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TIPS FOR JULY 1999

• Why is it that "cannot" is written as one word but in all other instances involving "not," it is not attached to the verb (e.g., "must not," "should not," "will not")? There is no explanation, but it is becoming much more common for people to incorrectly write "can not." Of course all contractions, including "can't," are one word.
  
  
• The subjunctive form of the verb is slowly dying. It's common to hear "if I was you" instead of "if I were you." But it does survive in a number of contexts. (1) It is recommended that he be promoted. ("Be" is substituted for other present forms of "be," such as "am" and "is." Use "were" with past tense forms of "be.") (2) The counselor suggested that she visit the library. (Use plural forms in clauses beginning with "that" after verbs like "demand," "recommend," "urge," "insist," "request," "suggest," and "move.") (3) Common expressions with the subjunctive form include "far be it from me," "be that as it may," "as it were," and "if I were you." (This last example is an instance in which the subjunctive expresses a wish or a highly improbable, hypothetical, or contrary-to-fact condition.)
  
  
• Use grammar checkers with extreme caution. Some of them can't recognize two singular subjects joined by "and," as in the sentence "Brevity and clarity are companions." It sees only "clarity" as the subject and thus incorrectly suggests the use of the singular verb "is." It may also tell you to write "you is" when "you" is singular!
  
  
• Use "more than" rather than "over" when referring to numbers (e.g., "More than 50,000 screaming fans crowded into the arena for the concert"). Use "over" when you mean "above" and in expressions such as "over the past few months," when "over" means "during."
  
  
• In sentences containing a complete date (July 28, 1998), always put a comma after the year unless the year ends the sentence.

TIPS FOR AUGUST 1999

• Want to know when to use hyphens in a measurement (years, pounds, miles, etc.)? Even if you're not a grammar whiz, the answer is easy. When the measurement is plural, use no hyphen (e.g., The child was three years old). When it is singular, hyphens are needed (e.g., The 36-inch-diameter pipe burst, flooding the neighborhood).
  
  
• There is a crucial difference between "simple" and "simplistic." "Simple" means "not complicated." Using "simplistic," however, suggests that a complex situation has been made unrealistically simple; this is definitely not a compliment to whomever it applies.
  
  
• Take care to distinguish between "maybe" and "may be." "Maybe" is an adverb meaning "perhaps." "May be" is a verb, as in the sentence "You may be right about the approach to this problem." The two expressions are pronounced differently; "maybe" has a much heavier stress on the first syllable than on the second. With "may be," the two words receive equal stress.
  
  
• The rule of thumb for capitalization of job titles: capitalize them only when they precede the person's name and the person's name is not set off by commas. Examples: (1) We invited Executive Director Mark Chambers to speak at the awards luncheon. (2) We invited our executive director, Mark Chambers, to speak at the awards luncheon. (3) Mark Chambers, the organization's executive director, spoke at the awards luncheon. This rule is abused right and left.
  
  
• Technically, singular collective nouns take a plural verb if the sense of the sentence is that the individuals involved are IN DISAGREEMENT. Example: The jury are divided about the merits of the defense attorney's presentation. (However, very few people pay attention to this nitpicking little rule, including me.) Why? (1) It sounds wrong to my ear (not always a good criterion), and (2) using the singular does not interfere with meaning. The latter is a stronger argument.)

TIPS FOR SEPTEMBER 1999

• Distinguish between "so" and "so that," especially in sentences with complex or unfamiliar material. Use "so" when you mean "therefore." Example: "I wanted to rent a movie, but I didn't know what I wanted, so I walked up and down the aisles at the video store till I found one I liked." "So that" means "in order that." Sometimes a sentence is not clear if you omit the "that" after "so." Example: "The cryostat was opened so that repairs could be made."
  
  
• One of the most talked-about pronoun errors is the use of a subject form in a situation requiring an object form. The error almost always occurs in a compound. Example: "This meeting was planned with you and me (not "I") in mind." To determine whether to use "I" or "me" in this sentence, omit "you and," and you will see immediately that "me" is right. "Me"is the object of the preposition in this example.
  
  
• Using an indefinite "this" can create troubles for readers. Example: "The miscalculation delayed the project for two months and caused a major cost overrun. This angered the city council." It is impossible to tell whether "this" refers to the miscalculation, the delay, or the cost overrun—or all three. If all three, here's the rewrite: "The miscalculation delayed the project for two months and caused a major cost overrun, all of which angered the city council." If "this" refers to one of the three possibilities, add the appropriate word after "this" ("This miscalculation. . . .").
  
  
• The words "perspective" and "prospective" are often confused. "Perspective" is a noun meaning "point of view." "Prospective" is an adjective meaning "likely."
  
