“Escape From the Grammar Trap“ by Jean Hollis Weber presented by Chris Ritchie

Introduction Why Do Editors Have Such a Narrow Focus? Distinguish Between Essential, Nonessential, and Fake Rules Examples of Essential Grammar and Punctuation Rules Examples of Nonessential Grammar and Punctuation Rules Examples of Usage Rules Examples of Fake Rules Conclusion

Why Do Editors Have Such a Narrow Focus? Many editors are in one of these groups: They know how to contribute substantively, but they don't have time--or aren't allowed--to do so. They are more comfortable enforcing rules than making critical suggestions and then dealing with writers and others who may not appreciate those suggestions. They don't believe they can contribute substantively because they haven't been trained in substantive editing or they aren't sufficiently familiar with the subject matter they are editing. They lack the skills to do a good job of copyediting, so they never get the chance to go beyond that stage, even though they might be very good at other types of editing (the skills required are quite different).

Distinguish Between Essential, Nonessential, and Fake Rules Rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage can be essential or nonessential--or even fake! Essential rules are those that are necessary for clear, unambiguous communication. Nonessential rules are those that are not required for clarity and unambiguity. Fake rules may actually be matters of word choice, style, or conventional usage, not rules of grammar; or they may be things many of us were taught were wrong, but which are in fact acceptable variations in usage.

Examples of Essential Grammar and Punctuation Rules Use of commas, when errors can cause ambiguity or misunderstanding. For example, this pair of sentences convey quite different messages: Tomorrow will be overcast and rainy at times. Tomorrow will be overcast, and rainy at times. Use of apostrophes in possessives and contractions, but not plurals. Incorrect placement of apostrophes changes meaning (often causing confusion or ambiguity) or is completely wrong. Some examples: Changes meaning: It's (contraction of "it is" or "it has") or its (possessive of "it"); who's (contraction of "who is") or whose (possessive of "who"); the manager's decision (one manager made the decision) or the managers' decision (more than one manager made the decision) Just plain wrong: Mens', childrens', its' (all intended to be possessives); video's, photo's (when intended to be plural, not possessive)

Examples of Nonessential Grammar and Punctuation Rules The distinction between "different from," "different than," and "different to." "Different from" is traditionally used when the comparison is between two persons or things: My writing style is different from yours. "Different than" is more acceptably used where the object of comparison is expressed by a full clause: This town is different than it was 20 years ago. "Different to" is chiefly British; in the USA "to" gets little use and is often considered incorrect even though it is an acceptable variation. Rule of thumb: If you stumble after an introductory word, phrase, or clause and have to re-read to make sure you understood the sentence, then a comma is probably required (or the sentence needs rewriting), but if you don't stumble, then the comma is probably optional, even if traditional usage says it is required.

Examples of Usage Rules Punctuation order, for example whether commas and periods (full stops) go inside or outside a quotation mark. Conventions vary between US English and UK English. Punctuation and capitalization rules for vertical lists. Several styles are in common use; pick one style and use it consistently. Whether "data" is a singular or plural noun. Usage varies; in computing, "data" is typically collective and singular; in mathematics, "data" is usually the plural of "datum." Choose the conventional usage for your audience.

Examples of Fake Rules The rules against using split infinitives or ending a sentence in a preposition. You may have been taught these rules in school, but they are based on some decisions made by a few people a century or two ago and are irrelevant to modern communication. The rule against using "they/them/their" as a singular indefinite pronoun. In fact, the singular "they" has a long history as being acceptable in English.

Conclusion/Questions Realize that copyediting is important, but it is only part of an editor's job. Distinguish between grammar, punctuation, and usage rules that are essential for clear, unambiguous communication, and those that are not essential or even irrelevant. Recognize that many things we were taught to consider as "rules" are actually style choices or conventions of usage, and that deviations are not necessarily "wrong" but rather "not the way we do it here." Include some grammar and punctuation style choices in the style guide to improve grammar consistency.