Language Tips* from Blue Falcon Editing
1.
Can you think of a reason, besides interruption of the action, to use began before a verb
(e.g., “He began striding to the door”) instead of just using the verb by itself (e.g., “He
strode to the door”)? If you don’t need it, don’t use it. It just increases your word count
with no movement in the story.
2.
The truth is there’s no second is after that introductory phrase. I keep hearing people say,
“The fact is, is . . .” and similar things. I don’t see it in print, but I hear it all the time. I
don’t think it’s a lack of education that causes this mistake. I think it’s a speech pattern that
might even be endemic to a certain region, just as some people say pop and some people
say soda (and some even use soda pop). There are places where ain’t, although wrong, is
commonplace. If it were a lack of education, we’d see it in print.
3.
The easiest way to tell farther from further is to keep in mind that the former has to do with
distance (e.g., “I drove farther today than yesterday”) and the latter doesn't. Use further
when there is no physical distance involved (e.g., “I took the feud further than anyone else
when I killed him”).
4.
You know about uppercase and lowercase, but do you know about sentence case and title
case? Sentence case is exactly what you think it is: the first word and proper names get
capped. In title case, all words except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions get capped.
Also, the first and last words, no matter their parts of speech, get capped. Because this is
English, there are exceptions. Hyphenated words are usually lowercase after the hyphen:
“My Life in the Twenty-first Century.” Words that are a strong part of the title are often
uppercase, but this is at the writer’s discretion: “Once Upon a Time.” In AP style (used
mostly in periodicals), you’ll find that any word longer than three letters is capped:
“Reading Between the Lines.”
The thing that gets me is the poor two-letter words that are often denied their proper place
in titles because they’re so tiny that people think they’re less significant. “Is,” “be,” and
“it” are often overlooked, but this is the way it should be done: “If It Is to Be, It Is My
Responsibility.”
5.
For terms that combine more than one word into a single term, think about what part of it is
plural. The plural of sister-in-law is sisters-in-law because the part that is plural is the
sisters, not the law. The same goes for attorneys general, passersby, and other similar
terms.
6.
By request of friends I saw yesterday, I’ll discuss voluptuous and voluminous. Well, other
than their spellings and their part of speech (adjective), they don’t have much in common.
The former refers to something that’s full of delight, and it’s often used to describe a
pleasing female form. The latter usually refers to something that is full and consisting of
many folds or convolutions.
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7.
Oh, the poor, misunderstood apostrophe. It’s used for contractions and possessives, and
some people can’t tell those two apart. Here are a few common mistakes in the form of
contraction/possessive: it’s/its, you’re/your, they’re/their. Can you think of others that trip
people up? Let me know.
8.
There’s a difference between any more (two words) and anymore (one word). The former
contains any, an adjective meaning an indeterminate number, and more, a noun meaning
something additional (e.g., “That was good. Do you have any more?”). The latter means
“any longer” (e.g., “My son never calls me anymore”).
9.
Couple is a tough term. Like real, it’s misused because people think it’s longer than it is.
More often than not, it requires of (e.g., “a couple of things”). It can be used with more
instead (e.g., “a couple more things”).
10.
Avoid redundancies. For instance, don’t use and then; just pick whichever of those words
feels right in the spot, and go with it. Don’t use so that; in fact, that is an extremely
overused word. Read the sentence without that and see if it’s necessary.
11.
There are a couple of words that drive me a little nuts because they are just more than they
need to be. For instance, amongst and utilization cause me to immediately remove the last
two letters from the former and change the latter to use. Don’t make your writing harder for
your reader.
12.
I noticed a sign in a restaurant that indicated they had “real great chicken.” Let me talk
about why that’s wrong. Either they’re saying their chicken is real and great, so they’re
missing a comma after real, or they mean to say they have “really great chicken.” This is a
common mistake. Real is an adjective, which means it modifies a noun. Really is an
adverb, which means it modifies a verb. If you want to say something is very good, you
should say it’s really good. If you want to indicate something factual, actual, not fake, etc.,
you should say it’s the real thing (e.g., real fruit juice). A quick way to figure out which
one to use it to substitute very or not fake. You would never say, “This is very fruit juice,”
just as you would never say, “This is not fake good.”
13.
I just saw this on a sign a couple of days ago, so I thought it would be a good Language
Tip: Open 9–6 Everyday. I cringed and almost reached for my red pen. Everyday (one
word) is an adjective, so it modifies a noun (e.g., “an everyday occurrence). Every day (two
words) is an adjective and a noun, every modifies day to indicate all days (e.g., “open every
day”). This example uses both: This is an everyday occurrence, so it happens every day.
14.
Let’s talk about affect and effect. In most cases, affect will be used as a verb and effect will
be a noun. For example, “The effect you have on me affects my state of mind.” There is
your rule of thumb. A lot of people remember the difference by saying action starts with a
and affect is an action. Effect is seldom used as a verb, but it can mean to accomplish
(usually by surmounting obstacles) or to cause to come into being. For example, “He
effected a contract despite their strong disagreement.”
15.
