Posted on 02/01/2012 12:47:25 PM PST by Daffynition
I have several more grammar pet peeves but for now I’ll leave it alone ... don’t want to be the cause of you not sleeping well tonight. >grin<
Safire’s Rules For Writers
As adulterated by Sid W Sodnagel
1. Remember to never split an infinitive
2. The passive voice should be avoided.
3. Do not refrain from avoiding to put statements in the negative form.
4. Should you use a positive instead of a double negative? The answer is not no.
5. Subject and verb has to agree.
6. A person should be careful to use a singular pronoun with a singular noun in their writing.
7. Proof read carefully to see if you any words out.
8. Check spelling. I’m series.
9. No incomplete sentences.
10. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
11. A writer must not shift your point of view.
12. A run-on sentence is a sin, don’t commit one.
13. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
14. Place a pronoun as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to its antecedent.
15. Writing carefully, dangling participles will be avoided.
16. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
17. A preposition is generally a terrible word to end a sentence with. However, slavish adherence to this rule will sometimes produce one up with which sophisticated readers will not put.
18. Attempt to avoid gratuitously verbing a noun.
19. Don’t Use Capitalization Indiscriminately.
20. Don’t confuse the spelling of the neuter possessive pronoun with the contraction of “it is.” Its confusing, and the sentence loses it’s impact.
21. If you are going to use a foreign term per say, it is de rigor to spell it correctly. Do so, and—walla!—your writing will improve.
22. Don’t use “like” when you mean “as,” like so many writers do.
23. Avoid hyperbole, and don’t overuse exclamation points. If I’ve told you this once, I’ve told you a million times!!!
24. Eschew obfuscatory stilted modalities of expression.
25. Always pick on the correct idiom.
26. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
27. Avoid colloquial stuff.
28. Lose the pure slang, you suckah!
29. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the ass and should be thrown out the window. However, if you’re going to use one anyway, take that bull by the horns and run with it.
30. Proactively seek out and eliminate unnecessary buzzwords. Make this your special competency and gain share of mind among your peer group.
31. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.
So, the young George W Bush goes to Harvard. Arriving on the campus for the first time, he is strolling the Quad, and wants to find the library. He sees a nice young lady walking his way.
“Excuse me, ma’am but I’ve just arrived from Texas. Can you tell me where the library’s at?”
Her only response is a cold stare, and she walks on.
Now, young W spies a gentleman with a pipe, a bow tie, and a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches.
“’Scuse me professor, but could you kindly tell me where the library’s at?”
“Young man, at Hahvahd, we don’t end our sentences in prepostions.”
“Oh, I see. Well that case, could you tell me where the library’s at, butthole?”
By the way, a thousand kudos for your observation.
He: “Let’s lie together tonight.”
She: “OK, I love you and I’ll be with you forever. Your turn.”
... or people who misspell when discussing misspellings? :-)
Thanks! That works.
There’s some debate about the spacing around the em dash (or mdash). I’ve seen it both ways. My copy-editor likes it with spaces, but I’m somewhat convinced she’s insane.
Because it’s the better lyric for a pop song. That’s why.
The double space was common practice with fixed fonts, as in typewritten. Proportional fonts insert a space-and-a-half automatically. That is why Word flags the double space as an error.
She wasn’t wrong. When we used typewriters with fixed fonts, two spaces was the norm. It was only with the advent of proportional spaced fonts and desktop publishing that one space became standard.
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