Ask the Editor: Highlights
Ask the Editor is a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the AP Stylebook. AP Stylebook editor Paula Froke fields questions posed by subscribers to AP Stylebook Online. Below is a sampling of recent questions Paula has answered.
Click on a topic below to learn more about AP style:
Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on Sept. 17, 2024
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Question from Grafton, North Dakota, on Aug. 27, 2024
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The party affiliations entry gives more detail.
Question from Middletown, Delaware, on Dec. 11, 2023
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Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on Oct. 12, 2023
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Remember, a lot of people have trouble with AI without the periods, thinking we're talking about some guy named Al. And it's harder if there's not a spelled-out first reference.
Also, just because you and I understand AI on first reference doesn't mean my mom, my sister, and many other readers are as attuned.
Question from Little Rock, Arkansas, on Oct. 11, 2023
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Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on Sept. 25, 2024
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Question from South Carolina, on Sept. 14, 2024
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Question from Westwood, Massachusetts, on Aug. 26, 2024
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city
Question from Phoenix, Arizona, on July 13, 2024
I'm looking for guidance around articles that are part of nicknames and when AP would capitalize them. Typically, we would lowercase "the" in a composition title, for example, or in your examples given for popular names in the "capitalization" entry (e.g., the South Side, the Badlands) or the "pseudonyms, nicknames" entry (e.g., the Old Dominion). What I'm finding tricky are nicknames such as "The Rock" or "The Undertaker," as you have capped the article in your answer to a question published June 23, 2023: https://apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/46441?sconvid=177532
In this example, which would AP prefer?
1. We spoke to the man they call "The Horse Whisperer."
2. We spoke to the man they call the "Horse Whisperer."
3. We spoke to the man they call "the Horse Whisperer."
I find this also would apply to, say, musical groups: Is it "The Beatles" or "the Beatles"? You answered a similar question in 2019, but the answer was rather "I don't really know…sometimes we do and sometimes we don't."
https://apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/37793?sconvid=11365
Many thanks to you for your input.
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Generally, though, I'd say we wouldn't capitalize The in a nickname. After all, it's a nickname, not a proper name like, well, The Beatles. So I'd go with your second option.
Question from Sterling, Virginia, on May 16, 2024
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But note the lowercase in this construction: She said she would ask the association president, Peter Pringle, ...
Question from Washington, on Jan. 31, 2024
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decades
.
Question from Casper, Wyoming, on Sept. 11, 2023
I have a question that is driving me crazy. Here is the sentence in question:
The event will begin with a social hour and cash bar, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Cavigelli’s presentation will start at 7, followed by a live auction at 7:30.
The director of this event wanted :00 after 7. When I explained that that was not AP Style, she responded with an email that included a photo of her 2017 AP Stylebook and this comment: “My copy doesn’t specify that 7:00 is objectionable. Please list it as either p.m. or :00.”
Help! Which is correct, per AP?
Thank you!
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It's true that we don't say 7:00 is objectionable. But when we say our style is 7 p.m., it's implied that our style is not 7:00 p.m.
The good news: She gave the option of including p.m. and I think that's a reasonable option. In our heart of hearts, we think the p.m. is pretty apparent (the presentation wouldn't start at 7 a.m. following a 6:30 p.m. dinner). But including the p.m. dresses up the stand-alone 7 a bit and wouldn't strike most people as odd.
So how about:
The event will begin with a social hour and cash bar, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Cavigelli’s presentation will start at 7 p.m., followed by a live auction at 7:30 p.m.
Or if the organizers are really in love with :00, then go with it. We need flexibility ...
Question from KANSAS CITY, Missouri, on April 14, 2023
Thanks.
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Question from Austin, Texas, on Nov. 15, 2022
I typically like to use "from" and "to" when I use one or another. But I also like sticking to your style and using a hyphen. The "from" in the first example seems to make the sentence flow better.
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Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 9-11 a.m., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Question from on Oct. 19, 2022
Example: You are invited to attend the Christmas Pageant on Friday, December 16. or You are invited to attend the Christmas Pageant on Friday, December 16, 2022.
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years
Question from Annapolis, Maryland, on June 26, 2024
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Question from New York, New York, on June 25, 2024
"For Tesla's futuristic new Cybertruck, a fourth recall"
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— Use numerals; do not spell out numbers except in casual uses or formal names: hundreds instead of 100s; Big Ten; one of the first. Spell out ordinals under 10: first, ninth, etc. But: 10th, 23rd, 104th.
Question from Warrenton, Virginia, on May 13, 2024
“$44 million to treat an operation...
or do you write it out..."Forty-four million dollars to treat an operation...
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Question from on May 13, 2024
Would you keep the symbols?
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Question from Wilmington, Delaware, on April 29, 2024
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Yes, we spell out numbers under 10 in general. But there are lots of exceptions.
We also generally spell out ordinals (such as fourth) but there are exceptions to that, as well. Dates aren't listed as an exception because we typically don't write May 4th (instead, just May 4.) See below for that section of the numerals entry.
I think I'd go with May the 4th be with you. That's in keeping with our general guidance on dates. It's also how the Star Wars folks style it themselves.