If you’re going to cut words off with an apostrophe, make sure you put the apostrophe in
the right place and turn it the correct direction. For example, cutting of so it’s o’ as in top o’
the mornin’ is easy enough. Most people don’t make a mistake there. Rock ’n’ roll, on the
other hand, tends to create problems. You’re changing and to ’n’ by cutting off letters on
both the front and the back. When using Word, the apostrophe in front will automatically
turn toward the remaining letter; you want to make sure it turns the other way. The easiest
way to do that is to type two right next to each other then delete the first one. The second
one will automatically turn in the correct direction.
16.
I was asked to point out the differences between in spite of and despite. I admit that I didn’t
think there was a difference in their meanings, so I looked up despite in the dictionary. It
turns out I was right. The dictionary definition of despite is in spite of. I hope that clears up
any confusion.
17.
The thing that generated the most comments (and confusion) the other day was Elizabethan
English. Here’s a good Internet resource: http://www.ehow.com/how_4474444_learnspeak-write-elizabethan-english.html. If you’re going to write in this flowery form, you
need to make sure you get it right. However, I really would suggest you avoid it if you can.
There are other ways to indicate foreign or noble speech, such as a lack of contractions (a
la Mr. Data).
18.
I was asked about punctuation around however, thinking that it needs a semicolon before.
The fact is it gets a semicolon only if what follows is a complete sentence. Her examples
were “I had a bad day; however, I did find a penny on the sidewalk” and “I had a bad day,
however, and decided to go to bed early.” The former is a complete sentence, and the latter
is not.
19.
Semicolons take the place of periods when two complete sentences are closely related. For
example, “I don’t want to go; I’m not feeling well.” They’re also used in place of commas
in lists when there are internal lists. For example, “We picked up oranges; bananas; green,
red, and Fuji apples; grapes, and strawberries at the fruit stand.”
20.
I love it when I learn something new from a client. An author asked me about a comma I
added. In looking up the rule to reference it when I corrected him, I realized I’d been doing
it wrong. The rule states the “not only . . . but also” construction gets either two commas
(one before not and one before but) or no commas. No one, even pro editors, know
everything about this crazy, messed-up language.
21.
Do not use an apostrophe to form a plural. The plural of CD is CDs. The plural of CEO is
CEOs. If you write CEO’s, you have indicated possession, such as the CEO’s car. To make
a word plural, you add an s and nothing else. If the word ends in an s already, it gets es and
nothing else. (Although, obviously there are exceptions to that rule.) The apostrophe is
used for possession, not plural, except when the result would be confusing, such as “Helen
got several A’s on her report card.”
22.
Only is the most misplaced word in the English language. Let’s look at the famous song:
• “I only have eyes for you” means “I’m the only one who has eyes for you.”
• “I have only eyes for you” and “I have eyes only for you” mean “I have nothing but
eyes for you, no fingers or anything else.”
• “I have eyes for only you” and “I have eyes for you only” mean what the singer is
intending: “You’re the only one I have eyes for. I’m not looking at anyone else.”
In short, you want to put only as close as possible to the thing it’s modifying. It can usually
come either before or after the term it’s modifying, so the best way to figure out if you’ve
got it right is to move it to the other side and see if it still makes sense.
23.
Someone wanted to know if “I would have liked to have . . .” is redundant. The short
answer is no. Would have in this case is used in the past perfect conjugation, indicating an
action in the past that is completed (or in this case should have been completed).
Remember that you’re looking at the perfect conjugation of to like (had liked) and the verb
to have.
This one inspired dialogue, which appears here:
Person 1: Wouldn’t a better way of putting it be “I would like to have had . . .” though?
Blue Falcon Editing: You’re changing which verb happened in the past then. You might
say, “When I was six, I would have liked to have a pony, but now that I’m more
mature, I realize that would have been a mistake.” It means something different to say,
“I would like to have had a pony when I was six,” meaning that you think, in your
current mature state, that having a pony when you were six would have been good.
Person 2: Thanks Andrea. I still don’t get it, though. I think your sentence “I would have
liked to have a pony,” makes sense. Or, as Person 1 says, “I would like to have had,” if
it’s something you like in the present. What I take issue with is when people say, “I
would have liked to have gone with you.” Doesn’t that seem like too many haves?
Blue Falcon Editing: Yes, that is too many haves, Person 2. The sentence you’re using is a
different situation than my example. My guess is the speaker wishes, at that moment,
that he could have gone. He probably heard a story followed by “You should have been
there!” or something like that. As I said, it depends on when the liking is going on.
Have liked indicates the liking would have gone on in the past and is now done.
As far as your original question, even though it’s too many haves, it’s still not
redundant. The extra “have” gives it a different meaning. I’m sorry if it’s still
confusing. English is a terrible language to learn these intricacies for. If anyone out
there has a better explanation, please post it.
Person 2: There likely is a circumstance where it would be correct to say it that way, but
it’s my belief that people say it that way out of habit. Sort of like this all too common
problem of people saying, “The thing is is . . .” Thanks for helping, Andrea!
24.
Hanging hyphenation is OK on the back (e.g., him- or herself) but not the front (e.g., wellregulated and -capitalized).
25.
