AP Style Book

Far-off

adj. distant; remote

Bloc, block

A bloc is a coalition of people, groups or nations with the same purpose or goal. Block has more than a dozen definitions, but a political alliance is not one of them.

censer, censor, censure

A censer is a container in which incense is burned To censor is to prohibit or restrict the use of something To censure is to condemn

Accept, except

Accept means to receive. Except means to exclude.

Federal Court

Always lowercase. The preferred form for first reference is to use the proper name of the court. See entries under U.S. and the court name. Do not create nonexistent entities such as Manhattan Federal Court. Instead, use a federal court in Manhattan.

Coporation

An entity that is treated as a person in the eyes of the law. It is able to own property, incur debts, sue and be sued. Abbreviate corporation as Corp. when a company or government agency uses the word at the end of its name: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Spell out corporation when it occurs elsewhere in a name: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Spell out and lowercase corporation whenever it stands alone. The form for possessives: Chevron Corp.'s profits.

Datelines

DOMESTIC DATELINES: A list of domestic cities that stand alone in datelines: ATLANTA MILWAUKEE BALTIMORE MINNEAPOLIS BOSTON NEW ORLEANS CHICAGO NEW YORK CINCINNATI OKLAHOMA CITY CLEVELAND PHILADELPHIA DALLAS PHOENIX DENVER PITTSBURGH DETROIT ST. LOUIS HONOLULU SALT LAKE CITY HOUSTON SAN ANTONIO INDIANAPOLIS SAN DIEGO LAS VEGAS SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELES SEATTLE MIAMI WASHINGTON Stories from all other U.S. cities should have both the city and state name in the dateline, including KANSAS CITY, Mo., and KANSAS CITY, Kan. Spell out Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Abbreviate others as listed in this book under the full name of each state. Use Hawaii on all cities outside Honolulu. Specify the island in the text if needed. Follow the same practice for communities on islands within the boundaries of other states: EDGARTOWN, Mass., for example, not EDGARTOWN, Martha's Vineyard. Use BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. It's an incorporated city and the dateline for the Golden Globes movie awards, sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. STATE SERVICES: Additional cities in a state or region may stand alone. U.S. POSSESSIONS: Apply the guidelines listed below in the ISLAND NATIONS AND TERRITORIES section and the OVERSEAS TERRITORIES section. INTERNATIONAL DATELINES: These international locations stand alone in datelines: AMSTERDAM MEXICO CITY BAGHDAD MILAN BANGKOK MONACO BEIJING MONTREAL BEIRUT MOSCOW BERLIN MUNICH BRUSSELS NEW DELHI CAIRO PANAMA CITY DJIBOUTI PARIS DUBLIN PRAGUE GENEVA QUEBEC CITY GIBRALTAR RIO DE JANEIRO GUATEMALA CITY ROME HAVANA SAN MARINO HELSINKI SAO PAULO HONG KONG SHANGHAI ISLAMABAD SINGAPORE ISTANBUL STOCKHOLM JERUSALEM SYDNEY JOHANNESBURG TOKYO KUWAIT CITY TORONTO LONDON VATICAN CITY LUXEMBOURG VIENNA MACAU ZURICH MADRID In addition, use UNITED NATIONS alone, without a N.Y. designation, in stories from U.N. headquarters. BALKANS: With the independence of Montenegro from Serbia-Montenegro formalized in 2006, use a Montenegro-only dateline, such as PODGORICA, Montenegro. Stories originating in Serbia carry a Serbia-only dateline: BELGRADE, Serbia. With the independence of Kosovo in 2008, use Kosovo in the dateline, such as PRISTINA, Kosovo. CANADIAN DATELINES: Datelines on stories from Canadian cities other than Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto should contain the name of the city in capital letters followed by the name of the province. Do not abbreviate any province or territory name. COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES: For cities in the former Soviet Union, datelines include city and republic name: ALMATY, Kazakhstan. OTHER NATIONS: Stories from other international cities that do not stand alone in datelines should contain the name of the country or territory (see the next section) spelled out. SPELLING AND CHOICE OF NAMES: In most cases, the name of the nation in a dateline is the conventionally accepted short form of its official name: Argentina, for example, rather than Republic of Argentina. (If in doubt, look for an entry in this book. If none is found, follow Webster's New World College Dictionary.) Note these special cases: Instead of United Kingdom, use England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. For divided nations, use the commonly accepted names based on geographic distinctions: North Korea, South Korea. Use an article only with El Salvador. For all others, use just a country name Gambia, Netherlands, Philippines, etc. See geographic names for guidelines on spelling the names of international cities and nations not listed here or in separate entries. ISLAND NATIONS AND TERRITORIES: When reporting from nations and territories that are made up primarily of islands but commonly are linked under one name, use the city name and the general name in the dateline. Identify an individual island, if needed, in the text: Examples: British Virgin Islands Netherlands Antilles Indonesia Philippines OVERSEAS TERRITORIES: Some overseas territories, colonies and other areas that are not independent nations commonly have accepted separate identities based on their geographic character or special status under treaties. In these cases, use the commonly accepted territory name after a city name in a dateline. Examples: Bermuda Martinique Corsica Puerto Rico Crimea Sardinia Faeroe Islands Sicily Greenland Sikkim Guadeloupe Tibet Guam WITHIN STORIES: In citing other cities within the body of a story: No further information is necessary if a city is in the same state as the datelined city. Make an exception only if confusion would result. Follow the city name with further identification in most cases where it is not in the same state or nation as the dateline city. The additional identification may be omitted, however, if no confusion would result. For example, Boston stands alone without Massachusetts in a story datelined NEW YORK. Provide a state or nation identification for the city if the story has no dateline. However, cities that stand alone in datelines may be used alone in those stories if no confusion would result.

