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7/29/2019 Guide for Good Writing
1/23
A Guide For Good writinG
Gy Bs, J 2005
( Ag 2010)
Thisworkisnotoriginal.Partsofitconsistofparagraphsandsentenceslifted
verbatimfromthereferencebooksIconsultedaparagraphhere,asentence
thereeditedandmixedinwithoriginalcomments.MostofthetimeIhavenot
indicatedthepartsthathavebeenlifted,eitherbyfootnotesorquotationmarks,as
thisdocumentissimplymeantasareferenceforme.
oVerView
Allwritingisacampaignagainstclich.Notjustclichsofthepen
butclichsofthemindandclichsoftheheart.WhenIdispraise,Iam
usuallyquotingclich.WhenIpraise,Iamusuallyquotingtheopposed
qualitiesoffreshness,energy,andreverberationofvoice.
Foreword,The War Against Cliche,MartinAmis
Clichspreadsinwardsfromthelanguageofabooktoitsheart.Clich
alwaysdoes.(p137)
Ulyssesisaboutclich.Itisaboutinherited,ready-madeformulations,
fossilisedmetaphorsmostnotablythoseofIrishCatholicismandanti-
semitism.Afterall,prejudicesareclichs:theyaresecond-handhatreds.
(p444)
Anyonewhowishestobeagoodwritershouldendeavour,beforeheallows
himselftobetemptedbythemoreshowyqualities,tobedirect,simple,brief,
clearandvigorousandtoavoidclich.Thismeansthatawritershouldprefer:
thefamiliarwordtothefar-fetched theconcretewordtotheabstract
thesinglewordtothemany
theshortwordtothelong
anoriginaldescriptiontoahackneyed
PunCtuAtion
reAdingisdoneprivately.Punctuation,whenusedprecisely,helpsthereader
translatethewritersthoughtsandunderstandwhathasbeenwritten.Itilluminates
thegrammarofasentenceandaspectsofspeechsuchaspitch,rhythm,speed
andpausing.Inthemindofthereader,punctuationislikemusicalnotationthat
explainshowtohumthetune.
Punctuationevolvedintheageofprintingandreliesontheascendancyof
printingtosurvive.Itisasetofconventionsthathasevolvedslowlybecauseof
printingsinnateconservatismandiseffectiveonlyifreadersandwritersappreci-ateitsnuances.
Donotoverusepunctuationmarks.Useonlyasmanyasareneededforclarity.
Punctuationislargelyconvention.Aslongasyoudontmakechangesthatare
soradicalthatreadershavedifcultyreadingwhatyouhavewritten,feelfreeto
usewhateverpunctuationstylesuitsyou.Dontfeelboundby500yearsoftradi-
tion,butdofeelboundbylogic,consistencyandclarity.
APoStroPHe
1. Whenthepossessorispluralbutdoesnotendinans,i.e.children,theapos-tropheisbeforethes:
childrensplayground
womensmovement
2. Butifthepossessorisaregularplural,i.e.withansontheend,theapostro-
phefollowsthes:
boyshats
babiesbibs
3. Anapostropheindicatestimeorquantity:
oneweeksnotice twoweeksnotice
fouryardsworth
4. Andtheomissionofguresindates:
thesummerof 68
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5. Itindicatesthepluralsoflettersandwords:
howmanyfs
whatarethedosanddonts?
6. Anapostrophedoesnotappearinthepluralsofabbreviationsordates:
inthe1980s [not1980s]
theMPs[notMPs]
7. Forpossessivesofpropernamesendingins,tastesarechanging.Therearerulesformodernandancientworldnames,andexceptionsforboth.Toavoid
theclumsylookofphraseslikeLynneTrusssbookIhavechosentoputthe
apostropheafterthesinallcases:
GuyBurnsbook
Archimedesprinciple
8. Ruleforimpliedpossessions.Usetheapostrophewherethenounthatshould
followisimplied.Inthiscase,theapostrophewillnotonlyindicateposses-
sion,butalsotheimpliednounwhichhasbeenremoved.
Thiswashisfathers,nothis,book.
[Usedinsteadofsaying:Thiswashisfathersbook,nothisbook.]
9. Filmandbooknames,brandnamesandplacenameshavenorules.Thusthe
followingcouldallbecorrect:
TwoWeeksNotice
StVincentsHospital
Stewarts Creek
StewartsCreek
10.Personalpossessivesneverhaveanapostrophe.Wordslike:yours,theirs,its,
hers.
CoMMAS
Formeevenacommaisapieceofsculpture.IfIputit,Imeanittobethere.
PatrickWhite
ThecommAislikeasheepdog:ithassomanyjobsasseparatorthatittearsabout
thehillsideoflanguage,endlesslyorganisingwordsintosensiblegroupsand
makingthemstayput.Commas,ifyoudontwhistleatthemtocalmdown,are
unstoppablyenthusiasticatthisjob.Overuseofcommasisold-fashionedbutcompatiblewithcorrectness.Any-
onewhousesseveralcommasclosetooneanother,exceptinalist,shouldask
whetheritisnecessary.
Sometimesanabundanceofcommasisnoteasilyreduced;achangeinthe
orderofwords,theomissionofaneedlessadverborconjunction,evenarecasting
ofthesentencemaybenecessary.Butitisasafebetthatagatheringofcommasis
asuspiciousthing.Thesentenceshouldbereadaloud,andifitjarssomechange
orothershouldbemade.
Liliassuggestedtheadvicewhich,ofallothers,seemedmostsuitedtothe
occasion,that,yielding,namely,tothecircumstancesoftheirsituation,they
shouldwatch(Scott) Shakespeare,itistrue,had,asIhavesaid,asrespectsEngland,theprivilege
whichonlyrst-comersenjoy.(Lowell)
Thesecondisagoodexampleofthewarningvalueofcommas.Noneofthese
canbedispensedwithsincetherearethreeparentheticqualicationstothesen-
tence.Butthecrowdofcommasshouldhavewarnedthewriterwhatanobstacle
racehissentencehasbecome.Theuseofcommasisasfollows:
1. Lss f s
Commasdivideitemsintolists,butarenotgenerallyrequiredbeforetheand
ontheend.Theruleisthatthecommaiscorrectifitcanbereplacedbythewordandoror.
thefouravoursareorange,lemon,strawberryandlime.
thecoloursoftheagarered,whiteandblue.
Inthecaseofthelatter,sometimesthecommaisincluded,theso-calledOx-
fordcomma:
thecoloursoftheagarered,white,andblue.
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Sometimesasentenceisimprovedbyincludingacomma:
IwenttoWoolworths,LuckandHaines,andthebutcher.
[IwenttoWoolworths,LuckandHainesandthebutcher.]
2. Lss f ajcvs
Inalistofadjectives,againtheruleisyouuseacommawhereanandwould
beappropriatewheretheadjectivesaremodifyingthesamethingtothe
samedegree:
Itwasadark,stormynight
Hewasatall,beardedman.
Butyoudonotuseacommawhentherstadjectiveisqualifyingthenexttwo
words.Ineffectthehyphen,asshowninthebrackets,hasbeenleftout:
endangeredwhiterhino[endangeredwhite-rhino]
Australianredwines[Australianred-wines]
3. Jg scs
Commasareusedwhentwocompletesentencesarejoinedtogetherusing
wordssuchasand,or,but,whileandyet:
Theboyswantedtostayup,buttheygrewtiredandfellasleep.
Iwillprobablyuseacommabeforemostbutsevenifthefollowingphraseis
notacompletesentencebecauseIthinkitmakesthesentenceeasiertoread
(seealsosection21).
Commasarenotusedwithsentencesjoinedbyhoweverornevertheless.Usea
semicolon:
Itwasmybirthday;neverthelessIstayedhome.
4. Fllg gaps
Commasareusedtoimplymissingwords: Anniehaddarkhair;Sally,fair.
5. Bf c spch
Thisusageislikelytolapse.Manywritersprefertousecolons;othersjust
openthequotemark.SeethesectiononQuotation Marksforexamples.
6. Sg ff jcs
Stop,orIllscream.
7. t mak h bas f a s
Isaid,however,thatIwouldbewillingtomakeanexception.
Hewas,infact,themanIhadmetearlier.
8. t spaa ya a mh
Commasaresometimesusedtoseparatetheyearfromthemonth.Ihavede-
cidednottousesuchcommas(secondexample)becauseitgivesasmoother-
lookingline:
ItwasinNovember,1995,thatwemet.
ItwasinNovember1995thatwemet.
9. Mlls a hsas
Commasareusedtomarkoffthousandsandmillions.Iwillusethemonly
above10,000:
8317
8,237,514
10. nam l
Acommaisalwaysusedtosetoffthenameortitleofapersonaddresseddirectlyinwriting,ortodistinguishapersonsnamefromhistitle.
Well,Sally,thatsallthenewsIhaveforyou.
Inthecaseofapersonwhoisnotbeingaddresseddirectly,commasbracket-
inganamearenotnecessary:
ThemaninchargewasBobBrown,DirectoroftheWildernessSociety.
11. Qs
Acommaisusedtoseparatethetwopartsofasentencethatbeginsasastate-
mentbutendsasaquestion:
Jennysaregularsexmaniac,isntshe?
12. Clay
Acommamayhelpthereaderwhenasentenceislong,particularlyifthesec-
ondclauseisratherdifferentinmeaningfromtherst.
Hughhadaheavycoldandasorethroatbuthewasnotdeterredfrom
speakingthatafternoon.
Hughhadaheavycoldandasorethroat,butnowitwasnecessarytoconcen-
trateontomorrowssession.
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13. Fs scs
Commasshouldnotbeusedtoseparatediscretesentences(afusedsentence).
Useanyoftherstfourexamples,notthefth:
Shedroveintothecarpark.Thenshewaited.
Shedroveintothecarpark;thenshewaited.
Shedroveintothecarparkandthenshewaited.
Shedroveintothecarparkandwaited.
Shedroveintothecarpark,thenshewaited.
14. Fora and
Acommashouldbeusedafterfororandonlyiftheyareimmediatelyfol-
lowedbyasubordinateclauseorphrasethathasarighttoitstwocommas.
Dickensiswrongtouseacommaafterforinthissentence:
Thelawn,thesoft,smoothslope,bespeakanamountofelegantcomfort
within,thatwouldserveforapalace.Thisindicationisnotwithoutwarrant;
for,withinitisahouseofrenementandluxury.(Dickens)
Butwouldbecorrectifthesentencewasconstructedlikethis:
Thisindicationisnotwithoutwarrant;for,althoughsomepeoplemightnotagree,withinitisahouseofrenementandluxury.
