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Updated: March 2013

Style GuideEDITORIAL

Government Communication and Information System2

Editorial Style Guide 2013

1. GOLDEN RULES FOR GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATORS

• Government publications should provide a balancedpresentationwithout bias, distortion, undue emphasis oromission.Anydefamatoryinformationbasedonhearsayorunsubstantiatedallegationsorclaimsisprohibited.

• Inreportingandcommenting,allgovernmentpublicationsshouldbefair,honestandconsiderate.• Producewell-researchedinformationbasedonfacts.• Checkallfacts,figures,dates,citations,titles,initialsandthespellingofnames.• Allsourcesofinformation,unlessstatedotherwise,mustalwaysbeacknowledged.• Donotcopytextfromothersourceswithoutacknowledgingthesource.Alwaysacknowledgethesourceororiginal

reportyouarereferringto.• Inanypieceofwriting,bearinmindthefiveWsandanH(what,where,who,when,whyandhow).Answerthese

questionstomakesureyouhavecoveredeverything.• Defamatory,racist,gender-insensitive,blasphemousoroffensivematerialisprohibited.• Avoidusinggender-sensitivewords.Usechairpersoninsteadofchairmanandchairwoman/lady,andspokesperson

insteadofspokesman;alsopoliceofficer,fireofficerandstaffnurse(insteadofsister).• Theintroductionmustbebriefandlogical–andlessthan30words.• Yourwritingshouldbebriefandclear:

• Usedirectexpressionsandavoidunnecessarywordsandphrases.• Usethecorrectwordordertoavoidambiguity.• Punctuatesentencescorrectly.• Useshortsentencesandsimplelanguagethateverybodycanunderstand.• Usesimplevocabulary,forexample:

• oftennotfrequently;usenotutilise;putintooperation;notoperationalise.• Avoidredundantwordsthatrepeatwhattheinitialwordsstandfor:ATMmachine,HIVvirus,PINnumbers,

IDdocument,ISBNnumber,etc.• Avoidredundantphrasesorwordssuchas:begintobeseento,basically,intermsof,essentially,inaccord-

ancewith,inregardsto,ona…basis,etc.• Everysentencemusthaveaverb.Sentencescanbeeitheractiveorpassive,e.g:

• Theprofessorteachesthestudents(active);• Thestudentsaretaughtbytheprofessor(passive).

• Trytouseactiveverbswherepossible.Avoidnounisms(nounsderivedfromverbs)whereverpossible:informnotinformation;governnotgovernment;investnotmakeaninvestmentin.Also,collaborate,nottopartnerwith.(Seesections3and6.3below.)

• Use“the”toprecedeanounwhenreferringtoaspecificorknowninstance:theformerPresidentofSouthAfrica,MrNelsonMandela.• Use“a”or“an”whenreferringgenerally:aformerpresident;acommuter;anATM.I’mlookingforanATM;the

ATMyouneedisaroundthecornerillustratesthedifferenceinusagebetween“a”and“an”indirectspeech.• Informalorofficialwriting,writeoutwordsinfull:wasnotinsteadofwasn’t.• Double-checkyourworkforcorrectspellingandpunctuation.• Usedoublequotationmarks.“...”Forquoteswithinaquote,usedoubleouterquotationmarksandsingleinner

quotes.• Spelloutallabbreviationsthefirsttimeyouusethem,withtheabbreviationinbrackets;andabbreviatethereafter.

Usecapitallettersforabbreviations(e.g.CSIR,HSRC),butupperandlowercaseforacronyms(e.g.Nepad,Cosatu)(“Ifit’sspokenlikeaword,usethelowercaseacronymform;ifoneletteratatimeispronounced,useuppercase”).Notethatthereareexceptionstothisrule(e.g.AsgiSA,dplg,AIDS,UNESCOetc.).

• Usefullstopsinabbreviationssuchase.g.,i.e.,etc.,Adm.,Brig.,Col.,Gen.• Spelloutnumbersfromonetonine;usefiguresfrom10upward.Exception:whenthere’sastringofthreeormore

numeralsinasingleparagraph,then,tomakecomparisoneasier,makethemallfigures.• Writedecimalandnegativenumbersasnumerals:3,3and-4.Usethedecimalcomma*,notthedecimalpoint:17,4

million.• WhenSouthAfricaadoptedthemetricsystem,italsoadoptedthecommaasitsdecimalmark.However,be

alerttothefactthatmanyothercountries,usethedecimalpoint.

Government Communication and Information System 3


• Donotbeginasentencewithanumeral:eitherspelloutthenumberorrewritethesentencetomovethenumberfromthebeginning.Hyphenatewritten-outnumbersfromtwenty-onetoninety-nine.Donothyphenateonehun-dred,twohundred,etc.

• Hyphenateagesintheformoffour-year-old,16-year-olds,etc.• Note:twohyphens,notone.• Usenumeralswithmillion(ThedealwasworthR4million),butuseahyphenwhenitisusedadjectivally(Itwasa

R4-milliondeal).• Nospacebetweennumberand%,e.g.5%orbetweennumberand°,e.g.16°.• TheSI(metric)systemrequiresaspacetobeinsertedbetweennumeralsandsymbols:5kg,150km,60sand18

°C.Onlysymbolsderivedfrompropernouns(names)shouldbeuppercase:K(thekelvin),Pa(thepascal),etc.• Wordsgowithwordsnumbersgowithsymbols:I.e.sixmicronbut5mm.• Useaspace,notcommas,toindicatethousands:3000;20000.• Dateformat:19November2010.• Reportedspeechiswritteninthepasttense:Theministersaidshewasconsideringamendingtheact...;orHesaid

theweaknessesneededtobeaddressed• Avoidusingtoomanyadjectivesandadverbs.Thesemaybeusedtoalimitedextentinsubjectivestoriesoressays,

usuallypublishedunderabyline(e.g.ininternalnewsletters),butnotinofficialbrochures,posters,etc.• DonotuseMr,Mrs/Ms,onlywriteatitleifthepersonhasaprofessionaltitlesuchasDr,Prof.andmilitaryand

policeranks.• Drdoesnottakeafullstopbecausethelastletterisalsothelastletterofthetitle.TitlessuchasProf.andRev.do

takeafullstopbecausethewordiscutoffinthemiddle.• Wordsfromlanguagesother than South Africa’s 11 official languagesmustbewritteninitalics.• UseBritish,NOTAmerican,spelling(e.g.apologisenotapologize,programmenotprogram(exceptforcomputer

program),centrenotcenter,colournotcolor).

Standard reference tools:

Butcher’sCopy-editing(4thedition,2008)G.V.CareyMindtheStop:ABriefGuidetoPunctuation(Penguin,1980)MartinManserCollinsDictionaryforWritersandEditors(2007)NewHart’sRules(2005)NewOxfordDictionaryforWritersandEditors(2005)OxfordManualofStyle(2002)SouthAfricanConciseOxfordDictionary(2002;2ndedition,2010)

2. CHECKLISTS FOR VARIOUS FORMS OF WRITING

2.1 Writing a communication strategy

Thefollowingistheofficialformatforwritingacommunicationstrategy:

• background• objectives• environment• communicationchallenges• messagesandthemes• messengers,audiencesandchannels,typesofevent• aphasedcommunicationprogramme• structuresandprocesses• actionplan,includingbudgetimplications.



• Usedecimalnumbering.Indentsubcategoriessuchas1.1,withafurtherindentationforsubsequentsubcatego-ries,suchas1.1.2.Afterthislevel,usea,b,corbullets.Thisallowsforeasierreference.

11.11.21.2.11.2.21.2.3

abc

1.3

• ThecompleteguidelineonstrategisingforcommunicationisavailablefromtheGCISProjectDesk.

2.2 Writing articles

Asuccessfularticleincludes:

• atitle• author’sbyline• abstract(maximumof100words)• aclearintroductoryparagraphthatanswersthefiveWsandanH(what,where,who,when,whyandhow).Keep

itshort.Itshouldcontainthethesisstatement• acoherentandlogicaldevelopmentofideas• subheadingsthatactas“signposts”tothereader,indicatingthecontenttofollow• thecorrectfactsanddetails• simplelanguageandsentences• apowerfulconcludingparagraphthatdrawstogetherthemainideas(itmustconclude,notjustsummarise)• areadablelayout• perfectgrammarandspelling• footnotesorendnotes,wherenecessary.

2.3 Writing reports

Areportisalwayswrittenforaspecificaudienceandhasadefinitepurpose.Reportsareoftenusedtohelpindecision-making.

Reports:• haveclearlydefinedsections• areclearlyandlogicallywrittenandorganised• areobjectiveanduseaformal,impersonalstyle• arebasedoncarefulresearchandfacts• donotuse:• abbreviatedgrammar(can’t,shouldn’t;orsentenceswithoutsubjectsorfiniteverbs)• first-personreporting(I,me,we)• colloquialismsorslang• jargonthatpotentialreaderswillnotunderstand• writer’spersonalopinions.



Thetraditionalformatofreportsisasfollows:

• titlepage• termsofreference(brief)• summaryofthereport(“executivesummary”),whichmustcompriseonesentencepersectionofthereport• tableofcontents• introductiongivingthebackgroundandlistingtheaims• maintextofthereport,subdividedintosections,ifthereportislong• finding(s)• conclusion(s)• recommendation(s)(ifappropriate)• listofsourcesconsulted• appendices.

Eachoftheseshouldbethesubheadingforeachsectionofareport.

2.4 Writing proposals

Aproposalissimilartoareport,butitisadocumentintendedtomotivateorpersuadethereader.Theformatofapreliminaryproposalisusually:• astatementoftheproblemandobjectives• methodstobeusedandrecommendations• projectedcosts.

Thetraditionalformatofafullproposalisthefollowing:• titlepage• tableofcontents• summaryoftheproposal(onesentencepersection)• backgroundtotheresearch• proposedactiontobetaken• projectbudget• scheduleofworkwithtimeframesanddeadlines• evaluationoftheanticipatedsuccessoftheproject• appendices(asnecessary).

Eachoftheseshouldbethesubheadingforeachsectionofareport.

2.5 Writing minutes

Minutesarenotaverbatimaccountofproceedings,butawrittenrecordofdecisionstaken.Theymayserveasalegaldocumentandshouldthereforebeaccurate.

Minutesensurethatproposedactionsandresponsibilitiesarerecordedandthereforetheyshouldhaveanactionanddeadlinecolumninwhichthepersonresponsibleforanagreedactionandthedeadlinearerecorded.

Minutesshould:• begovernedintheirformbytheagendaforthemeeting• beconcise(withoutbeingtoobrief)• indicatethedate,timeandplaceofthemeeting,listthenamesofthosepresentandwhoabsentedthemselves,

andindicatewhopresidedoverthemeeting• coverallthemajorpointsdiscussed• beobjective,factualandnotcontainopinionsaboutmattersorpeople



• beaccurate,sothattherecanbenoargumentormisinterpretation• bedetailedregardingallcontractsandfinancialmatters,appointmentstopositions,authorisedactionsandresolu-

tionspassed• bewritteninthepasttense(Thematterwasraised,debated,notedon,passedunanimously)• containalistofactionstobetakenandbywhomandwhen,aswellasdecisionsmade,attheendoftheminutes.

2.6 Writing business correspondence

Businesscorrespondenceisoftentheonlycommunicationpeoplehavewithanorganisation.Anywrittencommunica-tionservesasalegaldocument.Correspondenceincludesbusinessletters,memosande-mails.

2.6.1 Business letters

• Mustalwaysbewrittenonaletterhead.• Theyfollowafixedformat:writer’saddress;recipient’saddress;date;greeting(Dear…),subjectline,bodyofletter,

salutation,signatureandnameofwriter.• Usesimplelanguageandshortsentencesandparagraphs.• Ideasmustflowlogically,statingthemainpointoftheletterupfront,followedbysupportingstatements.• Uselinkwords(first,second;therefore;conversely;inaddition;consequently;however,etc.)toconnectideasand

statementsbetweensentencesandparagraphs.• Writeaclear,briefandmeaningfulsubjectlineandputthemostimportantinformationfirst.• Neverusejargon,clichésorunnecessaryabbreviations.• Donotrelyonyourspellchecker(trail,trial;may,many;it’s,itsarealllegitimate,butcouldbeamisspelling)–al-

waysreadthedocumentsthroughandcheckforerrors,especiallyspellingerrors.• Endoffwithapleasant,positivefinalparagraph,ifpossible.

