Nice Publication—Until You Read It
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Nice Publication—Until You Read It
A table by the front door of a hip Northern California restaurant is stacked with complimentary copies of a forty-three-page mini-magazine. This handsome brochure, produced by the company that manages the establishment, is printed on thick, textured paper. It’s full of sumptuous full-color photos depicting the glories of food and drink. Somebody spent a lot of time and money on this. But despite a generous budget and a staff of editors, the written content seems to be an afterthought.
The table of contents lists the wrong page for two of the magazine’s seven articles.
In an introduction, the editor-in-chief writes, “We are enamored by every inch of San Francisco,” even though enamored traditionally takes the preposition of or with. He goes on to call San Francisco “one of the most unique cities in the world.” A good copyeditor would remove “most.” All proficient editors know that unique—meaning “one of a kind”—should stand alone.
In a piece about a farmers’ market, we find “locally-sourced seafood” and “recently-opened bar.” An article about a Napa Valley honey farm refers to “strategically-placed bee hives.” Anyone who ever took Proofreading 101 knows that adverbs ending in ly should not be hyphenated. (And beehive has been one word for eight centuries.)
Proofreading 101 also drills students on avoiding danglers, yet this booklet is teeming with them. In an article about a seafood merchant named Joe, we read this: “Based in San Francisco, Joe’s fish can be found on dozens of menus.” (Joe is based there, not the fish.) A few pages later we find, “Open for breakfast and lunch, you can get the best eggs in the city …” (This inept sentence says that “you” are open for breakfast and lunch.)
Other gaffes range from clumsy to clueless. America’s “west coast” is mentioned but not capitalized. A fish’s texture is called “velvety-like,” even though velvety by itself means “like velvet.” Whoever wrote “a couple bites of leftovers” and “a couple calls came in” thinks couple is an adjective. In fact, it’s a noun, requiring of (“couple of bites,” “couple of calls”).
If a company wishes to make a good impression, you’d think fluent grammatical English would be a crucial part of the presentation.
This restaurant’s management group wouldn’t endorse serving baked orange roughy on paper plates with plastic utensils, or Russian osetra caviar on Wonder Bread slathered in Miracle Whip.
So why produce a sleek publication filled with gorgeous images, only to bring the whole thing crashing down with sloppy articles written by feckless amateurs? Maybe this inattention to detail says something dark about the company. Or maybe it’s just further evidence that clear and precise writing is becoming as outmoded and quaint as pay phones and post offices.
Pop Quiz
Fix any sentences that need correcting. Our answers are below.
1. The show’s lead role is played by a nationally-famous movie star.
2. Born and raised in Queens, Mr. Walken’s first education for the stage involved dance lessons.
3. The food of New Orleans is absolutely unique—and sinfully delicious.
4. We were lost until a kindly-looking man helped us find our hotel.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. The show’s lead role is played by a nationally famous movie star.
2. Mr. Walken was born and raised in Queens. His first education for the stage involved dance lessons.
3. The food of New Orleans is unique—and sinfully delicious.
4. We were lost until a kindly-looking man helped us find our hotel. CORRECT (“kindly” is an adjective here, not an adverb)
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Why is this excerpt from the above blog correct: “If a company wishes to make a good impression, you’d think fluent grammatical English would be a crucial part of the presentation”? It would seem like this prepositional phrase would modify “it” or “the company,” rather than “you.” This isn’t an easy dangling modifier, so please enlighten me. Thank you.
We stand by the sentence.
Excellent!
I don’t like admitting it, however, the last sentence of this article appears to be correct! Unfortunately, our society and our grammar are rapidly disappearing into oblivion due to the lack of emphasis on real education in our society today.
Thank you for your continued efforts! I will continue with my efforts in my world . . . My children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews! I’m proud to say, I’m making an impact. They have a healthy respect for the King’s English!
Good for you. We believe that it’s up to all of us individually to hold the line against illiteracy, just as you say you are doing.
I’m afraid “that clear and precise writing is becoming as outmoded and quaint as pay phones and post offices.” Do we have texting to partially blame for that, or are we just not requiring clear and precise writing in our schools? It’s really pretty scary.
Some of us think it’s more the education system’s fault. The laissez-faire ’70s really de-emphasized grammar drills; some social commentary said that “standard English” was racist. Teachers backed off.
