ONTO
OR ON TO?
an
OFFICIAL
visit
an
OFFICIAL
invitation
OFFICIOUS
=
fussy,
self-important, interfering
an
OFFICIOUS
secretary
an
OFFICIOUS
waiter
often
(not
offen)
omission
omit
omitted, omitting
See
ADDING
ENDINGS
(iv).
one
This
can be a

take.
Use
'one'
sparingly
and
beware
the
risk
of
pomposity.
only
The
position
of
'only'
in a
sentence
is
crucial
to
meaning.
See
AMBIGUITY
(ii).
onnist
Wrong spelling.
See
HONEST.
onto
or on to?

to
speak,
to be, to
watch,
etc.):
She
drove
ON TO
test
the
brakes.
As
a
matter
of
interest
you can
double-check
the
'separateness'
of the two
words
by
separating
them
further:
She
drove
ON
because

is
permissible
to
write
'onto'
or
'on
to'
when
you
mean
'to
a
position
on':
The
acrobat jumped
ONTO
the
trapeze.
The
acrobat jumped
ON TO the
trapeze.
It
should
be
borne
in
mind, however, that many

150
OUT
OF
organise/organize
Both
spellings
are
correct.
original
originally
original
+
ly
ought
'Ought'
is
always followed
by an
infinitive
(to
visit,
to
read,
to do,
etc).
We
OUGHT
to
write
our

OUGHT
NOT to say
this.
He
hadn't ought
to
have
hit
her.
He
OUGHT
NOT to
have
hit
her.
ours
There
are
eight possessive pronouns:
mine, thine, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs. They
never need
an
apostrophe:
This
house
is
OURS.
outfit
outfitted,
outfitting,

over-
Take care when adding this
prefix
to a
word
already
beginning with
r You
will have
-rr-:
overreact
overripe
overrule,
etc.
overreact
over
+
react
ovum
(singular)
ova
(plural)
See
FOREIGN
PLURALS.
owing
to
See DUE
TO/OWING
TO.

PYJAMAS.
palate,
palette,
pallet
PALATE
= the top
part
of the
inside
of
your mouth
PALETTE
= a
small board with
a
hole
for the
thumb
which
an
artist uses when mixing paints
PALLET
= a
platform used
to
lift
and to
carry
goods
panic

a
particular
point
that
is
relevant
to the
overall
subject.
If you
wish
to
write
a
letter
or an
essay that develops
five or six
points,
then each point will have
its own
paragraph
and you
will
add two
more,
one by way of an
introductory
153
^•^H

short paragraphs
in
succession
can be
very
jerky;
too
many
very long ones
can
look forbidding.
It is
best
to mix
long
and
short paragraphs,
if you
can.
You
may
also
find
that
a
paragraph which
is
becoming very long
(a
page

write.
List
the
topics
or
points
you
want
to
make
in a
sensible
order.
Then develop each
one in
turn
in a
separate paragraph.
A
paragraph
usually
contains within
it one
sentence which sums
up its
topic.
Sometimes
the
paragraph will begin
with

in a
paragraph.
Careful
writers will
try to
move smoothly
from
one
paragraph
to the
next, using link words
or
phrases such
as: on the
other hand; however;
in
conclusion.
In
handwriting
and in
typing,
it is
usual
to
mark
the
beginning
of a
paragraph either
by