Grammar: All about (S)

Grammar: Which word to use (S)

https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-s

 

1. CORRECT USAGE

1.1. Similar words mean different things…

sea change or step-change?

sea change the idea is that a major transformation is taking place, but very slowly. By contrast, step-change comes from physics, where it means an abrupt change in a value, as in voltage

stationary or stationery?

stationary motionless; stationery writing materials.

stalemate or deadlock/impasse?

in chess, a stalemate is the end of the game, and cannot be broken or resolved; deadlock or impasse are more suitable for metaphorical use.

stentorian or stertorous?

stationary loud, sometimes confused with stertorous, a snoring sound

swath or swathe?

swath, broad strip (of land), eg cut a wide swath; swathe,  baby clothes, bandages, wrappings, related to swaethel – swaddling clothes

silicon or silicone?

silicon computer chips; but silicone breast implants

slither or sliver?

slither slide; sliver small piece…so do not say things like “a tiny slither of the global population” – it’s wrong!

swat or swot?

swat flies; swot books.

systematic or systemic?

systematic methodical; systemic relating to a system.

1.2 Use the right word in context…

sanction

To sanction (verb) something is to approve it; to impose sanctions (noun) is to stop something you disapprove of. So politicians might sanction (permit) the use of sanctions (forbidding) trade with a country they don’t, for the moment, happen to like very much.

OED definitions of the noun “sanction” involve penalties or coercion, typically to enforce a law or treaty. So you find “sanction-breaker” (quoted from the Guardian in connection with sanctions against Rhodesia in 1968). Rather chillingly, a draft 1993 addition to the dictionary includes a new definition: “sanction: in military intelligence, the permission to kill a particular individual.”

Definitions of “sanction” as a verb include ratify, confirm, permit, authorise and encourage. Hence expressions such as “sanctioned by common sense” and “sanctioned by usage”.

The Department for Work and Pensions, confusingly, says it “sanctions” people to mean it imposes sanctions on or penalises them. We should not use it in this sense

schizophrenic (adj), schizophrenia (noun)

should be used only in a medical context, never to mean in two minds, contradictory, or erratic, which is wrong.

seal pups

seal pupsnot “baby seals” for the same reason lambs aren’t called “baby sheep”.

search dogs

search dogs search for people; sniffer dogs search for drugs.

second hand

second handon a watch; but secondhand goods.

shiatsu

shiatsu massage; but shih-tzu dog; shiitake mushrooms

shrank, shrunk

shrank, not shrunk, is the past tense of shrink, except in the film title Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (and perhaps the occasional piece of wordplay based on it); shrunk is the past participle (the kids had shrunk) or what is sometimes known as the present perfect form (Honey, I’ve shrunk the kids).

shall or will?

Once regarded as a very important distinction, and some people still get excited about it. In practice, there is very little difference these days.

Use the former for emphasis (“you shall go to the ball”) and don’t worry too much.

sink, sank, sunk

past tense sank, past participle sunk; eg he sinks, he sank, he has sunk.

sit, sat, was sitting

I sat down at the back but he was sitting near the front (the horrible “he was sat” is, sadly, a very frequent error).

slay, slew, slain

slay past tense: slew; past participle: slain.

smooth, smooth down, smoothen

(verb) not smoothe (you may be thinking of “soothe”).

smuggling or trafficking?

There are three key differences between people smuggling and trafficking.

1 Exploitation: smugglers are paid by people to take them across borders, after which the transaction ends; traffickers bring them into a situation of exploitation and profit from their abuse in the form of forced labour or prostitution.

2 Consent: migrants usually consent to be smuggled; a trafficked person does not (or their “consent” is meaningless because they have been coerced).

3 Borders: smuggling always takes place across international borders; trafficking does not (you can be trafficked, say, from Rochdale to Rotherham).

spelled, spelt

spelled is the past tense, spelt is the past participle; eg “she spelled it out for him: ‘the word is spelt like this.’”

Note: misspelled rather than misspelt.

spoiled, spoilt

spoiled is the past tense, spoilt is the past participle; eg “she spoiled her son: in fact he was a spoilt brat.”

sprang, sprung

sprang is the past tense of spring; sprung is the past participle; eg “The error sprang out at me immediately as it should have sprung out at you.”

stampede

stampede should be reserved for herds of animals, and not used in tragedies involving crowds of people. The word “stampede” suggests a panicking mass of people who are collectively responsible for trampling others to death, whereas in fact the deaths usually occur (at a slower speed) as an accidental result of high densities. Use the term “crowd crush” instead.

staunch

staunch (verb): to stop the flow of something, eg blood or confidence; steadfast (adjective), eg a steadfast defender of human rights.

submarines

are boats, not ships.

substitute

Is it by, with or for? If you don’t choose the right preposition, it’s not always easy to see who’s replaced whom.

