NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ST eS ts eee ay use the English language properly An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style English “Wise, funny, and brilliantly practical advice from ‘one of the world’s foremost copy editors.CHAPTER 2 Rules and Non-Rules HAVE NOTHING AGAINST RULES. They're indispensable when Tivies ‘Monopoly or gin rummy, and their observance can go a long way towards improving a ride on the, how you say, "Tube." The rule of law? Big fan. The English language, though, is not so easily ruled and regulated. It developed without codification, sucking up new constructions and vocabulary every time some foreigner set “foot on the British Isles ~ ro say nothing of the mischief we Americans have wreaked on it these last few centuries ~ and continues to evolve anarchically It has, to my great dismay, no enforceable laws, much less someone to enforce the laws it doesn’t have.t Certain prose rules are essentially inarguable tence’s subject and its verb should agree in number, for instance. = that a sen- + You say “ube say ‘subway’ Let’ call he whol ting of Tharthe Heian had for censure an academe tha keeps sharp and onli en te age hy cs for» modern Pench spear ‘read and undead tte han fora modem glo pee 0d nd undentand Sakespeste.i ae ‘Orthavin not only x uty’ construction, the x andthe y muse be parallel clement (More on hisin Chapter 6: Lite Gram mma Isa Dangerous Thing) Why? I suppose Because thet Fumly encrenced, because no one cates 10 argue with the, and because hey aid usin using ovr words 0 their pre-eminent purpose: to communicate cealy with our readers Let’ cll these reasons the Four Cs, shall we? Contention, Consens, (Clas: Comprehension, Also simply because, I swear to you, a wel-constrcte sentence sounds bene. Literally sounds better. One ofthe best ways to determine whether you poses wel contracted ‘sto ea talon. A semence that can't readily be voiced sa sentence that likely neds to be rewritten ‘A good sentence, 1d myself saying frequent is one that the reader can fellow fom beginning fo end, no mater how longi is without having o double back ia confusion ‘because the writer misused amid key pes of pn "on, chose a vague or misleading pronoun, rin some ater sy engaged in inadvertent misdirection (If you wat pe le your eader that’s your em business) ‘As much a | ike 2 good aul, 'm an enssiasic sub scribe othe notion af rales are meant robe Broken’ ~ once you've learned ther, hasten to ad ‘let’, right now, aren oa few of what eink of as the Great Non-Raes ofthe English Language. You've encoun ‘ered all of these; kly you were tught them in shook ke yout free yourself of them. Theyee at helping youl ‘theyre doings logging your brain and inciting you to lok ‘itconseiously ver our own shoulder you wri, whichis ss pychicly painful asi physically impossible. And once you've done that one you've otro then, hope yo ‘an put your atention on vty more important hs Why re thy no-rules fas Pm concerned, Deane ‘they angl nel, pointe consrcing kes cess. Also because theyre general of dubs ogi: de at of thin aig then pase on tl tee gal ope Ae sly and, wkimately, oss. Langue opt frre expert than I) Bae, mete sr done ho es to ‘Rak them, ye these made-up strictures reine mg sar and Fe ponen more durable than Ket Richards and Mit Jue together: Pet of the problem, {must anti son of fhe were made up by ostensible and peumaly welling Tanpuage experts inthe fst places geting of them canbe abil eying ro gta dog stop chasing en i Til dispatch these reasonably sexnt with behoe ha oul east that ve done my homework ad will py 0 “ethem go. I'm mindful of Gertrade tens chrcerson of Ezra Pound as village expaine, excelent if you wwe Silage, but if you were not, not and 0 ane wants et tb Also if you peri in insisting that hese nn-le ‘ell and valid and ro be adhered tall he expt cons the world won't, [know through epee, change Yo mind one tiny lie bi “An admission: Quite lo of whar Ido 2 op tos tobelp writers vod being eared a fait or~ an hh st that hares ~ unfaiy