Ordinals
Question from on July 01, 2024
Does the answer depend on whether the subject of the sentence is "group" or "Republicans" (and in that case which is it)? Or is the answer determined by whichever word is closest to the verb?
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Question from Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Oct. 30, 2023
When introducing a poem title:
Option A
Benjamin Gucciardi reads his poem, "The Rungs."
Option B
Benjamin Gucciardi reads his poem "The Rungs."
And in referencing the episode title of a podcast:
Option A
This poem was featured in Benjamin's conversation with April, "The Poetry We're Reading Now."
Option B
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In your first example, the answer depends on whether Gucciardi has one poem, or more than one. If he has only one poem, the name of the title is nonessential and thus the comma is used. If he has more than one poem, the name of this one is essential and there is no comma in that construction.
In your second example, it depends on whether he has only one conversation with April. In that case, use the comma.
If he has more than one conversation with April, no comma.
I know this can be confusing. But I think the entry spells it out reasonably well.
Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on Sept. 30, 2023
On Florida’s Gulf Coast, a loose coalition of activists, officials and Trumpworld celebrities is building the world they want to live in
Seems odd to me to have to use a singular verb for coalition when the sentence is clearly about many people and the world they want to live in. Certainly it wouldn't be the world it wants to live in. Are there exceptions to the singular rule for certain constructions using words like coalition?
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Question from Fortville, Indiana, on Sept. 29, 2023
These three talents have the strongest performance. (Pluralize talent with an "s")
These three talent has the strongest performance. (Collective noun taking singular verb--this seems weird.)
These three talent have the strongest performance. (Treat plural of "talent" like "deer")
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OK, but if you have to use it, I guess I'd choose the first option. Definitely not the second. Maybe the third. It's hard to say what correct usage is for something that's not correct usage however you do it ...
Question from Fargo, North Dakota, on Sept. 14, 2023
Ignoring any other potential problems with this sentence, my proofreading team feels the "are" should be changed to "is." It sounds really odd to us otherwise. However, when two nouns are joined by "and," the verb should be plural. Is "are" here incorrect? Would you change it? (Assuming rewording isn't an option.)
Thank you!
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On another note, I question whether you need both evident and apparent. How about one or the other? The two together are redundant. (Maybe that's one of your other potential problems!)
Question from on Oct. 02, 2024
Do I understand the new BULLETED LIST guidance?
List items without periods (phrases):
Our specialties are:
- Web development and design
- E-commerce solutions
- Digital marketing strategies
Our services:
- Home cleaning and organization
- Yard maintenance and landscaping
- Event planning and coordination
List items with periods (complete sentences):
Our company's achievements:
- Google developed innovative AI solutions.
- Amazon expanded its sustainable practices.
- Facebook launched new privacy features.
Our team's expertise:
- John Smith has 10 years of experience in software engineering.
- Jane Doe is a certified financial planner.
- Bob Johnson has a Ph.D. in environmental science.
List items without punctuation (single words):
My favorite hobbies include:
- Reading
- Hiking
- Painting
Our social media platforms are:
- No punctuation after single words or phrases.
- Periods after complete sentences.
- Parallel construction for each item.
- Space between dash/bullet and first word.
- Capitalize first word after dash/bullet.
Thank you.
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Question from New York, New York, on Sept. 24, 2024
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hand-count, hand-counting, hand-counted
Question from Medford, New Jersey, on Sept. 11, 2024
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I think this section addresses your question:
PUNCTUATION: Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a sentence (such as this fragment).
Question from on Aug. 26, 2024
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Question from Wenatchee, on July 09, 2024
For example, should one use "He went to the U.S.A.." or "He went to the U.S.A." ?
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Question from California, on June 26, 2024
https://apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/40160?sconvid=15849
But it seems that Merriam Webster omits the apostrophe ("how-tos"):
https://apstylebook.com/merriam_webster/merriam-webster-h-how-to-2?sconvid=15849
Can you please clarify?
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Question from Corvallis, Oregon, on July 19, 2022
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Question from Longmont, Colorado, on April 08, 2022
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Question from on Oct. 03, 2024
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Question from United States, on Oct. 02, 2024
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half- Hyphenated combinations include half-baked, half-life, half-truth, half-moon, half-cocked, half-hearted (the latter a 2024 change). Two-word combinations without a hyphen include half dozen, half brother, half off. One word, no hyphen, for some words including halfback, halftone.
Question from Evanston, Illinois, on Aug. 27, 2024
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Question from on July 15, 2024
Meriam-Webster closes both "countrywide" and "citywide". In a document that uses both words, how would you style "Kingdom wide" as a postpositive adjective?
Kingdom wide
Kingdomwide
Kingdom-wide
Thank you!
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-wide No hyphen for commonly recognized terms such as citywide, countywide, statewide, storewide, worldwide. But use a hyphen — or don’t use the construction at all — when combining with a proper noun and/or when the unhyphenated form would be awkward or hard to read, such as hospitalwide, NASAwide, Europewide. Often, it’s better to rephrase.
Question from Portland, Oregon, on July 01, 2024
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-like Generally no hyphen unless the letter l would be tripled or the main element is a proper noun. Examples: businesslike, catlike, childlike, doglike, lifelike. But: Norwalk-like, shell-like. An exception: flu-like.
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