Sometimes versus some times was a request. (I’m always happy to take requests.) Webster’s
says sometimes is an adverb, meaning occasionally. Some times (two words, an adjective
and a noun) means an unspecified number of occasions. When all is said and done, it seems
to me that both terms can mean the same thing if you’re using them to mean
“occasionally.” What do you think?
26.
Some people seem to think that arcane and archaic are synonyms. Don’t make this
mistake. Arcane refers to something that is known to only a choice few, something that is
possibly mysterious or obscure. Archaic refers to something that is outdated, antiquated,
and/or surviving from an earlier period.
27.
A Language Tip regarding the proper definition of nonplussed (which is often misused)
was requested. You might be surprised to know that Webster’s indicates nonplussed is a
transitive verb, meaning that it is something that is done to something else. It means “to
cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do.” For example, “Her sudden tears
nonplussed him, and all he could do was hold her.” However, despite its transitive
property, you will often see it used as an intransitive verb, indicating a person is perplexed,
as in “She goggled at the sight, nonplussed.”
28.
Larger numbers, if spelled out, should have hyphens (e.g., twenty-seven, fifty-two, one
hundred thirty-five). It’s to connect the numbers so your readers can tell the difference
between twenty-five of something and, for instance, twenty five-pound notes. The hyphen
is just for clarity.
29.
As requested, I will talk about punctuation in abbreviations. The rule of thumb is if the
abbreviation makes a word, it should have periods; otherwise, it shouldn’t. For example,
Most U.S. citizens live in the USA. Since US spells us, it gets periods, but there is no word
usa, so USA doesn’t need periods.
Response: What about laser, radar and so forth?
Blue Falcon Editing: That’s why it’s a rule of thumb. It’s not a comprehensive rule that will
cover everything. In the case of a.m. and p.m., you can use periods or not, as long as
you’re consistent. Context will keep the intelligent reader from confusing a.m. with the
word am because a.m. is used in such specific instances. Laser, radar, scuba, and so
forth have actually been in use long enough and in the public eye enough that they have
become words in their own rights and would not only never have periods, but would
never be all caps either.
30.
The term is vice versa, not visa versa.
31.
The past tense of the verb to spit is spit. A spat is a covering for the shoe that was common
in the early 1800s. It can also be a fight, as in a lovers’ spat, or a young bivalve, as an
oyster.
32.
People have expressed a desire to know more about when to use that instead of which. The
easiest way to think about it is that is necessary and which is just additional info. If I have
only one computer, I can say, “My computer, which is on my lap, is a Fujitsu.” If I have
more than one computer, I should say, “The computer that is on my lap is a Fujitsu.” (Note
the use of commas in both.) The latter will distinguish this computer from my Gateway
computer, which is on the coffee table, and the custom build, which is in my office.
33.
Let’s talk for a moment about what I call “-wards words.” All those words that end in
-wards (e.g., towards, backwards, etc.) don’t need that s on the end. The only times you’ll
see a need for that is with the verb forwards (as in she forwards the e-mail) and upwards in
the phrase upwards of meaning “in excess of” and similar situations. Do you have an
example?
34.
A compliment (with an i) is a nice thing someone says about someone or something. For
example, “That story you wrote is just spiffy!” It can also indicate something free. For
example, “This is a complimentary badge.” If something or someone complements (with an
e) something else, it helps complete it. For example, “That couple is just perfect. He
complements her in every way.” If you have to guess (which you shouldn’t after reading
this Language Tip), use the former because you have a 66.6 percent change of getting it
right.
35.
Passed is the past tense of to pass (as in “He passed by yesterday”). Past is an adjective, an
adverb, and a noun, but it’s never a verb. Here are some examples: “It’s half past twelve.”
“He drove past the building.” “I regret the past.”
36.
The term is beside the point (not besides the point). The idea is that the point is right here,
in front of you, but what you’re talking about is over there, off to your left, beside the
point. If anyone out there knows Suze Orman, please let her know.
37.
Loathe is a verb; loath is an adjective.
38.
Discrete indicates a separate entity (e.g., “They were discrete instances of the same event”).
Discreet is the adjective associated with discretion (prudence) (e.g., “Though angry, she
kept her voice at a discreet level”).
39.
Here’s a special tip for writers. This came up in a conversation with author Carol Berg at
Norwescon. Think about the actions you’re making your characters do. In fact, you should
try them. Try spinning on your heel to turn around. Try hissing a statement without an “s”
in it. Make your characters’ actions logical, and your readers will love you.
40.
Let me tell you about the difference between adopted and adoptive. If your parents adopted
you, then you are their adopted child and they are your adoptive parents. I run into this
problem more often than you might think.
41.
Sometimes a thing just is. If something is unique, it is the only one. It can’t be very unique
or kind of unique or any other unique. The same goes for historic. There cannot be an
extremely historic event. It’s either historic or it’s not.
42.
Times is not a verb (unless it relates to that thing a clock keeps track of). The word is
multiply.
43.
Working primarily in fantasy, I see this one all the time. A counselor is one who gives
counsel, one who advises. A councilor is one who sits on a council, which is a body of
people that usually rules or gives advice.
44.