by Peple Who Thnk Tey Koow eter and WteAggrcved Emails to Publishing Hous. Ths "ted to he abit conserva abo oun hat mB 4 bt dabious in thei origin but, obser hans tous. And though the norrules Below ae cai 2 mrss ar ou sayin breaking tein percenage af the reading a online some tsp your fndaent oyu you ct Goad ‘8d break them anya an ard 1H ask oP ‘THE BIG THREE [Never Begin a Sentence with OB do gna semen with no Ba “2%, odo so Great writers ital htm. 4° 058"ses great wes ike the person who has, so far ths ook, done ia few ties and intend o doit lr more Bur sot a they edt sa, ere comes a caveat: An Ander "But (ora ‘For oran ‘Oro "However op 2 Tecaus’ to ct four ater sentence starters one is aten ‘eared gait) ot always te strongest begining for Sentence, and making a relentless habit of wsing any of them palls quick. You may fd that you don’ need that ‘Anda all Yu may ind that your ‘And’ or"Bu’ sentence might easily teach ots predecessor sentence with either a comma or 4 semicolon, Take a god lok, and gie ita good think" Ler¥tes an example ortwo. France, ofcourse, became an outsider shunned by ll ‘ecate of her stench. Bat she had become ace tomed a being lane Francie, ofcourse, became an outsider shunned by all because of her tench bt she had become act tomed to being lone hich Yow ink ey Smith the author of A Tire Grou i root, hse The forms t happen, Had bee Sth copy eo might el asp he pues as well: ‘or nt you lke movie musa Fare eee con pn ame on en ene an tk poi n wing nh re aut wb ual aed any This particular non-H ae be lensed to noe span op on 25 sth 2, twenith century, andi hase foun ther than erotchet me th sgh That said, ther’ nothing woe wk Band souning sch But ss THECHAPTER 6 A Little Grammar Isa Dangerous Thing T\icegennse we ok cr te edt has gamma 1h "pe won sot the only person currently reading who was nt especially wel tained, back in schoo! «bys dheins and oats of grammar. When I started oUt 382 ‘opp editor ele that most of what I knew about gras nar Thnew instinctively Thai knew how most ~ certainly allo the i : amar things worked | simply didn't kro ‘hac thy wereld. aa apdgrnnaFilbchan- peso ell you what a nominate late chink chat the word “genitive” sounds wage? sc inn eae None Pn shocking, it sti poi ged tha 1 as ing 0B ‘hoe rsp dowel colar ali dha precisely what td earned ite To lie hh cis doe things isnot erly important th yor bene en ‘called. So in this chapter ~ covering the ee cn nin mn eye ‘formation a simple and appiabe a pesbl apd skp he terminology wets) 1 Here's one of those gramma eh eg nt eet ee ase eae eae, ra mt eco those" or “one ofthe’ grab my soo reach for that tb ateached (07-385) sca Tes worth noting that when the pall Porter wrote “one of those esha wanesoc mb male 4s YE BIE IM rn fll that 8 ad then rnp ee cine the grammar hak wrecking ih Pose there a ho of geammancal copyediting cally challenged om than this one Paeneneee am imple “Rell? #, from pean SEPA the wan a's donein the United States solu Fl wonee tha this temp tne of those ees sus ednorscan confound lypeople Se Mies there: And do pain toons Hope these ons Pm hseningo 3 wonderful singer tole fase onan epeately and who dda realise had opine that whsh Mask Twain never quite said are Feats exageatd, woud do wel fan 4 wield cor fooy of at leat and perhaps more important learn not 6 ‘hem abe should’ pose tow many challenges: He "romero thnk of who" asthe cousin of "he she and they” the thing doy the ching aka a subject) amd rk ol whoa as the cs “me “hime, ad seth thang beng ees tbs ands then the man whom Shire wt eee carnation in bistaped in oe Ha thi seme wd a sous deleted the “whom altogtier Sone sn Wkcakout the singer ainda ut parsons Firsay mothingt to whamst he Bel Tl Te thing 60 avon 5h. moment of pte! po ohm what you fealy wate wi ie gemerally referred to asa hypenoeraton, 1 CGuimoured of and that ve foun confines epi bse {he point of a hypetctetion snot thats perp reat but that trang ss hand ws be nue crro. But util vin sree suk ith whom’ hypercotestions ~ tans se Hong as wee hee tea ‘Noy that’ a parenthetical phese’ camp 4th for chat ver camp. Foor the former ers thank of Vics the here of Sake spsate’s Tuelfeh Night and er bots boss wos Ietcses has drowned an ships . No. The ‘she belies 7 eee her bre, Sefhatan, who ns slooes peck Wall that wart bon wil S21 Ie bees boson her bros, Sebastian. a siganrecPe ys? it is thought’, = sesh hgh oun hats es roth vtec sem Wachue otat e hyperconetion oscars Whey sore pe coeyhing col up pete give ict 10 andyou'e so dae sure that the next wor is, well, of cours, see pe thing = ai’ hey a "them’ ~ cha you | give the biscuit to whomever wanted it the mos. “And no agin I that fllowing verb, that ‘wanted shat vel demands» subject leading to a correct: Iganethe bsuitvo whoever wanted tthe most ‘iu canto be sure, give the biscuit to whomever you Tk and that willbe corzet 100. Your hypercorection alarm, i tis cas, should sound at he horizon, and alot ofthe time ‘wil ge the biscuit wo whoever is most deserving In grammars, that’s “The elative pronoun isthe subst of long ret thee of he presen =P few ft oly to write about ‘not yx HM ‘victim wrath xy emsteuc8™ sty’ Tote wt ly 4 ell fay" comaructions bat a wee . ‘oma ote he ok ad Jack ada boy! sage. The ois umpy ha oi et minder ming tater ra fone fond hee he se ony buon te roa ok ae Uap ae wma ni a ea my hs Rte loco 1 ie ntes y emtaa a es al wm ih) ce wr Jord I deon tory ee ar hg px woe Tenener pt setantaus She achieved succes not ony though vm tence but perseverance: and not give it a second thought But you do wast eh She achieved success nt only through ence hut through persereeacs She achieved success through 900 rece but persevranse Similac navel Jack Tora th som hy ec te ang “at er fos ors peso 2s by 4ork alae an sev tama ae om al hy er ‘her st Sos 2 rater Dan acer 10 work al aflernoon op Team 308 subco ESE Tom, not “Not with wih nr bang bata whiner Lets get ice” ro she curt aga hime? ts Sta shang bt wih wie ‘Oban hs pesaelce moe easton f the xis singlar md a he eo fall splral: the xpos aoa ver rofl singular. Thats spy “Tike yur ve om hey ihr the pein norte representatives hae the “ines ea what’ going 0 ute the repeats norte president has the “ses wha’ going on (Ise tis whos ate’ or eis who am a> {icra Why make things more complicated shan thy mado be? "someone were ryingeo kil yo how do you think they shout ‘leading that sentence the ae af my moriy a var porentlcorpsncs aside —hur your ears andor oft our snes? Ft did, you might well choose 0 817 ‘hereto ths sction and mean tothe next. Mi tk Ihecise wens tal. hc ncn pn ofthe single ‘they ~ thatthe a "hs pm they" a individ aman Bn Sree simply fed Boag at "What We S2% On I er Sages Se trovd worth saying. aa The 1934 0p9 editor might wll hatte poe is perfectly appropriate in sch ae bene ae simply mean anys of pont ‘Wel this eweny-Bese-cemury copy eo mol ie wo pon ou that plenty of ent ects pp wile tibrage andr feel exclude, anther eh fully and eighteousy and the worl be won er Low rumblings of dostsaction the nny ene lesche” were vehemetnly making hemes ma serps Iwas assigned to work on inte ea sys sn one Iw, ned, were tempting ey amt an “The most popula, srl hen + The use fhe or ha nA ste so fe Ne to stay whatever he or she Ms Piss and undoubrely uc esome, bt ines + The alternation of he an she’sonenp8"09 by paragraph, somtin seen by seem 80 IE youre recat et vet8 tim, But nether cn ou ge ashi ibe aus this may ed i to 9 talon 1 bei thr she the mst of aro ss meaning, yeu Mahe abies ‘ Flcout ase ofthe pra ‘Sh fom BE age the lst byoe y's hideous sis amar et A emcee she angular wey" in met trop wh wer wh ached for Ad rem copy itor in ehose days wo “Ga ban any sl iH sce gto yt onarthey without yng aa aur oni soricone else's PO? i uoalwaysto gab the opportunity ota sn plato tha abiting the need fora sree pmoan Aeon shold be able to study whatever rea retornseal so “Students should be able co Stay hte they is “Wheat waa posible, Fd find myself ying 0 fue conta rptasentenee ro work without any pronoun all tenors ul asyou nigh hk ~a nip here, tack there I ie eat [ound or atleast persuaded myself, was ‘ona ihe, leaner, stoner sentence Tht OK. les pe back othe second decade of the tweny fesecetuy in which excogeaphers and other word folk en thon remind ws that the pronoun ‘they’ has been ted singly in prose for centuries, happily provide ex np of that we in Great Works of Literature, dutifully et ot that the proscription against ee singular ‘they ing sh igh an of we te sng he nnd eo it oe awn Se OF ntaa sl sant pt en hartge se ne eit a "mean Hn a samen ‘nnn pap eh jr another of those Vorianera _ pit grammar ules we th een sale wn be finale, encOUragIElY encourage seen ah the Palle otf ane cea slaon ws pean Nets me set pach Right The Al ong YA The “The singly" wt he ne fe estat thepescn iets tte Ton swarms pede nc arcs fail aptto pall out my tied-and ve wcstedager iNew notes though, before we moan emt +e ih be ig hs co ai we wlan Pench mhih ensue spe arc line oblate wpa eed (icciny ie etn hen renee ees eee aorta oem a «Sothern So ‘what they like or boys bes rend isthe moter aedaft” «Tear elp bu aoe ht gute umber ps ists who Toully adore wing the sap “hr ‘would be eae dead sing thems asi Ing to the evidence of thei surounding Ne of that what you + You wll ote el hat ori iso cok pages do Lever (oi of vans smo fences) se the pronoun ‘he or se 04 person who ant apes ota Nei ‘ill you encounter abe she + Over he ers ve or hts bake ono, abo hen on tess they specially win at Aosncume css see mma? aeven esponsibe fOF.oF any Sethe eg he F700 HE iam a peaothe English language and ache soe oy wth meh ne ess thrugh he chanel John tn The Trev of the Sierra Madre was ‘ingen TCM. Hosun weave problem. Fons staching isl ro the sentences subjct~ shan he Husto’s The Treasure of the Sierst Madre cena iy ibe copyediting business call that introductory bar eho i Fipping vestesly through the channels) a “Th ptr favour of dangle is called in full a dan ing pari, but not all danglees are participles, and Jovy sine tbe erm dangling participle? mandates that toa emember what a participle is. "Dangling modifie” ~ ‘meinen ns into the term “isattached modifies” ot ‘onpliced modifier’ = makes for a better overall desi tne, but ‘dangle i easier and quicker, so le's ust sick so tha Whateser we're calling them, danglers are" “the mos common err commited in otherwise so” zum re and by fa the mon egrgios spe of olay makes it to prin Authors write them SOP? dr tak them " Siutunstek shar, prateadrs sped past the { sentially 8 S00 intodactn : vcivofsecortethy Ors Metta #9 an be nett eachother. Is snere hep os tae igh the channels then the semen Ee oe a eh se sama ip bet ee ne the aris certainly n0t"John Huson Te ren Soe Mad vs sao the siralling through the park the weather mas ling esa “The weather was beaual a we toll wy ask. Yu. “ Asvving a che pray car was nove tobe Found. Nab. ‘when arrived at the garage my car wasn to be found, Yeah. Pethaps these sorts of eror Seem obvi 010 4 ticularly since we're taking abou them bee an ang them ~ bat 8 Tai they ean slip ight past you yout paving atention, For instance, please hop back up 2 few pargnts a take another look a the sentence tha begin Inpro ‘aching isl Yeah, Dangle Here's the opening semence of Norman Mae ‘opening ove Harlors Ghost Ona late-winter eveningia 1985. whee ‘through fog along the Maine ost ssn | ‘old campfires began drift ino the Mash land Iehoughe ofthe. Algongon ibe to del eae Bangor a thousand e398 Now, uns i's the eosin ving sh this sentence has problem areasson yo sy gh fe ing ne ty Lend ohio ene NEES so cam spt rho nerf Lhe wel go with sos man ah yoy ina garden of dandeli that rte fe as were a peo tions, ‘mean sin that = iby wha suracayou'e goronly an in your hands, when do yoy loc wand when Jo you se Were Woh nea hing When was baby copy eto, tas seid Boner ott impor the subjunctive on writes wee aoe marry woe That i if 2 writer wrote," | EE Rat rhe Unted Sates, Td spend a bic more time Pav Ont offeand a be Iss ime in Florida’ one shoo rea thae nie and hat "as alone. "Fhoranesmanhing order I could fora good long while, monh