15. is
Whenishascommasoneachsideofit,impressivenessiswhatthewriter
aimedatbutitissimplyatawdrydeviceforgivingasentenceairs:
Thereasonwhytheworldlacksunity,is,becausemanisdisunitedwith
himself.(Emerson)
ThecharminNelsonshistory,is,theunselshgreatness.(Emerson)
16. Lss
Whenseveralitemsarelistedandarefollowedbyaclause,thepunctuation
comesdowntopersonaltaste,andisreallyofnogreatimportance.Butitis
worthwhiletodrawattentiontotheproblemsothatthewriterisawarethatthe
situationexistsandcanatleastbeconsistent:
Industry,honesty,andtemperanceareessentialtohappiness.
Onewaytodecideistoremovetherstitemandseehowthepunctuation
shouldrun:
Honestyandtemperanceareessentialtohappiness.
Indicatingthatmaybethereshouldbeonlyonecomma:
Industry,honestyandtemperanceareessentialtohappiness.
17. Lss pas
Sometimeslistsarearrangedinpairs;itisthenunpleasanttohavethecommaafterthelastpairomitted:
Theorangeandthelemon,theoliveandthewalnutelboweachotherfor
footinginthefatdarkearth.
Bettertohave:
Theorangeandthelemon,theoliveandthewalnut,elboweachotherfor
footinginthefatdarkearth.
18. Lss cmm
Inalistlongerthantwoitems,theremustnotbeanythingthatisappliedtothe
seconditemwithoutbeingcommontoallthatfollow.Thefollowingexamplemayappearokay,butthereader,seeingthatloss ofappliestothesecond,may
assumeatrstreadingthatitwillalsoapplytothethird:
Hencelossoftime,ofmoney,andsoretrialofpatience.
Weknowwhatismeant,butasitstandsitisnotquiteright.Thesentencehas
astrangefeeltoitbecauseloss of ismeanttoapplytothesecondstatementas
wellastherstbutnottothethird.Thesearesomeofthebetteroptions:
Hencelossoftime,moneyandpatience.
Hencelossoftime,money,patience.
Hencelossoftimeandmoney,andsoretrialofpatience. Hencelossoftime,lossofmoney,andsoretrialofpatience.
TherstexamplebelowiswrongbecauseyoucannotputMoltkehad(see
secondexample)forallthreestatements:
Moltkehadrecruited,trained,andknewbyheartallthemenunderhim.
[Moltkehadrecruited,hadtrained,andhadknewbyheartallthemenunder
him.]
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Trytheseinstead:
Moltkehadrecruited,trained,andknownbyheartallthemenunderhim.
Moltkehadrecruitedandtrainedandknewbyheartallthemenunderhim.
Moltkehadrecruited,hadtrained,andknewbyheartallthemenunderhim.
19. A pa ls h pvs xpsss
Analwordorphraseofasentencemayhavetwopreviousexpressions
standinginthesamegrammaticalrelationtoit.Shouldtherebeacommaafterthesecondphrase?
Hiseloquencewasthemain,onemightalmostsaythesole,sourceofhis
inuence.
Todazzlepeoplemore,helearnedorpretendedtolearn,theSpanishlan-
guage.
Fowlersuggests(p250),butdoesntsaydenitely,thatthefollowingare
better:
Hiseloquencewasthemain,onemightalmostsaythesolesourceofhis
inuence.
Todazzlepeoplemore,helearnedorpretendedtolearntheSpanishlanguage.
20. Backg cmmas f ak ps
Sentenceshavebecomemorestreamlinedinmodernwriting,andinmany
casescommasarebeingleftoutinplaceswheretheyshouldbeincluded.
Commasbeforeandandbut,andthosebracketingweakinterruptions(after
listeningforaminuteintheexamplebelow)arebecomingoptional,asthe
thirdexampleshows:
Belindaopenedthetrapdoor,and,afterlisteningforaminute,she
closeditagain.
Belindaopenedthetrapdoor,andafterlisteningforaminuteshe
closeditagain. Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandafterlisteningforaminuteshe
closeditagain.
Istillprefer,inmostcases,therstandsecondexamplesbecausethecomma
makesforeasierunderstandingbyintroducingapauseinthesentence.Imag-
ineanactoronstagereadingthatsentenceaspartofaplay.Itwouldnotbe
readinoneburst,butwithtwoorthreepausesfordramaticeffect:
Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandafterlisteningforaminutesheclosed
itagain.
Theonlywaytofullyappreciatethedifferenceistoreadthesentencealoud
invariousways.IfBelindawasonlydoingtwoactionsthereisnoneedfora
comma:
Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandjumpedinside.
NotehowadashwouldbeneededifBelinda,byjumpinginside,wasdoing
somethingunexpected:
Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandjumpedinside.
ButBelindaisdoingthreeactionsopening,listeningandclosinganda
commaprovidestheseparationforthetwomainactions:opening,andthen
listeningandclosing.
21. Bf anda but
Acommabeforebutshouldbeleftoutonlyifthephrasesseparatedbythem
areshortandcloselyrelated:
Heranalongtheplatformbutmissedcatchinghistrain. Heranalongtheplatformmakingahugeefforttocatchthetrain,butwhat
diditmatter:hewaslateforworkanyway.
Thecommaisneededinthesecondexamplebecausetheideaexpressedafter
but(whatdiditmatter)haslittleconnectionwithwhatcamebefore(run-
ningalongtheplatform).Thesamegeneralprincipleappliestoand:
Atthiscampallofthekichensweremannedbytheprisoners,andin
ConnorshutthetwopermanentorderlieswereReidandBolanofthe2/15
battalion.
Afewpageson,thesameauthorincludesacommathatisnotneeded: On27September1944,thetrackmaintenancepartyalightedfromthetrain,
andwereconfrontedbyabandofsome70well-armedpartisans.
Thereshouldbenocommabeforetheandbecausethemaintenancepartydid
onlyonething:theyalightedfromthetrainandwereconfronted
Sometimesacommaisleftoutwhenitshouldhavebeenincluded.Tosave
confusingthereader,acommashouldbeusedwhenthewordsthatdirectly
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followandcouldbereadasbelongingtothepreviousphrasebutreallyarenot
apartofit.Ihaverewordedapreviousexampletomaketheproblemclear:
Atthiscampallofthekichensweremannedbytheprisonersandtheofcers,
thoughtheywererequiredtoperformotherduties,hadquiteaneasytime.
Acommaisvitalinthiscasebecausethereader,asheprogressesthroughthe
sentence,willnotbeclearwhomansthekitchens(isittheprisonersandthe
ofcers?)untilhegetstoneartheendofthesentenceandrealiseshehasmis-
understoodthemeaning.Theconfusion,causedbylackofadequatepunctua-tion,maycausethereadertorereadthesentence.Ifthishappenstoooftenthe
readermaybeturnedoff.Bettertoincludeacomma(orsemicolon):
Atthiscampallofthekichensweremannedbytheprisoners,andthe
ofcers,thoughtheywererequiredtoperformotherduties,hadquiteaneasy
time.
Everytimeyouuseanandorabutasaconjunction,checktoseeifthemean-
ingbecomesclearerifyouuseacommabeforeit.
22. rscv a -scv class
Bracketingcommasmarktheplaceswherethereadercancleanlyliftoutasectionofthesentence,leavingnoobviousdamage:
Iam,ofcourse,goingsteadilynuts.[Iamgoingsteadilynuts.]
Sometimescommasareunnecessary:
TheGreensleader,BobBrown,hasjustbeenawardedtheGoldmanPrize.
TheyareunnecessaryinthissituationbecauseThe Greens leader Bob Brown
isonephrase.Theuseofthepointstoaparticularperson:
TheGreensleaderBobBrownhasjustbeenawardedtheGoldmanPrize.
Thecommaswouldbeneededinthisexample:
Aleadingconservationist,AliceBurton,hasbeenarrested
Thepartbetweenthecommas,calledarelative clause,canbeeitherrestrictive
ornon-restrictive(alsocalleddeningornon-dening).Arestrictiveclause
limitstheapplicationoftheantecedent(whatcamebeforeit),andcommasare
notnecessary.Ingeneral,theantecedentgivesusaclasstoselectfrom,and
therestrictiveclauseenablesustomakeaselection.Inthefollowingex-
amples,therstandsecondhavearestrictiveclause;thethird,non-restrictive
(clausesitalicised):
Themanwho called yesterdayleftnoaddress.
TheJoneswho dines with us tonightisnottheJoneswhowasatschool
withyou.
Jones,who should know something of the matter,thinksdifferently.
Intherstexample,theantecedentallowsustoselectfromtheclassofmen,
andtherestrictiveclausexestheparticularmantheonewhocalledyester-
day.Therestrictiveclauseisessentialto,andinseparablefrom,itsantecedent.
Ifforanyreasonwewishtogetridofitwemustembodyitscontentsintheantecedent,oraddanothersentence:
Amancalledinyesterday.Heleftnoaddress.
Toremovearestrictiveclauseistoleavethesentencewithadifferentmean-
ingornomeaning.Therstexampleabovewouldbecome:
Themanleftnoaddress.[Whichman?]
Thisfactthattheremovalofarestrictiveclausedisturbsthemeaningsup-
pliesagoodtestfordistinguishingbetweenrestrictiveandnon-restrictive
clauses.Removearestrictiveclauseandthemeaningofthesentenceis
altered;removeanon-restrictiveclauseandthemeaningofthesentenceis
unchanged.
Incontrast,anon-restrictiveclausegivesindependentcomment,description,
explanation,anythingbutlimitationoftheantecedent.Itcanalwaysbewritten
asaseparatesentence,orevenleftout,withoutdistortingthemeaning.Thisis
true,howeveressentialtheclausemaybetothepointofthemainstatement.
Tondwhetheraclauserestrictsornot,removeitandseewhetherthestate-
mentisaltered:ifso,theclauseisrestrictive.Sincearestrictiveclausecant
beleftout,itfollowsthatitdoesntneedcommas,becausetousecommas
wouldtendtoseparatetherestrictiveclausefromitslargerwhole.
Theabovediscussion,editedfromFowlerandothers,isabittechnical.Per-
hapstheeasiestwaytoworkoutifcommasareneededistoreadthesentence
aloud.Inspeech,non-resrictiveclausesaresignalledbypausesandachange
oftone.Ifyoupausebeforeandafteraphraseyouhaveprobablyfoundanon-
restrictiveclauseandcommasmaywellbeinorder.
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Onenalthoughtonnon-restrictivephrases.Fowlerstatesinhisbook(p77):
Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatonce,withthe
antecedent,orbothareuseless.
Well,MrFowler,yourpunctuationwouldseemtoindicatethatthephrasewith
the antecedentisanon-restrictiveclause(youhaveseparateditfromtherest
ofthesentencebycommas).Illapplyyourowntestandremoveittoseeif
thesentencestillmakessense:
Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatonceorbothareuseless.
Thatsentencedoesntmakesense.Itshouldread:
Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatoncewith the
antecedentorbothareuseless.
