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The Elements of Style · The Elements of Style

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  Section zero one Introductory. This book is intended for use in English courses in
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  which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims
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  to give, in a brief space, the principal requirements of plain English style.
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  It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention in
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  chapters two and three on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles
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  of composition most commonly violated. The numbers of the sections may be used as
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  references in correcting manuscript. The book covers only a small portion of the field
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  of English style, but the experience of its writer has been that once passed
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  the essentials, students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their
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  own work, and that each instructor has his own body of theory which he
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  prefers to that offered by any textbook. The writer's colleagues in the Department of
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  English in Cornell University have greatly helped him in the preparation of his manuscript.
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  Mister George McLain Wood has kindly consented to the inclusion under Rule eleven of some
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  material from his suggestions to authors. The following books are recommended for reference or
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  further study. In connection with chapters two and four. F. Howard Collins,
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  author and printer Henry Frowd, Chicago University Press, Manual of Style T.
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  L. Devin Correct Composition, The Century Company, Horace Hart Rules for
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  Compositors and Printers, Oxford University Press. George McLain wood extracts from the Style
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  Book of the Government Printing Office, United States Geological Survey. In connection with
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  chapters three and five, Sir Author Quiller Couch, The Art of writing Putnams,
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  especially the chapter interlude on jargon. George McLain wood Suggestions to authors,
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  United States Geological Survey. John Leslie Hall English Usage, Scott Foresman and Co.
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  James P. Kelly Workmanship in Words, Little Brown and Co. It
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  is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric.
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  When they do so, however, the reader will usually find in the sentence
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  some compensating merit attained at the cost of the violation. Unless he is certain
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  of doing as well, he will probably do best to follow the rules.
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  After he has learned by their guidance to write plain English adequate for everyday uses.
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  Let him look for the secrets of style to the study of the Masters
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  of literature. End of section zero. Section one two elementary rules of usage.
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  Rules one to four one form the possessive singular of nouns with apostrophe s.
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  Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write Charles's Friend Burns's poems
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  The Witch's Malice. This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office
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  and of the Oxford University Press. Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names
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  in E S and i S, the possessive jesus j E s U s
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  apostrophe, and such forms as for conscience sake f O R space co o
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  n s c I e n ce apostrophe space s a k E, for
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  righteousness sake f O R space ri I g h t e o U s
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  n E double s apostrophe space s a k E. But such forms as
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  Achilles heel, Moses laws isis temple are commonly replaced by the heel of Achilles,
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  the laws of Moses, the temple of isis. The pronominal possessives hers,
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  it's, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe two in a
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  series of three or more terms with a single conjunction. Use a comma after
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  each term except the last. Thus write red comma, white comma, and
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  blue honest comma, energetic comma butt headstrong. He opened the letter comma,
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  read it comma, and made a note of its contents. This is also
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  the usage of the Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press. In
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  the names of business firms, the last is omitted as brown comma, Shipley
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  and company. The abbreviation etc. Period comma. Even if only a single
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  term comes after, it is always preceded by a comma. Three enclose parenthetic
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  expressions between commas. The best way to see a country comma, unless you
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  are pressed for time comma, is to travel on foot. This rule is
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  difficult to apply. It is frequently hard to decide whether a single word such
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  as however, or a brief phrase is or is not parenthetic. If the
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  interruption to the flow of the sentence is but slight, the writer may safely
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  omit the commas. But whether the interruption be slight or considerable, he must
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  never omit one comma and leave the other. Such punctuation as Marjorie's husband comma
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  Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday, or my brother, you will be
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  pleased to hear. Comma is now in perfect health. Comma is indefensible,
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  non restrictive. Relative clauses are in accordance with this rule set off by Commas.
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  The audience Comma, which had at first been indifferent Comma, became more
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  and more interested. Similar clauses introduced by where and when are similar punctuated In
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  seventeen sixty nine Comma when Napoleon was born, Comma Corsica had but recently been
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  acquired by France. Nether Stowe Comma, where Coleridge wrote the rhyme of the
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  ancient Mariner Comma is a few miles from Bridgewater. In these sentences, the
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  clauses introduced by which, when, and where are non restrictive. They do
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  not limit the application of the words on which they depend, but add parenthetically
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  statements supplementing those in the principal clauses. Each sentence is a combination of two
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  statements which might have been made independently. The audience was at first in different
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  period Later it became more and more interested. Napoleon was born in seventeen sixty
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  nine. Period At that time Corsica had but recently been acquired by France.
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  Coleridge wrote the Rhyme of the ancient Mariner at nether Stowe period. Nether Stowe
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  is only a few miles from Bridgewater. Restrictive relative clauses are not set off
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  by commas. The candidate who best meets these requirements will obtain the place in
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  this sentence. The relative laws restricts the application of the word candidate to a
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  single person. Unlike those above, the sentence cannot be split into two independent
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  statements. The abbreviations etc. Period and jr. Period are always preceded by
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  a comma, and except at the end of a sentence followed by one.
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  Similar in principle to the enclosing of parenthetic expressions between commas is the setting off
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  by commas of phrases or dependent clauses preceding or following the main clause of a
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  sentence. The sentences quoted in this section and under rules four, five,
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  six, seven, sixteen, and eighteen should afford sufficient guidance. If a
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  parenthetic expression is preceded by a conjunction, place the first comma before the conjunction,
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  not after it. He saw us coming comma and unaware that we had
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  learned of his treachery. Comma greeted us with a smile. For place a
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  comma before and or, but introducing an independent clause. The early records of
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  the city have disappeared, Comma, and the story of its first years can
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  no longer be reconstructed. The situation is perilous, Comma, but there is
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  still but one chance of escape. Sentences of this type isolated from their context
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  may seem to be in need of rewriting, as they make complete sense when
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  the comma is reached. The second clause has the appearance of an afterthought.
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  Further, and is the least specific of connectives used between independent clauses. It
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  indicates only that a relation exists between them, without defining that relation. In
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  the example above, the relation is that of cause and result. The two
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  sentences might be rewritten as the early records of the city have disappeared Comma,
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  the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed. Although the situation
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  is perilous Comma, there is still one chance of escape. Or the subordinate
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  clauses might be replaced by phrases. Owing to the disappearance of the early records
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  of the city comma, the story of its first years can no longer be
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  reconstructed. In this perilous situation Comma, there is still one chance of escape,
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  but a writer may err by making his sentences too uniformly compact and periodic,
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  and an occasional loose sentence prevents the style from becoming too formal and gives
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  the reader a certain relief. Consequently, loose sentences of the type first quoted
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  are common in easy, unstudied writing, but a writer should be careful not
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  to construct too many of his sentences after this pattern. See Rule fourteen.
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  Two part sentences of which the second member is introduced by as in the sense
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  of because four or nor and while in the sense of and at the same
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  time likewise require a comma before the conjunction. If a dependent clause or an
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  introductory phrase requiring to be set off by a comma precedes the second independent clause,
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  no comma is needed After the conjunction. The situation is perilous Comma,
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  But if we are prepared to act promptly Comma, there is still one chance
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  of escape. For two part sentences connected by an adverb, see the next
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  section. End of section one. Section two elementary rules of usage Rules five
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  to eight. Five do not join independent clauses by a comma. If two
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  or more clauses grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction are to form a
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  single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon. Stephenson's romances
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  are entertaining semicolon. They are full of exciting adventures. It is nearly half
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  past five, semicolon, we cannot reach town before dark. It is of
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  course equally correct to write the above as two sentences, each replacing the semicolons
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  periods. Stephenson's romances are entertaining period. They are full of exciting adventures.
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  It is nearly half past five, period, we cannot reach the town before
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  dark. If a conjunction is inserted, the proper mark is a comma.