That’s not to say that texting isn’t playing a role as well.
Is it correct to say “Section 15 of the text indicates …”? Or would some other verb be better?
Your phrase is correct, however, whether there is a better verb depends on the rest of your sentence.
“So why produce a sleek publication filled with gorgeous images, only to bring the whole thing crashing down with sloppy articles written by feckless amateurs?”
Why? Because this is the Holy Roman Empire, lady. We’re in the last days before the fall. It’s ALL about thick paper and glossy imagery. Hard work and giving a shit is as useless today as the aqueduct.
But you know what? None of that matters. Picasso and Jackson Pollack were devoted students of the figure, chiaroscuro and learning it right so they could do whatever the hell they wanted.
Keep it up. Do it because it’s right; not because we’re reading! (Pssst: we’re reading.)
You mention that “anyone who ever took Proofreading 101 knows that adverbs ending in ly should not be hyphenated.” Yet my understanding of compound words that form a single adjective is that they should be hyphenated. The complication comes into play in the case when the adverb (ending in ly) stands alone with the word it’s qualifying, or when it’s part of a compound word (?) that is, in turn, qualifying a noun.
For instance, I think there’s a big difference between “seafood that is locally sourced” (decidedly not and “locally-sourced seafood” (which I think should be hyphenated), or between “the bar that recently opened” and the “recently-opened bar.” I learned that compounded words that, when combined, act as a single adjective, should be hyphenated. After all, we hyphenate “he’s a one-in-a-million kind of guy” (not the best example) and any number of other compounds words, many of which are composed of more than one or even two words. Why not a compound adjective that happens to contain an adverb?
I’m really seeking clarification on this because it has plagued me for some time.
Oh, and while I’m at it, I have found it troublesome seeing people not hyphenate a full compound word when it contains a proper place name, such as “New York-born”. I have always thought it should be “New-York-born”.
Our Rule 3 of Hyphens Between Words should be of help here:
Rule 3. An often overlooked rule for hyphens: The adverb very and adverbs ending in -ly are not hyphenated.
Incorrect: the very-elegant watch
Incorrect: the finely-tuned watch
This rule applies only to adverbs. The following two sentences are correct because the -ly words are adjectives rather than adverbs:
Correct: the friendly-looking dog
Correct: a family-owned cafe
Remember that adverbs are words that modify verbs or adjectives. In “the bar that recently opened,” “recently” is an adverb modifying “opened,” which is serving as a verb in that phrase. In “recently opened bar,” “recently” is an adverb modifying “opened,” which is serving as an adjective in that phrase. The same goes for “seafood that is locally sourced” and “locally sourced seafood,” In each case “recently” and “locally” remain adverbs and therefore are not hyphenated.
Rules result from necessity. Hyphens are used to clarify and remove ambiguity. They are tricky only because too many writers don’t realize that what they write could be unclear to a reader who doesn’t know what the writer means. There could never be any reason to hyphenate New York, because no one on earth would be confused by it in a compound adjective.
Thank you for clarifying use of the word, unique. I was watching several episodes of “Selling New York” on HGTV, and it was annoying how often someone used the words “very unique property” or “it’s quite unique.” Sometimes it occurred more than once in the same episode. I checked to see if I was correct and was happy to see that I had been using “unique” in the proper sense.
There is no apostrophe after the word farmers in farmers market.
The following is from The Chicago Manual of Style‘s Rule 7.27:
Although terms denoting group ownership or participation sometimes appear without an apostrophe (i.e., as an attributive rather than a possessive noun), Chicago dispenses with the apostrophe only in proper names (often corporate names) that do not officially include one. In a few established cases, a singular noun can be used attributively; if in doubt, choose the plural possessive. (Irregular plurals such as children and women must always be in the possessive.)
children’s rights (or child rights)
farmers’ market
women’s soccer team
boys’ clubs
veterans’ organizations
players’ unions
taxpayers’ associations (or taxpayer associations)
consumers’ group (or consumer group)
but
Publishers Weekly
Diners Club
Department of Veterans Affairs
In some cases, the distinction between attributive and possessive is subtle. Of the following two examples, only the first connotes actual possession.
the Lakers’ game plan (the team’s game plan)
but
the Lakers game (the game featuring the team)
When in doubt, opt for the possessive.
More information about this topic can be found in our post Confusing Possessives.