Betterst ill :
Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatoncewiththe
antecedentorbothareuseless.
Sothereyougo.EvenFowlermakesmistakes.
CoLonS
Usingtheapostrophecorrectlytellstheworldyouhavesomelearning.Usingthe
commacorrectlyannouncesthatyouhaveanearforsenseandrhythm,condence
inyourstyle,andaproperrespectforyourreader,butitdoesnotmarkyououtas
amasterofyourcraft.Toachievethatrankyouneedtoshowairwithcolonsand
semicolons.
Fowlersaidthatthecolondeliversthegoodsthathavebeeninvoicedinthe
precedingwords.Shawsaidthatwhenthesecondstatementreafrms,explains
orillustratestherst,youuseacolon;andalsowhenyoudesireanabruptpull
up.Colonsintroducethepartofasentencethatrestates,elaborates,undermines,
explainsorbalancestheprecedingpart.
Expectationiswhatthesemarksareabout;expectationandelasticenergy.
Likeinternalspringstheypropelyouforwardtowardsmoreinformation.The
essentialdifferencebeweenthemis:
thesemicolonlightlypropelsyouinanydirection;
thecolonnudgesyoualongthelinesalreadylaiddown;
theperiodbringsyoutoastop.Ifyoudidntgetallthemeaningyouwantedorex-
pectedfromthesentence,yougotallthewriterintendedtoparceloutandnowyou
havetomovealongtothenextidea.
Lookatthedifferenceacolon,semicolon,orperiodcanmakeinthisexample:
Tom locked himself in the shed. England lost to Argentina.Theseare
independentideasthathavepurposelybeenputtogethertoindicatethatthe
reasonTomlockedhimselfintheshedisnotknown.Sortofashrugofyour
shouldersreason.
Tom locked himself in the shed; England lost to Argentina.Thetwoevents
maybeconnected,butthereadercantbecertainoftheconnection.
Tom locked himself in the shed: England lost to Argentina.Tomlocked
himselfintheshedbecauseEnglandlosttoArgentina.
1. Acolonisnearlyalwaysprecededbyacompletesentence.Initssimplestus-
ageitannounceswhatistocome,thatthereisasecondpartwhichillustrates
orexpandstherst:
Thismuchisclear,Watson:itwasthebayingofanenormoushound.
Tomhasonlyoneruleinlife:nevereatanythingbiggerthanyourhead.
2. Acolonmayimplythatthereismoretotheinitialstatementthathasbeen
revealed:
IlovetheNorfolkRange:itssowild!
Youcandoit:andyouwilldoit.
3. Acoloncansimplypullupthereaderforanicesurprise:
Indfaultwithonlythreethingsinthisstoryofyours:thebeginning,the
middleandtheend.
4. Acolonisusedinwritingthetime.
Itis9:26.
5. Andtolinkparallelsentences:
Therewasnoloveinhislife:therewasnoonetomisshim.
6. Theyalsostartlists,especiallylistsusingsemicolons.SeeSemicolon,section
2,below:
Therearethreequalitieshelikedaboutforests:solitude,freshairandthe
companyofnature.
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7. Andintroduceexamples:
Rememberwhathetoldus:foolmeonce,shameonyou;foolmetwice,
shameonme.
8. Theycanbeusedtointroducequotationsinsteadofacomma:
Adsareoftensimpleinstructure:Thinkdifferent.ThinkApple.
SeMiCoLonThesemicolontellsyouthatthereisstillsomequestionaboutthepreceding
fullsentence,somethingthatneedstobeadded.Withthesemicolonyougeta
pleasantfeelingofexpectancy;thereismoretocome.Readon,itwillgetclearer.
Thesubtextofasemicolonis:Nowthisisahint;theelementsofthissentence,
althoughgrammaticallydistinct,areactuallyelementsofasinglenotion.
Thesemicolonhascurrentlyfallenoutoffashionwithnewspapers,thereason
giventhatreadersprefertheirsentencesshortandunclutteredbysquiggles.Its
morelikelytherealreasonisconfusionaboutusage.
1. Themainplaceforputtingasemicolonisbetweentworelatedsentences
wherethereisnoconjunctionsuchasandorbutandwhereacommawould
beungrammatical:
Irememberhimwhenhecouldntwrite;nowhesPrimeMinister.
2. Therearetimeswhenthesemicolonisindispensable:whenitrefereesa
commaght.Intherstexamplebelow,thereadercantbesurewhichis
theShawproperty:isitFairlea(Fairlea,theShawproperty);orFlers(the
Shawproperty,Flers);oranotherunnamedproperty?Thesecondexample
clearsuptheconfusion,andthethirdisbetterstill.
ThemailwentfromJuliaCreektoFairlea,theShawproperty,Flers,Dalgo-
nallyontheFlinders,andMillungera.Thepassengerthoughtaboutit:shehad
beentoFlersonceandhadfounditdull;toDalgonally,andfoundittoodry.
ThemailwentfromJuliaCreektoFairlea,theShawproperty;Flers;Dalgo-
nallyontheFlinders;andMillungera.Thepassengerthoughtaboutit:shehad
beentoFlersonceandhadfounditdull;toDalgonally,andfoundittoodry.
ThemailwentfromJuliaCreektoFairlea(theShawproperty),Flers,
DalgonallyontheFlinders,andMillungera.Thepassengerthoughtaboutit:
shehadbeentoFlersonceandhadfounditdull;toDalgonally,andfoundit
toodry.
3. Thenalproperuseofasemicolonisinlinkingsentenceswithwordssuchas
however,nevertheless,also,consequentlyandhence:
Thisinformationaboutwritingistakingmealongtimetoputtogether;
however,itwillbeworthit.
dASH
inTheexamplesusedforsemicolonsadashcouldbesubstitutedforthesemicolon
withoutmuchdamagetothesentences: IrememberhimwhenhecouldntwritenowhesPrimeMinister.
Someoftheexamplesthatfollow,takenfromvarioussources,aresimilarto
previousexamplesandillustratethatcolons,semicolonsanddashesoverlapin
theiruse.Buttherearerealdifferences.Thedashislessformal,moreconversa-
tionalthanthesemicolon,anddoesagoodjobinemailsstandinginforallother
punctuation.Itishardtousewronglybecauseitissoeasytosee.Butitisastrong
attention-getter.Liketheexclamationmarkitmustbeusedwithrestraintsothat
itsimpactwillnotbelessened.
1. Thedashindicatestheabruptbreakingoffofonethoughtandtheintroduction
ofanewidea:
Colinhasacleverideabuthere,readthereportforyourself.
2. Thedashemphasisesanadded,unexpectedthought.Itcreatesadramaticdis-
junctionwhichcanbeexploitedforhumourorshock:
TheMary Celestewasfoundempty.Notaman,notananimal,notaninsect
wasonboard.
Mountainairisextremelyinvigoratingthatis,ifyouhavegoodlungs.
3. Adashisusedtoseparatetwoidentical,orverysimilarexpressionswhenthey
arerepeatingorconcludingathought:
Icandothejobthejobyouwantdone.
SirFrancisDrakeandMagellanthesemenwerehisidols.
Thesesentenceswouldbegrammaticallycorrectifwrittenasfollows,butthey
wouldnotbesoemphatic:
Icandothejobyouwantdone.
SirFrancisDrakeandMagellanwerehisidols.
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4. Adashisusedbeforealistorexamplethatexplainsawordorphraseinthe
rstpartofthesentence:
HaveyoumettheSmithsMaryandPaul?
Besuretobringsomewarmclothesamongotherthingsajumperand
woollensocks.
Eitheracolonorsemicoloncouldbeusedinsteadofthedashinboththese
sentences.Generallyspeakinghowever,acolonisusedinthemostformal
sentencesandadashintheleastformal,withthesemicoloninthemiddle.Thisisprobablythemostsensibleguide,giventhatthethreemarksarelargely
interchangeablewithnolossofclarity.Comparetheseexamples:
Ibelieveintwobasicprinciples:justiceandlibertyforall.
Aftercarefulconsiderationhedecidedtoplantonlyperennials;forexample
delphiniums,peoniesandasters.
Theroarofthesurf,theshoutsofchildren,awomanslaughterthesearethe
soundsIlikebest.
5. Doubledashes(andbracketsandpairedcommas)areaclaritydevice,andthe
issueis:whendashes?whencommas?whenbrackets?
Brackets(seenextsection)tendtoremovetheaside,turningitintoawhis-
per,makingitmoredistant,dreamy.Materialinsidebracketscanalwaysbe
removedwithoutlossofmeaning.
Statementsbetweenpairedcommasremainapartofthesentence.Theyare
neutralmarks,nottryingtodistancethecommentsorhighlightthem.
Paireddashesarestrong,attention-gettingmarks.Theywelcometheaside
Lookatme!andmakeasonganddanceaboutit.Inthefollowingexam-
ples,therstismorestrident,thesecondmoredistant.
HewasIstillcantbelievethistryingtoclimbinthewindow.
Hewas(Istillcantbelievethis)tryingtoclimbinthewindow.
6. Adashisusedafteralongphrasewhenpreviouswordsareindangerofbeing
forgotten.Theideaistobreaktheowofthesentenceandrefreshthereaders
understandingbyrepeatingsomeoftheformerwords.Thedashhighlightsthe
repetition:
ItisnowidletoattempttohidethefactthatneverwastheRussianlackof
science,ofthemodernspirit,or,tospeakfrankly,ofintelligenceneverwas
theabsenceoftrainingorenthusiasmdisplayedinamoremelancholyfashion
thanintheSeaofJapan.(Times)
7. Whereasthesemicolonsuggestsaconnectionbetweenthetwohalvesofa
sentence,thedashshouldbepreservedforoccasionswhentheconnectionisa
lotlessdirect,whenitcanactasabridgebetweenbitsoffracturedsense.The
followingisaquotefromaJuliaCreekidentity:
MrsPedersonandJack:hedidallthegardeningandshedidallthepreserves
ofeverythingtheygrew.Sheorganisedthechildrensconcertstoo,Mrs
Pederson,andmadepicklesandchutneys.Butshewasusingforthe
hospitalhospitalstuff,andtheyreckonedthebillsweretoomuch.Andthis
one[MatronBlanche]stoppedherfrommakingthosethings,andshewas
preservingeverythingsoitdidntgetwasted!
Thisconversation(exactlyasspoken,butpunctuatedbyme)hassuchacon-
volutedstructurethatitmayneedmorethandashestomakeitclear.Itneeds
whatIcallpoeticpunctuation:
MrsPedersonandJack:
hedidal l thegardening
andshedidallthepreservesofeverythingtheygrew.
Sheorganisedthechildrensconcertstoo,MrsPederson, andmadepicklesandchutneys.
