Last week I offered three of my favorite tips from William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style, the little book of English usage that every writer should possess. It’s one of my all-time favorite books of any genre, and I recommend it for anyone who writes — whether large writing projects or just e-mails and memos — in their daily lives. Here are more of my favorite rules and tips from Strunk and White.
Rule 20. Keep related words together.
Certain words come in pairs, triplets, etc., and they are meant to stay that way. Here’s my biggest pet peeve of when writers break this rule:
Related words separated: Such items as
Related words together: items such as
In the first construction, “such” is used as an adjective modifying “items.” Until someone can effectively explain to me how items can be “such” and exactly how “such” looks, tastes or feels, I’ll continue to complain about this error. “Such as” must always remain together, never separated by any word.
Here’s another example:
Related words separated: She saw a large scratch in the floor that was right in the center.
Related words together: She saw a large scratch right in the center of the floor.
Exclamations.
Strunk and White wrote, “The exclamation mark is to be reserved for use after true exclamations or commands.” I tell writers not to use an exclamation mark unless they would yell or shout the statement. Exclamations are generally overused and unnecessary. Use a full stop instead.
Care less.
The proper expression is that you “couldn’t care less.” If you “could care less,” then you care some, and you could care less.
Get.
Strunk and White tell writers not to use the colloquial expression “have got”; use “have” instead. Furthermore, for the participle form of the verb, “got” is preferred over “gotten.” I say eliminate “get” and all of its forms from your writing. There’s always a clearer, more precise, more exciting verb.
Less.
Don’t use “less” when you really mean “fewer.” Strunk and White say, “Less refers to quantity, fewer to number.” TBS runs commercials with the station’s tagline, “More movies, less commercials.” I twitch every time I hear this because it’s grammatically incorrect. It should be “fewer commercials.”
Avoid the use of qualifiers.
Writers, especially copywriters, love to make things sound great: It’s a very good product. We’re rather proud of our accomplishments. We made a pretty big sale. Stop trying to soften the statement. Be good, be proud, be big. Don’t be wishy-washy.
Strunk and White wrote that qualifiers “are the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood of words."
If you’re just having too much fun learning about all this grammar and style, then it’s time for your own copy of The Elements of Style. You can find it at your local bookstore in the reference section, or order the 50th anniversary edition online.
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