7: Spelling, Distinctive Treatment of Words, and Compounds
Overview
7.1Recommended dictionaries
7.2Spellings peculiar to particular disciplines
7.3Non-US spelling
7.4Supplementing the dictionary
Plurals
7.5Standard plural forms
7.6Alternative plural forms
7.7Plurals of compound nouns
7.8Plurals for centuries
7.9Plurals of proper nouns
7.10Plural form for Native American group names
7.11Singular form used for the plural
7.12Plural form of italicized words
7.13Plural form for words in quotation marks
7.14Plurals of noun coinages
7.15Plurals for letters, abbreviations, and numerals
Possessives
The General Rule
7.16Possessive form of most nouns
7.17Possessive of proper nouns, abbreviations, and numbers
7.18Possessive of words and names ending in unpronounced “s”
7.19Possessive of names like “Euripides”
Exceptions to the General Rule
7.20Possessive of nouns plural in form, singular in meaning
7.21“For . . . sake” expressions
7.22An alternative practice for words ending in “s”
Particularities of the Possessive
7.23Joint versus separate possession
7.24Compound possessives
7.25Possessive to mean “of”
7.26Double possessive
7.27Possessive versus attributive forms for groups
7.28Possessive with gerund
7.29Possessive with italicized or quoted terms
Contractions and Interjections
7.30Contractions
7.31Interjections
“A” and “An”
7.32“A” and “an” before “h”
7.33“A” and “an” before abbreviations, symbols, and numerals
Ligatures
7.34When not to use ligatures
7.35When ligatures should be used
Word Division
7.36Dictionary word division
7.37Word divisions that should be avoided
7.38Dividing according to pronunciation
7.39Dividing after a vowel
7.40Dividing compounds, prefixes, and suffixes
7.41Dividing words ending in “ing”
7.42Dividing proper nouns and personal names
7.43Dividing numerals
7.44Dividing numerals with abbreviated units of measure
7.45Division in run-in lists
7.46Dividing URLs and email addresses
7.47Hyphenation and appearance
Italics, Capitals, and Quotation Marks
7.48Setting off proper names and titles of works
7.49Italics and markup
Emphasis
7.50Italics for emphasis
7.51Boldface or underscore for emphasis
7.52Capitals for emphasis
Words from Other Languages
7.53Unfamiliar words and phrases from other languages
7.54Roman for familiar words from other languages
7.55Roman for Latin words and abbreviations
Highlighting Key Terms and Expressions
7.56Italics or boldface for key terms
7.57“Scare quotes”
7.58Mixing single and double quotation marks
7.59“So-called”
7.60Common expressions and figures of speech
7.61Signs and notices
7.62Mottoes
Words as Words and Letters as Letters
7.63Words and phrases used as words
7.64Letters as letters
7.65Scholastic grades
7.66Letters standing for names
7.67Letters as shapes
7.68Names of letters
7.69Rhyme schemes
Music: Some Typographic Conventions
7.70Suggested references for music publishing
7.71Musical pitches
7.72Octaves
7.73Chords
7.74“Major” and “minor”
7.75Dynamics
Computer Terms
7.76Application-specific versus generic usage
7.77Capitalization for keys, menu items, and file formats
7.78Keyboard combinations and shortcuts
7.79Setting off file names and words to be typed or selected
7.80Terms like “web” and “internet”
Compounds and Hyphenation
7.81To hyphenate or not to hyphenate
7.82Compounds defined
7.83The trend toward closed compounds
7.84Hyphens and readability
7.85Compound modifiers before or after a noun
7.86Adverbs ending in “ly”
7.87Multiple hyphens
7.88Suspended hyphens
7.89Hyphenation guide
Ana's Zone 