Enquire and inquire both mean to ask or seek information about something. The corresponding nouns are enquiry and inquiry.
Basically there is no big difference in meaning between these words. It can be generally said that inquire is the common form in the USA and enquire in Britain.
The man enquired about renting a sunshade
However, there are writers – particularly in Britain – who make a slight distinction between the two forms of the word. They use enquire simply as a synonym of ask in a general sense. Inquire is used with the meaning of making a formal investigation.
My boss enquired about the passing away of our dog.
The police are making inquiries to find the owner of the abandoned car.
If you write American English, you could use inquire, but otherwise you need not worry about which form is correct. As always, choose one form and be consistent throughout your text!
Writers often say too much by adding unnecessary words. Phrases such as free gift and joint cooperation are examples of tautology (saying the same thing twice) or pleonasm (using more words than necessary). Words that do not add information are called redundant words. Get rid of redundancies!
Here are some examples of unnecessary words:
General consensus – if you have a consensus, all agree
Foreign imports – imports are always from another country
Unexpected surprise – it wouldn’t be a surprise if you expected it
Personal friend – if you have a friend, you have a personal relationship. Someone who is not a friend may be an acquaintance
Past history – history is about the past
The two twins – would you expect them to be three?
Four different colours – if something comes in four colours, you can be sure they are different
Unsolved mystery – if you have solved it, it is not a mystery
I am sure you can see what’s wrong in the following examples:
Moment in time
Period of time
Few in number
On a daily basis
In actual fact
Sum total
Close proximity
Necessary requirement
New beginning
Advance planning
Outward appearances
The reason why
Return back
Combinations with together and each other are common – and unnecessary:
Combine together
Collaborate together
Join together
Merge together
Mix together
Blend together
Interact with each other
Another often unnecessary word is completely:
Completely surround
Completely empty
Completely unanimous
Completely alone? No, alone!
We might include end result and final outcome in the list of unnecessary words, but these combinations are acceptable, since it is possible to also talk about a preliminary result or a preliminary outcome.
Some abbreviations:
Since LCD means liquid crystal display, you should not write LCD display.
In PIN and ISBN, N stands for number – writing number after the abbreviation is pleonastic.
RAM means random access memory – don’t add memory.
UPC stands for universal product code and therefore you should not write UPC code.
ATM means automated teller machine – write only ATM.
Pleonasm is sometimes used as a rhetorical device for emphasis:
Each and every
Any and all
First and foremost
To all intents and purposes
Such emphasis is common in legal texts:
Null and void
Aid and abet
Fit and proper
Cease and desist
Sole and exclusive
Redundant words are so common that we often don’t notice them. Read your text with an eye on redundancies – and delete them!
Am I a copy editor or a copy-editor? Or perhaps a copyeditor?
First, what is a copyeditor? In publishing, copy means text. Consequently a copyeditor edits texts. However, one could argue that there is a difference between what, for example, a managing editor does and what a copyeditor does. Or, to quote Karen Judd, ”A copyeditor does not edit copy; a copyeditor copyedits copy”. You can read about how I work here.
Copyeditor at work
Dictionaries differ in their recommendations. Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionary have copy editor; The American Heritage Dictionary and The Chicago Manual of Style have copyeditor.
In book titles we can find both one and two words:
The Copyeditor’s Handbook (University of California Press)
Carol Fisher Salter: The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago (University of Chicago Press)
Butcher’s Copy-editing (Cambridge University Press)
Karen Judd: Copyediting: A Practical Guide (Crisp Publications)
The Copy Editor newsletter changed its name to Copyediting newsletter.
As you can see from the URL of this site, I have settled for the one-word version copyeditor. One of the reasons is that my website address copyeditor.se looks better as one word; another reason is that many words beginning with copy are written as one word:
Copywriter, copydesk, copyright, copybook, etc.
There seems to be a trend for some compound words to go from two words via hyphenation to one word. A few examples:
proof reader – proof-reader – proofreader
base ball – base-ball – baseball
sub editor – sub-editor – subeditor
ink well – ink-well – inkwell
living room – living-room – livingroom
As always, the important thing is that you are consistent!
Perhaps you find it difficult to sort out words such as little, much, few, a few, many, less, more, a lot of and plenty of.
MANY AND MUCH
Many is always used with the plural form of countable nouns (you can read about countables and uncountables here).
