The Style Book of The Detroit News Part 9

PREPOSITIONS

Be careful to use the proper prepositions in all connections.

Say _different from_, not _different to_.

We say a man lives _on_, not _in_, a street, an avenue, etc. Children play _in_ the street, but _on_ the pavement.

One writes _under_, not _over_, a signature. The preposition has no reference to the place of the signature.

Do not overwork _on the part of_. This phrase is often used where _by_ or _among_ is to be preferred, as, _Much patriotism is displayed on the part of the Greeks_.

Say _off_, not _off from_ or _off of_. _He fell off his horse_, or _He fell from his horse_.

Discriminate carefully between _beside_ and _besides_. The first is always a preposition and means either _by the side of_, as, _He stood beside me_, or _aside from_, or _out of_, as, _This is beside our present purpose_; _He was beside himself for joy_. _Besides_ is either preposition or adverb: as the former it means _in addition to_, as _Several others were present besides those you saw_; as adverb it means _moreover_ or _more than that_, as _There were, besides, many pompous volumes_.

Be careful with _between_ and _among_; _between_ is used with reference to two persons, parties or things; _among_ with reference to many: _In this city Democrats and Republicans divide the offices between them; in some cities they are distributed among all the parties_.

Distinguish between _in_ and _into_. _Into_ implies action. A man goes _into_ his house and then he is _in_ the house.

A person dies _of_ typhoid fever rather than _from_ typhoid fever.

Distinguish between _consist in_ and _consist of_. Virtue consists _in_ right living. The family consists _of_ seven persons.

A book is ill.u.s.trated _with_ sketches and it is ill.u.s.trated _by_ the artist who made the sketches.

Omit _from_ from the phrases _from hence_, _from thence_, _from whence_.

+-------------------------------------------+ MIRROR OF THE PUBLIC MIND ... INTERPRETER OF THE PUBLIC INTENT ... TROUBLER OF THE PUBLIC CONSCIENCE. +-------------------------------------------+

ARTICLES

Use an article with every noun of a series unless the nouns are so closely related that one concept is implied. Say, _The bread and jam was good_, but _The bread and the jam were good_. Say, _A horse and buggy_, but _A man and a woman_.

Do not repeat an article before each adjective of a series when all modify the same noun. Say, _A red, white and blue flag_. If you mean three flags, say, _A red, a white, and a blue flag_.

Do not write _a_ or _an_ after _sort of_ and _kind of_. Make it: _He is the right sort of man for mayor_.

The definite article is used too often when it might better be omitted, as in this sentence: _The study of the dictionary is helpful_. Write it: _Study of the dictionary_.

NUMBERS

The general rule on The News is that all numbers above nine shall be written in figures, and that all numbers below 10 shall be spelled out.

There are, of course, many exceptions to this rule. Figures are always used for degrees of lat.i.tude and longitude, degrees of temperature, per cent, prices, racing time, scores, definite sums of money, time, votes, dates (as Sept. 27), ages, street numbers and tabulated statistics.

Spell out indefinite figures, as _about a dollar's worth_.

Use Roman numerals in writing of kings, as _George V_, and then without a period. Do not use Roman numerals in designating centuries. Write it _fourteenth century_, not _XIVth century_.

Write _Monday at 8 a. m._, not _at 8 o'clock on Monday morning_.

Spell out such expressions as _the early seventies_.

Use figures in dimensions when written thus: _a lot 46 feet_.

All ages shall be written thus: _John Smith, 8 years old_. Do not write it: _John Smith, aged 8_, or _aged eight_. It will be easy to remember the rule if you observe that in writing it thus: _John Smith, aged 18, 48 Jones street_, you are opening an opportunity for an error easily made. It may appear: _John Smith, aged 184, 8 Jones street_.

All ordinals are spelled out. Write it _thirtieth_, not _30th_. Write a date: _Feb. 6_, not _February 6th_, or _February sixth_.

Do not use both numerals and figures spelled out in one phrase. Write it: _Eight feet eleven inches_. If in a phrase a number over 10 precedes a number under 10, express both in figures, thus _18 hours 4 minutes_.

If vice versa, express it thus: _two hours eighteen minutes_.

ROMAN NUMERALS

I 1 II 2 III 3 IV 4 V 5 VI 6 VII 7 VIII 8 IX 9 X 10 XIX 19 XX 20 x.x.x 30 XL 40 L 50 LX 60 LXX 70 Lx.x.x 80 XC 90 C 100 CL 150 CC 200 CCC 300 CCCC 400 D 500 DC 600 DCC 700 DCCC 800 DCCCC 900 M 1,000

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

7.92 inches make 1 link.

25 links make 1 rod.

16.50 feet make 1 rod.

4 rods make 1 chain.

10 chains make 1 furlong.

8 furlongs make 1 mile.