2.6.2 Memos

• Memosareusedinternallybetweencolleaguesanddepartmentstopassoninformationandrequestaction,ortheyserveasarecordorreminder.

• Theyfollowafixedformat.• Memosusebrief,clearwritingandafriendlytone,withoutbeingcolloquial.

2.6.3 E-mails

• Giveasuitable,clearsubjectlinesothattherecipientknowsimmediatelywhatit’sabout.• Usefullsentences,short,logicalparagraphsandcorrectpunctuation.• Preferablylimitthemessagetooneideaperparagraph,otherwisesomeideasmightnotberead.• Confirmwithrecipientsbeforehandwhethertheywantanattachmente-mailed.• Printandfileallmessagesthatcontaininstructionsorpolicydecisions.• Double-checkwhetherrecipientshavereceivedtheire-mailsbyfollowingupwithane-mailrequest.

3. USING PLAIN LANGUAGE

Itisimportanttofollowplainlanguageprincipleswhenwritingdocumentsandcorrespondence.Thesearesetoutinthesectionbelow.

3.1 Donotassumeyourreaderwillunderstandwhatyouknow.Infact,acceptthattheywillnotunderstandwhatyouwillbeconveying.Thisway,you’llexplainordescribeitsimplyandclearlyandmakesurethatalltechnicalordifficulttermsandconceptsareexplainedorglossed.Wheneverpossible,usesimplerwordsandshortersentences,becausethesemakeiteasierforreaderstoaccessinformation.Plain language writing should not



be confused with underestimating your readers’ intelligence. It is therefore writing in a concise and straight-forward way.

3.2 Write as you speak

• Thisdoesnotmeanyoushoulduseslang,badgrammar,poorEnglishorjargon,butyoucanuseamorepersonaltonetoaddressyourreaders.

• Byusingpersonalreferencessuchasweandyou,readerswillfeelthatyouaretalkingtothempersonally:not“Yourletterof3Mayrefers”but“Iwriteinresponsetoyourletterof3May”.

• Ifyouusecomplicatedorunfamiliarwordsyouwillfrightenyourreadersofformakethemfeelinadequate:not“remuneration”but“pay”;not“takecognisanceof”but“consider”.

• Ifyouuseover-longsentences,youeitherintimidateyourreadersorfrightenthemoff.Longsentencesnotonlylookdaunting,butarealsodifficulttofollow.(Onaverage,yoursentencesshouldbebetween10and13wordslongforGrade12andfirst-yearuniversitystudents.)

3.3 Plan before your write

• Planwhatyouaregoingtowritebeforeyoustart.Themoreyouplan,themoreorganisedandeffectiveyourwritingwillbe.

• Writeaskeletonoutlineoramind-mapofthemainpointsyouknowyoumustcover.Gettheminthecorrectorderfirst,thenfleshthemoutintologicallyarrangedsentencesandparagraphs.

• Askingquestionsisagoodwaytoplan.Forexample:• WhoamIwritingfor?(reader-centredness)• Whoaremyreaders?Lookatfactorssuchasage,gender,cultureandeducation.Youranswertothisquestionwill

determineyourwordchoice,sentencelengthandlevelofabstraction.• Whatdotheyneedtoknow?• DoIneedtoaddressproblemstheymighthavewiththeinformation?• WilltheyunderstandthetechnicaltermsIuse?Ifnot,andifIcan’tavoidthem,shouldIglossthemsomehow?• Whatistheirattitudetowardsthetopic?Favourableorhostile?• HaveIansweredalltheirquestions?• WhyamIwriting?• WhatamItryingtoachievewithmywriting?Describe?Explain?Justify?Convince?Defend?Orsimplyrespondto

aquestionorasetofquestions?• WillIbeabletoachievemyaimwiththeinformationIhaveordoIneedtogathermoreinformation?• WhatresponsedoIwantfrommyreadersoncetheyfinishreadingmydocument?• WillmyreadersbeclearaboutwhatIwantoncetheyfinishreadingmydocument?• Whatisthemostimportantpoint?• WhatisthemostimportantthingIwantmyreaderstoknow?HowdoIensureit iscommunicatedclearlyand

strongly?• AmIclearaboutthecentralissueofmydocument?HaveIgivenitsufficientprominence?• AmIgoingtoconfusemyreadersifIgivethemallthedetailsofmyresearch?Ifyes,theneithersummarisethe

salientpointsbrieflyorrelegateittoanappendixoreliminatethedetailcompletely.• CanIcutoutsomeoftheinformation?Identifyinformationthatcanbedeleted(andberuthlessindoingso).• WhatistheonethingIwantmyreaderstoremember?WhattechniquedoIemploytoensurethatthishappens?

3.4 Principles of writing in plain language

• Writeinformativeheadingsandsubheadingstoguideyourreadersandtowhettheirappetites.• Useplain(i.e.simpler)words:“try”,not“endeavour”;“placesidebyside”,not“juxtapose”.• Avoidjargonandclichés:theyoftencontain“hidden”meaningthatnoteveryonecanaccess.Forexample,what

does“asthecrowflies”meanliterally?And“toleavenostoneunturned”?Phrasessuchas“intermsof”and“overandabove”arealsoclichésthatshouldbeavoided.



• Minimisetheuseofacronyms(Unisa)andabbreviations(SADC).Ifyouwanttouseanabbreviationoranacronym,writeoutthewordinfullandputthecontractedterminbracketsafterit,oruseaglossarytogivetheirmeanings.Onlyexplaintheacronymandabbreviationonce.Thereafter,referonlytotheacronym.

TheSouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity(SADC)decidedtocancelcustomsduty.DelegatesattheSADCconfer-encewerepositiveaboutthenewdevelopments.

• Getridofneedlesswords:“anecessaryprerequisite”shouldbereducedto“aprerequisite”;“setupandestab-lished”shouldbereducedtoeither“setup”or“established”;use“about”or“of”insteadof“intermsof”.

• Usetheactivevoice:“Iwillrepairyourwatch.”,not“Yourwatchwillberepairedbyme.”• Usestrongverbs:“I’dliketocooperatewithyou”,not“Cooperationwithyouwillbegood”;“Hewantsanassis-

tant.”,not“Anassistantiswantedbyhim.”• Writeshortsentencesandparagraphs:forexample,atGrade12andfirst-yearuniversitylevel,sentencelength

shouldaveragebetween10and13words!Placealimitofonemainthoughtperparagraph.• Useverticallistsandtables.Thesemaketextvisuallyappealingandmuchclearer.• Givetextsaclearlayoutanddisplayfeaturesonapagethatgivecluestothecontentandencouragefurtherread-

ing.

4. ENGLISH GRAMMAR TROUBLESHOOTING

4.1 Parts of speech

Inthissection,wecoveraspectsoftheusageofnouns,pronouns,adjectives,verbs,adverbs,prepositions,conjunc-tionsandarticles–particularlythoseaspectsthattypicallygivewritersandeditorstrouble.Typicalproblemareasarehighlighted,wherenecessary,andcorrectformsgiven.

4.1.1 Nouns

Anounisawordusedfornamingobjectssuchaspeople,animals,placesorthings:Harry,cat,Pofadder(theplace),store,ladder,PrimeMinister.

Problemareas:massvscountnouns;classicalvsmodernplurals;groupnouns:singularorplural?;nounsinapposition;capitallettersornot?

• Mass vs count nouns

Nounssuchaswater,sugarandsandareknownasmassnouns–youcan’tcountanyofthem.Whenweaskques-tionsaboutthem,weask,forexample,“Howmuch…?”Andwealsouse“less”whencomparingonemasstoanother:“Thereislesssandinthisbucketthaninthatbucket.”Similarly,wetalkaboutthe“amount”ofamassnoun:“They’vedeliveredalargeamountofsandtothebuildingsite.”Andwealsouse“much”inconnectionwithmassnouns:“Howmuchwaterdoyoudrinkeveryday?”

Nounssuchasmarbles,coins,bottlesandpeopleareknownascountnouns–youcancountindividualitems.Whenweaskquestionsaboutthem,weask“Howmany…?”Andwealsouse“fewer”whencomparingonemasstoanother:“Therearefewerpeopleheretodaythantherewereyesterday.”Similarly,wetalkaboutthe“number”ofacountnoun:“Alargenumberofpeopleattendedherfuneral.”Andwealsouse“many”inconnectionwithcountnouns:“HowmanybottlesofwatershouldIputout?”

Also,althoughyoucanphysicallycountmoney,itisregardedasamassnoun.Youthereforesay:“Howmuchmoneydoyouhave.”



Tip:Makesurewhetheranounismassorcountbeforeyouuseitinthesecontexts.Acommonerror,forexample,istowriteof“Alargeamountofpeople”insteadoda“largenumberofpeople”and“Ihavefewerwaterthanyou”insteadof“Ihavelesswaterthanyou”and“Therearelesspensinthatboxthaninthisone”insteadof“therearefewerpensinthatboxthaninthisone.”

• Classical vs modern plurals

EnglishhasinheritedmanynounsfromclassicalLatinandGreek.Whilesuchwordshaveretainedtheirclassicalspell-ings(includingpluralforms),alargenumberhaveacquired“modern”spellingsovertime.Unlessweknowtherootsofsomewords,we’relikelytogettheirsingularandpluralformswrong.Nowadays,we’llfindbothstadia(classical)andstadiums(modern)aspluralformsofstadium,forexample.Wemustbecareful,however,nottoapplythisconventiontoALLnounsofclassicalorigin.

SingularClassicalpluralModernplural

• stadium-stadia-stadiums• forum–fora-forums• criterion-criteria-criteria(notcriterias)• phenomenon-phenomena-phenomena(notphenomenas)• virus-viri-viruses• bacterium-bacteria-bacteria(notbacterias)• medium-media-media/mediums*• datum-data-data+• formula-formulae(inscience)-formulas(generally)• stigma-stigmata-stigmata/stigmas

• Mediumsarepeoplewhocommunicatebetweenthedeadandtheliving.Mediaarethingslikenewspapers,magazines,radio,televisionandbillboards.Althoughinthepastsomeeditorshaveinsistedthatthewordme-diaisalwayspluralthisisnowredundant.Itiscompletelyfinetosay,Themediais…whenreferringtonewspa-pers,magazinesetc.

• Generally,dataisplural(dataare);inIT,though,dataissingular(datahas).

Tip:Memorisethecorrectmodernsingularandpluralforms.Formoreaboutplurals,refertosection6.2Plurals.

• Group nouns: singular or plural?

Arenounssuchasboard,committee,company,province,teamanduniversitysingularorplural?Well,theycanbeeitherdependinguponthecontext.Contextdetermineswhethertheentityasawholeortheindividualcomponentsarebeingdescribed.Forexample,ontwonewspaperpostersweread:

Provincegetscleanaudit(singular) ProvincetakeonBlueBulls(plural)

Inthefirstsentence,“province” issingularbecause itreferstoanentity,theprovincialgovernment. Inthesecondsentence,“province”ispluralbecausealltheindividualmembersarebeingreferredto.Nowconsiderthesetwosen-tences:

Englandexpectseverymantodohisduty. Englandareplayingwellatpresent.



Thefirstsentencerefersto“England”thecountry(anentity;oritissymbolicaloftheEnglishpeople).Inthesecondsentence,“England”referstotheindividualplayerswhocomprisetheteam.Butwecouldalsoread,quitecorrectly, “Englandistopoftheleaguethisseason.”Heretheteam,theentity,ismeant.

Tip: Totestforsingularorplural,insert“themembersof(the)”beforethenoun.Iftheinsertionreadscorrectly,thenthepluralformisintendedinthatcontext.

• Nouns in apposition

Whenweplacetwonounsthatrefertothesamepersonorthingsidebyside,wecallthisarrangement“appositional”:

MrJones,thebaker,isourneighbour. NovelistSusanReesisourfriend.

Inbothsentences,wehavetwodescriptionsofthesameperson–theirnameandtheirtitleorjobdescription–sidebyside.Jonesandbaker,andnovelistandSusanReesarenouns,andbyplacingthemthisclosetogether(eitherwithorwithoutapairofcommas–apair,note)writerscreatewhatiscalled“nounsinapposition”.It’sausefulwayofwrit-ingbriefly.