She has written many articles about ancient Rome.
We have many students from Asia.
Much is always used with uncountable nouns.
The production process requires much energy.
Don’t drink too much beer!
Both many and much take the comparative form more.
There were more students last year.
I wish I had more time.
A lot of, lots of and plenty of can all be combined with both countables and uncountables.
There are lots of nice places to visit along the coast.
Take it easy – you have plenty of time.
FEW AND LITTLE
Few means ’not many, almost none’. Use few with countable nouns.
He had few interests and was quite bored.
There are few artists who have had such success.
A few means ’two or three, a handful of’. Use a few with countables.
We saw a few birds by the river.
A few members of the staff had already arrived.
The difference between few and a few applies also to little and a little. Both little and a little suggest ’not much’, but there is a difference in meaning.
I have little money sounds rather negative; you would like to have more.
I have a little money implies that you actually can buy something, although nothing expensive.
I have little money but much time.
Since he had little experience, he did not get the job.
A little rain will be good for our garden.
I would be grateful for a little extra time.
Fewer cars and less traffic on the way back home
FEWER AND LESS
Fewer is the comparative form of few. It is used with countables.
The fewer mistakes you make in your report, the better it is.
The company has fewer employees than I expected.
Some writers use the word less where they should have fewer instead. The correct choice is to use less with an uncountable.
I like my new job, even if it gives me less money.
Perhaps you should drink less beer.
Less is used before than in expressions of time and measurements.
They had lived there for less than two years.
My job is less than three kilometres from our house.
There is also the form lesser, meaning ’not as great in size or importance as something else’.
In formal correspondence it is important to start – and end – a letter with the right tone.
How you can begin a letter or an email
If you know the name of the recipient, use the title and the surname after the word Dear.
Dear Ms O’Connor,
Dear Mr Harding,
Dear Dr Johnson,
Dear Professor Green,
Using the abbreviated form Prof may seem less respectful, and the full form is recommended.
As mentioned here, there is usually a period (a full stop) after abbreviated titles in American English. In American English the salutation is usually followed by a colon instead of a comma.
If a person’s name does not reveal whether it is a man or a woman and you are not sure, write the full name:
Dear Kim Nelson,
Dear Taylor Smith,
Don’t know the name?
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, try to find it out. Check the website of the journal, university, department, organisation, company, etc., under ”Staff”, ”About us” or ”Contact Us”. You might also find out a person’s name on LinkedIn. Another option would be to call the office and ask for the name.
If you cannot find the name but know the person’s function, you can write, for example,
Dear Editor,
Dear Librarian,
Dear Recruiting Manager,
Dear Chief Technology Officer,
Dear Communications Director,
Dear President of Sales,
Dear Social Media Specialist,
Dear Research Assistant,
Dear Supervisor,
If you know neither the name nor the function of the person you are writing to, write
Dear Sir/Madam, and if you know the recipient is a man (woman), write Dear Sir, (Dear Madam,). If there are more than one recipient, you can write Dear Sirs,.
Some writers use the phrase
To whom it may concern, (in American English To Whom It May Concern),
but that may seem too impersonal.
Perhaps less suitable for formal letters
Ending a letter or an email
To end a formal letter to a person whose name you know, write
Yours sincerely, (mainly British usage)
Sincerely yours, (mainly American usage)
If you do not know the name of the recipient, write
Yours faithfully, (British English)
Yours truly, (American English)
Slightly less formal endings would be
With best regards,
With kindest regards,
And more informal:
Regards,
Kind regards,
Best regards,
These last examples would be suitable in an email, since emails are seen as less formal than letters.
To address people we can use the honorific titles Mr, Miss and Mrs.
Mr and Mrs Gibson on the beach
The female forms Mrs and Miss indicate whether a woman is married or not, which Mr does not. Mrs shows that a woman is married; many widows and divorced women retain the title even though they no longer have a spouse.
In the 1950s many women did not want to be known by their marital status and used the title Ms to replace Mrs and Miss. This usage became more widely spread in the 1970s and Ms is now the common form. However, the abbreviation Ms is older than you may think – it was used in an American newspaper as early as 1901.
Use the neutral Ms when you write to a woman unless you notice that she herself uses the title Mrs. If in doubt, ask her what she prefers.
