Guide for Good Writing

7/29/2019 Guide for Good Writing

1/23

A Guide For Good writinG

Gy Bs, J 2005

( Ag 2010)

Thisworkisnotoriginal.Partsofitconsistofparagraphsandsentenceslifted

verbatimfromthereferencebooksIconsultedaparagraphhere,asentence

thereeditedandmixedinwithoriginalcomments.MostofthetimeIhavenot

indicatedthepartsthathavebeenlifted,eitherbyfootnotesorquotationmarks,as

thisdocumentissimplymeantasareferenceforme.

oVerView

Allwritingisacampaignagainstclich.Notjustclichsofthepen

butclichsofthemindandclichsoftheheart.WhenIdispraise,Iam

usuallyquotingclich.WhenIpraise,Iamusuallyquotingtheopposed

qualitiesoffreshness,energy,andreverberationofvoice.

Foreword,The War Against Cliche,MartinAmis

Clichspreadsinwardsfromthelanguageofabooktoitsheart.Clich

alwaysdoes.(p137)

Ulyssesisaboutclich.Itisaboutinherited,ready-madeformulations,

fossilisedmetaphorsmostnotablythoseofIrishCatholicismandanti-

semitism.Afterall,prejudicesareclichs:theyaresecond-handhatreds.

(p444)

Anyonewhowishestobeagoodwritershouldendeavour,beforeheallows

himselftobetemptedbythemoreshowyqualities,tobedirect,simple,brief,

clearandvigorousandtoavoidclich.Thismeansthatawritershouldprefer:

thefamiliarwordtothefar-fetched theconcretewordtotheabstract

thesinglewordtothemany

theshortwordtothelong

anoriginaldescriptiontoahackneyed

PunCtuAtion

reAdingisdoneprivately.Punctuation,whenusedprecisely,helpsthereader

translatethewritersthoughtsandunderstandwhathasbeenwritten.Itilluminates

thegrammarofasentenceandaspectsofspeechsuchaspitch,rhythm,speed

andpausing.Inthemindofthereader,punctuationislikemusicalnotationthat

explainshowtohumthetune.

Punctuationevolvedintheageofprintingandreliesontheascendancyof

printingtosurvive.Itisasetofconventionsthathasevolvedslowlybecauseof

printingsinnateconservatismandiseffectiveonlyifreadersandwritersappreci-ateitsnuances.

Donotoverusepunctuationmarks.Useonlyasmanyasareneededforclarity.

Punctuationislargelyconvention.Aslongasyoudontmakechangesthatare

soradicalthatreadershavedifcultyreadingwhatyouhavewritten,feelfreeto

usewhateverpunctuationstylesuitsyou.Dontfeelboundby500yearsoftradi-

tion,butdofeelboundbylogic,consistencyandclarity.

APoStroPHe

1. Whenthepossessorispluralbutdoesnotendinans,i.e.children,theapos-tropheisbeforethes:

childrensplayground

womensmovement

2. Butifthepossessorisaregularplural,i.e.withansontheend,theapostro-

phefollowsthes:

boyshats

babiesbibs

3. Anapostropheindicatestimeorquantity:

oneweeksnotice twoweeksnotice

fouryardsworth

4. Andtheomissionofguresindates:

thesummerof 68


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5. Itindicatesthepluralsoflettersandwords:

howmanyfs

whatarethedosanddonts?

6. Anapostrophedoesnotappearinthepluralsofabbreviationsordates:

inthe1980s [not1980s]

theMPs[notMPs]

7. Forpossessivesofpropernamesendingins,tastesarechanging.Therearerulesformodernandancientworldnames,andexceptionsforboth.Toavoid

theclumsylookofphraseslikeLynneTrusssbookIhavechosentoputthe

apostropheafterthesinallcases:

GuyBurnsbook

Archimedesprinciple

8. Ruleforimpliedpossessions.Usetheapostrophewherethenounthatshould

followisimplied.Inthiscase,theapostrophewillnotonlyindicateposses-

sion,butalsotheimpliednounwhichhasbeenremoved.

Thiswashisfathers,nothis,book.

[Usedinsteadofsaying:Thiswashisfathersbook,nothisbook.]

9. Filmandbooknames,brandnamesandplacenameshavenorules.Thusthe

followingcouldallbecorrect:

TwoWeeksNotice

StVincentsHospital

Stewarts Creek

StewartsCreek

10.Personalpossessivesneverhaveanapostrophe.Wordslike:yours,theirs,its,

hers.

CoMMAS

Formeevenacommaisapieceofsculpture.IfIputit,Imeanittobethere.

PatrickWhite

ThecommAislikeasheepdog:ithassomanyjobsasseparatorthatittearsabout

thehillsideoflanguage,endlesslyorganisingwordsintosensiblegroupsand

makingthemstayput.Commas,ifyoudontwhistleatthemtocalmdown,are

unstoppablyenthusiasticatthisjob.Overuseofcommasisold-fashionedbutcompatiblewithcorrectness.Any-

onewhousesseveralcommasclosetooneanother,exceptinalist,shouldask

whetheritisnecessary.

Sometimesanabundanceofcommasisnoteasilyreduced;achangeinthe

orderofwords,theomissionofaneedlessadverborconjunction,evenarecasting

ofthesentencemaybenecessary.Butitisasafebetthatagatheringofcommasis

asuspiciousthing.Thesentenceshouldbereadaloud,andifitjarssomechange

orothershouldbemade.

Liliassuggestedtheadvicewhich,ofallothers,seemedmostsuitedtothe

occasion,that,yielding,namely,tothecircumstancesoftheirsituation,they

shouldwatch(Scott) Shakespeare,itistrue,had,asIhavesaid,asrespectsEngland,theprivilege

whichonlyrst-comersenjoy.(Lowell)

Thesecondisagoodexampleofthewarningvalueofcommas.Noneofthese

canbedispensedwithsincetherearethreeparentheticqualicationstothesen-

tence.Butthecrowdofcommasshouldhavewarnedthewriterwhatanobstacle

racehissentencehasbecome.Theuseofcommasisasfollows:

1. Lss f s

Commasdivideitemsintolists,butarenotgenerallyrequiredbeforetheand

ontheend.Theruleisthatthecommaiscorrectifitcanbereplacedbythewordandoror.

thefouravoursareorange,lemon,strawberryandlime.

thecoloursoftheagarered,whiteandblue.

Inthecaseofthelatter,sometimesthecommaisincluded,theso-calledOx-

fordcomma:

thecoloursoftheagarered,white,andblue.


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Sometimesasentenceisimprovedbyincludingacomma:

IwenttoWoolworths,LuckandHaines,andthebutcher.

[IwenttoWoolworths,LuckandHainesandthebutcher.]

2. Lss f ajcvs

Inalistofadjectives,againtheruleisyouuseacommawhereanandwould

beappropriatewheretheadjectivesaremodifyingthesamethingtothe

samedegree:

Itwasadark,stormynight

Hewasatall,beardedman.

Butyoudonotuseacommawhentherstadjectiveisqualifyingthenexttwo

words.Ineffectthehyphen,asshowninthebrackets,hasbeenleftout:

endangeredwhiterhino[endangeredwhite-rhino]

Australianredwines[Australianred-wines]

3. Jg scs

Commasareusedwhentwocompletesentencesarejoinedtogetherusing

wordssuchasand,or,but,whileandyet:

Theboyswantedtostayup,buttheygrewtiredandfellasleep.

Iwillprobablyuseacommabeforemostbutsevenifthefollowingphraseis

notacompletesentencebecauseIthinkitmakesthesentenceeasiertoread

(seealsosection21).

Commasarenotusedwithsentencesjoinedbyhoweverornevertheless.Usea

semicolon:

Itwasmybirthday;neverthelessIstayedhome.

4. Fllg gaps

Commasareusedtoimplymissingwords: Anniehaddarkhair;Sally,fair.

5. Bf c spch

Thisusageislikelytolapse.Manywritersprefertousecolons;othersjust

openthequotemark.SeethesectiononQuotation Marksforexamples.

6. Sg ff jcs

Stop,orIllscream.

7. t mak h bas f a s

Isaid,however,thatIwouldbewillingtomakeanexception.

Hewas,infact,themanIhadmetearlier.

8. t spaa ya a mh

Commasaresometimesusedtoseparatetheyearfromthemonth.Ihavede-

cidednottousesuchcommas(secondexample)becauseitgivesasmoother-

lookingline:

ItwasinNovember,1995,thatwemet.

ItwasinNovember1995thatwemet.

9. Mlls a hsas

Commasareusedtomarkoffthousandsandmillions.Iwillusethemonly

above10,000:

8317

8,237,514

10. nam l

Acommaisalwaysusedtosetoffthenameortitleofapersonaddresseddirectlyinwriting,ortodistinguishapersonsnamefromhistitle.

Well,Sally,thatsallthenewsIhaveforyou.

Inthecaseofapersonwhoisnotbeingaddresseddirectly,commasbracket-

inganamearenotnecessary:

ThemaninchargewasBobBrown,DirectoroftheWildernessSociety.

11. Qs

Acommaisusedtoseparatethetwopartsofasentencethatbeginsasastate-

mentbutendsasaquestion:

Jennysaregularsexmaniac,isntshe?

12. Clay

Acommamayhelpthereaderwhenasentenceislong,particularlyifthesec-

ondclauseisratherdifferentinmeaningfromtherst.

Hughhadaheavycoldandasorethroatbuthewasnotdeterredfrom

speakingthatafternoon.

Hughhadaheavycoldandasorethroat,butnowitwasnecessarytoconcen-

trateontomorrowssession.


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13. Fs scs

Commasshouldnotbeusedtoseparatediscretesentences(afusedsentence).

Useanyoftherstfourexamples,notthefth:

Shedroveintothecarpark.Thenshewaited.

Shedroveintothecarpark;thenshewaited.

Shedroveintothecarparkandthenshewaited.

Shedroveintothecarparkandwaited.

Shedroveintothecarpark,thenshewaited.

14. Fora and

Acommashouldbeusedafterfororandonlyiftheyareimmediatelyfol-

lowedbyasubordinateclauseorphrasethathasarighttoitstwocommas.

Dickensiswrongtouseacommaafterforinthissentence:

Thelawn,thesoft,smoothslope,bespeakanamountofelegantcomfort

within,thatwouldserveforapalace.Thisindicationisnotwithoutwarrant;

for,withinitisahouseofrenementandluxury.(Dickens)

Butwouldbecorrectifthesentencewasconstructedlikethis:

Thisindicationisnotwithoutwarrant;for,althoughsomepeoplemightnotagree,withinitisahouseofrenementandluxury.