Greater

Capitalize when used to define a community and its surrounding region: Greater Boston.

Family names

Capitalize words denoting family relationships only when they substitute for a person's name: I wrote Mom a letter. I wrote my father a letter.

compose, comprise, constitute

Comprise means "to contain." The whole comprises the parts. The United States comprises 50 states. DO NOT write "The United States is comprised of 50 states." MEMORY AID: If you could substitute "consists of" for "comprises," then "comprises" is the right word.

anti-

Hyphenate all except the following words, which have specific meanings of their own: antibiotic antiparticle* antibody antipasto anticlimax antiperspirant anticoagulant antiphon antidepressant antiphony antidote antipollution antifreeze antipsychotic antigen antiseptic antihistamine antiserum antiknock antithesis antimatter antitoxin antimony antitrust antioxidant antitussive *And similar terms in physics such as antiproton. This approach has been adopted in the interests of readability and easily remembered consistency. It's anti-lock in Webster's New World College Dictionary. But note these Stylebook exceptions to Webster's spellings: anti-abortion anti-social anti-aircraft anti-war anti-labor

First class, first-class

Hyphenate as a modifier before a noun. The restaurant was first class. It was a first-class restaurant.

Blond, blonde

Use blond as a noun for males and as an adjective for all applications: She has blond hair. Use blonde as a noun for females.

Academic degrees, departments and titles

the degree major is lowercase unless it's a proper noun: Bachelor of Arts in music; Master of Science in engineering; doctorate in physics; bachelor's in English; master's in Russian history, etc. Also, MBA is abbreviated without periods.

A Few More Tips

• Avoid the use of exclamation points. Few things are spoken with the emphasis that should be reserved for an exclamation point. This includes children saying really cute things. A period will do the job. • Do not use brackets. Use parentheses. [This is a bracket. Do not use.] (This is a parenthesis. Do use.) • Do not include "U.S." before Army, Navy, Marines or Air Force when referring to service members from the United States. It's not needed because, after all, it's illegal for a U.S. citizen to serve for another country. • Do not use "http://" with Web addresses. It's not needed. And be sure to check if "www." is needed as well. • Do not use "1-" before any telephone number; 800-888-8888 will suffice. • Do not use "Dr." before a name except in Life Stories. Columbia is crawling with folks who have a doctorate - whether academic, medical or dental. It's much better to explain what kind of doctor he/she is in context (Sara Smith, an orthopedic surgeon). • Always write headlines for advice columns (Dear Abby, Smart Money, etc.) based on the answer to the first letter.

Dimensions

Use figures and spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., to indicate depth, height, length and width. Hyphenate adjectival forms before nouns. EXAMPLES: He is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, the 5-foot-6-inch man, the 5-foot man, the basketball team signed a 7-footer.

Derogatory terms

Do not use a derogatory term except in extremely rare circumstances when it is crucial to the story or the understanding of a news event. Flag the contents in an editor's note.

GOP

Grand Old Party. GOP is acceptable on second reference for Republican Party.

People

• Lowercase occupational or descriptive titles before or after a name (The story was written by reporter Ziyad Kilani). • Refer to adults in news reports by first name and family name the first time they appear in a story (Michelle Obama) and by family name only on later references (Obama). • Children 15 or younger are usually referred to by both names (first and family) on first reference and first name only on later references. Children in "adult situations" — common examples are in international sports and serious crimes in which they are charged as adults — are referred to by last name only on later references. • To avoid confusing two people with the same family name, such as husband and wife or mother and son, use both names (first and family) on later references. A story mentioning Joe Biden and Jill Biden should usually refer to them as Joe Biden and Jill Biden even after they are introduced if there's any chance of confusion. Sometimes a title can be repeated to make the distinction (Vice President Biden or "the vice president" on later references). Only rarely, in some feature stories, will you want to refer to adults by their first names on later references. • Do not use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Dr.) in news reports. • Abbreviate military and police titles before names according to a standard reference list, such as the one in the AP Stylebook. Don't abbreviate titles when they stand alone or follow a name (Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the general). Exceptions are allowed for widely used initialisms (The Microsoft CEO was executed at dawn).