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  Rule four, Stephenson's romances are entertaining comma, for they are full of exciting
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  adventures. It is nearly half past five, comma, and we cannot reach
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  town before dark. Note that if the second clause is preceded by an adverb
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  such as accordingly, besides so, then therefore or thus, and not by
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  a conjunction, the semicolon is still required, I had never been in the
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  place before semi colon, so I had difficulty in finding my way about.
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  In general, however, it is best in writing to avoid using so in
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  this manner. There is a danger that the writer who uses it at all
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  may use it too often. A simple correction, usually serviceable, is to
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  omit the word so and begin the first clause with as as I had never
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  been in the place before, comma, I had difficulty in finding my way
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  about. If the clauses are very short and are alike in form, a
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  comma is usually permissible. Man proposes comma, God disposed, the gate swung
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  apart, comma, the bridge fell comma. The Portcullis was drawn up six.
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  Do not break sentences in two. In other words, do not use
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  periods for commas. I met them on a colored liner several years ago.
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  Period coming home from Liverpool to New York. He was an interesting talker,
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  period, a man who had traveled all over the world comma and lived in
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  half a dozen countries. In both these examples, the first period should be
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  replaced by a comma, and the following word begun with a small letter.
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  It is permissible to make an emphatic word or expression serve the purpose of a
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  cent and to punctuate it accordingly. Again and again he called out period no
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  reply. The writer must, however, be certain that the emphasis is warranted
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  and that he will not be suspected of a mere blunder. In punctuation,
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  rules three, four, five, and six cover the most important principles in
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  the punctuation of ordinary sentences. They should be so thoroughly mastered that their application
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  becomes second nature. Seven. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence
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  must refer to the grammatical subject walking slowly down the road. Comma, he
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  saw woman accompanied by two children. The word walking refers to the subject of
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  the sentence, not to the woman. If the writer wishes to make it
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  refer to the woman, he must recast the sentence he saw woman, Comma
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  accompanied by two children, Comma walking slowly down the road. Participial phrases preceded
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  by a conjunction or by a preposition nouns in opposition adjectives and adjective phrases come
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  under the same rule if they begin the sentence on arriving in Chicago, Comma
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  his friends met him at the station. When he arrived in Chicago, Comma.
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  His friends met him at the station, a soldier of proved valor Comma,
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  they entrusted him with the defense of the city. A soldier of proved
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  valor Comma. He was entrusted with the defense of the city. Young and
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  inexperienced Comma, the task seemed easy to me, Young and inexperienced Comma.
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  I thought the task easy without a friend to counsel him. Comma, the
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  temptation proved irresistible. Without a friend to counsel him. Comma, he found
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  the temptation irresistible. Sentences violating this rule are often ludicrous. Being in a
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  dilapidated condition, Comma, I was able to buy the house very cheap.
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  Eight. Divide words at line ends in accordance with their formation and pronunciation.
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  If there is room at the end of a line for one or more syllables
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  of a word, but not for the whole word, divide the word.
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  Unless this involves cutting off only a single letter or cutting off only two letters
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  of a long word. No hard and fast rule for all words can be
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  laid down. The principles most frequently applicable are A. Divide the word according
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  to its formation, no dash ledge not no l dash edge shake dash spear
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  not shake's, dash peer d dash scribe not DEAs, dash cribe at mode
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  dash sphere not at moss dash fear b. Divide on the vowel eddie,
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  dash bull not ed dash ibbyl proper, dash zition, ordi dashneri espe,
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  dash shull, relay, dash jus a poe, dash NaNs, regue,
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  dash lar classic, dash fi, dash k dash shun three divisions possible,
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  deco, dash retive, presi, dash dent see. Divide between double letters
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  unless they come at the end of a simple form of the word A penn
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  dash nines, sin sin, dash nati refer dash ring but tell d.
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  The treatment of consonants in combination is best shown from examples four dash tune,
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  pick, dash chur, presump dash chu us illus, dash tration sub dash
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  stan, dash shull either division indus, dash tree, instruct dash shun such
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  dash jess dash shun in sen dash diary. The student will do well to
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  examine the syllable division in a number of pages of any carefully printed book.
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  End of Section two. Section three Elementary Principles of composition rules nine to ten
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  nine make the paragraph the unit of composition. One paragraph to each topic.
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  If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if
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  you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of subdividing
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  it into topics. Thus, a brief description, a brief summary of a
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  literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative merely outlining
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  an action, the setting forth of a single idea. Any one of these
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  is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written,
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  it should be examined to see whether subdivision will not improve it. Ordinarily,
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  however, a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should be made
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  aid the subject of a paragraph. The object of treating each topic in a
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  paragraph by itself is, of course, to aid the reader. The beginning
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  of each paragraph is a signal to him that a new step in the development
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  of the subject has been reached. The extent of subdivision will vary with the
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  length of the composition. For example, a short notice of a book or
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  poem might consist of a single paragraph. One slightly longer might consist of two
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  paragraphs. A account of the work, b critical discussion, a report on
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  a poem written for a class in literature, might consist of seven paragraphs.
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  A facts of composition and publication, B kind of poem, metrical form,
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  C subject, D treatment of subject E for what chiefly remarkable? F wherein
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  characteristic of the writer, G. Relationship to other works. The contents of
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  paragraphs C and D would vary with the poem. Usually, paragraph C would
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  indicate the actual or imagined circumstances of the poem, the situation if these call
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  for explanation, and would then state the subject and outline in its development.
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  If the poem is a narrative in the third person, throughout, paragraph C
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  need contain no more than a concise summary of the action. Paragraph D would
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  indicate the leading ideas and show how they are made prominent, or would indicate
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  what points in the narrative are chiefly emphasized. A novel might be discussed under
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  the heads A setting, B, plot, C, characters, D purpose.
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  A historical event might be discussed under the heads A what led up to
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  the event? B? Account of the event? See what the event led
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  up to. In treating each of these last two subjects, the writer should
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  find it necessary to subdivide one or more of the topics here given as a
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  rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs. An exception
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  may be made of sentences of transition indicating the relation between the parts of an
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  exposition argument. In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word,
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  is a paragraph by itself. That is, a new paragraph begins with
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  each change of speaker. The application of this rule when dialogue and narrative are
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  combined is best learned from examples in well printed works of fiction. Ten As
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  a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, end it in conformity
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  with the beginning. Again, the object is to aid the reader. The
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  practice here recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins
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  to read it, and to retain the purpose in mind as he ends it.
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  For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in
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  exposition and argument, is that in which a the topic sentence comes at or
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  near the beginning. B. The succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the
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  statement made in the topic sentence, and see the final sentence either emphasizes the
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  thought of the topic sentence or state some important consequence. Ending with a digression
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  or with an unimportant detail is particularly to be avoided If the paragraph forms part
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  of a larger composition, its relation to what precedes or its function as a
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  part of the whole may need to be expressed. This can sometimes be done
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  by a mere word or phrase. Again, therefore, for the same reason
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  in the topic sentence. Sometimes, however, it is expedient to precede the
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  topic sentence by one or more sentences of introduction or transition. If more than
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  one such sentence is required, it is generally better to set apart the transitional
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  sentences as a separate paragraph. According to the writer's purpose, he may,
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  as indicated below, relate the body of the paragraph to the topic sentence in
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  one or more of several different ways. He may make the meaning of the
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  topic sentence clearer by stating it in other forms, by defining its terms,
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  by denying the converse, by giving illustrations or specific instances. He may establish
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  it by proofs, or he may develop it by showing its implications and consequences
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  in a long paragraph. He may carry out several of these processes. One,
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  Now, to be properly enjoyed, a walking tour should be gone upon
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  alone topic sentence. Two. If you go in a company, or even
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  in pairs, it is no longer a walking tour in anything but name.