nth and if youte satis wit it 28 wel then by al ‘pean march wa or you're cling ile itchy, e's make another run a ‘a Tenth on for sz If you're weting of a situation that tor merely ot the case bat is unbiel,impeobabe, or just plain mposnbl, ou can cereal reach fora "were ‘oy if you'te acknowleing oy Me and an whi ingthat most certainly dd eccur-a Ii 1 was hesitant 1 embrace out eon yer, ie was simpy that Twas to den absorb it “onto ropey 101 ere wo win the loner tomortow, 1 quit my job fat would make your head spin, 16 you'r wing of «station that is simply nor the ease tut could be, ou might op fora 1 he was o walk ico the room eight now, give in 2 goo pce of my mindquyPTER gave Things to Do (and Not to Do) with Punctuation cs cat fe dating came the wade SET oth en be say nt is eet, ANDBONE OF POM, pe Deen espe te wo oe ce ipo pnts your bet means of conveying seid ows mean our ering to be read, how you Ltrs vend A comma sounds diferent than semi Yn phos ke a Beem aos than dass. Sune 5 sy its of punctuation a6 they ca The Janes qutel abo often used so mucho he ews ing pid bythe doe and squiege) Syne fem sch a gt ay with Soe mie we punctatian wth pressions Ait srs 97 te my best suppor that 50 nes ‘etal opmhemfle and consent.” Not all ane "Sein. how. Typing or nc ryping c= 3° ech scene cl ane Tetra te ae ae sa i coaind pa ving eee oe cae agian ea mee one eee rd the Show Ben pee of ring ing open! unas lenges titi puctn edhe canbe ed (iF cnacavty cn bn Fs rng spt ch ST enetncoal quando a se po eth thy lend me wring boc my bf or rch at bi ft pbc eo Se ke nh Fd ht ent on ae slender pon moe “Ante perl re buh ppt es ent cere eh it fo dade tee Sire we ning en pti peo ‘he ammon enc ob i hy am Soar econ ands yl ad we hr Tein comma ear byphen FULL STOPS! 1 Two spaces afer fll tp athe end of sere. et? 1A Wong Uknow that ick when you wat shoo 0 OP ing class and pecking aay 3¢ your Sith Coro Cornet “Amomatic 1, Mrs Teel tug yout pe a dole sass aferasemence-endngltop buona oon ashok, Jou ae no lenge rypngon ape and Mrs Teeel Tenge looking eve your seule ihr bra vous of inhabit or once youve fed wring what 8 yo ‘eting do lab seucanexcat or oe thick wl dispose of mo nly entree oars Fo ey pear sn avethose that hae sp into your text between words 38 you cu, copra, pasts and otherwise revised. IFyou don't Lil’ Th on of pcg cys and inal! wi {at woe hs wel pone otf fashion, soe i aan Uh nae to ee EBA han Fy B.C han BB UN.ES.C.O. than UNESCO, ete. Insofar as academic de- ‘grees are concerned, I'm less keen on BA, MD, an D tthe hn BA, BLD. sd Pi hich ae sed Aner Inthe il hgh meting ede the, Calories des tha on oft o moe ete tl cpecily nthe servo the eared sorts he fo ton the mes th degen am hay fo ‘Svc inticalgaig for something ee “Se ht op Ta nit a a ached ro che subject, ha here's an ex ated “eum that covets as wel sat acted eee sn eseacnnet ad ‘Rerhowen th pines wi a pe es Ce rend se nea se maemo eee rsh pe a Seance and hare Stn Rant l= run er wpa es ‘Shin Some Drs a “The woeer state abbreviations that the United Sats Feral Service ~ USPS ~ lies fo se 8 envelopes (MA, NY Ca the ik} do no take fall tps, They ao shuld pear anpere es baton eles and asks nb sepa notes sexton. and anywhere ese yu may ed ee previate a states name, please stick othe ol shined ene attractive Mass, NY, Calif and oon, Or ust he ivgnmup and write the whos thing ou “ tn the State, some of ts havea ard time droping the fll sop from the abbreviation US. petaps simply out of hai puhops cease US looks £0 us ike the (shoured) objtve Fw, Some of us wore als aught fo use US (that ive, as “US. foe policy's ster hing only apa ae “ots othe coumery non ony inflate Usd Se prs thar don bas. Bas 1 York nett p UK eon af my frm US bok en fanurthefllstple US. and mye re ing fe eh Ths of UK eter anton total an would sere ocho ose pronouncing the UK’, ver in” s Feel fee to end a sentence shaped ike really a question with fl stop cathe leaker statement, does ha ist 1 quesion fan qucston nk etary been ced ste UK rn ot went tesacolonissomchow not eptimate