This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 8.11 Reference to words as such When referring to a word’s function rather than its meaning, use quotation marks: How do you spell “spelling”?
Category: Grammar
Canadian Style Tip #5: Run-in format for quotations
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 8.02 Quotations: run-in format Use the run-in format when the quoted matter is not more than fifty words or five lines long (longer quotations should be set in block format): Mary said, “You are the best husband in the world.”
Canadian Style Tip #4: Spacing for obliques
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 7.02 Spacing: obliques No space before or after an oblique when used between individual words, letters or symbols; one space before and after the oblique when used between longer groups that contain internal spacing: and/or University of Lethbridge / Lethbridge College
Canadian Style Tip #3: Numerical expressions
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 5.26 Numerical expressions: other considerations Dollar amounts in different currencies should be distinguished from one another by some easily understood marker. A reference to $20 will be ambiguous to a non-Canadian reader and may be taken to refer to American or some other currency. No single… Continue reading Canadian Style Tip #3: Numerical expressions
Is it Daylight Saving Time or Daylight Savings Time?
When you search for “daylight saving time” on Google, you’ll find nearly 13 million results. “Daylight Savings Time”, on the other hand, brings about half as many results. On the surface, it seems that “Daylight Saving Time” is the more popular of the two terms. Not so fast!
Canadian Style Tip #2: Titles of office or rank
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 4.08 Titles of office or rank (g) Capitalize titles only when they refer to a specific person; do not capitalize a term that refers to a role rather than a person. As prime minister, Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet. Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet.
Canadian Style Tip #1: Enumerations
This is the first post in what I hope will be a regular series. I will share a guideline from The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing, the official style guide for Public Works and Government Services Canada Translation Bureau. 7.41 Enumerations Use a dash, not a colon, to enclose a list of… Continue reading Canadian Style Tip #1: Enumerations
Writing out the age of a person
The following is a reader submission. How do you write out the age of a person? Is it correct to write: 48-year-old or 48 year-old? Hi Amy, Thanks for the great question. It’s actually a pretty simple answer. If you use the phrase as a noun, you use hyphens (e.g. The 48-year-old ate at the… Continue reading Writing out the age of a person
How to use “to dwindle”
The following is a reader submission. The argument is whether dwindle makes sense on the following sentence: Mrs. Jones, please dwindle down the invitation list. Both sides of the argument agree that dwindle makes sense in the following sentence: His finances dwindled down due to his overspending. We aren’t looking for what sounds best, but… Continue reading How to use “to dwindle”
Difference between nauseous and nauseated
This is part of the difference between series. Another common word confusion exists between the words nauseous and nauseated. I hear persons mixing these two words all the time. The basic difference is that one is nauseous to others, and others make one nauseated.