August 24, 2005 a/an – use an before initials or words that begin with a vowel sound such as NHL (pronounced E hn-aych–ehl),
NSA (pronounced ehn-ess-ay), or honorable (the h is silent). Use a before words that begin with a consonant sound such as “a one-year term” ( One starts with a w sound.) or “an honorable person.” addresses – Use the abbreviations St.
, Ave.
and Blvd. with numbered addresses. If the “house number” is not given, do not abbreviate. Example: The house at 829 Frost Ave. was moved from Jackson Street.
Abbreviate compass points when used with a numbered address, otherwise write them out.
Example: Her office at 2801 E. Highway Six is near 43 rd Street North.
For numbered streets and roads, use the standard number rule – numerals for 10 and higher.
Adjectives and adverbs – An adjective modifies a noun. An adverb modifies an adjective or verb. Adverbial forms frequently end in ly . The exception to this rule involves sensory words like feel. Even thought they are verbs, they are frequently modified by an adjective instead of an adverb. Below are some examples:
“My friend smells bad.” (In other words, my friend needs a bath.)
“My friend smells badly.”
(The adverb badly describes her ability to smell; that is, my friend's nose doesn’t work well.)
“I feel poor.” (The adjective poor describes me; that is, I feel ill or out of money.)
“I feel poorly.” (The adverb poorly describes feel; that is, my sense of touch is not very good.) almost/most – Most is an adjective of indefinite portion. Almost is an adverb and therefore must modify a verb, an adverb or an adjective.
Ex: “Most shoes are made of leather.” “Shoes are almost always shipped in trucks.” apostrophes – are used in three instances:
– Contractions
Ex. “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.” or “He was born in ’64.”
– Possession
Ex. “This is Jessie’s bicycle.” or “Those are Moses’ sandals.”
– Plurals... only in one specific instance—when making a single letter or number plural.
Ex. “The Oakland A’s….” or “I will buy both of those CDs.” or “That was in the 1920s.” as well as – This phrase introduces a parenthetic expression that does not impact the number of the primary subject. The same also applies to “together with,” “in addition to” and “along with”.
Ex: “John, along with 23 others, is going to the game.” cities – The AP Stylebook entry for datelines lists cities that can be used without a state. compound modifiers – when the modifiers are used as…
– Adjectives: hyphenate (unless the first word is an intensifier like very or ends in ly )
Example: “This style creates a home-like environment.”
– Adverbs with a verb: since most intensifiers (e.g., very or well or words ending in ly) do not require the use of a hyphen, it’s uncommon to have a hyphenated adverb.
An exception might be: “He ran rough-shod over the rules.”
– Adverbs after a noun: no hyphen
Example: “The system-wide survey was completed.”
Example “They conducted the survey system wide.”
– After a form of “to be”: generally use the hyphen for clarity
Example: “He is a little-known entertainer.” co-worker – hyphenate or else it looks strange. (i.e., A cow orker?) data/datum – Data is plural and takes a plural verb. Datum is singular. Ex. “The data are on this computer.”
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e.g., – means “for example.” Never use etc.
after e.g. Always uses a comma after the second period. Phrases beginning with “e.g.,” may be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas or parenthesis.
Ex. “Most sports cars (e.g., Ferrari, BMW, Porsche) are expensive.”
See also i.e.
em dashes, en dashes and hyphens. – These three punctuation marks have different uses. The following is an overview, from shortest to longest:
a hyphen is used to connect two words, such as a compound adjective like “first-place trophy” or “game-winning run.” Do not use a space before or after a hyphen.
an en dash is used for ranges such as sports scores. It essentially replaces the word to ,
It should have spaces before and after it.
an em-dash (aka “a dash:”) is used to separate phrases. AP Style dictates that a space should be
placed before and after it; however, many typographers prefer not to add the spaces.
On a typewriter, two hyphens were typed to indicate an em-dash. The following is an example of
properly used em-dashes: “If you go — and I hope you will — you’ll have fun.” entitled/titled – These words are often confused, but they do not mean the same thing.
Entitled means “the right to do or have.” Titled means “with the title of.”
Example: “In my grandmother’s will, I am entitled to her jewelry.”
Example: “Christopher Guest’s last movie was titled A Mighty Wind .” essential phrases – contain information necessary to understanding the writer’s intent. Should not be set off with commas. In choosing between which and that, that (or who if you’re referring to a person)is the preferred word to set off essential phases. Which may be used if that is used elsewhere in the sentence.
Example: “The cat that bit him was white.” (“That bit him” is an essential phrase—it tells which cat.)
See also non-essential phrases etc. – the abbreviation for the Latin phrase “et cetera,” which means “and others” or “and so forth.”
– etc. always ends with a period
– never use etc. to conclude a list introduced with i.e. or e.g.
– pronounced “et-set-a-rah” NOT “ick-sedra.” e–mail – all lower-case . every one / everyone / everybody – “ Every one” indicates each individual; everyone and everybody mean “all persons.” Both take a singular verbs and pronouns . gerund – the -ing form of a verb, which serves as a noun. As a general rule, use the possessive personal pronoun before gerunds that are used as objects, unless it is necessary to clarify meaning. [Reason, the possessive pronoun serves as a adjective that modify the gerund, which is a noun. The nominative pronoun is a noun and therefore should not be used before another noun.]
