True or False: Never Use Two Negatives in the Same Sentence
The logic behind this rule is that two negatives in the same construction cancel each other out. When we say, "We never did nothing," what we are saying, in effect, is that "At no time did we ever do nothing," which means that at all times we did something. Something like that, anyway.
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Topics: double negatives, double negative, negatives
The zookeeper wanted to order four buffaloes for his new display, but he didn't know how to pluralize buffalo.
The comma, aside from its technical uses in mathematical, bibliographical, and other contexts, indicates the smallest break in sentence structure. It denotes a slight pause. Effective use of the comma involves good judgment, with ease of reading the end in view. Here are some guidelines.
Here are some examples of when the letter s is added to a possessive form.
Nouns plural in form, singular in meaning. When the singular form of a noun ending in s looks like a plural and the plural form is the same as the singular, the possessive of both singular and plural is formed by the addition of an apostrophe only. If ambiguity threatens, use of to avoid the possessive.
Topics: possessive form, possessives
Always be sure you're using the right word. If you're not sure, don't use it! Here's a great list from Woe Is I.
Topics: misused words, word usage, word meaning
All day and all night, customers ask us to find problems in documents. Our editors are really good at it. Some mistakes are easier to find than others, of course. And sometimes a space makes all the difference.
Topics: spaces, mistakes, common mistakes, space issues, spacing
Are you traveling this month? Going on the road? Going home? When traveling, remember: don't carry items for strangers, check in for your flight two hours early, and report all bad relative, adverbial, and Santa clauses to ProofreadNOW.
Topics: word test, vocabulary test, vocabulary
Here are some questions we've received from readers and clients, followed by our answers. Hope you find these helpful!
Question: Would you hyphenate "we must perform our work with a high-level of technical expertise, professionalism, and integrity"?
Answer: In this example, there should be no hyphen in "high level" - that's because it is not a compound adjective. "Level" is a noun that is modified by "high."
Now, if you take out the word "of" there, then "high-level" becomes a compound adjective and it IS hyphenated. "We need high-level expertise in order to compete."
More examples:
- He displayed a high level of intelligence.
- She is a high-level consultant at Monsanto.
- They sought higher-level access at the Kennedy Space Center.
- He showed a high level of interest in our design.
Question: It is my understanding that abbreviations such as "etc., i.e., and e.g." are only used parenthetically, if at all. Why not simply write "and so forth, that is, and for example"?
Answer: Yes, why not use "that is" and "for example"? Well, sometimes people want to be quicker with their writing, so abbreviations are brought in. Some clients of ours have in their style guides prohibitions on using these abbreviations, but most people rely on them, we see.
The biggest trouble we see with them is when writers confuse them, using "i.e." when they mean "e.g." And in British form, neither takes a comma, whereas in American form, both take commas.
Style guides say it's a matter of personal preference. We'd never change "for example" to "e.g." in a client document, and we'd only change "e.g." to "for example" if the style guide directed us to.
Question: What's the rule for writing the name of a newsletter--italicized or underlined?
Answer: Chicago style (Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition) has this:
CMS8.2: Chicago prefers italics to set off titles of major or freestanding works such as books, journals, movies, and paintings...Quotation marks are usually reserved for the titles of subsections of larger works--including chapter and article titles and the titles of poems that have been collected into a series.
Chicago does not use underlining at all, apparently.
So, we suggest putting a newsletter title in italics.
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Topics: hyphenation, italicize, adjectives, abbreviations, grammar, Chicago Manual of Style
These two verbs are too often confused, even by experienced writers. Perhaps the confusion stems from the acceptable use of either in certain contexts. We either convince or persuade someone of the value of a proposition or of the goodness of a certain action. But the two verbs part ways when we try to make them lead into complementary infinitives with to...it works with persuade but does not with convince.
Topics: verbs, complementary infinitives, convince, persuade
We receive questions quite often from blog readers, visitors to our website, and clients. Today, we'll list a few questions and answers that you may find helpful.
Question: Why is it not AN historic event?
Answer: Here in America, we correctly pronounce the "h" in "historic" as we would in "history" or "hip" or "him." Therefore, it is a consonant sound, and the correct article is "a."
In England, they generally drop the "h" and pronounce it as "istoric" - and so they use the article "an" with it.
Question: Can you start a sentence with "And"?
Answer: In many writing contexts, it is quite all right to begin a sentence with "and." Marketing writers do this all the time. In more formal contexts, though, it is frowned upon. In documents submitted by your colleagues, we seldom if ever see sentences beginning with "and" and we think that's good. Your corporate documents are more formal, highly polished, and aimed at sophisticated, big-company readers. The writing is not folksy, and it is not conversational.
In personal newsletters, and certainly in advertising, sentences beginning with "and" are appropriate and welcome. And they make a point: that kind of writing is meant to be more casual, more personal, and easier to read.
Bottom line: Successful use of "and" at the beginning of a sentence depends on context.
Question: Is the following sentence grammatically correct? "It wasn't I or another Alliance leader talking about where the Alliance is and where it needs to be if we are to prosper." Or should it be, "It wasn't me?"
Answer: The correct pronoun is "I" in the context you cite. The subject "It" is referring to the speaker; the nominative (subjective) form is needed to redefine the subject.
To figure these things out, replace the subject with its renamed form "I" (or "me") and see if it fits:
I was talking
or
Me was talking
The ear immediately rejects "Me was talking" so you know the right pronoun is "I" here. Modern-day conversational English sometimes replaces the subjective with the objective, as in:
Knock, knock.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Phil."
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Phil."
This is considered acceptable in many grammar books these days, but I prefer the nominative form: "It is I, Phil." Proper grammar may sound stilted, but that's almost always due to the dumbing down of English in these carefree times.
Topics: using I or me, starting sentences with and, correct pronunciation, pronouncing words beginning with h
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