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Hyphens with Numbers

Should you write 13-feet or 13 feet? Here is the rule: when you’re combining two or more words to form a compound adjective in front of a noun, put hyphens between these words.

Examples:
Lara handed me a 15-foot pole.
An 18-inch monitor is too big for my desk.
Emergency room nurses work 12-hour shifts.
Anthony swung his five-pound hammer.

In the above sentences, the measurements are compound adjectives describing nouns.

When numbers are used as nouns, don’t use a hyphen.

Examples:
Suzanne won the race by a solid 15 feet.
The room was 17 feet long.
Twelve hours later, he was exhausted.
Anthony’s hammer weighs five pounds.

To learn more about hyphens, click here.

Pop Quiz

Correct or incorrect?

1. Stella had her hair cut six-inches last week.

2. Her party shoes had three inch heels.

3. Can you lend me your 5-foot tape measure?

4. I am 5-feet-2-inches in my bare feet.

5. The water level rose 10-inches in just three hours.

Pop Quiz Answers

1. Stella had her hair cut six inches last week.

2. Her party shoes had three-inch heels.

3. Can you lend me your 5-foot tape measure? (Correct)

4. I am 5 feet 2 inches in my bare feet.

5. The water level rose 10 inches in just three hours.

Posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 10:45 am

Adding Suffixes: To Double or not to Double Consonants

Do you ever wonder if you should double a letter when adding a suffix? For example, why does shop become shopping, not shoping since hope becomes hoping, not hopping?

This week’s tip will help you spell correctly when adding suffixes. We have Lawrence K. to thank for sending this suggestion as well as for many of the examples.

Tip: When adding a suffix, double the final consonant if the preceding vowel would otherwise change from short to long.

Example: shop / shopping
Explanation: Without the additional “p,” the pronunciation would rhyme with hoping.

Example: bat / batted
Explanation: Without the additional “t,” the pronunciation would rhyme with gated.

Of course, what kind of English rule would we have without exceptions? (A consistent one?)

According to the tip, transit and profit should both have their consonants doubled when adding a suffix. Otherwise, the “i” becomes long. However, this is not the case.

Examples:
transit / transited / transiting
profit / profited / profiting

In an effort to make us feel even less secure with our spelling, some words are spelled correctly by either doubling the consonant or not.

Example: travel / traveling OR travelling (British preference)

The moral of the story is that we often have no choice but to look these words up or rely on spell checkers that don’t always catch these exceptions.

Pop Quiz

1. I am writing / writting my memoirs.

2. I need a new fited / fitted sheet for my bed.

3. She felt traped / trapped in her job.

4. The boat was propeled / propelled by jet fuel.

5. This document needs formating / formatting.

6. The announcer recaped / recapped the plays.

7. Her remains were intered / interred in the nearby cemetery.

8. His book still hasn’t been edited / editted.

9. She hoped that meditating would help her become enlightened / enlightenned.

10. Labeling / labelling your files thoughtfully will help you find them again later.

Pop Quiz Answers

1. I am writing my memoirs.

2. I need a new fitted sheet for my bed.

3. She felt trapped in her job.

4. The boat was propelled by jet fuel.

5. This document needs formatting.

6. The announcer recapped the plays.

7. Her remains were interred at the nearby cemetery.

8. His book still hasn’t been edited.

9. She hoped that meditating would help her become enlightened.

10. Labeling or Labelling your files thoughtfully will help you find them again later.

Posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 12:07 pm

Become a Better Writer Instantly

When you drive your car, there are laws you must follow. Well, there are also “laws” or criteria for writing effectively. Enhance your credibility and professional image instantly by paying attention to these criteria:

  • State the main point clearly, right at the beginning
  • Organize information logically
  • Leave out unnecessary information
  • Use short sentences and paragraphs
  • Eliminate unnecessary words
  • Include all necessary information
  • Use active, precise language and plain English
  • Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Data shows that people won’t read your document if it’s not presented clearly and that you have only about fifteen seconds to get someone’s attention.

This tip was contributed by WriteItWell.com, your editing partner.

Posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 12:03 pm

Parallel Construction

Sentences and lists are awkward when they contain a series of items with inconsistent grammatical structure. But as your reader scans through a series of items with parallel grammatical structure, the relationships between different items of information become clear. Here’s an example:

Which of the two sentences below is easier to follow?

At the February meeting we will hold a discussion of the new health plan, whether to revise the procedures manual, and then a draft will be developed of the early retirement policy.

At the February meeting, we will discuss the new health plan, decide whether to revise the procedures manual, and draft an early retirement policy.

In the second example, the parallel verb tenses saved space and helped us grasp the ideas immediately. To help your writing flow smoothly and make sense, use the same format for items you present in a series. To learn more about parallel construction, click here.

Pop Quiz
Rewrite these sentences using parallel construction.

1. Rita’s responsibilities include sorting the mail, answering the phone, and to run errands.

2. We have asked managers to reduce travel budgets by 20 percent and that expense reports should be submitted weekly.

Here are the answers with the parallel words underlined:

1. Rita’s responsibilities include sorting the mail, answering the phone, and running errands.

2. We have asked managers to reduce travel budgets by 20 percent and to submit expense reports weekly.

The same approach applies to lists, which are much easier to read when the grammar is parallel.

Incorrect Example
The agenda for the March meeting includes the following goals:

  • Discussion of the new health plan
  • Whether to revise the procedures manual
  • The early-retirement policy will change

Correct Example
The agenda for the March meeting includes the following goals:

  • Discussing the new health plan
  • Deciding whether to revise the procedures manual
  • Revising the early-retirement policy

Parallel construction can help you organize your thoughts, make your writing flow smoothly, and make your meaning clear immediately. (How is this sentence as an example of parallel construction?)

This tip was contributed by WriteItWell.com, your editing partner.

Posted on Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 at 3:01 pm