Let’s say Player A is injured and Player B comes on as a substitute. So: the manager replaces A with B; A is replaced by B; the manager has substituted B for A; B is substituted for A.

supine

supine face up; prone face down.

2.SPELLINGS

2.1 To hyphenate (or not)?

Note self always takes a hyphen: self-control, self-defence, self-esteem, self-harm, self-respect

YES

same-sex marriage

sci-fi

scot-free

sell-ons

side-effects

so-called

sticky-back plastic

straight-forward

strait-laced,

sub-prime, sub-Saharan

EXCEPTIONS

second-year (adj) BUT second year (noun)

sell-off, sellout (noun) BUT sell off, sell out (verb)

shake-up BUT shakedown, shakeout (nouns)

short-term (adj) BUT short term (noun)

sing-song (noun): “we had a sing-song round the campfire” BUT singsong (adjective): “her voice had a singsong quality.”

spin-off (noun) BUT spin off (verb)

start-up (noun) BUT start up (verb)

step-parents BUT stepfamily, stepfather, stepmother

stony-hearted BUT stony broke

[Note, shootout (noun); not shoot-out]

 

2.2 One word or two?

One word

schoolbook / room / boy /children / girl/ teacher

scratchcard, smartcard, swipecard

seatbelt

shipyard

sightseeing

springtime

statewide

seaplane / port / shore /side / weed BUT sea level, sea sickness

shipbuilding, shipmate, shipowner, shipyard

sheepdog

shopkeeper

shortlist, longlist

shortsighted, longsighted, nearsighted

sickie, sick / note /room BUT sick pay

sidestreet

signoff (noun) BUT sign off (verb)

sitcom

ski, skis, skier, skied, skiing

snowplough

soundbite

spacewalk BUT space hopper

standoff / out / up

startup (noun) BUT start up (verb)

steamboat / hammer / punk / ship BUT steam engine

steelworker / works

stopgap

straightforward, straitjacket

streetwise

stylebook BUT style guide

subcommittee / continent / let / plot /section

suchlike

synthesis, synthesise, synthesiser

Two words

school board

scotch broth, scotch egg, scotch mist

set up (verb) BUT setup (noun and adj)

shut off (verb) BUT shutoff (noun)

sign in / out / up

spin doctor

stock in trade (no hyphens)

stock market

straight away, home straight, final straight

2.3 Frequently misspelt

saccharin (noun); saccharine (adjective)

sacrilegious NOT sacreligious

seize NOT sieze

separate NOT seperate

sequined NOT sequinned

Shakespearean NOT Shakespearian

shoo-in NOT shoe-in

shootout (noun); not shoot-out

sheikh

shtick NOT schtick

siege NOT seige

siphon NOT syphon

skilful NOT skillful

skimmed milk NOT skim

soya beans NOT soybeans or soy beans

spicy NOT spicey

strait of Dover, strait of Gibraltar, strait of Hormuz NOT Strait, Straits or straits

subpoena, subpoenaed

sucking-pig NOT “suckling-pig”

sue, sued, suing NOT sueing

supersede NOT supercede

surprise NOT suprise

swingeing BUT swinging 60s

2.4 Change with form or plural

salvo; plural salvoes

sanatorium (not sanitarium or sanitorium); plural sanatoriums

spoonful, teaspoonful; plural spoonfuls, teaspoonfuls,

stadium; plural stadiums, NOTstadia;

staff are plural

stiletto; plural stilettos (not stilettoes)

still life; plural still lifes (not lives)

stimulus; plural stimuli

storey; plural storeys (buildings); story plural stories (tales)

stratum; plural strata

supernova; plural supernovae

supersede; not supercede

synopsis; plural synopses

2.5 Take note of capitals

[ic = initial capitals,  lc = lowercase]

ic

Sadler’s Wells

Sainsbury’s for the stores; the company’s name is J Sainsbury plc

seas, oceans capped up, eg Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Pacific Ocean

Shetland rather than Shetland Isles or Shetlands,

storms: Storm Abigail, Storm Barney

Satan BUT satanist, satanism

senate: the Australian Senate and US Senate take ic BUT state senates are lc, eg the Massachusetts senate.

stadium – ic when it is in the name of the venue eg London Stadium, Etihad Stadium, but leave out whenever possible eg at Wembley, at Old Trafford.

