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English: Proper Usage Of Some Common Words by HercJay(m): 11:08pm On May 24, 2015 |
This may be a long read... Grab a cup of Lemon Tea! May or Might? "These words occupy different places on a continuum of possibility. May expresses likelihood {we may go to the party}, while might expresses a stronger sense of doubt {we might be able to go if our appointment is cancelled} or a contrary-to-fact hypothetical {we might have been able to go if George hadn't gotten held up} (Garner, The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style ) . Me, Myself, or I? "In the old days when people studied traditional grammar, we could simply say, "The first person singular pronoun is I when it's a subject and me when it's an object,' but now few people know what that means. [. . .] The misuse of I and myself for me is caused by nervousness about me. [. . .] But the notion that there is something wrong with me leads people to overcorrect and avoid it where it is perfectly appropriate. People will say, 'The document had to be signed by both Susan and I ' when the correct statement would be, 'The document had to be signed by both Susan and me .' Trying even harder to avoid the lowly me , many people will substitute myself as in 'The suspect uttered epithets at Officer O'Leary and myself .' Myself is no better than I as an object. Myself is not a sort of all-purpose intensive form of me or I . Use myself only when you have used I earlier in the same sentence: ' I am not particularly fond of goat cheese myself '" (Brians, Common Errors in English Usage ). Mid- or just Mid? "In forming compounds, mid- is normally joined to the following word or element without a space or hyphen: midpoint . However, if the second element begins with a capital letter, it is separated with a hyphen: mid-May . It is always acceptable to separate the elements with a hyphen to prevent possible confusion with another form, as, for example, to distinguish mid-den (the middle of a den) from the word midden . The adjective mid is a separate word, and as is the case with any adjective, it may be joined to another word with a hyphen when used as a unit modifier: in the mid Pacific but a mid- Pacific Island " ( The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language ). Mrs./Ms./Miss? "Ms. is widely used in business and public life to address or refer to a woman, especially if her marital status is either unknown or irrelevant to the context. More traditionally, Miss is used to refer to an unmarried woman, and Mrs. is used to refer to a married woman. Some women may indicate a preference for Ms. , Miss , or Mrs. , which you should honor. If a woman has an academic or professional title, use the appropriate form of address ( Doctor, Professor, Captain) instead of Ms. , Miss , or Mrs. " (Alred, Brusaw, and Oliu, The Technical Writer's Companion 297). Numbers: When to spell out and When to write as numbers? "Spell out numbers of one or two words or those that begin a sentence. Use figures for numbers that require more than two words to spell out. [Examples:] It's been eight years since I visited Peru. I counted 176 DVDs on the shelf. If a sentence begins with a number, spell out the number or rewrite the sentence. [Example:] One hundred fifty children in our program need expensive dental treatment. Exceptions: In technical and some business writing, figures are preferred even when spellings would be brief, but usage varies. When in doubt, consult the style guide of the organization for which you are writing. When several numbers appear in the same passage, many writers choose consistence rather than strict adherence to the rule. When one number immediately follows another, spell out one and use figures for the other: three 100-meter events, 25 four-poster beds . Generally figures are acceptable for dates, addresses, percentages, fractions, decimals, scores, statistics and other numerical results, exact amounts of money, divisions of books and plays, pages, identification numbers, and the time. Quotation Marks and Other Punctuation There are three basic rules. 1. All commas and periods should be placed inside the quotation marks. 2. All colons and semicolons should be placed outside the quotation marks. 3. Question marks and exclamation marks should be placed within the quotation marks when they apply only to the quoted material; they should be placed outside when the entire sentence, including the quoted material, is a question or exclamation. Semicolon use? "A semicolon creates a brief reading pause that can dramatically highlight a close relationship or a contrast. The semicolon alone can't specify the relationship the way words like because or however can. Be sure, therefore, that the relationship you are signaling won't be puzzling to readers." "Join two sentences with a semicolon. A semicolon joins main clauses that can stand alone as complete sentences. [Example:] The demand for paper is at an all- time high; businesses alone consume millions of tons each year." "Use a semicolon with words such as however and on the other hand . When you use a semicolon alone to link main clauses, you ask readers to recognize the logical link between the clauses. When you add words like however or on the other hand , you create a different effect on readers by specifying how the clauses relate. [Example:] I like apples; however, I hate pears." "Use a semicolon with a complex series. When items in a series contain commas, readers may have trouble deciding which commas separate parts of the series and which belong within items. To avoid confusion, put semicolons between elements in a series when one or more contain other punctuation. [Example:] I interviewed Debbie Rios, the attorney; Rhonda Marron, the accountant; and the financial director." (Anson, Schwegler, and Muth, The Longman Writer's Companion 432-433) Single quotation marks? "Single quotation marks enclose a quotation within a quotation. Open and close the quoted passage with double quotation marks, and change any quotation marks that appear within the quotation to single quotation marks. [Example:] Baldwin says, "The title 'The Uses of the Blues' does not refer to music; I don't know anything about music." (Lunsford, The Everyday Writer 338) Than I/Than me? "Some of the smartest people I know hesitate at the word than when it comes before a pronoun. What goes next, I or me ? he or him? she or her ? they or them ?" The answer: All of the above! This is easier than it sounds. Take I and me as examples, since they're the pronouns we use most (egotists that we are). Either one may be correct after than , depending on the meaning of the sentence. Trixie loves spaghetti more than I means more than I do. Trixie loves spaghetti more than me means more than she loves me." Capitalization in Titles? "In titles, capitalize the first word, the last word, and all words in between except articles (a, an, the ), prepositions under five letters (in, of, to ), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but ). These rules apply to titles of long, short, and partial works as well as your own papers" (Anson, Schwegler, and Muth. The Longman Writer's Companion 240). Comprise? "Nothing is ever 'comprised of' something. To comprise means 'to contain or to embrace': The jury comprises seven women and five men. Continually or Continuously? "Yes, there is a slight difference, although most people (and even many dictionaries) treat them the same. Continually means repeatedly, with breaks in between. Continuously means without interruption, in an unbroken stream. Heidi has to wind the cuckoo clock continually to keep it running continuously . (If it's important to emphasize the distinction, it's probably better to use periodically or intermittently instead of continually to describe something that starts and stops.) The same distinction, by the way, applies to continual and continuous , the adjective forms" (O'Conner, Woe Is I 95-96). Click for more www.drgrammar.org/frequently-asked-questions |
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