The gender-neutral title Mx can be used to refer to a person who wants to be identified as neither male nor female. The title has become adopted by institutions in the UK such as the Royal Mail, agencies dealing with passports and driving licences as well as several banks. Mx is pronounced mix, sometimes em-ex.
Mr, Mrs and Mx are always used before a name, while Miss can stand alone.
Good morning, Mrs Johnson!
Thank you, Miss.
Without a following name, Mr and Mrs are replaced by sir and madam (or ma’am), respectively.
Can I help you, ma’am?
Very kind of you, sir!
Mr has a plural form, Messrs, which is put before the names of two or more men, especially in the name of a company.
Send your request to Messrs Watson & Sons.
Young boys are sometimes addressed as Master.
As you see (and surely know), these titles are always capitalised. In American English there is usually a full stop after the abbreviations.
You may have come across the abbreviation Esq. The word Esquire used to be a title given to men of higher rank in society. In the 20th century it came to be used as a general title for any man, usually added after a man’s name, especially in correspondence (on envelopes and in letters) and official documents: William Brown, Esq. This is the same as Mr William Brown. If Esq. is used, you do not write Mr before the name.
When a British man is invited to Buckingham Palace, Esq. is added to his name on the envelope; for men of other nationalities, Mr is used instead.
In the United States, Esquire refers to a lawyer, irrespective of gender. It is used as an abbreviation after a person’s full name.
I suggest you contact my lawyer, Susan Hall, Esq.
When addressing correspondence to a United States diplomat, Esquire may be used, written in full.
Read about how you use honorific titles to start a letter or an email here.
Job titles such as chairman, salesman, policeman and fireman imply that it is a man that is performing the job. And stewardess and barmaid would suggest women. But both men and women work in the police force or stand behind the bar.
Clearly not a policeman
Gender-neutral language aims at avoiding reference to a male or a female when the job is not gender-specified. Thus we use neutral forms: chair or chairperson, sales representative or salesperson, police officer, firefighter, flight attendant and bartender.
Some job titles that were seen as typically male or female are now used with reference to both genders, such as nurse, judge, doctor and model. You should avoid specifying, for instance, male nurse or female judge.
In some cases, the male form has taken over: actor instead of actress, usher instead of usherette.
Interestingly, man meant person in Old English (Anglo-Saxon). And female has nothing to do with male; it comes from the Latin femella, the diminutive form of femina, meaning woman.
When the gender of the person referred to is unknown or irrelevant, you can use the pronoun they to refer to that person. Read more about the use of theyhere.
To sum up, when you write in English, avoid using gender-specific job titles when there is a neutral alternative.
When two or more words are combined to form a new concept with a new meaning, we talk about a compound.
A compound can be a combination of a noun and a noun (school nurse), an adjective and a noun (full moon), an adverb and a verb (far-reaching), a verb and an adverb (check-up), a preposition and a noun (underworld), a preposition and a verb (overestimate), an adjective and another adjective (blue-green) – and a few more combinations.
In English there are three ways to write compound words: as separate words (open compounds), as one word (closed compounds) or as words combined with a hyphen (hyphenated compounds). This can sometimes be rather confusing. We write head office as separate words, we write head-teacher with a hyphen and we write headmaster as one word. Likewise we have table knife but tablespoon.
This may seem frustrating, and if you are in doubt, you had better check a dictionary or a style sheet. (Actually, you can also write stylesheet. Some compounds can take any of the three forms. You can write life style, life-style or lifestyle.)
OPEN COMPOUNDS
Unlike some other languages – German, Swedish or Finnish, for example – English often does not combine the separate words into one word. A breakfast table is in German Frühstückstisch; a hotel room is in Swedish hotellrum; a taxi driver is in Finnish taksinkuljettaja.
