Part 2

6. The names of ships, unless directed to italicize them.

7. The titles of works of art: e.g., _Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna.”_ {18}

PARENTHESES

1. Marks of parenthesis are employed to separate from the rest of the sentence enclosed expressions having no essential connection: e.g., _I am unable to take this action (why do you urge me?) for reasons which I cannot now give_.

2. Figures or letters used to mark divisions in enumerations should be placed between parentheses: e.g., _There is a double reason for doing this: (a) it is the simplest form; (b) it is clearer for the reader_.

BRACKETS

Use brackets:

1. To enclose explanations or notes which are entirely independent of the balance of the sentence. Ordinarily these are comments, queries, directions, corrections, or criticisms inserted by some person other than the original writer: e.g., _Let them clamor to get them back again [cheers]_.

2. Rather than parentheses, to enclose drop-folios (folios placed at foot of page).

3. For enclosing parenthetical statements within parentheses.

THE APOSTROPHE

Use the apostrophe (or the apostrophe and the letter _s_):

1. To form the possessive case of common and proper nouns: e.g., _The nation’s {19} hope_; _For Jesus’ sake_; _James’s apple_; _For appearance’ sake_; _The boys’ camp_.

2. To form the plural of numerals, but the apostrophe alone for the plural of polysyllabic proper nouns ending in a sibilant: e.g., _They passed by in two’s and four’s_; _She is one of those W.C.T.U.’s_; _That came from Perkins’_. Add _es_ or _s_ for monosyllabic proper nouns: e.g., _The Fosses_. In general, the pronunciation may be taken as a guide: if it is necessary to add a syllable to pronounce the possessive, use the double _s_: e.g., _Sickles’ corps_, not _Sickles’s_.

3. Use the apostrophe to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a contracted word, or the omission of figures in a number: e.g., _That’s ’ow ’twas_; _The spirit of ’76_; _High o’er our heads_; _I’ll_ for _I will_; _Don’t_ for _do not_, _sha’n’t_, etc.

4. The custom of substituting the apostrophe for the letter _e_ in poetry, at one time common, is now obsolete: e.g., _At ev’ry word a reputation dies_. This rule is disregarded when the letter is omitted for metrical reasons.

THE HYPHEN

The hyphen is employed to join words together which have not become single words through general usage, and where words are necessarily broken at the end of a line. It is also used to separate the syllables of words, in showing the correct pronunciation. (See Compound Words.) {20}

CAPITALIZATION

The original use of capitals in early manuscripts was for the purpose of variety and ornamentation, and their position was naturally subject to each writer’s individual taste. Good form now prescribes certain definite rules of capitalization as follows:

RELIGIOUS TERMS

Capitalize:

1. Titles of parables: e.g., _the parable of the Prodigal Son_, etc.

2. The books and divisions of the Bible and of other sacred books: e.g., _Old Testament_, _Book of Job_, etc.

3. Versions of the Bible: e.g., _King James Version_, _Revised Version_, etc.

4. The names of monastic orders and their members: e.g., _the Jesuits_, _the Black Friars_, etc.

5. The word _Church_ when it stands for the Church universal, or when part of a name: e.g., _the Church_, _the First Congregational Church_, _the Church of Rome_; but use lower case when referring to _church history_.

6. The word _Gospel_ when it refers to a book of the Bible, as the _Gospel of John_, or {21} the _Gospels_; but use lower case when referring to the _gospel message_.

7. Pronouns referring to _God_ or _Christ_ when used in direct address, or whenever the reference might otherwise be mistaken.

8. General biblical terms: e.g., _Priestly Code_, _Apostles’ Creed_, _Lord’s Prayer_, _Lord’s Supper_, _The Prophets_, and _Major and Minor Prophets_, when the collection of prophetical books is intended; but use lower case for the adjectives _biblical_ and _scriptural_.

9. Names applied to the Evil One, except when used as an expletive, or as a general name for any demon: e.g.,

“When the Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be; When the Devil was well, the devil a monk was he.”