Places

• Most stylebooks will have a list of dateline cities that are assumed to be understood without having the name of the state (Boston, New York, Los Angeles) or country (Baghdad, London, Cairo) attached. Follow those guidelines with the usual exceptions for common sense if needed (Books that are popular in London, Ontario, might not be popular in London, England). • Do not abbreviate "south" or "north" indicating a part of a road unless it appears with an address (South Eighth Street; 221 S. Eighth St.).

Numbers

• The basic rule: Spell out numbers under 10. Use figures for 10 and above. • The main exceptions: Spell out any number, except a year, that begins a sentence (Twelve students attended. 1999 was an important year). • Use figures for dates, weights, heights, ages, times, addresses and percentages. • For most numbers of a million or more, use this form, rounded off to no more than two decimal places: 1.45 million; the $18.1 billion budget. If the exact number is important, write it out: He received 1,253,667 votes to 988,401 for his opponent. • Spell out numbers used as figures of speech (Thanks a million). • Spell out fractions less than 1 when they stand alone (Use one-half cup of flour). Otherwise, write them as mixed fractions (1 1/2 cups of flour) or decimals (1.5 liters of water). Generally, use a 0 to precede a decimal smaller than zero (0.75 kilograms). • Convert metric measurements to English ones.

Felony v. Misdemeanor

A felony is a serious crime, for which a defendant can be sentenced to one year or more in prison. A misdemeanor is a less serious crime, often punishable by a year or less in a county jail.

Flounder, founder

A flounder is a fish; to flounder is to move clumsily or jerkily, to flop about: The fish floundered on land. To founder is to bog down, become disabled or sink: The ship floundered in the heavy seas for hours, then foundered.

Accused

A person is accused of, not with, a crime. To avoid any suggestion that an individual is being judged before a trial, do not use a phrase such as accused slayer John Jones; use John Jones, accused of the slaying.

FBI

Acceptable in all references for Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Adverse, averse

Adverse means unfavorable: He predicted adverse weather. Averse means reluctant, opposed: She is averse to change.

Affect, effect

Affect, as a verb, means to influence: The game will affect the standings. Affect, as a noun, is best avoided. It occasionally is used in psychology to describe an emotion, but there is no need for it in everyday language. Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many changes in the company. Effect, as a noun, means result: The effect was overwhelming. He miscalculated the effect of his actions. It was a law of little effect.

Abbreviations and acronyms

BEFORE A NAME: Abbreviate titles when used before a full name: Dr., Gov., Mr., Mrs., Rep., the Rev., Sen. and certain military designations listed in the military titles entry. AFTER A NAME: Abbreviate junior or senior after an individual's name. Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited when used after the name of a corporate entity. WITH DATES OR NUMERALS: Use the abbreviations A.D., B.C., a.m., p.m., No., and abbreviate certain months (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.) when used with the day of the month. IN NUMBERED ADDRESSES: Abbreviate avenue, boulevard and street in numbered addresses: He lives on Pennsylvania Avenue. He lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. STATES: The names of certain states and the United States AVOID AWKWARD CONSTRUCTIONS: Do not follow an organization's full name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this arrangement, do not use it. Names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a few words. SPECIAL CASES: Many abbreviations are desirable in tabulations and certain types of technical writing. CAPS, PERIODS: Use capital letters and periods according to the listings in this book. use periods in most two-letter abbreviations: U.S., U.N., U.K., B.A., B.C. (AP, a trademark, is an exception. Also, no periods in GI, ID and EU, among others.) In headlines, do not use periods in abbreviations, unless required for clarity. Use all caps, but no periods, in longer abbreviations when the individual letters are pronounced: ABC, CIA, FBI. Use only an initial cap and then lowercase for abbreviations and acronyms of more than five letters, unless listed otherwise in this Stylebook or Webster's New World College Dictionary.

Demolish, destroy

Both mean to do away with something completely. Something cannot be partially demolished or destroyed. It is redundant to say totally demolished or totally destroyed.

CIA

CIA is acceptable in all references. The formal title for the individual who heads the agency is director of central intelligence. On first reference: Director Richard Helms of the CIA or CIA Director Richard Helms.

Directions and regions

COMPASS DIRECTIONS: He drove west. The cold front is moving east. REGIONS: A storm system that developed in the Midwest is spreading eastward. It will bring showers to the East Coast by morning and to the entire Northeast by late in the day. Showers and thunderstorms were forecast in the Texas Panhandle. High temperatures will prevail throughout the Western states. WITH NAMES OF NATIONS: Lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to designate a politically divided nation: northern France, eastern Canada, the western United States. But: Northern Ireland, South Korea. WITH STATES AND CITIES: The preferred form is to lowercase directional or area descriptions when referring to a section of a state or city: western Montana, southern Atlanta. But capitalize compass points: — When part of a proper name: North Dakota, West Virginia. — When used in denoting widely known sections: Southern California, West Texas, the South Side of Chicago, the Lower East Side of New York. If in doubt, use lowercase. IN FORMING PROPER NAMES: When combining with another common noun to form the name for a region or location: the North Woods, the South Pole, the Far East, the Middle East, the West Coast (the entire region, not the coastline itself see coast), the Eastern Shore (see separate entry), the Western Hemisphere.