Don’t know whether to use less or fewer? The easiest way to figure it out is to think about
the items in question. If you can count them, you should use fewer. If you have five
marbles and you give two away, you have fewer marbles than before. However, if you have
really good writing, you’ll see less of my red ink on your manuscript. I hope someone from
TBS is reading this because the “more movie, less commercials” thing drives me nuts.
45.
I’ve been asked about capitalizing seasons and directions. It occurred to me that not
everyone knows that winter, spring, summer, and fall (or autumn) and north, south, east,
and west should not be capped (unless they start a sentence or are part of a proper name,
such as the Spring Fling or South Africa).
46.
Don’t use quotation marks to emphasize something. If you want to emphasize something,
you should italicize or underline it rather than putting it in quotes. If you use quotation
marks, you’re bringing the wrong kind of attention to the word or phrase, calling it into
question. See tip #47 for more on quotation marks.
Question: What if the medium, like plain text e-mail, does not support italicize and
underline?
Blue Falcon Editing: I wouldn’t use it for emphasis. There are ways to signify underlining
in plain text, such as the _underscore_ method. Remember using that way back when? I
have been known to use quotation marks instead of italics for titles of works in plaintext messages, though.
47.
Language Tip #46 addressed using quotation marks for emphasis (and that you shouldn’t
do that). However, let’s talk about sarcastic quote marks. It’s OK to use them to express
sarcasm, but don’t use them in conjunction with so-called. That term implies the quotes.
48.
Adjectives that are hyphenated before a noun are often not hyphenated after the noun. For
instance, “These full-grown strawberries taste delicious,” but “These delicious strawberries
are full grown.”
49.
I was recently in a restaurant where the server told us, “I’ll get your guys’s check.” Really?
Please, please, please don’t say “your guys’s.” There’s nothing wrong with “your.”
50.
In each of my four critiques at the Norwescon Writers’ Workshop, Ken Rand’s The 10%
Solution came up as a wonderful resource to trim writing and make it more concise. In that
vein, today’s Language Tip is that was going to can usually be replaced with would. Try it;
you’ll like it.
51.
Did I miss a pronunciation memo? I have heard two people in the past sixteen hours say
“processeez” instead of “processes.” The first I thought was a fluke when Ellen Pompeo
said it in the opening to an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. But when FCC chairman Julius
Genachowski said it twice in an episode of CNET Conversations, I began to wonder.
52.
Let’s talk about bazaar and bizarre. I recently edited a manuscript where the writer
consistently mixed up those two words. Please note that the former is a market, as one
would find in the Middle East. The latter is a synonym for odd, as one would find walking
through the halls at a science fiction convention.
53.
Hardly is a negative term. You should not combine it with other negatives, such as don’t or
can’t. It’s correct to say, “I can hardly wait.” Think of it the same as you would barely. I’m
not sure why people have a problem with hardly but not with barely. However, now you
won’t have that problem!
54.
It is not appropriate to say “one of the only.” It’s either one of more than one or the only
one. You can’t have one of only one. The phrase you’re looking for is “one of the few.”
55.
I think the biggest problem with “I could care less” is that people don’t actually think about
the meaning. All one must do is really think about what they’re trying to say, and they’ll
see that they want to say is there is no possible way I could care any less. The correct way
to say this is “I couldn’t care less.”
56.
This one is a simple definition tip. If you want to say that something is particularly
horrible, usually in a rather bloody way, you say it is grisly (with an s). If you’re talking
about the bear, you use grizzly. The latter can also be used as an adjective to indicate
something is streaked with gray, but it’s more often used with the bear.
57.
There’s nothing wrong with ending a sentence with a preposition. If it sounds better with
the preposition at the end, there’s no need to make a convoluted sentence to avoid it. Here
is one version of a much-varied quote often attributed to Winston Churchill: “This is the
sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put.”
58.
It is wrong to say, “He sat the plate on the table.” One sets a thing. The only way one can
use sat (which is the past tense of to sit) as a transitive verb (meaning one does the action to
something else) is to physically pose something that can then sit on its own. For example,
“She sat the doll on the couch so it looked as if it were watching TV with her.” Even then
you’re pushing it.
59.
More often than not, the prefix re- will not get a hyphen between it and the word it’s
modifying (resend, readjust). However, be careful with recreate and re-create. These are
different words. The former (without the hyphen) is the verb from which we get recreation.
You can go to a beach to recreate by lying down on a towel. If you want to create
something again, you re-create it.
60.
I hate to be harsh, but really, folks, use your spell-checker! Most software has a spellchecker built in. It’s not the best guide, but it’s better than nothing. Although it won’t tell
you when you’ve written form instead of from, it will tell you when you’ve written litttle
instead of little. Microsoft Word 2007 (and probably 2010) has a context-sensitive spellchecker too. It marks with a blue squiggly line any words it thinks are the wrong word
(e.g., ride in “Get ride of that thing” is marked because it figures you mean “Get rid of that
thing”). The proper way to write is to use the tools available to you. If you have a
dictionary, you should use it. If you have a grammar book, you should use it. If you have a
spell-checker, you should use it. It’s just another tool. As I said, it won’t find everything
and it certainly won’t help you write a compelling sentence, but it’s a nice tool to have.
61.
