Word mechanics
Capital letters
Capital letters are used in the following ways:
- With the first word of a sentence, of a line of traditional poetry, and of direct speech
(sentence)
It was the coldest March they’d had in years.
(traditional poetry)
I wander through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
(London, William Blake, 1794)
(direct speech)
“What is over there?” Marie asked. “It looks like a vintage car.” - For names of persons, languages, nationalities, and religions
(names of persons)
Decades after his father was Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau became one too.
(languages)
French and English are the two official languages of Canada.
(nationalities)
Although Rohit is Indian and a Hindu, he can’t speak Hindi.
(religions)
In Canada, the Roman Catholic Church has a diocese in the major cities. - For titles of people but not positions
Dr. Yang was recently appointed to the role of Chief Orthopedic Surgeon for her province.
She had never imagined that she would become an orthopedic surgeon. - For points of the compass when referring to a specific region but not when referring to a direction
He loved the stark, clean beauty of the North.
When she was down South, she loved to eat local crayfish.
She admired the work of Dr. Gabor Mate supporting citizens of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
I’m just going north, for my vacation. - For the names of days, months, national holidays, and religious celebrations
Sunday, January, Christmas, Yom Kippur, Ramadan Ash Wednesday, etc. - For the names of historical periods and events
the Dark Ages, the Pliocene Epoch, the French Revolution, the Vietnam War, the Battle of Waterloo, etc. - For names of specific organizations
the House of Commons, the Liberal Party, the Department of Trade and Industry, the United Nations, the Writers’ Guild, Diabetes Canada, etc. - For religious terms, deities, and sacred texts
the Bible, Allah, Buddha, Qur'an, etc. - For names of studies when they are derived from proper nouns or when they are titles of specific courses
He did well in Spanish but failed math and history.
I was never much interested in chemistry and am surprised that Chemistry 269 should be my favourite course. - For personifications
“Shall I believe that insubstantial Death is amorous?” (Romeo and Juliet, 5. 3. 102-103)
It often seemed to Tasha that her Muse was as skittish and coquettish as a thoroughbred mare. - For titles of books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, plays, television programmes, films, works of art, music, and for names of ships, spacecraft and aircraft.
Esme was determined to tour the shipping yard where the Titanic had been built.
The biggest selling print this year was Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.
The apostrophe
The apostrophe is used in the following ways:
To indicate possession
Note: People often can’t decide whether something is possessive or plural. If the word in question can be replaced by a possessive pronoun, then ’s is required—i.e., it is possessive. For example, should it be “the authors words” or “the author’s words”? It can be re-worded to “his words”, so author’s is required.
- use ’s with the possessive form of singular nouns
the girl’s boots
the woman’s eyes
Anya’s trousers
Keats’s poetry
the Smith’s address
the book’s binding
the moon’s glow - use ’s with the possessive form of indefinite pronouns
anybody’s fool
someone’s coat
no one’s shoes
one’s integrity
everybody’s concern - use ’s with plural nouns that do not end in s
the children’s room
the piano's strings
the chef’s pantry
the sheep’s pasture
people’s rights - use ’s with compound nouns
someone else’s fault
his cousin’s apartment
my step-sister’s guitar
each other’s names
sisters-in-law’s birthdays (note that sisters is plural) - use ’s with the last noun in nouns of joint possession:
Zara and Luca’s acreage is east of the city. (There is one acreage, and it belongs to both Zara and Luca.)
Zara’s and Luca’s acreages are east of the city. (There are two—or more—acreages, and they belong to Zara and Luca separately.)
Andy and Mark’s boats are moored at the lake. (There are several boats, and they belong to both Andy and Mark.)
Andy’s and Mark’s boats are moored at the lake. (There are two—or more—boats, and they belong to Andy and Mark separately.) - use s’ with plural nouns ending in s
the girls’ dresses
the families’ concerns
the trees’ branches
the birds’ diet
the civil servants’ argument
To indicate the omission of a letter or letters, or a number
- use an apostrophe with contracted verb forms
Contracted Verb Form Verb can’t (cannot) should’ve (should have) won’t (will not) doesn’t (does not) I’ll (I will/I shall) he’s (he is/he has) they’ve (they have) it’s (it is) - use an apostrophe to indicate the omission of a letter, letters, or a word
Omissions Words e’er (ever) (poetic) ne’er-do-well (never-do-well) o’clock (of the clock) o’er (over) (poetic) will-o’-the-wisp (will-of-the-wisp) - use an apostrophe to indicate the omission of a number
March 10, ’23
the summer of ’08
They discovered gold in ’36.
