Using Google to write right

Believe it or not, Google can improve your writing.

A trainee on one of my courses asked me a tricky question recently: Should an apostrophe be used in this phrase or not?

“one night’s accommodation”

i.e. does the night “own” the accommodation?

What if it was plural, as in “five nights accommodation”?

Do you know the answer? If you aren’t sure, and want to do a quick ‘n’ dirty check, try Google.

The trick
Just Google both options, using inverted commas (” “) around your search phrase, to see which gets the highest results. So you’d first search for “one nights accommodation” (26,000 hits), then “one night’s accommodation” (114,000 hits). Clearly the latter is the most used version, and, as it happens, is correct.

But now try the plural version: “five nights accommodation” (8,000 hits) vs. “five night’s accommodation” (112 hits). Again, a resounding win for the former, this time without the apostrophe. And it’s correct. [Source: Aust. Govt Style Manual, 6th edition.]

The exception
The only caveat is that the number of Google hits must be wildly different. If similar, don’t trust them; look it up elsewhere. For example, “two night’s accommodation” yields 64,000 hits, while “two nights accommodation” gets fewer hits, 61,000, yet is correct.

This method isn’t foolproof (because a lot of fools write badly on the Web), but it is a quick way to double check your hunch. And if American vs. British spellings cause problems, use the country-specific version of Google, e.g. www.google.co.uk.

Got any other tips you’d like to share? Comment away!

To space or not two space?

At the end of your sentences, do you hit the space bar once or twice? A debate is raging about this. (Type something now to see what you’re in the habit of doing.)

Which is correct?
You should use a single space after a period, question mark or exclamation mark.

“Sacrilege! I was taught to use two spaces!”
Did you learn to type on a typewriter? If so, you may have been told to insert two spaces at the end of sentences to ensure enough space.

Most typewriters had non-proportional (“monospace”) fonts. With these, thin letters, like “i”, took up the same space as fat ones, such as “m”, as you can see with this Courier font:

However, computers now use “proportional” fonts. With these, space for thin letters is slim, compared to space for fat ones, as you can see with this Times font:

Why should you care?
With proportional fonts, the computer adds just the right amount of space after each sentence. Double spacing adds distracting gaps that make your writing look choppy and unprofessional.

Mainstream publishing has used one space between sentences for decades. It’s also backed by the Australian Government Style Manual, the MLA, APA, and The Chicago Manual of Style. I say go with the experts.

Using double spacing is like using Liquid Paper on your screen to correct errors. Times have changed! (Still don’t believe me?).

Have your say…
…below! Are you a “space” cadet? Do you disagree with the above? Go on – make your mark!

Apostrophe Catastrophe

The apostrophe is the most abused, confused punctuation mark of all. Use it incorrectly and this small mark can cause you big embarrassment.

Is it “the cats pyjamas,” “the cat ’s pyjamas,” or “the cats’ pyjamas”? “Its a nice day” or “It’s a nice day”? “DVDs” or “DVD’s”? The bind moggles.

(See some real-life howlers at the Apostrophe Protection Society.)

Apostrophes are actually pretty straightforward. They have two main uses:

1. To show one or more letters are missing, e.g. “It’s a nice day.” The apostrophe here stands in place of the missing “i” in “It is”. Other examples: don’t (for “do not”), can’t (for “cannot”), and won’t (for “will not”).
2. To show something belongs to something else (i.e. the possessive use), e.g. “The dog’s bones.” That’s the singular version, meaning the bones belong to just one dog. If there were two or more dogs, it becomes “The dogs’ bones” (the plural version).

It’s exceptional
The exception to the rule that tricks many, is “its.” You could be tempted to write, “The cat hurt it’s leg,” because the “leg” belongs to “it,” the cat, and you’d be obeying the possessive rule in point 2 above, right?

Wrong. The correct version is, “The cat hurt its leg,” because the exception to the rule is “its.” Remember this:

ONLY use an apostrophe in “it’s” when it means “it is.”

DVD’s or DVDs?

Let’s see how good a student you are. Using what you learned above, vote here on which DVD version is right. As soon as you vote you’ll get the answer.

Are apostrophes your greatest bugbear? If yes, has this helped you? If no, what IS your biggest punctuation problem? Let us know with a comment below…