ATM Acceptable in first reference for automated teller
machine. It
should be
spelled out somewhere in the story.
Do not use ATM machine, which is
redundant.
Ages
Always use figures for people and animals but not for
inanimate
objects.
Examples:
The girl is 8 years old.
The law is eight years old.
Albertsons The grocery store chain. No apostrophe. Same with Ralphs and Vons.
At/about "At" indicates a specific time. "About" indicates
an approximate time.
An event happened either at
bandanna
Note the spelling.
Because of The phrase functions as an adverb and modifies
verbs.
Examples:
He resigned because of ill health. (because
of modifies resigned)
Officials closed the highway because of a fire. (because of modifies
closed)
Cabinet
A specific body of advisers heading executive departments
for a
president, king, governor, etc.:
The president-elect said he has not made his Cabinet selections.
cabinet
a cupboard
CEO
Acceptable on first reference as a title
before a name or as a stand-alone abbreviation for chief executive officer.
But spell it out somewhere in the story. (Spell out chief financial officer and
chief operating officer,which
are less familiar as
abbreviations.)
Hi all,
Charles Levin makes this good point about CEO.
An fyi on
this entry. In the case of
council member
When referring to members of a city council generically, use
council
members. Otherwise, it's Councilman
John Smith or Councilwoman Jane Jones.
Do not use council members as a formal title.
Wrong: Council Member John Smith.
Wrong: Councilmember John Smith.
Right: council member John Smith
convince/persuade
You may be "convinced that" something or
"of" something. You must be
persuaded "to do"
something.
Right: The robbers persuaded him to open the vault.
Wrong: The robbers convinced him to open the vault.
Right: The robbers convinced him that it was the right thing
to do.
Wrong: The robbers persuaded him that it was the right thing
to do.
district attorney
Do not abbreviate. Capitalize when used as a formal title
before a name:
District Attorney Hamilton Burger.
Use DA (no periods) only in quoted matter.
drunk, drunken
Drunk is the spelling of the adjective used after a form of the verb to
be:
He was drunk.
Drunken is the spelling of the adjective used before nouns: a drunken
driver, drunken driving.
due to The phrase functions as an
adjective and modifies nouns.
Example:
His resignation was due to ill health. (due
to modifies resignation)
The highway closure was due to a fire. (due
to modifies closure)
either
Use it to mean one or the other, not both.
Right: She said to use either door.
Wrong: There were lions on either side of the door.
Right: There were lions on each side of the door. There were lions on both
sides of the door.
every day (adv.), everyday (adj.)
She goes to work every day.
He wore his everyday shoes.
Elections Division Note the s.
ensure, insure
Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy.
Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life.
Fires
brush fire (two words)
wildfire (one word)
For fire names, capitalize the first word(s) that describe
the location
And lowercase fire:
From staff reports
This should be styled "by title," just like a
byline.
Farmworker One word when used to
refer to a farm laborer.
good will (n.)
He was a man of good will.
goodwill (adj.)
a goodwill tour
Groundbreaking (adj., n.) - one word.
Groundbreaker (n.) - one word.
It’s, its
It’s is a contraction for it is or it has: It’s up to
you. It’s been a
long
time.
Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun: The
company lost its
assets.
light, lighted, lighting
Lit is acceptable as the past tense form.
Examples:
He lighted a candle.
He lit a candle.
(AP changed its style on this.)
-like
Do not precede this suffix by a hyphen unless the letter l
would be
tripled or the main element is a
proper noun:
bill-like
Norwalk-like
businesslike
shell-like
mid-
No hyphen unless a capitalized word follows:
mid-America
midsemester
mid-Atlantic
midterm
But use a hyphen when mid- precedes a figure: mid-30s.
millions, billions
Use figures with million or billion in all except casual uses.
Examples:
I'd like to make a billion dollars.
The nation has 1 million citizens.
I need $7 billion.
Formerly the
The Oaks mall Note the uppercase T and lowercase m.
On
Do not use "on" before a date or day of the
week when its absence would not lead to confusion.
Examples:
The meeting will be held Monday. (not, The meeting
will be held on Monday).
He will be inaugurated Jan. 20. (not, He will be
inaugurated on Jan. 20).
Use "on" to avoid an awkward juxtaposition of a date and a proper
name: John met Mary on Monday. He told Reagan on Thursday that the bill was
doomed.
Use "on" also to avoid any suggestion that a date is the object of a
transitive verb: The House killed on Tuesday a bid to raise taxes. (This could
also be written: The House on Tuesday killed a bid to raise taxes.)
Only
Generally, the modifier "only" should be as
close as possible to the word, phrase or clause modified, preferably in front
of it. Sometimes, however, idiom calls for a departure from this general rule.
Want to see how "only" can change a sentence? Take the sentence
"I punched him in the nose yesterday" and move "only" to
different positions to get different meanings.
Pacific View mall Note the lowercase m.
Persuade/convince
You may be "convinced that" something or
"of" something. You must be
persuaded "to do"
something.
Right: The robbers persuaded him to open the vault.
Wrong: The robbers convinced him to open the vault.
Right: The robbers convinced him that it was the right thing
to do.
Wrong: The robbers persuaded him that it was the right thing
to do.
plead, pleaded, pleading Do not use
the colloquial past tense form, pled.
pore The verb pore means to gaze
intently or steadily.
Example:
She pored over her books.
pour The verb pour means to flow in
a continuous stream.
Examples:
It poured rain. He poured the coffee.
Presidents Day
(no apostrophe)
Ralphs
soldiers
Generally associated with the U.S. Army. Do not use as a generic term. Use
troops or service members instead. Do not describe Marines as soldiers.
sweat shirt Two words
Also,
sweat pants
sweat suit
sneaked
Preferred as past tense of sneak.
Do not use the colloquial
"snuck."
sport utility vehicle No plural s
in sport; no hyphen.
SUV is acceptable on second reference.
stationary, stationery
To stand still is to be stationary.
Writing paper is stationery.
that which (pronouns) Use
"that" and "which" in referring to inanimate objects and to
animals without a name.
Examples:
The jacket that I bought is brown.
The cat, which had been left at the shelter, was adopted this morning.
Use that for essential clauses, important to the meaning of a sentence, and
without commas.
Example:
I remember the day that we met.
Use which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary, and
use commas.
Example: The team, which finished last a year ago, is in first place.
(Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, use
"which"; otherwise, use "that." A "which" clause
is surrounded by commas; no commas are used with "that" clauses.)
Trick or treat! - traditional
greeting used by trick-or-treaters (Webster's dictionary includes the
exclamation point in its entry – no kidding - but I think we can probably
ignore it.)
Trick-or-treater,
trick-or-treating
note the hyphens
under way
Two words in virtually all uses:
The project is under way.
The naval maneuvers are under way.
One word only when used as an adjective before a noun in a
nautical
sense: an underway flotilla.
United Farm Workers of America Two words when referring to
the organization.
Veterans Day no apostrophe.
Vons