Usage
Q. I recently edited a brochure that explained services that are friendly to both individuals and families. There was some debate as to whether the services should be described as “individual-/family-friendly” or as “individual/family-friendly.” Which construction makes more sense? Answer »
Q. I am editing online assessment for K–12. Writers keep using “Click OK when you’re done.” It doesn’t sound grammatically correct, but I can’t find any rule to the contrary. I’ve been changing it to “when you finish.” However, writers persist in using “when you’re done.” Is this grammatically correct? Answer »
Q. Does the phrase “all caps” take a singular or plural verb? Is it “All caps aren’t legible” or “All caps isn’t legible”? Does the result change if the phrase is written as “all capital letters” as in “All capital letters aren’t legible” versus “All capital letters isn’t legible”? I realize that the best solution may be to reword the sentence, but I’m also wondering whether you view the phrase as singular or plural. Answer »
Q. Can we now use the pronoun “who” in reference to animals and things? If so, is this black and white or are there guidelines to follow? Surely, we cannot say, “The vase who was given to me by May,” right? In the 15th edition, the rule was clear: “Who refers only to a person.” However, in the 16th edition, it is now rephrased: “ Who . . . normally refers to a person.” We checked Webster’s as well, and true enough, they also said that “who” can be used in reference to animals and things. Answer »
Q. We are editing a book on global climate change to be published in the United States. What is the convention regarding using metric terms in US books? Should the US equivalents appear along with the metric? Or should all measures be converted to US? If we do convert, should we spell out the English measures? Answer »
Q. I usually put a comma in the opening salutation of an e-mail—“Hi, Megan”—and this always pleases Megan, a journalist, who believes e-mail salutations should follow the rules of dialogue punctuation. But when I write to Ruth, a physical therapist, I revert to “Hi Ruth,” honoring Ruth’s opinion that a comma after “Hi” in an e-mail looks nerdy. Are Megan and I correct? Is Ruth on to something? Valuing my friendship with each, should I continue to respect the opinions of both? Answer »
Q. What is an acceptable way to refer to myself in a Chicago-style paper? I have always been told not to use “I”: “I disagree with Dr. Fream’s conclusion.” In the past I have been told that I should refer to myself as “this author”: “This author disagrees with Dr. Fream’s conclusion.” An English-teacher friend of mine, in checking one of my papers, stated that she believes the use of “this author” is in error. Answer »
Q. Regarding 5.214 in the 16th, for more than two decades I have taught and insisted that editors view “on the one hand” as joining with “on the other hand.” Both should be present and what follows each should be parallel. The 16th does not acknowledge that need. In fact, the book constantly uses “on the other hand” without “on the one hand.” How can you have an “other” without the “one”? Answer »
Q. I’m troubled by the growing use of syntax such as “The writer William Styron lived in Paris.” My suggestion is that Mr. Styron was likely to have had many roles in life but that the sentence structure indicates him to have been only a writer. This first became noticeable in the New York Times and later in the New Yorker and now elsewhere. I would be comfortable with “William Styron, the writer, went shopping.” To my eyes, that is less restrictive in his lifestyle because, for example, we know that whatever he did, he also shopped. Answer »
Q. An author has insisted on placing a “sic” after quoting authors who use “him” or “himself” to refer in general to persons rather than using gender-inclusive language. We think this is a bit pretentious and that the quoted material should stand on its own. Do the wise editors have any advice? Answer »
Q. OK, this may be silly, but is there a hard and fast rule about verb agreement when the subject and verb are split by an additional subject that is offset by parentheses or em dashes? My thought is that this “extra” subject should be ignored, but I’m guessing, and I can’t find a clear answer. Example: The evolution (and inspiration) is just beginning. Or should it be, The evolution (and inspiration) are just beginning? I feel like the absolutely correct version is the former, not the latter. As always, thanks for your expert recommendation! Answer »
Q. How do you handle words that do not appear in the dictionary? Are they considered wrong? Within my documentation the writer uses the word “Typomatic.” This means when you are in our software and start typing a word, the word appears in the field as you type the word. In Merriam-Webster this word does not appear. Answer »
Q. I have learnt that it is wrong to make adjectives out of verbs. Please advise if “increased” is used correctly in the following sentence: Increased competition from international players interested in India is a key downside risk. I refer to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Answer »
Q. I am editing an important policy statement (with legal implications) and wonder whether this sentence needs a singular verb (“is” instead of “are”): A complainant who wishes to withdraw the complaint and/or a respondent who does not wish to participate in the hearing process are advised to contact the manager. Answer »
Q. As an editor, I am usually a big fan of the dictionary, as well as a generally obedient disciple. However, I was shocked to see that my dictionary allows “timely” to be used as an adverb. Is it true? I feel betrayed. I have spent a lot of time changing “Policies were implemented timely” to “Policies were implemented in a timely manner.” Do I need to find a new dictionary? Answer »
Q. My younger colleagues see absolutely no problem with this construction: “Based on the report, the authors drew up a summary.” I see this everywhere now and wonder if my reaction, which is to change this into “On the basis of the report, the authors . . .” or “The authors drew up a summary based on the report,” is because I’m a dinosaur. Answer »
Q. When quoting from Scriptures, which are often interpreted as God literally speaking, is it grammatically correct to say “Psalm 1:1 reads” or “Psalm 1:1 says”? Answer »
Q. Recently my wife corrected my grammar several times in one day, in front of her family, which led me to seek an opportunity to publicly correct her. I contended that she should have said “high quality” instead of simply “quality.” She insisted that I was wrong, and I fear that I may indeed be wrong, but I would like your insight on the off chance that I might be right. Answer »
Q. I’m editing a report for an author who wrote, “a comparison between the Soviet and the U.S.-led intervention.” I changed the singular to “interventions.” He questioned whether the plural was correct, as “there was only one Soviet and one U.S.-led intervention.” Will you intervene in our tiff and set us straight? Answer »
Q. I work with middle-school students who produce a yearbook. Does it matter what tense they write in? There appear to be two views: past tense, because the events have passed and the kids are no longer in the mentioned year, and present tense, because past tense can simply seem weird. (For instance, writing about the school’s mascot—a live Labrador—in past tense seems morbid.) Still, most students like the notion of writing in the past tense, as it suggests they’ve moved to the next grade. Answer »
Q. Which of the following is correct? “Canadian customers, call 1-800-etc.,” or “Canada customers, call 1-800-etc.”? I’m inclined toward the former, but keep thinking about that darn Canada goose. Answer »
Q. “Between” vs. “among.” I’m going insane. I think the editor who changed my wording is just clueless or hasn’t given the issue enough thought. Please help. I’ve read the advice in CMOS, Garner’s Modern American Usage, Bernstein’s The Careful Writer, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, and a few other sources, but I can’t decide. Should I say “competition between companies” or “competition among companies”? They’re competing with each other, severally and individually. At least, that’s what I think. Or is “among” justified on the grounds that competition implies vague, intricate relationships? Do I need an economist to clear this usage question up? Are there right and wrong answers in this case? The phrase is “competition between/among companies is intensifying.” Answer »
Q. Can I use the first person? Answer »
Q. One of my authors uses “as noted by” and “as is noted by” frequently. I assume they are the same. However, my copyeditor changes some of the “as is noted by” to “as noted by” but not all of them. Are there differences between the two phrases? I read the sentences over and over again, and I can’t see the difference in meaning before and after the change. If there is no difference in meaning, why change it? Answer »
Q. Can “fewest” mean zero? Example: Which desk has the fewest number of books? If one desk has no books, does that desk contain the fewest? Or must “fewest” refer to a number (however small) that is greater than zero? Answer »