NotethatanappositionalstructureisdifferentfromastructuresuchasMrJones,whoisabaker,isourneighbour.“whoisourbaker”iscalledanadjectivalclause(whichtellsusmoreaboutJones),ratherthantwonounssidebyside.

• Titles: Initial capital letter or not?

It’shelpfultoapplythisgeneralrule:ifthetitleprecedesaperson’sname,orifitisthefullorofficialtitleofsomeoneorsomething,thenuseinitialcapitalletters;ifnoneofthese,thenusealowercaseinitialletter:

PresidentSmith;but:thepresidentchairedthemeeting. QueenElizabethII;but:thereiscurrentlyaqueenonthethrone,notaking. Director-GeneralPhuri;but:thedirector-general,AlexanderPhuri,addressedus.

Oftentheuseof“a”beforeatitleisacluetousingalowercaseinitialletterforthetitle,because“a”indicatesgeneral,notaspecificinstance.

4.1.2 Pronouns

Apronounisawordtakingtheplaceofanounandusedtorefertoapersonorthingwithoutgivinganame.

Problemareas:usingreflexivepronounsaspersonalpronouns;usingpossessivepronounswithanapostrophe;usingthatinsteadofwho/whomwhenreferringtopeople;confusingwhoandwhom;whentousethatandwhich;whenandhowtouse“one”.

There are five main types of pronouns:

• Personal pronouns:he,she,we,they,us,them,him,her,it.

• Reflexive pronouns:himself,herself,themselves,itself,oneself. Donotusereflexivepronounsaspersonalpronouns: Incorrect:Myfriendandmyselfwenttotheparty. Correct:MyfriendandIwenttotheparty.



• Possessive pronouns:his;her/hers;their/theirs;my/mine;our/ours;its Donotuseapossessivepronounwithanapostrophe: Incorrect:Thebabydrankit’sbottle.(its)Thatringisher’s.(hers)

• Interrogative pronouns: Why?Where?When?Who?How?Howmuch? Theyalwaysoccuratthebeginningofquestions.

• Relative pronouns:that,which,who,where,when,why.Theyintroducedescriptionsthatrelatebacktoanounor apronoun: Theplacewherewewillmeetismystudy. Usewhoorwhomtorefertopeople;usethatandwhichtorefertoanimalsandthings. Incorrect:HeisapersonthatIadmire.(whomIadmire)

Whoorwhom?Consider: Peoplewhoholdpublicofficemustbehonest. Heisapersonwho/whomIadmire.

Inthefirstsentence,thepronouncomesbeforetheverb“hold”(i.e.itisitssubject),sowhoisthecorrectform.Inthesecondexample,trythisquicktest:isolatethegroupofwords“who/whomIadmire”andexpressitasastatement:“Iadmirewho/whom”.

Thenreplace“who/whom”with“he/him”andsaythesentenceoutloud:Iadmirehe;Iadmirehim.Thesecondversionsoundsmorecorrect,becauseitiscorrect!(Himistheobjectinthatsentence.)Soifyoureplace“him”with“whom”intheoriginalsentence:HeisapersonwhomIadmire.

• Thatorwhich?Ingeneral,usethattodefinesomething,whichtodescribe,notdefine;thatforessentialinforma-tion,whichforincidentalinformation.Considerthesesentences:

Thehousethatispaintedgreenismine. TheOxfordHotelinDurban,whichThabostayedatlastyear,hasburntdown.

Inthefirstsentence,thehouseisidentifiedordefined(orsetapartfromalltheotherhousesinthestreet)by“thatispaintedgreen”.“That”iscorrectlyusedhere;thereisnopunctuationaroundthedefininginformation,“thatispaintedgreen”. In thesecondsentence, themore important,defining information is“hasburntdown”; incidentally,Thabostayedatthehotel(non-essentialinformation).“Which”iscorrectlyusedhereasthedefininginformationisalreadygiven.Notethattheincidentalinformationisplacedbetweenapairofcommas.

• Whenandhowtouse“one”

“One”isusedforgeneralisations,especiallywhenthespeakerorwriterwantstoavoidmakingreferencetoapar-ticularindividual:

Oneshouldbegratefulthatonehasreceivedagoodeducation.

Ifaspeakerorwriterbeginstogeneraliseinthisway,thegeneralisationmustbesustainedbyusingone’sandone-self.Avoidconstructionssuchas:

Oneshouldbegratefulthatyouhavebeenabletoeducateyourself.

(SeealsoPronounasobjectofpreposition,under4.1.6Prepositions.)



4.1.3 Adjectives

Anadjectiveisawordusedtodescribeanounorapronoun:beautiful,old-fashioned,oily,tall,big-hearted,fast,lonely.

Problemareas:whentohyphenate(orcompound)adjectivesandwhennotto;usingcommas(ornot)betweenadjec-tives;usingadjectivesasadverbs;formingcomparativesandsuperlatives.(Seealso4.1.5Adverbs.)

• When to hyphenate (compound) adjectives and when not to

Considerthesetwosentences:

Awell-knownauthorwillbeaddressingus. Heiswellknownforhisworkonmalaria.

Inthefirstsentence,“well-known”appearsbeforeanoun(“author”)andtoavoidambiguitywehyphenatethead-verbtotheadjectivetoformacompoundadjective(wecallthisthe“attributiveform”).Inthesecondsentence,“wellknown”appearsaftertheverb(“is”),sotheyareleftastwowords(wecallthisthe“predicativeform”).Boththeadjec-tivesinsentencesabovearecorrecttherefore.

Anadverbendingin-lyshouldneverbehyphenatedtotheadjectivethatfollowsit:

Arichlyrewardedactofkindness. Theheavilyoverbearingpersonality. Aperfectlyhonedperformance.

• When to use commas between adjectives

Therearetwomainkindsofadjective:classifying(French,geometric,green[i.e.enviro-friendly]andqualitative (tall,handsome,yellow,rough).Whenadjectivesofthesamekindarelisted,insertcommasbetweenthem:

She’swearingalong,blueskirt.(twoqualifyingadjectives)

Whenthelistincludesbothclassifyingandqualitativeadjectives,nocommasarerequiredbetweenthem:

She’swearingabluesilkblouse. That’satypicalSpanishdance.

Noticethatthequalitativeadjectiveusuallyprecedestheclassifyingadjective.Itsoundsunnaturaltowriteorsay “That’saSpanishtypicaldance.”

• Do not use adjectives as adverbs

Incorrect:Youwritesobeautiful.(Youwritesobeautifully.)

• Forming comparative and superlative degrees

Toformthecomparativesandsuperlativesofadjectives,youcandothreethings:• add-eror-estasasuffix:faster,slower,healthier,smoothest,cleanest,happiest• place“more”or“most”infrontoftheword:moreresilient,mosttrustworthy• changethewordentirely:good,better,best;bad,worse,worst.



Ingeneral,theshortertheword(monosyllabicorbisyllabic),themorelikelyoneistousethe-eror-estsuffix(taller,happier,redder);somebisyllabicandallpolysyllabicwordstakemoreandmost(morewholesome;mostbeautiful;mostreliable).

Incorrect:morehappier;mostworst.

4.1.4 Adverbs

Wordsusedtodescribeortellyoumoreaboutaverb,anadjective,oranotheradverb.Indoingso,theyactasintensi-fiers(strengtheningorweakeningtheadjectivefurther): Adverbandverb:Herunsfasterthanshedoes.Thetruckismovingslowly. Adverbandadjective:That’sthemostintelligentanswerofall.It’sallsoexciting. Adverbandadverb:Herunsmuchfasterthanshedoes.Thetruckismovingveryslowly.

Problemareas:usingadjectivesasadverbs;hyphenatingadverbsendingin-lytotheadjectivethatfollowsthem;plac-inganadverbintheincorrectpositioninrelationtoaverb;orderofadverbsinastring.

• Using adjectives as adverbs

Inmostcases,thoughnotinall,theadverbformendingin-lyshouldbeusedwhenaverb,anadjectiveoranotheradverbisbeingintensified:

Hebehavessorespectfultowardhiselders.(respectfully) Thecarsmovedsoslowalongthehighway.(slowly) I’mgoingdirecttomyofficenow.(directly)

• Hyphenating adverbs ending in -ly to the adjective that follows them

Avoidthispractice:

Myhouseisfully-coveredbyinsurance.(fullycovered) I’dlikethelightly-batteredfish,please.(lightlybattered) Hishouseisheavily-subsidised.(heavilysubsidised)

• Placing the adverb in the incorrect position in relation to a verb

Thisdecisionusuallyneedstobemadeinthecaseofverbphrases:

Iwouldhavebeenearlyhaditnotbeenforthetraffic. Wherewouldyouinsert“normally”inthissentence?

Inormallywouldhavebeen… Iwouldnormallyhavebeen… Iwouldhavenormallybeen… Iwouldhavebeennormally…

Inthecaseofathree-wordverbphrase,themost“natural”positiontohaveplaceditwouldbeasinexample2above,thatis,betweenthetwoauxiliary(orhelping)verbs(see4.1.5Verbsandtenses).(Secondchoicewouldbeexample1.)



Inthecaseofatwo-wordverbphrase,themost“natural”positiontoplacetheadverbisbetweentheauxiliaryandthemainverb(“havebeen”):

Ihavealwaysbeenhonestwithyou.

• Order of adverbs in a string

Thereareadverbsthattellusabouttime,place,manner,reason,causeandcondition.We’llfocusonthefirstthreehere.Considerthissentence:

Hearrivedat11o’clockbycarattheoffice.(time,manner,place)

Andthenthisone: Hearrivedattheofficeat11o’clockbycar.(place,time,manner)

Themore“natural”-soundingorderforadverbsoftime,placeandmannerisillustratedinthesecondexample,i.e.place,timeandmanner

4.1.5 Verbs and tenses

Averbisawordusedtodescribeanactionorexistence:is,are,can,was,kicked,running,have.Averbisadoingword.

Problemareas:verbtenseformation(normal,continuousandmixedverbs);reportedspeech(usedinminutesandreports,forexample);“can”vs“may”;“may”vs“might”;subjunctivemood(vsindicativemood);hyphenatingprefixesandverbroots;splittingtheinfinitive;subject-verbagreement.

Weinvestigatetheseproblemareasaftercoveringsomefundamentalaspectsofverbs.

Therearedifferenttypesofverb:normal,non-continuousandmixed.Investigateeachofthese:

4.1.5.1 Normal verbs

Mostverbsare“normalverbs”.Theseareusuallyphysicalactionsthatyoucanseesomebodydoing.Theycanbeusedinalltenses.

Examples:torun,towalk,toeat,tofly,togo,tosay,totouch.

• Simplepresenttensefor a fact or a habit:Ieatdinnereveryday.• Presentcontinuoustenseforcurrently occurring activity:Iameatingdinnernow.• Simplepasttenseforanactivitycompletedintherecent past:Iatedinnerat6pmyesterday.• Pastcontinuous foranactivity thatwas happening when another activity occurred: Iwaseatingdinnerwhen

therewasaknockatthedoor.• Presentperfectforanactivityrecentlycompletedinthepresent:Ihaveeatentoomuchtoday.• Pastperfectforanactivitythatwas completed before another activity:Hehadalreadyeatenhismealbythetime

Iarrived.• Futureperfectforanactivitythatwillbecompletedby a certain time in the future:Bythistimetomorrow,Ishall

haveeatenmydinner.

4.1.5.2 Non-continuous verbs

Theseverbsareaboutthingsyoucannotseesomebodydoing.Forexample,tobe,towant,tocost,tofeel,toseem,toneed,tocare,tocontain,toowe,toexist,tohave,toown,tobelong,tolike.



• Usingnon-continuousverbscorrectly:

Forstatements of fact,itiscorrecttousethesimple present tense,notthepresentcontinuous:

Heisneedinghelpnow–Incorrect. Heneedshelpnow–Correct. Heiswantingadrinknow–Incorrect. Hewantsadrinknow–Correct. Iamthinkingthatheisright–Incorrect. Ithinkthatheisright–Correct.