Here are some examples of open compounds in English:
apple pie
half sister
coffee mug
information technology
computer network
light year
couch potato
living room
database design
master bedroom
decision maker
orange juice
dinner table
post office
English teacher
swimming pool
evening dress
truck driver
football stadium
video game
full moon
washing machine
An open compound: Mountain climbers
CLOSED COMPOUNDS
The following are examples of compounds written in one word:
afternoon
makeup
airport
newspaper
blackboard
notebook
bodyguard
online
bookstore
paycheck
cupcake
policewoman
cowboy
skateboard
doorbell
substandard
downtown
takeaway
football
textbook
grandmother
underworld
handout
wallpaper
headache
watermelon
input
worksheet
Compounds with words from Latin or Greek are written as one word:
photography
agriculture
HYPHENATED COMPOUNDS
Many compounds – especially those formed by two nouns – used to be hyphenated, but now most of them are written either as one word or two separate words. Here are some compounds that are still hyphenated (and you will notice that they are generally not of the noun+noun type):
broad-minded
runner-up
check-in
secretary-general
dry-cleaning
self-esteem
far-reaching
six-pack
go-between
well-being
passer-by
X-ray
Compounds with three or more words are usually written with hyphens:
around-the-clock
merry-go-round
do-it-yourself
mother-of-pearl
editor-in-chief
right-of-way
father-in-law
jack-of-all-trades
happy-go-lucky
state-of-the-art
Compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine are hyphenated: My dad is forty-two.
Fractions also take a hyphen: We had already driven two-thirds of the way. Less than one-fifth of the operators are women.
But with a instead of one there is no hyphen: Less than a fifth of the operators are women.
Some compounds have changed from being hyphenated to a single word. We used to write on-line and world-wide, but nowadays online and worldwide are more common. This also applies to words such as cooperate and proactive.
To avoid confusion, a hyphen is used when the prefix ends and the base word begins with the same vowel:
anti-intellectual
COMPUNDS AS MODIFIERS
When compounds are used as modifiers, they are written with a hyphen. A modifier works as an adjective or adverb to add information about the word directly following it.
A six-year-old boy. But: The boy was six years old.
We rely on just-in-time delivery. But: I arrived just in time. The clock struck three when I opened the door.
Most writers either use these two words indiscriminately or simply choose cooperation without even reflecting on the alternative collaboration.
The main difference between the two words is that collaboration involves people working together towards a shared goal, while cooperation implies somebody working to support somebody else’s goal.
Collaborating towards a common goal
As a copyeditor, I work with the author of a text. The author wants me to make sure the manuscript is in fluent English without any linguistic or factual errors. (You can read here about how I work.) The author may ask for comments on a certain passage and I may want clarification of what the author intends. I can suggest an alternative formulation. Our shared objective is an article that deals with an interesting topic, has perfect language and format and is of such a quality altogether that it can be accepted for publication. That is collaboration. Collaboration is teamwork requiring mutual respect, trust and adaptability.
In my job as a copyeditor I may come across a word that is totally unknown to me. I can then call an expert to ask about that word. For example, I once called the coast guard to ask what word they used in a certain context. Thanks to their cooperation I could achieve my goal – to use that word correctly.
Should you have a hyphen or not? The answer is here.
Perhaps some writers hesitate to use the word collaboration since it has a less agreeable connotation. A collaborator is someone who helps an enemy that has occupied their country in a war.
Co is a prefix, a syllable placed before a word. The word prefix itself is made up of the prefix pre (meaning before) and the word fix (meaning attach).
The prefix co (and its alternative forms con, com, col and cor, depending on which letter follows the prefix) has the meaning with, together with.
A prefix is usually not followed by a hyphen. Some examples: Afterthought, antedate, biannual, collaborate, commemorate, confederation, displace, ensure, illegal, indirect, overuse, posttraumatic, prepaid, replace, submarine, underestimate, uninterested.
So you are right in leaving out the hyphen in words such as cooperate, collaborate and coordinate.
Cooperation
However, in some cases a hyphen is to prefer, since otherwise the spelling might suggest a different pronunciation:
If you write co-opt without a hyphen (coopt), it looks as if it could be pronounced with a vowel as in too, and re-edit, when written reedit might sound like read it. The same pronunciation issue would apply to, for example, re-enter, re-establish, and re-examine.
Some words with the prefix re- have two versions, one with and one without a hyphen:
When you re-sign a document, you sign it again, but when you resign, you quit a job. To re-cover means to cover again, while recover is to get better, regain your health. When you re-store goods, you put them back in store again, but to restore something means to reconstruct or bring back to a former state.
And, since we are dealing with English, we have to accept inconsistencies like the following:
Anti-clockwise, anti-hero and anti-Semitism but antirust, antiseptic and antisocial. Vice President of a state; vice president or vice-president in business. Viceroy but vice-chancellor.
A last note: Instead of writing cooperate, you could consider writing collaborate. There is a difference between the two!
Recent Comments