WordsWay Copyediting
Answers: More Free Tips on Common Usage Errors
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1. etiology, or etymology?
etiology, US sp. of aetiology: the investigation or attribution of the cause or reason for something.
etymology: the study of the origin of words.
(The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford University Press, 1998. For UK spellings. A comprehensive dictionary for advanced users, like writers. Search their free online dictionary). [Back]2. sic: used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original.
(The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford University Press, 1998. For UK spellings. A comprehensive dictionary for advanced users, like writers. Search their free online dictionary).
Our Note: As a writer, use parentheses (), i.e. round brackets enclosing sic in italics, thus (sic), the parentheses being without italics. As an editor, prefer square brackets [] enclosing sic in italics, thus [sic], the brackets being without italics. This will easily distinguish an author's insertion from that of a copy editor. [Back]3. The correct form is:
While all authors would like to see their book in print at the earliest possible, publishers have their schedules and take anything from six months to two years.
Or
While every author would like to see his or her book in print at the earliest possible, publishers have their schedules and take anything from six months to two years.
For the usage of their, see the definitive and comprehensive guide for UK English usage, New Fowler's Modern English Usage, ed. R. W. Burchfield, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 776. [Back]4. The correct form is:
In his address to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the delegate from India apprised the heads of member states about the continuing Maoist insurgency in Nepal and its fallout.
Our Note: Note that the acronym is in all caps. [Back]5. The correct form is:
On the website of Encyclopædia Britannica, one can search for information from three encyclopedias, images, magazines, websites, and also Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus.
Our Note: From 2004, the Oxford dictionaries of English use the spelling website, but the Web; also the Internet. Note that Encyclopædia Britannica is spelt with the ligature æ, which, being part of a name, must have its spelling retained as published, while encyclopedias is spelt with an e since this is the spelling in the dictionary now. [Back]6. The correct form is:
The delegation from Chechnya not having arrived with its full complement, the talks had to be delayed.
Note its instead of their.
compliment: a polite expression of praise or admiration (she paid me an enormous compliment); and
complement: a number or quantity of something, especially that required to make a group complete (at the moment we have a full complement of staff) (The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford University Press, 1998). [Back]7. The correct form is:
Is it all right to start a chapter on the verso (left) page?
'The use of all right or inability to see that there is anything wrong with alright, reveals one's background, upbringing, education, etc., perhaps as much as any word in the language.' 'It is commonplace in private correspondence, esp. in that of the moderately educated young.' (New Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd edn, 1996, p. 43.)
But see the usage note for alright in The New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998, p. 49: 'There is no logical reason for insisting on all right as two words, when other single-word forms such as altogether have long been accepted.'
Our Note: In scholarly work, prefer all right. However, over time, alright is bound to be accepted even by purists. [Back]8. The correct form is:
It's all right to start a chapter on the recto (right) page.
It's is a syncopation (or shortened form) of It is, so takes an apostrophe in place of the missing letters, as in don't. But 'It's proper place is in a footnote' is incorrect, since It's is in the possessive case here, and should be without an apostrophe, Its. (New Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd edn, 1996, pp. 420–1, 422.)
See answer 7 above for alright vis-à-vis all right. [Back]9. The correct form is:
At the centre of the controversy was the decision of their officials to have separate gates for visitors of different nationalities to the American Center.
In UK English, centre is spelled thus, whereas in US English it is spelled center. However, the official name of an organization must be spelled as it is, American Center, not American Centre. Also note the correct sp. of separate, commonly misspelled (or misspelt) as seperate. [Back]10. The correct usage is:
The foreign minister met the delegations attending the council.
It is correct in US English, where meet/met with is common usage, not so in UK English, where with is not added. [Back]11. The correct usage is:
An FA cup match was the scene of a unique display of loyalty to local teams.
See Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press Oxford, 39th edn, Oxford University Press (pp. 1–2), the all-too-concise bible for UK English style, now out of print and replaced by the Oxford Guide to Style, by Robert Ritter; also The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edn (15th edn available now), Prentice-Hall, pp. 208–9; 464–5. The common perception that an precedes words beginning with vowels is incorrect. FA commonly being pronounced eff'aye' and not expanded and articulated as 'Football Association', it is preceded by an (an FA cup), because of the pronunciation eff'aye' wherein F is pronounced as a vowel eff. [Back]12. The correct usage is:
It will take a year more to get the team ready.
Contrary to common belief and practice, year is not preceded by an, but by a. See New Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd edn, 1996, p. 860.
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