St Andrews: note: no apostrophe for town, university or “the home of golf”.

ic & lc

Scottish government / parliament

schools – if in full, like this: Alfred Salter primary school, Rotherhithe; King’s school, Macclesfield, Eton college, etc; often the generic part will not be necessary, so: Alfred Salter primary; King’s, Macclesfield; Eton, etc.

lc

seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter are lowercase.

second world war

Sad: seasonal affective disorder

school years: year 2, year 10, key stage 1, etc

senator lc unless used as a title: Senator Penny Wong is an Australian senator; Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator, is the majority leader of the US Senate..

students’ union lowercase in full name, eg Sheffield University students’ union.

sergeant major BUT Sgt Maj Adam Jones (subsequently Sgt Maj Prescott)

sim card

south BUT south London, south-west England, the south-east, south Wales, etc.

south pole

3. EXPRESSIONS & STYLE

Sahara

no need to add “desert”.

said

normally preferable to added, commented, declared, pointed out, ejaculated, etc. Note, it is easy to avoid too many “saids”, whether quoting someone or in reported speech, quite easily.

set to

It is tempting to use set to when we think something is going to happen, but aren’t all that sure; try to resist this temptation and use ‘will’ or simply leave out ‘set’; eg “the packs are set to come into force as part of the house-selling process” [rewrite as ‘the packs will come into force…’]

ships

shipsare not feminine: it ran aground, not she ran aground; no quotes, no italics; you sail in, not on, ships.

sleight of hand

although it is pronounced “slight”.

some

some should not be used before a figure: if you are not sure, about or approximately are better, and if you are, it sounds daft: eg “some 12 people have died from wasp stings this year alone”.

so what if …

needs a comma when used at the start of a sentence to distinguish between “So, what if … “ and “So what, if … “

The former expresses an open mind (“So, what if we all voted Green?”); the latter is more sceptical (“So what, if we all voted Green?”)

span of years

2010-12 or from 2010-12; but between 2010 and 2012, not “between 2010-12” [note the en-dash].

stumm

as in “keep stumm”, not schtum.

straitened circumstances, straitened times

not “straightened times” – a frequent error!

4. PUNCTUATION

Saint

In running text should be spelt in full: Saint John, Saint Paul.

Abbreviate to St for names of towns, churches, etc (no point) eg St Mirren, St Stephen’s church.

In French placenames a hyphen is needed, eg St-Nazaire, Ste-Suzanne, Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

scientific measurements

Take care: m in scientific terms stands for milli (1mW is 1,000th of a watt), while M denotes mega (1MW is a million watts); in such circumstances it is wise not to bung in another m when you mean million, so write out, for example, 10 million C.

amps A, volts V, watts W, kilowatts kW, megawatts MW, milliwatts mW, joules J, kilojoules kJ.

scientific names

in italics, with the first name (denoting the genus) capped, the second (denoting the species) lc: Escherichia coli, Canis lupus, Quercus robur.

The name can be shortened by using the first initial: E coli, C lupus, Q robur (do not use a full point after the initial).

scientific terms

some silly cliches to avoid: you might find it difficult to hesitate for a nanosecond (the shortest measurable human hesitation is probably about 250 million nanoseconds, a quarter of a second); “astronomical sums” when talking about large sums of money is rather dated (the national debt surpassed the standard astronomical unit of 93 million [miles] 100 years ago).

senior

abbreviate to Sr not Sen or Snr, eg Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

single quotes

in headlines (but sparingly), standfirsts and captions.

5. GRAMMAR

semicolon

The semicolon is a very elegant compromise between a full stop (too much) and a comma (not enough); eg “Some reporters were brilliant; others were less so.”

shared possessives

• Freddie and Beth’s party (they share one).
• Freddie and Beth’s parties (they share two).
• Freddie’s and Beth’s parties (they have one each).

singular or plural?

• Corporate entities take the singular: eg “The BBC has decided…” (not “have”).
• In subsequent references make sure the pronoun is singular: “It [not “they”] will press for an increase in the licence fee.”
• Sports teams and rock bands are the exception – “England have an uphill task” is OK, as is “Nirvana were overrated”.

slash (/)

The slash ( / ), also known as the virgule, has several uses:

• Poetry –  indicates a line break, with one space on either side,
• Per – shorthand for per: “A £800/week salary.”
• And – “He is enrolling on the JD/MBA course at Harvard.”
• Or – usually of gender: “Each guest must present his/her ticket prior to entry.”
• Cum – to replace the Latin preposition cum meaning ‘combined with’: “He worked in his office/dining (or office-cum-dining) room.”
• Abbreviations – c/o (care of), P/E ratio (price-to-earnings ratio), w/ (with)
• Fractions – 4/5
• Connection – “The Paris/London train leaves in an hour.” [can also use the en dash: Paris-London]
• Conflict – in place of versus: “This perfectly illustrates the nature/nurture debate.” [can also use the en dash: nature–nurture]
• Two-year spans – “This audit covers only the 2005/6 fiscal year.”

split infinitives

It is perfectly acceptable, and often desirable, to sensibly split infinitives – “to boldly go” is an elegant and effective phrase.

subjunctive

Most commonly, the subjunctive is a third person singular form of the verb expressing hypothesis, typically something demanded, proposed, imagined: he demanded that she resign at once, I propose that she be sacked, she insisted Jane sit down.

As with the hyper-corrective misuse of whom instead of who, however, using the subjunctive wrongly is worse than not using it at all, and will make you look pompous and silly.