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  It is something else and more in the nature of a picnic, the meaning
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  made clearer by denial of the contrary. Three. A walking tour should be
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  gone upon alone, because freedom is of the essence. Because you should be
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  able to stop and go on and follow this way or that as the freak
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  takes you. And because you must have your own pay, and neither trot
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  alongside a champion walker, nor mince in time with a girl. The topic
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  sentence repeated in a bridged form and supported by three reasons. The meaning of
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  the third you must have your own pace made clearer by denying the converse.
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  Four. And you must be open to all impressions, and let your thoughts
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  take color from what you see. A fourth reason stated in two forms.
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  Five, you should be as a pipe for any win to play upon.
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  The same reason stated in still another form. Six. I cannot see the
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  wit, says has Lit of walking and talking at the same time. Seven.
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  When I am in the country, I wish to vegetate life like the
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  country, which is a gist of all that can be said upon the matter.
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  The same reason as stated by Haslt. Eight, there should be no
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  cackle of voices at your elbow to jar on the meditative silence of the morning
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  repetition, in paraphrase of the quotation from Haslt. Nine, and so long
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  as a man is a reasoning, he cannot surrender himself to that fine intoxication
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  that comes of much motion in the open air, that begins in a sort
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  of dazzle and sluggishness of the brain, and ends in a piece that passes
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  comprehension. Stevenson Walking tours final statement of the fourth reason in language amplified and
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  heightened to form a strong conclusion one. It was chiefly in the eighteenth century
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  that a very different conception of history grew up Topic sentence, Section two.
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  Historians then came to believe that their task was not so much to paint a
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  picture as to solve a problem, to explain or illustrate the successive phases of
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  national growth, prosperity, and adversity. The meaning of the topic sentence made
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  clearer. The new conception of history defined SC three the history of morals,
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  of industry, of intellect, and of art. The changes that take place
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  in manners or beliefs. The dominant ideas that prevailed in successive periods, the
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  rise, fall, and modification of political constitutions. In a word, all
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  the conditions of national well being became the subjects of their works. The definition
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  expanded. Four. They sought rather to write a history of peoples than a
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  history of kings, the definition explained by contrast. Five. They looked especially
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  in history for the chain of causes and effects. The definition supplemented another element
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  in the new conception of history. Six. They undertook to study in the
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  past the physiology of nations, and hoped, by applying the experimental method on
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  a large scale, to deduce some lessons of real value about the conditions on
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  which the web welfare of society mainly depend. Lecky The political value of history
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  conclusion an important consequence of the new conception of history. In narration and description,
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  the paragraph sometimes begins with a concise, comprehensive statement, serving to hold
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  together the details that follow. The breeze served us admirably. The campaign opened
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  with a series of reverses. The next ten or twelve pages were filled with
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  a curious set of entries. But this device, if too often used,
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  would become a mannerism. More commonly, the opening sentence simply indicates by its
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  subject with what the paragraph is to be principally concerned. At length, I
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  thought I might return towards the stockade. He picked up the heavy lamp from
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  the table and began to explore another flight of steps, and they emerged on
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  the roof. The brief paragraphs of animated narrative, however, are often without
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  even this semblance of a topic sentence. The break between them serves the purpose
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  of a rhetorical pause, growing into prominence some detail of the action. End
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  of Section three, Section four. Elementary principles of composition Rules eleven to thirteen
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  eleven use the active voice. The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous
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  than the passive. I shall always remember my first visit to Boston. This
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  this is much better than my first visit to Boston, will always be remembered
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  by me. The latter sentence is less direct, less bold, and less
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  concise. If the writer tries to make it more concise by omitting by me,
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  my first visit to Boston will always be remembered, it becomes indefinite.
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  Is it the writer, or some person undisclosed, or the world at large
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  that will always remember this visit? This rule does not, of course,
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  mean that the writer should actively discard the passive voice, which is frequently convenient
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  and sometimes necessary. The dramatists of the restoration are little esteemed today. Modern
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  readers have little esteem for the dramatists of the restoration. The first would be
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  the right form in a paragraph on the dramatists of the restoration, the second
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  in a paragraph on the tastes of modern readers. The need of making a
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  particular word the subject of the sentence will often, as in these examples,
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  determine which voice is to be used. The habitual use of the active voice,
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  however, makes for forcible writing. This is true not only in narrative
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  principally concerned with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame
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  sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a transitive
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  in the active voice for some perfunctory expression. As there is or could be
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  heard. There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground.
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  Dead leaves covered the ground. The sound of the falls could still be heard.
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  The sound of the falls still reached our ears. The reason that he
• 42:25
  left college was that his health became impaired. Failing health compelled him to leave
• 42:34
  college. It was not long before he was very sorry that he had said
• 42:40
  what he had. He soon repented his words. As a rule, avoid
• 42:47
  making one passive depend directly upon another. Gold was not allowed to be exported.
• 42:58
  It was forbidden to it export gold. The export of gold was prohibited.
• 43:05
  He has been proved to have been seen entering the building. It has
• 43:09
  been proved that he was seen to enter the building in both the examples above.
• 43:17
  Before correction, the word properly related to the second passive is made the
• 43:24
  subject of the first. A common fault is to use as the subject of
• 43:31
  a passive construction a noun which expresses the entire action, leaving to the verb
• 43:39
  no function beyond that of completing the sentence. A survey of this region was
• 43:49
  made in nineteen hundred. The region was surveyed in nineteen hundred. Mobilization of
• 43:58
  the army was rapidly carried out. The army was rapidly mobilized. Confirmation of
• 44:07
  these reports cannot be obtained. These reports cannot be confirmed. Compare the sentence
• 44:15
  the export of gold was prohibited, in which the predicate was prohibited expresses something
• 44:23
  not implied in export twelve. Put statements in positive form, make definite assertions,
• 44:32
  avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, noncommittal language. Use the word not
• 44:40
  as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.
• 44:49
  He was not very often on time. He usually came late. He
• 44:54
  did not think that studying Latin was much use. He thought the study of
• 45:00
  Latin useless. The Taming of the Shrew is rather weak in spots. Shakespeare
• 45:07
  does not portray Katherine as a very admirable character, nor does Bianca remain long
• 45:15
  in memory as an important character in Shakespeare's works. The women in the Taming
• 45:23
  of the Shrew are unattractive. Katherine is disagreeable, Bianca insignificant. The last
• 45:31
  example before correction is indefinite as well as negative. The corrected version, consequently
• 45:40
  is simply a guess at the writer's intention. All three examples show the weakness
• 45:47
  inherent in the word not Consciously or unconsciously. The reader is dissatisfied with being
• 45:59
  told only what is not. He wishes to be told what is. Hence,
• 46:06
  as a rule, it is better to express a negative in positive form.
• 46:12
  Not honest, dishonest, not important, trifling, did not remember for
• 46:21
  God did not pay any attention to ignored, did not have much confidence in
• 46:29
  distrusted. The antithesis of negative and positive is strong, not charity, but
• 46:37
  simple justice. Not that I loved Caesar less but rome. The more negative
• 46:45
  words other than not are usually strong. The sun never sets upon the British
• 46:52
  flag. Thirteen omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should
• 47:01
  contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason
• 47:10
  that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines, and a machine no unnecessary parts.
• 47:19
  This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that
• 47:24
  he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only an outline, but that every
• 47:30
  word tell Many expressions in common use violate this principle. The question as to
• 47:38
  whether whether the question whether there is no doubt, but that no doubt doubtless
• 47:49
  used for fuel purposes, used for fuel. He is a man who he
• 47:57
  in a hasty manner, hastily. This is a subject which this subject his
• 48:05
  story is a strange one. His story is strange. In especial the expression
• 48:12
  the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs,
• 48:19
  owing to the fact that since because in spite of the fact that though although
• 48:28
  call your attention to the fact that remind you, notify you, I was
• 48:34
  unaware of the fact that I was unaware that did not know the fact that
• 48:40
  he had not succeeded his failure, the fact that I had arrived my arrival.