15. is

Whenishascommasoneachsideofit,impressivenessiswhatthewriter

aimedatbutitissimplyatawdrydeviceforgivingasentenceairs:

Thereasonwhytheworldlacksunity,is,becausemanisdisunitedwith

himself.(Emerson)

ThecharminNelsonshistory,is,theunselshgreatness.(Emerson)

16. Lss

Whenseveralitemsarelistedandarefollowedbyaclause,thepunctuation

comesdowntopersonaltaste,andisreallyofnogreatimportance.Butitis

worthwhiletodrawattentiontotheproblemsothatthewriterisawarethatthe

situationexistsandcanatleastbeconsistent:

Industry,honesty,andtemperanceareessentialtohappiness.

Onewaytodecideistoremovetherstitemandseehowthepunctuation

shouldrun:

Honestyandtemperanceareessentialtohappiness.

Indicatingthatmaybethereshouldbeonlyonecomma:

Industry,honestyandtemperanceareessentialtohappiness.

17. Lss pas

Sometimeslistsarearrangedinpairs;itisthenunpleasanttohavethecommaafterthelastpairomitted:

Theorangeandthelemon,theoliveandthewalnutelboweachotherfor

footinginthefatdarkearth.

Bettertohave:

Theorangeandthelemon,theoliveandthewalnut,elboweachotherfor

footinginthefatdarkearth.

18. Lss cmm

Inalistlongerthantwoitems,theremustnotbeanythingthatisappliedtothe

seconditemwithoutbeingcommontoallthatfollow.Thefollowingexamplemayappearokay,butthereader,seeingthatloss ofappliestothesecond,may

assumeatrstreadingthatitwillalsoapplytothethird:

Hencelossoftime,ofmoney,andsoretrialofpatience.

Weknowwhatismeant,butasitstandsitisnotquiteright.Thesentencehas

astrangefeeltoitbecauseloss of ismeanttoapplytothesecondstatementas

wellastherstbutnottothethird.Thesearesomeofthebetteroptions:

Hencelossoftime,moneyandpatience.

Hencelossoftime,money,patience.

Hencelossoftimeandmoney,andsoretrialofpatience. Hencelossoftime,lossofmoney,andsoretrialofpatience.

TherstexamplebelowiswrongbecauseyoucannotputMoltkehad(see

secondexample)forallthreestatements:

Moltkehadrecruited,trained,andknewbyheartallthemenunderhim.

[Moltkehadrecruited,hadtrained,andhadknewbyheartallthemenunder

him.]


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Trytheseinstead:

Moltkehadrecruited,trained,andknownbyheartallthemenunderhim.

Moltkehadrecruitedandtrainedandknewbyheartallthemenunderhim.

Moltkehadrecruited,hadtrained,andknewbyheartallthemenunderhim.

19. A pa ls h pvs xpsss

Analwordorphraseofasentencemayhavetwopreviousexpressions

standinginthesamegrammaticalrelationtoit.Shouldtherebeacommaafterthesecondphrase?

Hiseloquencewasthemain,onemightalmostsaythesole,sourceofhis

inuence.

Todazzlepeoplemore,helearnedorpretendedtolearn,theSpanishlan-

guage.

Fowlersuggests(p250),butdoesntsaydenitely,thatthefollowingare

better:

Hiseloquencewasthemain,onemightalmostsaythesolesourceofhis

inuence.

Todazzlepeoplemore,helearnedorpretendedtolearntheSpanishlanguage.

20. Backg cmmas f ak ps

Sentenceshavebecomemorestreamlinedinmodernwriting,andinmany

casescommasarebeingleftoutinplaceswheretheyshouldbeincluded.

Commasbeforeandandbut,andthosebracketingweakinterruptions(after

listeningforaminuteintheexamplebelow)arebecomingoptional,asthe

thirdexampleshows:

Belindaopenedthetrapdoor,and,afterlisteningforaminute,she

closeditagain.

Belindaopenedthetrapdoor,andafterlisteningforaminuteshe

closeditagain. Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandafterlisteningforaminuteshe

closeditagain.

Istillprefer,inmostcases,therstandsecondexamplesbecausethecomma

makesforeasierunderstandingbyintroducingapauseinthesentence.Imag-

ineanactoronstagereadingthatsentenceaspartofaplay.Itwouldnotbe

readinoneburst,butwithtwoorthreepausesfordramaticeffect:

Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandafterlisteningforaminutesheclosed

itagain.

Theonlywaytofullyappreciatethedifferenceistoreadthesentencealoud

invariousways.IfBelindawasonlydoingtwoactionsthereisnoneedfora

comma:

Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandjumpedinside.

NotehowadashwouldbeneededifBelinda,byjumpinginside,wasdoing

somethingunexpected:

Belindaopenedthetrapdoorandjumpedinside.

ButBelindaisdoingthreeactionsopening,listeningandclosinganda

commaprovidestheseparationforthetwomainactions:opening,andthen

listeningandclosing.

21. Bf anda but

Acommabeforebutshouldbeleftoutonlyifthephrasesseparatedbythem

areshortandcloselyrelated:

Heranalongtheplatformbutmissedcatchinghistrain. Heranalongtheplatformmakingahugeefforttocatchthetrain,butwhat

diditmatter:hewaslateforworkanyway.

Thecommaisneededinthesecondexamplebecausetheideaexpressedafter

but(whatdiditmatter)haslittleconnectionwithwhatcamebefore(run-

ningalongtheplatform).Thesamegeneralprincipleappliestoand:

Atthiscampallofthekichensweremannedbytheprisoners,andin

ConnorshutthetwopermanentorderlieswereReidandBolanofthe2/15

battalion.

Afewpageson,thesameauthorincludesacommathatisnotneeded: On27September1944,thetrackmaintenancepartyalightedfromthetrain,

andwereconfrontedbyabandofsome70well-armedpartisans.

Thereshouldbenocommabeforetheandbecausethemaintenancepartydid

onlyonething:theyalightedfromthetrainandwereconfronted

Sometimesacommaisleftoutwhenitshouldhavebeenincluded.Tosave

confusingthereader,acommashouldbeusedwhenthewordsthatdirectly


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followandcouldbereadasbelongingtothepreviousphrasebutreallyarenot

apartofit.Ihaverewordedapreviousexampletomaketheproblemclear:

Atthiscampallofthekichensweremannedbytheprisonersandtheofcers,

thoughtheywererequiredtoperformotherduties,hadquiteaneasytime.

Acommaisvitalinthiscasebecausethereader,asheprogressesthroughthe

sentence,willnotbeclearwhomansthekitchens(isittheprisonersandthe

ofcers?)untilhegetstoneartheendofthesentenceandrealiseshehasmis-

understoodthemeaning.Theconfusion,causedbylackofadequatepunctua-tion,maycausethereadertorereadthesentence.Ifthishappenstoooftenthe

readermaybeturnedoff.Bettertoincludeacomma(orsemicolon):

Atthiscampallofthekichensweremannedbytheprisoners,andthe

ofcers,thoughtheywererequiredtoperformotherduties,hadquiteaneasy

time.

Everytimeyouuseanandorabutasaconjunction,checktoseeifthemean-

ingbecomesclearerifyouuseacommabeforeit.

22. rscv a -scv class

Bracketingcommasmarktheplaceswherethereadercancleanlyliftoutasectionofthesentence,leavingnoobviousdamage:

Iam,ofcourse,goingsteadilynuts.[Iamgoingsteadilynuts.]

Sometimescommasareunnecessary:

TheGreensleader,BobBrown,hasjustbeenawardedtheGoldmanPrize.

TheyareunnecessaryinthissituationbecauseThe Greens leader Bob Brown

isonephrase.Theuseofthepointstoaparticularperson:

TheGreensleaderBobBrownhasjustbeenawardedtheGoldmanPrize.

Thecommaswouldbeneededinthisexample:

Aleadingconservationist,AliceBurton,hasbeenarrested

Thepartbetweenthecommas,calledarelative clause,canbeeitherrestrictive

ornon-restrictive(alsocalleddeningornon-dening).Arestrictiveclause

limitstheapplicationoftheantecedent(whatcamebeforeit),andcommasare

notnecessary.Ingeneral,theantecedentgivesusaclasstoselectfrom,and

therestrictiveclauseenablesustomakeaselection.Inthefollowingex-

amples,therstandsecondhavearestrictiveclause;thethird,non-restrictive

(clausesitalicised):

Themanwho called yesterdayleftnoaddress.

TheJoneswho dines with us tonightisnottheJoneswhowasatschool

withyou.

Jones,who should know something of the matter,thinksdifferently.

Intherstexample,theantecedentallowsustoselectfromtheclassofmen,

andtherestrictiveclausexestheparticularmantheonewhocalledyester-

day.Therestrictiveclauseisessentialto,andinseparablefrom,itsantecedent.

Ifforanyreasonwewishtogetridofitwemustembodyitscontentsintheantecedent,oraddanothersentence:

Amancalledinyesterday.Heleftnoaddress.

Toremovearestrictiveclauseistoleavethesentencewithadifferentmean-

ingornomeaning.Therstexampleabovewouldbecome:

Themanleftnoaddress.[Whichman?]

Thisfactthattheremovalofarestrictiveclausedisturbsthemeaningsup-

pliesagoodtestfordistinguishingbetweenrestrictiveandnon-restrictive

clauses.Removearestrictiveclauseandthemeaningofthesentenceis

altered;removeanon-restrictiveclauseandthemeaningofthesentenceis

unchanged.

Incontrast,anon-restrictiveclausegivesindependentcomment,description,

explanation,anythingbutlimitationoftheantecedent.Itcanalwaysbewritten

asaseparatesentence,orevenleftout,withoutdistortingthemeaning.Thisis

true,howeveressentialtheclausemaybetothepointofthemainstatement.

Tondwhetheraclauserestrictsornot,removeitandseewhetherthestate-

mentisaltered:ifso,theclauseisrestrictive.Sincearestrictiveclausecant

beleftout,itfollowsthatitdoesntneedcommas,becausetousecommas

wouldtendtoseparatetherestrictiveclausefromitslargerwhole.

Theabovediscussion,editedfromFowlerandothers,isabittechnical.Per-

hapstheeasiestwaytoworkoutifcommasareneededistoreadthesentence

aloud.Inspeech,non-resrictiveclausesaresignalledbypausesandachange

oftone.Ifyoupausebeforeandafteraphraseyouhaveprobablyfoundanon-

restrictiveclauseandcommasmaywellbeinorder.


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Onenalthoughtonnon-restrictivephrases.Fowlerstatesinhisbook(p77):

Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatonce,withthe

antecedent,orbothareuseless.

Well,MrFowler,yourpunctuationwouldseemtoindicatethatthephrasewith

the antecedentisanon-restrictiveclause(youhaveseparateditfromtherest

ofthesentencebycommas).Illapplyyourowntestandremoveittoseeif

thesentencestillmakessense:

Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatonceorbothareuseless.

Thatsentencedoesntmakesense.Itshouldread:

Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatoncewith the

antecedentorbothareuseless.