4.1.5.3 Mixed verbs

Mixedverbshavemorethanonemeaning,dependingonwhethertheyareusedasnon-continuousorasnormalverbs.Forexample:

to have: Ihavealotofthingstodo.(non-continuousverb) TherearemanythingsIneedtodo. Iamhavingfunnow.(normalverb) Iamexperiencingpain.

to look: Theministerlookstired.(non-continuousverb) Theministerappearstired. Faraazislookingatthepictures.(normalverb) Sheislookingatthepictureswithhereyes.

to see: Iseeher.(non-continuousverb) Iseeherwithmyeyes. Iamseeingalawyer.(normalverb) Iamvisitingorconsultingalawyer.(Alsousedwithdentistanddoctor) Iamseeingher.(normalverb) Iamhavingarelationshipwithher. Heisseeingghosts.(normalverb) Heseessomethingotherscannotsee.forexample,ghosts,auras,avisionofthefuture,etc.

to think: Hethinksthetestiseasy.(non-continuousverb) Hethinksthetestiseasy. Sheisthinkingaboutthequestion.(normalverb) Sheisponderingthequestion.

4.1.5.3 Reported speech (used in minutes and reports, for example)

Directspeechreflectswhatapersonactuallysays:

“Thisisthecorrectproceduretofollow.” “Wewillordertwomorefighterjets.” “Ididthatyesterday.” “Sitdownhere!”



Notetheunderlinedwordsintheexamplesentencescarefully.

Butwhenwereportwhatsomeonesaid,forexampleduringanintervieworatameeting,wehavetochangecertainwordstoindicatethat.Comparetheunderlinedwordsbelowwiththoseabove:

Shesaidthatthatwasthecorrectproceduretofollow. Thecaptainsaidthattheywouldordertwomorefighterjets. Heclaimedthathehaddonethatthepreviousday. Shecommandedhimtositdownthere.

Somepronounschanged:thisbecamethat;webecamethey;Ibecamehe(orshe).Adverbschanged:yesterdaybecamethepreviousday;herebecamethere.

Theverbsallchanged,fromthepresenttothepast(isbecamewas;willorderbecamewouldorder);orfromthenear-pasttofurtherinthepast(didbecamehaddone).

Thesearetypicalwaysinwhichreportwritersandminutetakerswillwrite,becausetheyaredescribingeventsthatoccurredinthepast;orbecausetheyarewritingaboutpeopleandtimesandplacesatadistance(orremovedfrom)fromthewriter’spresent.

4.1.5.4 Can vs may; may vs might

Canconveysthesenseofability;mayconveysthemeaningofpermission:

Youcanswim,Iknow;buttodayyoumaynot.

Thepasttenseofcaniscould:

Inthepastyoucouldswim,butnowyou’reoutofpracticeandcannot.

Thepasttenseofmay,ismight:

But“might”canalsosuggestslightpossibility(slighterthanmay):

There’sa30%chanceofrain,theysay,sodoyouthinkitmightrain? Becareful,thatrottenbranchmayfallonyou!

4.1.5.5 Subjunctive mood (vs indicative mood)

Mostofthestatementsweutterareinwhatwecallthe“indicativemood”.Theyareusuallyrootedinrealityorfact:

WhenIam65,Iwillretire. Ithasrainedalldaytoday. Shehastrainedasamusician.

Whenweexpressawishorspeakaboutanimaginedorhypotheticalsituation,orwhensomethingisconditionaluponanotherthing,wecan’tusetheindicativemood(whichisassociatedwithfactsandreality);soweresorttothe“sub-junctivemood”:

IfonlyIwererich,Iwouldretireimmediately.(notwasorwill) Ireallyshouldnoteatchocolate.(notshall) Themusicstudentwishesshehadlearntthepianoinsteadoftheviolin.(nothaslearnt)



4.1.5.6 Hyphenating prefixes and verb roots

Whydowewrite“reopen”and“reiterate”and“reassess”whenwewrite“re-edit”,“re-enter”and“re-educate”,ontheonehand,and“re-bound”,“re-create”and“re-sort”,ontheother?

Whenthelastandfirstvowelsofaprefixandaverbrootaredifferent(asin“reopen”),thenthere’snoneedtohyphen-atethetwocomponents.

Whenthetwovowelsareidentical,itisclearertothereadertohyphenatethem(eg“re-educate”).Forthisreason,wefollowageneralrulethattwoe’slikethismustbehyphenated.

Theproblemtoavoidwith“re-sort”andtheotherexamplesisdifferent:resort,reboundandrecreateallhavedistinctmeaningsfromtherootverbswith“re-”attachedtothem.Sothehyphenatedformsareveryimportantinconveyingdifferentmeaningsfromtheunhyphenatedforms.

4.1.5.7 Splitting an infinitive verb

Averbprecededbyto,asintolike,iscalledaninfinitiveverb.Trytoavoidsplittinginfinitivesasitcouldcloudmeaningandleadtoawkwardsentenceconstructions:

Hereallyseemstolikeit,notHeseemstoreallylikeit.

Donotwrite: Theministersaidwehavetoactivelyparticipateinthevotingprocess.

However,itisunnecessarytochangewell-knownconstructionssuchas:toboldlygowherenomanhasgonebefore.

4.1.5.8 Verb agreement (concord)

Singularsubjectshavesingularverbs,andpluralsubjectshavepluralverbs:

Themanisresting,butThemenareworking.

However,notallsentencesarethatsimple.Fortunately,therearesomestraightforwardrulestofollow:

1. Twonounsjoinedbyandarefollowedbyapluralverb:Thepoliticianandthefarmerhavearrived,i.e.twopeoplehavearrived.Ifyouweretowrite:Thepoliticianandfarmerhasarrived,itimpliesthatoneperson,whoisbothapoliticianandafarmer,hasarrived.(Iftheyaretwodistinctpeople,apartfromapluralverbform,“the”wouldhavetobeinsertedbefore“farmer”inthesecondexamplesentence.)

2. Collectivenouns(army,crew,herd,team,committee,group)takeasingularverbifthecollectionisthoughtofasawhole.Itisnot,however,wrongtouseapluralverb.Asaguidetodecidingwhichformtouse,decidewhetheryouwanttoemphasisetheunitortheindividualswhomakeuptheunit:

TheSouthAfricancricketteamisgoingtoAustralia. HerewemeanthatoneteamisgoingtoAustralia.Butconsiderthissentence:

TheSouthAfricanteamwereunanimousintheircondemnationofAustralianumpiring. Here,allthemembersoftheteamagreedthattheumpiringwasbad,sothepluralverb“were”iscorrect.



3. Twoormoresingularnounsjoinedbyor,ornor,arefollowedbyasingularverb:

EitherPeterorBillisgoingtopay.

4. Whenasingularandapluralnounarejoinedby“or”or“nor”,theverbtakesitsnumberfromthenounnearertoit:

Eithertheworkersorthesupervisoriswrong. (supervisorissingular,soyoumustuseis).

NeitherMrJonesnortheboyswerethere. (boysisplural,soyoumustusewere).

5. Each,every,either,neither,nobody,everything,anybodyandeverybodyallimplyonethingand,assuch,takesin-gularverbs:

Everyworkerreceiveshisorherwages. Nobodyisabletoanswer.

6. Muchandlittlearesingular;manyandfewareplural:

Muchtimeiswastedonpettydetails. Onlyafewwerewillingtotaketheplunge.

7. Somecanbeeithersingularorplural,dependingonthecontext:

Somemoneyismissing.(moneyisamassnoun) Someofusarelazy.(usisacountnoun)

8. Pluralnounsdenotingawholeusuallytakesingularverbs:

R1000isalargesumofmoney.(notare) Fourmonths’maternityleaveisnowstandard.(notare)

9. Fractionsareregardedassingular:

Three-quartersislargerthantwo-thirds.

10.Nonemeansnoone,andissingular:

Nooneisgoingtotakeresponsibility.Noneofusis.

11.Wordsthatarepluralinformbutwhicharealabelforasingularconceptareregardedassingular:

Mathematicsisanessentialsubjectforengineers. Withglobalisation,logisticsgoestothecoretomanycompanies’businessmodels. Today’snewshasbeenprettyshocking.



12.Whenasingularsubjectisseparatedfromitsverbbyapluralqualifier,theverbmustbesingular,notplural:

Thenoiseofthedrillsoutsideisdeafening. Thebehaviourofthestrikerswasunacceptable. Theadventofdemocracyandaconstitutionalformofgovernmentisabreakthroughforourcountry.

4.1.6 Prepositions

Aprepositionisawordusedforshowingwhatonepersonorthinghastodowithanotherpersonorthing,ortheposi-tionofonethinginrelationtoanother:with,under,on,above,in,beside.

Thebookisonthetable.Shesatnexttohim.Heconductshimselfinaccordancewiththelaw.

Problemareas:usingtheincorrectpronounformafterapreposition;writingintoorinto;ontooronto.

Whatfollowsaprepositioniscalleditsobject.Whenapronounisanobject,itusuallytakesaspecialform:

PronounassubjectPronounasobjectofpreposition

Heismyfriend.But:Shesatnexttohim(nothe). YouandIwillhelp.But:Betweenyouandme(notI). Wearefriends.But:Helooksafterus(notwe). Theywenthome.But:Thisisforthem(notthey).

• Prepositional (or phrasal) verbs

Verbstakeonaspecialmeaningwhentheybecomelinkedto(orassociatedwith)particularprepositions.Wecalltheseprepositional(orphrasal)verbs:forexample,theverbtune.

Ihavetotunemyguitarbeforeeveryperformance. Ineedtohavemycar’senginetunedup. Ituneintomyfavouriteradiostationeverymorning.

Here,tunedupandtuneinhavedifferentmeaningsfromtune,thankstotheinfluenceoftheprepositions.Preposi-tionalverbsarethereasonwhyintoandontoaresometimeswrittenseparately:

TuneintoRadioXYZ(notinto). Let’smoveontothenexttopic(notonto).

But:

Shedivedintotheswimmingpool. Pickupthebowlandputitontothatsurface.

4.1.7 Conjunctions

Awordusedtojoinwordsandclauses:and,but,when,while,therefore,although.

Problemareas:punctuationaroundconjunctions;commas, semi-colonsand listsof items;semi-colonsvsconjunc-tions;whilevswhereas.



Therearetwotypesofconjunction:coordinatingandsubordinating:

MikelikesteabutSuepreferscoffee.(coordinating) WhereasMikedrinksonlytea,Suepreferscoffee.(subordinating) Suepreferscoffee,althoughshedrinksteasometimes.(subordinating)

Coordinatingconjunctionscreatecompoundsentencesfromtwoormoresimplesentencesthatcarryequalweight(MikelikesteaandSuepreferscoffeeinthefirstsentenceabove).Subordinatingconjunctions(andrelativepronouns)createcomplexsentencesinwhichsomepartsarelessimportantthanothers(andareusuallybracketedofffromthemoreimportantparts–asinwhereasMikelikesteaabove),andthereforelabelled“subordinate”.

• Punctuation around conjunctions

Therewasatimewhenitwasregardedasincorrectnottopunctuatearoundconjunctions,buttheconventionhasbeenrelaxed.

Somepeopleprefernowadaystohavelessratherthanmorepunctuation.Thesesentencesareallacceptable:

Sheisclever,andsheisalsodiligent. Sheiscleverandsheisalsodiligent. Sheisclever,butitisherdiligencethatmakeshersuccessful. Sheiscleverbutitisherdiligencethatmakeshersuccessful.

Theconjunctionhowevermustalwayshavecommasarounditwhenitoccursinsideasentence,acommaafteritwhenitstartsasentence,acommabeforeitwhenitendsasentence:

Itisherdiligence,however,thatmakeshersuccessful. However,itisherdiligencethatmakeshersuccessful. Itisherdiligencethatmakeshersuccessful,however.

Whereawriterpositionshoweverinasentenceisoftenamatterofwheretheywanttheemphasisofthecontrarystatementtofall:atthebeginning,inthemiddleorattheendofthesentence.

• Commas, semi-colons and lists of items

Inalistofthreeormoreitems,HouseStyleortheneedforclaritywilldeterminewhetheracommaisinsertedbeforethefinaland:

Thecoloursontheflagarered,greenandblue. Onhisbreakfastplateweretomato,beans,toast,eggs,andbacon.

Inlonglists,itisoftenwisetoreplacesomeofthecommaswithsemi-colonstocreatesub-liststhatthereaderisbetterabletoabsorb.Insuchinstances,itisusualtogrouplikeitemstogether:

Inthetoolboxyouwillfindhammers,pliersandscrewdrivers;nails,screwsandtacks;maskingtape,glueandotheradhesives;andaselectionofsandpapers.

