Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day

Today: Sense over Syntax. In some contexts, meaning — as opposed to the strict requirements of grammar or syntax — governs subject-verb agreement. Henry Sweet, the 19th-century English grammarian, used the term “antigrammatical constructions” for these triumphs of logic over grammar. (Expressions in which grammar triumphs over logic are termed “antilogical.”) Modern grammarians call the […]

Although these are synonyms (= the act or process of forming syllables, or of dividing words into syllables), prefer “syllabification,” since it corresponds to the more common verb “syllabify” (as opposed to *"syllabicate"). But the two nouns are almost equally common — e.g.: o “Other dictionaries use the same syllabification with a slightly different pronunciation:

As a verb, “swoon” means either (1) “to faint” or (2) “to be overjoyed or enraptured” — e.g.: “Like a latter-day St. Theresa swooning in ecstasy, her visage is simultaneously lost in a spiritual trance and abandoned in carnal reverie.” Christopher Knight, “Branching Out: Victor Estrada’s Work at Santa Monica Museum Is Both Inventive, Grim,”

So inflected. The dialectal *"swang" is fairly common — e.g.: o “One of [the boys] swang [read ‘swung’] erratically, topping his ball, which rattled a few yards along the grass and disappeared into a drainage ditch.” Don Gillmor, “Scot on the Rocks,” Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale), 27 Feb. 1994, at J1. o “As the youngster performed

symposium. The plural is :symposiums.” *"Symposia" is a pedantry. synagogue, n., is the standard spelling. *"Synagog" is a variant. synchronous; *synchronic; *synchronal. The second and third are needless variants. synonym for “pseudonym” (= a pen name) is a bizarre error — e.g.: “All of the contributors used synonyms [read ‘pseudonyms’]: Etienne George signed himself as

“Swapping horses while crossing the stream” is H.W. Fowler’s term for vacillating between two constructions (Modern English Usage 589 [1st ed.]). Thus, someone writes that “the rate of divorce is almost as high in Continental Europe, other things being equal, than it is in the United States.” The first “as” needs a second one in

“Sustained injuries” is officialese for “was injured” — e.g.: “Also since the series, parents have filed lawsuits alleging two area children sustained injuries [read ‘were injured’] at unsafe play areas.” Rosa Salter, “L.V. Dad Envisions Playground Safety Network,” Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.), 25 Nov. 1996, A.M. Mag. §, at D1. Why prefer an edit that

The third edition of Garner’s Modern American Usage reflects several new practices. Invariably inferior forms, for example, are now marked with asterisks preceding the term or phrase, a marking common in linguistics. The most interesting new feature is the Language-Change Index. Its purpose is to measure how widely accepted various linguistic innovations have become. Such

swat (= to swing at [something] with a slapping movement) is the standard spelling. *”Swot” is a variant. sweetbrier, denoting a type of European rose, is so spelled — not *”sweetbriar.” swivel, vb., makes “swiveled” and “swiveling” in American English, “swivelled” and “swivelling” in British English. *sworn affidavit is a common redundancy. syllabus. The plural

The surname (or “family name”) denotes (wholly or partly) one’s kinship. In many cases it was derived from physical characteristics, occupations, or locations and later transmitted to descendants (e.g., Smith); in other cases it indicated paternity (e.g., Davidson). Such names came to be called “surnames.” The modern custom is that a woman who marries may,

Part A. Spelling: As noun and verb, the word is so spelled — not *”surmize.” E.g.: “Other officials even extended their optimism to surmize [read ‘surmise’] that ‘a new climate has begun.’” Ana Martinez-Soler, “Madrid Cheers as France Quashes ETA Terrorists,” Christian Science Monitor, 17 Jan. 1984, at 7. Part B: And *”surmisal.” The word

“Supposed to” (= expected to) wrongly made *”suppose to” is an exceedingly common error — e.g.: o “We’re suppose [read ‘supposed’] to feel her greatest humiliation in this scene.” Avis L. Weathersbee, “Judging TV’s Black Images,” Chicago Sun-Times, 8 Apr. 2001, Showcase §, at 1. o “‘The Price of Milk’ is suppose [read ‘supposed’] to

“Supposable” = capable of being supposed; presumable. E.g.: “He learns more about himself and the supposable dimension of man’s future.” Dick Richmond, “A Sequel to ‘The Celestine Prophecy,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 16 May 1996, at G7. “Suppositious” and “supposititious” sometimes cause confusion. Although some modern dictionaries list these as variants, some differentiation is both possible

supplicant; *suppliant. “Supplicant” is the standard term meaning “one who earnestly beseeches; a humble petitioner” — e.g.: o “Upstairs in a darkened room of the Edina home in which he was staying, Sakya Trizin, supreme head of one of Tibetan Buddhism’s four branches, received a constant stream of supplicants.” Kay Miller, “Buddhism from Tibet Pursues

susceptible — properly sounded /suh-SEP-tuh-buhl/ — is sometimes mispronounced, even by educated speakers, /suhk-SEP-tuh-buhl/. suspendable; *suspendible. The latter is a needless variant. Though *"suspendible" is the only form listed in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, “suspendable” is eight times as common. swab (= [1] a mop; or [2] a cotton

Today: Four More. “Never Use ‘between’ with More than Two Objects”: “When Miss Thistlebottom taught you in grammar school that ‘between’ applies only to two things and ‘among’ to more than two, she was for the most part correct. ‘Between’ essentially does apply to only two, but sometimes the ‘two’ relationship is present when more

Today: “Never Use ‘since’ to Mean ‘because.’” o “There is a groundless notion current both in the lower schools and in the world of affairs that ‘since’ has an exclusive reference to time and therefore cannot be used as a causal conjunction. . . . No warrant exists for avoiding this usage, which goes back,

 Today: “Never Begin a Sentence with ‘Because.’” So novel and absurd is this superstition that few authorities on writing have countered it in print. But here’s one: “This proscription [‘Never begin a sentence with because’] appears in no handbook of usage I know of, but the belief seems to have a popular currency among many

Today: “Never Write a One-Sentence Paragraph.” o “A paragraph may contain but one sentence . . . [or] two sentences; but usually it contains more than two.” Adams S. Hill, The Foundations of Rhetoric 23-24 (1896). o “To interpose a one-sentence paragraph at intervals — at longish intervals — is prudent. Such a device helps

suppressible. So spelled — not *"suppressable." Surinamese; *Surinamer. For a citizen of Suriname, the first is standard; the second is a needless variant. surprise, n. & vb., is surprisingly often misspelled *"surprize" — e.g.: “There are other benefits that come from engaging an investment counselor who is paid for service: . . . fewer surprizes