September 2014

By Susan Lang

Grammar Goblins

Epidemic vs. Pandemic
Is Ebola an epidemic or pandemic? According to Chicago 16 (5.220; page 279),
an epidemic disease erupts, spreads through a limited area, and then subsides.
By contrast, a pandemic disease is prevalent over a large area, such as a
country or continent, or the world. Perhaps the best-known pandemic is the 1918
influenza pandemic. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
estimates that 30 to 60 million people, including 675,000 Americans, died during
the flu pandemic. What about Ebola? So far, the World Health Organization and
others call it an epidemic, and experts disagree about whether it has the potential
to become a pandemic.

Forego vs. Forgo
If you mean go before or precede, use forego. Chicago 16 (5.220; page 282)
points out that the most common usage of the word is the phrase foregone
conclusion. But if you mean do without or renounce, then use forgo.

It Is I vs. It Is Me
In case you feel compelled to say it is I because you think it is me is
grammatically incorrect, consider what Chicago 16 (5.220; page 287) has to say
about the matter. According to Chicago, it is I is strictly grammatical but stuffy
whereas it is me, usually contracted to its me, is colloquial and relaxed.
However, Chicago draws the line at third-person constructions; for example, this
is she (not this is her).

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Very High-Quality Hyphenation
By Rebecca Pepper

Hyphens are a matter of pride for many editors, and often the mark of a well-
edited piece of writing lies in part in its judicious, thoughtful hyphenation. Board
member Jill ONan asked me to look into an area where some style guides
disagree: whether to hyphenate an adjectival compound containing a
comparative or superlative, such as:
We solve our customers highest[-]value problems.
There are lower[-]cost solutions available.

The answer, as in so many questions regarding hyphenation, depends on the
style authority you use. Some style guides, including the U.S. Government
Printing Office Style Manual, the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association, and the National Geographic Style Manual, call for
hyphens to be omitted from these compounds, unless doing so would cause
ambiguity:
the highest priced apartment
a better paying job
higher scoring students

If youre following the Chicago Manual of Style, on the other hand, you would add
hyphens to these compounds. However, Chicago says that compounds with
more, most, less, least, and very are usually left open, unless they are
ambiguous:
a more pleasing view
the least popular city
a very fast car

The plot thickens when a modifier contains three words. What to do with phrases
like the following?
a very well-kept yard
a very much needed addition
the most often cited sources
a less well-known example

Per Chicago, all of the above phrases are hyphenated correctly. It states, When
the adverb, rather than the compound as a whole, is modified by another adverb,
the entire expression is open. The GPO Style Manual and others would omit the
hyphens in the first and last examples: a very well kept yard and a less well
known example.

Finally, Chicago specifically calls for hyphenating an ordinal number plus a
superlative, such as second-largest city, while under the GPO Style Manual and
the National Geographic Style Manual such compounds would be left open.

As always, its best to document decisions like these on a style sheet and be
prepared to explain your reasoning. If youd like to share your thoughts or
preferences, I will include them in a future issue.

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April 2014
By Rebecca Pepper

Fun with Punctuation
Were all used to seeing incorrect punctuation in signs, but when quotation marks
are used unnecessarily, the resulting innuendo can kick the humor up a notch.
Melissa Stein sent along a piece from Distractify that collects innocuous signs
that convey an unintended meaning. My favorite is the Security Guard sign
with the guard caught sleeping at his post. To see them all, go to:
http://news.distractify.com/people/the-30-most-unnecessary-uses-of-quotation-
marks-in-history/

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January 2014
By Susan Lang

Grammar Goblins

Career vs. Careen
Do you know the difference between the two words? According to Chicago 16
(5.220; page 271), career means to go full speed, whereas careen means to
tip to one side while moving. That distinction is disappearing and careen is
taking on both meanings. However, Chicago notes that careful writers do know
the difference.

Yes, but Is It a Crime?
How bad is bad? In the realm of lawbreaking, Chicago 16 (5.220; page 299) lists
the following in ascending order of negative connotation: unlawful, illegal, illicit,
criminal. An unlawful act can be fairly minorfor example, littering. Once you
carry out an illegal act, youre in deeper trouble. Youre entering tsk tsk territory
when you commit an illicit act. If youre arrested for a criminal act, be prepared to
spend some time in an orange jumpsuit.

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October 2013
By Rebecca Pepper

Singular, Plural, and Distributive Possession
In the September [2013] bulletin, Julie Holland asked what term we would use to
describe the use of the singular for news stream section in the following
sentence:
Every time you post an update on your page, your followers will see it in the
news stream section on their own home pages.

We heard back from Amy Einsohn, who writes:
The topic is known as distributive possession. I researched it when
writing The Copyeditors Handbook (p. 364). I am aware of three canonical
texts:

Wilson Follett, Modern American Usage (p. 235): The axiom that if one
person has one head, heart, or torso two persons have two seems to be a
stumbling block to a good many writers . . . In Julies example, Follett
would insist on plural news stream sections and plural home pages.

Words Into Type (p. 357): SINGULAR WITH A PLURAL POSSESSIVE.
To avoid ambiguity a singular noun is often used with a plural possessive
when only one of the things possessed could belong to each individual.
This argues for the singular news stream section and singular home
page.

Edward Johnson, The Handbook of Good English (p. 46): The singular . .
. is permissible by a principle sometimes called distributive possession;
each member of the possessing group possesses one or more of the
possessed items. [I think the last part of this sentence is off kilter: if each
member possesses more than one of the possessed items, then we'd use
the plural, no?] Another endorsement of singular nouns on occasion.

A few observations from me [Amy]: (1) Whatever you do, someone will
think it sounds a bit odd. (2) Julies sentence mixes the singular news
stream section with the plural home pages. (3) If I were the writer, Id
use singular in both slots: Every time you post an update on your page,
your followers will see it in the news stream section on their own home
page.

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July 2013
By Susan Lang

Grammar Goblins

Pied-Piping Prepositions
Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition? According to Chicago 16 (5.176;
page 249), the traditional caveat against that construction is unnecessary and
pedantic. (This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put, as
Winston Churchill put it.) Chicago ends its argument against this particular bit of
pedantry with the following:

Today many grammarians use the dismissive term pied-piping for this
phenomenon. What does that mean? Pied-piping is a term coined by linguist
John R. Ross in his dissertation Constraints on variables in syntax (MIT, 1967).
It describes a construction in which a preposition is moved to the front of its
clause, just before its object. Examples: With whom does she live?; With what
did they hit it? The more colloquial equivalents are Who does she live with?;
What did they hit it with?

Begging the Question
Typically, people use this phrase to mean raising a question, inviting an
obvious question, evading a question, or ignoring a questionbut they are
erroneous, according to Chicago (5.220; page 269). The phrase really denotes a
logical fallacy of assuming as true what has yet to be proved or citing as proof for
some proposition something thats as much in need of proof as the initial
proposition. Chicago gives the example of trying to prove the validity of a certain
religion by quoting from that religions holy text.

The Oxford English Dictionary provides a similar definition. It defines the phrase
as taking for granted the matter in dispute, or assuming without proof.

Please, Some Respect for Till
If you routinely change all instances of till to until, there is no need. According
to Chicago (5.220; page 298), till is a perfectly good preposition and conjunction
(open till 10 pm). It is not a contraction of until and should not be written til. So,
till you hear otherwise, feel free to use the word till in sentences.

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