Because I talked about using the spell-checker today, I feel it’s my duty to say there are lots
of things spell-checkers don’t catch. Here’s one that made me laugh: “You won some
tennis lesions in the raffle!” Ouch! Tennis lesions? Is that something you get when you grip
your racket too hard? Here’s another: “He was quilt ridden.” Let’s take that nice Amish
quilt off the bed and throw it over your head so you can be quilt ridden. Computers aren’t
perfect.
62.
If you’re writing dialogue and have a paragraph break in the middle of a quote, the first
paragraph gets no closed quotation mark and the next paragraph starts with an open
quotation mark.
63.
Specializing in editing fantasy novels means I encounter this all the time. Those straps you
use to steer a horse are reins. If a country is ruled by a monarch, that person reigns. Your
spell-checker won’t catch this, so keep an eye out. If you know you used one or both of
these words in your manuscript, you should do a search for them to make sure they’re
correct based on the context.
Example using all forms of the homonyms: Not wanting to get wet, the reigning monarch
pulled back on his horse’s reins when it started to rain. Ain’t English grand?
64.
“The waste we collect helps power over one million homes.” I saw this on the side of a
Waste Management truck. I didn’t realize power needed to jump over so many houses.
Over and under are words that indicate position (“The crow flew over—or under—the
bridge”), not number. If you have six shoes, you have more than or greater than two shoes.
If you have three shirts, you have fewer than five shirts. These are the terms you should be
using with things that can be counted. Note the prefix over-, as in overcompensating, is
different from the preposition over.
65.
A person tries to do something. Do not write, “I will try and do this.” The “and” implies
that you will accomplish it once you try (“I will try it and I will do it”) If you are
attempting to do something, you should write, “I will try to do it.”
66.
That is a terribly overused word. If you put it in a sentence, try reading it without that.
You’ll see that most of the time, it’s not necessary and can be deleted. Remember, the
fewer words you use, the sooner your reader gets to the rest of the story. I’m working on a
190,000-word manuscript now that has too many unnecessary words. I’m helping the
writer streamline it.
67.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, let’s talk about the luck o’ the Irish. The apostrophe is used
to indicate missing letters. The o’ in the phrase is short for of, so the apostrophe indicates
the missing f. Don’t put the apostrophe in front of the o.
68.
It’s OK to boldly go. One of the worst things they teach us in school is that you shouldn’t
split infinitives. This is a holdover from Latin that was horribly misinterpreted. Latin
infinitives are one word, so it was impossible to split them. Someone way back when
decided that when English made infinitives two words, they should never be separated.
That’s a poor rule we should throw out. (The infinitive is the form of the verb with to in
front of it [e.g., to run, to go, to crush, etc.].)
69.
Don’t repeat yourself. Don’t use past experience, past history, follow after, or reason why.
You need only one word in each of these examples to make your point.
70.
Signs are expensive when you pay by the letter, and the fewer the letters, the bigger they
can be in the same space. Those facts are what cause people to use misspellings and
abbreviations in signs. However, that does not mean it’s OK to spell doughnut as donut,
light as lite, or barbecue as BBQ (which has inspired the misspelling barbeque). Please
don’t do that.
71.
Let’s talk about me, myself, and I. No, I’m not being narcissistic. This is a huge problem
that comes across my desk all the time.
I is a subject, which means it acts. (“I talk to him.”) Me is an object, which means things
act on it. (“He talks to me.”) Myself is a reflexive object. The reflexive part indicates that
an action is reflecting back onto it from itself. The only thing that can act on myself is I. (“I
talk to myself.”)
These rules apply no matter how many nouns are in the group with me, myself, or I. The
easiest way to determine what word should be used in those cases is to remove everything
else from the sentence. For example, in “John and I talk to you,” you would think, “I talk to
you.” You would never say, “Me talk to you,” so you shouldn’t say, “John and me talk to
you.” Look at “He talks to John and me.” You wouldn’t say, “He talks to I,” so you
shouldn’t say, “He talks to John and I.” “Questions should be directed to John and me.”
Questions can’t be directed to myself because there’s no reflecting going on, so don’t say,
“Questions should be directed to John and myself.”
72.
Drug is not—I repeat, not—the past tense of drag. The proper past tense of drag is
dragged. For example, “I dragged his sorry butt to the window and threw him out because
he wouldn’t stop saying he ‘drug’ the chair across the room.” Drug is a noun (as in
medication) and is a verb only when talking about administering a drug to someone (as in a
jerk drugging his date).
73.
I see this all the time. People mean led but they write lead. I think they’re saying it in their
heads and are coming up with homonyms. Here’s the issue: led is the past tense of to lead
and lead (pronounced “led”) is the metal that they don’t allow in paint anymore. If you’re
trying to say someone leads in the past, you want to write he led.
74.
Here’s a big one to contemplate over the weekend. The present tense lay is a transitive
verb, so it needs to be done to something else. The present tense lie (meaning to rest, not to
tell an untruth) is an intransitive verb, so it has no object. The confusion comes because the
present tense of the former is spelled the same as the past tense of the latter. Here are some
examples:
Present tense: lay/lie
“Now I lay me down to sleep” (me is the object)/“I lie down to sleep.” (no object)
Past tense: laid/lay
“She laid the scroll on the table yesterday.” (the scroll is the object)/“It was on fire when I
lay down on it.” (no object in this book title)
Past participle: laid/lain
“I have laid the report on your desk.” (the report is the object)/“The cat has lain down in
the sunlight for two hours.” (no object)
75.