Betterst ill :

Theinformationgivenbyadeningclausemustbetakenatoncewiththe

antecedentorbothareuseless.

Sothereyougo.EvenFowlermakesmistakes.

CoLonS

Usingtheapostrophecorrectlytellstheworldyouhavesomelearning.Usingthe

commacorrectlyannouncesthatyouhaveanearforsenseandrhythm,condence

inyourstyle,andaproperrespectforyourreader,butitdoesnotmarkyououtas

amasterofyourcraft.Toachievethatrankyouneedtoshowairwithcolonsand

semicolons.

Fowlersaidthatthecolondeliversthegoodsthathavebeeninvoicedinthe

precedingwords.Shawsaidthatwhenthesecondstatementreafrms,explains

orillustratestherst,youuseacolon;andalsowhenyoudesireanabruptpull

up.Colonsintroducethepartofasentencethatrestates,elaborates,undermines,

explainsorbalancestheprecedingpart.

Expectationiswhatthesemarksareabout;expectationandelasticenergy.

Likeinternalspringstheypropelyouforwardtowardsmoreinformation.The

essentialdifferencebeweenthemis:

thesemicolonlightlypropelsyouinanydirection;

thecolonnudgesyoualongthelinesalreadylaiddown;

theperiodbringsyoutoastop.Ifyoudidntgetallthemeaningyouwantedorex-

pectedfromthesentence,yougotallthewriterintendedtoparceloutandnowyou

havetomovealongtothenextidea.

Lookatthedifferenceacolon,semicolon,orperiodcanmakeinthisexample:

Tom locked himself in the shed. England lost to Argentina.Theseare

independentideasthathavepurposelybeenputtogethertoindicatethatthe

reasonTomlockedhimselfintheshedisnotknown.Sortofashrugofyour

shouldersreason.

Tom locked himself in the shed; England lost to Argentina.Thetwoevents

maybeconnected,butthereadercantbecertainoftheconnection.

Tom locked himself in the shed: England lost to Argentina.Tomlocked

himselfintheshedbecauseEnglandlosttoArgentina.

1. Acolonisnearlyalwaysprecededbyacompletesentence.Initssimplestus-

ageitannounceswhatistocome,thatthereisasecondpartwhichillustrates

orexpandstherst:

Thismuchisclear,Watson:itwasthebayingofanenormoushound.

Tomhasonlyoneruleinlife:nevereatanythingbiggerthanyourhead.

2. Acolonmayimplythatthereismoretotheinitialstatementthathasbeen

revealed:

IlovetheNorfolkRange:itssowild!

Youcandoit:andyouwilldoit.

3. Acoloncansimplypullupthereaderforanicesurprise:

Indfaultwithonlythreethingsinthisstoryofyours:thebeginning,the

middleandtheend.

4. Acolonisusedinwritingthetime.

Itis9:26.

5. Andtolinkparallelsentences:

Therewasnoloveinhislife:therewasnoonetomisshim.

6. Theyalsostartlists,especiallylistsusingsemicolons.SeeSemicolon,section

2,below:

Therearethreequalitieshelikedaboutforests:solitude,freshairandthe

companyofnature.


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7. Andintroduceexamples:

Rememberwhathetoldus:foolmeonce,shameonyou;foolmetwice,

shameonme.

8. Theycanbeusedtointroducequotationsinsteadofacomma:

Adsareoftensimpleinstructure:Thinkdifferent.ThinkApple.

SeMiCoLonThesemicolontellsyouthatthereisstillsomequestionaboutthepreceding

fullsentence,somethingthatneedstobeadded.Withthesemicolonyougeta

pleasantfeelingofexpectancy;thereismoretocome.Readon,itwillgetclearer.

Thesubtextofasemicolonis:Nowthisisahint;theelementsofthissentence,

althoughgrammaticallydistinct,areactuallyelementsofasinglenotion.

Thesemicolonhascurrentlyfallenoutoffashionwithnewspapers,thereason

giventhatreadersprefertheirsentencesshortandunclutteredbysquiggles.Its

morelikelytherealreasonisconfusionaboutusage.

1. Themainplaceforputtingasemicolonisbetweentworelatedsentences

wherethereisnoconjunctionsuchasandorbutandwhereacommawould

beungrammatical:

Irememberhimwhenhecouldntwrite;nowhesPrimeMinister.

2. Therearetimeswhenthesemicolonisindispensable:whenitrefereesa

commaght.Intherstexamplebelow,thereadercantbesurewhichis

theShawproperty:isitFairlea(Fairlea,theShawproperty);orFlers(the

Shawproperty,Flers);oranotherunnamedproperty?Thesecondexample

clearsuptheconfusion,andthethirdisbetterstill.

ThemailwentfromJuliaCreektoFairlea,theShawproperty,Flers,Dalgo-

nallyontheFlinders,andMillungera.Thepassengerthoughtaboutit:shehad

beentoFlersonceandhadfounditdull;toDalgonally,andfoundittoodry.

ThemailwentfromJuliaCreektoFairlea,theShawproperty;Flers;Dalgo-

nallyontheFlinders;andMillungera.Thepassengerthoughtaboutit:shehad

beentoFlersonceandhadfounditdull;toDalgonally,andfoundittoodry.

ThemailwentfromJuliaCreektoFairlea(theShawproperty),Flers,

DalgonallyontheFlinders,andMillungera.Thepassengerthoughtaboutit:

shehadbeentoFlersonceandhadfounditdull;toDalgonally,andfoundit

toodry.

3. Thenalproperuseofasemicolonisinlinkingsentenceswithwordssuchas

however,nevertheless,also,consequentlyandhence:

Thisinformationaboutwritingistakingmealongtimetoputtogether;

however,itwillbeworthit.

dASH

inTheexamplesusedforsemicolonsadashcouldbesubstitutedforthesemicolon

withoutmuchdamagetothesentences: IrememberhimwhenhecouldntwritenowhesPrimeMinister.

Someoftheexamplesthatfollow,takenfromvarioussources,aresimilarto

previousexamplesandillustratethatcolons,semicolonsanddashesoverlapin

theiruse.Buttherearerealdifferences.Thedashislessformal,moreconversa-

tionalthanthesemicolon,anddoesagoodjobinemailsstandinginforallother

punctuation.Itishardtousewronglybecauseitissoeasytosee.Butitisastrong

attention-getter.Liketheexclamationmarkitmustbeusedwithrestraintsothat

itsimpactwillnotbelessened.

1. Thedashindicatestheabruptbreakingoffofonethoughtandtheintroduction

ofanewidea:

Colinhasacleverideabuthere,readthereportforyourself.

2. Thedashemphasisesanadded,unexpectedthought.Itcreatesadramaticdis-

junctionwhichcanbeexploitedforhumourorshock:

TheMary Celestewasfoundempty.Notaman,notananimal,notaninsect

wasonboard.

Mountainairisextremelyinvigoratingthatis,ifyouhavegoodlungs.

3. Adashisusedtoseparatetwoidentical,orverysimilarexpressionswhenthey

arerepeatingorconcludingathought:

Icandothejobthejobyouwantdone.

SirFrancisDrakeandMagellanthesemenwerehisidols.

Thesesentenceswouldbegrammaticallycorrectifwrittenasfollows,butthey

wouldnotbesoemphatic:

Icandothejobyouwantdone.

SirFrancisDrakeandMagellanwerehisidols.


9/23

4. Adashisusedbeforealistorexamplethatexplainsawordorphraseinthe

rstpartofthesentence:

HaveyoumettheSmithsMaryandPaul?

Besuretobringsomewarmclothesamongotherthingsajumperand

woollensocks.

Eitheracolonorsemicoloncouldbeusedinsteadofthedashinboththese

sentences.Generallyspeakinghowever,acolonisusedinthemostformal

sentencesandadashintheleastformal,withthesemicoloninthemiddle.Thisisprobablythemostsensibleguide,giventhatthethreemarksarelargely

interchangeablewithnolossofclarity.Comparetheseexamples:

Ibelieveintwobasicprinciples:justiceandlibertyforall.

Aftercarefulconsiderationhedecidedtoplantonlyperennials;forexample

delphiniums,peoniesandasters.

Theroarofthesurf,theshoutsofchildren,awomanslaughterthesearethe

soundsIlikebest.

5. Doubledashes(andbracketsandpairedcommas)areaclaritydevice,andthe

issueis:whendashes?whencommas?whenbrackets?

Brackets(seenextsection)tendtoremovetheaside,turningitintoawhis-

per,makingitmoredistant,dreamy.Materialinsidebracketscanalwaysbe

removedwithoutlossofmeaning.

Statementsbetweenpairedcommasremainapartofthesentence.Theyare

neutralmarks,nottryingtodistancethecommentsorhighlightthem.

Paireddashesarestrong,attention-gettingmarks.Theywelcometheaside

Lookatme!andmakeasonganddanceaboutit.Inthefollowingexam-

ples,therstismorestrident,thesecondmoredistant.

HewasIstillcantbelievethistryingtoclimbinthewindow.

Hewas(Istillcantbelievethis)tryingtoclimbinthewindow.

6. Adashisusedafteralongphrasewhenpreviouswordsareindangerofbeing

forgotten.Theideaistobreaktheowofthesentenceandrefreshthereaders

understandingbyrepeatingsomeoftheformerwords.Thedashhighlightsthe

repetition:

ItisnowidletoattempttohidethefactthatneverwastheRussianlackof

science,ofthemodernspirit,or,tospeakfrankly,ofintelligenceneverwas

theabsenceoftrainingorenthusiasmdisplayedinamoremelancholyfashion

thanintheSeaofJapan.(Times)

7. Whereasthesemicolonsuggestsaconnectionbetweenthetwohalvesofa

sentence,thedashshouldbepreservedforoccasionswhentheconnectionisa

lotlessdirect,whenitcanactasabridgebetweenbitsoffracturedsense.The

followingisaquotefromaJuliaCreekidentity:

MrsPedersonandJack:hedidallthegardeningandshedidallthepreserves

ofeverythingtheygrew.Sheorganisedthechildrensconcertstoo,Mrs

Pederson,andmadepicklesandchutneys.Butshewasusingforthe

hospitalhospitalstuff,andtheyreckonedthebillsweretoomuch.Andthis

one[MatronBlanche]stoppedherfrommakingthosethings,andshewas

preservingeverythingsoitdidntgetwasted!

Thisconversation(exactlyasspoken,butpunctuatedbyme)hassuchacon-

volutedstructurethatitmayneedmorethandashestomakeitclear.Itneeds

whatIcallpoeticpunctuation:

MrsPedersonandJack:

hedidal l thegardening

andshedidallthepreservesofeverythingtheygrew.

Sheorganisedthechildrensconcertstoo,MrsPederson, andmadepicklesandchutneys.