Capitol

Capitalize U.S. Capitol and the Capitol when referring to the building in Washington: The meeting was held on Capitol Hill in the west wing of the Capitol. Follow the same practice when referring to state capitols: The Virginia Capitol is in Richmond. Thomas Jefferson designed the Capitol of Virginia. Use capital for a city or town that is the seat of government.

Days of the week

Capitalize them. Do not abbreviate, except when needed in a tabular format: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat (three letters, without periods, to facilitate tabular composition).

Chief

Capitalize as a formal title before a name: She spoke to police Chief Michael Codd. He spoke to Chief Michael Codd of the New York police. Lowercase when it is not a formal title: union chief Walter Reuther.

Federal Legal Holidays

Capitalize them: New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Groundhog Day, Easter, Hanukkah, etc. The federal legal holidays are New Year's, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. See individual entries for the official dates and when they are observed if they fall on a weekend. The designation of a day as a federal legal holiday means that federal employees receive the day off or are paid overtime if they must work. Other requirements that may apply to holidays generally are left to the states. Many follow the federal lead in designating a holiday, but they are not required to do so.

City Council

Capitalize when part of a proper name: the Boston City Council. Retain capitalization if the reference is to a specific council but the context does not require the city name: BOSTON (AP) - The City Council ... Lowercase in other uses: the council, the Boston and New York city councils, a city council. Use the proper name if the body is not known as a city council: the Miami City Commission, the City Commission, the commission; the Louisville Board of Aldermen, the Board of Aldermen, the board. Use city council in a generic sense for plural references: the Boston, Louisville and Miami city councils.

Complement, compliment

Complement is a noun and a verb denoting completeness or the process of supplementing something: The ship has a complement of 200 sailors and 20 officers. The tie complements his suit. Compliment is a noun or a verb that denotes praise or the expression of courtesy: The captain complimented the sailors. She was flattered by the compliments on her project.

burglary, larceny, robbery, theft

Legal definitions of burglary vary, but in general a burglary involves entering a building (not necessarily by breaking in) and remaining unlawfully with the intention of committing a crime. Larceny is the legal term for the wrongful taking of property. Its nonlegal equivalents are stealing or theft. Robbery in the legal sense involves the use of violence or threat in committing larceny. In a wider sense it means to plunder or rifle, and may thus be used even if a person was not present: His house was robbed while he was away. Theft describes a larceny that did not involve threat, violence or plundering.

Geographic names

DOMESTIC: Do not use the postal abbreviations for state names. For acceptable abbreviations, see entries in this book under each state's name. See state names for rules on when the abbreviations may be used. Abbreviate Saint as St. (But abbreviate Sault Sainte Marie as Sault Ste. Marie.) FOREIGN: The first source for the spelling of all foreign place names is Webster's New World College Dictionary as follows: Use the first-listed spelling if an entry gives more than one. If the dictionary provides different spellings in separate entries, use the spelling that is followed by a full description of the location. If the dictionary does not have an entry, use the first-listed spelling in the National Geographic Atlas of the World. NEW NAMES: Follow the styles adopted by the United Nations and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for new cities, new independent nations and nations that change their names. DATELINES: See the datelines entry. CAPITALIZATION: Capitalize common nouns when they form an integral part of a proper name, but lowercase them when they stand alone: Pennsylvania Avenue, the avenue; the Philippine Islands, the islands; the Mississippi River, the river. Lowercase common nouns that are not a part of a specific name: the Pacific islands, the Swiss mountains, Zhejiang province.

Animals (usually take it)

Do not apply a personal pronoun to an animal unless its sex has been established or the animal has a name: The dog was scared; it barked. Rover was scared; he barked. The cat, which was scared, ran to its basket. Susie the cat, who was scared, ran to her basket. The bull tosses his horns. Capitalize the name of a specific animal, and use Roman numerals to show sequence: Bowser, Whirlaway II.

Ghetto, ghettos

Do not use indiscriminately as a synonym for the sections of cities inhabited by minorities or the poor. Ghetto has a connotation that government decree has forced people to live in a certain area. In most cases, section, district, slum area or quarter is the more accurate word.

Courtesy titles

Don't use "Mr.," "Miss," "Ms." and "Mrs." except in direct quotations or when a woman specifically requests it. Many local stylebooks say to use courtesy titles on first reference in obituaries.

Drunk, drunken

Drunk is the spelling of the adjective used after a form of the verb to be: He was drunk. Drunken is the spelling of the adjective used before nouns: a drunken driver, drunken driving. DUI, driving under the influence; DWI, driving while intoxicated; follow official state usage.

Assets

Everything a company or an individual owns or is owed. Assets may be broken down as: Current assets: cash, investments, money due to a corporation, unused raw materials and inventories of finished but unsold products. Fixed assets: buildings, machinery and land. Intangible assets: patents and goodwill.

