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Focusing on Double or Nothing…And No Bussing, Please!
Posted by Editormum on Friday, 4 July 2003 in Reader Questions | ∞
The word focus is, like so many words, “a puzzlement” when it comes to adding suffixes. According to Fowler, the proper inflections are focus, focused, focuses, focusing. Fowler notes, however, that many printers and publishers use the “-ss-” form instead. It is not, apparently, solely a British tendency.
Fowler also points out an interesting exception to the “Double or Nothing” rule that was previously discussed in this column. The word “bus” is not doubled when a suffix is added. That is, when referring to the transportation of people via a bus, one says that they were bused or that busing has been implemented. If you double the consonant (bussed or bussing) you’ve got kissing, not transportation.
4 Comments
I enjoy your “Grammar Guru” posts. Could you do a post on when to use “who” and “whom”? Those two always confuse me.
msaries: I wrote about this dilemma back in May. Enjoy!
Thanks for clearing that up, Editormum!
My English teachers were Brits and Yanks, and so my writing is all over the place. I write travelling and my spellcheck highlights it. I go from favor to favoured and get all messed up. I spell vaccuum and no one else does it this way anymore.
My books are all from America and Britain and they, depending upon their publish date, are all over the place also.
Sometimes, I dare to look ignorant, just to type quickly, letting the brain decide, but if I go back and check, then I take forever to decide which way to spell it.
Older people like me have difficulties with the nu changes. Going thru my dictionary, as tho’ I care, I find two or three ways to spell something, as my dictionary weighs more and is older than I am.