10. The word _Holy_ in the _Holy place_ and the _Holy of holies_.

11. The title of a psalm: e.g., the _Twenty-fourth Psalm_.

12. Capitalize the following:

Almighty Authorized Version Common Version Creator Deity Father God Holy Bible Holy Spirit Holy Writ Jehovah Jesus Christ King Logos Lord Messiahship Messiah Messianic Passover Pentecost Redeemer Revised Version Sabbath Saviour Scriptures Son of Man Son Spirit The Trinity The Virgin Mary Word

{22}

Do not capitalize:

1. Words like _epistle_, _book_ (as the _book of Ruth_), _psalm_, or _psalms_ when not used distinctively, or _psalmist_ when the author of a single psalm is intended.

2. Words like _heaven_, _heavenly_, _hell_.

3. The words _fatherhood_ and _sonship_, _god_ when a pagan deity is referred to, _temple_.

PROPER NAMES

Capitalize:

1. Epithets employed as substitutes for or affixes to proper names: e.g., _Peter the Great_, _the Pretender_, etc.

2. The words _Pilgrim Fathers_ and _Early Fathers_ (referring to the Early Church), etc.

3. The word _Revolutionary_ when referring to the Revolution of 1776: e.g., _a Revolutionary soldier_.

4. The words _river_, _creek_, _brook_, _mountain_, _mine_, _district_, _county_, _channel_, when used as a part of a title: e.g., _Hudson River_, _Clear Brook_, _Rocky Mountains_; but use lower case when preceded by _the_: e.g., _the Hudson river_, etc.

5. Nouns designating definite geographical portions of the country or divisions of the world: e.g., _the North_, _the South_, _the West_, _the Old World_; and in the division of the Jewish Commonwealth, _the Northern Kingdom_, _the Southern Kingdom_. Also capitalize the adjectival nouns derived from them: e.g., _Northerner_, _Southerner_, _Oriental_, {23} _Occidental_. Use lower case for adjectives: e.g., _He is now in southern California_, etc.

6. Abstract ideas or terms when personified; e.g., _Pride flaunts herself_; _Nature gives willingly of her abundance_.

7. Names of streets, squares, parks, buildings, etc.: e.g., _Beacon Street_, _Copley Square_, _Franklin Park_, _Tremont Building_, etc.

8. Abbreviations of names of corporations and firms: e.g., _N.Y.C._ & _H.R.R.R._

9. The abbreviation _Co._ (_Company_) in firm or corporation names.

10. The scientific names of divisions, orders, families, and genera in all botanical, geological, or zoölogical copy: e.g., _Ichneumon Fly_ (_Thalessa lunator_), _Reptilia_, _Vertebrata_, etc.

11. The days of the week and the months of the year, but use lower case for the seasons, unless personified or referred to specifically: e.g., _It was a bright spring day_; but, _Spring, beautiful Spring_; _the Spring of 1911_, etc.

12. The popular names of the bodies of the solar system (except _sun_, _moon_, _stars_, _earth_): e.g., _the Dipper_, _the Milky Way_, _Venus_, etc.

13. In botanical and zoölogical copy, the names of species if derived from proper names or from generic names, but in geological and medical matter use lower case for the names of species, even though derived from proper names: e.g., _Clover-root Borer_, _Hylesinus trifolii_, _Pterygomatopus schmidti_. {24}

14. Capitalize the following:

Articles of Confederation Bill of Rights Commonwealth (Cromwell’s) Commune Constitution Crusades Hundred Years’ War Inquisition Magna Charta Middle Ages Reformation Renaissance Restoration Revolution of July Seven Years’ War Stone Age

Do not capitalize:

1. Words derived from proper names and their derivatives when such words are so familiarly used as to lose the significance and personality of their origin: e.g., _fletcherize_, _macadamize_, _quixotic_, _italicize_, etc.