sentence) bite ti, by, Tomer ica valuale wa 1 inal 0 readers what favour of tevrhe'e about oead and coavoid sending them scurrying trams tad othe clon once they realise that what ty thought wax going robe asenence ston, oF hat what hey thought nas gong to Be a sentences on APOSTROPHES . fore we gtto what ou douse apostrophes foe recount wha you dn use hem or. ‘Step bath, 'm about o ht the cars tock hey [DO NOTEVER ATTEMPT TOUSE AN APOSTROPHE ‘TOPLURALISE A WORD. ‘NOT EVER” ASIN NEVER’ ‘ou ma approach Discting dspproalrowardsmiswrinen produce signs dering “banana and “potter ‘potatoe of at's, Besh Engh has dubbed such incor ‘ilded sgugls‘eengrocer’s apostrophes In Ameren ‘bree don't iengrces we should, Ti say.cllhe simtbingcse. The tm was is eaught ws iio APOE Phe bahar at eal mee Less al hem cant apostrophes. Which is kind of day don't yu hik?| Tn any ce dnt se them. Not for banana, pra bats princsi, Adan, amas, Windsrs Besta what ehe ye wt mone than one sro sia te for amedes month fe wil ome whee aeduben nan sept ele ras aS tac or the apostrophe ky wll ap ourhan. u “The plrlstion of abbreviation, 0, egies no pot hes More than one CD = CDs. More tan on 1D = Dy Mow than one ATM = ATMS Es, 2 “osay nothing of dos and dons, yes and ns! 2. “Thee nosh word as thei Or you u Here comes a major onthe otherhad tou: Do we apostrophe ro plaraise leet. ‘One minds one’ pis and (ne dats one and eros one. (ne rings ome on one's eo ed oe Bad Twos! % ger you'eadep atthe ws of aro Possess: pes or se the dogs tor Mery Steps umptceth OSOe , | wowemnon thats 90 PET = NOUNS ding wich Fateast notin cet published 0 one ct ate Publbed txt enn” cette ie she bon ofie sBepinces a ch fn post pak ooking. and for mn. en, been sofice the pancessina sche no-brainer ay tog. “Tube kooks a the door though, when termina! cou stb easof prope nouns, When the talk urs so the wre of Great Expectations and Ovr Mutual Foss the aban att and autor of The Death and Leo (rest American Cities othe nemesis of std ban actor autor how do we sve thee ownership? ‘Wel, can cern lou how Faye them: (Cade Dicker’ noel Jane Jacobs's ahoeacy ober Moss's mealomania “Though ou may come acoss much discussion dew ‘slegche appending cent appending of post apontope > ‘ctonprouncaon’comention, or what dy ofthe wc nk yl fd that youl save yours aor af hiking ‘met oo thinking about ees and jus aplpng he "deen ugeyour set aside the TeadtonalExeptions ‘ecgu andor Beng the Son of Gd and go with stance hret arte eerie ie ater te eee ee netfee sta socates Aeschylos Xernes Jews %. ‘warning: Hany ping Birger te apc ade besa CChales Dickens's noel ‘Charles Dicken’ ranels Asypos go thasort of things pro as oso anda oreook, Be careful 2. “Te PosesssATION OF DONALD TRUMP, J. A Gras GUGNOL IN ONE ACT In July 2017 one of my nation’s puceminn perp some wat sldlightedly parochial maga foe upon he sod hi headin: “The writer Michal Colton in an aphscret ted this particular method of renering 2 powesie ommasposrophe bulb wich may nt be the ese tech em frit bt which asst fn aS Let me sy ehiabout hat “Thats ot how hs work, Tha nt How ayo ho wos you ate younger or more fren shikg ah ~you may already eer the names hs ‘spring cmsmalesaly ts onal Trump Jewha yo ve REE pun Trump eva rerio wretch ani: ‘onal emp Jes esky incon costo, though, 38 ff fe gig onmmisand al pot 3: ‘Donald Tm Js perious wretch ‘when psesving sch Peon, YOU Options are at howor ted above which 1 ef vepaing Donald Team, J peo (which is admidy Tiueunbalnce)| Dold Trump Je perf (eter balanced, nda Jenene eestabing ve) from Yuchawse? * Les me ont plural proper non posesvs, ve wih any eas have been shed particulary around Chrismas dune. Fire weave pope consrct the plrals hems. Soe: utr Sand Bes Truman =the Trmans John Fan acqine Kenedy = the Kennedy st Marprtand Denis Thatcher = the Tatches a thn mata ih he eo be ean cha or i SEER Scots ta et No ema pone plan of pend iit pa bos Bm Nigel Farag and oh ser nd And, ching hicks heh my ep Jon an Apa Ads =the Adan, The pluaan of snd pipe mm a up rot pope, ba obnanl Rates Aa Jt Que an Uta an Raed hei dtc Hes ad thatcme heat reeked ih Utd Ste bt yop he pe Teepe who are pray ort Kp wy wh se Joneses and il wager he ons ands ening Chrismas can aleve te ne-womns thutkatcheihrf te Adams. he wen ices the Dicer ar th re ft bu st yore arson the game played Ws batherometo oom se our China cali Ada my ‘Ato pose th, peo ae the Taman waging auher the Adams crated cntndese the Dicemes ersinwrck of maringe ». 