Writing Tips
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Index O
- O
- oblique
- oblivious of
- oblivious to
- obvious
- occur
- occurred
- occurrence
- o’clock
- oct-
- octa-
- octo-
- octopus
- octopuses
- ocul-
- odont-
- odorant
- odoriferous
- odorous
- odour
- oeno-
- offence
- offense
- offensive
- official
- officious
- offline
- off-line
- off of
- of the order of
- Oh
- OK
- O.K.
- okay
- old
- old custom
- older
- old fashion
- old fashioned
- old-fashioned
- olig-
- oligo-
- ombro-
- ombudsman (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- omni-
- ON
- on (1)
- on (2)
- on account of
- on behalf of
- onco-
- one
- one of those who
- on foot
- online
- on-line
- on numerous occasions
- onoma-
- onomato-
- Ont.
- Ontarian
- Ontario
- on the basis of
- on the diagonal
- on the one hand
- on the order of
- on the other hand
- on the part of
- on to
- onto
- onward
- onwards
- oo-
- opposite from
- opposite of
- opposite to
- opposition (in)
- opt-
- opthalm-
- opthalmo-
- opto-
- oral
- order
- ordinance
- ordnance
- ori-
- orient
- orientate
- original founder
- originate at
- originate from
- originate in
- originate with
- ornitho-
- oro-
- osseo-
- ossi-
- osteo-
- oto-
- Ottawa
- Ottawan
- out-
- outside of
- ov-
- over
- over all
- overall
- overlook (1)
- overlook (2)
- oversee
- oversight
- overused cliché
- ovi-
- ovo-
- owing to
- owing to the fact that
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Important notice
Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.
For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!
Search and Functionalities Area
on the basis of, based on
To write plainly and concisely, choose on instead of the roundabout phrase on the basis of. Other possibilities include according to and based on.
- Employees are appointed on (not on the basis of) merit.
- The Board released draft guidelines based on (not on the basis of) the committee’s recommendations.
However, note that the past participle based must modify a noun. If there is no noun to which it can attach, you must use on the basis of or an alternative.
- Incorrect: Based on these findings, we adopted a new marketing approach.
- Correct: On the basis of these findings, we developed a new marketing approach.
- Correct: We developed a new marketing approach based on these findings.
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