Butshewasusing,

forthehospital,

hospitalstuff,

andtheyreckonedthebillsweretoomuch.

Andthisone[MatronBlanche]

stoppedherfrommakingthosethings.

Andshewaspreservingeverythingsoitdidntgetwasted!

8. Theonlydeniteruleaboutadashisthis:allthatfollowsadashistobetaken

asunderitsinuenceuntileitheraseconddashterminatesit,oraperiodis

reached.Nootherpunctuationmarkcanstopit,elsethefollowingerroroccurs(thereshouldbeadashafterreactionary):

Therearevicarsandvicars,andofallsortsIloveaninnovatingvicara

piebald,progressive,professionalreactionary,theleast.(HGWells)

Idontthinkthedashisasstrongastheauthoroftheabovesuggestsi.e.that

onlyanotherdashorperiodcanstopit.IndthatifIcomeacrossacolonor

semicolonafteradash,Istarttowonder:Was that the end of the dash phrase?

Formeacolonorsemicolonalsostopsadashphrase,soIwillonlybeusing


10/23

commasinsidethem.Ifmorethanafewcommasarerequired,maybethe

sentenceshouldberearranged.Keepdashphrasessmall.

Thereareactuallytwotypesofdash:theemdash()andtheendash().

Theemdashislongerandistheoneusedinolderbooks.Modernpracticeis

tousetheshorterendashwithaspacebeforeandafter.Inthesenotes,and

inmybook,Iuseendashes.

Inthepast,theendashwasusedfortwopurposes:

toindicateuptoandincluding:19391945

tocombinepropernounsusedadjectivally:

theLeedsLondontrain

theBrunoLewisght.

BrACKetS

BrAckeTsliftoutasectionofasentence.Forthereader,theimportantthingisthat

thisremovalshouldntlasttoolong.Thereisacertainamountofanxietyoncea

bracketisopened;anxietythatisnotdissipateduntilitsclosedagain:

Onehastodismountfromanideaattheopeningparenthesisandgetinto

thesaddleagainattheclosing.(OliverWendellHolmes)

So,unlessyoupreferalongwalkbesideahorsewhenyoucouldberiding,

keepthebracketedideasshort.

1. Bracketsareusedtoseparatenon-essentialmaterialorremarksthatexplain,

question,illustrateorcommentonthemainidea.Theyareoftenahelpful

asideforthereader:

Eatagreenvegetable(spinach,beansorpeas)everyday.

Theotherman(DavidJohnson)refusedtomakeastatement.

2. Itisnotagoodideatohavecapitalsandfullstopsinsidebracketsthatare

themselvesinsideasentence.Leaveoutthecapitalandfullstop,evenifthe

bracketedpartisafullsentence:

Theconcert(wehopeitisontime)isduetonishat11p.m.

Toddsaysdifferently(p96.2).Thisisanexampleshesaysisokay,andIthink

sheswrong:

Theconcert(Wehopeitisontime.)isduetonishat11p.m.

QuotAtion MArK

ThoUghTisconventionallytreatedlikespeech:

WouldJennygoifIaskedherto?Ithought.

ButIwouldratheruseitalicsasitseemstobringoutthedreamyaspect:

Iveoftenwondered:Would Jenny go if I asked her to?

Itusedtobethatdoublequoteswereusedforthoughtandspeech,andsingle

quotesforquotations-within-quotations.Nowtheoppositetendstoapplytomakethetextlookmorestreamlined.Thishasafewdrawbacks,especiallyifthereare

lotsofapostrophes:

IwenttEddington,Sundy,butIwishIhadnto.

IwasatStThomashospital,shesaid.

Thosetwoexamplesarenotasclearas:

IwenttEddington,Sundy,butIwishIhadnto.

IwasatStThomashospital,shesaid.

Doublequotesdotendtoclutterthelayoutandmakeitlessstreamlined,but

Illbeusingtheminpreferencetosinglequotes,exceptincaseswhereonlya

letterorasinglewordisinquotes.ThenIwillprobablyusesinglequotesbecause

doublequotesaroundasmallwordlookclumsytome[lookclumsytome]

andmorecluttered.

Thebasicruleforpunctuationinsideoroutsidequotesshouldbestraightfor-

wardandlogical:whenthepunctuationrelatestothequotedwords,itgoesinside

thequotes;whenitrelatestothesentenceitgoesoutside.Thisisnotconsistently

applied,orexplained,byanyofthereferencebooksexceptReadersDigest(p59).

Theonlyexceptionagreedonbyallreferencesiswhenthequoteisattheend

ofasentence:thenthefullstopinsidethequotedoesforboth.However,Idont

seewhythatshouldbetheonlyagreedexception(seeexample6versus9).

Overthepagearesomeofthevariationsforusingpunctuationinside/outsidequotationmarks.


11/23

1.Youareoutofyoursenses,gaspedSophie.

2.Youareoutofyoursenses,gaspedSophie.

3.YouareoutofyoursensesgaspedSophie.

4.Youareoutofyoursenses gaspedSophie.

5.Sophiegasped,Youareoutofyoursenses.

6.Sophiegasped,Youareoutofyoursenses.

7.Sophiegasped:Youareoutofyoursenses. 8.Sophiegasped:Youareoutofyoursenses.

9.SophiegaspedYouareoutofyoursenses.

10.SophiegaspedYouareoutofyoursenses.

11.Sophiegasped Youareoutofyoursenses.

Theuseofcommasandfullstopsinsidequotemarks,wherelogicallythey

dontbelong,isatypographicalconventionthatevolvedfromthedayswhenthe

typesetterimposedhisownideaofpunctuationonthetexthewasprinting.But

weshouldntbeboundbyconvention.Thesearesomeofmyobservationsonthe

aboveexamples(numbersrefertotheexamples):

1. Thecommainsidethequotemarklooksneaterbecausethecommaandthe

quotemarkowthesameway,andIsuspectthatswhytheusageevolved.

Butitisnotlogicaltoputitthere;itissimplyaconvention.Thecommadoes

notbelongtothequotedsentence.Tomakethisobvious,noonewouldever

write:Sophie gasped: You are out of your senses,.

2. Ifacommaisused,tobelogicalitshouldbeplacedoutsidethequotes.

3. Butwhyisthecommaneededatall?Thesecondquotemarkclearlyseparates

thequotationfromtherestofthesentence.

4. Thisexampleusesadoublespaceafterthequote.Imightexperimentwithanen-spaceandem-space.

5. Inthisrearrangement,thefullstopbelongstothequotedsentence,anditis

logicaltoincludeitinsidethequote;butthenthesentencedoesnothaveits

ownfullstop.Tobelogicalthesentenceshouldbewrittenwithanextrafull

stop:Sophie gasped, You are out of your senses..Butthatlookssilly.Conven-

tionsaysthefullstopinsidethequoteactsforboth.

6. However,youcouldhavethefullstopoutsidethequote.

7/8.Usingacoloninsteadofacommabeforeaquote.

9/10:Whydoyouneedanypunctuationatallbeforethequote?Surelytherst

quotemarkisseparationenough?

11.Youmayneedpunctuationbeforeaquotetomaketheseparationclear.Two

spacesmaydothetrick.

Mychoice?Iwillalmostcertainlynotbeputtingpunctuationinsidequotes

whereitdoesntbelong.Iwillusestyle3or4,andprobablydecidetouse8in

preferenceto10.Havingnopunctuationbeforethequote(10)doesntseemtobe

asclearasusingacolontoseparatethequotefromtherestofthesentence.

HYPHenS

TheTendencyisforcompoundwordstostartoffastwoseparatewords:book

keeper.Asthetwowordsareusedmorefrequentlytheytendtobehyphenated:

book-keeper.Ifthetwowordsfusetocreateanewwordwhosemeaningisdiffer-

entfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords,thecompoundisusuallywrittenas

oneword:bookkeeper.

1. Manywordsrequirehyphenstoavoidambiguity.ieare-formedbandisdiffer-

entfromareformedone.

2. Numbers:thirty-two.

3. Forwordcombinationsthatlookclumsy:

shelllike(shell-like)

deice(de-ice)

4. Qualied,hyphenatedphrase:

two-orthree-year-old.

5. Certainprexes:

un-American

anti-apartheid

quasi-grammatical


12/23

6. Ifacompoundhasbeeninuseforalongtimeitisunlikelytobehyphenated:

doorway

today(to-dayuntilthe1950s)

tomorrow (to-morrowuntilthe1950s)

7. Ifthemeaningofthecompoundissignicantlydifferentfromthenormal

meaningsofthecombinedwords,thecompoundisunlikelytobehyphenated:

greenhouse [probablynotagreenhouse]

8. Adjectivecompoundscanoccurintwopositions,namelybeforeanoun:

aself-mademan

atwo-facedindividual

andafterlinking-verbs:

Theywerebothselfmade.[Theywerebothself-made.]

Wemusthaveseemedtwofaced.[Wemusthaveseemedtwo-faced.]

Usually,thecompoundadjectivesthatfollowverbsarenothyphenated.Imay

decidetoincludethehyphensforthesecases.Seebracketedexamplesabove.

QueStion MArK

Thequestionmarkisputaftertheprecisequestionthatisaskedandnotnecessar-

ilyattheendofthesentence:

Whenwasheborn?Iasked;[andnot]

WhenwashebornIasked?

Questionmarkscanbetrickierthanyouthink.Fowlerhasasectiononincor-

rectuseofquestionmarksbywell-knownauthors.

eLLiPSiS

newspAperssometimesusetheminterchangeablywithdashes.However,thereare

onlytwoproperuses:

1. Toindicatemissingwords.

2. Toindicatetrailingoffinthecaseofapersonthinkingbeforeproceeding,or

toleavesomethingtotheimaginationofthereader.

GenerAL GuideLineS

Abbvas

1. Someabbreviationsaremadeupoftheinitiallettersofthewordsinaphrase:

BBC,NATO.Suchabbreviationsdonothavedots,thoughtheywerewidely

usedinthepast.

2. Singlecapitals,e.g.G.D.Burns,weretraditionallyusedwithdotsanda

space.Imayusedotsandnospace(G.D.Burns)ordispensewithdotalto-

gether(GDBurns).

3. Leaveoutdotswhentherearecapitalstogetherwithlower-caseletters(Dr,

Mrs,PhD).

4. Thereisatendencytoomitthedotsforlowercaseabbreviationsexceptthose

derivingfromLatin(e.g.andi.e.)orwheretheomissionmightcauseconfu-

sion,forexample,a.m.(couldbereadasam).InBritainthereisagrowing

tendencytoomitdotsinallabbreviationsincludingieandeg.Iwillusea.m.,

p.m.,i.e.,ande.g.

5. Abbreviationsforcurrency,weightandmeasures(,kg,lb,km,m)nevertakeadot.

6. Abbreviationstakeanarticleaccordingtothepronunciationoftherstletter:

anLLB,anMP,aQC.

