Grammar help? One-by-one or One by one, and the like. - Writers Forum

LykosEcho · 01-26-2006, 09:20 PM

So...

I have a few things I need cleared up doing editing and such?

Which is the correct version of these:

One-by-one or One by one

15-year-old or 15 year old (or should 15 be fifteen?)

Towards verses Toward. ?

Forwards verses Forward. ?

Proper use of epilipses?

thanks ^_^

~Lykos

davidray · 01-27-2006, 05:35 PM

One by one

Fifteen year old

Toward

Forward

Proper use of epilipses? NO CLUE! I use them all the time, but I'm not sure if it's proper...

I'm guessing on toward and forward. There may be a rule that allows you to add "s", but I would just keep it simple and leave it off.

mammamaia · 01-27-2006, 07:57 PM

Quote:

One-by-one or One by one

...hyphenated is what's most used and what makes best sense...

Quote:

15-year-old or 15 year old (or should 15 be fifteen?)

...for most writing purposes, you should spell out the number... it's hyphenated when 'year' is singular... if saying, 'he was fifteen years old' no hyphens called for... but as, 'he was a fifteen-year-old terror' has to have the hyphens...

Quote:

Towards verses Toward. ?

...actually, either is acceptable... choice optional, according to most dictionaries... i prefer sans 's' for most uses myself, only because it sounds better... to me, the other sounds a bit less 'refined'... an exception would be the similar adjective, 'backwards' as in, 'we moved backwards, toward the cargo hold'... others are 'onward/onwards' and 'frontward/frontwards'...

Quote:

Forwards verses Forward. ?

...ditto above...

Quote:

Proper use of epilipses?

...see strunk and white and/or a good punctuation guide for the rules 'n regs... they're several and too much for me to go into here... suffice it to say that my use of them for ease/speed of posting/emailing is NOT 'approved' usage!

...hope this helped... love and hugs, maia

bobwriter · 01-28-2006, 03:38 PM

With regards to t(f)orward(s), It may depend on where you wish to use them. For example, if you were writing as dialogue there are regions of the
U S where the S is always present. This would be common in speech in the southern states and Texas, and less so in the northern tier and western regions.
Example: Southern photographer giving an instruction to a model...

"Y'all c'mon towards me jest a bit there, sweetie."

Californian photographer doing the same...

"That's it, lips baby, arch the back, come toward me now. More, baby, more."

In descriptive writing I would delete the S for a smoother flow and readability.
Hope this helps.

addix · 02-15-2006, 05:30 AM

It's funny because, to me, as an "external observer" of the English language, the "-s" form has always sounded and looked a bit more literary than the "-d" form

The "-d" could be prefered before vowels, while the "-s" form could then be reserved for use before consonants, which in both case, phonologically speaking, would ease the pronunciation.

But, as Mammamaia and Bobwriter said before, there's no real rule about it. Writers seem to do as they like.

Zermonth · 02-15-2006, 09:01 AM

In regards to the hyphenation, mammamaia is correct. The rule of the English language is that if you take out one of the words and it does not make sense any more, it needs to be hyphenated. This is a group of words that must be together in the sentence in order for it to make sense.

For instance, "Bobby was a fifteen-year-old boy." makes sense.

While

"Bobby was a fifteen boy."

"Bobby was a year boy."

and "Bobby was a old boy."

do not make sense. The only way to have this work is to have those three words next to each other in the sentence, and hypens are used to join them and make them inseperable.

I hope this made sense to you. I'm sure an English teacher could explain it a bit better than I can, but this will have to do.

mammamaia · 02-15-2006, 03:50 PM

that's a great explanation, zer... and one i hadn't seen/heard before... makes perfect sense, in this example... i think i'll find myself applying it to others, from now on, to see if it always holds true, as well as passing it on... and i have plenty of grist for that mill, since i'm always having to correct un-hyphenated words in the work of those i help/mentor...

thanks!... hugs, m

David Goldschmidt · 02-16-2006, 11:27 AM

Hi LykosEcho,

Quote:

Originally Posted by LykosEcho

One-by-one or One by one

I disagree with the other comments about "one by one" -- I wouldn't hyphenate the phrase:

One by one, the ragged men filed past me....

If you're talking about a 2x4, then hyphenate it:

Sammy hit the guy with a two-by-four, his home run swing sending him reeling....

Hope this helps. And definitely read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White!

DaveG

mammamaia · 02-16-2006, 05:38 PM

Quote:

I disagree with the other comments about "one by one" -- I wouldn't hyphenate the phrase:

One by one, the ragged men filed past me....

i can see that particular expression being hyphenated or not, as an option, depending on context and personal preference...

David Goldschmidt · 02-19-2006, 02:51 PM

Hi, the hyphenation rule that Zermonth brought up applies to compound adjectives. So, yes, when two or more words are combined to form such a compound adjective, use hyphenation. Examples:

Bobby was a fifteen-year-old boy.

I had one shot at it. It was a one-shot deal.

Joe was a high-flying, death-defying lunatic.

This does not apply to other phrases, such as the "one by one" phrase, which should not be hyphenated -- unless "one by one" is used as a compound adjective (which is likely awkward, depending on context). Examples:

One by one, the ragged men filed past me.

Memories flooded my mind, one by one reminding me of my torn past.

It was a tiny, one-by-one square.

Hope this helps!

DaveG

mammamaia · 02-19-2006, 05:12 PM

guess you just demonstrated one reason why those letters are appended to your name, dave!

good run-down on the rules 'n regs...

David Goldschmidt · 02-19-2006, 06:56 PM

Hey mammamaia, thanks.

Glad to clear this mystery up.

DaveG

D2B · 04-21-2006, 11:41 AM

The argument about "15" vs "Fifteen".

The rule of thumb I use is this: Ten or under, spell it. 11 and over, use the number.

Otherwise you end up with stupid stuff like this: "Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fourteen."

mammamaia · 04-21-2006, 07:58 PM

too simplistic, d2... and not correct for many situations... check your strunk and white [bottom of pg 35] for the skinny on rules 'n regs for this...