LawProse Lessons

Is good becoming an adverb? Are we losing well as an adverb? A descriptive linguist might well say so. And in the sweep of time—say, two centuries hence—it may well be that these sentences will be considered Standard English: “We played good.” “You did good.”      “I’m doing really good.” “I can’t write very good.” […]

Farther vs. further The best way to handle these terms (both comparative degrees of far) is to use farther literally and further figuratively.      Farther refers to physical distances {Timothy ran farther up the street than Susan} {From Dallas, it’s farther to Chicago than to St. Louis}. Further, on the other hand, refers to figurative

How should you punctuate around the common Latin abbreviations e.g., i.e., etc., and et al.? With e.g. (= for example) and i.e. (= that is), the usual convention in AmE is to precede it with a comma or a dash, and invariably to follow it with a comma {He trades in farm commodities, e.g., corn

Should you write “Plaintiff,” “the Plaintiff,” or “the plaintiff”? Preferably none of the above. Ideally, you’d populate your sentences with real names — not party designations. Your legal writing will become clearer, and readers will more easily keep track of who’s who (assuming you’re a competent expositor).      In appellate practice, this common-sense recommendation is

What is the right way to use articles before abbreviations? EPA or the EPA? An HMO or a HMO? There is no single “right” answer to this question. Conventional usage prevails. EPA is more common than the EPA when it’s standing alone (more on this below). But HMO is very uncommon — as rare as

When should you capitalize court? Capitalize court in legal documents in only four situations: 1.  When you’re referring to the United States Supreme Court {the Court’s opinion in Marbury v. Madison}. 2.  When you’re stating a court’s full name {the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit} {the Michigan Supreme Court}. 3.  When you’re referring

Is preventative lawyering a good thing?       No. But preventive lawyering might be. *Preventative is a dubious adjective with an unnecessary syllable. Careful writers and speakers don’t use it. Sources: Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage 706 (3d ed. 2011). Garner’s Modern American Usage 658 (3d ed. 2009). The Redbook § 12.3, at 302 (3d ed.

Placement of only. The word only is probably misplaced more often than any other modifier in legal and nonlegal writing. Only emphasizes the word or phrase that comes immediately after it. So the more words separating only from its correct position, the more awkward and ambiguous the sentence. When it comes too early in the

Therefore vs. therefor.       Therefore is the common adverbial conjunction meaning “for that reason,” “consequently,” or “so.” It always states a conclusion when used correctly {the accident occurred at 8 a.m.; therefore rush-hour traffic was snarled for hours}. The stress is on the first syllable. Therefor (stress on the last syllable) means “for that” or

Wrongly suppressed that.       Although in many constructions it’s perfectly permissible — and even preferred — to omit that {the book I read last week}, the word is often useful and even necessary. We need it as a restrictive relative pronoun {the book that won a Pulitzer}; as a demonstrative adjective {that book is the

That vs. which       We now come to an issue that has provoked swearing matches in recent months: how to choose between that and which as relative pronouns. Consider: Republicans oppose new taxes that are unnecessary. (Some taxes might be necessary.) Republicans oppose new taxes, which are unnecessary. (None, in their view, would ever be

One of those ______s who (or that): singular or plural verb?       Our last LawProse lesson ended this way: “My recommendation: don’t be one of those people who insist on not using that in reference to humans.” I told my colleagues: just wait — someone’s going to insist that it should be “one of those

Is person that (as opposed to who) proper?       Is it permissible to say people that, or must you always say people who? One often hears language aficionados who proclaim that who is best for people, and that that, strictly speaking, is loose or even taboo as a relative pronoun referring to humans. They’re wrong:

Confusing these terms is a persistent error in legal and other writing. Forego traditionally means “to go before; to precede in time or place.” But it’s most common in the participial forms foregone and, less often, foregoing.   Ex.:  The outcome was a foregone conclusion. Ex.:   In an effective brief, the discussion flows from the

It’s vs. its In a 1988 review of my Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage — or, as it’s now called in its third edition, Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage — a generally effusive reviewer criticized me for including an entry on the possessive its as opposed to the contraction it’s. The comment seemed unfair at

What’s the difference between guarantee and guaranty? ANSWER: Guarantee, the broader and more common term, is both a verb and a noun. The narrower term, guaranty, today appears mostly in banking and other financial contexts; it seldom appears in nonlegal writing. Guarantee, vb. 1. To assure that a promise will be kept {the coach guaranteed

What are the rules for using the labels Jr., Sr., III, etc. in a name? Three traditional rules govern these labels (although often ignored in modern usage): 1. A son drops the Jr. label soon after his father dies — as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes did. But there are two exceptions to this rule. First,

ANSWER: It’s best without the th. An ordinal number indicates position in a series (e.g., first, second, fifteenth), and should not be used when writing a date. Any one of these forms is correct: May 29, 2013 (the American method); 29 May 2013 (the military or British method); or the 29th of May 2013 (acceptable

Why isn’t *subpoenae the plural of subpoena? In response to our last lesson on subpoenas duces tecum, many people asked: Why isn’t the plural *subpoenae duces tecum? Subpoena is a singular English noun — it was never a Latin noun. Rather, the English word subpoena derived from the Latin phrase sub poena, meaning “under penalty”

What’s the plural of subpoena duces tecum? ANSWER: Subpoenas duces tecum. This phrase — like any other containing a postpositive adjective — takes its plural on the noun at its beginning, the phrase’s “head.” Similar plurals include these: accounts payable accounts receivable acts malum in se agents provocateur ambassadors extraordinary annuities certain attorneys general bodies