• 48:50
  See also under case character nature system in chapter five. Who is,
• 48:58
  which was? And the like are often superfluous. His brother who is a
• 49:04
  member of the same firm, his brother a member of the same firm Trafalgar,
• 49:10
  which was Nelson's last battle, Trafalgar Nelson's last battle. As positive statement
• 49:17
  is more concise than negative, and the active voice more concise than the passive.
• 49:23
  Many of the examples given under rules eleven and twelve illustrate this rule as
• 49:30
  well. A common violation of conciseness is the presentation of a single complex idea
• 49:37
  step by step in a series of sentences, which might, to advantage be
• 49:44
  combined into one. Macbeth was very ambitious. This led him to wish to
• 49:51
  become King of Scotland. The witches told him that this wish of his would
• 49:59
  come true. The King of Scotland at this time was Duncan. Encouraged by
• 50:05
  his wife Macbeth murdered Duncan. He was thus enabled to succeed Duncan as king
• 50:13
  fifty five words. Encouraged by his wife, Comma, Macbeth achieved his ambition
• 50:21
  and realized the prediction of the Witches by murdering Duncan and becoming King of Scotland
• 50:30
  in his place twenty six words. End of section four. Section five.
• 50:39
  Elementary principles of composition Rules fourteen to sixteen fourteen avoid a succession of loose sentences.
• 50:52
  This rule refers especially to loose sentences of a particular type, those considering
• 51:00
  of two coordinate clauses, the second introduced by a conjunction or relative. Although
• 51:07
  single sentences of this type may be unexceptionable, see under rule four. A
• 51:15
  series soon becomes monotonous and tedious. An unskillful writer will sometimes construct a whole
• 51:24
  paragraph of sentences of this kind, using as connectives and but and less frequently
• 51:34
  who, which, when, where, and while these last in non restrictive
• 51:39
  senses, see under rule three. The third concert of the Subscription series was
• 51:46
  given last evening, and a large audience was in attendance. Mister Edward Appleton
• 51:52
  was the soloist and the Boston Symphony Orchestra furnished the instrumental music. The former
• 52:00
  showed himself to be an artist of the first rank, while the latter proved
• 52:06
  itself fully deserving of its high reputation. The interest aroused by the series has
• 52:13
  been very gratifying to the committee, and it is planned to give a similar
• 52:17
  series annually hereafter. The fourth concert will be given on Tuesday, May tenth,
• 52:24
  when an equally attractive program will be presented. Apart from its triteness and
• 52:30
  emptiness, the paragraph above is bad because of the structure of its sentences,
• 52:38
  with their mechanical symmetry and sing song. Contrast with them the sentences in the
• 52:45
  paragraphs quoted under Rule ten, or in any piece of good English prose,
• 52:52
  as the preface before the curtain to vanity fair. If the writer find that
• 53:00
  he has written a series of sentences of the type described, he should recast
• 53:06
  enough of them to remove the monotony, replacing them by simple sentences by sentences
• 53:14
  of two clauses joined by a semicolon, by periodic sentences of two clauses,
• 53:22
  by sentences loose or periodic of three clauses, whichever best represent the real relations
• 53:30
  of the thought. Fifteen express coordinate ideas in similar form. This principle,
• 53:40
  that of parallel construction, requires that expressions of similar content and function should be
• 53:49
  outwardly similar. The likeness of form enables the reader to recognize more readily the
• 53:57
  likeness of content and function. Familiar instances from the Bible are the Ten Commandments,
• 54:05
  the Beatitudes, and the petitions of the Lord's Prayer. The unskillful writer
• 54:13
  often violates this principle from a mistaken belief that he should constantly vary the form
• 54:20
  of his expressions. It is true that in repeating a statement in order to
• 54:25
  emphasize it, he may have need to vary its form. For illustration,
• 54:31
  see the paragraph from Stevenson quoted under rule ten. But apart from this,
• 54:39
  he should follow the principle of parallel construction. Formerly, comma science was taught
• 54:46
  by the textbook method comma, while now the laboratory method is employed. Formerly
• 54:54
  comma science was taught by the textbook method semiic. Now it is taught by
• 55:01
  the laboratory method. The left hand version gives the impression that the writer is
• 55:08
  undecided or timid. He seems unable or afraid to choose one form of expression,
• 55:15
  and hold to it. The right hand version shows that the writer has
• 55:21
  at least made his choice and abided by it. By this principle, an
• 55:27
  article or preposition applying to all the members of a series must either be used
• 55:34
  only before the first term, or else be repeated before each term. The
• 55:39
  French comma, the Italian's comma, Spanish comma, and Portuguese. The French
• 55:47
  comma, the Italian's comma, the Spanish comma, and the Portuguese. In
• 55:54
  spring comma, summer comma or in winter is spring comma, summer comma or
• 56:01
  winter in spring comma, in summer comma or in winter Correlative expressions both and
• 56:12
  not but not only but also either or, first, second, third,
• 56:20
  and the like should be followed by the same grammatical construction. Many violations of
• 56:27
  this rule can be corrected by rearranging the sentence. It was both a long
• 56:32
  ceremony and very tedious. The ceremony was both long and tedious. A time
• 56:43
  not for words comma, but action, A time not for words comma,
• 56:49
  but for action. Either you must grant his request or incur his ill will.
• 56:57
  You must either grant his request or incur his ill will. My objections
• 57:02
  are comma first comma the injustice of the measure, semi coolon second comma that
• 57:10
  it is unconstitutional. My objections are comma first comma that the measure is unjust,
• 57:20
  semi coolon second comma that it is unconstitutional. See also the third example
• 57:27
  under rule twelve and the last under rule thirteen. It may be asked,
• 57:32
  what if a writer needs to express a very large number of similar ideas,
• 57:38
  say twenty, must he write twenty consecutive sentences of the same pattern. On
• 57:45
  closer examination, he will probably find that the difficulty is imaginary, that his
• 57:52
  twenty ideas can be classified in groups, and that he need apply the principle
• 57:59
  only within in each group. Otherwise he had best avoid the difficulty by putting
• 58:06
  his statements in the form of a table. Sixteen. Keep related words together.
• 58:15
  The position of the words in a sentence is the principal means of showing
• 58:20
  their relationship. The writer must, therefore, so far as possible, bring
• 58:25
  together the words and groups of words that are related in thought, and keep
• 58:32
  apart those which are not so related. The subject of a sentence and the
• 58:38
  principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or
• 58:44
  clause that can be transferred to the beginning. Wordsworth Comma in the fifth book
• 58:51
  of the Excursion Comma gives a minute description of this church. In the fifth
• 58:57
  book of the Excursion Comma, Wordsworth gives a minute description of this church.
