# - G

1-to-1

As a ratio, it's 1-to-1 ratio.

Addresses

Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue.

Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues.

All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) always are spelled out.

Capitalize them when part of a formal name without a number; lowercase when used alone or with two or more names.

affect, effect

Affect, as a verb, means to influence: The game will affect the standings. Affect, as a noun, is best avoided. It occasionally is used in psychology to describe how a person displays emotion, but there is no need for it in everyday language.

Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many changes in the company.

Effect, as a noun, means result: The effect was overwhelming. He miscalculated the effect of his actions. It was a law of little effect.

afterward

Not afterwards.

aka

Abbreviation for also known as.

all right

Never alright. Hyphenate only if used colloquially as a compound modifier: He is an all-right guy.

all time, all-time

An all-time high, but the greatest runner of all time. Avoid the redundant phrase all-time record.

a.m., p.m.

Lowercase, with periods. Avoid the redundant 10 a.m. this morning.

amid

Not amidst.

among, amongst, between

Between introduces two items and among introduces more than two items. The funds were divided among Ford, Carter and McCarthy. “Among” and “amongst” are synonymous, although “amongst” is generally reserved for British English, which we only use at Jamf when writing specifically for a British audience.

ampersand (&)

Use the ampersand when it is part of a company’s formal name or composition title: House & Garden, Procter & Gamble, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway. The ampersand should not otherwise be used in place of and, except for some accepted abbreviations: B&B, R&B.

Amsterdam

The city in the Netherlands stands alone in datelines.

annual

An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years.

app

Short for application and acceptable on first reference.

Apple Inc.

Headquarters is in Cupertino, California.

ASAP

All caps, no periods for the abbreviation for as soon as possible.

Association

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize as part of a proper name: American Medical Association.

asterisk

Do not use the symbol. It rarely translates and in many cases cannot be seen by some devices.

awhile, a while

He plans to stay awhile. (adv.) He plans to stay for a while. (n.)

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science

A bachelor’s degree or bachelor’s is acceptable in any reference.

backward

Not backwards.

bad, badly

Bad should not be used as an adverb. It does not lose its status as an adjective; however, in a sentence such as I feel bad. Such a statement is the idiomatic equivalent of I am in bad health. An alternative, I feel badly, could be interpreted as meaning that your sense of touch was bad.

because, since

Use because to denote a specific cause-effect relationship: He went because he was told. Since is acceptable in a causal sense when the first event in a sequence led logically to the second but was not its direct cause: They went to the game, since they had been given the tickets.

beside, besides

Beside means at the side of. Besides means in addition to.

biannual, biennial

Biannual means twice a year and is a synonym for the word semiannual. Biennial means every two years.

bimonthly

Means every other month. Semimonthly means twice a month.

biweekly

Means every other week. Semiweekly means twice a week.

by-

The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples: byline, byproduct, bypass, bystreet. By-election is an exception.

cannot

AP Stylebook and Webster’s New World College Dictionary both spell it cannot (one word) in all cases. “Can not” is not used.

capitalization

In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. Many words and phrases, including special cases, are listed separately in the AP Stylebook.

cellphone

Cellphone, not cell phone.

CEO, CFO, COO

Leading executives of a company.

check-in

Check-in, not check in.

checkout

Not check-out or check out except in phrases like 'Check out these great apps!'

city

Capitalize city if part of a proper name, an integral part of an official name, or a regularly used nickname: Kansas City, New York City, Windy City, City of Light, Fun City.

citywide

Citywide, not city-wide.

company, companies

Use Co. or Cos. when a business uses either word at the end of its proper name: Ford Motor Co., American Broadcasting Cos.

company names

When a company has unusual spelling or capitalization in their name, use it as they present it on their websites.

complement, compliment

Complement is a noun and a verb denoting completeness or the process of supplementing something: The ship has a complement of 200 sailors and 20 officers. The tie complements his suit.

Compliment is a noun or a verb that denotes praise or the expression of courtesy: The captain complimented the sailors. She was flattered by the compliments on her project.

composition titles

Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters in the title of a composition. Jamf Plug-In offers options.

counter-

The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples: counteract counterproposal countercharge counterspy counterfoil.

courtesy titles

Refer to both men and women by first and last name, without courtesy titles, on first reference: Susan Smith or Robert Smith. Refer to both men and women by last name, without courtesy titles, in subsequent references. Use the courtesy titles Mr., Miss, Ms. or Mrs. only in direct quotations or after first reference when a woman specifically requests it: for example, where a woman prefers to be known as Mrs. Smith or Ms. Smith.

crowdsourcing

Not crowd-sourcing. The practice of asking many people online to help gather information, produce ideas or conduct other tasks on a large scale.

dates

Always use Arabic figures, without st, nd, rd or th.

days of the week

Capitalize them. Do not abbreviate, except when needed in a tabular format: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat (three letters, without periods, to facilitate tabular composition).

day to day, day-to-day

Hyphenate when a compound modifier: They have extended the contract on a day-to-day basis.

decades

Use Arabic figures to indicate decades of history. Use an apostrophe to indicate numerals that are left out; show plural by adding the letter s: the 1890s, the ‘90s, the Gay ‘90s, the 1920s, the mid-1930s.

different

Takes the preposition from, not than.

drop-down

Not dropdown (adj.) drop-down menu

e-book

E-book, not ebook.

e.g.

Meaning for example, it is always followed by a comma.

either…or, neither…nor

The nouns that follow these words do not constitute a compound subject; they are alternate subjects and require a verb that agrees with the nearer subject: Neither they nor he is going. Neither he nor they are going.

email

Acceptable in all references for electronic mail. Use a hyphen with other e- terms: e-book, e-business, e-commerce.

e-reader

Or e-book reader. Not eReader or ereader.

every day, everyday

every day (adv.) everyday (adj.) The worries of everyday life can drag you down. I need to start going to the gym every day.

every one, everyone

Two words when it means each individual item: Every one of the clues was worthless. One word when used as a pronoun meaning all persons: Everyone wants his life to be happy. (Note that everyone takes singular verbs and pronouns.)

FAQ

Acceptable in all uses for frequently asked questions.

farther, further

Farther refers to physical distance: He walked farther into the woods. Further refers to an extension of time or degree: She will look further into the mystery.

fewer, less

In general, use fewer for individual items, less for bulk or quantity.

Wrong: The trend is toward more machines and less people. (People in this sense refers to individuals.)

Wrong: She was fewer than 60 years old. (Years in this sense refers to a period of time, not individual years.)

Right: Fewer than 10 applicants called.

Right: I had less than $50 in my pocket. (An amount.) But: I had fewer than 50 $1 bills in my pocket. (Individual items.)

firsthand

firsthand, not first-hand or first hand.

flier, flyer

Flier is the preferred term for a person flying on an aircraft or for a handbill. Flyer is the proper name of some trains and buses: The Western Flyer.

forward

Not forwards.

full time, full-time

Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: He works full time. She has a full-time job.

good, well

Good is an adjective that means something is as it should be or is better than average. When used as an adjective, well means suitable, proper, healthy. When used as an adverb, well means in a satisfactory manner or skillfully.

Good should not be used as an adverb. It does not lose its status as an adjective in a sentence such as I feel good. Such a statement is the idiomatic equivalent of I am in good health. An alternative, I feel well, could be interpreted as meaning that your sense of touch is good.