Use who instead of that when talking about a person. For example, “Bill was the one who
said I should stop.”
76.
OK. This one’s not really grammar, but it’s important nonetheless. I know you probably
learned in school that two spaces should separate sentences and follow colons, but you
need to give up the ways of your childhood. Books use only one space. Your manuscripts
should be the same.
77.
Know the difference between healthy and healthful. A body can be healthy. Something that
makes a body healthy is healthful. For instance, Jeff can eat a healthful apple to make
himself healthy. You can also use healthy to mean prosperous or not small. So a healthy
helping of healthful fruits and vegetables will build a healthy body.
78.
This is a problem I see during editing and hear in speech. The definition of nauseous is
“causing nausea or disgust,” which means that if you say you’re nauseous, you’re saying
you cause others to feel sick. The proper term to use when you’re feeling sick to your
stomach is nauseated. For example, “That nauseous gas makes me nauseated.” Nauseating
can be used in place of nauseous.
79.
Don’t state the obvious. “He ran quickly to the door.” Is he going to run slowly? “He
thought to himself.” Would he think to someone else?
80.
I just cringed when I heard Bob Costas say “an historic” last night when talking about the
Olympics. If you pronounce the h sound, as in historic, then it’s treated like a consonant
and gets a, not an. If you don’t pronounce the h, as in herb (unless you’re British), then it’s
treated like a vowel and gets an.
81.
Don’t use decimal points when you use cents. This is one of my pet peeves, something that
makes me want to step into a store advertising something for .99 cents, hand them one
penny, and tell them to keep the change.
82.
One letter can change meaning. Watch out!
• lighting: illumination (n), present progressive of to light (v)
• lightning: a bright flash that precedes thunder (n)
• lightening: present progressive of to lighten (v)
83.
Don’t capitalize titles such as king and president unless they’re followed by a proper name.
For example, “The Post reported that President Obama will meet with the king of Jordan.”
If you’re capitalizing something, make sure it needs to be capped. A good rule of thumb is
to say “one of the many <fill in the blank>s in the world.” If the noun you’re talking about
fits into that statement without a problem, it likely doesn’t need to be capped. When the
title is being used as the sole form of direct address, it is capitalized. That goes for all kinds
of titles, including but not limited to Mom, Captain, and Your Majesty. It’s being used in
place of a name, so it should be capitalized.
84.
Poor use. Why does it get passed over in favor of its cousin utilize? They’re not synonyms
and using utilize instead of use doesn’t make one sound smarter; it does just the opposite.
Utilize is for when you use something for a task for which it wasn’t intended. For instance,
I might utilize my shoe to pound in a nail or a shirt to clean up a spill. I might utilize a
pillow as a silencer when I shoot a person for using utilization. Although it’s in the
dictionary, utilization is an absurdity that I think should be removed from the language. If
you can’t say it with use, find a completely different phrasing for the sentence.
85.
Compose and comprise are not synonyms. Using comprise when you mean compose does
not make one sound more intelligent; it does just the opposite. My scrambled eggs are
composed of eggs and milk, but eggs and milk comprise my scrambled eggs. (If the
ingredients come second, use compose; if the ingredients come first, use comprise.) Don’t
ever use is comprised of. Although Webster’s dictionary has compose and comprise as
synonyms in its definition of comprise, even Webster’s admits that this usage will probably
subject the writer to severe criticism. Better to avoid it altogether.
86.
e.g. = “for example” and i.e. = “that is” or “that is to say.” If you want to know which to
use, just replace it in your head with what it stands for. It will be easy to tell then.
87.
United States is a noun; U.S. is an adjective. For example, the U.S. government runs the
United States.
88.
Here’s a rule of thumb for dealing with than and then: Than is used most often for
comparison (e.g., “My sister is older than I.”) Then is used for almost everything else.
89.
An adverb modifies a verb and commonly ends in -ly. When you ask how something is
done, the response is an adverb. When you bid your party guests good-bye, you want to
say, “Drive carefully” or “Drive safely,” not “Drive careful” or “Drive safe,” because you
want to indicate how they should drive.
90.
More often than not, the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. Periods and commas
always go inside. The most common instance of punctuation going outside the quotes is
with the colon and semicolon. Both will almost always go outside. Question marks and
exclamation points go inside only if they’re part of the quoted material. In other words, if
what is inside the quotes requires that mark, then it goes inside:
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Shark!” she screamed.
BUT:
What did she mean when she said I was “too skinny”?
I don’t care if he did say I was a “booger”!
The em-dash (or simply dash) is treated almost the same as the question mark and
exclamation point. It goes inside if the speech itself is being cut off and outside to indicate
the narrative happening during the speech.
“I’m not shouting! All right, I am. I’m shouting! I’m shouting! I’m shou—” A candlestick
falls on his head.
