Q. Which is correct? “Most important, you enable your students to pursue their passions”
or “Most importantly, you enable your students to pursue their passions.”
A. Although the second version is considered incorrect by many sticklers, and the first one sounds wrong to people who don’t
know better, they are both correct.
Q. If words in parentheses would turn a singular subject into a plural subject, should the verb (outside the parentheses) be
plural? I’m wondering specifically whether “applies” should
be “apply” in this sentence: A case such as this illustrates a broader category
in which justice (and, therefore, injustice) no longer applies.
A. Your sentence is correct as written. Parenthetical content should not leach into the syntax of the containing sentence. If
the information is so important that you feel it shouldn’t be ignored, take it out of parentheses: A
case such as this illustrates a broader category in which justice and injustice no longer apply.
Q. I’m trying very hard to understand how through and to are different, as in “Monday to Friday” or “Monday through Friday.” Do they mean the same thing? To complicate matters, if an en dash is substituted (as in “Monday–Friday”), could the meaning be either through or to? I’m editing a paper that contains hundreds of date and number ranges. Sometimes the writer spells out to or through, but most of the time, he uses an en dash. I’ve read 6.78 a gazillion times and need further clarification. Thanks!
A. First of all, this is a clear case of an inclusive range— you are not dealing with scores or directions—so don’t worry about that different use of to discussed toward the end of CMOS 6.78. In this construction, to and through mean the same thing. (When after a gazillion attempts, you’re still stymied by something like this, sometimes it helps to step away from the style book and think a second about what you know. If a website said the library was open Monday through Friday, and if a newspaper ad said it was open Monday to Friday, and if the sign on the door said “Open Monday–Friday,” would you wonder whether they meant different things?) They need not, however, all be written the same way, except in places where it would look odd otherwise, such as in a single sentence, or in a list or table.
Q. I wonder how appropriate it is to use the word one to refer to an undefined person (probably the reader) in a manuscript that I prepare for a scientific journal. For example:
It could be argued that one should consider this.
A. One is a little formal when used this way, but many scholars do use it. Alternatives are the less formal (and sometimes scorned)
we and the even more informal you.
Q. I’m in a quandary regarding gender pronouns. In an economics paper (on first-price auctions) that I
am editing, the author has defined the actors in his proposition like this: “The female and male pronouns
are used for weak and strong bidders, respectively.” Is there any exception where gender-biased language
is allowed for ease of expression? What do you recommend?
A. You could ask the author whether this usage is conventional in his topic area, but regardless, you should point out that
the implication would offend some readers. Suggest that he rethink his shorthand.
Q. Will there ever be a word processing program designed to use only The Chicago Manual of Style?
A. If you could put all the monkeys in the world on all the computers in the world, with all the tech consultants in the world,
maybe, at some point in infinity, there would be such a program.
Q. I say that “between 2000 and 2010” means Jan. 1, 2001, through Dec. 31, 2009.
Am I (a) correct or (b) crazy?
A. You aren’t correct or crazy, but you are maybe a little more literal-minded than necessary. Although
you could argue that your interpretation is technically correct, it’s often not what people mean when
they say or write “between.” Look at it this way: if your cat disappeared sometime
between Monday and Wednesday, would you deduce that it had to have been on Tuesday?
Q. I’m reviewing a scientific manuscript in which the copyeditor has changed every instance of “using”
to “by using”—for instance, “describe
a vector by using Cartesian coordinates.” I can find no usage manual that comments on “using”
versus “by using,” and other people’s opinions seem to be
split. Does “using” require a “by”?
A. If “using” can be misread as “that/who is using,”
then it’s a good idea to add “by”:
Describe a child using a pen.
Describe a child who is using a pen.
Describe a child by using a pen.
If the copyeditor doesn’t actually know whether a vector is able to “use”
Cartesian coordinates, she might be hedging her bets by forcing you to approve her interpretation. If you think the copy is
slightly clearer with the addition of “by,” consider keeping it. If it changes
the meaning to something that isn’t correct, then reword your sentence so it’s
clearer.
Q. Please distinguish between per and as per.
A. They are the same. As per used to be considered a barbarism, and editors learned to change it to per (or reword it into English). CMOS 5.250 still warns against as per: “This phrase, though common in the commercial world, has long been considered nonstandard. Instead of as per your request, write as you requested or (less good) per your request. The recent innovation as per usual for as usual is an illiteracy.” You will find, however, that popular usage is winning the day, and that as per is treated as standard English by authoritative sources such as Merriam-Webster and the OED.
Q. When should the written version of a number not be followed by that number in parentheses?
A. Hmm. In a love note? “Remitted herein please find three (3) little words . . .”