First 20 Flashcards
Series of three or more
Do not use comma before the word “and” when listening 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.
Affect, effect
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
Over
It generally refers to spatial relationships (The plane flew over the city) but is now acceptable when referring to a quantity
That which (pronouns)
Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects to animals without a name. Use that for essential clauses, important to the meaning of the sentence and without commas: I remember the day 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.
Academic departments
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
a.m., p.m
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
California
Spell out the names of all states. (For large cities like Los Angles, don’t include the state.)
Wrong: Northridge, CA
Wrong: Northridge, Calif
Right: Northridge, California
It’s, its
It’s is a contraction for it is or is 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.
Quote marks
Use quotes 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
Spacing
Use only one space between sentences.
Seasons
Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and derivatives such as springtime unless part of a formal name: Darthmouth Winter Carnival, Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics. Capitalize seasons with the exact year is included: Fall 2014 semester.
To
Used to between two dates, times or numericals: The museum, which has a mummy display from June to August, is open from 10 AM to 6 PM daily. (Do not use a-two separate dates, times or numerical.)
Titles
In general, capitalize formal titles used directly before a person’s name. Use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss) only in direct quotations. 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)
Who, whom
Who is the pronoun used for references to human beings into animals with the name. It is grammatically the subject (never the object) of a sentence, clause or phrase: The woman who rented the apartment and moved out without notifying the owner. Who is there?
Whom is used when someone is the object of the verb or proposition: The woman to whom the apartment was rented moved out without notifying the owner. Do you wish to see?
Months
Capitalize the names and all uses. When a month is used with the specific date, abbreviate only January., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov and December. Spell out the month with five letters or less: March, April, May, June and July. Spell out all months when using alone or with the year alone: The class ended in December . He was born in August 1980.(No, between the month and year if a specific date isn’t used.)