Butshewasusing,
forthehospital,
hospitalstuff,
andtheyreckonedthebillsweretoomuch.
Andthisone[MatronBlanche]
stoppedherfrommakingthosethings.
Andshewaspreservingeverythingsoitdidntgetwasted!
8. Theonlydeniteruleaboutadashisthis:allthatfollowsadashistobetaken
asunderitsinuenceuntileitheraseconddashterminatesit,oraperiodis
reached.Nootherpunctuationmarkcanstopit,elsethefollowingerroroccurs(thereshouldbeadashafterreactionary):
Therearevicarsandvicars,andofallsortsIloveaninnovatingvicara
piebald,progressive,professionalreactionary,theleast.(HGWells)
Idontthinkthedashisasstrongastheauthoroftheabovesuggestsi.e.that
onlyanotherdashorperiodcanstopit.IndthatifIcomeacrossacolonor
semicolonafteradash,Istarttowonder:Was that the end of the dash phrase?
Formeacolonorsemicolonalsostopsadashphrase,soIwillonlybeusing
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commasinsidethem.Ifmorethanafewcommasarerequired,maybethe
sentenceshouldberearranged.Keepdashphrasessmall.
Thereareactuallytwotypesofdash:theemdash()andtheendash().
Theemdashislongerandistheoneusedinolderbooks.Modernpracticeis
tousetheshorterendashwithaspacebeforeandafter.Inthesenotes,and
inmybook,Iuseendashes.
Inthepast,theendashwasusedfortwopurposes:
toindicateuptoandincluding:19391945
tocombinepropernounsusedadjectivally:
theLeedsLondontrain
theBrunoLewisght.
BrACKetS
BrAckeTsliftoutasectionofasentence.Forthereader,theimportantthingisthat
thisremovalshouldntlasttoolong.Thereisacertainamountofanxietyoncea
bracketisopened;anxietythatisnotdissipateduntilitsclosedagain:
Onehastodismountfromanideaattheopeningparenthesisandgetinto
thesaddleagainattheclosing.(OliverWendellHolmes)
So,unlessyoupreferalongwalkbesideahorsewhenyoucouldberiding,
keepthebracketedideasshort.
1. Bracketsareusedtoseparatenon-essentialmaterialorremarksthatexplain,
question,illustrateorcommentonthemainidea.Theyareoftenahelpful
asideforthereader:
Eatagreenvegetable(spinach,beansorpeas)everyday.
Theotherman(DavidJohnson)refusedtomakeastatement.
2. Itisnotagoodideatohavecapitalsandfullstopsinsidebracketsthatare
themselvesinsideasentence.Leaveoutthecapitalandfullstop,evenifthe
bracketedpartisafullsentence:
Theconcert(wehopeitisontime)isduetonishat11p.m.
Toddsaysdifferently(p96.2).Thisisanexampleshesaysisokay,andIthink
sheswrong:
Theconcert(Wehopeitisontime.)isduetonishat11p.m.
QuotAtion MArK
ThoUghTisconventionallytreatedlikespeech:
WouldJennygoifIaskedherto?Ithought.
ButIwouldratheruseitalicsasitseemstobringoutthedreamyaspect:
Iveoftenwondered:Would Jenny go if I asked her to?
Itusedtobethatdoublequoteswereusedforthoughtandspeech,andsingle
quotesforquotations-within-quotations.Nowtheoppositetendstoapplytomakethetextlookmorestreamlined.Thishasafewdrawbacks,especiallyifthereare
lotsofapostrophes:
IwenttEddington,Sundy,butIwishIhadnto.
IwasatStThomashospital,shesaid.
Thosetwoexamplesarenotasclearas:
IwenttEddington,Sundy,butIwishIhadnto.
IwasatStThomashospital,shesaid.
Doublequotesdotendtoclutterthelayoutandmakeitlessstreamlined,but
Illbeusingtheminpreferencetosinglequotes,exceptincaseswhereonlya
letterorasinglewordisinquotes.ThenIwillprobablyusesinglequotesbecause
doublequotesaroundasmallwordlookclumsytome[lookclumsytome]
andmorecluttered.
Thebasicruleforpunctuationinsideoroutsidequotesshouldbestraightfor-
wardandlogical:whenthepunctuationrelatestothequotedwords,itgoesinside
thequotes;whenitrelatestothesentenceitgoesoutside.Thisisnotconsistently
applied,orexplained,byanyofthereferencebooksexceptReadersDigest(p59).
Theonlyexceptionagreedonbyallreferencesiswhenthequoteisattheend
ofasentence:thenthefullstopinsidethequotedoesforboth.However,Idont
seewhythatshouldbetheonlyagreedexception(seeexample6versus9).
Overthepagearesomeofthevariationsforusingpunctuationinside/outsidequotationmarks.
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1.Youareoutofyoursenses,gaspedSophie.
2.Youareoutofyoursenses,gaspedSophie.
3.YouareoutofyoursensesgaspedSophie.
4.Youareoutofyoursenses gaspedSophie.
5.Sophiegasped,Youareoutofyoursenses.
6.Sophiegasped,Youareoutofyoursenses.
7.Sophiegasped:Youareoutofyoursenses. 8.Sophiegasped:Youareoutofyoursenses.
9.SophiegaspedYouareoutofyoursenses.
10.SophiegaspedYouareoutofyoursenses.
11.Sophiegasped Youareoutofyoursenses.
Theuseofcommasandfullstopsinsidequotemarks,wherelogicallythey
dontbelong,isatypographicalconventionthatevolvedfromthedayswhenthe
typesetterimposedhisownideaofpunctuationonthetexthewasprinting.But
weshouldntbeboundbyconvention.Thesearesomeofmyobservationsonthe
aboveexamples(numbersrefertotheexamples):
1. Thecommainsidethequotemarklooksneaterbecausethecommaandthe
quotemarkowthesameway,andIsuspectthatswhytheusageevolved.
Butitisnotlogicaltoputitthere;itissimplyaconvention.Thecommadoes
notbelongtothequotedsentence.Tomakethisobvious,noonewouldever
write:Sophie gasped: You are out of your senses,.
2. Ifacommaisused,tobelogicalitshouldbeplacedoutsidethequotes.
3. Butwhyisthecommaneededatall?Thesecondquotemarkclearlyseparates
thequotationfromtherestofthesentence.
4. Thisexampleusesadoublespaceafterthequote.Imightexperimentwithanen-spaceandem-space.
5. Inthisrearrangement,thefullstopbelongstothequotedsentence,anditis
logicaltoincludeitinsidethequote;butthenthesentencedoesnothaveits
ownfullstop.Tobelogicalthesentenceshouldbewrittenwithanextrafull
stop:Sophie gasped, You are out of your senses..Butthatlookssilly.Conven-
tionsaysthefullstopinsidethequoteactsforboth.
6. However,youcouldhavethefullstopoutsidethequote.
7/8.Usingacoloninsteadofacommabeforeaquote.
9/10:Whydoyouneedanypunctuationatallbeforethequote?Surelytherst
quotemarkisseparationenough?
11.Youmayneedpunctuationbeforeaquotetomaketheseparationclear.Two
spacesmaydothetrick.
Mychoice?Iwillalmostcertainlynotbeputtingpunctuationinsidequotes
whereitdoesntbelong.Iwillusestyle3or4,andprobablydecidetouse8in
preferenceto10.Havingnopunctuationbeforethequote(10)doesntseemtobe
asclearasusingacolontoseparatethequotefromtherestofthesentence.
HYPHenS
TheTendencyisforcompoundwordstostartoffastwoseparatewords:book
keeper.Asthetwowordsareusedmorefrequentlytheytendtobehyphenated:
book-keeper.Ifthetwowordsfusetocreateanewwordwhosemeaningisdiffer-
entfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords,thecompoundisusuallywrittenas
oneword:bookkeeper.
1. Manywordsrequirehyphenstoavoidambiguity.ieare-formedbandisdiffer-
entfromareformedone.
2. Numbers:thirty-two.
3. Forwordcombinationsthatlookclumsy:
shelllike(shell-like)
deice(de-ice)
4. Qualied,hyphenatedphrase:
two-orthree-year-old.
5. Certainprexes:
un-American
anti-apartheid
quasi-grammatical
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6. Ifacompoundhasbeeninuseforalongtimeitisunlikelytobehyphenated:
doorway
today(to-dayuntilthe1950s)
tomorrow (to-morrowuntilthe1950s)
7. Ifthemeaningofthecompoundissignicantlydifferentfromthenormal
meaningsofthecombinedwords,thecompoundisunlikelytobehyphenated:
greenhouse [probablynotagreenhouse]
8. Adjectivecompoundscanoccurintwopositions,namelybeforeanoun:
aself-mademan
atwo-facedindividual
andafterlinking-verbs:
Theywerebothselfmade.[Theywerebothself-made.]
Wemusthaveseemedtwofaced.[Wemusthaveseemedtwo-faced.]
Usually,thecompoundadjectivesthatfollowverbsarenothyphenated.Imay
decidetoincludethehyphensforthesecases.Seebracketedexamplesabove.
QueStion MArK
Thequestionmarkisputaftertheprecisequestionthatisaskedandnotnecessar-
ilyattheendofthesentence:
Whenwasheborn?Iasked;[andnot]
WhenwashebornIasked?
Questionmarkscanbetrickierthanyouthink.Fowlerhasasectiononincor-
rectuseofquestionmarksbywell-knownauthors.
eLLiPSiS
newspAperssometimesusetheminterchangeablywithdashes.However,thereare
onlytwoproperuses:
1. Toindicatemissingwords.
2. Toindicatetrailingoffinthecaseofapersonthinkingbeforeproceeding,or
toleavesomethingtotheimaginationofthereader.
GenerAL GuideLineS
Abbvas
1. Someabbreviationsaremadeupoftheinitiallettersofthewordsinaphrase:
BBC,NATO.Suchabbreviationsdonothavedots,thoughtheywerewidely
usedinthepast.
2. Singlecapitals,e.g.G.D.Burns,weretraditionallyusedwithdotsanda
space.Imayusedotsandnospace(G.D.Burns)ordispensewithdotalto-
gether(GDBurns).
3. Leaveoutdotswhentherearecapitalstogetherwithlower-caseletters(Dr,
Mrs,PhD).
4. Thereisatendencytoomitthedotsforlowercaseabbreviationsexceptthose
derivingfromLatin(e.g.andi.e.)orwheretheomissionmightcauseconfu-
sion,forexample,a.m.(couldbereadasam).InBritainthereisagrowing
tendencytoomitdotsinallabbreviationsincludingieandeg.Iwillusea.m.,
p.m.,i.e.,ande.g.
5. Abbreviationsforcurrency,weightandmeasures(,kg,lb,km,m)nevertakeadot.
6. Abbreviationstakeanarticleaccordingtothepronunciationoftherstletter:
anLLB,anMP,aQC.