BUT:
“We still have all these weapons. The gun,”—he picks up the gun—“the rope,”—he picks
up the rope and sets it and the gun with the wrench—“the wrench, the lead pipe.” He points
to the lead pipe, which Mr. Green picks up and hands to him. [This is not the best sentence
construction, but it illustrates my point.]
91.
People’s names (or words used in place of names) should be set off with commas in direct
address. Here are some examples: “I told you, Mom, that I have homework.” “Jim, I can’t
wait to see you.” “Come here, boy.” “Hey, scumbag, I’m talking to you.”
92.
Use between when you’re talking about two things and among when you’re talking about
more than two. For example, “Let’s keep this between you and me,” and “Talk among
yourselves.”
93.
When speaking of someone, you can say the person’s name, you can say the person’s
appellation (e.g., my sister, the girl, Jeff’s dad, etc.), or you can say both. If you’re going to
use both, you need to be aware of the proper use of the comma. If the person is the only
one who can have that appellation at that time, then you should use a comma between the
title and the proper name (e.g., “my husband, Jeff”), but if you have more than one person
who can fit that description, you should not use a comma (e.g., “my friend Keri”). The idea
is that the proper name is unnecessary information, so it’s separated with a comma.
94.
Let me give you some instruction on forming possessives with words ending in s or z. The
rule of thumb is if you say the second s, you include it (e.g., Chris’s, the Wiz’s). The
second part of that rule is if the word ends in an “eez” sound, it doesn’t get the second s
(e.g., Sophocles’, Euripides’). There are many exceptions, but this is a good rule to use as a
jumping-off point.
Jones is a good example of what to do with plural possessives:
• Jones = singular (Bill Jones)
• Joneses = plural (the Joneses)
• Jones’s = singular possessive (Bill Jones’s car)
• Joneses’ = plural possessive (the Joneses’ house)
95.
Here’s the simplest way to deal with insure and ensure (although there are other schools of
thought): use insure only when talking of insurance and ensure the rest of the time. Then
there’s assure, which is really more about assuaging someone’s doubt. Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition, has a good description under ensure: ENSURE,
INSURE, ASSURE, SECURE mean to make a thing or person sure. ENSURE, INSURE,
and ASSURE are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain
or inevitable of an outcome, but ENSURE may imply a virtual guarantee (the government
has ensured the safety of the refugees), while INSURE sometimes stresses the taking of
necessary measures beforehand (careful planning should insure the success of the party),
and ASSURE distinctively implies the removal of doubt and suspense from a person’s
mind (I assure you that no harm will be done). SECURE implies action taken to guard
against attack or loss (sent reinforcements to secure their position).
96.
Did you know that the most common spelling problem I come across is not really a spelling
error at all? It’s a consistency error. Word allows more than one spelling for many words.
You have to make sure you pick one and stick with it when you’re writing. I always go to
Webster’s dictionary to pick the one to use; it’s the first one listed (others are called
variants).
97.
Punctuation is often misunderstood. One of the most common problems is the em-dash
(otherwise known as the dash) and the ellipsis (those three dots). Use the em-dash for
sentences that are interrupted (either without ending or by a side note), but use the ellipsis
for sentences that trail off or omitted words in quotations. For example, “So I thought,
um . . .” shows the ellipsis marking where the speaker trailed off, and, “That rock is flying
right at my fa—” shows the em-dash indicating where the speaker was cut off.
98.
There are two accepted abbreviations for until: ’til (with a leading apostrophe) and till
(without an apostrophe). The only thing you need to remember is to pick one and stick with
it. You absolutely do not want to switch back and forth.
99.
Health care is two words. If it’s used as an adjective, it’s hyphenated (“health-care
reform”). It is never one word.
100. I’ve heard people say loose when they mean lose. I admit that I’ve seen this in print too.
First let’s talk about pronunciation. Loose has an s sound (loos) and lose has a z sound
(looz).
Now let’s talk about the definitions. Loose can be an adjective (loose tooth), an adverb (tie
it loose, although loosely is preferred), or a verb (loose the hounds). Lose is a verb,
meaning to misplace, to fail to keep control (lose his temper), or to get rid of (lose weight).
There are several meanings, actually, but these are the most common.
Index
Click a paragraph number to go to the tip.