• Semi-colons and conjunctions

Usually,conjunctionsarenotusedtogetherwithasemi-colon(theoneexceptionis“however”):

Heishonest,butheisalsostupid. Heishonest;heisalsostupid. Heisscrupulouslyhonest;however,hishonestyoftenworkstohisdisadvantage.



Incorrect:Heishonest;butheisalsostupid.Heishonest;andheisalsostupid.

Notethesemi-colonbeforehoweverinthesentenceabove,andalsothecommaafterit.

• While vs whereas

Ingeneral,theuseofwhileshouldbelimitedtoconveyingasenseoftimeortiming;whereasshouldbeusedtoindicateacontraryinstanceorsituation:

WhileItypedupthedocument,whilesheproofreadwhatI’dcompleted. (oneactivityoccurringatthesametimeasanother)

Simonpreferstoworklateatnight,whereasSimoneprefersearlymornings.(contrastingbehaviourpatterns)

Ambiguous:Jameslikesexercisingatthegym,whileJudydoesaerobicsathome.(simultaneousorcontrast-ing?)

4.1.8 Articles

Anarticle–the,a,andan–belongstoagroupofwordsknownas“determiners”:some,any,most,none,two,all,first,andsoon.

Theyusuallyappearbeforeanoun;theirpurposeistohelpspecify,ornarrowdown,thenoun:

Somepeopleareverykind;otherpeoplecanbecruel. Noneoftheteachersappearedatthehearing;onlytwoteacherswereoffsick;noteacherexcusedhim-orherself.

Problemareas:whentousetheora/an;whentouseaasopposedtoan;usingtheanda/aninalist.

• When to use the or a/an

Usethedefinitearticle“the”toprecedeanountosuggestaspecificorknowninstance,anindefinitearticle(aoran)tosuggestageneralorvagueinstance:

“DoyouknowwhereIcanfindanABCBankATM?” “Yes,theABCBankATMisoverthere.”

Inthefirstsentenceofthistypicalquestion-and-answerconversation,“an”isusedbecausethespeakermeansanyABCBankATM;inthesecond,“the”isusedbecausethepersonsupplyingtheinformationisdirectingthespeakertoaparticularATM.

Aandanarealsousedforgeneralstatements:

Formostpeople,asunnydayispreferabletoaninclementone.

Incontrast,“the”isusedtorefertoparticularinstances:

Therainydaythatprecededmybirthdaywasfollowedbythesunniestdayoftheyear.



• When to use “a” as opposed to “an”

Usetheindefinitearticle“a”beforeaconsonantsound:

Alovelyday,ahotel,aunion,aeucalyptustree.

Usetheindefinitearticle“an”beforeavowelsound:

• toindicateinwritingthebreathingspacesandpausesthatnormallyoccurinspeech • toconveyorsupportmeaning • tojoinorseparateitemsinlists • anAfricantrip,anheir,anFACupfinal,anSABCnewsreader. • BUTAUNagreement.• Using “the” and “a/an” in a list

Inastringofitems,remembertousethecorrectindefiniteanddefinitearticlesbeforeeach:

I’vecollectedapen,anantiquewatch,asetsquare,andanerasertobeginwith. Thedog,thecat,thehamsterandtheparrotneededcarewhilewewereaway. Thedog,cat,hamsterandparrotneededcarewhilewewereaway.

Incorrect:Ineedabanana,apple,pineappleandapricotforthesalad,please. Incorrect:Thedog,cat,hamsterandtheparrotneededcarewhilewewereaway.

4.2 Punctuation

Thepurposeofpunctuation,broadlyspeaking,isthreefold:

1. toindicatepausesorbreathingspacesinnormalspeech2. tosupportorconveymeaning3. tojoinorseparateitemsinalist.

• Punctuation indicates pauses or breathing spaces

Atonelevel,punctuationreflectsthedifferentlengthsofbreathingspaceandpauseasfollows,fromshortesttolongest:

comma(,)andparentheses();semi-colon(;);colon(:)anddash(–);fullstop(.),query(?)andexclamationmark(!)

• Punctuation conveys/supports meaning

Inaddition–sometimesincombinationwiththefirstpurpose–punctuationhelpstoconveyorsupportmeaning:

Thesearemybrothers.Thesearemybrother’s.Thesearemybrothers’.

Ineachsentencehere,thewordsareidentical;it’sthepunctuationthatchangesthemessagebeingconveyed.

MycousinwholivesinPEturns21today. Mycousin,wholivesinPE,turns21today.



Inthefirstsentence,thespeakerpresumablyhasmorethanonecousinandhastospecify(“define”,“restrict”)theonewhoturns21:“wholivesinPE”tellsuswhichone;sowecallita“definingclause”.Inthesecondsentence,theinformationbetweenthecommasisincidental(“non-defining”),presumablybecausethespeakerhasonlyonecousin,sonodefinitionordistinctionisnecessary.

• Punctuation for emphasis

Punctuationcanalsobeusedtoconveyvariousdegreesofemphasis,usuallyconveyedbyaspeaker’sposture,gestureandintonation:

Ifyoudoitwell(andImeanreallywell)Ishallrewardyouhandsomely. Ifyoudoitwell–andImeanreallywell–Ishallrewardyouhandsomely.

Thestatementbetweenparenthesesisintendedasanasideora“whisper”;thesamestatementbetweendashesismoreemphatic.Thewordsareidentical,though.

• Punctuation of lists

Threebasicmodelscanbeemployed:

1. fullsentences:initialletteruppercase,endallitemsinfullstops2. incompletesentences:initiallowercase,andnofurtherpunctuation3. one-ortwo-worditems:initiallowercase,noendpunctuation

Forexample:

Itemsontoday’sagendaincludes: • annualreviewofcapitalgainstax • increasingVAT (nocapitalsinbulletsandnopunctuation)

Dutiesandresponsibilitiesincluded: • teachingnationalcurriculumtoGrade1pupils • reachingattainmenttargetsandimprovinglearningperformance • developingextracurricularsportsprogramme (nocapitalsinbulletsandnopunctuation)

BUT

Theagendafortonightisasfollows: • Wewillconductanannualreviewofcapitalgainsissues. • Theseniortaxmanagerwilltalkaboutincreasingvalue-addedtax.

Wenowconsidersomeaspectsofthepunctuationmarks–particularlythosethatgivewordsmithstrouble:fullstops;commas,semi-colonsandcolons;apostrophes;parenthesesandbrackets;theellipsis,andthequeryandexclamationmark.



4.3.1 Full stops

Donotusefullstopsincertainabbreviations:USA,UN,etc.Donotusefullstopsafterinitials:NRMandela.Donotusefullstopsinabbreviationsthatendinthefinalletterofthecompleteword:

Colforcolonel;RevdforReverend;StforStreetandSaint.

4.3.2 Commas, colons and semi-colons

Usecommas(,)to:

• separate items in a straightforward list:

Thecoloursoftherainbowarered,orange,yellow,green,blue,indigoandviolet.

• separate a phrase or clause that explains what went before:

Peter,anarchitect,designedourhouse.Thebus,whichrunspastourhouse,takesmetoworkeveryday.Beforereturninghome,westoppedbythesupermarket.

• avoid ambiguities:

Abright,yellowflower.vsAbrightyellowflower.

• indicate non-defining clauses (always a pair of commas):

Myhouse,whichispaintedblueandwhite,isVictorian.

• between a string of adjectives of the same type (either classifying or qualitative):

She’satall,dark,beautifulwoman. Thedog’slong,brown,freshlywashedcoatgleamedinthesunshine.

• Commas vs semi-colons

Usecommastoseparateitemsinasimplelist: Welearnaboutoceans,deserts,mountainsandgrasslands.

Butusesemi-colons(;)toseparateitemsinalistofitemswhichthemselvescontaincommas:

OurjourneytookustoItaly,wherewediscoveredtheRomancivilisation;Egypt,whichintroducedustosomeofthewondersofpre-history;andGreece,whereweexploredtheearlyrootsofHellenism.



• Semi-colons instead of conjunctions

Usesemi-colonsinsteadofconjunctionstobalancetwocomplementary,supportingorcontrastingstatements:

Toerrishuman;toforgivedivine. Thecountryisonaknife-edge;theoutcomeoftheelectionswillbedecisive. Wetriedhard;however,wefailed.

Useacolon(:)tointroducealistofitemsorbulletpoints:

Iwillensurethatourserviceshavetheappropriate: • focus • integrity • professionalism

Useacolontobreakasentencebeforeanillustration,anexplanationoraresolvingstatement:

Heiscorrect:theonlywaytosolvethisproblemistohiremorestaff. Thefrogisunique:itlivesinwaterandonland. Theroseisassociatedwithromance:forexample,redrosessymboliselove.

Noticethatinallthreeexamplesthecolonisfollowedbyalower-caseinitial.Anupper-caseinitialshouldbeusedwhenwhatfollowsthecolonisaself-containedsentenceoraquestion,orapropernoun:

LatethateveninginSienna,wedinedoutinthevillagesquare:WheninRome,doastheRomansdo.

4.3.3 Apostrophes

Apostrophes(’)areoftenmisused;theyshouldbeusedinthefollowingways:

• To show possession (singular): the cat’s whiskers, the boss’s view; (plural): business partners’ investment; the provinces’ MECs.

Note:Butnotthepossessiveformofpronouns(his,hers,theirs,its)–seePronounsaboveandbelowinthissec-tion.

• To show that a letter has been left out: don’t (contraction of do not), it’s (contraction of it is).

• To show time or quantity: one month’s notice, five metres’ worth of fabric, a year’s supply of rice.

WhenNOTtouseanapostrophe:

• In words that are not contracted:

Whosepackageismostprofitable? Not:Who’spackageismostprofitable? Itscampaignshelpcreatejobs. Not:It’scampaignshelpcreatejobs. Thatitemistheirs.Not:Thatitemistheir’s.



• To show the plural of letters and words:

TherearetwoNsinJohannesburg(notN’s). Thesearethedosanddon’tsofwriting(notdo’sanddon’t’s).

• For decades: 1990s (not 1990’s).

• Plurals: Ptys (not Pty’s); photos (not photo’s); SMSs (not SMS’s); companies not (company’s); apples (not ap-ple’s); tomatoes (not tomatoe’s).

4.3.4 Hyphens, en-rules (–) and dashes (– or —)

Hyphens,en-rulesanddasheseachhavedistinctrolestoplayindocuments.

Usehyphens(-)for:

• e-words: e-mail, e-business, e-commerce, e-books

• compound nouns (where two or more nouns are joined): buy-out, cost-effectiveness, cross-reference

• compound adjectives (where two or more adjectives are joined) ONLY where the noun it describes follows it: cost-effective project (but the project was cost effective), risk-based portfolio, long-term commitment.

• nouns formed from phrasal verbs: a break-up (to break up); buy-out (to buy out); line-up (to line up); take-off (to take off).

Thefollowingareafewbasicguidelinesregardinghyphens:

• hyphenatecompound(attributive)adjectives:old-fashionedclothes,so-calledchampion

• hyphenateprefixestopropernames:un-Christian,sub-Saharan,trans-Karoo

• whenpromeansinfavour,useahyphen:pro-life

• with the prefix non: non-smoker, non-conformist, non-destructive; but nonconformist, nondescript, nonentity.Checkyourdictionary!

• withprefixesendingine,whentherootwordbeginswithe:re-edit,pre-empt

• whereadifferenceinmeaningfromanon-hyphenatedwordneedstobeconveyed:re-boundvsrebound;re-sortvsresort;re-createvsrecreate.

• useahyphenwhenwritingcertainfigures:egthirty-six,three-quarters

• hyphenatetitlessuchasdirector-general,lieutenant-colonal,inspector-general

• useadash(–)todrawattention:TheBudgetwillrise–fromR10billiontoR15billion–nextyear.