7. Theoptionsfordatesarenumerous:
19/11/72
19/11/1972
19-11-72
19-11-1972
19Nov1972 19November1972
Andiftheyearisnotmentioned:
19thNovember
19November
November19
Iwillprobablyputthenumberbeforethemonthandleaveouttheth.
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CAPitALS
1. Therstwordinanexclamationtakesacapital:Wow!Myword!
2. Oisalwayscapitalised,butOhonlyatthebeginningofanutterance.
3. Propernamesandwordsassociatedwiththem:
theIronLady
4. Titlesthatprecedeapersonsname: PresidentClinton
ProfessorBaxter
Butpresidentandprofessorarenotcapitalisedinthissituation:
thetenthpresidentoftheUS
sixuniversityprofessors
Titlesofrankthatfollowthenameareusuallycapitalisedonlywhenthetitle
isoneofgreatdistinction:
JohnHoward,PrimeMinisterofAustralia
JennyPearce,presidentoftheWeindorferCommittee
5. Forreligiousdenominations:Catholic,Baptist.
6. Importantholidaysandfestivals:Easter,Passover.
7. Capitalsvaryforfooditemsthathaveplacenames.Thecapitalshouldbe
preservedwhenthereisstillalinktotheplace:
cheddarcheese
brussel sprouts
Wensleydalecheese
8. Compasspoints:SW,NE.
9. Cardinalpointsarecapitalisediftheyarepartofageographicalregion:
NorthQld
North-WestCoast
Theyarenotcapitalisedwhentheyrefertoacompassdirection:
Twentykilometreseast.
10.Titleofafamilyrelationshipiscapitalisedonlywhenusedwithanameorin
placeofaname:
SheaskedAuntSallyforadvice.
Myauntisaveryshrewdwoman.
Willyouplaywithus,Uncle?
11.Unitsofmeasurementtakeacapitalonlyiftheyarenamedaftersomeone:
Watt,Joule,Newton,butnotgram,metre.
itALiCS
iTAlicsaretheprintequivalentofmanualunderliningandareusedfor:
titlesofbooks,newspapers,songs,CDsandlms
emphasisingcertainwords(thoughFowlersuggestthisispoorpractice)
foreignwords
exampleswhenwritingaboutwords
Whenanapostrophe-soccursinanitalicisedname,theapostropheands
arenotinitalics:
Invincibleslastportofcall
AirS And GrACeS
Syl vss Clay
ErnestsdaughterAlicemarriedtheboywhohadbeenherplaymatemore
thanayearago.
ThATsenTence,takenfroma1927editionofThe Way of All FleshbySamuel
Butler(p438),isangoodexampleofasentencethatgivesthewrongmeaningthe
rsttimeyoureaditthatAlicemarriedaboywho,onlyayearago,hadbeenherplaymatebutonreectionyouknowwhattheauthormeans:thatmorethana
yearagoAlicemarriedaboywhohadbeenherplaymate.Iftherearetoomanyof
thesetypesofsentencestheyinterrupttheowofreadingandbecomeadistrac-
tion.
Isitpossibletoxthesentence?Maybenot,unlessyousacricestyleforclar-
ity.Itiseasytomakethemeaningclear,butsomeaspectofthesentenceseemsto
belost.Theoriginalismoredirect,morevibrantinmyviewthaneitherofthese
two:
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Morethanayearago,ErnestsdaughterAlicemarriedtheboywhohadbeen
herplaymate.
ErnestsdaughterAlice,morethanayearago,marriedtheboywhohadbeen
herplaymate.
Iwanttoexaminetheoriginalsentenceinabitmoredetailtoseewhythe
authoruseditintheformhedid.Ernestistheheroofthebook.Aliceandtheboy
(Aliceistheherosdaugher,andGeorgieisherchildhoodfriend)areonlymen-
tionedonce(whentheyarechildren)andinthatbriefmentionitissuggestedthey
mayendupmarrying.Theyarereintroducedabruptlyneartheendofthebookaspartofthesummingupoftheheroslife.Thisistheideatheauthorwantedto
convey: Ernestsdaughter,Alice,marriedGeorgiemorethanayearago.
Themeaningisclear,butthereaderwouldprobablyhavedifcultyremem-
beringwhoGeorgiewasforheisonlymentionedonce,manychaptersback.So
theauthordescribesGeorgieastheboywhohadbeenherplaymate.Bydoing
this,everyreaderwillrememberwhotheauthormeanseventhoughtheymaynot
rememberitwasaboycalledGeorgie.Theauthorcouldhavewritten:
Ernestsdaughter,Alice,marriedGeorgie(theboywhohadbeenher
playmate)morethanayearago.
Butthebracketsbreaktheow.Theauthormayhavedecided(ifhespentany
timeonthissentenceatall)tokeepthesentenceintheformhedidforstylessake
andletthereadersortoutthemeaning:
ErnestsdaughterAlicemarriedtheboywhohadbeenherplaymatemore
thanayearago.
Aimingforclarityinallcasesmaydullthestyle.Sometimesitisbetterto
sacriceclarityforthehighergoalofgoodwriting.
elga Vaa
ElegantVariationisthesubstitutionofonewordforanotherforthesakeofvariety.Itisanattemptatelegance.Thewordavoidediseitheranounoritsobvi-
ouspronounsubstitute.Theuseofpronounsisitselfaformofvariation,designed
toavoidungainlyrepetition.Weareonlygoingonestepfurtherwhen,insteadof
eithertheoriginalnounorthepronoun,weusesomenewequivalent.
Forexample,onpage153ofAmerican DynastybyKevinPhillips,George
H.W.Bush,havingalreadyprogressedthroughGeorge H.W.,Bush,andthe Vice
President,becomesthe Vice President from Houston.Variationtothisextentis
unnecessary,andwhennotjustiedbynecessityitgatherstheairofcheapadorn-
ment.InThe War on ClichMartinAmisisparticularlyscathingofoneauthor
whousedelegantvariation(seeAmisreviewofabookaboutLincoln).
Twogeneralprinciplesaresuggested:
1. Variationshouldtakeplaceonlywhenthereissomeawkwardness,suchas
ambiguityornoticeablemonotony.
2. Thesubstituteshouldbethatandnothingmore;thereshouldbenoextra
information,nokillingoftwobirdswithonestone(seeexamplebelow).
Evenwhenthesetworequirementsaresatised,thevariationisoftenworse(becausemorenoticeable)thanthemonotonyitisdesignedtoavoid.
MrWolff,thewell-knownminingengineer,yesterdaypaidavisittothescene
ofthedisaster.Theexpertgaveitashisopinionthatblameattached
The expertisgratuitous.Hewouldhavedonequitewell.
MrLeesstudyoftheElizabethansonnets,MrEltonsbookonShakespeares
Family,andProfessorBradleysonShakespeareanTragedyaworkwhich
maybeinstructivelyreadwithProfessorCampbellsTragic Drama in
Aeschylus, Sopocoles and Shakespeareremindusthatthedramatiststill
holdshisownwiththepublishers.Thelasttwoorthreeweekshaveseentwo
neweditionsofhim.
Thewriterpuzzlesthereaderbyreferringtothedramatist.Whichdrama-
tist?HechoosesnottocallShakespeareShakespearebecausethereisaShake-
spearejustbefore.Hecannotcallhimhebecausesixotherpersonsinthesentence
haveclaimsuponhe,andheshouldnotcallhimthedramatistbecauseAeschy-
lusandSophoclesweredramatiststoo.Thevariationisawkward.Thedramatist
ispossiblythebestthingunderthecircumstances,butwhenmattersarebrought
tosuchapassthatwecanneithercallamanbyhisownname,noruseapronoun,
butidentifyhimbymeansofhisprofession,itistimetoremodelthesentence.
SirCharlesEdwardBernardhadalonganddistinguishedcareerintheIndianCivil
ServiceFiveyearslaterSirCharlesBernardwasappointedCommissionerof
NagpurIn1876SirEdwardBernardreturnedtoNagpur.
IfSir Charlesandhearejudiciouslyemployed,theywilllastouttotheend
ofthelongestarticle,withoutanyassistancefromSir Edward.Theseelephantine
shiftsdistractourattentionfromthematterinhand;wecannotfollowSirCharles
movementsforwonderingwhathewillbecallednexttime.Willitbeplain
CharlesorwillsomethingbedonewithCommissioner?
Whenthechoiceliesbetweenmonotonousrepetitionontheonehandand
clumsyvariationontheother,therepetitionistobepreferredtothevariation
(originalandvariationsinthefollowingexamplesareitalicised):
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ImustaskthereadertousethesametwofoldprocedurethatIbeforerequestedhimto
employ.
[Better:ImustaskthereadertousethesametwofoldprocedurethatIaskedhimto
usebefore.]
Eighty-threevolumesarerequiredforletterM,seventy-sevenaredemandedbyL,
andseventy-sixareperforce concededtoB;buttheformerofthelasttwo
[Better:Eighty-threevolumesarerequiredforletterM,seventy-sevenforL,and
seventy-sixforB;buttheletterL]
Atitsworst,variationofthiskindislessoffensivethanthatwhich,inviola-
tionofthesecondprinciple,introducesextrainformation:
OurrepresentativeyesterdayrandowntoBrightontointerviewtheCambridge
Captain.Theweight-putter and high-jumperreceivedhimwithhisusualcordiality.
Thisisafavouritenewspaperstyle.
inVerSion
Balac ivs
inversionistheabnormalplacingofthesubjectafteritsverb.AtypicalsentencestructureinEnglishisI went to the beach.TheinvertedformisTo the beach I went.
Theinvertedformlookssilly,andinthiscaseitissilly.Butinversiondoes
haveaplacewhenitisusedproperly.Unfortunately,itisoverusedbybudding
andmediocrewriters.Beforeusinginversion,thenoviceshouldaskhimselfthree
questions:
1. Isthereasolidreason(ornamentalreasonswillnotdo)fortamperingwiththe
normalorderofsubjectandverb?
2. Doestheinversionsoundnatural?
3. AmIusingtoomanyofthem?
Thefollowingarefamiliarandlegitimatetypes:
Firstonourliststandsthequestionoflocalopinion.
AmongtheguestswereA,B,andC.
Wegivethenamebalancetothistypeofinversionbecause,althoughthe
writerwhenheinvertedthesentencemaynothavedonesotocorrectitsbalance,
thefactthatitwasunbalancedbeforeisthetruereasonforinversion.
Putthesentencebackinitsoriginalformandweshallseewhyinversionwas
desirable:A, B and C were among the guests.Observehowmiserablythesentence
tailsoff.Ithasnobalance.Byinvertingit:Among the guests were A, B, and Cwe
introduceseveralimprovements.