Governmental bodies

FULL NAME: Capitalize the full proper names of governmental agencies, departments and offices: The U.S. Department of State, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Boston City Council, the Chicago Fire Department. WITHOUT JURISDICTION: Retain capitalization in referring to a specific body if the dateline or context makes the name of the nation, state, county, city, etc. unnecessary: The Department of State (in a story from Washington), the Department of Human Resources or the state Department of Human Resources (in a story from Georgia), the City Council (in a story from Boston), the Fire Department or the city Fire Department (in a story from Chicago). Lowercase further condensations of the name: the department, the council, etc. For additional guidance see assembly; city council; committee; Congress; legislature; House of Representatives; Senate; Supreme Court of the United States; and supreme courts of the states. FLIP-FLOPPED NAMES: Retain capital names for the name of a governmental body if its formal name is flopped to delete the word of: the State Department, the Human Resources Department. GENERIC EQUIVALENTS: If a generic term has become the equivalent of a proper name in popular use, treat it as a proper name: Walpole State Prison, for example, even though the proper name is the Massachusetts Correctional Institute-Walpole. For additional examples, see legislature; police department; and prison, jail. PLURALS, NONSPECIFIC REFERENCES: All words that are capitalized when part of a proper name should be lowercased when they are used in the plural or do not refer to a specific, existing body. Some examples: All states except Nebraska have a state senate. The town does not have a fire department. The bill requires city councils to provide matching funds. The president will address the lower houses of the New York and New Jersey legislatures. NON-U.S. BODIES: The same principles apply. Capitalize the names of the specific governmental agencies and departments, either with the name of the nation or without it if clear in the context: French Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Ministry. Lowercase the ministry or a similar term when standing alone.

Farther, further

Farther refers to physical distance: He walked farther into the woods. Further refers to an extension of time or degree: She will look further into the mystery.

Girl

Generally acceptable to describe males or females younger than 18. While it is always inaccurate to call people under 18 men or women and people 18 and older boys or girls, be aware of nuances and unintentional implications. Referring to black males of any age and in any context as boys, for instance, can be perceived as demeaning and call to mind historical language used by some to address black men. Be specific about ages if possible, or refer to black youths, child, teen or similar.

Good, well

Good is an adjective that means something is as it should be or is better than average. When used as an adjective, well means suitable, proper, healthy. When used as an adverb, well means in a satisfactory manner or skillfully. Good should not be used as an adverb. It does not lose its status as an adjective in a sentence such as I feel good. Such a statement is the idiomatic equivalent of I am in good health. An alternative, I feel well, could be interpreted as meaning that your sense of touch is good.

Grisly, grizzly

Grisly is horrifying, repugnant. Grizzly means grayish or is a short form for grizzly bear.

Drowned, was drowned

If a person suffocates in water or other fluid, the proper statement is that the individual drowned. To say that someone was drowned implies that another person caused the death by holding the victim's head under the water.

Adjectives

The abbreviation adj. is used in this book to identify the spelling of the adjectival forms of words that frequently are misspelled. The comma entry provides guidance on punctuating a series of adjectives. The hyphen entry provides guidance on handling compound modifiers used before a noun.

disabled, handicapped, impaired

In general, do not describe an individual as disabled or handicapped unless it is clearly pertinent to a story. If a description must be used, try to be specific. An ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox swaying noticeably from the effects of Parkinson's disease drew nationwide attention. Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as afflicted with or suffers from multiple sclerosis. Rather, has multiple sclerosis. Some terms include: blind Describes a person with complete loss of sight. For others, use terms such as visually impaired or person with low vision. cripple Considered offensive when used to describe a person who is disabled. deaf Describes a person with total hearing loss. For others, use partial hearing loss or partially deaf. Avoid using deaf-mute. Do not use deaf and dumb. disabled A general term used for a physical, mental, developmental or intellectual disability. Do not use mentally retarded. handicap It should be avoided in describing a disability. mute Describes a person who cannot speak. Others with speaking difficulties are speech impaired. wheelchair user People use wheelchairs for independent mobility. Do not use confined to a wheelchair, or wheelchair-bound. If a wheelchair is needed, say why.

Century

Lowercase (unless part of a proper name). Spell out numbers under 10: the first century, the 21st century.

a.m., p.m.

Lowercase, with periods. Avoid the redundant 10 a.m. this morning.

Composition titles

Magazine and newspaper titles aren't italicized; just capitalized. For composition titles such as books, video games, films, TV shows, works of art, speeches, etc., use quotation marks. Ex: She read The New York Times before she watched "Inception" and "Friends."

All right (never alright)

Never alright. Hyphenate only if used colloquially as a compound modifier: He is an all-right guy.

First lady

Not an official title, always lowercase. Usually reserved for families of heads of state, but acceptable at lower levels such as governor or mayor if that is the local custom. Should the individual hold or have held an official title of high office, that title takes precedence: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran for president, not former first lady Hillary Clinton ran for president.