  
• The correct use of some idiomatic expressions cannot be looked up in reference books. For example, people tend to write phrases such as "overcome a challenge" and "solve an issue." Challenges cannot be overcome, but they can be met. Problems can be solved and issues can be addressed.

TIPS FOR OCTOBER 1999

• Do not place a comma after coordinating conjunctions such as "so," "and," and "but." Examples: "So what should you do?" "The offense was lousy, but the defense bailed the team out."
  
  
• There is no general agreement about capitalizing prepositions in titles. Some books say that none of them should be capitalized. Others suggest (or require) that prepositions of five or more letters be capitalized (e.g., "after," "through," "between," and "during"). Whatever style you choose, be consistent.
  
  
• Be careful to pair up the right duos when talking about time spans; do not mix and match. Use "from"/"to" (or "through") together or "between"/"and." Examples: "From 1990 to (or "through") 1999, the company experienced record growth." "Between 1990 and 1999, the company experienced record growth."
  
  
• When writing a date containing only the month and year, never put a comma between the month and year (e.g., October 1999).
  
  
• The word "metadiscourse" is not a household word. It refers to unneeded "fat"—unnecessary words and phrases—that should be deleted. Example: "In regard to this last point, what I would like to say is that no one should be forced to accept the buyout." (There is no content word in this example until you reach "no one." The first part of the sentence should be tossed out.)

TIPS FOR NOVEMBER 1999

• If in doubt—or even when you think you're sure—check words and expressions if there's any chance that you may not be spelling them correctly. Such a precaution would perhaps have prevented some poor soul from writing "the raft of God" when "the wrath of God" was called for.
  
  
• In a series in which one or more items contain a comma, each item in the series should be separated from the others by a semicolon, including the use of a semicolon before a connecting word such as "and" or "or" that precedes the last item of the series. Example: "At our garage sale we sold cracked plates, cups, and vases; rusty garden tools; rickety TV trays, lawn chairs, and bar stools; and half-used tubes of lipstick."
  
  
• When technology gives us new terms like "Internet," it usually takes a while for the dust to settle in regard to spelling and capitalization. I think it's now safe to say that "Internet" is always capitalized and "intranet" is always lowercased.
  
  
• There is a pecking order for adjectives that precede nouns. Called the consecutive adjective rule, it is taught only to people learning English as a second language because native speakers generally get the order right instinctively. The reason for mentioning it is to explain how to punctuate them, since more and more people are using unneeded commas.

According to the rule, no comma is needed between consecutive adjectives unless (1) they can be reversed and/or (2) "and" could logically be inserted between them. Example: "The corporation's popular new products are flying off the shelves." "Popular" and "new" can't be reversed, and natives would never say "popular and new," so no comma is needed. However, in the phrase "accurate, timely information" the reverse is true, so the comma is needed.

• Do not confuse the homophones "palate" and "palette." "Palate" can mean "roof of the mouth," "sense of taste," or "intellectual taste." "Palette" refers to the range of colors used by an artist or the board on which an artist mixes colors.

TIPS FOR DECEMBER 1999

• "Online" is now written as one word when referring to the Internet. Not all words like this one are predictably written "closed," i.e., as one word. "Under way," for example, is still written as two words. This fact will come as a surprise to many people.
  
  

• Slowly but surely we are abandoning some adverb endings. For example, we are likely to say (and probably to write) "He can do that job easier because he has a new pole pruner." The word "easier" is the culprit. What's needed in this context is "more easily" because it is an adverb modifying the verb "do." "Easier" is an adjective. It would be correct in a sentence like "This problem is easier to understand than the first one on the test." In this case "easier" is an adjective modifying the subject "problem."
  
  

• You should generally place a comma between main clauses joined by "and," "or," "nor," "but," "yet," "for,"or "so" unless both clauses are short. For example, you would write, "The sunlight warms my living room in the morning, and in the evening I enjoy the sun beaming into my den." In this instance the comma between "morning" and "and" is also needed to prevent misreading.
  
  

• Why is it that we speakers of English drive on a parkway but park on a driveway? And why does "refrain" as a noun refer to the part of a song that is sung over and over (repeated action), whereas "refrain" as a verb (as in "refrain from singing that song") means not to do something at all? I have no answer except "that's just the way it is."
  
  

• "Led" is one of the most frequently misspelled verb forms. As the past tense of the verb "to lead," "led" is correct in sentences such as "The judge led us to believe that the sentence would be reduced." Most people make the mistake of using the present tense form "lead" in similar contexts. If a sentence were to be incorrectly written with "lead," as in "The judge lead us to believe that the sentence would be reduced," the sentence would have a subject-verb agreement error, as "judge" is singular and "lead" is plural.