First,Among the guestsisprotectedfrombeingvirtuallyannihilatedasit
wouldhavebeenifleftattheend.Itisanessentialphraseandthesentencewould
notbeasentencewithoutit;butitisaweakphraseandneedsprotection.
Second,wegiveitprominenceandenableittodischargeitshumbleofce,
thatofasignpostpointingtotheguestsofparticularinterest(A,BandC).
Third,wegivebalancetothesentencewhichbeforewasfrontheavy.
Fourth,wegiveprominencetothesubject(A,BandC)byplacingitinanunusualpositionattheendofthesentence.
Itfollowsthatbalanceinversionisusednotforthesakeofvariety,butwith
theobjectofavoidingabadbalance.Tojustifythechangeweneed:
1. Anemphaticsubject,carryinginitselfthepointofthesentence.
2. Unemphaticsignpostwords,essentialtotheconnection,standingoriginallyat
theendofthesentence.
Theresultsoftheinversionmustbe:
3. Thatthesignpoststandsatthebeginning.
4. Thatthesubjectstandsabsolutelyattheend.
Whenthesefourpointsarefullled,theinversion,farfrombeingobjection-
able,maytendgreatlytovigourandlucidity.
Original:Yousayheisselsh.Well,everyoneisso.
Inverted:Yousayheisselsh.Well,soiseveryone.
Soistooweaktostandattheend.Theoriginalcouldberecastwithrhetorical
effectas:You say he is selsh. Well, everyone is selsh.Thissentenceisinnoneed
ofinversionasselshisstrongenoughtolookafteritself.
Now,toaliteraryexamplethatcouldbeimproved:
ThearrivaloftheHartmanscreatednolittleexcitementintheFalconet
family,bothamongthesonsandthedaughters.Especiallywastherenolack
ofspeculationastothecharacterandappearanceofMissHartman.
Thisdoesnotreadcomfortably,inpartduetothecumbrousphraseEspecial-
lywastherenolackofspeculation.Thissentenceresemblesinformouroldtype
Amongtheguestswerebutwiththeimportantdifferencethattheespecially
phraseisemphaticandcanthereforestandattheend.Letsinvertanalready
invertedsentencetoseehowitoriginallylooked:
AstothecharacterandappearanceofMissHartman,especiallywasthereno
lackofspeculation.
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Itcouldbeimproved.Fowlerstatesthatsentencesinwhichbothsubjectand
predicateareemphaticshouldbeavoided,quiteapartfromthequestionofinver-
sion,becauseitalicsaremoreorlessnecessarytosecurethecorrectemphasis:in
thiscaseMiss HartmanamongstalltheHartmans:
AstothecharacterandappearanceofMiss Hartman,especiallywasthereno
lackofspeculation.
Anditalicsareaconfessionofweakness(accordingtoFowler).Theauthors
decisiontoinvertcanbeexplainedbytheemphasiswhichheneedstogiveto
MissHartman(thesearemyideasbasedonFowlers).Theideatheauthorwants
is: ThearrivaloftheHartmanscreatedalotofexcitementintheFalconet
family.MissHartmanscharacterandappearancewere,especially,subjectto
numerousspeculation.
Withoutresortingtoinversiontheoriginalsentencescouldberecastas:
ThearrivaloftheHartmans,especiallyMissHartman,creatednolittleexcite-
mentintheFalconetfamily.Amongthesonsandthedaughters,hercharacter
andappearanceinvitedmuchspeculation.
Tomethisreadsclearandcrispcomparedwiththeoriginal:
ThearrivaloftheHartmanscreatednolittleexcitementintheFalconet
family,bothamongthesonsandthedaughters.Especiallywastherenolack
ofspeculationastothecharacterandappearanceofMissHartman.
ngav ivs a Fals-emphass ivs
Nor,exceptwhenusedinconjunctionwithneither,alwaysstandsrst.Ifthe
subjectappearsatall,thesentenceisalwaysinverted[examplesneeded].
Manyothernegativewordsandphrasesarethrowntothebeginningofthe
sentence.Again,inversionistheresultandispreferabletotheunivertedsentence
(inbrackets):
Neverhadthepolicybeenmoretriumphantlyvindicated.
(Thepolicyhadneverbeenmoretriumphantlyvindicated.)
NowhereisthissonoticeableasinTasmania.
(OnlyinTasmaniaisthissonoticeable.)
Msccps ab ivs
Misconceptioncancreepinwhenauthorsseetheeffectsofinversion.When
properlyused,therewillbeagoodreasonforit.Butwholesaleinversion,the
placingofanywordsotherthanthesubjectatthebeginningofasentencemerely
forvarietyortogiveanimpressiveeffect,isnotdesirable.Itleadstomediocre,
pedestrianwritingthathasahackneyedfeel.Thewritercannotbebotheredto
makehiswritingmoreinterestingotherthanbysimplymovingphrasesaround.
Thestepsdownwardsaremarkedbytheexamplesthatfollow.Intherst,
inversionmaybeontheanalogyofnegatives,ormaybedesignedforemphasis;
inthesecondandthird,emphasisisclearlythemotive;andintherestthereis
varietyforvarietyssake,mereimpressivenessnottosaymeremannerism.The
uninvertedformsareinbrackets: Withdifcultycouldhebepersuaded
(Hecouldbepersuadedwithdifculty)
AlmostunanimouslydoAmericansassumethat
(Americans,almostunanimously,assumethat)
Abookoflevity,itwouldseemfromtheauthorsdedication,isthissetof
twelveessaysnamedafterthetwelvemonths.(WestminsterGazette)
(Itwouldseemfromtheauthorsdedicationthatthisisabookoflevity;aset
oftwelveessaysnamedafterthetwelvemonths.)
Finelyconceivedisthispoem,andnotlessadmirableinexecution.(Westmin-
sterGazette)
(Thispoemisnelyconceivedandnotlessadmirableinexecution.)
ThentotheresidentMedicalOfceratthehospitalforanauthoritative
opiniononthesubjectwenttheenquirer.(WestminsterGazette)
(Theenquirerwenttotheresident)
NisbettsnewbookwillnotdisappointthosewhoknowthewritersLays
and Legends.Fascileandmusical,sincereandspontaneous,aretheselyrics.
(WestminsterGazette)
(Thelyricsarefascileandmusical,sincereandspontaneous.)
Inthelastexample,notealsotheelegantvariationthe writersinsteadofthe
straightforwardhis.Better:
NisbettsnewbookwillnotdisappointthosewhoknowhisLays and Leg-
ends.Thelyricsarefascileandmusical,sincereandspontaneous.
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Mscllas ivss
Compoundverbs(e.g.had sung,had said)donotlendthemselvestoinversion:
IwontplotagainstTom,hadsaidIsaacs.
(Isaacshadsaid:IwontplotagainstTom.)
Iamtheloverofaqueenhadoftensungthestewardinhispantrybelow.
(Thestewardhadoftensung:Iamtheloverofaqueen.)
Aninvertedsaidatthebeginningofasentenceisanotherpitfall:Said a friend
to me the other dayItistolerable,ifanywhere,onlyinlight,playfulverse.Withverbsotherthansaid,thisformofinversionisstillmoredecidedlyathingtobe
lefttothepoets:Comes a new translation, in four neat olive-green volumes.
Afterinversionofanykindthenoviceshouldgohisroundsandseethatall
isshipshape.Forwantofthisprecaution,awriterwhowasnonoviceproduced
curiositiessuchasthis:
Itistruethat,disagreeingwithComte,thoughIdo,inallthosefundamental
viewsthatarepeculiartohim,Iagreewithhiminsundryminorviews.
(Spencer)
Itisamess.Thereshouldnotbeacommabeforethough,andtheinversionis
unnecessary.Rewritten:
Itistruethat,thoughIdisagreewithComteinallthosefundamentalviews
thatarepeculiartohim,Iagreewithhiminsundryminorviews.
ArCHAiSM
ArchAismisalwaysafault,consciousorunconscious.Itmightbethoughtthat
unconsciousarchaismcouldscarcelyexist.Touseawordthatwasoncefamiliar,
andissonolonger,canhappentofewwriters.
Theguiltvariesinverselyasthewritersknowledge,forthelearnedmayplead
ignorance(heisfamiliarwiththewordanduseditashewouldanyotherword),
whereasthenoviceknowstoowellwhatheisdoing.Itisconsciousarchaismthatoffends;abovealltheconsciousarchaismsofthe
novice.Thisisonlynatural.Aneducatedwriterchoosesarchaismslesshack-
neyed;heusesthem,too,withdiscretion.Thenovicemayindulgeuswithhis
wholerepertoire,charmedwiththediscoveryofantiquewords.
Thelistbelowbeginswitheducatedspecimens,butlowerdownareinstances
offatalincongruityofstyle:modernabuttingarchaic:
DonQuixoteshall[will]lastyouamonthforbreakfastreading.(Spectator)
Wemay[will]notquotethelengthypassagehere:itisprobablyfamiliarto
manyreaders.(Times)
MrShaynorunlockedadrawer,andere[before]hebegantowrite,tookouta
meagrebundleofletters.(Kipling)
Howoft[often]dothosewhotrainyoungminds(Daily Telegraph)
Itrow[think]not.(Daily Telegraph)
Ssa achasm aav a algAwriterwhoplaceshisstoryinthepastwilltrytoavoidglaringabsurdities
(usingthewordbiroinasixteenthcenturystory,forinstance)butisnotreally
concernedwithusingtheeverydayspeechofShakespearesEngland.
However,anauthormaytrytopresentalivingpictureofthetimeofwhichhe
writes.Withregardstospeech,heprobablyhasnoaccurateknowledgeofthelan-
guageofhischaractersastheywouldspeakit,andifhehadthisknowledgeand
usedithewouldbeunintelligibletomostofhisreadersandburdensometothe
rest.Accordingly,hewillavoidmoderntermsthatwoulddestroythetimeillusion
andwillaiminsteadatacertainarchaicdirectnessandsimplicity,butwillhave
littletodowiththearchaicvocabulary.Thismaybecallednegativearchaism,
asusedinTreasure Island.Onlythenovelistwhoisunwiseindulgesinpositivearchaismthedeter-
minationtohaveeverythingincharacteratallcosts.Insteadofpreservingtheil-
lusion,positivearchaismonlyremindsusthatthereisanillusiontobepreserved.
Stevenson,havingtriednegativearchaismwithsuccessinTreasure Island,chose
togiveusapositivespecimeninThe Black Arrow.EveninthehandsofSteven-
son,archaismsbecomeforced:
Putmeyourhandintothecornerandseewhatyendthere.
Markmethisoldvillainonthepiebald.
Islewhimfair.Iranmeinuponhisbow,hecried.
Swallowmeagooddraughtofthis,saidtheknight.
