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- under way
- The adverb "under way" is spelled as two words: The project is under way.
- unique
- "Unique" means one of a kind. There are no degrees on uniqueness, such as "most unique."
- use / utilize
- Reserve "utilize" for occasions when the sense is "ingeniously made use of." She utilized a paper clip to pick the lock. Nearly always, the right word is "use."
- v. / vs.
- Though "versus" should usually be spelled out, "vs." is the correct abbreviation in most cases; "v." is used in citations of legal cases.
- who / whom
- To decide whether to use "who" or "whom" in a sentence, delete the word "who" or "whom" and substitute "he" or "him". If "he" completes the thought, then "who" is correct. If "him" makes sense, use "whom".
4.14 Punctuation
4.14.1 Apostrophe
- Use the apostrophe to form contractions and possessives (see sections 1.3.6 and 4.12).
- The apostrophe is never used to form plurals except in instances of single-character elements. They had better mind their p's and q's. It's difficult to distinguish his 1's from his 7's.
4.14.2 Colons and semicolons
- Use a colon to introduce a summary statement:
- The dictator learned something important: brutality has consequences. She came right to the point: the cost overruns must stop.
- Use a colon after a complete sentence that introduces a list. Use a comma or a dash after an introductory phrase.
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