1 Janet has some peri and Nelo has someon [eanete and Nelon ae nat hating hops hae pe slate Jeanctte’s and Nelo’ pests tf Jeanete and Neon stand vip a Prsue ascii poly of lls th Bem ‘oF humankind hoe pea tm Jeanette and Neos psay aps even the pork wt 18 esther 'S Beng, 2 etme tame mat Tm may min he’ rE NAN ONE FE oy pny tamer iat set hlmpu oats ita mast BONED fem spk map FO? ay he 50 faomrs markt tm asonaly hopealy certain that no one wil mia fame mart ss. mack in which one might purchases fame) 3 “Thoughts its champions there decision ro lide’ “hein a possessive comeuction, 25 in Can MeCallers’s Heart Ie Lonely Hunter sel ainays make me wrinkle my nose, and it ean ea ouch cb es 38 James Joye’ Dead hich ks tome ke citer a shocked headline or abit of Dubin we rat, SEMICOLONS "ove seins ke Hee pizzas fried pork dom ln: ene aly andthe operas of Puck "yds the sentence abowe include semicolons? Became the mob sem dd fe seems 3 Tst any of shone nda Comma in thiseae, rca =™ en Now, [might cers have noid nding the clmentsia ther the, vemila by r owe semicolons Mk oe iil pda ngs the operas of Puc and Yenoe hal But semicolons ae snail wes you mnt wn tikes of Ley’ favourite nove Rate High the Ro eam, (Carpenters: ural, My Loveyand On Tne, One Pace. Because: Lucy’ favourite eel ae Rate High th on Bes, ‘Carpenters, Farewell, My Lovdly 0d One Ton. One Place. Wal, how many novels tht, anyway? Th Ly has fascinating taste ane hae os ‘Bari that were the sum tl i of micomhey wl ot invite, from eran weer who shal ceil ow beter, tly derision For instance ont uae semicolons. They aeerammtiche maphreditesepresing aot thing Miho ‘esha youve ben cle 1 counter this with 2 lovely em yaar Lene “Thomas From The Medusa nd he Sa Then tik hsin TS Fat parr Four Quetta the emo Yin Baty ae, ingot cms images andthe es, Sct 98of lirerature, Sine RMB SEBMC MAT IES unnecessary — €\ 2 matically uncaled-or~ ut thee its th Ist breath of seaagraphy the authors way of saying, “Ths your ls rere to set this book down and go do something ese lke cre in your garden or stroll dovsn the stret for an ice-cream or ecause from this point on i jus yous and me, and co gers that walks, and walk alone, in Hill House? Fare you to walk away. PARENTHESES (AKA ROUND BRACKETS) 33. |\ mid-sentence parenthetical aside (lke this one) begins with ‘ lowercase letter and concludes (unless it’s a question or even ) without terminal punctuation. thetical aside comes at the very hhat the period stays outside the an exclamation!) When a fragmentary paren end of a sentence, make sure t aside (as here). (Only a free-standing par begins with a capital letter an: ate bit of terminal punctuation ins! enthetical aside, like this one, .d concludes with an appropri- de the final parenthesis.) 34, This is correct: Remind me again why I care what this feckless rnonentity (and her eerie husband) think about anything. This is not correct: ce what this feckless Remind me again why I ca husband) thinks about nonentity (and her eerie anything.: eof parentheses (or coms sant and te mas areotcth UP yet: Now if stead oF wr se ee wl vy L care what this feckless: Rind me ing her eerie husband) ty os ne ‘ngs about any thi sour Rx ON 0% DOASTSAT NOT AS1D9 ecole dow de hen racy aie and yo in the person of your wen, Oana yi eornn cone peng dork sa panda hehe wi ie tr, Ont res nesta bey sey a wih cat sr of ig % ‘A mapiine journalist of my acquaintance once confided that. emovdl paenthetcals beeaue his editor, when Tooking cor mods inthe interests of minimising the write’ use of eco print el estate, would home in on them and delete, Alt, dele BRACKETS: y. ‘rackets —or square