Heislikeachildwithanewtoy.
rePetition
rheToricAlrepeTiTion(effectiveandsignicantrepetition)isavaluableelement
inwriting.Rhetoricalimpliesthatthewordsrepeatedwouldordinarilybevaried
orleftout.Usedwithjudgementitisagoodthing:
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Asthelarkrosehigher,hesankdeeperintothought.Asthelarkpouredout
hermelodyclearerandstronger,hefellintoagraverandprofoundersilence.
Atlength,whenthelarkcameheadlongdownhesprangupfromhis
reverie.(Dickens)
Buttherearewriterswho,fromthefactthatallgoodrepetitionisintentional,
rashlyinferthatallintentionalrepetitionisgood.Repetitionisabnormalandis
likelytobecomeobjectionableifitoccursfrequently.Thewriterswhohavemost
needofrepetitionarethoseseekingclarity.
Abroaddistinctionshouldbedrawnbetweenrhetoricalandnon-rhetorical
repetition.Oneisanancientdevicedesignedtoimpress;theotheramodern
developmenttoaidclarity.Themotivefornon-rhetoricalrepetitionisalwaysthe
businesslikeoneofclarity,thoughitissometimesclarityrunmad:
Heanalysednotaparticulargovernment,butwhatiscommontoallgovern-
ments;notonelawbutwhatiscommontoalllaws;notpoliticalcommunities
intheirfeaturesofdiversity,butpoliticalcommunitiesintheirfeaturesof
resemblance.Hegavepoliticsnotaninterestingaspect,butanewaspect.
Withoutthenon-rhetoricalrepetitionthismightread:
Heanalysednotaparticulargovernment,law,orpoliticalcommunity,but
whattheyshareincommonwithothersoftheirkind.Hegavepoliticsanew
aspect.
Forthenovice,non-rhetoricalrepetitionifincludedforthesakeofclarityis
likelytobeacceptableinthereaderseyes.Atanyrate,byusingthesamewords
overandoverhewillnothavetheviceofelegantvariation.
However,rhetoricalrepetitionshouldbeusedsparingly.Asthespontaneous
expressionofstrongfeelingsinthewriteritissometimesjustiedbycircum-
stance;employedasadeliberatearticetoimpressthereaderitislikelytobe
frigidandtofailinitsobject.
CHeAP oriGinALitY
JUsTAselegantvariationisgenerallyaworsefaultthanmonotony,sotheavoid-
anceoftritephrasesissometimesworsethantritenessitself.Childrencansatisfy
anearlythirstfordifferencebymerelyturningtheircoatsinsideout.Distinction
ofstylehasbeensecuredbysomewriterssimplybywritingacommonexpression
backwards.WearandtearbecomesCarlylestearandwear;andEmerson
acquiresanexclusiveproperty(so,atleast,onehopes)innothingorlittle.
Hackneyedphrasesbecomehackneyedintherstinstancebecausetheyare
useful.Theycanderiveanewefciencyfromtheveryfactthattheyarehack-
neyedandeasilyunderstood.Theirpreciseformbecomesanessentialpartofthe
ideatheyconvey.Allthatawriterdoesbyturningsuchaphrasebackwards,or
otherwisetamperingwithit,istogiveusourtritenesssecond-hand;weareputto
thetroubleoftranslatingtearandwearonlytoarriveatouroldfriendwearand
tear,hackneyedasever.Thereisnothingcleverorliteraryaboutit.
Howbeautifulisnoblesentiment;likegossamer-gauzebeautifulandcheap,
whichwillstandnotearandwear.(Carlyle)
Bloatedpromises,whichendinnothingorlittle.(Emerson)
Theuniversitiesarealso[partand]parceloftheecclesiasticalsystem.
(Emerson)
CAuSAL AS-CLAuSeS
ThereAretwopermissiblekindsofcausalas-clauses:thepureandthemixed.The
pure as-clausestates,asadditionalexplanation,somefactthatisalreadyknownto
thereaderandissuretooccurtohimintheconnection:
IhaveaneditionwithGermannotes;butthatisofnouseasyoudonotread
German.
Themixed as-clausestateswhatisnotnecessarilyknowntothereader.Ithas
thefunctionofconveyinganewfact: Icaughtthetrain,butafterwardswishedIhadnotasIpresentlydiscovered
thatmyluggagewasleftbehind.
Agoodwriterwillseldomuseacausalas-clauseofeithervarietyattheendof
asentence.Fowlertriestoexplainit,butthereasoningisquitesubtle.Iagreethat
sentenceswithcausalasattheendlookclumsy:
Verytrue,Jasper;butyoureallyoughttolearntoread,as,bysodoing,you
mightlearnyourdutytowardsyourselves.
Everyonelikestoknowthathisadvantagescannotbeattributedtosoil,sea,
ortowealth,buttosuperiorbrain,asitmakesthepraisemorepersonalto
himEmerson.
Thesentencesreadbetterwhenrecast:
Verytrue,Jasper;butyoureallyoughttolearntoreadbysodoingyou
mightlearnyourdutytowardsyourselves.
Everyonelikestoknowthathisadvantagescannotbeattributedtosoil,sea,
ortowealth,buttosuperiorbrain:itmakesthepraisemorepersonaltohim.
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SLAnG
TheplAceofslangisinreallife.Thewriterwhodealsinconversationmay
sometimesnditnecessarytoincludeslang,andifheiswisehewillmakethe
leastpossibleuseofthisresource.Tointerlacethenon-conversationalpartsofa
bookwithslangquotationmarksornoquotationmarksisasbadasinterlacing
withFrench.Foreignwordsandslangarespuriousornamentsonthesamelevel.
Theeffectofusingquotationmarkstoisolateslangismerelytoconverta
mentalintoamoralweakness.Whentheyarenotused,wemayassumethatthe
writersinsinignorance:hedoesnotknowthedifferencebetweenslangandgoodEnglish.Whentheyareused,thewriteristellingus:Idontlikeusingthese
words.Theyrebeneathme,unclean,andImgoingtoisolatethemfromtherest
ofmywriting.Hewantstotittilatehisreaderandgivehiswritingmorereal-
ism,butdoesntwanttoassociatehimselftoocloselywithawordhehaschosen
touse.Thereisacertainamountofsnobberyanddishonestyinusingquotesto
isolatesuchwords.
Fowlerputsitlikethis:Writerswouldratherbetakenforknavesthanfor
fools,andsothequotationmarksareusuallythere.
Goodandsufcientreasonwillrarelyariseforusingslang.Asstyleisthe
greatantiseptic,soslangisthegreatcorruptingmatter;itisperishableandinfects
whatisrounditthecatchwordsthatdelightonegenerationstinkinthenostrils
ofthenext.
SPLit inFinitiVeS
A spliTinfiniTiveistheinsertionofoneword(usuallyanadverb,e.g.kindly),
betweentoandtheverb:Askhimtokindlystrokethekitten.
ThisrulehaslostmuchofitsforcetheunsplitAskhimtostrokekindly
thekittensoundsuppity.Splitinnitivesareconsideredveryusefulinmodern
English,especiallytoavoidambiguity.Thefollowingexample(unsplit)hasa
differentmeaningfromthepreviousone:Ask him kindly to stroke the kitten.
word uSAGe
mosT(ifnotall)Australianspellingofwordslikeorganiseiswithansnotan
Americanz.
A/areusedinterchangeablytodescribeagenerallyencircling
placementormovement:
Theboatsailedround/aroundtheisland
Policestoodwatcharound/roundtheoval.
Wheresuchmovementisindiscriminate,aboutispreferred:
Clothesandchildrenstoyswerescatteredabouttheroom.
Acal, acallyarefrequentlyunnecessary:
In(actual)fact
Thisis(actually)whathappened.
Ag/scForastatementaboutthepast,agofollowedbyaqualifyingclause
usuallytakesthatbecauseaparticulartimeisbeingspecied.Usesincewhena
certainamountoftimeisbeingdescribed:
Itwasvemonthsagothat[notsince]ithappenedItisvemonthssinceithappened.
Bothsentencesareratherclumsyandwouldbecleareras:Ithappenedvemonthsago.
All gh Twowords,notalright.Themergingofallandrighttoformthe
one-wordspellingalrightwasrstrecordedneartheendofthe19thcentury
(unlikeothersimilarmergedspellingssuchasaltogetherandalready,whichdate
frommuchearlier).Thereisnologicalreasonforinsistingthatall rightbetwo
wordswhenothersingle-wordformssuchasaltogetherhavelongbeenaccepted.
Nevertheless,althoughfoundwidely,alrightremainsnonstandard.
Alsisnotaconjunction.Soyoushouldsay:
Heboughtacarandalsoacaravan;not
Heboughtacar,alsoacaravan.
Inmanysentencesalsomaybedispensedwithbecauseanddoesitswork:
Heboughtacarandacaravan.
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Alav Donotwritetheotheralternativeforthealternative.
Amg/amgs Thereisnorealdistinctionbetweenamongandamongst.Select
theonethatsoundsrightinthecontext.
Aym/ay mAnymoreisanadverbusuallyusedwithanegativeorin
questions.Itmeanstoanyfurtherextentoranylonger:She refused to listen
anymore / You dont get men like him anymore. Contrastthisusagewith: Is there
any more soup?
Ay/ay Anyonereferstoasingleentityusuallyapersoninageneral
wayandmeansthesameasanybody:Anyone could do it. Inany onethereisa
specicationofone: Any one of them could do it.
Asisfrequentlyoverworkedwhensinceorbecausewouldbebetter(seealso
causal-asclauses):
Ishallnottrybecause[notas]youhavealreadystarted.
Ahl Theadverbawhile(wepausedawhile)shouldbewrittenasoneword.
Thenounphrase,meaningaperiodoftimeespeciallywhenprecededbyapreposition,shouldbewrittenastwowords:Margaret rested for a while / Well be
there in a while.
Back fiscolloquialAmericanusage.ItisneitheracceptedEnglishnorasclear
asthesimplewordbehind.
Backa/backasarebothpermittedasanadverb,althoughgoodAustralian
usagefavoursthesform:He fell backward(s).
Bcas/f Thesewordsaresimilarinmeaning.Usebecausewhenaspecic
reasonfollows: I must hurry because my train is due.Usefortolinkthemain
clausewithalesssignicantstatementaddedbywayofexplanation: I shall have
to go, for a mans work is never done.
Bh Donotusebothwithwordsthatalreadysuggesttwo.Thatis,omitbothin:
between[both]hishands
they[both]arrivedtogether
theyare[both]equallycompetent.