• 59:04
  Cast iron comma, when treated in a Bessemer converter comma, is changed into
• 59:10
  steel. By treatment in a Bessemer converter comma, cast iron is changed into
• 59:19
  steel. The objection is that the interposed phrase or clause needlessly interrupts the natural
• 59:28
  order of the main clause. The objection, however, does not usually hold
• 59:34
  when the order is interrupted only by a relative clause or by an expression in
• 59:39
  apposition, nor does it hold in periodic sentences in which the interruption is a
• 59:46
  deliberately used means of creating suspense. See examples under rule eighteen. The relative
• 59:53
  pronoun should come, as a rule, immediately after its antecedent. There was
• 1:00:00
  a look in his eye that boded mischief. In his eye was a look
• 1:00:06
  that boded mischief. He wrote three articles about his adventures in Spain Comma,
• 1:00:14
  which were published in Harper's Magazine. He published in Harper's Magazine three articles about
• 1:00:22
  his adventures in Spain. This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison Comma, grandson
• 1:00:31
  of William Henry Harrison Comma, who became president in eighteen eighty nine. This
• 1:00:39
  is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison Comma, grandson of William Henry Harrison period he
• 1:00:46
  became president in eighteen eighty nine. If the antecedent consists of a group of
• 1:00:54
  words, the relative comes at the end of the group, unless this would
• 1:01:00
  cause ambiguity. The Superintendent of the Chicago Division Comma who a proposal to amend
• 1:01:07
  the Sherman Act. Comma, which has been variously judged. A proposal Comma,
• 1:01:14
  which has been variously judged. Comma to amend the Sherman Act. A
• 1:01:17
  proposal to amend the much debated Sherman Act. The grandson of William Henry Harrison
• 1:01:24
  Comma who William Henry Harrison's grandson Comma, Benjamin Harrison Comma who a noun in
• 1:01:34
  apposition may come between antecedent and relative, because in such a combination no real
• 1:01:42
  ambiguity can arise. The Duke of York Comma, his brother Comma, who
• 1:01:49
  was regarded with hostility by the Whigs. Modifiers should come, if possible,
• 1:01:57
  next to the word They modify expressions, modify the same word. They should
• 1:02:02
  be so arranged that no wrong relation is suggested. All the members were not
• 1:02:09
  present. Not all the members were present. He only found two mistakes.
• 1:02:16
  He found only two mistakes. Major R. E. Joyce will give a
• 1:02:22
  lecture on Tuesday evening in Bailey Hall, Comma to which the public is invited.
• 1:02:28
  Comma on My Experiences in Mesopotamia at eight pm. On Tuesday evening,
• 1:02:36
  at eight pm Comma Major R. E. Joyce will give in Bailey Hall
• 1:02:40
  a lecture on My Experiences in Mesopotamia period. The public is invited. End
• 1:02:49
  of Section five, Section six. Elementary Principles of Composition Rules seventeen to eighteen
• 1:03:00
  seventeen. In summaries, keep to one tense. In summarizing the action of
• 1:03:07
  a drama, the writer should always use the present tense. In summarizing a
• 1:03:15
  poem, story, or novel, he should preferably use the present, though
• 1:03:21
  he may use the past if he prefers. If the summary is in the
• 1:03:25
  present tense, antecedent action should be expressed by the perfect, if in the
• 1:03:31
  past, by the past perfect. An unforeseen chance prevents Friar John from delivering
• 1:03:39
  Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo. Juliet, meanwhile, owing to her father's arbitrary
• 1:03:47
  change of the day set for her wedding, has been compelled to drink the
• 1:03:52
  potion on Tuesday night, with the result that Bothazar informs Romeo of her supposed
• 1:03:59
  death before friar Lawrence learns of the non delivery of the letter. But whichever
• 1:04:05
  tense be used in the summary a past tense in indirect discourse or in indirect
• 1:04:12
  question remains unchanged. The legate inquires who struck the blow. Apart from the
• 1:04:19
  exceptions noted, whichever tense the writer chooses he should use throughout. Shifting from
• 1:04:27
  one tense to the other gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution. Compare Rule
• 1:04:32
  fifteen. In presenting the statements or the thought of someone else, as in
• 1:04:39
  summarizing an essay or reporting a speech, the writer should avoid intercollating such expressions
• 1:04:45
  as he said, he stated, the speaker added. The speaker then went
• 1:04:51
  on to say the author also thinks or the like. He should indicate clearly
• 1:04:57
  at the outset once for all, that what follows is summary, and then
• 1:05:02
  waste no words in repeating the notification. In notebooks, in newspapers. In
• 1:05:10
  handbooks of literature, summaries of one kind or another may be indispensable, and
• 1:05:16
  for children in primary schools it is useful exercise to retell a story in their
• 1:05:23
  own words. But in the criticism or interpretation of literature, the writer should
• 1:05:29
  be careful to avoid dropping into summary. He may find it necessary to devote
• 1:05:34
  one or two sentences to indicating the subject or the opening situation of the work
• 1:05:43
  he is discussing. He may cite numerous details to illustrate its qualities, but
• 1:05:49
  he should aim to write an orderly discussion supported by evidence, not a summary
• 1:05:57
  with occasional comment. Similarly, if the scope of his discussion includes a number
• 1:06:03
  of works, he will, as a rule do better not to take them
• 1:06:08
  up singly in chronological order, but to aim from the beginning at establishing general
• 1:06:15
  conclusions. Eighteen placed the emphatic words of a sentence at the end. The
• 1:06:23
  proper place for the word or group of words which the writer desires to make
• 1:06:29
  most prominent is usually the end of the sentence. Humanity has hardly advanced in
• 1:06:35
  fortitude since that time comma, though it has advanced in many other ways.
• 1:06:44
  Humanity comma since that time Comma has advanced in many other ways, Comma,
• 1:06:50
  but it has hardly advanced in fortitude. This steal is principally used for making
• 1:07:00
  razors Comma because of its hardness. Because of its hardness, Comma, this
• 1:07:05
  steal is principally used in making razors. The word or group of words entitled
• 1:07:15
  to this position of prominence is usually the logical predicate, that is, the
• 1:07:21
  new element in the sentence, as it is in the second example. The
• 1:07:28
  effectiveness of the periodic sentence arises from the prominence which it gives to the main
• 1:07:34
  statement. Four centuries ago, Comma Christopher Columbus Comma, one of the Italian
• 1:07:43
  mariners whom the decline of their own republics had put at the service of the
• 1:07:48
  world and of adventure. Comma seeking for Spain a westward passage to the Indies
• 1:07:56
  as a set off against the achievements of Portuguese discs discoverers. Comma lighted on
• 1:08:02
  America with these hopes, and in this belief, I would urge you Comma,
• 1:08:11
  laying aside all hindrance, Comma, thrusting away all private aims. Comma,
• 1:08:17
  to devote yourselves unswervingly and unflinchingly to the vigorous and successful prosecution of this
• 1:08:28
  war. The other prominent position in the sentence is the beginning. Any element
• 1:08:35
  in the sentence other than the subject becomes emphatic when placed first. Deceit or
• 1:08:44
  treachery, he could never forgive so vast and rude comma threaded by the action
• 1:08:53
  of nearly three thousand years comma. The fragments of this architecture may often seem
• 1:09:00
  comma at first sight, comma. Like works of nature, a subject coming
• 1:09:08
  first in its sentence may be emphatic, but hardly by its position alone in
• 1:09:15
  the sentence Great Kings worshiped at his shrine comma. The emphasis upon kings arises
• 1:09:23
  largely from its meaning and from the context. To receive special emphasis, the
• 1:09:30
  subject of a sentence must take the position of the predicate. Through the middle
• 1:09:35
  of the valley flowed a winding stream. The principle that the proper place for
• 1:09:43
  what is to be made most prominent is the end applies equally to the words
• 1:09:46
  of a sentence, to the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs
• 1:09:53
  of a composition. End of Section six, Section seven. A few matters
• 1:10:01
  of form headings leave a blank line or its equivalent in space after the title
• 1:10:10
  or heading of a manuscript on succeeding pages. If using ruled paper, begin
• 1:10:16
  on the first line. Numerals do not spell out dates or other serial numbers.
