When to use initial capitals One of my pet hates is the overuse and inconsistent use of initial capitals. I think many people were taught that all important words deserved to be capitalised and old habits die hard. The modern trend is for more minimal capitalisation. There are some specific rules, but the basic rules […]
What letters should you capitalise in titles and headings? Capitalisation means writing the first letter of a word in capital letters (upper case) and the remainder in lower case. Title case and sentence case In title case, the first words, proper nouns (name of people and places) and ‘important’ words are capitalised. Words that are […]
Some hyperlink conventions have changed Reader’s question: Are there any conventions for writing web addresses, i.e. should you try and get the whole address on one line and should you use http or www or both? My answer: I have updated my original response to this question because some styles have changed. How you write web addresses […]
Understanding grammar improves your writing I can remember when I first started reading grammar books that the language was daunting (some of it still is!). So here’s a few terms in case you need to refresh your memory. Parts of speech Parts of speech are sometimes called word classes. Adjectives: describing words. hot, cold, beautiful Adverbs: tell […]
Use what for general items and which for specific things Reader’s question: Which of the following is correct and why? What information do you require? Which information do you require? Answer: In the examples you gave, what is open-ended and general and which is more closed and specific, i.e. asking for a choice between a specific, limited number of items. For example: What information […]
Sitting is what you do and seating is where you do it Reader’s question: Should you say seating or sitting arrangements? Answer: I think you can use either. However, some people think that sitting is what you do and seating is where you do it. Using that distinction, seating refers to how the seats are laid out. The seating arrangement can be […]
Compound nouns become one word, remain as two words or are hyphenated We often invent new words by combining existing words to form what is known as a compound noun. Here are some of the ways we create compound nouns. Verb plus adverb, or preposition and adverb, or preposition plus verb When the word order is […]
Use nominalisations with caution Last month I wrote about verbing (turning nouns into verbs) and an e-newsletter reader pointed out that we also turn verbs and adjectives into nouns. The process of turning verbs and adjectives into nouns is known as nominalisation (nominalization if you use American spelling!). It’s also sometimes called ‘nouning’. There are […]
Use italics for the full reference of an Act Reader’s question: Does the date in legislation need to be in italics? Online grammar answer: The Australian style is to use italics for the full reference of an Act. According to the Australian Style manual: For authors, editors and printers: ‘Most Acts and Ordinances have a short formal […]
Where should you put the reference number for footnotes? Reader’s question: When using footnotes, where should the number link be located – before or after the punctuation mark (e.g. comma, semicolon)? Answer: The Australian government Style manual (2002) says: ‘Superscript placement: Place superscript note identifiers: at the end of a sentence or clause rather than immediately after the words to […]