty International
JFK
New York
John F. Kennedy International
LGA
La Guardia
GMN
Oslo
Gardermoen
ORY
Paris
Orly
CDG
Charles de Gaulle
FCO
Rome
Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino)
CIA
Ciampino
GRU
São Paulo
Guarulhos International
VCP
Viracopos
CGH
Congonhas–São Paulo International
GMP
Seoul
Kimpo International
ICN
Incheon International
SIN
Singapore
Changi
ARN
Stockholm
Arlanda
BMA
Bromma
SYD
Sydney
Kingsford Smith
TPE
Taipei
Taiwan Taoyuan International
TLV
Tel Aviv
Ben Gurion
HND
Tokyo
Tokyo International or Haneda
NRT
Narita
YYZ
Toronto
Lester B. Pearson International
IAD
Washington, D.C.
Dulles International
WAS
Ronald Reagan–Washington National
* * *
Temperature Conversion Table
Celsius*1
F/C
Fahrenheit*2
-18
0
32
-15
5
41
-12
10
50
-9
15
59
-7
20
68
-4
25
77
-1
30
86
0
32
90
2
35
96
4
40
104
7
45
113
10
50
122
38
100
212
* * *
Distance Conversion Table
km
miles/km
miles
1.6
1
0.6
3.2
2
1.2
4.8
3
1.9
6.4
4
2.5
8.0
5
3.1
9.7
6
3.7
11.3
7
4.3
12.9
8
5.0
14.5
9
5.6
16.1
10
6.2
32.2
20
12.4
48.3
30
18.6
64.4
40
24.9
80.5
50
31.1
96.6
60
37.3
112.7
70
43.5
128.7
80
49.7
144.8
90
55.9
160.9
100
62.1
402.3
250
155.3
804.7
500
310.7
* * *
* Figures are rounded off to one decimal place.
Metric Prefixes
Prefix
Meaning
deci-
one-tenth
centi-
one-hundredth
milli-
one-thousandth
micro-
one-millionth
nano-
one-billionth
pico-
one-trillionth
deka-
10
hecto-
100
kilo-
1000
mega-
1 million
giga-
1 billion
tera-
1 trillion
* * *
Main Units of Currency
Country
Currency
Afghanistan
afghani
Albania
lek
Algeria
dinar
Argentina
peso
Australia
dollar
Austria
euro
Belgium
euro
Bolivia
boliviano
Bosnia-Herzogovina
marka
Brazil
cruzeiro
Bulgaria
lev
Canada
dollar
Chile
peso
China
renminbi
yuan
Colombia
peso
Congo, Democratic Republic of the franc congolais
Costa Rica
colon
Croatia
kuna
Czech Republic
koruna
Denmark
krone
Egypt
pound
El Salvador
U.S. dollar
Ethiopia
birr
Finland
euro
France
euro
Germany
euro
Ghana
cedi
Greece
euro
Guatemala
quetzal
Haiti
gourde
Honduras
lempira
Hong Kong
dollar
Hungary
forint
Iceland
krona
India
rupee
Indonesia
rupiah
Iran
rial
Iraq
dinar
Ireland
euro
Israel
shekel
Italy
euro
Jamaica
dollar
Japan
yen
Kenya
shilling
Korea, North
won
Korea, South
won
Kuwait
dinar
Laos
kip
Lebanon
pound
Libya
dinar
Luxembourg
euro
Malawi
kwacha
Malaysia
ringgit
Malta
euro
Mexico
peso
Morocco
dirham
Netherlands
euro
New Zealand
dollar
Nicaragua
córdoba
Nigeria
naira
Norway
krone
Panama U.S.
dollar
Paraguay
guaraní
Peru
nuevo sol
Philippines
piso or peso
Poland
zloty
Portugal
euro
Puerto Rico
U.S. dollar
Romania
leu
Russia
ruble
Saudi Arabia
riyal
Singapore
dollar
Slovakia
koruna
South Africa
rand
Spain
euro
Sweden
krona
Switzerland
franc
Syria
pound
Taiwan
dollar
Thailand
baht
Tunisia
dinar
Turkey
lira
Uganda
shilling
United Kingdom
pound
United States
dollar
Uruguay
peso
Venezuela
bolívar
Vietnam
dong
Zambia
kwacha
Zimbabwe
dollar
* * *
Numerals
Arabic
Roman
1
I
2
II
3