7. Theoptionsfordatesarenumerous:

19/11/72

19/11/1972

19-11-72

19-11-1972

19Nov1972 19November1972

Andiftheyearisnotmentioned:

19thNovember

19November

November19

Iwillprobablyputthenumberbeforethemonthandleaveouttheth.


13/23

CAPitALS

1. Therstwordinanexclamationtakesacapital:Wow!Myword!

2. Oisalwayscapitalised,butOhonlyatthebeginningofanutterance.

3. Propernamesandwordsassociatedwiththem:

theIronLady

4. Titlesthatprecedeapersonsname: PresidentClinton

ProfessorBaxter

Butpresidentandprofessorarenotcapitalisedinthissituation:

thetenthpresidentoftheUS

sixuniversityprofessors

Titlesofrankthatfollowthenameareusuallycapitalisedonlywhenthetitle

isoneofgreatdistinction:

JohnHoward,PrimeMinisterofAustralia

JennyPearce,presidentoftheWeindorferCommittee

5. Forreligiousdenominations:Catholic,Baptist.

6. Importantholidaysandfestivals:Easter,Passover.

7. Capitalsvaryforfooditemsthathaveplacenames.Thecapitalshouldbe

preservedwhenthereisstillalinktotheplace:

cheddarcheese

brussel sprouts

Wensleydalecheese

8. Compasspoints:SW,NE.

9. Cardinalpointsarecapitalisediftheyarepartofageographicalregion:

NorthQld

North-WestCoast

Theyarenotcapitalisedwhentheyrefertoacompassdirection:

Twentykilometreseast.

10.Titleofafamilyrelationshipiscapitalisedonlywhenusedwithanameorin

placeofaname:

SheaskedAuntSallyforadvice.

Myauntisaveryshrewdwoman.

Willyouplaywithus,Uncle?

11.Unitsofmeasurementtakeacapitalonlyiftheyarenamedaftersomeone:

Watt,Joule,Newton,butnotgram,metre.

itALiCS

iTAlicsaretheprintequivalentofmanualunderliningandareusedfor:

titlesofbooks,newspapers,songs,CDsandlms

emphasisingcertainwords(thoughFowlersuggestthisispoorpractice)

foreignwords

exampleswhenwritingaboutwords

Whenanapostrophe-soccursinanitalicisedname,theapostropheands

arenotinitalics:

Invincibleslastportofcall

AirS And GrACeS

Syl vss Clay

ErnestsdaughterAlicemarriedtheboywhohadbeenherplaymatemore

thanayearago.

ThATsenTence,takenfroma1927editionofThe Way of All FleshbySamuel

Butler(p438),isangoodexampleofasentencethatgivesthewrongmeaningthe

rsttimeyoureaditthatAlicemarriedaboywho,onlyayearago,hadbeenherplaymatebutonreectionyouknowwhattheauthormeans:thatmorethana

yearagoAlicemarriedaboywhohadbeenherplaymate.Iftherearetoomanyof

thesetypesofsentencestheyinterrupttheowofreadingandbecomeadistrac-

tion.

Isitpossibletoxthesentence?Maybenot,unlessyousacricestyleforclar-

ity.Itiseasytomakethemeaningclear,butsomeaspectofthesentenceseemsto

belost.Theoriginalismoredirect,morevibrantinmyviewthaneitherofthese

two:


14/23

Morethanayearago,ErnestsdaughterAlicemarriedtheboywhohadbeen

herplaymate.

ErnestsdaughterAlice,morethanayearago,marriedtheboywhohadbeen

herplaymate.

Iwanttoexaminetheoriginalsentenceinabitmoredetailtoseewhythe

authoruseditintheformhedid.Ernestistheheroofthebook.Aliceandtheboy

(Aliceistheherosdaugher,andGeorgieisherchildhoodfriend)areonlymen-

tionedonce(whentheyarechildren)andinthatbriefmentionitissuggestedthey

mayendupmarrying.Theyarereintroducedabruptlyneartheendofthebookaspartofthesummingupoftheheroslife.Thisistheideatheauthorwantedto

convey: Ernestsdaughter,Alice,marriedGeorgiemorethanayearago.

Themeaningisclear,butthereaderwouldprobablyhavedifcultyremem-

beringwhoGeorgiewasforheisonlymentionedonce,manychaptersback.So

theauthordescribesGeorgieastheboywhohadbeenherplaymate.Bydoing

this,everyreaderwillrememberwhotheauthormeanseventhoughtheymaynot

rememberitwasaboycalledGeorgie.Theauthorcouldhavewritten:

Ernestsdaughter,Alice,marriedGeorgie(theboywhohadbeenher

playmate)morethanayearago.

Butthebracketsbreaktheow.Theauthormayhavedecided(ifhespentany

timeonthissentenceatall)tokeepthesentenceintheformhedidforstylessake

andletthereadersortoutthemeaning:

ErnestsdaughterAlicemarriedtheboywhohadbeenherplaymatemore

thanayearago.

Aimingforclarityinallcasesmaydullthestyle.Sometimesitisbetterto

sacriceclarityforthehighergoalofgoodwriting.

elga Vaa

ElegantVariationisthesubstitutionofonewordforanotherforthesakeofvariety.Itisanattemptatelegance.Thewordavoidediseitheranounoritsobvi-

ouspronounsubstitute.Theuseofpronounsisitselfaformofvariation,designed

toavoidungainlyrepetition.Weareonlygoingonestepfurtherwhen,insteadof

eithertheoriginalnounorthepronoun,weusesomenewequivalent.

Forexample,onpage153ofAmerican DynastybyKevinPhillips,George

H.W.Bush,havingalreadyprogressedthroughGeorge H.W.,Bush,andthe Vice

President,becomesthe Vice President from Houston.Variationtothisextentis

unnecessary,andwhennotjustiedbynecessityitgatherstheairofcheapadorn-

ment.InThe War on ClichMartinAmisisparticularlyscathingofoneauthor

whousedelegantvariation(seeAmisreviewofabookaboutLincoln).

Twogeneralprinciplesaresuggested:

1. Variationshouldtakeplaceonlywhenthereissomeawkwardness,suchas

ambiguityornoticeablemonotony.

2. Thesubstituteshouldbethatandnothingmore;thereshouldbenoextra

information,nokillingoftwobirdswithonestone(seeexamplebelow).

Evenwhenthesetworequirementsaresatised,thevariationisoftenworse(becausemorenoticeable)thanthemonotonyitisdesignedtoavoid.

MrWolff,thewell-knownminingengineer,yesterdaypaidavisittothescene

ofthedisaster.Theexpertgaveitashisopinionthatblameattached

The expertisgratuitous.Hewouldhavedonequitewell.

MrLeesstudyoftheElizabethansonnets,MrEltonsbookonShakespeares

Family,andProfessorBradleysonShakespeareanTragedyaworkwhich

maybeinstructivelyreadwithProfessorCampbellsTragic Drama in

Aeschylus, Sopocoles and Shakespeareremindusthatthedramatiststill

holdshisownwiththepublishers.Thelasttwoorthreeweekshaveseentwo

neweditionsofhim.

Thewriterpuzzlesthereaderbyreferringtothedramatist.Whichdrama-

tist?HechoosesnottocallShakespeareShakespearebecausethereisaShake-

spearejustbefore.Hecannotcallhimhebecausesixotherpersonsinthesentence

haveclaimsuponhe,andheshouldnotcallhimthedramatistbecauseAeschy-

lusandSophoclesweredramatiststoo.Thevariationisawkward.Thedramatist

ispossiblythebestthingunderthecircumstances,butwhenmattersarebrought

tosuchapassthatwecanneithercallamanbyhisownname,noruseapronoun,

butidentifyhimbymeansofhisprofession,itistimetoremodelthesentence.

SirCharlesEdwardBernardhadalonganddistinguishedcareerintheIndianCivil

ServiceFiveyearslaterSirCharlesBernardwasappointedCommissionerof

NagpurIn1876SirEdwardBernardreturnedtoNagpur.

IfSir Charlesandhearejudiciouslyemployed,theywilllastouttotheend

ofthelongestarticle,withoutanyassistancefromSir Edward.Theseelephantine

shiftsdistractourattentionfromthematterinhand;wecannotfollowSirCharles

movementsforwonderingwhathewillbecallednexttime.Willitbeplain

CharlesorwillsomethingbedonewithCommissioner?

Whenthechoiceliesbetweenmonotonousrepetitionontheonehandand

clumsyvariationontheother,therepetitionistobepreferredtothevariation

(originalandvariationsinthefollowingexamplesareitalicised):


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ImustaskthereadertousethesametwofoldprocedurethatIbeforerequestedhimto

employ.

[Better:ImustaskthereadertousethesametwofoldprocedurethatIaskedhimto

usebefore.]

Eighty-threevolumesarerequiredforletterM,seventy-sevenaredemandedbyL,

andseventy-sixareperforce concededtoB;buttheformerofthelasttwo

[Better:Eighty-threevolumesarerequiredforletterM,seventy-sevenforL,and

seventy-sixforB;buttheletterL]

Atitsworst,variationofthiskindislessoffensivethanthatwhich,inviola-

tionofthesecondprinciple,introducesextrainformation:

OurrepresentativeyesterdayrandowntoBrightontointerviewtheCambridge

Captain.Theweight-putter and high-jumperreceivedhimwithhisusualcordiality.

Thisisafavouritenewspaperstyle.

inVerSion

Balac ivs

inversionistheabnormalplacingofthesubjectafteritsverb.AtypicalsentencestructureinEnglishisI went to the beach.TheinvertedformisTo the beach I went.

Theinvertedformlookssilly,andinthiscaseitissilly.Butinversiondoes

haveaplacewhenitisusedproperly.Unfortunately,itisoverusedbybudding

andmediocrewriters.Beforeusinginversion,thenoviceshouldaskhimselfthree

questions:

1. Isthereasolidreason(ornamentalreasonswillnotdo)fortamperingwiththe

normalorderofsubjectandverb?

2. Doestheinversionsoundnatural?

3. AmIusingtoomanyofthem?

Thefollowingarefamiliarandlegitimatetypes:

Firstonourliststandsthequestionoflocalopinion.

AmongtheguestswereA,B,andC.

Wegivethenamebalancetothistypeofinversionbecause,althoughthe

writerwhenheinvertedthesentencemaynothavedonesotocorrectitsbalance,

thefactthatitwasunbalancedbeforeisthetruereasonforinversion.

Putthesentencebackinitsoriginalformandweshallseewhyinversionwas

desirable:A, B and C were among the guests.Observehowmiserablythesentence

tailsoff.Ithasnobalance.Byinvertingit:Among the guests were A, B, and Cwe

introduceseveralimprovements.