Ex. “She resented our talking.” instead of “She resented us talking.” i.e., – means “that is (to say)” or “in other words.” Used to clarify what is being said.
Never use etc.
after i.e.
Always use a comma after the second period. Phrases beginning with i.e.
may be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas or parenthesis.
Ex. “Her biggest fans (i.e., her parents and siblings) were at the game.”
See also e.g.
insure/ensure – Insure means to acquire insurance. “I will insure my house for $100,000.”
Ensure means “provide for” or “make sure.” “Ensure that you arrive on time.”
Internet – capitalized
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lay/lie – : Lay is active and requires an object. “Lay the book on the table.” Lie indicates a state of reclining position along a horizontal plane. It does not need an object. “I need to lie down for a while.”
Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle Present Participle
Lay Laid Laid Laying
Lie Lay Lain Lying method/methodology – these words are not synonymous. Method means technique or skill; methodology refers to the “ology” (i.e., theory, rationale) behind the method.
Ex. “Because Myers-Briggs methodology tells us that people have different learning styles, we use variety of methods at our educational events.” most/mostly – Most is an adjective of indefinite portion. Mostly is an adverb and therefore must modify a verb or adjective.
Ex: “Most shoes are made of leather.” “Shoes are mostly manufactured overseas.” non-essential phrases – add information that is not necessary to understanding the writer’s intention. These must be set off with comma(s). Which (or who if you’re referring to a person) is the only acceptable word to set off non-essential phrases. Ex.: “My father, who is tall, went hiking.” (“who is tall” is a nonessential phrase because it is not necessary to understand that “My father went hiking.” none – When used to mean “no one” or “nobody,” this takes a singular verb. When used to mean “no amount” or “no number” it takes a plural verb.
Ex. “None of the students was convinced.” “None of the taxes were paid.” pronouns –
PERSONAL PRONOUNS Nominative Objective Possessive
Singular (1st person)
Singular (3rd person)
I she, he, it
Plural (1st person)
Plural (3rd person)
Both (2nd person)
Both (relative/interr.) we they you who me her, him, it us them you whom my, mine her, hers, his, its our, ours their, theirs your, yours whose prepositions – Tradition says that it’s incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition. This is not a problem with
English, but was introduced by scholars who wanted students to avoid this practice because of the problems it caused in Latin. If we followed this rule religiously, we’d end up with sentences like this:
“Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” real/really – real is an adjective indicating genuine or authentic. Really is an adverb and therefore must modify a verb or adjective.
Ex: “She really selected a nice day for the picnic.” ( Really modifies the verb selected .)
Ex: “She selected a really nice day for the picnic.” ( Really modifies the adjective nice .)
Ex: “She used real vanilla beans, not artificial flavoring.” ( Real modifies “vanilla beans.”) senate – Capitalize specific references to government bodies, regardless of whether the name of the state or nation is used. Ex: “U.S. Senate,” “North Dakota Senate,” “…the state Senate.”
Lowercase plural uses (“the North Dakota and South Dakota senates.”) and non-governmental bodies:
“the NDSU student senate.”
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some/somewhat – Some is an adjective of indefinite number. Somewhat is an adverb and therefore must modify a verb or adjective.
Ex: “I have some books to donate.” “They feel somewhat better than the others.” states – Abbreviate according to AP Stylebook.
The eight states never abbreviated are Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho,
Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
that – preferred word to introduce essential phrases. very – this word has lost its meaning. Generally, it can be omitted.
Web page two words, capitalize web
Web site two words, capitalize web webcast webcom webmaster well – hyphenate as part of a compound modifier. Example: “This is a well-build car.” which – When choosing between which and that , it is only acceptable word to introduce non-essential phrases.
(Do no use that .) who – the only correct relative pronoun to refer to a person. Use that or which when referring to animals or objects.
WRONG: The person that stole the car was captured.
RIGHT: The person who stole the car was captured.
WRONG: I need a lover that won't drive me crazy. (Apologies to John Mellencamp)
RIGHT: I need a lover who won't drive me crazy. who/whom – Here’s the trick… insert he/him or they/them instead of who/whom (rewriting as needed, including turning a question into statement). If the replacement that sounds correct ends in m (him, them), then use whom ; but if the replacement is he or they , the word who would be correct.
Example: “To who/whom are you speaking?” is rewritten as “You are speaking to he/him.”
Since him sounds correct, the replacement word should he whom .
World Wide Web
Cities without states – certain large cities (e.g., Chicago, Los Angeles) are written without adding the state.
These cities are listed under the Dateline heading in the AP Stylebook .
No. vs. number – Use as the abbreviation for number in conjunction with a figure to indicate position or rank.
Example: He was the No. 1 man on the team.
Do not use with addresses, except in the case of “No. 10 Downing Street.” Do not use with public schools. Example: “She attended Boston Public School 19.”
Titles in obituaries – Although the AP Stylebook no longer lists the rule, many newspapers (especially in small towns) still use courtesy titles to refer to the deceased on second reference.
Example: “Loren Ipsum died Tuesday, July 4, at his home in Colville. Mr. Ipsum is survived by….”
Titles in quotations – All titles within quotations are written out, not abbreviated, with the exception of the
“everyday” titles — Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.
Please route changes or additions to Cloy Tobola <cloy@tobola.com>.
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