• 1:10:24
  Write them in figures or in roman notation as may be appropriate. August
• 1:10:30
  nine, nineteen eighteen, Chapter XII, Rule three three five two D Infantry
• 1:10:42
  parentheses. A sentence containing an expression in parenthesis is punctuated outside of the marks
• 1:10:50
  of parenthesis, exactly as if the expression in parentheses were absent. The expression
• 1:10:58
  within is punctuated as if it stood by itself, except that the final stop
• 1:11:04
  is omitted, unless it is a question mark or an exclamation point. I
• 1:11:11
  went to his house yesterday parenthesis my third attempt to see him, and parenthesis
• 1:11:16
  comma. But he had left town, he declares, parenthesis, and why
• 1:11:21
  should we doubt his good faith? Question mark and parenthesis that he is now
• 1:11:28
  certain of success. When a wholly detached expression or sentence is parenthesized, the
• 1:11:32
  final stop comes before the last mark of parenthesis. Quotations formal quotations cited as
• 1:11:42
  documentary evidence, are introduced by a colon and enclosed in quotation marks. The
• 1:11:49
  provision of the Constitution is colon quote, no tax or duty shall be laid
• 1:11:57
  on articles exported from any state. Period end quote. Quotations grammatically in apposition
• 1:12:05
  or the direct objects of verbs are preceded by a comma and enclosed in quotation
• 1:12:13
  marks. I recall the maxim of larochefo cold comma quote. Gratitude is a
• 1:12:20
  lively sense of benefits to come. Period end quote. Aristotle says comma quote
• 1:12:29
  art is an imitation of nature. Period end quote. Quotations of an entire
• 1:12:35
  line or more of verse are begun on a fresh line and centered but not
• 1:12:43
  enclosed in quotation marks. Wordsworth's enthusiasm for the revolution was at first unbounded colon
• 1:12:51
  bliss was it that dawned? To be alive? Comma, but to be
• 1:12:57
  young was very heavens exclamation mark. Quotations introduced by that are regarded as in
• 1:13:04
  direct discourse and not enclosed in quotation marks. Keats declares that beauty is truth
• 1:13:12
  comma truth beauty. Proverbial expressions and familiar phrases of literary origin require no quotation
• 1:13:20
  marks. These are the times that try men's souls. He lives far from
• 1:13:28
  the madding crowd. The same is true of colloquialisms and slang references in scholarly
• 1:13:38
  work requiring exact references abbreviate titles that occur frequently, giving the full forms in
• 1:13:46
  an alphabetical list at the end. As a general practice, give the references
• 1:13:51
  in parenthesis or in footnotes, not in the body of the sentence. Omit
• 1:13:59
  the words act, scene, line, book, volume, page, except
• 1:14:03
  when referring by only one of them punctuate, as indicated below in the second
• 1:14:11
  scene of the third act. In CAPITALIII dot LOWERCASEII, still better simply insert
• 1:14:19
  CAPITALIII dot lowercase II in parentheses at the proper place in the sentence. After
• 1:14:28
  the killing of Polonius, Comma Hamlet is placed under guard parenthesis capital iv dot
• 1:14:35
  LOWERCASEII dot space fourteen and parenthesis period two samuel lowercase I, colon seventeen dash
• 1:14:47
  twenty seven othellow CAPITALII dot lowercase miii two six four dash two six seven Comma
• 1:15:00
  CAPITALII dot lowercase MII dot space one fifty five dash one sixty one. Titles
• 1:15:11
  for the titles of literary works, scholarly usage prefers italics with capitalized initials.
• 1:15:17
  The usage of editors and publishers varies, Some using italics with capitalized initials,
• 1:15:25
  others using Roman with capitalized initials and with or without quotation marks. Use italics
• 1:15:32
  indicated in manuscript by underscoring, except in writing for a periodical that follows a
• 1:15:38
  different practice. Omit either A or the from titles where you place the possessive
• 1:15:45
  before them. The italics iliad, semi coolon the Italics Odyssey, semi coolon
• 1:15:55
  Italics as you like it, semi coolon Italics to a Skylark, semicolon Italics,
• 1:16:02
  the New Comes Semicolon Italics, A Tale of Two Cities, Semicolon Dickens's
• 1:16:11
  Italics, Tale of two Cities. End of Section seven. Section eight.
• 1:16:19
  Words and expressions commonly misused all right to most. Many of the words and
• 1:16:28
  expressions here listed are not so much bad English as bad style. The commonplaces
• 1:16:35
  of careless writing, as illustrated under feature. The proper correction is likely to
• 1:16:42
  be not replacement of one word or said of words by another, but the
• 1:16:46
  replacement of vague generality by definite statement. All right, idiomatic infamiliar speech as
• 1:16:56
  a detached phrase in the sense agreed or go ahead in other uses better avoided,
• 1:17:03
  always written as to words as good or better Expressions of this type should
• 1:17:12
  be corrected by rearranging the sentence. My opinion is as good or better than
• 1:17:18
  his. My opinion is as good as his. Comma or better, if
• 1:17:26
  not better. As to whether whether is sufficient, see under rule thirteen.
• 1:17:33
  Bid takes the infinitive without two. The past tense is bade case. The
• 1:17:43
  concise Oxford Dictionary begins its definition of this word quote instance of a thing's occurring
• 1:17:53
  usual state of affairs end quote. In these two senses, the word is
• 1:18:00
  usually unnecessary in many cases. Comma, the rooms were poorly ventilated. Many
• 1:18:08
  of the rooms were poorly ventilated. It has rarely been the case that any
• 1:18:14
  mistake has been made. Few mistakes have been made. Sea would suggestions to
• 1:18:21
  authors, pages sixty eight to seventy one, and Quiller Couch The Art of
• 1:18:28
  writing pages one oh three to one oh six, certainly used indiscriminately by some
• 1:18:35
  speakers, much as others use vary to intensify any and every statement. A
• 1:18:43
  mannerism of this kind bad in speech, is even worse in writing. Character
• 1:18:50
  often simply redundant, used from a mere habit of wordiness, acts of a
• 1:18:57
  hostile character, hostile acts, claim verb with object noun means lay. Claim
• 1:19:06
  to may be used with a dependent clause if this sense is clearly involved.
• 1:19:14
  He claimed that he was the sole surviving heir, but even here claimed to
• 1:19:19
  be would be better not to be used as a substitute for declare, maintain,
• 1:19:27
  or charge. Compare. To compare to is to point out or imply
• 1:19:33
  resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of different order. To compare with is mainly
• 1:19:44
  to point out differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order. Thus
• 1:19:50
  life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle.
• 1:19:56
  Congress may be compared with the British Parliament. Garis has been compared to
• 1:20:00
  ancient Athens. It may be compared with modern London. Clever, This word
• 1:20:09
  has been greatly overused. It is better restricted to ingenuity displayed in small matters.