2. Nouns and adjectives when they merely fix a point of the compass: e.g., _He came from the north_, _western New York_, _upper Canada_, etc.

3. The words _father_, _mother_, _mamma_, and all other family appellations, except when used with the proper name of the person or without a possessive pronoun: e.g., _I expect to meet my mother_, but, _I have received a telegram from Mother_; _My aunt gave me this_, but, _It is a present from Aunt Mary_.

TITLES

Capitalize:

1. The word _State_ when it refers to a political division of the Union: e.g., _the State {25} of Massachusetts_; but use lower case when the word is employed as an adjective.

2. The words _Federal_, _Government_, _Constitution_, _Cabinet_, _Administration_ when they refer to United States Government, and _President_ when referring to the President of the United States.

3. All titles of honor, nobility, and respect: e.g., _His Excellency_, _Her Majesty_, _Father William_, _Mother Hubbard_, _Cousin John_, _Deacon Smith_.

4. Civil and military titles when they are used specifically: e.g., _President Taft_, _King George_, the _Governor_, _General Grant_, etc.; but do not capitalize the titles of offices actually existing when following the name: e.g., _William H. Taft, president of the United States_.

5. The names of societies: e.g., _Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor_, _Boston Congregational Club_, _Second Church Parish_.

6. Names of expositions, conventions, etc.: e.g., _Brockton Fair_, _Congress of Physiology_, etc.

7. Abbreviations of degrees: e.g., _Ph.D._, _LL.D._, _Litt.D._, omitting space between the letters.

8. Such titles as _von_, in German, _le_, _la_, _du_, _de_, or _d’_, in French, _da_, _della_, _di_, or _de’_, etc., in Italian, when the forename is not given: e.g., _Von Humboldt_, _Da Ponte_; but when the article or preposition is preceded by {26} a forename the title should not be capitalized: e.g., _Lorenzo de’ Medici_. _Van_ in Dutch is always capitalized.

9. After _Whereas_ and _Resolved_, followed by a comma, begin the first word with a capital; e.g., WHEREAS, _It has pleased Almighty God_ . . .; _therefore be it_ Resolved, _That_ . . .

10. After a colon, capitalize the first word only when followed by a complete independent sentence or passage or where preceded by such introductory phrases as _namely_, _as follows_, _for instance_, _the point is this_, _my conclusion is this_, etc.

11. In titles of books or essays all words except unimportant adjectives, prepositions, and conjunctions: e.g., _The Fall of the House of Usher_.

Do not capitalize:

1. Adjectives compounded with an inseparable prefix with proper names; e.g., _transatlantic_, _unamerican_.

2. The words _apostle_, _pope_, _bishop_, _canon_, _rector_, _chaplain_, _minister_, etc., when separated from names or used descriptively: e.g., _the apostle Paul_; but in direct address they should be capitalized: e.g., “_O Apostle Paul_.”

INSTITUTIONAL TERMS

Capitalize:

1. _Thanksgiving Day_, _Lord’s Day_, _New Year’s Day_, _the Fourth_ (referring to the {27} Fourth of July), _Children’s Day_, _Easter_, _Founder’s Day_, etc.

2. The word _College_ or _University_ only when part of the title: e.g., _Amherst College_, _Harvard University_.

3. Political alliances and terms which have acquired similar significance: e.g., _the Dreibund_, _the Insurgents_.

4. Titles of treaties, laws, and acts: e.g., _the Treaty of Portsmouth_, _the Declaration of Independence_, _the Edict of Nantes_.

5. Names of political parties: e.g., _Republican_, _Democrat_, etc.; but use lower case for _republican form of government_, _a true democrat_, etc., where reference is not made to members of political parties.

6. Names and epithets of races, tribes, and peoples: e.g., _Hottentots_, _Celestials_, etc.; but use lower case for _negro_, _colored people_, _the blacks_, _the whites_, _poor whites_, etc.