First,Among the guestsisprotectedfrombeingvirtuallyannihilatedasit

wouldhavebeenifleftattheend.Itisanessentialphraseandthesentencewould

notbeasentencewithoutit;butitisaweakphraseandneedsprotection.

Second,wegiveitprominenceandenableittodischargeitshumbleofce,

thatofasignpostpointingtotheguestsofparticularinterest(A,BandC).

Third,wegivebalancetothesentencewhichbeforewasfrontheavy.

Fourth,wegiveprominencetothesubject(A,BandC)byplacingitinanunusualpositionattheendofthesentence.

Itfollowsthatbalanceinversionisusednotforthesakeofvariety,butwith

theobjectofavoidingabadbalance.Tojustifythechangeweneed:

1. Anemphaticsubject,carryinginitselfthepointofthesentence.

2. Unemphaticsignpostwords,essentialtotheconnection,standingoriginallyat

theendofthesentence.

Theresultsoftheinversionmustbe:

3. Thatthesignpoststandsatthebeginning.

4. Thatthesubjectstandsabsolutelyattheend.

Whenthesefourpointsarefullled,theinversion,farfrombeingobjection-

able,maytendgreatlytovigourandlucidity.

Original:Yousayheisselsh.Well,everyoneisso.

Inverted:Yousayheisselsh.Well,soiseveryone.

Soistooweaktostandattheend.Theoriginalcouldberecastwithrhetorical

effectas:You say he is selsh. Well, everyone is selsh.Thissentenceisinnoneed

ofinversionasselshisstrongenoughtolookafteritself.

Now,toaliteraryexamplethatcouldbeimproved:

ThearrivaloftheHartmanscreatednolittleexcitementintheFalconet

family,bothamongthesonsandthedaughters.Especiallywastherenolack

ofspeculationastothecharacterandappearanceofMissHartman.

Thisdoesnotreadcomfortably,inpartduetothecumbrousphraseEspecial-

lywastherenolackofspeculation.Thissentenceresemblesinformouroldtype

Amongtheguestswerebutwiththeimportantdifferencethattheespecially

phraseisemphaticandcanthereforestandattheend.Letsinvertanalready

invertedsentencetoseehowitoriginallylooked:

AstothecharacterandappearanceofMissHartman,especiallywasthereno

lackofspeculation.


16/23

Itcouldbeimproved.Fowlerstatesthatsentencesinwhichbothsubjectand

predicateareemphaticshouldbeavoided,quiteapartfromthequestionofinver-

sion,becauseitalicsaremoreorlessnecessarytosecurethecorrectemphasis:in

thiscaseMiss HartmanamongstalltheHartmans:

AstothecharacterandappearanceofMiss Hartman,especiallywasthereno

lackofspeculation.

Anditalicsareaconfessionofweakness(accordingtoFowler).Theauthors

decisiontoinvertcanbeexplainedbytheemphasiswhichheneedstogiveto

MissHartman(thesearemyideasbasedonFowlers).Theideatheauthorwants

is: ThearrivaloftheHartmanscreatedalotofexcitementintheFalconet

family.MissHartmanscharacterandappearancewere,especially,subjectto

numerousspeculation.

Withoutresortingtoinversiontheoriginalsentencescouldberecastas:

ThearrivaloftheHartmans,especiallyMissHartman,creatednolittleexcite-

mentintheFalconetfamily.Amongthesonsandthedaughters,hercharacter

andappearanceinvitedmuchspeculation.

Tomethisreadsclearandcrispcomparedwiththeoriginal:

ThearrivaloftheHartmanscreatednolittleexcitementintheFalconet

family,bothamongthesonsandthedaughters.Especiallywastherenolack

ofspeculationastothecharacterandappearanceofMissHartman.

ngav ivs a Fals-emphass ivs

Nor,exceptwhenusedinconjunctionwithneither,alwaysstandsrst.Ifthe

subjectappearsatall,thesentenceisalwaysinverted[examplesneeded].

Manyothernegativewordsandphrasesarethrowntothebeginningofthe

sentence.Again,inversionistheresultandispreferabletotheunivertedsentence

(inbrackets):

Neverhadthepolicybeenmoretriumphantlyvindicated.

(Thepolicyhadneverbeenmoretriumphantlyvindicated.)

NowhereisthissonoticeableasinTasmania.

(OnlyinTasmaniaisthissonoticeable.)

Msccps ab ivs

Misconceptioncancreepinwhenauthorsseetheeffectsofinversion.When

properlyused,therewillbeagoodreasonforit.Butwholesaleinversion,the

placingofanywordsotherthanthesubjectatthebeginningofasentencemerely

forvarietyortogiveanimpressiveeffect,isnotdesirable.Itleadstomediocre,

pedestrianwritingthathasahackneyedfeel.Thewritercannotbebotheredto

makehiswritingmoreinterestingotherthanbysimplymovingphrasesaround.

Thestepsdownwardsaremarkedbytheexamplesthatfollow.Intherst,

inversionmaybeontheanalogyofnegatives,ormaybedesignedforemphasis;

inthesecondandthird,emphasisisclearlythemotive;andintherestthereis

varietyforvarietyssake,mereimpressivenessnottosaymeremannerism.The

uninvertedformsareinbrackets: Withdifcultycouldhebepersuaded

(Hecouldbepersuadedwithdifculty)

AlmostunanimouslydoAmericansassumethat

(Americans,almostunanimously,assumethat)

Abookoflevity,itwouldseemfromtheauthorsdedication,isthissetof

twelveessaysnamedafterthetwelvemonths.(WestminsterGazette)

(Itwouldseemfromtheauthorsdedicationthatthisisabookoflevity;aset

oftwelveessaysnamedafterthetwelvemonths.)

Finelyconceivedisthispoem,andnotlessadmirableinexecution.(Westmin-

sterGazette)

(Thispoemisnelyconceivedandnotlessadmirableinexecution.)

ThentotheresidentMedicalOfceratthehospitalforanauthoritative

opiniononthesubjectwenttheenquirer.(WestminsterGazette)

(Theenquirerwenttotheresident)

NisbettsnewbookwillnotdisappointthosewhoknowthewritersLays

and Legends.Fascileandmusical,sincereandspontaneous,aretheselyrics.

(WestminsterGazette)

(Thelyricsarefascileandmusical,sincereandspontaneous.)

Inthelastexample,notealsotheelegantvariationthe writersinsteadofthe

straightforwardhis.Better:

NisbettsnewbookwillnotdisappointthosewhoknowhisLays and Leg-

ends.Thelyricsarefascileandmusical,sincereandspontaneous.


17/23

Mscllas ivss

Compoundverbs(e.g.had sung,had said)donotlendthemselvestoinversion:

IwontplotagainstTom,hadsaidIsaacs.

(Isaacshadsaid:IwontplotagainstTom.)

Iamtheloverofaqueenhadoftensungthestewardinhispantrybelow.

(Thestewardhadoftensung:Iamtheloverofaqueen.)

Aninvertedsaidatthebeginningofasentenceisanotherpitfall:Said a friend

to me the other dayItistolerable,ifanywhere,onlyinlight,playfulverse.Withverbsotherthansaid,thisformofinversionisstillmoredecidedlyathingtobe

lefttothepoets:Comes a new translation, in four neat olive-green volumes.

Afterinversionofanykindthenoviceshouldgohisroundsandseethatall

isshipshape.Forwantofthisprecaution,awriterwhowasnonoviceproduced

curiositiessuchasthis:

Itistruethat,disagreeingwithComte,thoughIdo,inallthosefundamental

viewsthatarepeculiartohim,Iagreewithhiminsundryminorviews.

(Spencer)

Itisamess.Thereshouldnotbeacommabeforethough,andtheinversionis

unnecessary.Rewritten:

Itistruethat,thoughIdisagreewithComteinallthosefundamentalviews

thatarepeculiartohim,Iagreewithhiminsundryminorviews.

ArCHAiSM

ArchAismisalwaysafault,consciousorunconscious.Itmightbethoughtthat

unconsciousarchaismcouldscarcelyexist.Touseawordthatwasoncefamiliar,

andissonolonger,canhappentofewwriters.

Theguiltvariesinverselyasthewritersknowledge,forthelearnedmayplead

ignorance(heisfamiliarwiththewordanduseditashewouldanyotherword),

whereasthenoviceknowstoowellwhatheisdoing.Itisconsciousarchaismthatoffends;abovealltheconsciousarchaismsofthe

novice.Thisisonlynatural.Aneducatedwriterchoosesarchaismslesshack-

neyed;heusesthem,too,withdiscretion.Thenovicemayindulgeuswithhis

wholerepertoire,charmedwiththediscoveryofantiquewords.

Thelistbelowbeginswitheducatedspecimens,butlowerdownareinstances

offatalincongruityofstyle:modernabuttingarchaic:

DonQuixoteshall[will]lastyouamonthforbreakfastreading.(Spectator)

Wemay[will]notquotethelengthypassagehere:itisprobablyfamiliarto

manyreaders.(Times)

MrShaynorunlockedadrawer,andere[before]hebegantowrite,tookouta

meagrebundleofletters.(Kipling)

Howoft[often]dothosewhotrainyoungminds(Daily Telegraph)

Itrow[think]not.(Daily Telegraph)

Ssa achasm aav a algAwriterwhoplaceshisstoryinthepastwilltrytoavoidglaringabsurdities

(usingthewordbiroinasixteenthcenturystory,forinstance)butisnotreally

concernedwithusingtheeverydayspeechofShakespearesEngland.

However,anauthormaytrytopresentalivingpictureofthetimeofwhichhe

writes.Withregardstospeech,heprobablyhasnoaccurateknowledgeofthelan-

guageofhischaractersastheywouldspeakit,andifhehadthisknowledgeand

usedithewouldbeunintelligibletomostofhisreadersandburdensometothe

rest.Accordingly,hewillavoidmoderntermsthatwoulddestroythetimeillusion

andwillaiminsteadatacertainarchaicdirectnessandsimplicity,butwillhave

littletodowiththearchaicvocabulary.Thismaybecallednegativearchaism,

asusedinTreasure Island.Onlythenovelistwhoisunwiseindulgesinpositivearchaismthedeter-

minationtohaveeverythingincharacteratallcosts.Insteadofpreservingtheil-

lusion,positivearchaismonlyremindsusthatthereisanillusiontobepreserved.

Stevenson,havingtriednegativearchaismwithsuccessinTreasure Island,chose

togiveusapositivespecimeninThe Black Arrow.EveninthehandsofSteven-

son,archaismsbecomeforced:

Putmeyourhandintothecornerandseewhatyendthere.

Markmethisoldvillainonthepiebald.

Islewhimfair.Iranmeinuponhisbow,hecried.

Swallowmeagooddraughtofthis,saidtheknight.