Letters
- use ’s with the plurals of letters but not with the plurals of numbers, abbreviations, or words used as words
Mind your p’s and q’s.
The committee must remember to dot its i’s before submitting its proposal for approval by the Board.
He never closes his o’s, so they often look like u’s.
Numbers
- no ’s
His 4s and 7s look the same.
Marianne is in her 40s.
In the 1920s, Europe was keeping a wary eye on events in Russia.
Abbreviations and acronyms
- no ’s
Layla can boast a Ph.D, two M.A.s and a B.A.
The NCOs are meeting for drinks in the club tonight.
Words
- no ’s
His essay is full of therefores, howevers, and moreovers, all of which are used incorrectly.
“And I don’t want any more of your ifs, ands, or buts,” said his mother.
The hyphen
The hyphen is used in the following ways:
- To form compound words that are recognized as compounds but have not become accepted as single words
lay-offs
well-being
far-reaching
down-and-out - To join words that are used as a single adjective before a noun My three-year-old daughter has a mind of her own.
He’s the new blue-eyed darling of Hollywood.
The nineteenth-century archeologist did not have the advantage of technology that the modern-day archeologist has.
Students should keep an up-to-date dictionary at hand.
The new president promises a value-driven approach to his position. - With affixes and words to avoid awkwardness and misreading I’m going to have the wheels of the car re-aligned.
This cup has a shell-like feel to it.
He finds that a swim at the end of the day re-energizes him. - With the prefixes self-, all-, ex-, well-, and with the suffix -elect Lack of self-esteem is the cause of all our ills according to this article.
Omniscient means all-seeing and omnipotent means all-powerful.
Her ex-husband has remarried.
He and his new wife are well-suited.
The president-elect is expected to consider a vice-president that is a woman of color. - To form compound numbers (21-99) and to indicate fractions
Twenty-one used to be the age of passage.
Two-thirds of the audience raised their hands when asked whether they would like to organize a local chapter.
A one-and-a-half kilo bag of sugar cost me $1.50. - Between syllables to indicate that the word is continued on the next line
Because these metals are rare and useful, they are ex-
pensive.
A prime minister can request but not demand a dis-
solution of Parliament.
The university should plan and budget for, and be com-
mitted to, a three-semester run of the course.
Note: Single syllable words cannot be hyphenated in this way, nor can a syllable be split mid-syllable.
Typical errors
Lasers have not been able to take scientists into the re-
alm of hard x-rays.
The government and the insurgents si-
gned a peace agreement.
I enjoyed listening to CBC Reads; there was one book I found inter-
esting.
Italics
For handwritten manuscripts, indicate italics by underlining. Only manuscripts that are printed use italic script.
Italics are used in the following ways:
- To emphasize a word or phrase
What he says he’s going to do and what he actually does are two entirely different things. - For titles of books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, plays, television programmes, films, works of art, music, and for names of ships, spacecraft and aircraft
For Christmas, my brother gave me a year’s subscription to The New Yorker.
Penelope had never cared for black and white movices like Casablanca. - For letters and numbers as words in themselves
I’m sure it’s age that’s causing me to suddenly confuse 6s and 9s. - For setting off words used as words (quotation marks can also be used in this way)
Nothing pleased Arnold so much as using old English words such as barm, dank, and faffing.
To help EFL students with pronunciation, the teacher did a minimal-pairs exercise with words like it-eat, bit-beat, lick-leak, and so on.
Awful has completely changed in usage and meaning in the last hundred years, as has the word terrific. - For foreign words and phrases that have not become naturalized in English, and also for the Latin scientific names of plants and animals
He’d already had several deja vu experiences since arriving in Milan.
Small bindweed (convolvulus arvensis) can often be discovered growing in abandoned parking lots.
Slit jeans and holey black tights are de rigueur for the high school in-crowd.
Abbreviations and acronyms
Many abbreviations are becoming increasingly acceptable in every kind of writing. The extent to which a writer uses abbreviations depends on the field and audience for which he or she is writing.
Students writing expository prose for an English course are advised to check with their instructor/marker as to which abbreviations he or she accepts.
