Commonly used terms and phrases
All ready, already
All ready means “prepared.” Already means “previously.”
• Mackenzie is all ready for the budget presentation tomorrow.
• Mackenzie already sent out the meeting request notifications.
All together, altogether
All together means “all in one place.”
Altogether means “completely.”
• All together there are six new members of the administration.
• It is difficult to get them all together in one room.
• The government has simply ignored the problem altogether.
• Altogether, our achievements are very great.
Among, between
Among is used when there are more than two objects. Between is used when there are two objects.
• She divided the work evenly among the four accountants.
• Between you and me, I don’t think he is the right person for the job.
Awhile, a while
Awhile is an adverb. A while is a noun phrase that follows the preposition for or in.
• She waited in the conference room awhile before deciding to leave.
• They stopped at the breakroom for a while.
At large
Usually two words for an individual representing more than a single district: congressman at large, councilwoman at large.
Bluegrass
One word and capitalized when used to represent the region. The lowercase version refers to the type of grass. Kentucky is often called the Bluegrass State. The landscape crew spread bluegrass seed on the soccer field.
PLEASE NOTE: There are exceptions to this rule: Blue Grass Airport. It is best to double check the correct usage on the company’s website or call them to confirm.
Bring, take
To bring means moving something toward a location. To take means moving something away from a location.
• What can I bring to the holiday party?
• Do you mind if I take these leftover cupcakes home?
Central
In general, lowercase central when it indicates compass direction and capitalize when it designates a region. The central business district. We have lived in Central Kentucky for seven years.
Chairman, chairwoman, chairperson, chair
Capitalize as a formal title before a name: company Chairman Henry Ford, committee Chairwoman Jessica Elgin, board Chairperson Riley Winters.
Do not capitalize as a casual, temporary position: meeting chairman Phillip Edwards
Chamber
When referring to where the city council meets, always refer to it as the council chamber. Do not refer to it as the city council chambers. There is a meeting in the council chamber at 2:30 p.m.
City council
Capitalize when part of a proper name: The Lexington City Council.
Use lowercase in plural and generic uses: Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati city councils.
City hall
Capitalize with the name of a city, or without the name of a city if the reference is specific: Lexington City Hall, City Hall.
Lowercase plural uses: the Lexington and Louisville city halls.
Lowercase generic uses, including: You can’t fight city hall.
Commonwealth
Kentucky is one of four U.S. states that are legally a commonwealth. The others are Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The state’s actual name is the “Commonwealth of Kentucky.” When the phrase “the Commonwealth” is used meaning Kentucky, commonwealth should be capitalized. Lowercase in all other uses.
Company, corporation
Use Co. or Cos. when a business uses either word at the end of its proper name. If company or companies appears alone in second reference, spell the word out.
Councilmember
The preferred term is councilmember. The meeting was called to order by Councilmember John Kirkman. To report an issue in your neighborhood, you should contact your councilmember.
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).
Directions
In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, southern, etc. when they indicate compass direction. Capitalize these words when they designate regions: He drove south. The cold front is moving east. She has a Southern accent. He is a Northerner.
Dollars
Always lowercase. Use figures and the $ sign in all except casual references or amounts without a figure. The book cost $4. Karen, can I borrow a dollar? (Correct: $4, $25, $500, $1,000, $650,000, $4.25 million, 5 cents, $1.01.)
Acceptable in all references for electronic mail. (Not e-mail.) Use a hyphen with other e- terms: e-book, e-commerce, e-reader, etc.
Every day, everyday
Every day is an adverb. Everyday is an adjective.
• I get a large coffee at Starbucks every day.
• Going out for lunch is not an everyday occurrence.
Fax
Preferable for facsimile or facsimile machine in all uses. (Not Fax or FAX.)
Firefighter
The preferred term to describe a person who fights fire is firefighter.
Fiscal year
The 12-month period that a corporation or government body uses for bookkeeping purposes.
• The mayor asked the divisions to cut their budgets by 10% in fiscal year 2020.
• The City’s FY 2020 budget will reflect reductions across all divisions.
Flier, flyer
Flyer is the preferred name for a person flying an aircraft or for a handbill. Please post the flyer on the bulletin board. The Western Flyer. Use the word flier in the phrase take a flier, meaning to take a big risk.
Fraternal organizations and service clubs
Capitalize the proper names: Fraternal Order of Police, Rotary Club.
Capitalize the words that describe membership: He is a Rotarian.
Full time, part time
Hyphenate the adjective, not the noun.
• He works full time.
• She has a full-time job.
• Full-time employees work full time.
• Part-time employees work part time.
Government
Always lowercase, never abbreviate: the state government, the federal government, the U.S. government.
homepage
The “front” page of a website.
Legislative bodies
In general, capitalize the proper name of a specific legislative body abroad: Parliament.
The principle applies also to individual houses of the nation’s legislature: Senate, Congress.
Do not capitalize this adjective unless it begins a sentence.
• That is a legislative matter, not a judicial one.
Mayor
Capitalize when used as a title preceding a name.
Lexington Mayor Samantha Stevens
Samantha Stevens, mayor of Lexington
Mount
Spell out in all uses: Mount Sterling, Mount Vernon.
Online
One word in all cases for the computer connection term. (Not on-line.)
Pre-
Generally do not hyphenate. Do not hyphenate double -e combinations with pre- and re- (preeclection, preempt) otherwise, follow Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Hyphenate if not listed there.
Post-
Follow Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Hyphenate if not listed there.
Police officer
The preferred term is police officer, not policeman or policewoman.
Regions
In general, lowercase north, south northeast, etc. when they indicate compass direction; capitalize these words when they designate regions.
• Western Kentucky, Central Kentucky, the South and the North, the Far East • She has a southern accent.
Seasons
The names of seasons are not capitalized unless they are part of the formal name: The new firefighter recruit class will start in the fall. The Summer Golf Classic was held in July at Kearney Hill Golf Links.
State
Lowercase in all state of constructions: the state of Tennessee, the states of Alabama and Georgia. Apply the same principles to phrases such as: the city of Lexington, the town of Hopkinsville.
State/federal
Capitalize when referring to a governmental entity, but not when referring to geographical areas or system/theories of government.
• The city is seeking federal aid to help with rebuilding costs.
• The Federal government is not always a supporter of the federal system.
• The current State budget is the largest in history.
• Nick is from the state of California.
Subcommittee
Lowercase when used with the name of a legislative body’s full committee: a Ways and Means subcommittee.
Through, thru
Although the words “through” and “thru” have the same meaning, the word “through” is used in formal writing and “thru” is used in informal writing. The preferred term is “through.”
Incorrect: The office is open Monday thru Friday.
Correct: The office is open Monday through Friday.
Toward
No s at the end: toward not towards.
United States
Use periods in the abbreviation, U.S. within texts. In headlines, it’s US (no periods).
• The United States is a popular destination for tourists.
• The official U.S. policy has not changed.
Web
Short form of World Wide Web, it is not the same as the internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as email, exist on the internet.
• Web address.
• Web browser.
Website
Also, webcam, webcast, webpage, webfeed, the web.
Workforce, workplace
Both one word.