Collective nouns

Nouns that denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns: class, committee, crowd, family, group, herd, jury, orchestra, team. Some usage examples: The committee is meeting to set its agenda. The jury reached its verdict. A herd of cattle was sold. Team names and musical group names that are plural take plural verbs. The Yankees are in first place. The Jonas Brothers are popular. Team or group names with no plural forms also take plural verbs: The Miami Heat are battling for third place. Other examples: Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Alabama Crimson Tide. Most singular names take singular verbs, including places and university names in sports: Coldplay is on tour. Boston is favored in the playoffs. Stanford is in the NCAA Tournament. Some proper names that are plural in form take a singular verb: Brooks Brothers is holding a sale. PLURAL IN FORM: Some words that are plural in form become collective nouns and take singular verbs when the group or quantity is regarded as a unit.

anybody, any body, anyone, any one

One word for an indefinite reference: Anyone can do that. Two words when the emphasis is on singling out one element of a group: Any one of them may speak up.

Capitalization

PROPER NOUNS: Capitalize nouns that constitute the unique identification for a specific person, place, or thing: John, Mary, America, Boston, England. PROPER NAMES: Capitalize common nouns such as party, river, street and west when they are an integral part of the full name for a person, place or thing: Democratic Party, Mississippi River, Fleet Street, West Virginia. Lowercase these common nouns when they stand alone in subsequent references: the party, the river, the street. Lowercase the common noun elements of names in plural uses: the Democratic and Republican parties, Main and State streets, lakes Erie and Ontario. Exception: plurals of formal titles with full names are capitalized: Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald R. Ford. POPULAR NAMES: Some places and events lack officially designated proper names but have popular names that are the effective equivalent: the Combat Zone (a section of downtown Boston), the Main Line (a group of Philadelphia suburbs), the South Side (of Chicago), the Badlands (of South Dakota), the Street (the financial community in the Wall Street area of New York). The principle applies also to shortened versions of the proper names of one-of-a-kind events: the Series (for the World Series), the Derby (for the Kentucky Derby). This practice should not, however, be interpreted as a license to ignore the general practice of lowercasing the common noun elements of a name when they stand alone. DERIVATIVES: Capitalize words that are derived from a proper noun and still depend on it for their meaning: American, Christian, Christianity, English, French, Marxism, Shakespearean. Lowercase words that are derived from a proper noun but no longer depend on it for their meaning: french fries, herculean, malapropism, pasteurize, quixotic, venetian blind. SENTENCES: Capitalize the first word in a statement that stands as a sentence. See sentences and parentheses. In poetry, capital letters are used for the first words of some phrases that would not be capitalized in prose. See poetry. COMPOSITIONS: Capitalize the principal words in the names of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs, radio and television programs, works of art, etc. See composition titles, magazine names and newspaper names. TITLES: Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name. Lowercase formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. Use lowercase at all times for terms that are job descriptions rather than formal titles. See academic titles, courtesy titles, legislative titles, military titles, nobility, religious titles and titles. ABBREVIATIONS: Capital letters apply in some cases. See abbreviations and acronyms.

Adverbs

The abbreviation adv. is used in this book to identify the spelling of adverbial forms of words frequently misspelled. See the hyphen entry in the Punctuation chapter for guidelines on when an adverb should be followed by a hyphen in constructing a compound modifier.

Cities and towns

See datelines for guidelines on when they should be followed by a state or a country name. Capitalize official names, including separate political entities such as East St. Louis, Illinois, or West Palm Beach, Florida. The preferred form for the section of a city is lowercase: the west end, northern Los Angeles. But capitalize widely recognized names for the sections of a city: South Side (Chicago), Lower East Side (New York).

Cents

Spell out the word cents and lowercase, using numerals for amounts less than a dollar: 5 cents, 12 cents. Use the $ sign and decimal system for larger amounts: $1.01, $2.50. Numerals alone, with or without a decimal point as appropriate, may be used in tabular matter.

Governor

The formal title for the British sovereign's representatives in Canada and some other countries of the Commonwealth. Do not abbreviate in any use.

Either/or, neither/nor

The nouns that follow these words do not constitute a compound subject; they are alternate subjects and require a verb that agrees with the nearer subject: Neither they nor he is going. Neither he nor they are going.

Broadcast

The past tense also is broadcast, not broadcasted.

Adopt, approve, enact, pass

The word act is sometimes included in a formal name for pending or implemented legislation. Capitalize when part of the name: the Taft-Hartley Act. An amendment is a change or proposed change to a bill or law. Amendments are usually passed or enacted. A bill is a draft proposal presented to a lawmaking body, such as a legislature, that requires debate, voting and final approval before it can become a law. Bills usually pass or fail, or are approved or signed. Do not capitalize when part of references to specific legislation: the Kennedy bill. Use conditional language for bills throughout the legislative process: The bill would prohibit such activity; the bill seeks to legalize the drug. A law is a bill that has been approved by a lawmaking body, usually at the state or federal level, and that sometimes requires the signature of an executive such as a governor or president. Laws are usually enacted and don't necessarily take effect at the time they are enacted. An ordinance is the municipal equivalent of a law. Ordinances are enacted. Before they become ordinances, they should usually be called proposals or proposed ordinances. Though terminology varies from place to place, it's usually best to avoid referring to such proposals as bills, to avoid confusion with higher levels of government. A resolution is a sentiment or recommendation of a lawmaking body, often described as binding or nonbinding depending on whether it has the force of law. Resolutions are adopted or fail. A rule is an authoritative regulation that can be enacted, created or ordered at various levels of government. A statute is a written and enacted law or ordinance. Any of the above terms can also be described generically as measures, provided no confusion would result.