• 1:20:17
  Consider not followed by as when it means believed to be, I consider
• 1:20:24
  him thoroughly competent. Compare the lecturer considered Cromwell first as soldier and second as
• 1:20:31
  administrator. Where considered means examined or discussed. Dependable a needless substitute for reliable,
• 1:20:42
  trustworthy due to incorrectly used for through because of or owing to in adverbial
• 1:20:50
  phrases. He lost the first game Comma due to carelessness in correct use related
• 1:20:59
  as a predicate or as modifier to a particular noun. This invention is due
• 1:21:05
  to edison losses due to preventable Fire's effect as noun means result. As verb
• 1:21:15
  means to bring about, accomplish, not to be confused with affect, which
• 1:21:20
  means to influence. As noun often loosely used in perfunctory writing about fashions,
• 1:21:30
  music, painting, and other arts. An oriental effect effects in pale green
• 1:21:38
  very delicate effects, broad effects, subtle effects, a charming effect was produced
• 1:21:45
  by the writer who has a definite meaning to express, will not take refuge
• 1:21:50
  in such vagueness, etc. Not to be used of persons equivalent to and
• 1:21:59
  the re and so forth, and hence not to be used if one of
• 1:22:03
  these would be insufficient, that is, if the reader would be left in
• 1:22:09
  doubt as to any important particulars least open to objection when it represents the last
• 1:22:15
  terms of a list already given in full or immaterial words at the end of
• 1:22:21
  a quotation, at the end of a list introduced by such as for example,
• 1:22:28
  or any similar expression, etc. Is incorrect. Fact. Use this
• 1:22:35
  word only of matters of a kind capable of direct verification, not of matters
• 1:22:42
  of judgment. That a particular event happened on a given date, that led
• 1:22:47
  melts at a certain temperature are facts. But such conclusions as that Napoleon was
• 1:22:55
  the greatest of modern generals, or that the climate of California is delightful,
• 1:23:00
  however incontestable they may be, are not properly facts. On the formula the
• 1:23:08
  fact that see under rule thirteen. Factor a hackneyed word the expressions of which
• 1:23:15
  it forms part can usually be replaced by something more direct and idiomatic. His
• 1:23:24
  superior training was the great factor in his winning the match. He won the
• 1:23:30
  match by being better trained. Heavy artillery is becoming an increasingly important factor in
• 1:23:40
  deciding battles. Heavy artillery is playing a larger and larger part in deciding battles.
• 1:23:47
  Feature another hackneyed word, like factor, It usually adds nothing to the
• 1:23:54
  sentence in which it occurs. A feature of the entertainment. A specially worthy
• 1:24:00
  of mention was the singing of miss a. Better use the same number of
• 1:24:06
  words to tell what miss a sang, or if the programme has already been
• 1:24:11
  given to tell something of how she sang as a verb in the advertising sense
• 1:24:17
  of offer as a special attraction to be avoided. Fix colloquial in America for
• 1:24:26
  arranged prepare men in writing restricted to its literary senses fasten, make firm,
• 1:24:34
  or immovable, etc. He is a man who a common type of redundant
• 1:24:42
  expression see rule thirteen. He is a man who is very ambitious. He
• 1:24:47
  is very ambitious. Spain is a country which I have always wanted to visit.
• 1:24:55
  I have always wanted to visit Spain. However, in the meaning nevertheless,
• 1:25:01
  not to come first in its sentence or clause. The roads were almost
• 1:25:08
  impassable. Period. However, we at last succeeded in reaching camp. The
• 1:25:15
  roads were almost impassable period. At last. Comma, However, comma,
• 1:25:19
  we succeeded in reaching camp. When, however, comes first, it means,
• 1:25:26
  in whatever way or to whatever extent, however you advise him, Comma,
• 1:25:31
  he will probably do as he thinks best, however, discouraging the prospect.
• 1:25:36
  Comma, he never lost heart. Kind of not to be used as
• 1:25:44
  a substitute for rather before adjectives and verbs, or accept in familiar style for
• 1:25:51
  something like before nouns restrict it to its literal sense. Amber is a kind
• 1:25:58
  of fossil resin I dislike that kind of notoriety. The same holds true of
• 1:26:04
  sort of less should not be misused for fewer. He had less men than
• 1:26:13
  in the previous campaign. He had fewer men than in the previous campaign.
• 1:26:19
  Less refers to quantity fewer to number. His troubles are less than mine means
• 1:26:27
  his troubles are not so great as mine. His troubles are fewer than mine
• 1:26:33
  means his troubles are not so numerous as mine. It is, however,
• 1:26:39
  correct to say the signers of the petition were less than one hundred, where
• 1:26:45
  the round number one hundred is something like a collective noun, and less is
• 1:26:50
  thought of as meaning a less quantity or amount. Line along these lines line
• 1:27:00
  in the sense of course of procedure conduct thought is allowable, but has been
• 1:27:06
  so much overworked, particularly in the phrase along these lines, that a writer
• 1:27:13
  who aims at freshness or originality had better discard it entirely. Mister B also
• 1:27:20
  spoke along the same lines. Mister B also spoke comma to the same effect.
• 1:27:29
  He is studying along the line of French literature. He is studying French
• 1:27:34
  literature. Literal literally often incorrectly used in support of exaggeration or violent metaphor.
• 1:27:46
  A literal flood of abuse, a flood of abuse, literally dead with fatigue,
• 1:27:54
  almost dead with fatigue, dead, tired. Lose out meant to be
• 1:28:00
  more emphatic than lose but actually less so because of its commonness. The same
• 1:28:06
  holds true of tryout, when out, sign up, register up, where
• 1:28:13
  a number of verbs out and up form idiomatic combinations find out, run out,
• 1:28:19
  turn out, cheer up, dry up, make up, and others,
• 1:28:25
  each distinguishable in meaning from the simple verb lose out is not most not
• 1:28:33
  to be used for almost most everybody, almost everybody, most all the time,
• 1:28:42
  almost all the time. End of Section eight. Section nine. Words
• 1:28:50
  and expressions commonly misused nature to wood, nature often simply redundant, used like
• 1:29:00
  character acts of a hostile nature. Hostile acts often vaguely used in such expressions
• 1:29:10
  as a lover of nature. Poems about nature. Unless more specific statements follow,
• 1:29:16
  the reader cannot tell whether the poems have to do with natural scenery,
• 1:29:21
  rural life, the sunset, the untracked wilderness, or the habits of squirrels.
• 1:29:29
  Nearby a verbial phrase not yet fully accepted as good English, though the
• 1:29:34
  analogy of close by and hard by seems to justify it. Near or near
• 1:29:42
  at hand is as good, if not better, not to be used as
• 1:29:46
  an adjective. Use neighboring oftentimes oft times archaic forms no longer in good use.
• 1:29:57
  The modern word is often one hundred and one. Retain the and in
• 1:30:03
  this and similar expressions, in accordance with the unvarying usage of English prose from
• 1:30:12
  Old English times. One of the most avoid beginning essays or paragraphs with this
• 1:30:18
  formula. As one of the most interesting developments of modern science is et cetera.
• 1:30:27
  Switzerland is one of the most interesting countries of Europe. There is nothing
• 1:30:32
  wrong in this. It is simply threadbare and forcible feeble. People. The
• 1:30:40
  people is a political term, not to be confused with the public. From
• 1:30:45
  the people comes political support or opposition. From the public comes artistic appreciation or
• 1:30:53
  commercial patronage. The word people is not to be used with words of numbers
• 1:31:00
  in place of persons. If of six people five went away, how many
• 1:31:05
  people would be left. Phase means a stage of transition or development. The
• 1:31:12
  phase of the moon the last phase not to be used for aspect or topic,
• 1:31:19
  another phase of the subject, another point, another question. Possess not
• 1:31:28
  to be used as a mere substitute for have or own. He possessed great
• 1:31:33
  courage, He had great courage, was very brave, He was the fortunate
• 1:31:40
  possessor of he owned, respective respectively. These words may usually be omitted with
• 1:31:49
  advantage. Works of fiction are listed under the names of their respective authors.