Heislikeachildwithanewtoy.

rePetition

rheToricAlrepeTiTion(effectiveandsignicantrepetition)isavaluableelement

inwriting.Rhetoricalimpliesthatthewordsrepeatedwouldordinarilybevaried

orleftout.Usedwithjudgementitisagoodthing:


18/23

Asthelarkrosehigher,hesankdeeperintothought.Asthelarkpouredout

hermelodyclearerandstronger,hefellintoagraverandprofoundersilence.

Atlength,whenthelarkcameheadlongdownhesprangupfromhis

reverie.(Dickens)

Buttherearewriterswho,fromthefactthatallgoodrepetitionisintentional,

rashlyinferthatallintentionalrepetitionisgood.Repetitionisabnormalandis

likelytobecomeobjectionableifitoccursfrequently.Thewriterswhohavemost

needofrepetitionarethoseseekingclarity.

Abroaddistinctionshouldbedrawnbetweenrhetoricalandnon-rhetorical

repetition.Oneisanancientdevicedesignedtoimpress;theotheramodern

developmenttoaidclarity.Themotivefornon-rhetoricalrepetitionisalwaysthe

businesslikeoneofclarity,thoughitissometimesclarityrunmad:

Heanalysednotaparticulargovernment,butwhatiscommontoallgovern-

ments;notonelawbutwhatiscommontoalllaws;notpoliticalcommunities

intheirfeaturesofdiversity,butpoliticalcommunitiesintheirfeaturesof

resemblance.Hegavepoliticsnotaninterestingaspect,butanewaspect.

Withoutthenon-rhetoricalrepetitionthismightread:

Heanalysednotaparticulargovernment,law,orpoliticalcommunity,but

whattheyshareincommonwithothersoftheirkind.Hegavepoliticsanew

aspect.

Forthenovice,non-rhetoricalrepetitionifincludedforthesakeofclarityis

likelytobeacceptableinthereaderseyes.Atanyrate,byusingthesamewords

overandoverhewillnothavetheviceofelegantvariation.

However,rhetoricalrepetitionshouldbeusedsparingly.Asthespontaneous

expressionofstrongfeelingsinthewriteritissometimesjustiedbycircum-

stance;employedasadeliberatearticetoimpressthereaderitislikelytobe

frigidandtofailinitsobject.

CHeAP oriGinALitY

JUsTAselegantvariationisgenerallyaworsefaultthanmonotony,sotheavoid-

anceoftritephrasesissometimesworsethantritenessitself.Childrencansatisfy

anearlythirstfordifferencebymerelyturningtheircoatsinsideout.Distinction

ofstylehasbeensecuredbysomewriterssimplybywritingacommonexpression

backwards.WearandtearbecomesCarlylestearandwear;andEmerson

acquiresanexclusiveproperty(so,atleast,onehopes)innothingorlittle.

Hackneyedphrasesbecomehackneyedintherstinstancebecausetheyare

useful.Theycanderiveanewefciencyfromtheveryfactthattheyarehack-

neyedandeasilyunderstood.Theirpreciseformbecomesanessentialpartofthe

ideatheyconvey.Allthatawriterdoesbyturningsuchaphrasebackwards,or

otherwisetamperingwithit,istogiveusourtritenesssecond-hand;weareputto

thetroubleoftranslatingtearandwearonlytoarriveatouroldfriendwearand

tear,hackneyedasever.Thereisnothingcleverorliteraryaboutit.

Howbeautifulisnoblesentiment;likegossamer-gauzebeautifulandcheap,

whichwillstandnotearandwear.(Carlyle)

Bloatedpromises,whichendinnothingorlittle.(Emerson)

Theuniversitiesarealso[partand]parceloftheecclesiasticalsystem.

(Emerson)

CAuSAL AS-CLAuSeS

ThereAretwopermissiblekindsofcausalas-clauses:thepureandthemixed.The

pure as-clausestates,asadditionalexplanation,somefactthatisalreadyknownto

thereaderandissuretooccurtohimintheconnection:

IhaveaneditionwithGermannotes;butthatisofnouseasyoudonotread

German.

Themixed as-clausestateswhatisnotnecessarilyknowntothereader.Ithas

thefunctionofconveyinganewfact: Icaughtthetrain,butafterwardswishedIhadnotasIpresentlydiscovered

thatmyluggagewasleftbehind.

Agoodwriterwillseldomuseacausalas-clauseofeithervarietyattheendof

asentence.Fowlertriestoexplainit,butthereasoningisquitesubtle.Iagreethat

sentenceswithcausalasattheendlookclumsy:

Verytrue,Jasper;butyoureallyoughttolearntoread,as,bysodoing,you

mightlearnyourdutytowardsyourselves.

Everyonelikestoknowthathisadvantagescannotbeattributedtosoil,sea,

ortowealth,buttosuperiorbrain,asitmakesthepraisemorepersonalto

himEmerson.

Thesentencesreadbetterwhenrecast:

Verytrue,Jasper;butyoureallyoughttolearntoreadbysodoingyou

mightlearnyourdutytowardsyourselves.

Everyonelikestoknowthathisadvantagescannotbeattributedtosoil,sea,

ortowealth,buttosuperiorbrain:itmakesthepraisemorepersonaltohim.


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SLAnG

TheplAceofslangisinreallife.Thewriterwhodealsinconversationmay

sometimesnditnecessarytoincludeslang,andifheiswisehewillmakethe

leastpossibleuseofthisresource.Tointerlacethenon-conversationalpartsofa

bookwithslangquotationmarksornoquotationmarksisasbadasinterlacing

withFrench.Foreignwordsandslangarespuriousornamentsonthesamelevel.

Theeffectofusingquotationmarkstoisolateslangismerelytoconverta

mentalintoamoralweakness.Whentheyarenotused,wemayassumethatthe

writersinsinignorance:hedoesnotknowthedifferencebetweenslangandgoodEnglish.Whentheyareused,thewriteristellingus:Idontlikeusingthese

words.Theyrebeneathme,unclean,andImgoingtoisolatethemfromtherest

ofmywriting.Hewantstotittilatehisreaderandgivehiswritingmorereal-

ism,butdoesntwanttoassociatehimselftoocloselywithawordhehaschosen

touse.Thereisacertainamountofsnobberyanddishonestyinusingquotesto

isolatesuchwords.

Fowlerputsitlikethis:Writerswouldratherbetakenforknavesthanfor

fools,andsothequotationmarksareusuallythere.

Goodandsufcientreasonwillrarelyariseforusingslang.Asstyleisthe

greatantiseptic,soslangisthegreatcorruptingmatter;itisperishableandinfects

whatisrounditthecatchwordsthatdelightonegenerationstinkinthenostrils

ofthenext.

SPLit inFinitiVeS

A spliTinfiniTiveistheinsertionofoneword(usuallyanadverb,e.g.kindly),

betweentoandtheverb:Askhimtokindlystrokethekitten.

ThisrulehaslostmuchofitsforcetheunsplitAskhimtostrokekindly

thekittensoundsuppity.Splitinnitivesareconsideredveryusefulinmodern

English,especiallytoavoidambiguity.Thefollowingexample(unsplit)hasa

differentmeaningfromthepreviousone:Ask him kindly to stroke the kitten.

word uSAGe

mosT(ifnotall)Australianspellingofwordslikeorganiseiswithansnotan

Americanz.

A/areusedinterchangeablytodescribeagenerallyencircling

placementormovement:

Theboatsailedround/aroundtheisland

Policestoodwatcharound/roundtheoval.

Wheresuchmovementisindiscriminate,aboutispreferred:

Clothesandchildrenstoyswerescatteredabouttheroom.

Acal, acallyarefrequentlyunnecessary:

In(actual)fact

Thisis(actually)whathappened.

Ag/scForastatementaboutthepast,agofollowedbyaqualifyingclause

usuallytakesthatbecauseaparticulartimeisbeingspecied.Usesincewhena

certainamountoftimeisbeingdescribed:

Itwasvemonthsagothat[notsince]ithappenedItisvemonthssinceithappened.

Bothsentencesareratherclumsyandwouldbecleareras:Ithappenedvemonthsago.

All gh Twowords,notalright.Themergingofallandrighttoformthe

one-wordspellingalrightwasrstrecordedneartheendofthe19thcentury

(unlikeothersimilarmergedspellingssuchasaltogetherandalready,whichdate

frommuchearlier).Thereisnologicalreasonforinsistingthatall rightbetwo

wordswhenothersingle-wordformssuchasaltogetherhavelongbeenaccepted.

Nevertheless,althoughfoundwidely,alrightremainsnonstandard.

Alsisnotaconjunction.Soyoushouldsay:

Heboughtacarandalsoacaravan;not

Heboughtacar,alsoacaravan.

Inmanysentencesalsomaybedispensedwithbecauseanddoesitswork:

Heboughtacarandacaravan.


20/23

Alav Donotwritetheotheralternativeforthealternative.

Amg/amgs Thereisnorealdistinctionbetweenamongandamongst.Select

theonethatsoundsrightinthecontext.

Aym/ay mAnymoreisanadverbusuallyusedwithanegativeorin

questions.Itmeanstoanyfurtherextentoranylonger:She refused to listen

anymore / You dont get men like him anymore. Contrastthisusagewith: Is there

any more soup?

Ay/ay Anyonereferstoasingleentityusuallyapersoninageneral

wayandmeansthesameasanybody:Anyone could do it. Inany onethereisa

specicationofone: Any one of them could do it.

Asisfrequentlyoverworkedwhensinceorbecausewouldbebetter(seealso

causal-asclauses):

Ishallnottrybecause[notas]youhavealreadystarted.

Ahl Theadverbawhile(wepausedawhile)shouldbewrittenasoneword.

Thenounphrase,meaningaperiodoftimeespeciallywhenprecededbyapreposition,shouldbewrittenastwowords:Margaret rested for a while / Well be

there in a while.

Back fiscolloquialAmericanusage.ItisneitheracceptedEnglishnorasclear

asthesimplewordbehind.

Backa/backasarebothpermittedasanadverb,althoughgoodAustralian

usagefavoursthesform:He fell backward(s).

Bcas/f Thesewordsaresimilarinmeaning.Usebecausewhenaspecic

reasonfollows: I must hurry because my train is due.Usefortolinkthemain

clausewithalesssignicantstatementaddedbywayofexplanation: I shall have

to go, for a mans work is never done.

Bh Donotusebothwithwordsthatalreadysuggesttwo.Thatis,omitbothin:

between[both]hishands

they[both]arrivedtogether

theyare[both]equallycompetent.