Bh/ach Onethingcannotbeintwoplacesatonce,sotosay:There is a tree on
both sides of the fenceisnotasclearas:There is a tree on each side of the fence.
dpa/pDependant(noun)isapersonwhoreliesonanother:
Asinglemanwithnodependants.Dependent(adjective)isdependingon
somethingelseforaidorsupport:Aneconomyheavilydependentonoilexports
Note:independentisalwaysspeltwithane.
dsp/ sp fareusuallyinterchangeable.
dff Donotusedifferentunnecessarilywhenseparateidentityhasotherwise
beenestablished:Two children [nottwodifferentchildren] got sick.
db hh/b ha Theworduseddependsuponthewritersopinionas
tothereasonablenessofthedoubt.Butthereareexceptions(seeFowler).Whether
proclaimsanopenquestion;thatproclaimsacertainty.Ifthereisaalternative,
evenifitisnotmentioned,usewhether:Idoubtwhetherthisistrue.Ifitis
obviousthewriterdisapprovesofthedoubt,i.e.thereisnoalternativeadmitted,
usethat:
Idonotdoubtthat...
Whocandoubtthat...
each h/ ahareofteninterchangeable,butthereisatendencytouse
each othertorefertotwo,andone anothertorefertomorethantwo:
Thetwoboyshateeachother.
Weallgetalongwithoneanother.
elsissometimesusedwhenitisnotnecessary:They wanted nobody [else] but
Shirley to sing.
evy m Thereisnowordeverytime.
evyay/vy ay Theadjectiveeveryday,pertainingtotheeveryday,the
ordinary,iscorrectlyspelledasoneword(carryingouttheireverydayactivi-
ties),buttheadverbialphraseevery day,meaningeachdayisalwaysspelledas
twowords(itrainedeveryday).
ipisalwaysspeltwithane.
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i/ In to(twowords)isusedonlywhenthetoispartofacompoundverb
suchasto get.Compare:Iwentintotown,IdivedintotheriverwithIwent
intogetthepaper.
La/la Interchangeable,butlearntispreferredbecauseitisusedmore
commonlyinspeach.
Lcc Anountheactuallicence.
Lcs Averbtoauthorise,togrant.Lcsofahotel.
off/fm Offistoremovesomethingwhichissituatedonsomethingelse;fromis
totakeawayinthesenseofdepriving:
Itookthebiscuitofftheplate.
Itookthebiscuitfromhim.
okay Iwillspelltheword,ratherthanusetheinitialsOK.
o// Keepthesewordsseparatesothattheirmeaningisclear:
Heputfoodonthetable.
Theywalkedontothestage.
Theywalkedontothevillage.
oly Thefollowingsentencesallhavedifferentmeanings.Ithinktheruleis:the
wordonlyshouldappearimmediatelybeforethewordorphraseitqualies.To
highlightthedifferentmeanings,Ihaveitalicisedthewordreferredtobyonly.
Onlyheaskedforaloanofvedollars.
Heonlyaskedforaloanofvedollars.
Heaskedonlyforaloanofvedollars.
Heaskedforaloanofonlyve dollars.
Heaskedforaloanofve dollarsonly.
Icanttellanydifferencebetweenthelasttwo.Whenonlyisplacedattheendof
asentence,itcanappearbeforeorafterwithoutchangingthemeaning.
o/ Somethingisplacedontosomethingelse,butIdrovefromNeliaon
toMinamere.
Pass/pasPassedisusedasaverb(hepassedtheball,hepassedto
Valhalla,anotherdayhaspassed).Pastisusedasanadjectivefortime(the
pastyear)andasanadverbwhenyougopastorbeyondsomething(thetroops
marchedpast).Butnotethisdistinction:thetroopspassedthroughthetown.
Thedifferencecanbeconfusing.Macquarie Dictionaryinits33rddenitionof
passsays:togobyormovepast,asaprocession,thususingpasttodenepass.
i.e.theprocessionpassedthroughthetown,buttheprocessionmovedpastthe
town.
Pls Useplusinitsmathematicalsense,notinsentencessuchas:I shall send you
the machine plus [and] the instruction book you asked for.
Ps ofc Usecapitalsinmybooksratherthanlowercase.Itgivesabetter
look,eventhoughitshouldonlybecapitalisedwhenitisthenameofanactual
postofce:JuliaCreekPostOfce.
rah Itwasrathera[arather]poorperformancebothusesareacceptable.
ras Avoidsaying:Thereasonisbecause.Usethattointroducetheclause
givingthereason:The reason is that he has been ill.
Sz/sz Usesizedtoformcompoundadjectives:He has a medium-sized car.
S IwillusetheformSt(withouttheperiod)inmybooksi.e.Burke Stnot
Burke Street.
tha/hch Thesepronounsarefrequentlyusedinterchangeablyinrelative
clauses,butthereisadifference.Whichisusedtointroduceageneral,non-
restrictiveclause(alsocalledanon-deningclause):
Hisletters,whichwerealwaysfullofjokes,amusedthefamily.
Suchaclauseservesasanadditionalexplanationandcaneasilybeleftoutwithoutdestroyingthemainsentence.Notethatwhenusedcorrectly,anon-
restrictiveclauseshouldalwaysbeseparatedbycommas.Thepronounthatshould
notreplacewhichinsuchclauses.
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Thatdrawsattentiontosomethingspecicandrestrictsthemeaningofthe
mainsentence.Inthesecondexamplebelow,thatandwhichshouldchange
places.Therstuseisgeneral,thesecond(downtheeasternside),isspecic.
Iwanttoreadtheletterthatamusedyou.
Thesandystripalongthecoastisfedonlybyafewscantystreamsthatfurnisha
remarkablecontrasttothevastvolumesofwaterwhichrolldowntheeasternsides.
Thesandystripalongthecoastisfedonlybyafewscantystreamswhichfurnisha
remarkablecontrasttothevastvolumesofwaterthatrolldowntheeasternsides.
Thatcanbeusedforpeopleaswell;whommaysometimesbetooformal:
He is the sort of man that I always fall for.Insomecases,thatcanbeomitted
altogetherifthesentencerunspleasantlywithoutit:I know the problems [that]
you have.
thgh/alhgh Ifthereisanydifferencebetweenthesewords,althoughisthe
moreemphaticofthetwoandisusuallypreferredatthebeginningofasentence.
tll/l aregenerallyinterchangeable,exceptthatuntilisusuallychosento
beginsentences.Thereisalsoatendencytousetillaboutapointoftime,anduntil
aboutalongerperiod:Shedidntleavetilltwooclock
TheystayedinEuropeuntiltheendofsummer.
ta/as Eitherformisacceptable,althoughtowardshasgreatercur-
rencyinAustralia.
thak y Twoseparatewords.
wll Whenusedasanadjectiveisgenerallyhyphenated:well-educated,well-fed;
butnotinsentencessuchas:agoodworkwelldone,tobewellsupplied.
whWhenisanadverboftime.Donotreplaceitwithwhere(anadverbof
place)insentencesthatclearlyimplyanelementoftime:
When[notwhere]avotebecomestiedthechairmanhasacastingvote.
Avoidusingwhentodenesomething.Thesecondexampleispreferable:
Awicketiswhenabatsmanisdismissed.
Awicketisthedismissalofabatsman.
wh Avoidusingwheretodenesomething.Thesecondexampleisprefer-
able:
Scabbingiswhereapersonworksagainstauniondecision
Scabbingisworkingagainstauniondecision.
Whereshouldnotreplacethat:Ireadthat[notwhere]hewenttojail.Ifyou
wishtobeprecise,sayinwhichortowhichinsteadofwhere:
Imworkingonacalculationinwhich[notwhere]accuracyisessential.
whs Thereisnoobjectiontousingwhoseforinanimateobjects:Federation
Peak is a mountain whose reputation all bushwalkers respect.
whl Originallymeantaperiodoftime:We chatted for a while.Ithasa
legitimateuseinthesenseofwhereasincontextsinwhichwhereasmightsound
inappropriatelyformal:
Whileyousayyoulikeher,youveneverstoodupforher.
Whereasyousayyoulikeher,youveneverstoodupforher.
However,beawareofcolourlessuseofwhiletobeginasentence.Suchsentences
areneverfoundinqualitywriting:
Whiletheremanwaskilledonthespotandthedriverslightlyinjured,the
up-linewasblockedforsometimewithdebrisfrombrokentrucksofthe
goodstrain.
Andbeawareofusingitasamereelegantvariationforand:
Theremanwaskilledonthespotwhilethedriverwasslightlyinjured.
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tYPoGrAPHiC ConSiderAtionS
Paagaphs
Shouldbeindentedorspaced,notbothatthesametime.
Qas
Lengthyquotationsshouldbeindented,onesizesmaller.
nmbs
Spellnumbersuptonine(seven,nine),thenusenumerals(10,24).Thereasoning
isthatnumberstenorgreater,arelengthywhenspelt(seventeen,sixty-seven)and
notaseasytoreadasnumerals(17,67).Theotherreasonisthatnumberstenand
abovehavetwodigitsandseemtolookbetterthanasingledigitwhichcanlook
awkwardbythemselves.Thewritingofnumberscanbechangedforappearance:
Wemarched9or10miles[andnot]
Wemarchednineor10miles.
Orviceversa:
ItstentooneIllgetlost[andnot]
Its10tooneIllgetlost.
Examples:
Wemarched1015mileseveryday.
WewentintoNeliaorMaxweltoneightortentimesayear.
Wemighthavegonenine,tenmileaday.
Twentybyten,nolining,andadirtoor.
AftertwodaysIcontinuedmyjourney.
Wehavebeenmostunfortunatewiththesheepthelasttwoseasons.
Wedgetupathalfpast5.
Iwasingrade2.
Sometimesitisbettertousewords:
Athousandyearsago [A1000yearsago]
Amillionyearsago [A1,000,000yearsago]
Abillionyearsago [A1,000,000,000yearsago]
Whenthenumberisaword,itmaybebettertoretaintheword:
What,otherthanseventy-seven,rhymeswithelevenandhasfoursyllables?
[not:What, other than 77, rhymes with 11 and has four syllables?]
Theninegeneralisationdoesnotapply:
todates:3 February
tomathematics:If it takes 7 men 3 days to build a house, how many men
tounitsofmeasurement:3 metres, 7 hours, 9 kgs
totime:
It is 11:25 a.m. precisely.
half-past 9(thehalf-pasthyphenated).
toages:When Im 64; Im 6 years old.
togrades:I was in grade 4.
tonumbersatthestartofsentences:
One hundred and fteen million years ago
[not:115 million years ago]
Aswithpunctuation,consistencyisthekey.
reFerenCeS
Eats, Shoots & Leaves,LynTruss
Cassells Guide to Punctuation,LorettoTodd
The War Against Clich,MartinAmis
Room Temperature,NicholsonBaker(Chapter9isareverieonthecomma)
How to Write and Speak Better,ReadersDigest(excellentallroundguideandthe
onlyonethatusescommaslogicallyandconsistentlywhenquotingspeech)
The Kingss English,HWFowler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:STYLE