First 20 Flash Cards

Question 1

Academic degrees

Answer 1

If mention of a degree is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology.

Wrong: Dr. Pam Jones, Ph.D.
Right: Dr. Pam Jones, a chemist.

Question 2

Academic departments

Answer 2

Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives:
the department of history, the history department, the department of English, the English department,

or when department is part of the official and formal name:
University of Connecticut Department of Medicine. Do not abbreviate department.

Question 3

Addresses

Answer 3

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 with two letters 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. N.W. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East 42nd Street, West 43rd Street.
Use periods in the abbreviation P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.

Question 4

Affect and effect

Answer 4

Affect, as a verb, means to influence:

The game will affect the standings. Affect, as a noun, is best avoided.

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.

Question 5

Ages

Answer 5

Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates):

The girl is 15 years old; the law is eight years old.

Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.

Examples: A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old. The woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe).

Question 6

Am and pm

Answer 6

Lowercase, with periods. Avoid the redundant 10 a.m. this morning. Noon and midnight stand alone.

Don’t use 12 noon or 12 a.m.

Question 7

Apostrophe

Answer 7

In general, use to show possession:
the alumni’s contributions, women’s rights, Northridge’s reputation.
If the word ends with an S put the apostrophe after the S:
the campus’ appearance, the reporters’ deadlines.

Do not use an apostrophe if it’s simply a plural and NOT a possessive.
Wrong: She gave the CD’s to me.
Right: He has too many CDs to count.

Question 8

California

Answer 8

Spell out the names of all states. (For large cities like Los Angeles, don’t include the state.)
Wrong: Northridge, CA
Wrong: Northridge, Calif.
Right: Northridge, California

Question 9

Died

Answer 9

Use died, not passed away

Question 10

Held and hold

Answer 10

Use held only in the literal sense: He held the pencil. She wants to hold the baby. Do not use held when referring to events, concerts, conventions, etc. In most cases, the word held can simply be removed with no impact. For rare occasions, the words hosted or sponsored suffices.
Wrong: The club held its meeting on Thursday.
Right: The club had its meeting on Thursday.
Wrong: The convention will be held at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel. Right: The convention will take place at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel.

Question 11

It’s and its

Answer 11

It’s is a contraction for it is or it has: It’s up to you. It’s been a long time. Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun: The dog chased its tail.

Question 12

Months

Answer 12

Capitalize the names in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
Spell out the months with five letters or less: March, April, May, June and July.
Spell out all months when using alone or with a year alone:
The class ended in December. He was born in August 1980. (No comma between the month and year if a specific date isn’t used.)

Question 13

Over

Answer 13

It generally refers to spatial relationships (The plane flew over the city) but is now acceptable when referring to a quantity.
Both sentences are acceptable:
Their salaries increased over $20 a week.
Their salaries increased more than $20 a week.

Question 14

Quote marks

Answer 14

Use quote marks for exact, word-for-word comments. Put a comma inside the ending quote marks. “CSUN is a great place to learn,” said Stephanie Bluestein, journalism professor.

Question 15

Seasons

Answer 15

Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and derivatives such as springtime unless part of a formal name:

Dartmouth Winter Carnival, Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics. Capitalize seasons when the exact year is included: Fall 2014 semester

Question 16

Series of three or more

Answer 16

Do not use a comma before the word “and” when listing a series of three or more things:

The flag was red, white and blue. She has lived in many communities, including Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Canoga Park and Reseda.

Question 17

Spacing

Answer 17

Use only one space between sentences.

Question 18

Titles

Answer 18

In general, capitalize formal titles used directly before a person’s name. Use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss) only in direct quotations.

Otherwise, simply use the person’s first and last name on first reference. On second reference, use only their last name.

Wrong: Mrs. Sally Smith is a Beatles fan. (on first reference)

Right: Sally Smith is a Beatles fan. (on first reference)

Wrong: Mrs. Smith has loved the group for a long time. (on second reference)

Right: Smith has loved the group for a long time. (on second reference)

Question 19

To

Answer 19

Use to between two dates, times or numerals:
The museum, which has a mummy display from June to August, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. (Do not use a hyphen to separate dates, times or numerals.)

Question 20

That, which

Answer 20

Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name. Use that for essential clauses, important to the

meaning of the sentence and without commas:

I remember the day that we met.

Use which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary and use commas:

The dog, which had strong legs, was a natural jumper.

Question 21

Who and whom

Answer 21

Who is the pronoun used for references to human beings and to animals with a name.

It is grammatically the subject (never the object) of a sentence, clause or phrase:

The woman who rented the apartment moved out without notifying the owner. Who is there?

Whom is used when someone is the object of the verb or preposition:

The woman to whom the apartment was rented moved out without notifying the owner. Whom do you wish to see?