See“Wordsoftenmisspelled”forwordsthatarenothyphenated,including:

• abovementioned• postgraduate• subsection



WhenNOTtouseahyphen:

• Whencompoundadjectivesdonotappearbeforethenountheyreferto(theyusuallyappearafteraverb(predica-tive)–seeAdjectivesabove):

day-to-dayproblemsbutfromdaytoday higher-ratetaxbutthehighertherateoftax long-terminsurancebutinthelongterm up-to-datesystembutkeepuptodate

• Afteranadverbendingin-ly:

widelyreadreport

• Insteadofahyphenbetweenfigures(includingdates)tomeanto,useanen-rule(eg3–12March)(pressCtrlandtheminuskeyonthenumerickeypad)

4.3.5 Ellipsis (…)

Anellipsisisusedalmostexclusivelywithinquotedpassagesandindicatesthattheauthorwhoborrowedthequotedmatterdidsoselectively,leavingoutunnecessarywordsintentionally.Treatanellipsislikeanyotherwordwithregardtospacing,therefore:

Michaelssays“…itisdifficulttocreditSaulswith…havingbeenaproponentofliberalcapitalistviews…”.

Inthisquotation,theellipsisatthebeginninghasanormalwordspaceafterit;theellipsisinthemiddlehasspaceseithersideofit;theoneattheendofthequotationhasaspacebeforeit.Thequotationmarksandfinalpunctuationaresetcloseuptotheellipsis.

Anotheruseoftheellipsisistoindicatethatasentenceorstatementisincomplete,forwhateverreason.Insuchin-stances,itwouldbewrongtoterminatethesentenceinafullstop:

Let’sleavethattoyourimagination… Idon’tknowwhatIfeelabout…

4.3.6 Question marks

Theseareusedonlyafteractualquestions:

Isitraining?;Areyoucoming?

Noquestionmarkin:

HeaskedifIwascoming.

4.3.7 Exclamation marks

Theseareusedonlyafteractualexclamations:

Idon’tbelieveit! Astonishing! Eish!

Iftheyareused,thereshouldbeonlyoneperexclamation.Theyhavealmostnoplaceinformalwriting.



5. A TO Z GUIDE

A

abbreviations. Writeoutthefirstinstanceineachchapter/section,withtheabbreviationinbrackets;thereafterusetheabbreviationonly(exceptinheadings).Whenabbreviatingnamesoforganisations,usetheabbreviationonlyafterthefullnamehasbeenusedfirst:TheheadquartersoftheUnitedNations(UN)isinNewYork.TheUN,theinterna-tionalbody,announcedthat...Pluralsofabbreviationsarewrittenwithoutanapostrophe:MECs,MPLs,SGBs,NGOs.Ifthesoundofthefirstletterofanabbreviationisavowel,write“an”beforeit:anMP.about.Useinplaceofapproximately,intheregionoforaround.accept, except.Acceptmeans“receive”or“agreewith”:Iacceptyouropinion;exceptmeans“tomakeanexceptionof”:Exceptforhistantrums,he’sagreatfellow.Act. Whenusedinthelegislativesense,thefirstletterisalwayscapitalised:TheActprovidesfor...Whenmentionedforthefirsttime,theActmustbenamedinfull:theRevenueLawsAmendmentAct,2003(Act45of2003),wasrecentlysignedintolaw(notethecommaafterthelastbracket).accidental/incidental.Anaccidentalhappeningoccursunexpectedlyandunintentionally.Somethingincidentalhap-pensinrelationtosomethingelseofgreaterimportance.action.Thisisanoun,notaverb.Youdonotactionsomething,youdoit,orcarryitout,orimplementit.Youdotakeaction,though.additionally, in addition. Useadditionallybeforeanadjectivetointensifyit:Thepatient’sconditionisadditionallywor-ryinginviewofhismedicalhistory.Useinadditionasaconnector:Inadditiontogoingtogym,Joeruns10kmtwiceaweek.adverse, averse.Adversemeans“opposing”or“unfavourable”:Theyplayedthegameinadverseweatherconditions,andlost.Aversemeans“reluctant;unwilling”:I’mnotaversetoeatingspicyfoods.advice, advise. Adviceisanoun:Iwillaskforheradvice.Adviseisaverb:Iwilladviseherwhattodo.adviser.Notadvisor.advocate, advocate for. Thefirstcanbeeitheraverboranoun:Iadvocaterightsforanimals;thatmakesmeananimalrights’advocate.Thesecondcanbeonlyanoun:Heisanadvocateofchange.Incorrect:Headvocatesforchange.affect, effect. Affectisaverbmeaningtomakeadifferenceto:Thedecisiondidnotaffecttheoutcome.Effectisbothanoun,meaningachangethatsomethingcausesinsomethingelse,andaverb,meaningtomakesomethinghappen:Thedecisionhasasignificanteffect(noun);toeffectchanges(verb).African(uppercaseinitial),Indian,butcoloured,blackandwhite(lowercaseinitials).African Renaissance(uppercaseinitials);butWe’rewitnessingarenaissanceofliteratureinSouthAfrica.ages.Shouldalwaysbegiveninfigures.Hyphenate:The40-year-oldunionist(adjectival),butdon’thyphenate:Hewas21yearsold.agree to, agree with.Agreetomeans“consentto”:Doyouagreetosupportus?Agreewithmeans“havethesameopinionas”:IagreewithyouthatwemustupholdtheConstitution.AIDS.Uppercase,asisHIV.all of the.Useallthe,all,orevery.all right.Alwaysuseallright,writtenastwowords;notalright.all together, altogether. Alltogethermeans“simultaneously”or“inthesameplace”:Wewerehuddledalltogetherinthesmalltent.Altogethermeans“entirely;witheverythingincluded”:IshallhaveflowntoLanserianinetimealto-getherthisyear.allude, elude. Alludemeanstomentionindirectly:alludetoabook.Eludemeanstoescape:eludepursuers.alot, a lot, allot.Alotdoesnotexist;alotmeansalargequantityoramount:Heputsinalotoftimeasavolunteer;allotmeanstoparcelout:Wewereeachallottedasmallpatchofland.alternate, alternative. Alternate(adjective)meansgoingbackandforthbetweentwothings,asinalternateweekends(everyotherweekend).Alternativemeans“other”andapplieswhentherearetwoopinions,asinanalternativeplan.among, between. Useamongformorethantwopeopleorthingsandbetweenfortwopeopleorthings.Exception:inthecaseofagreements,pactsorcontracts,thecorrectidiomaticuseis“between”:Theagreementwassignedbe-tweentheSADCmemberstates.Avoidamongst.and/or. Avoidusing,exceptinalegaldocument.



anticipate, expect. Anticipatemeansforeseeorregardaspossibleyetnotsure,suchasrain.Ifyouexpectsomething,youaresureaboutithappening,suchasexpectingavisitor.antiretroviral(oneword).any more (twowords)apartheid(lowercaseinitial),notitalics.appendices(thepluralofappendix).approximately.Useabout.archaeologist.as. Donotuseasforbecause:Heleftbecausehewastirednot:Heleftashewastired.as well (as).Use“and”unless“inaddition”or“overandabove”ismeant:Hewasimpolite,dirty,foul-mouthedaswellasdishonest.Don’tendasentencewithaswell.Incorrect:aswell(oneword).as yet. Useyet,notasyet.Asian(adjectiveandnoun).Uppercase.ReferstopeopleorproductsfromAsia.Incorrect:Asiatic.assure, ensure, insure. Youassure(promise)apersonthatthingswillgowell(instilconfidence).Youensure(makesure)thatworkisdone.Youinsure(guaranteeorprotect)somethingagainstlossordamage.ATM. Standsforautomatictellermachine,thereforedon’twriteATMmachine.averse, adverse. Ifyoudonotlikesomething,youareaverse(opposed)toit.Adverse(bad)isanadjective,asinad-verseconditions.avocados.

B

backlog(oneword).basically, essentially, totally. Avoid.Thesedonotaddanymeaningtoasentence.basis. Avoidphrasessuchasonaregularbasis(useregularly)andonanannual/weekly/dailybasis(useannually/weekly/daily).belief(noun),believe(verb).Itismybeliefthatitwillraintomorrow;IbelieveinGod.benefit, benefiting, benefited (singlet).besides, beside. Besidesmeansinadditionto,apartfrom,moreoverorotherthan.Besidemeansnextto.between … and.notbetween…to:Identifytheprimenumbersbetween16and49.biannual, biennial. Biannualreferstosomethingoccurringtwiceayearorhalf-yearly.Biennialmeansoccurringeverytwoyears.Bible, bible. UseBible(notitalics)torefertotheHolyBible;usebibleasametaphorforafundamentalorindispensa-blework:Thishandbookisthemotormechanic’sbible.bid, bade.Bid(n.orv.)referstoanoffer(AttheauctionIbidforthediamondpendant;asitturnedout,mybidwasnotthehighest)oragreeting(Ibidyoufarewell).Thepasttenseverbformofbid(thegreeting)isbade:Onhisretire-menthebadehiscolleaguesfarewell.Big Five(uppercaseinitials).bilateral(oneword).Bill (uppercase initial). A draft of legislation presented to themembers of Parliament for comment and possibleamendmentpriortoenactmentisaBill.binational(oneword).black people. lowercaseb.blind.Usevisuallyimpaired.borrow, lend.Youborrowfromsomeone;youlendtosomeone.British spelling throughout.Use-isenot-ize,metrenotmeter(exceptformeterasameasuringdevice),colournotcolor.(MakesureyourspellcheckerissettoEnglishUKorSouthAfrica.)Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment(BBBEE).BuaNews.AlwayswriteasonewordwithacapitalN.Itshouldbewritteninnormalfontandnotitalics.Budget. UseuppercaseinitialwhenreferringtothenationalBudgetortheBudgetSpeech.burn, burned, burnt. Burnedandburntarebothpastparticiplesofburn.Burnedisusedmoreasaverb.(Hishouseburnedaseveryonelookedon.);burntisusedmoreasanadjective(Onmyplatewereburntofferingsinsteadofaheartydinner.).



bushveld.by the fact that.Avoid.Insteadof:Iamsurprisedbythefactthatthereportisincomplete,write:Iamsurprisedthereportisincomplete.

C

Cabinet(uppercaseinitial).can, may.Can(pasttense:could)expressesability:Shecanplaythepiano.May(pasttense:might)expressespermis-sion:Youmayleaveearly.Mightalsoexpressespossibility,thoughwithlesscertaintythanmay:Itmightrain.canvas, canvass. Canvas(noun)isatypeofcloth.Canvass(verb)meanstovisitsomeonetoaskfortheirvote.cellphone(oneword).census.centre(notcenter).Centreon,notcentrearound.century. Spelloutinfullanduselowercasec:19thcentury.certainly.Trytoavoidusing.chairperson. Useinplaceofchairman,chairwomanorchairlady.close corporation(CC).Notclosed.cohort, cohorts.Usecohort,whichreferstoagroupnottoindividuals:Thecohortofmilitiamencamemarchinguptous.colour. notcolor.coloured people, coloureds(lowercaseinitials).communication, communications.Communicationreferstowritten,spokenornon-verbalcommunication,whereascommunicationsreferstotechnologicalcommunication.compared to, compared with.Comparedtoexpressessimilarities:ComparethelandscapetoaMonetpainting.Com-paredwithassessestherelationordifferencebetweenthings:Compareradiowithtelevision.complement, compliment.Tocomplementmeanstoaddtoorbringoutthebestinsomething:Fishandtartaresaucecomplementeachother.Complimentmeanstopraise,andcomplimentarymeanssomethinggivenawayforfree.comprise.Usecomprise(s)andnotcomprisesof.e.g.TheOlympicteamcomprises90athletes.comprising, including.Comprisingisusedwhenallthecomponentsofthewholearementioned.Includingdoesnotpresumethateverythinghasbeenmentioned.Theteamcomprising11athletesleftforNewDelhitoday.Thewholeteam,includingthecoachandtheirmanager,hasleftforoverseas.concensus.consequent, subsequent. Consequentreferstotheresultorlogicalconclusionofsomething.Subsequentreferstotheeventoreventsimmediatelyfollowingsomething.Constitution. Useacapitalletter,butdonotcapitaliseconstitutional,otherthaninConstitutionalCourt.continual, continuous. Continualmeanshappeningover andover again. Continuousmeanshappening constantlywithoutinterruption.Ican’tstandhiscontinualmoaningandgroaningintheoffice!Thecontinuousdrillingsoundisdisturbingus.cooperate(oneword).coordinate(oneword).cornerstone(oneword).cost-effective.council, counsel.Acouncil isusuallyanelectedbodygivingadvice,guidingordoingadministration.Acounsel isaqualifiedpersonwhogivesadvice,andisthesameasaguidancecouncillor.countrywide(oneword).criteria. Isthepluralformofthesingularcriterion.Therecanbeeitheronecriterionorseveralcriteria.critique. Itisanoun,notaverb.Itdoesnotmeanpurelycriticise.currency.Lowercaseinitialwhenwrittenout:dollar,rand,euro.Symbolsuppercase.Nospacebetweenabbreviationandthefigure:R500.currently.Usecurrentlyornowinsteadofpresently,atthispointintime,atthisjuncture,atthepresentmomentoratthispoint.