abbreviations ............................................ 29
action ........................................................ 39
adjectives.................................................. 48
adopted ..................................................... 40
adoptive .................................................... 40
adverb ....................................................... 89
affect ........................................................ 14
among....................................................... 92
amongst .................................................... 11
an historic ................................................. 80
and then .................................................... 10
any more..................................................... 8
anymore...................................................... 8
apostrophe ................................ 7, 14, 21, 67
appellation ................................................ 93
arcane ....................................................... 26
archaic ...................................................... 26
assure........................................................ 95
attorneys general ........................................ 5
autumn...................................................... 45
backwards ................................................ 33
barbecue ................................................... 70
barbeque ................................................... 70
barely........................................................ 53
bazaar ....................................................... 52
BBQ ......................................................... 70
began .......................................................... 1
beside the point ........................................ 36
between .................................................... 92
bizarre ...................................................... 52
capitalize ............................................ 83, 45
cents ......................................................... 81
Churchill, Winston ................................... 57
colon ......................................................... 90
comma .................................... 19, 20, 91, 93
complement .............................................. 34
compliment .............................................. 34
compose ................................................... 85
comprise ................................................... 85
conjugation ............................................... 23
consistency ............................................... 96
contractions ................................................ 7
councilor .................................................. 43
counselor .................................................. 43
couple ......................................................... 9
dash .................................................... 90, 97
decimal points .......................................... 81
despite ...................................................... 16
dialogue .................................................... 62
directions .................................................. 45
discreet ..................................................... 38
discrete ..................................................... 38
donut ........................................................ 70
doughnut .................................................. 70
drag .......................................................... 69
drug .......................................................... 69
east ........................................................... 45
effect ........................................................ 14
e.g. ........................................................... 86
Elizabethan English ................................. 17
ellipsis ...................................................... 97
em-dash .................................................... 97
emphasis ................................................... 46
ensure ....................................................... 95
every day .................................................. 13
everyday ................................................... 13
exclamation point ..................................... 90
fall ............................................................ 45
farther ......................................................... 3
fewer .................................................. 44, 64
follow after ............................................... 69
foreign speech .......................................... 17
forwards ................................................... 33
further ......................................................... 3
greater than............................................... 64
grisly ........................................................ 56
grizzly ...................................................... 56
hardly ....................................................... 53
“he thought to himself” ............................ 78
health care ................................................ 99
healthful ................................................... 77
healthy ...................................................... 77
historic................................................ 41, 80
however .................................................... 18
hyphen .................................... 24, 28, 48, 59
I ................................................................ 71
“I could care less” .................................... 54
i.e. ............................................................ 86
in spite of.................................................. 16
insure ........................................................ 95
is, is ............................................................ 2
lay............................................................. 74
lead ........................................................... 72
led............................................................. 72
less............................................................ 44
lie.............................................................. 74
light .......................................................... 70
lighting ..................................................... 82
lightning ................................................... 82
lightening ................................................. 82
lite ............................................................ 70
loath.......................................................... 37
loathe ........................................................ 37
loose ....................................................... 100
lose ......................................................... 100
me............................................................. 71
more than ................................................. 64
multiply .................................................... 42
myself ....................................................... 71
names ....................................................... 91
nauseated .................................................. 78
nauseous ................................................... 78
noble speech ............................................. 17
nonplussed................................................ 27
north ......................................................... 45
not only . . . but also ................................. 20
numbers .................................................... 28
obvious ..................................................... 78
“one of the few” ....................................... 54
“one of the only” ...................................... 54
only .......................................................... 21
over .......................................................... 64
passed ....................................................... 35
passersby .................................................... 5
past ........................................................... 35
past experience ......................................... 69
past history ............................................... 69
period ....................................................... 19
plural .................................................... 5, 21
possession/possessives ................... 7, 21, 94
preposition................................................ 57
processes .................................................. 51
pronunciation ........................................... 51
punctuation ...... 7, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 28,
29, 46, 47, 48, 59, 62, 67, 90, 91, 93, 97
question mark ........................................... 90
quotations ................................................. 62
quotation marks ...................... 46, 47, 62, 90
rain ........................................................... 63
Rand, Ken (author)................................... 50
re- ............................................................. 59
real........................................................ 9, 12
really ........................................................ 12
reason why ............................................... 69
re-create.................................................... 59
recreate ..................................................... 59
recreation.................................................. 59
redundancies ...................................... 10, 69
reigns ........................................................ 63
reins .......................................................... 63
sarcastic quote marks ............................... 46
sat ............................................................. 58
seasons ..................................................... 45
semicolon ..................................... 18, 19, 90
set ............................................................. 58
sisters-in-law .............................................. 5
so-called ................................................... 46
so that ....................................................... 10
some times ............................................... 25
sometimes ................................................ 25
south ......................................................... 45
spaces ....................................................... 76
spat ........................................................... 31
speech, foreign ......................................... 17
speech, noble ............................................ 17
spell-checker ...................................... 60, 61
spelling ..................................................... 96
spit ............................................................ 31
split infinitives ......................................... 68
spring........................................................ 45
summer..................................................... 45
10% Solution, The .................................... 50
than........................................................... 88
that.......................................... 10, 32, 66, 75
then........................................................... 88
’til ............................................................. 98
till ............................................................. 98
times ......................................................... 42
title case ..................................................... 4
titles .................................................... 83, 93
to boldly go .............................................. 68
towards ..................................................... 33
try and do ................................................. 65
try to do .................................................... 65
under ........................................................ 64
unique....................................................... 41
United States ............................................ 87
until .......................................................... 98
upwards .................................................... 33
U.S. ......................................................... 87
use ...................................................... 11, 84
utilization ........................................... 11, 84
utilize........................................................ 84
variant spellings ....................................... 96
vice versa ................................................. 30
visa versa .................................................. 30
voluminous................................................. 6
voluptuous .................................................. 6
-wards words ............................................ 33
was going to ............................................. 50
west .......................................................... 45
which ........................................................ 32
who ........................................................... 75
winter ....................................................... 45
word count ................................................. 1
would........................................................ 50
would have ............................................... 23
“your guys’s” ........................................... 49