7. Generic parts of names of political divisions (_a_) when the term is an organic part of the name, directly following the proper name: e.g., _the Russian Empire_, _Norfolk County_, etc.; (_b_) when it is used with the preposition _of_ as an integral part of the name indicating administrative subdivisions of the United States: e.g., _Commonwealth of Massachusetts_; (_c_) when it is used singly as designation for a specific division: e.g., _the Dominion_ (_of Canada_), _the Union_; (_d_) when it is used as part of an appellation as though {28} a real geographical name: e.g., _the Pine Tree State_, _the Promised Land_; but use lower case for such terms when standing alone or preceding the specific name: e.g., _the empire of Germany_, _the county of Norfolk_.

8. Numbered political divisions: e.g., _Ward Eleven_, _Fifth Precinct_, _Eleventh Congressional District_, etc.

Do not capitalize:

1. The words _legislature_, _circuit court_, _district court_, _city council_, _supreme court_, _senate_, and _house of representatives_ except when specifically applied: e.g., _the legislature of the State_, _the circuit court_, etc.; but _Congress_, _the Circuit Court of Suffolk County_, _the House of Representatives of the United States_.

2. The words _high school_, _grammar school_, except as part of title: e.g., the _Dorchester High School_; but the _high school of Dorchester_.

REFERENCES

Capitalize:

1. Nouns followed by a capitalized roman numeral: e.g., _Act I_, _Vol. VIII_, etc. In references the nouns and the roman numerals are often lower-cased.

Do not capitalize:

1. Minor subdivisions and their abbreviations of literary references: e.g., _line_, _verse_, _note_, _section_, _chapter_, _page_, etc. {29}

ORDINALS

Capitalize:

1. Sessions of Congress, dynasties, names of regiments, etc.: e.g., _the Fifty-fourth Congress_, _the Sixteenth Dynasty_, _the Forty-fourth Massachusetts_.

IN GENERAL

Capitalize:

1. The first word of a sentence and the first word of each line of poetry.

2. The words _I_ and _O_.

3. The first word after a colon when introducing a sentence having an independent meaning: e.g., _My explanation is: Competition forces each manufacturer to study economies_.

4. Words having special meanings: e.g., _the Referee’s decision_, _a Bachelor’s degree_.

5. The first word of every direct quotation.

6. In side-heads capitalize only the first word and proper names.

7. In a letter, the first word after the address. In the address, _sir_, _friend_, _father_, _brother_, _sister_, etc.

Do not capitalize:

1. Words used in forming parts of hyphenated compounds: e.g., _The speed of the Twentieth-century Limited_, _West Twenty-third Street_, etc.

2. Units of measurement and their {30} abbreviations: e.g., _second_, _minute_, _hour_, _ounce_, _pound_, _foot_, _yard_, etc.

3. The first word of a quotation following a colon (_a_) if it is closely connected with what precedes it; (_b_) if the phrase is dependent upon the preceding clause; or (_c_) if the words following the colon contain comment: e.g., _These explanations occur to me: either the manufacturers are unaware of the situation, or they have become indifferent_.

4. The definite article as a part of the title in mentioning newspapers or magazines: e.g., _the Boston Herald_, _the Review of Reviews_.

* * * * *

¶ When a date is at the end of a letter or paper, it is to be placed at the left of page, using roman caps and lower case if above signature; caps, small caps, and italic if below signature.

¶ On title-pages and in headings certain words may be capitalized which in paragraphed matter would be made lower case: e.g., _Queen Maria Sophia, a Forgotten Heroine_.

¶ In MS., two lines drawn underneath a word or words indicate SMALL CAPITALS; three lines, CAPITALS.