The following abbreviations are generally permitted in formal writing:
| Abbreviation | Stands For |
|---|---|
| etc. | —and so forth (Latin et cetera) |
| e.g. | —for example (Latin exempli gratia) |
| i.e. | —that is (Latin id est) |
| Dr. | —doctor |
| Mr. | —mister |
| B.A. | —bachelor of arts degree |
| M.A. | —master of arts degree |
| Ph.D. | —doctor of philosophy degree |
| B.C.E. | —before Current Era |
| C.E. | —Current Era |
| U.S.A. | —the United States of America |
| a.m. | —before noon (Latin ante meridiem) |
| p.m. | —after noon (Latin post meridiem) |
| mph | —miles per hour |
| km | —kilometre |
| Mb | —megabyte |
Acronyms are permitted for the names of agencies, organizations, corporations, and people normally referred to by their initials. The first reference should make it clear what the acronym stands for: for example, “The YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) has put in a new fitness centre.”
| Stands For | Acronym |
|---|---|
| Agencies: | FBI, CIA |
| Organizations: | YWCA, UN, IRA |
| Corporations: | IBM, CBC, BBC |
| People: | JFK, FDR, JR |
Numbers
Whether a writer uses words or figures in his or her writing depends on the conventions of the field for which the writer is writing. Students are advised to observe writings from different fields, to check in style manuals published for those fields, and to remain consistent with whatever conventions they choose. Needless to say, students writing a paper for an English course will use more words than figures than will a student writing a paper for a science course.
The following conventions are guidelines for students writing expository prose:
Words
- For numbers less than one hundred and for numbers requiring no more than two words
The cat weighed sixteen pounds.
I was on hold for at least twenty minutes.
At first, I thought the cost was five hundred dollars, but I quickly realized it was only fifty. - For numbers used at the beginning of a sentence
Eighty-five dollars was a lot for a horse in those days.
Two hundred and sixteen enlisted in the army.
Seven and four are considered lucky numbers in many cultures.
Figures
- For dates and addresses
Examples of numbers for dates and addresses Dates Addresses July 1, 1867 87 Orchard Drive 10 March, 1960 R. R. 3, T6K 4W6 1485 - 1509 P.O. Box 1000 4 B.C. - 30 A.D. Apt. 106, 9105 - 106 St. - For exact measurements
Act, scene, and line numbers: Coriolanus, 1.6. 32-39
Decimals: .01 6.4 17.012
Exact amounts of money: $2.48 $197.80 $6.07
Identification numbers: Channel 13 Highway 2 SIN 249-216-293
Mixed numbers and fractions: 1¾ 32½ 5¼
Numbers followed by symbols or abbreviations: 10 cu. ft. 20 sq. yds. 740 Hz
Percentages: 50% 26% 94%
Scores, statistics, ratios, etc.: Odds of 10-1 score of 3-2 ratio of 1:33
Times: 8:40 2.20 but six o’clock
Volume, chapter, and page numbers: Volume 2 Chapter 4 page 160
Contracted verb forms
Contracted verb forms are the norm in spoken and informal written English. However, in academic writing, contracted forms should be avoided. It is never wrong to use full verb forms in formal, expository prose.
If the government had taken heed of earlier research, the fish-stocks would not have become so depleted. (formal)
If the government’d taken heed of earlier research, the fish-stocks wouldn’t’ve become so depleted. (informal)
The communitarian movement is not a political party like the Green Party; it is an informal association of like-minded people. (formal)
The communitarian movement’s not a political party like the Green Party; it’s an informal association of like-minded people. (informal)
The coordinator will be submitting a report which will provide details of her role in the project. (formal)
The coordinator’ll be submitting a report which’ll provide details of her role in the project. (informal)
Errors with contracted verbs
Beware of phonetic spelling. We are very used to hearing, but many of us are not so used to seeing, contracted verb forms.
They would have left the party had their car started. (formal)
They would’ve left the party had their car started. (informal)
They would of left the party had their car started. (incorrect)
Without the tutor, Sheila would not have passed the course. (formal)
Without the tutor, Sheila wouldn’t’ve passed the course. (informal)
Without the tutor, Sheila wouldn’t of passed the course. (incorrect)
If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared something. (formal)
If I’d known you were coming, I’d’ve prepared something. (informal)
If I’d of known you were coming, I’d’of prepared something. (incorrect)
You should not have lied. (formal)
You shouldn’t’ve lied. (informal)
You shouldn’t of lied. (incorrect)
Updated September 11, 2023 by Digital & Web Operations, University Relations (web_services@athabascau.ca)