• 1:31:57
  Works of fiction are listed under the name of their authors. The one mile
• 1:32:02
  and two mile runs were one by Jones and Cummings, respectively. The one
• 1:32:09
  mile and two mile runs were one by Jones and by Cummings. In some
• 1:32:15
  kinds of formal writing, as in geometrical proofs, it may be necessary to
• 1:32:21
  use respectively, but it should not appear in writing on ordinary subjects. So
• 1:32:30
  avoid in writing the use of so as an intensifier so good, so warm,
• 1:32:39
  so delightful. On the use of so to introduce clauses, see rule
• 1:32:44
  for sort of see under kind of state. Not to be used as a
• 1:32:51
  mere substitute for say, remark, Restrict it to the sense of express fully
• 1:32:59
  or clearly. As he refused to state his objections. Student body a needless
• 1:33:08
  and awkward expression meaning no more than the simple word. Students a member of
• 1:33:15
  the student body, a student popular with the student body, liked by the
• 1:33:21
  students. The student body passed resolutions. The students passed resolutions. System frequently
• 1:33:30
  used without need. Dayton has adopted the commission system of government. Dayton has
• 1:33:38
  adopted government by commission. The dormitory system dormitories thanking you in advance. This
• 1:33:46
  sounds as if the writer meant it will not be worth my while to write
• 1:33:51
  to you again. Simply write thanking you, and if the favor which you
• 1:33:57
  have requested is granted, write a letter of acknowledgment. They A common inaccuracy
• 1:34:03
  is the use of the plural pronoun when the antecedent is a distributive expression,
• 1:34:10
  such as each, each one, everybody, everyone, many a man,
• 1:34:15
  which, though implying more than one person, requires the pronoun to be in
• 1:34:21
  the singular. Similar to this, but with even less justification, is the
• 1:34:28
  use of the plural pronoun with the antecedent anybody, anyone, somebody, someone,
• 1:34:35
  the intention being either to avoid the awkward he or she, or to
• 1:34:41
  avoid committing oneself to either. Some bashful speakers, even say a friend of
• 1:34:47
  mine told me that, they, etc. Use he with all the above
• 1:34:54
  words, unless the antecedent is or must be feminine. Very use this word
• 1:35:01
  sparingly where emphasis is necessary. Use words strong in themselves, viewpoint, right,
• 1:35:11
  point of view, but do not misuse this as many do for view
• 1:35:15
  or opinion, while avoid the indiscriminate use of this word for and but and.
• 1:35:26
  Although many writers use it frequently as a substitute for and or but either
• 1:35:32
  from a mere desire to vary the connective or from uncertainty which of the two
• 1:35:38
  connectives is the more appropriate, in this use, it is best replaced by
• 1:35:44
  a semicolon. This is entirely correct, as shown by the paraphrase, the
• 1:35:49
  office and salesrooms are on the ground floor comma, while the rest of the
• 1:35:54
  building is devoted to manufacturing. The office and salesroom are on the ground floor
• 1:36:00
  semicolon. The rest of the building is devoted to manufacturing. Its use as
• 1:36:06
  a virtual equivalent of although is allowable in sentences where this leads to no ambiguity
• 1:36:14
  or absurdity. While I admire his energy comma, I wish it were employed
• 1:36:18
  in a better cause. I admire his energy semicolon. At the same time,
• 1:36:25
  I wish it were employed in a better cause. Compare, while the
• 1:36:30
  temperature reaches ninety or ninety five degrees in the daytime, comma, the nights
• 1:36:35
  are often chilly. Although the temperature reaches ninety or ninety five degrees in the
• 1:36:42
  daytime, comma, the nights are often chilly. The paraphrase the temperature reaches
• 1:36:47
  ninety or ninety five degrees in the daytime semicolon at the same time, the
• 1:36:53
  nights are often chilly, shows why the use of wil is incorrect. In
• 1:36:58
  general, the right will do well to use while only with strict literalness in
• 1:37:03
  the sense of during the time, that whom often incorrectly used for who before
• 1:37:12
  he said, or similar expressions, when it is really the subject of a
• 1:37:16
  following verb. His brother Comma, who he said would send him the cheese,
• 1:37:23
  his brother Comma, whom he said would send him the money, the
• 1:37:28
  man whom that he thought was his friend, whom he thought his friend,
• 1:37:33
  the man who he thought was his friend worth while overworked as a term of
• 1:37:40
  vague approval and with not of disapproval strictly applicable only to actions, is it
• 1:37:47
  worth while to telegraph his books are not worth while? His books are not
• 1:37:54
  worth reading, not worth one's while to read, do not repay reading.
• 1:38:00
  The use of worthwhile before a noun a worthwhile story is indefensible. Would.
• 1:38:06
  A conditional statement in the first person requires should not would I should not have
• 1:38:15
  succeeded without his help. The equivalent of shall in indirect quotation after a verb
• 1:38:20
  in the past tense is should not would. He predicted that before long we
• 1:38:28
  should have a great surprise. To express habitual or repeated action, the past
• 1:38:33
  tense without wood is usually sufficient, and from its brevity, more emphatic.
• 1:38:42
  Once a year, he would visit the old mansion. Once a year,
• 1:38:46
  he visited the old Mansion. End of Section nine. Section ten. Words
• 1:38:55
  commonly misspelled accidentally A C c I, d E n t A l l
• 1:39:02
  y accidentally advice A d v I c E advice effect a f f E
• 1:39:15
  c T affect beginning b E g I n n I n g beginning believe
• 1:39:25
  b E l I e v E believe benefit b e n E f I
• 1:39:32
  T benefit challenge c h A l l E n g E challenge, criticize
• 1:39:43
  c r I t I c I z E, criticize, deceive d E
• 1:39:48
  c E i v E deceive, definite d E f I n I t
• 1:39:56
  E definite, describe d s c r I b E describe despise, d
• 1:40:03
  E s p I s E despise, develop d e v E l O
• 1:40:11
  P develop, disappoint d I s a p P o I n T disappoint,
• 1:40:20
  dual d u e l dual x sta cy e c s t a
• 1:40:29
  s y x sta cy effect e f f E c T effect existence e
• 1:40:40
  x i s t E n c E existence fiery f i e r y
• 1:40:48
  fiery formerly f O r m E r l y, formerly humorous h U
• 1:41:00
  m O R o u s humorous hypocrisy, h y p O c r
• 1:41:08
  I s y hypocrisy immediately I M m E d i A t E l
• 1:41:16
  y immediately incidentally, I n c I d E n t A l l
• 1:41:26
  y, incidentally ladder l A t t E R ladder lead l E d
• 1:41:34
  lead lose l O s E lose marriage m A r r I A g
• 1:41:43
  E marriage, mischief, m I s c h i E f mischief,
• 1:41:51
  murmur m u R m u r murmur necessary n e c E s s
• 1:42:00
  a r y necessary occurred O c c u r r e D occurred parallel
• 1:42:10
  p A r a l l e L parallel Philip p h I l I
• 1:42:16
  p Philip Playwright p l a y w r I g h T Playwright,
• 1:42:26
  preceding p r e c E d I n g preceding prejudice, p r
• 1:42:34
  e j u d i c E prejudice, principal p r i n c
• 1:42:43
  I p a l principal privilege, p r i v i l e g
• 1:42:49
  E privilege, pursue p u r s u E, pursue, repetition r
• 1:42:59
  E p e e t I t I o n repetition rhyme r h y
• 1:43:06
  m E rhyme rhythm r h y t h m rhythm, ridiculous r I
• 1:43:15
  d I c U l o U S ridiculous, sacrilegious s a c r
• 1:43:23
  I l e g I o U S sacrilegious cs s e i z e
• 1:43:31
  c s separate s E p A r A t E, separate shepherd s
• 1:43:41
  h E p h e r D shepherd siege, s I e g E
• 1:43:48
  siege similar s I m I l A r similar similarly, s I m
• 1:43:58
  I l E similarly two T O O two tragedy, t r A g
• 1:44:06
  E d y, tragedy tries t r i e s tries undoubtedly u n
• 1:44:16
  d O u b t e d l y, undoubtedly until u n t
• 1:44:25
  i l until right today. T O dash d a y tonight, t
• 1:44:33
  O dash n i g h t tomorrow t O dash m O r r
• 1:44:41
  o W. But not together with hyphen write any space one, every space
• 1:44:50
  one, some space one, some space time, except the sense of formerly.
• 1:44:59
  As to words, the end