SMALL CAPITALS

1. B.C. and A.D., A.M. and P.M. should be set in small caps, with no spacing between the letters: e.g., B.C. _480_. {31}

SPELLING

The difficulties which a writer encounters who has not firmly anchored himself to some recognized authority are many, and for those who have found this refuge to remain consistent is almost an impossibility. To the complications occasioned by variations in spelling certain words given authority by the different recognized dictionaries, there has been added more recently the bewilderment of the “reformed” spelling. To lay down hard-and-fast rules, therefore, would be an act of folly, but a safe guide to follow is to note that when two or more forms exist in any good usage, including good minority usage, or recent usage among bibliographers, scientists, and other systematic writers, the following rules are observed:

(_a_) Prefer the form most correct etymologically (_b_) Prefer the shortest and simplest (_c_) Prefer the more phonetic form (_d_) Prefer English spelling rather than foreign.

With this as a basis, the following rules may be formulated:

NUMBERS

1. Percentage should always take figures: e.g., _1/2 of 1 per cent_. {32}

2. Spell out references to specific decades: e.g., _Back in the eighties_.

3. Spell out years and months in stating ages: e.g., _Edward is five years and four months old_.

4. Spell out numbers of centuries, dynasties, military bodies, streets and thoroughfares, sessions of Congress.

5. In statistical or technical matter figures should be used: e.g., _The paper to be used is 33 × 44 inches, and weighs 120 pounds to the ream._

6. Spell out, in ordinary reading matter, all numbers of less than three digits: e.g., _We have twenty-five titles, amounting to 250,000 volumes in all_.

7. If, in a group of numbers, some consist of three digits and others of less, use figures for all: e.g., _The packages contain, respectively, 50, 85, and 128 sheets_, not _fifty, eighty-five, and 128_.

8. Spell out round numbers, but use figures for specific, even though approximate statements: e.g., _The population of the United States is about one hundred millions_; but, _The population of the United States is 92,000,000_.

9. Always spell out a figure, whatever its size, when it begins a sentence. If for any reason this is impracticable the sentence must be reconstructed.

10. In ordinary reading matter spell out the time of day, but in enumerations, and {33} always in connection with A.M. and P.M., use figures, omitting the word _o’clock_: e.g., _The doors open at 7:30_ P.M.

DIPHTHONGS

1. Avoid all diphthongs, especially _æ_ and _œ_, but retain _æ_ and _œ_ in Latin words and in nominal English forms like _formulæ_ and other plurals, _arbor vitæ_, etc. Established English words having now or formerly the ligature _æ_ or _œ_ are generally written with the simple _e_.

SIMPLE RULES OF ORTHOGRAPHY

1. Monosyllablic words which end in _f_, _l_, or _s_, when preceded by a single vowel, double their final letter: e.g., _muff_, _still_, _lass_. Exceptions: _clef_, _of_, _if_, _bul_, _nul_, _sal_, _sol_, _as_, _gas_, _has_, _was_, _yes_, _gris_, _is_, _his_, _this_, _pus_, _us_, _thus_.

2. Monosyllabic words which end in consonants other than _f_, _l_, or _s_ do not double their final letter. Exceptions: _abb_, _add_, _ebb_, _odd_, _mumm_, _inn_, _bunn_, _err_, _purr_, _burr_, _butt_, _mitt_, _fizz_, _fuzz_, _buzz_.

3. Monosyllabic words ending in a consonant immediately following a diphthong or a double vowel do not double their final letter. Exception: _guess_.

4. In monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable ending with a single consonant (excepting _h_ or _x_) preceded by a single vowel, or by _qu_ and a vowel, the final consonant is doubled before an added {34} termination beginning with a vowel, irrespective of the addition of another syllable: e.g., _stop, stopped_; _regret, regretting_. When, however, the place of the accent is changed by the added termination, the final consonant is not doubled: e.g., _prefer´, pref´erable_.

5. In monosyllables and words not accented on the last syllable, an added termination does not double the final consonant when it is preceded by a diphthong or by two vowels: e.g., _profit, profited_; _cancel, canceled_; _benefit, benefited_; _equal, equality_, _novel, novelist_, and all the derivatives of _parallel_.