Following

The word usually is a noun, verb or adjective: He has a large following. He is following his conscience. The following statement was made. Although Webster's New World College Dictionary records its use as a preposition, the preferred word is after: He spoke after dinner. Not: He spoke following dinner.

Essential clauses, nonessential clauses

These terms are used in this book instead of restrictive clause and nonrestrictive clause to convey the distinction between the two in a more easily remembered manner. Both types of clauses provide additional information about a word or phrase in the sentence. The difference between them is that the essential clause cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence it so restricts the meaning of the word or phrase that its absence would lead to a substantially different interpretation of what the author meant. The nonessential clause, however, can be eliminated without altering the basic meaning of the sentence it does not restrict the meaning so significantly that its absence would radically alter the author's thought. PUNCTUATION: An essential clause must not be set off from the rest of a sentence by commas. A nonessential clause must be set off by commas. The presence or absence of commas provides the reader with critical information about the writer's intended meaning. Note the following examples: Reporters who do not read the Stylebook should not criticize their editors. (The writer is saying that only one class of reporters, those who do not read the Stylebook, should not criticize their editors. If the who ... Stylebook phrase were deleted, the meaning of the sentence would be changed substantially.) USE OF WHO, WHOM, THAT, WHICH. See separate entries on that (conjunction); that, which (pronouns); who, whom. That is the preferred pronoun to introduce essential clauses that refer to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. Which is the only acceptable pronoun to introduce a nonessential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. The pronoun which occasionally may be substituted for that in the introduction of an essential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. In general, this use of which should appear only when that is used as a conjunction to introduce another clause in the same sentence: He said Monday that the part of the army which suffered severe casualties needs reinforcement.

Essential phrases and nonessential phrases

These terms are used in this book instead of restrictive phrase and nonrestrictive phrase to convey the distinction between the two in a more easily remembered manner. The underlying concept is the one that also applies to clauses: An essential phrase is a word or group of words critical to the reader's understanding of what the author had in mind. A nonessential phrase provides more information about something. Although the information may be helpful to the reader's comprehension, the reader would not be misled if the information were not there. PUNCTUATION: Do not set an essential phrase off from the rest of a sentence by commas: We saw the award-winning movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." (No comma, because many movies have won awards, and without the name of the movie the reader would not know which movie was meant.) They ate dinner with their daughter Julie. (Because they have more than one daughter, the inclusion of Julie's name is critical if the reader is to know which daughter is meant.) Set off nonessential phrases by commas: We saw the 1975 winner of the Academy Award competition for best picture, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." (Only one movie won the award. The name is informative, but even without the name no other movie could be meant.) They ate dinner with their daughter Julie and her husband, David. (Julie has only one husband. If the phrase read and her husband David, it would suggest that she had more than one husband.) The company chairman, Henry Ford II, spoke. (In the context, only one person could be meant.) Indian corn, or maize, was harvested. (Maize provides the reader with the name of the corn, but its absence would not change the meaning of the sentence.) DESCRIPTIVE WORDS: Do not confuse punctuation rules for nonessential clauses with the correct punctuation when a nonessential word is used as a descriptive adjective. The distinguishing clue often is the lack of an article or pronoun:

Admit, admitted

These words may in some contexts give the erroneous connotation of wrongdoing. People who say they are recovering from alcoholism, for example, are not admitting it. Said is usually sufficient.

Allude, refer

To allude to something is to speak of it without specifically mentioning it. To refer is to mention it directly.

Flail, flay

To flail is to swing the arms widely. To flay is, literally, to strip off the skin by whipping. Figuratively, to flay means to tongue-lash a person.

flaunt, flout

To flaunt is to make an ostentatious or defiant display: She flaunted her intelligence. To flout is to show contempt for: He flouts the law.

gibe, jibe

To gibe means to taunt or sneer: They gibed him about his mistakes. Jibe means to shift direction or, colloquially, to agree: They jibed their ship across the wind. Their stories didn't jibe.

Company, companies

Use Co. or Cos. when a business uses either word at the end of its proper name: Ford Motor Co., American Broadcasting Cos. If company or companies appears alone in second reference, spell the word out. The forms for possessives: Ford Motor Co.'s profits, American Broadcasting Cos.' profits.

