  THE difficulties which a writer encounters who has not firmly anchored himself to some recognized authority are many, and for those who have found this refuge to remain consistent is almost an impossibility. To the complications occasioned by variations in spelling certain words given authority by the different recognized dictionaries, there has been added more recently the bewilderment of the “reformed” spelling. To lay down hard-and-fast rules, therefore, would be an act of folly, but a safe guide to follow is to note that when two or more forms exist in any good usage, including good minority usage, or recent usage among bibliographers, scientists, and other systematic writers, the following rules are observed:
With this as a basis, the following rules may be formulated: NUMBERS1. Percentage should always take figures: e.g., 1?/?2 of 1 per cent. {32} 2. Spell out references to specific decades: e.g., Back in the eighties. 3. Spell out years and months in stating ages: e.g., Edward is five years and four months old. 4. Spell out numbers of centuries, dynasties, military bodies, streets and thoroughfares, sessions of Congress. 5. In statistical or technical matter figures should be used: e.g., The paper to be used is 33 × 44 inches, and weighs 120 pounds to the ream. 6. Spell out, in ordinary reading matter, all numbers of less than three digits: e.g., We have twenty-five titles, amounting to 250,000 volumes in all. 7. If, in a group of numbers, some consist of three digits and others of less, use figures for all: e.g., The packages contain, respectively, 50, 85, and 128 sheets, not fifty, eighty-five, and 128. 8. Spell out round numbers, but use figures for specific, even though approximate statements: e.g., The population of the United States is about one hundred millions; but, The population of the United States is 92,000,000. 9. Always spell out a figure, whatever its size, when it begins a sentence. If for any reason this is impracticable the sentence must be reconstructed. 10. In ordinary reading matter spell out the time of day, but in enumerations, and {33} always in connection with A.M. and P.M., use figures, omitting the word o’clock: e.g., The doors open at 7:30 P.M. DIPHTHONGS1. Avoid all diphthongs, especially Æ and oe, but retain Æ and oe in Latin words and in nominal English forms like formulÆ and other plurals, arbor vitÆ, etc. Established English words having now or formerly the ligature Æ or oe are generally written with the simple e. SIMPLE RULES OF ORTHOGRAPHY1. Monosyllablic words which end in f, l, or s, when preceded by a single vowel, double their final letter: e.g., muff, still, lass. Exceptions: clef, of, if, bul, nul, sal, sol, as, gas, has, was, yes, gris, is, his, this, pus, us, thus. 2. Monosyllabic words which end in consonants other than f, l, or s do not double their final letter. Exceptions: abb, add, ebb, odd, mumm, inn, bunn, err, purr, burr, butt, mitt, fizz, fuzz, buzz. 3. Monosyllabic words ending in a consonant immediately following a diphthong or a double vowel do not double their final letter. Exception: guess. 4. In monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable ending with a single consonant (excepting h or x) preceded by a single vowel, or by qu and a vowel, the final consonant is doubled before an added {34} termination beginning with a vowel, irrespective of the addition of another syllable: e.g., stop, stopped; regret, regretting. When, however, the place of the accent is changed by the added termination, the final consonant is not doubled: e.g., prefer´, pref´erable. 5. In monosyllables and words not accented on the last syllable, an added termination does not double the final consonant when it is preceded by a diphthong or by two vowels: e.g., profit, profited; cancel, canceled; benefit, benefited; equal, equality, novel, novelist, and all the derivatives of parallel. 6. Words which end in any double letters retain the double with a termination not beginning with the same letter. This rule also holds for derivatives formed by means of prefixes: e.g., agreeing, calling, recall. Exceptions: instalment, enrolment, skilful, wilful, enthralment, pontific, withal, until, and similar derivatives. 7. Words ending in -our, the u being unsounded, are spelled -or, with the exception of Saviour and glamour. The English custom is to retain the -our in most words having this ending. 8. Words derived from words ending in silent e after a consonant retain the e when the added termination begins with a consonant: e.g., state, statement, stately; pale, paleness; move, movement. Exceptions: abridgment, {35} acknowledgment, judgment, lodgment, nursling, wholly, wisdom. When another vowel (except e or i) immediately precedes the final e, the final e is usually dropped before a consonant: e.g., argue, argument; awe, awful; true, truly, etc. There are, however, many exceptions to this rule: e.g., eye, eyesight, etc. When the termination begins with a vowel, the final e is omitted: e.g., sale, salable; bride, bridal; force, forcible. Exceptions: mileage, etc. 9. When words end in ce or ge the final e is retained before added terminations beginning with a or o: e.g., change, changeable; courage, courageous. 10. In participles the final e is sometimes retained for the purpose of distinguishing them from other words pronounced the same but having a different meaning: e.g., singe, singeing, to distinguish from singing; dye, dyeing, to distinguish from dying, etc. The e is also retained in hoeing, toeing, and shoeing. 11. Words ending in ie change their termination to y upon adding ing: e.g., die, dying; vie, vying. 12. Words ending in y preceded by a consonant change the y to i before any added termination not beginning with i: e.g., {36} merry, merriment; happy, happiness. Exceptions: adjectives of one syllable: e.g., dry, dryly; sly, slyness. Also except derivatives formed by adding ship and hood: e.g., suretyship, babyhood; but hardihood. When the final y is preceded by a vowel, the y is usually changed to i: e.g., gay, gaiety; day, daily; pay, paid; lay, laid, etc. 13. The French ending -re in theater, center, meager, sepulcher, etc., is not now generally considered good usage. 14. The possessive of proper nouns ending in s or other sibilant is formed by adding the apostrophe and s if the word is of one syllable: e.g., James’s apple; but add the apostrophe alone if the word is of more than one syllable: e.g., For Jesus’ sake. 15. Words which in their shortest form end in -d, -de, -ge, -mit, -rt, -se, -ss take the ending -sion: e.g., abscind, abscission; seclude, seclusion; emerge, emersion; admit, admission; revert, reversion; confuse, confusion; impress, impression. Other words take the ending -tion. ACCENTED WORDSThe following is a partial list of words in common use in which accented letters occur: {37}
PARTICIPLESThese participles should be spelled as follows:
VARIABLE ENDINGS1. The following words are spelled with the termination ize:
2. The following words are spelled with the termination ise:
3. The following words have the termination -ible; words not included in this list {39} end in -able
4. These are the irregular forms of the endings -sion and -tion.
5. The following words are pronounced similarly, but the meaning changes with the spelling:
|
|