brackets, as they're called by people whe clr round bracket = sere a limited bute po si tal of Sand een Weiter Damar of Fah Fie: If 00 fn ourself makings reas com et a et aking pe ome wetment shouldbe at with hacets hav case pariy unattractive onthe page (ty to fd away ated wat ely do you ike the wy his ok ner ne [ean 86 avo Some Bets sychnks and com aly by og ound braces within ound bcs heck Miter wo chon stale ndeonaing ie eho Setond: Anytime you ind yourselimerplating ono your own text ino quoted matali a Bat rame, for instance, when the oigal wt com Trine only a surname) or im any oer may abeing bls pease, and make dhem rafe~ co hold onto that There ae we exceptions, though. Aer thre always? To retest enjoy recreation, but to create somethig ‘en us ecteate And you may reform a naughty childs fur you ave aking that eid erally apa and putting back wether. you afer-formingit, You may quit your job PY "ore 3 ntl once ie, cam cera BEF “ 8 gen ast wah sy Wy and ne (Ain hopcewe wand ad ire hae ora lak ohana es wn hn lane ae ro sax OK, sufixwise think wetedore ho tha se ss. “The age of peoples children tips up abt of pos childern, My daughter i six years old My six-year-old daughters off t summer cae. My daughter.a sie yearol, soto summer cp, ‘One too often encounters‘ si earl git or tnehit would be correct ina dacunsion ofinfa sei aos Jost celebrated thee fis birthday, yuo 6. You might ~o¢ might not — be surprise 0 rss ma copyedtoral man-hours’ hasbeen xpress ek sero correc construction of hese eh 20 hveochantangly common eles #5 SOLOS Sco eat: Ts open sit hyped. IN Tn the US we close twp. Inahe UR 1099 ated vulgarities ae comically 8 v. ‘Wha, i you ehink Las afta 0995 cf you insist Bw ih ve on? 1h tm agent teiysttes amour: em and en Em dashes ae ines oe 180 2 ye whet tea ice te yt oh iin. pe peel wera een ‘needs — Tan pore et tl ong than a hyphen, i Then snense~ on drt nse ch aie rom mean oto we “et Stent UK ou all em 0 we an alle siaken i efor eruption of dialogue, either mid see rom within ‘One on tiny 1 now you've ean this tory Tele te ned poncss named Snow Whi.” roomy tration Eom without: “Temas ntnsd is someone inthis? Asher ang oa. Aen shes set ofa ico rex in standard mar un en commas ~ because thar bit of texts rather 00th pasha ide, ke his on, but one doesn't want tow resheewont do the rick Hepa bsg with al she things he thought he'd esd forthe weekend ~ an areay of Tshirts WO pairs of vcks per dal he ca ould loate~and made hs way ohh page eferences (pp. 3-21) Fpating game scores the Yankees bbe he tes, rel court decision (the Supreme Cou uphl thelower cout’ ruling by 27-2 te QUESTION waRks AND EXCLAMATION POINTS 9. Wand Pd restrict hist of adie or orcs rseot the rendering of dialogue ~a serence i coasted the 2 ‘question But intended robe on, you mig conse ‘Sang i with al stop rather than qusion mk "Th> + g00d ides, dont you think? meats something qed ‘nt from "That's a hore ies ic a. Go light on the exclamation poins. When oer 6 os hetoring. and imate, wearing Se commend that you shou se no sorta doen tion points per Book; others sis that son shovk! we v8 ‘more dan a daven exclamation pins in aHTHE STORE IN THE FRONT ans would be iresponsible not co Properk Jamation mark the excitement woth an excamatio of such «sn fre" The person with the burning head my, See ae “What ah fell sop rather than a bang, the exclamation point, might seem Yy convey 88 “Your ight other. a lovely day as some people like toca Sarcastic. Or depressed, 02 “nnng of a comic book should end any ‘Ne exclamation point or double questios 6 n mark, ‘Ne won't discuss the use of 2 of! because you'd never do that. 64 Neither will we di ‘Seuss the interrobang, because we're all civ- slised adults here, 6 meat begining with wonder are not questions “simply pondering declarations ~ and do not conclude “th estion marks "wonder whos Mer nlimige ee I aomde NPAC the king i doing tonight. hp Mit Who~ whorooren ee See "he bok of lene “ aaa which cae OU COPY editor Pl ry 0 slop 3° "nes tah) and ponsibly your stk "1s your book),