6. Words which end in any double letters retain the double with a termination not beginning with the same letter. This rule also holds for derivatives formed by means of prefixes: e.g., _agreeing_, _calling_, _recall_. Exceptions: _instalment_, _enrolment_, _skilful_, _wilful_, _enthralment_, _pontific_, _withal_, _until_, and similar derivatives.

7. Words ending in _-our_, the _u_ being unsounded, are spelled _-or_, with the exception of Saviour and glamour. The English custom is to retain the _-our_ in most words having this ending.

8. Words derived from words ending in silent _e_ after a consonant retain the _e_ when the added termination begins with a consonant: e.g., _state, statement, stately_; _pale, paleness_; _move, movement_. Exceptions: _abridgment_, {35} _acknowledgment_, _judgment_, _lodgment_, _nursling_, _wholly_, _wisdom_.

When another vowel (except _e_ or _i_) immediately precedes the final _e_, the final _e_ is usually dropped before a consonant: e.g., _argue, argument_; _awe, awful_; _true, truly_, etc. There are, however, many exceptions to this rule: e.g., _eye_, _eyesight_, etc.

When the termination begins with a vowel, the final _e_ is omitted: e.g., _sale, salable_; _bride, bridal_; _force, forcible_. Exceptions: _mileage_, etc.

9. When words end in _ce_ or _ge_ the final _e_ is retained before added terminations beginning with _a_ or _o_: e.g., _change, changeable_; _courage, courageous_.

10. In participles the final _e_ is sometimes retained for the purpose of distinguishing them from other words pronounced the same but having a different meaning: e.g., _singe, singeing_, to distinguish from _singing_; _dye, dyeing_, to distinguish from _dying_, etc. The _e_ is also retained in _hoeing_, _toeing_, and _shoeing_.[3]

[3] See list on page 37.

11. Words ending in _ie_ change their termination to _y_ upon adding _ing_: e.g., _die, dying_; _vie, vying_.

12. Words ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant change the _y_ to _i_ before any added termination not beginning with _i_: e.g., {36} _merry_, _merriment_; _happy_, _happiness_. Exceptions: adjectives of one syllable: e.g., _dry_, _dryly_; _sly_, _slyness_. Also except derivatives formed by adding _ship_ and _hood_: e.g., _suretyship_, _babyhood_; but _hardihood_.

When the final _y_ is preceded by a vowel, the _y_ is usually changed to _i_: e.g., _gay_, _gaiety_; _day_, _daily_; _pay_, _paid_; _lay_, _laid_, etc.

13. The French ending _-re_ in _theater_, _center_, _meager_, _sepulcher_, etc., is not now generally considered good usage.

14. The possessive of proper nouns ending in _s_ or other sibilant is formed by adding the apostrophe and _s_ if the word is of one syllable: e.g., _James’s apple_; but add the apostrophe alone if the word is of more than one syllable: e.g., For _Jesus’ sake_.[4]

15. Words which in their shortest form end in _-d_, _-de_, _-ge_, _-mit_, _-rt_, _-se_, _-ss_ take the ending _-sion_: e.g., _abscind_, _abscission_; _seclude_, _seclusion_; _emerge_, _emersion_; _admit_, _admission_; _revert_, _reversion_; _confuse_, _confusion_; _impress_, _impression_. Other words take the ending _-tion_.[5]

[4] See page 19.

[5] See list of irregular forms, and departures from rule on page 39.

ACCENTED WORDS

The following is a partial list of words in common use in which accented letters occur: {37}

attaché chargé d’affaires confrère coup d’état coup de grâce crèche débris en arrière en échelon en règle entrée entrepôt exposé façade faïence habitué lèse majesté matériel matinée mêlée née papier-maché procès verbal protégé régime résumé rôle señor soirée tête-à-tête vis-à-vis visé

PARTICIPLES

These participles should be spelled as follows:

acknowledging agreeing awing bluing dyeing encouraging gluing grudging hieing hoeing icing judging owing shoeing singeing tingeing trudging truing

VARIABLE ENDINGS