Bh/ach Onethingcannotbeintwoplacesatonce,sotosay:There is a tree on

both sides of the fenceisnotasclearas:There is a tree on each side of the fence.

dpa/pDependant(noun)isapersonwhoreliesonanother:

Asinglemanwithnodependants.Dependent(adjective)isdependingon

somethingelseforaidorsupport:Aneconomyheavilydependentonoilexports

Note:independentisalwaysspeltwithane.

dsp/ sp fareusuallyinterchangeable.

dff Donotusedifferentunnecessarilywhenseparateidentityhasotherwise

beenestablished:Two children [nottwodifferentchildren] got sick.

db hh/b ha Theworduseddependsuponthewritersopinionas

tothereasonablenessofthedoubt.Butthereareexceptions(seeFowler).Whether

proclaimsanopenquestion;thatproclaimsacertainty.Ifthereisaalternative,

evenifitisnotmentioned,usewhether:Idoubtwhetherthisistrue.Ifitis

obviousthewriterdisapprovesofthedoubt,i.e.thereisnoalternativeadmitted,

usethat:

Idonotdoubtthat...

Whocandoubtthat...

each h/ ahareofteninterchangeable,butthereisatendencytouse

each othertorefertotwo,andone anothertorefertomorethantwo:

Thetwoboyshateeachother.

Weallgetalongwithoneanother.

elsissometimesusedwhenitisnotnecessary:They wanted nobody [else] but

Shirley to sing.

evy m Thereisnowordeverytime.

evyay/vy ay Theadjectiveeveryday,pertainingtotheeveryday,the

ordinary,iscorrectlyspelledasoneword(carryingouttheireverydayactivi-

ties),buttheadverbialphraseevery day,meaningeachdayisalwaysspelledas

twowords(itrainedeveryday).

ipisalwaysspeltwithane.


21/23

i/ In to(twowords)isusedonlywhenthetoispartofacompoundverb

suchasto get.Compare:Iwentintotown,IdivedintotheriverwithIwent

intogetthepaper.

La/la Interchangeable,butlearntispreferredbecauseitisusedmore

commonlyinspeach.

Lcc Anountheactuallicence.

Lcs Averbtoauthorise,togrant.Lcsofahotel.

off/fm Offistoremovesomethingwhichissituatedonsomethingelse;fromis

totakeawayinthesenseofdepriving:

Itookthebiscuitofftheplate.

Itookthebiscuitfromhim.

okay Iwillspelltheword,ratherthanusetheinitialsOK.

o// Keepthesewordsseparatesothattheirmeaningisclear:

Heputfoodonthetable.

Theywalkedontothestage.

Theywalkedontothevillage.

oly Thefollowingsentencesallhavedifferentmeanings.Ithinktheruleis:the

wordonlyshouldappearimmediatelybeforethewordorphraseitqualies.To

highlightthedifferentmeanings,Ihaveitalicisedthewordreferredtobyonly.

Onlyheaskedforaloanofvedollars.

Heonlyaskedforaloanofvedollars.

Heaskedonlyforaloanofvedollars.

Heaskedforaloanofonlyve dollars.

Heaskedforaloanofve dollarsonly.

Icanttellanydifferencebetweenthelasttwo.Whenonlyisplacedattheendof

asentence,itcanappearbeforeorafterwithoutchangingthemeaning.

o/ Somethingisplacedontosomethingelse,butIdrovefromNeliaon

toMinamere.

Pass/pasPassedisusedasaverb(hepassedtheball,hepassedto

Valhalla,anotherdayhaspassed).Pastisusedasanadjectivefortime(the

pastyear)andasanadverbwhenyougopastorbeyondsomething(thetroops

marchedpast).Butnotethisdistinction:thetroopspassedthroughthetown.

Thedifferencecanbeconfusing.Macquarie Dictionaryinits33rddenitionof

passsays:togobyormovepast,asaprocession,thususingpasttodenepass.

i.e.theprocessionpassedthroughthetown,buttheprocessionmovedpastthe

town.

Pls Useplusinitsmathematicalsense,notinsentencessuchas:I shall send you

the machine plus [and] the instruction book you asked for.

Ps ofc Usecapitalsinmybooksratherthanlowercase.Itgivesabetter

look,eventhoughitshouldonlybecapitalisedwhenitisthenameofanactual

postofce:JuliaCreekPostOfce.

rah Itwasrathera[arather]poorperformancebothusesareacceptable.

ras Avoidsaying:Thereasonisbecause.Usethattointroducetheclause

givingthereason:The reason is that he has been ill.

Sz/sz Usesizedtoformcompoundadjectives:He has a medium-sized car.

S IwillusetheformSt(withouttheperiod)inmybooksi.e.Burke Stnot

Burke Street.

tha/hch Thesepronounsarefrequentlyusedinterchangeablyinrelative

clauses,butthereisadifference.Whichisusedtointroduceageneral,non-

restrictiveclause(alsocalledanon-deningclause):

Hisletters,whichwerealwaysfullofjokes,amusedthefamily.

Suchaclauseservesasanadditionalexplanationandcaneasilybeleftoutwithoutdestroyingthemainsentence.Notethatwhenusedcorrectly,anon-

restrictiveclauseshouldalwaysbeseparatedbycommas.Thepronounthatshould

notreplacewhichinsuchclauses.


22/23

Thatdrawsattentiontosomethingspecicandrestrictsthemeaningofthe

mainsentence.Inthesecondexamplebelow,thatandwhichshouldchange

places.Therstuseisgeneral,thesecond(downtheeasternside),isspecic.

Iwanttoreadtheletterthatamusedyou.

Thesandystripalongthecoastisfedonlybyafewscantystreamsthatfurnisha

remarkablecontrasttothevastvolumesofwaterwhichrolldowntheeasternsides.

Thesandystripalongthecoastisfedonlybyafewscantystreamswhichfurnisha

remarkablecontrasttothevastvolumesofwaterthatrolldowntheeasternsides.

Thatcanbeusedforpeopleaswell;whommaysometimesbetooformal:

He is the sort of man that I always fall for.Insomecases,thatcanbeomitted

altogetherifthesentencerunspleasantlywithoutit:I know the problems [that]

you have.

thgh/alhgh Ifthereisanydifferencebetweenthesewords,althoughisthe

moreemphaticofthetwoandisusuallypreferredatthebeginningofasentence.

tll/l aregenerallyinterchangeable,exceptthatuntilisusuallychosento

beginsentences.Thereisalsoatendencytousetillaboutapointoftime,anduntil

aboutalongerperiod:Shedidntleavetilltwooclock

TheystayedinEuropeuntiltheendofsummer.

ta/as Eitherformisacceptable,althoughtowardshasgreatercur-

rencyinAustralia.

thak y Twoseparatewords.

wll Whenusedasanadjectiveisgenerallyhyphenated:well-educated,well-fed;

butnotinsentencessuchas:agoodworkwelldone,tobewellsupplied.

whWhenisanadverboftime.Donotreplaceitwithwhere(anadverbof

place)insentencesthatclearlyimplyanelementoftime:

When[notwhere]avotebecomestiedthechairmanhasacastingvote.

Avoidusingwhentodenesomething.Thesecondexampleispreferable:

Awicketiswhenabatsmanisdismissed.

Awicketisthedismissalofabatsman.

wh Avoidusingwheretodenesomething.Thesecondexampleisprefer-

able:

Scabbingiswhereapersonworksagainstauniondecision

Scabbingisworkingagainstauniondecision.

Whereshouldnotreplacethat:Ireadthat[notwhere]hewenttojail.Ifyou

wishtobeprecise,sayinwhichortowhichinsteadofwhere:

Imworkingonacalculationinwhich[notwhere]accuracyisessential.

whs Thereisnoobjectiontousingwhoseforinanimateobjects:Federation

Peak is a mountain whose reputation all bushwalkers respect.

whl Originallymeantaperiodoftime:We chatted for a while.Ithasa

legitimateuseinthesenseofwhereasincontextsinwhichwhereasmightsound

inappropriatelyformal:

Whileyousayyoulikeher,youveneverstoodupforher.

Whereasyousayyoulikeher,youveneverstoodupforher.

However,beawareofcolourlessuseofwhiletobeginasentence.Suchsentences

areneverfoundinqualitywriting:

Whiletheremanwaskilledonthespotandthedriverslightlyinjured,the

up-linewasblockedforsometimewithdebrisfrombrokentrucksofthe

goodstrain.

Andbeawareofusingitasamereelegantvariationforand:

Theremanwaskilledonthespotwhilethedriverwasslightlyinjured.


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tYPoGrAPHiC ConSiderAtionS

Paagaphs

Shouldbeindentedorspaced,notbothatthesametime.

Qas

Lengthyquotationsshouldbeindented,onesizesmaller.

nmbs

Spellnumbersuptonine(seven,nine),thenusenumerals(10,24).Thereasoning

isthatnumberstenorgreater,arelengthywhenspelt(seventeen,sixty-seven)and

notaseasytoreadasnumerals(17,67).Theotherreasonisthatnumberstenand

abovehavetwodigitsandseemtolookbetterthanasingledigitwhichcanlook

awkwardbythemselves.Thewritingofnumberscanbechangedforappearance:

Wemarched9or10miles[andnot]

Wemarchednineor10miles.

Orviceversa:

ItstentooneIllgetlost[andnot]

Its10tooneIllgetlost.

Examples:

Wemarched1015mileseveryday.

WewentintoNeliaorMaxweltoneightortentimesayear.

Wemighthavegonenine,tenmileaday.

Twentybyten,nolining,andadirtoor.

AftertwodaysIcontinuedmyjourney.

Wehavebeenmostunfortunatewiththesheepthelasttwoseasons.

Wedgetupathalfpast5.

Iwasingrade2.

Sometimesitisbettertousewords:

Athousandyearsago [A1000yearsago]

Amillionyearsago [A1,000,000yearsago]

Abillionyearsago [A1,000,000,000yearsago]

Whenthenumberisaword,itmaybebettertoretaintheword:

What,otherthanseventy-seven,rhymeswithelevenandhasfoursyllables?

[not:What, other than 77, rhymes with 11 and has four syllables?]

Theninegeneralisationdoesnotapply:

todates:3 February

tomathematics:If it takes 7 men 3 days to build a house, how many men

tounitsofmeasurement:3 metres, 7 hours, 9 kgs

totime:

It is 11:25 a.m. precisely.

half-past 9(thehalf-pasthyphenated).

toages:When Im 64; Im 6 years old.

togrades:I was in grade 4.

tonumbersatthestartofsentences:

One hundred and fteen million years ago

[not:115 million years ago]

Aswithpunctuation,consistencyisthekey.

reFerenCeS

Eats, Shoots & Leaves,LynTruss

Cassells Guide to Punctuation,LorettoTodd

The War Against Clich,MartinAmis

Room Temperature,NicholsonBaker(Chapter9isareverieonthecomma)

How to Write and Speak Better,ReadersDigest(excellentallroundguideandthe

onlyonethatusescommaslogicallyandconsistentlywhenquotingspeech)

The Kingss English,HWFowler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:STYLE

Guide for Good Writing

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