D

darkroom (oneword).data. Takesthesingular.Thedataiscomplete.dates. 16June1976;1990s;Tuesday,14August.daycare (oneword).D-Day.deaf. Ratherusehearingimpairedorhearingchallenged.decimal commas.Usedecimalcommas,notpoints:R300,45notR300.45;1234,56not1,234.56.degrees.Usethedegreesymbol:40°Cor30°S.Democratic Republic of Congo(nottheCongo).Denotation, connotation. Denotationistheexactmeaning.Connotationistheimpliedmeaning.Department, department.Whenreferringtoaspecificdepartmentbyitscorrecttitle,e.g.DepartmentofJusticeandConstitutionalDevelopment,useuppercaseinitials.Whenreferringtoadepartmentgenericallyorintheplural,uselowercase:thejusticedepartment,thedepartmentsoflabourandofeducation.dependant, dependent. Dependant(noun)meansapersonwhoisdependent(adjective)onsomeoneelse.director-general.Plural:directors-general.Initialuppercaseinfulltitle;Director-GeneralofBasicEducation.disabled.Peoplewithadisabilityordisabilities.disinterested, uninterested.Disinterestedmeansunbiasedorneutralaboutanissue:Judgesshouldbedisinterested–theycan’taffordtotakesideswhilehearingtrials!Uninterestedmeansnotinterested.I’mnotinterestedinyourexcuses.doctoral degree, doctorate.downscaling, downsizing(oneword).due to. Useowingtoorbecauseof:Thepriceshaveescalatedbecauseofincreaseddemand.ButtheamountofR500isdue.

E

each other, one another.Twopeopletalktoeachother;morethantwotalktooneanother.Earth. UppercaseinitialwhenreferringtoEarth,theplanet;lowercasewhenreferringtothesoil:tillingtheearth;whatonearthdoyoumean?economic, economical. Economicisusedinrelationtofinancesandcost.Economicalreferstogivinggoodvalueoravoidingwastage.TheeconomicclimateinSouthAfricaisfairlyhealthyatpresent.A5kgpackismoreeconomicalthana1kgpack.educators.Notteachers.e.g. and i.e..EgstandsfortheLatinexempligratia,meaningforexample;i.e.standsfortheLatinidest,meaningthatis–itshouldbefollowedbyaclarifyingstatement,notanexample:Hisrecentbadbehaviour,i.e.hisrudenessandlackofconsiderationforothers,istotallyoutofcharacter.elections. Useinsteadofpolls.endeavour (n.). Usetheplainertryorattemptinstead.enquiry, inquiry. Enquireisaformalwordforask;inquireisusedforaninvestigation.However,forthesakeofsimplic-ity,itisacceptabletouseonlyenquire.equally, equally as.Useequally:PeterandPaulareequallyclever.OrPeterisascleverasPaul.OrPaulisjustascleverasPeter.etc. Usewithafullstopafterandacommabefore.Donotuseetc.ifalistisprecededby“forexample”,“forinstance”or“suchas”;onlyactualexamplesshouldfollow.every day, everyday. “Everyday”(adjective)meansoccurringeveryday,notoutoftheordinary,commonplace:Aneverydayeventhappenseveryday.except, accept.Exceptmeanstomakeanexceptionof:Exceptforhistantrums,he’sagreatfellow.Acceptmeans“re-ceive”or“agreewith”:Iacceptyouropinion.



F

farm workers.(twowords)farther, further. Usefartherforphysicaldistanceandfurthertomeanadditionalorcontinued:travelfartherdowntheroadbutpursueanissuefurther.fewer, less. Usefewerwithnumbersofitemsorpeople:Fewerthan10delegatesattended.Lessreferstoquantity:Lessthanhalfthedelegatesarrived.Lesspowerisneededtowarmthewater.First Economy.first world.flout, flaunt. Floutmeans“tobreakrulesopenlyandevenwithcontempt”:Floutingthe lawregardingafter-hoursliquorsalescouldlandyouintrouble.Flauntmeans“displayoneselfostentatiously;showoff”:Theyoungbillionaireflauntshiswealthintheformofflashyclothingandmotorcars.focus, focused, focusing. Ones.forego, forgo. Foremeansbefore.Theforegoingtextprovidesthebackgroundtothestory.But:Inprisonhehadtoforgotheluxuriesinlife.formula, formulae.Useformulaenotformulasasthepluralofformula.fractions. Hyphenatefractions:one-half,two-thirds.Treatthemassingular:two-thirdsisgreaterthanone-quarter.from … to.ThedistancefromAtoBisaday’sjourney.fulfil. Butfulfilled,fulfilling.fully. Fullyfledgedprogramme.Don’tuseahyphenbecauseofthe-lyending.

G

G5(nohyhens).G8(nohyhens).GCIS. GovernmentCommunicationandInformationSystem.ThereisnossuffixonCommunicationorSystem.Ashort-erversioncanbeused:GovernmentCommunications(GCIS).glamorous.Notglamourous.go-ahead(n.),go ahead (v.).Thedepartmenthasreceivedthego-ahead...;but:goaheadwithexecutingtheboard’sinstructions.gold mining, gold mines, but goldfields.Gospel, gospel.CapitalisewhenreferringtotheBible,uselowercasewhenusingasanadjective:ThegospelsingerreadsfromtheGospeleverynight.got, gotten. Usegot,notgotten.ThelatterisAmericanEnglish;SouthAfricanEnglishhasitsrootsinBritishEnglish,sogotistheacceptableoption.government. Uselowercaseinitialinallcases,exceptwhenreferringspecificallytotheGovernment:theSouthAfricanGovernment,butgovernmentprojects.governance, government. Governanceistheactionormannerofgoverning:Soundcorporategovernance.But:Since1994,SouthAfricahashadaconstitutionalsystemofgovernment.grassroots(oneword).Green Paper(initialsuppercase).gross domestic product (GDP).groundbreaking.

H

handicapped(person).Usepersonwithadisability.hectare(ha).Non-breakingspacebetweennumberandabbreviation:700ha.he or she and his or her. Usingtheyinsteadofheorsheandtheirforhisorherisgrammaticallyincorrect.Waystoavoidhe/sheandhim/her,ifsorequired:usepluralnounsandpronouns;usetheinsteadofpronouns;orremovethepronounentirely:Studentsshouldstudyhardiftheywanttopasstheexaminations.head. Peopleheadcommittees;theydo not head upcommittees.Uselowercaseinitialsforheadofdepartment(HoD).



headings. Firstinitialuppercase,allotherwordsinheadinglowercase,exceptnames:Artsandculture,Nationalsym-bols,butDepartmentofArtsandCulture.Donotuseabbreviationsinheadings.healthcare(oneword).historic, historical. Historicmeansasignificantorimportanteventthatwillstandoutinhistory:thehistoricdemocraticelection.Historicalreferstoanypastoccurrence.HIV(uppercase).HIV and AIDS. NotHIV/AIDS.highveld.home owner. Buthome-owner’sallowance.honorary.Honorarydegree,nothonourarydegree.honours degree.Noapostrophe.human-resource development(HRD).Notresources;uselowercaseinitials.HRD Strategy.

I

i.e., e.g. Donotconfusethesetwoabbreviations.I.e.means“thatis”andintroducesanexplanationorclarification.E.g.means“forexample”andsimplyintroducesoneormoreexamples.Hissiblings,i.e.hisoldertwobrothers,aresupportinghim.immunise.impactisanoun,notaverb:Theimpactofthefuelandenergypriceincreaseswillbeenormous.Not:Thefuelandenergypriceincreaseswillimpactusgreatly.Trytoavoidthiswordasimpacthasmoretodowithacollision.incidence, incident. Theyshouldnotbeusedinterchangeablyassynonyms.Incidence(anabstractn.)canmean“therateorfrequencyofoccurrenceofaphenomenon”;“incident”means“adistinctoccurrenceorevent”:Thegreaterthenumberofincidentsofcrime,thehigherwecansaytheincidenceofcrimeis.independent,notindependant.in depth/in-depth.Researchstudentspursueaspecificaspectoftheirsubjectindepth.In-depth(twowords)isanadjective:indepthanalysisofthefigures.Indian(n.oradj.).Uppercase.informal settlement. Useinplaceofsquattercamp.information and communications technology(ICT).Lowercaseinitials.information technology (IT).Lowercaseinitials.install. Butinstalmentinstil.One“l”;butinstilled,instilling.inter alia.Ratheruseamongotherthings(andcertainlynotamongothers).interactive.interdepartmental.interdependent.intergovernmental.Internet (uppercaseinitial).intra-racial.intra-sectorial.-ise, -ize. Use-iseforallwordsspeltwith-ize:egorganisenotorganize.Exception:firstprize.italics.Shouldbeusedsparinglytoemphasisethemeaningofwords.Alwaysusefornon-SouthAfricanwordsandphrases;titlesofpublications,albumsofmusicrecording,operas,ballets,andmovies;thetitlesofGreenandWhitepapers;lawsuits(SmithvJones;ExpartyLawson);websiteaddresses(www.sayearbook.gov.za);andthenamesofships(SASProtea),aircraftandspacecraft.its, it’s. “It’s”isacontractionofitis:It’shottoday.Itsisapossessivemeaningofit:Amongitsvariousprovisions,theConstitutionensuresequalrightsforall.



J

JSE Securities Exchange Limited (JSE).Thisistheofficialname.jewellery.judgement, judgment. Thedriver’sjudgementwasimpairedbyalcohol.Thecourt’sjudgmentisdueintwoweeks.

K

Khayelitsha.kick off. Soccereventsandprojectskickoff,butconferencesandcampaignsopen,beginorstart.Thenounformiskick-off:Thekick-offisdueat15:30.kilolitre(kl).NottheAmericanorAfrikaansspelling,kiloliter.kilometre(km).NottheAmericankilometer.Non-breakingspace(Shift+Ctrl+Spacebar)betweenthefigureandthekm:3000km.Neverusekms.knobkierie.knock-and-drop.knockout (boxing).KwaZulu-Natal(withahypheninthepositionshown).

L

landowners(oneword).land-users (hyphenated).languages.Thereare11officiallanguagesinSouthAfrica:• Afrikaans• English• isiNdebele• isiXhosa• isiZulu• SesothosaLeboa(Sepedi)• Sesotho• Setswana• siSwati• Tshivenda• Xitsonga.latter, last.Latterisusedoftwopeopleorthings;lastofthreeormore.Offeathersandlead,thelatteristhedensermatter.lead, lead, led.Themetalislead(Pb);I’llleadtheway,providedyou’repreparedtobeledbyme.leaders, leadership.Thetradeunionhasseveralleaders,buttheyaresadlylackinginleadership(i.e.thequalityofleading)skills.learn, learned, learnt.Learnedandlearntarebothpasttenseformsoflearn:Atschoolwelearnedarithmeticandspelling.Haveyou learntnothingaboutgoodmanners?Learned isused inaspecialwayasanadjective(tomean“wise”),withthestressonthe“ed”:thelearnedprofessor;mylearnedcolleague,thejudge.lekgotla.Gathering.Plural:makgotla.lend, borrow. Youlendsomethingtosomeoneandborrowsomethingfromsomeone:I lendmypentoyou;MayIborrowyourpencil?less, fewer.Lessreferstoquantity,fewerreferstonumber:Fewerthan10delegatesattended;Lessthanhalfthedel-egatesarrived.(SeealsoNouns.)letsema. Communalvolunteerism.licence(n.),license(v.).lifelong.



life-size.light. Correct:Inthelightofthatinformation,wemustact.Incorrect:Inlightofthatinformation…like. Avoidusingtomeansuchasorasif.Limpopo. NotLimpopoProvince.Limpopo River.ButLimpopoandOrangerivers.line-up (n.), line up(v.).Thepoliceline-upwasdelayed.WehadtolineuptoseeOprah.loan, lend. Useloanasthenounandlendastheverb.Lentisthepasttense.locally.Nohyphenwhenusedadjectivallybecauseof–lyending:locallydevelopedvaccines.longstanding(oneword).long term.Hyphenatewhenit’susedasanadjective,otherwisewriteastwowords:long-terminvestment;Inthelongterm,myfinanceswillbefine.lose(v.),loose(adj.).Ioftenlosemykeys.Myshoelaceisloose.lowveld.