Doctor

Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine, or doctor of veterinary medicine: Dr. Jonas Salk. The form Dr., or Drs., in a plural construction, applies to all first-reference uses before a name, including direct quotations. If appropriate in the context, Dr. also may be used on first reference before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. However, because the public frequently identifies Dr. only with physicians, care should be taken to ensure that the individual's specialty is stated in first or second reference. The only exception would be a story in which the context left no doubt that the person was a dentist, psychologist, chemist, historian, etc. In some instances it also is necessary to specify that an individual identified as Dr. is a physician. One frequent case is a story reporting on joint research by physicians, biologists, etc. Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold only honorary doctorates. Do not continue the use of Dr. in subsequent references.

Amendments to the constitution

Use First Amendment, 10th Amendment, etc. Colloquial references to the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination are best avoided, but where appropriate: He took the Fifth seven times.

Federal

Use a capital letter for the architectural style and for corporate or governmental bodies that use the word as part of their formal names: the Federal Trade Commission. (See separate entries for governmental agencies.) Lowercase when used as an adjective to distinguish something from state, county, city, town or private entities: federal assistance, federal court, the federal government, a federal judge.

Because, since

Use because to denote a specific cause-effect relationship: He went because he was told. Since is acceptable in a causal sense when the first event in a sequence led logically to the second but was not its direct cause: They went to the game, since they had been given the tickets.

Ensure, insure

Use ensure to mean "guarantee". Use insure for references to insurance.

Female

Use female as an adjective, not woman or girl. She is the first female governor of North Carolina.

Addresses

Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues. All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) always are spelled out. Capitalize them when part of a formal name without a number; lowercase when used alone or with two or more names. Always use figures for an address number: 9 Morningside Circle. Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above: 7 Fifth Ave., 100 21st St. Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address: 222 E. 42nd St., 562 W. 43rd St., 600 K St. NW. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East 42nd Street, West 43rd Street, K Street Northwest. No periods in quadrant abbreviations NW, SE unless customary locally.

Fewer, less

Use the adjective 'fewer' to answer the question, "How many?" Use the adjective 'less' to answer the question, "how much?".

A, an

Use the article a before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a w), a united stand (sounds like you). Use the article an before vowel sounds: an energy...

Elderly

Use this word carefully and sparingly. Do not refer to a person as elderly unless it is clearly relevant to the story. Apply the same principle to terms such as senior citizen. It is appropriate in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals: concern for elderly people, a home for senior citizens, etc. If the intent is to show that an individual's faculties have deteriorated, cite a graphic example and give attribution for it. Use age when available and appropriate.

every one, everyone

Use two words (every one) when it means each individual item: Every one of the coins was worthless. Use one word (everyone) when used as a pronoun meaning all persons: Everyone wants his life to be happy. [Note that everyone takes singular verbs and pronouns.]

Ages

Use when deemed relevant to the situation. If someone is quoted as saying, I'm too old to get another job, the age is relevant. Generally, use ages for profiles, obituaries, significant career milestones and achievements unusual for the age. Use ages for people commenting or providing information only if their age is relevant to their comments (e.g., a teenager's comment on video games aimed at that age group). Appropriate background, such as a parent of two young children or a World War II veteran, may suffice instead of the actual age. Always use figures. The girl is 15 years old; the law is 8 years old; the 101-year-old house. When the context does not require years or years old, the figure is presumed to be years. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.

Adviser

national security adviser. You could choose to do otherwise, of course.

Things

• Capitalize proper nouns; lowercase common nouns. Capitalize trademarks (I drank a Pepsi) or use a common noun as a substitute (I drank a soft drink). • Use abbreviations on first reference only if they are widely known (CIA agents helped overthrow the prime minister of Iran). Otherwise, spell out the names of agencies on first reference (the U.S. Agency for International Development; USAID). If an abbreviation would be confusing, use a common-noun substitute (the State Peace and Development Council; the council or the junta). As much as possible, avoid using acronyms. • Generally, don't abbreviate units of measurement (pounds, miles, hours, etc.).

Time

• Use only the day of the week for events within a week of publication (The summit ended Monday. The negotiators will meet Thursday). • Use "next" only if needed for clarity (The summit ended Monday, and the negotiators will meet again next Monday). Use cautiously. • Never abbreviate days of the week. • Use "today" to refer to the day of print publication. Do not use "yesterday" or "tomorrow" except in direct quotes. On the website, use only days of the week (not today, yesterday or tomorrow). • Use month and day to refer to events happening a week or more before or after publication. Use cardinal numbers, not ordinal numbers, for dates (The summit began July 11. The seminar will be held March 3). • Don't use the year unless the event is more than a year before or after publication (He died March 17, 1999. The currency will be introduced Jan. 1, 2012). • Do not abbreviate a month unless it has a date (January; Jan. 1). Do not abbreviate months of less than six letters (March; March 12, 1998). • Follow time-date-place order: Martial law was declared at noon Friday in Jesse Hall. Trials of collaborators will begin at 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in Mexico, Mo. • There is no such time as 12 p.m. or 12 a.m. It's noon or midnight.