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CMOS Section in the Spotlight

Closeup of a sheet of paper in a typewriter with the word "pre-fixes" (with a hyphen) in red

Prefixes: A Nonissue, or a Non-Issue?

A prefix is a partial word that joins to the front of another word (and sometimes a phrase) to create a new word with a different meaning. The pre- in prefix is a prefix, for example.

March 16, 2021 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

Your Dog[,] Smurf: Understanding Commas with Appositives

Grammatically speaking, “appositive” is a fancy word for “equivalent.” For example, when we refer to your dog Smurf, “Smurf” and “your dog” are appositives—or the same thing (or animal, in this case) restated in different words.

December 15, 2020 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

Key Terms Every Editor Should Know

In editing as in life, things tend to come in pairs. Life has its ups and downs, left and right, sea and land, victory and defeat. In editing you have capitals and lowercase, justified and ragged right, insert and delete.

November 10, 2020 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

Commas with “Too” and “Either”

The seventeenth edition of CMOS was the first edition to rule explicitly on whether “too” in the adverbial sense of “also” should be set off by commas. The rule applies also to “either,” which as an adverb can play a similar role in a sentence or clause.

July 21, 2020 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

Understanding Chicago-Style Notes and Bibliography Entries

Chicago’s main system for citing sources—and the subject of chapter 14 of CMOS—consists of numbered notes in the text and a corresponding list of sources in a bibliography.

May 19, 2020 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight, For Students.

How Strunk Lost His Comma

Chicago style doesn’t require commas when “Jr.” or “Sr.” follows a name. Until just a few decades ago, however, commas were the norm.

December 10, 2019 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.
Twenty-dollar bills

Decades (CMOS 9.33)

This year isn’t over just yet, but when it does finally come to an end, the current decade will end with it. In other words, we will soon be leaving the 2010s and entering the 2020s.

September 10, 2019 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

“Smart” Apostrophes (CMOS 6.117)

There are two different kinds of apostrophes: smart and straight. To use them correctly, it helps to understand how they work. . . .

March 19, 2019 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.
Big Ben at noon

Noon and Midnight (CMOS 9.38)

Many of us write or say “12 p.m.” (or “12:00 p.m.”) when we mean noon and “12 a.m.” when we mean midnight. This seems reasonable enough, at least intuitively. . . .

January 29, 2019 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

Ellipses with Periods (CMOS 13.53)

When words are left out of a quotation, an ellipsis of three dots (. . .) takes their place. When this works correctly, the reader can skip over the dots and the sentence . . .

November 20, 2018 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

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