M

macrobenefits.macroeconomic.maize meal.mangoes.may, might.Mayexpressesbothpermissionandpossibility,whilemightexpressesonlypossibility:May I leavetheroom?Itmightraintoday.mealiemeal.medium(singular),media(singular/plural).media conference.Coversbothprintandelectronicmedia.Medium Term Budget Policy Statement and Medium Term Expenditure Framework. Nohyphens.Butmedium-termarrangements.megalitre(Ml).Referstoamillionlitres.Mercosur.Thetradingblock.NotMERCOSUR.microlending.millennium.million tonnes (Mt).Writeinfull,separatelyfromnumerals:32million.Minister. Capitalisewhenusedasatitle:theMinisterofFinance,MrGovanReddy,orMinisterofFinance,PravinGor-dhan;butthefinanceministerandtheminister.Alsouselowercasewhenthepluralisused:theministersofhealthandofcommunications.ministry, Ministry. Capitaliseonlywhenwrittenoutinfull:TheMinistryofJustice,butthejusticeministryorthemin-istry.money, plural:moneys,notmonies.moneylending.Mpumalanga.NotMpumalangaProvince.Notethespelling.multidimensional.multilingualism.multimedia, multimillion(oneword).multitude.Isasingularconcept:Amultitudeofideasisbuzzinginmyhead.myself, I. Incorrectusage:MyselfandSusanwillbeattending(SusanandIwillbeattending);myfriendandmyselfaregoing(myfriendandIaregoing).Otherwise,useonlyinthereflexiveform,asinIbakedthecakemyself;Imyselfdothatregularly.

N

National Budget (uppercaseN).national Department of Human Settlements(lowercaseN).



nation-building.nationwide.New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).newsroom.non-. Theprefix“non”indicatesthenegativesenseofwordswithwhichitiscombined.Hyphenate,asinnon-smoker.Butnonconformist,nondescript,nonentity.non-governmental organisation (NGO).Lowercaseinitials.Plural:NGOs.no one(twowords).North West(theprovince).Nohyphens.NotNorthWestProvince.But:North-WestUniversity.northern hemisphere.Lowercaseinitials.numbers. Usewordsforonetonine,numeralsfrom10onwards.Decimalandnegativenumbersarerenderedasnu-merals.Writeoutnumbersatthebeginningofasentence.Formillions,usethenumeral:R4million.Hyphenatemilliononlywhenusedadjectivally:R4,5millionbutR4,5-millioninvestment.Useaspaceforthousands:R168050.numerous. Ratherusemany.

O

of, off. Ofisapreposition,offcanbeanadverborapreposition.Avoidmistakenlyusingoffasapreposition,asinIpickeditupoffthefloor.Offthetopofmyhead,I’dsaywemadeR2millionprofitlastyear.one another, each other.Twopeopletalktoeachother;morethantwotalktooneanother.ongoing.online(oneword).onset, outset.Donotconfusethem.Onsetmeans“commencement,outbreak”;outsetmeans“start,beginning”.Theonsetofinfluenzaischaracterisedbyheadacheandfever.Fromtheoutset,theprojecthasbeenbesetbydelays.organise, organisation.See-ise.overcrowded(nohyphen).overexpenditure(nohyphen).

P

pandemic. UsetodenotetheglobalAIDSproblem.UseepidemictodenotetheprobleminSouthAfrica.Parliament, parliamentary. TheSouthAfricanParliament(uppercase)ortheParliament,butparliamentarybriefings.passed, past, last.Passedisthepasttenseformofpass;pastistheadjectivederivedfrompass,anditmeans“thetimegoneby”;lastmeans“final”.Ipassedhiminthecorridoronmywaytotheoffice.Thispastyearhasbeensobusy.Inthelastfewmonthsofhislife,hewasfitandactive.peacekeeping(nohyphen).per annum(pa).Intext,useayearoreachyear,notperannumorperyear.However,pamaybeusedintablesorwherespaceislimited,provideditisexplainedinfullbeloworfirst.per cent(twowords);butpercentage.peri-urban.persons, people. Botharepluralformsof“person”,butpersonsbelongmoretolegalorofficialdocumentsandnotices.(Admissiononlytopersonsovertheageof18),whereaspeopleshouldbeapartofineverydayusage(therearetoomanypeoplewhodrivealonetowork).PhD.phenomenon(singular),phenomena(plural).plus-minus. Aboutorapproximately.Donotuse±.police, police officer. Useinsteadofpoliceman,policewomanorcop.post-apartheid.practice(n.),practise(v.).Atsoccerpracticewepractisedourdribbling.premise, premises. Apremiseisapreviousstatementorpropositionfromwhichanotherisinferredorfollowsasacon-clusion:Youcan’toperateonthepremisethatwomenarelessproductivethanmen.Premises(onlyplural)compriseahouseorbuildingtogetherwithitsgrounds,orabuildinghousingabusiness,forexample.



The Presidency(uppercaseinitialwhenreferringtotheinstitution);ThePresident’sOffice(uppercaseinitials).President, president. PresidentJacobZuma;butourpresident,orthepresidentofacompany.principal, principle. Principalmeans“main,head”.Useprincipalasasynonymformostimportantormain,orinsteadofheadmaster/headmistress.Principlemeansamoralguidelineorfundamentaltruth.prizewinner (oneword).proactive(nohyphen).probably, likely. InSouthAfricanEnglish,eachofthesewordsbelongstoauniquephrase:Thatminewillprobablyclose.Thatmineisnowlikelytoclose.Incorrect:Thatminewilllikelyclose.Prof. (withafullstop).AbbreviationofProfessor.programme, program. ProgrammeonTVorradio,butcomputerprogram.prove, proven, proved. Provedisthepasttenseformofprove:Heprovedmewrongatourmeetingyesterday.Infrontofanoun,proventendstobepreferred:Itisaprovenfactthatwaterfreezesat0°C.public service. Useinsteadofcivilservice.publications.Titlesofpublicationsaresetinitalics:Vuk’uzenzele,SouthAfricaYearbook,etc.

Q

quatercentenary. 25thanniversary.NoRbetweenqua-and-tercentenary.quite, quiet.Quiteisanadverbmeaningveryorfairly(youarequiteright;thatwasquitegood);quietisanadjectivemeaningmakinglittleornonoise:Youarequiteright.Sheisaquietperson.

R

R500 (nospace).race.African,IndianandAsiangetanuppercaseinitial;black,colouredandwhitearelowercase.reason. Theconstructionthereasonbeingis…isincorrect.Replaceitwiththereasonis…orthereasonbeingputforwardis…recently. Useinsteadofyesterdayorlastweek,dependingonthedegreeofurgency.regard, regards, regarding. Thesetwowordseachbelongtouniquecontextsandphrasesandcannotbeusedinter-changeably:Iregardyouasmyfriend.Itisusuallysaferandbettertouse“about”or“regarding”insteadofwithregardto/asregardsincontextssuchas:Withregardtoourfriendship,Icansaylittlemore.Asregardsourfriendship,whatelseistheretosay?AlettermaybeendedwiththephraseKindregards.Incorrect:Withregardstothismatter…reign, rein. Toreignistoruleorgovern;areinisaleatherstrapusedtocontrolahorsewhenridingit:Thedictator’sreignendedabruptlyinacoupd’état.renaissance.Capitaliseonlyifitisusedwith“The”andreferseithertothehistoricperiodortheAfricanRenaissance.Rev.(withafullstop).AbbreviationofReverend.ringleader.role player.Twowords.Butrole-playinggameroll out(v.),roll-out(n.).

S

savanna. Alsosavannah–useoneortheotherconsistentlyinasingledocument.school-leaver.schoolteacher,schoolmaster,schoolchildren,schoolboy,schoolgirl(oneword).Section 21 company.Section. SectionofanActtakesanuppercaseinitial:AswereadinSection15(1)(e)oftheAct.Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta).semi-arid.semi-colons. Usecommastoseparateitemsinasimplelist,butusesemi-colonstoseparateitemsinalistofitemswhichthemselvescontaincommas.(Seealso4.3.2Commas,semi-colonsandcolons.)service delivery. Butservice-deliveryprogramme.



service providers(twowords).shareholder.since. Donotusesincetomean“because”;thiscan leadtoambiguity:Sincehehasbeenpromoted,heno longergreetsme.(because,orfromthetime?)sister.Usestaffnurse.small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME).Plural:SMMEs.South Africa Yearbook.Africanisincorrect.southern Africa.southern hemisphere(lowercaseinitials).spokesperson. Useinsteadofspokesmanorspokeswoman.stakeholder.State, state. Capitalisewhenreferringtoanorganisedpoliticalcommunityunderorbelongingtoorintheinterestsofonegovernment:ThebuildingbelongstotheState,butstatevisitorstate-ownedcompany.stationary, stationery.Stationarymeansstandingstill.Stationeryiswritingmaterialsuppliedbyastationer.storeroom(oneword).subdirectorate.subprogramme.substantial, substantive. Substantialmeansofsolidmaterialorstructure;ampleandnourishingofampleorconsider-ableamountorsize:Haveasutstantialmealbeforeyoustartfasting;Itwassosubstantialthatittooktwomentopushit.Substantivemeans“havingaseparateandindependentexistence;self-sufficient;important,significant,consider-able”:Hewrotevolumesofsubstantiveessaysthatcontributetotheworldoflearning.Incorrect:Thefacilitatorplayedasubstantiveroleintheirlearningexperience.subtropical.sugar cane.supersede.Notsupercede.

T

talk show(twowords),buttalk-showhost.taxpayer(oneword).technikons.Nowuniversitiesoftechnology.tercentenary. 300thanniversary.than, then.Thanisusedtoindicatecomparison:Hisworkisbetterthanmine.Thenindicatesatime-basedsequence:Theyatedinner,thentheywentoutdancing.that, which. Usethattointroduceadefiningclause:ThisisthehousethatJackbuilt.Usewhichtointroduceaqualify-ingclause:Thishouse,whichwasbuiltbyJack,isupforsale.Asageneralrule,whereaphrasecanbeputinparenthesisorbetweencommas,itisintroducedbywhich.that, who. Usethatwithanimalsandinanimateobjects;whowithpeople:Thisisamanwhocaresforhisstaffandhisfamily.Peoplewhosaythatarestupid.there, their. Thereisanadverbmeaning“in,atortothatplace”:Lookthere;There’swhereyou’llfindyourpen.Their(s)means“belongingtothem”:Thosearetheirbooks;Thebooksaretheirs.till, until.Avoidusingtillasasubstituteforuntil.time frame(twowords)Ratherusewithinaspecifictime.time limit (twowords).to, too.Tooisanadjectivethatmeansalso(hewenttoo)orexcessively(toomuch).Toisaprepositionusedtointro-duceanoun(Hewenttotheoffice)oraspartofaninfinitiveverb(togo,toreport).turnaround(n.),toturnaround(v.).

U

ubuntu(Nguni),botho(Sotho).Meanshumanity.underprivileged.



underqualified.under-resourced (hyphenated).underserviced.underused. Useinsteadofunderutilised.underway.unfazed.upside down(nothyphenated).US(adjective),USA(noun).USMarines;USforeignpolicy;theUSA.US$50–nospaces.use. Means“take,holdordeployasameansofaccomplishingorachievingsomething”:Useyourmoneywisely.Useitinsteadofutilise,unlesstoconveythemeaning“tomakepracticalandeffectiveuseof”:Wemustutilisetheresourceswehavetothebestofouradvantage.

V

very. Avoid.Ithasbeensooverworkeditoftenweakensthesentenceratherthanstrengtheningit.voters’ roll. Apostropheafterthes.

W

the(World Wide)Web.webmaster.website (oneword).Forwebsiteaddressesexcludehttp.wel

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