CAPITALS
Words such as Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis when they are used in place of the person’s name. Do not capitalize when they follow a, an, the, possessive pronouns such as my, your, his, her, our, your. Your mother, the mother, my mother.
Capitalize suffixes and titles such as King Wang the Great, Wenna the Princess of Power.
While an intern, I shadowed Senior Marketing Director Wang for a day. (Title)
Wang Lee is the most productive marketing director in the department. (not title)
Pronouns, all, and everyone would not be capitalized when addressing people.
Ferris is named after the inventor so it is capitalized. You do not capitalize wheel because the term applies to all similar structures. Ferris wheel
Capitalize such words as northern, southern, eastern, and western when they refer to the people in a region or to their political, social, or cultural activities. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate general location or refer to the geography or climate of the region.
Capitalize zodiac signs: Gemini, Cancer, Taurus, etc.
Centuries and their numbers are not capitals (twentieth century) but historical eras have capitals: Roaring Twenties, Middle Ages.
Capitalize job positions when it comes immediately before the name, in a formal context or in direct address. General Manager Wang.
It is not capitalized if it comes after the person’s name, or if there is a “the” before it. Wang, the general manager of accounting, is late.
HYPHENATED WORDS
Hyphenate two or more words when they come before a noun they modify and act as a single idea. This is called a compound adjective. When a compound adjective follows a noun, a hyphen is usually not necessary.
The rates for off season are lower. No hyphen.
Hyphenate when used before a noun.
The off-season rates are less than half what they were charging during the peak season.
There are no spaces around hyphens which join a compound adjective.
We have a two-year-old child.
He had a concealed-weapons permit.
Hyphenate spans of time, distance, or other quantities.
3:15-3:45 p.m.
1999-2016
4-7 meters
Incorrect: 300 - 325 people
Correct: 300-325 people
A hyphen’s main purpose is to glue words together. They notify that two or more elements are linked.
Compound verbs: The slacker video-gamed his way through life.
Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.
Do not hyphenate fractions preceded with a or an. More than a third of people agreed, but only one-third voted.
Correct: The sign is five and one-half feet long.
Correct: A five-and-one-half-foot-long sign.
My great-great-grandfather
Do NOT hyphenate half brother or half sister.
Hyphenate prefixes ending in a vowel when the root word begins with the same letter: ultra-ambitious, semi-invalid, re-elect.
Hyphenate all words beginning with the prefixes self-, ex- and all: self-assured, ex-mayor, all-knowing.
Use a hyphen with a prefix and some suffixes to avoid confusion. I re-covered the sofa. I de-ice the sidewalk. Co-worker not coworker which is cow orker. Modernist-style paintings. Mayor-elect Wang, sugar-free soda, oil-based sludge
Hyphens are NOT dashes. Dashes have spaces, especially in subtitling.
RULES FOR NUMBERS
Write out numbers below 101 as spelled words. Use numerals after 100.
Numbers that begin a sentence MUST ALWAYS be spelled.
In 1776, America became a nation.
Seventeen seventy-six was when it happened. (First word of a sentence.)
The cost of the medication is $51.75 at the pharmacy. (Use numerals with decimals.)
Use numerals for measurements: 65 mph, 23 years old, page 23, and 20 percent.
One inch is equal to 2.54 cm. (First word must be spelled.)
The weight of an average hippopotamus is 1,500 kg. (use comma in number)
People were hesitant to pay the fifty-dollar fee. (hyphenate before noun)
The Milky Way is approximately 13.6 billion years old.
Canada has a population of nearly 36 million. Use numerals before millions, billions, trillions.
There were five thousand men. Spell number for hundreds and thousands.
Did you know the average snail moves at 0.029 miles per hour? (use zero)
It needs 2 1/4 cups. Use digits for fractions with a whole number.
She used two-thirds gallon. Spell for fraction without a whole number.
Spell out the time when it is followed by o’clock. Six o’clock.
Use numerals to emphasize the exact time 6:05 and when using a.m. and p.m. such as 6 p.m.
Use dots for 6 a.m. or it becomes am as in I am sick.
Street Addresses: 5801 Fir Street. 1032 Fifth Avenue.
Name is also the address: One Park Place.
Use numerals for units and credits. The course was 3 credits. The amount is 3 units.
1920s has no apostrophe. Spell out twenties, thirties, seventeenth, etc.
Chinese or origin language number rules may be different than ours, but since we are editing for English speakers, I use the English rules.
ABBREVIATIONS
A period should be placed after an initial and after most abbreviations. U.S. (periods, no space). Otherwise, it is shouting us.
Also, we can use U.S. as a modifier (the U.S. policy on immigration) but not as a noun (He left the U.S.A.)
The metric system uses symbols, not abbreviations. The symbol km for kilometre does not contain periods, or an s in the plural form.
Miss is not an abbreviation so we don’t put a period after it.
The plural of Mr. is Messrs. or Misters. Use Mister’s for possessive form.
The abbreviations Rev. and Hon. for Reverend and Honorable. Don’t abbreviate when preceded by “the.” Write “the Reverend Wang” and “the Honorable Wang.”
Other abbreviations: Sr., Jr., Ph.D., M.D., B.A., M.A., D.D.S.
When an abbreviation is the last word in a sentence, do NOT add a second period.
A period that is part of an abbreviation cannot be replaced by any other punctuation except a period. Use the question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon, or comma after the period of an abbreviation.
Give the book to the Mrs., then you can leave.
For possessive form, Mrs.’ is awkward so spell out Missus’ coat.
ASAP or asap are both acceptable.
It’s best not to use the following abbreviations in subtitling:
For example= e.g.
Namely= viz.
In other words= i.e.
And other people= et al.
COMMON POINTS
It is I.
Between you and me.
Overthink is one word.
Anyway is correct. Anyways is slang, not proper English.
All right not Alright.
More than that, not Over top of that.
Food is singular or plural. Foods means the different variety of edible things, shows number of dissimilar things.
Adverb “sometime” (one word) means at an indefinite or unstated time in the future. He’ll marry her sometime. Adjective “sometime” means occasional or former, a sometime friend. The expression “some time” (two words) means “a period of time.” I didn’t see him for some time. The adverb “sometimes” (one word) means “occasionally, now and then.” I walk there sometimes.
Toward or towards: either is fine.
Afterward or afterwards: both are fine.
Realized or realised: both are fine.
Crisis is single. Crises is plural.
A good night’s sleep. Note this is the proper form.
Good night is how you say farewell at night.
Goodnight kiss is an adjective or noun adjective.
Two Ks, but mind your p’s and q’s. And always CDs, unless you’re talking about something the CD owns.
Inhuman: action adverb. He is inhuman.
Inhumane: adjective. The inhumane father.
Fiancée is correct word for the female counterpart of fiancé. The technical synonym for fiancé is groom-to-be. The bride-to-be is fiancee.
Antarctica is the continent. Antarctic is the South Polar region. No capital when used as an adjective (antarctic fossils).
I’ll send you. In English, it means we send you as our messenger, errand boy or courier. We send a letter or parcel. I’ll send you home = Send you away, which is a threat. Proper English: I’ll take you home. I’ll take you there. I’ll drive you home.
WHO OR WHOM: who replaces he, she. Whom means him, her.