Plurals and Singulars

The verb-to-noun agreement generally involves a problem of using is or are as a principle verb, but it is easily remedied by (1) subordinating is or are to another verb, (2) substituting by a stronger verb, or (3) changing the number (singular or plural) of one of the elements.

Incorrect

Deltaic strata are the chief petroleum reservoir.
The red beds of the Catskill formation are a counterpart of the Old Red Sandstone.
The Wasatch Mountains are a narrow upfaulted range.

Correct

Deltaic strata compose the chief petroleum reservoir.
The red beds of the Catskill formation are counterparts of the Old Red Sandstone.
The Wasatch Mountains form a narrow upfaulted range.

Branches of knowledge like geophysics, mathematics, ethics, politics, tectonics, etc. are singular.

Statistics meaning simply “figures” is plural; so too is economics in the sense of “commercial viability”, as in the economics of the new process were studied in depth.

A few words, though singular in nature, are made of paired items and generally treated as plural: scissors, trousers, glasses, pliers, tongs, and the like. Many are often used with the word pair as in pair of trousers or pair of scissors.

Titles of books and other works of art are always considered singular even if the title sounds plural.

The Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds was successfully advertised with a campaign that said, "The Birds is coming!"

Collectives and Their Verbs

Certain nouns and pronouns called collectives may take either plural or singular verbs as predicates, depending on the meaning being conveyed. If the noun or pronoun is viewed collectively as a unit or expresses an amount or measure, its verb is singular; if viewed as separate items, the verb should be plural.

Examples (correct)

About 3000 tons of oil was produced. (A quantity weighting, in all, about 3000 tons).
At this place, 10 meters of sandstone is exposed. (A single exposure).
Twenty-two grams of sample was dissolved in 20 ml of acid. (A single measurement)
Four-fifths of the country is satisfied with its health insurance. (One part of a whole)
Before 1940, less than 10% of production was from opencast mines (Again one part of a whole)
Tweny thousand US dollars is less than the real cost is (A single sum of money)
The United States protects its natural resources. (One country)
Three samples were placed on the table. (Three individual samples).

None is singular when it means no one or no thing; it is plural when means no persons or no things. Each and every are usually singular in usage.

A singular verb is common in English with a double subject if it is felt to form a whole:

Checking and stamping the forms is the job of the customs authorities.

Verb Tense

Present, past, or future action should be described consistently within the same sentence.

Incorrect: The geoscientist processes the data and stored the file on tape.

Correct: The geoscientist processes the data and stores the file on tape.

Simple past tense is correct for stating what was done, either by others or by you:

The solutions were heated to boiling.
Jones reviewed the literature and gathered much of this information.
We recently found that relativistic effects enhance the bond strength.
The structures were determined by neutron diffraction methods.

Present tense is correct for statements of fact:

Water freezes at 0°C.
Absolute rate constants for a wide variety of reactions are available.
Hyperbranched compounds are macromolecular compounds that contain a branching point in each structural unit.

Present and simple past tenses may both be correct for results, discussion, and conclusions:

The characteristics of the voltammetric wave indicate that electron transfer and breaking of the carbon-iodine bond are concerted.
IR spectroscopy shows that nitrates are adsorbed and are not removed by washing with distilled water.
Tests on core samples confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons.

Use the present perfect tense while presenting a completed study or its results.

The following data have been collected and processed [This implies that now the reader has the results in hands]

Italicization

Italicize titles of books, legislative and regulatory acts, journals, magazines, newspapers, plays, movies, works of art, and musical compositions, as well as names of ships, aircrafts, and spacecrafts.

The RF Law On the Fundamentals of the Russian Federation Tax System

In previous articles of Geophysics it was shown that...

The instruments on Skylab were more complex than those on ERTS

The Titanic had been explored previously.

Note that conference, meeting, exhibition, etc., titles should not be italicized. However, in references, а conference title is italicized, as is а book title.

Endings added to italicized words should be in roman type.

Five Moscow Tribunes and two Cosmopolitans

Note that the titles of books, periodicals, etc., are always considered singular even if they sound plural.

Episodes is a scientific journal

Italicize words and letters when referred to as words and letters. Do not put them in quotation marks.

The word receive is often misspelled. The g in align is silent.

Key terms in а discussion (especially when accompanied by а definition) are often italicized on first use. Subsequently, they are set in roman type.

Italicize all variables, except when they represent vectors or are Greek letters.

Italicize any foreign (especially Latin) word or clause if it is not in common use.

Latin names of genera, species, subspecies, and varieties (but not groups of higher rank, such as phyla, classes, orders, or families) are italicized. The name of the scholar who proposed а specific or subspecific name is added in roman type and sometimes abbreviated.

а thick-shelled American clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) but the family Hominidae

Quercus alba L. Viola sp Aureobastdium pullulans (De Bary)

In entirely italicized text, foreign words that are normally italicized should be typeset in roman. However, conventionally italicized scientific words (е.g., genus and species) should always be italicized

Numbers or lowercase letters referring to items within а figure (lines, curves, or other parts) should be italicized both in the figure and in text. Thus, in text: See curve 1. However, letters indicating а panel in а figure should be in roman type.

Segment а of the curve shown in Fig. la

Indices should be in italics if they represent variables, axes, etc., and in roman if they represent abbreviations of words.

Кi (i = 1, 2, ... 20) N_A (А here denotes Avogadro's number)

Capitalization

Text titles should be in all capitals, other headings should follow title capitalization.

In headings, note that coordinate conjunctions, articles, and prepositions (independent of their length) must be lowercased, unless they are the first word in а heading. Also, the word to in infinitives should not be capitalized unless it is the first word of а heading.

Mapping of the Chromosome of Bacteria Erwinia carotovora

In hyphenated compounds, always capitalize the first element and capitalize the second element if it is а noun or proper adjective or if it has equal force with the first element. Do not capitalize the second if it is а participle modifying the first element or if both elements constitute а single word.

Nineteenth-Century History Russian-speaking Self-sustaining Reaction

For names of laws, resolutions, and decrees, capitalize all words except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions. Do not use quotation marks. Note that, in the following example, the word On is capitalized because it is the first word of the name of the law.

The RF Law On the Fundamentals of the Russian Federation Tax System states that…

Do not capitalize the r in х-ray, even in titles and headings; the х, however, should be capitalized in titles and headings.

Capitalize such words as figure, table, chart, section, chapter, appendix when they refer to а specific numbered item and put a non-breaking space between them and the number.

Fig. 1 Chart IV Table 2

but According to the chart on page 22...

Capitalize parts of text when they are cross-referenced within the text.

See “Materials and Methods” for description of the reaction conditions.

Do not capitalize words such as page, group, sample, and experiment, even when they are used with numbers. Groups of the Mendeleyev’s periodic table are exceptions to this rule.

See page 15 samples 3-7 experiment 2 groups 5а–5d but Group IV

The first word after а colon (a) may be capitalized if it is the first word of а complete sentence and (b) should be capitalized if the element following the colon consists of more than one sentence or if it is а formal statement or а quotation.

Derivatives and adjective forms of proper nouns are capitalized.

Avogadro's number Darcy’s law Gaussian simulation Cartesian coordinates

However, four kinds of name-derived nouns are always lowercased:

(1) units of measure (volt, ampere, hertz, darcy, etc., but their abbreviations shall be uppercased, i.e. V, A, Hz, D, etc.)

(2) minerals (scheelite, forsterite, etc.)

(3) elements (einsteinium, etc.)

(4) particles (fermion, boson, etc.)

Adjectives Early (Lower), Middle, and Late (Upper) applied to the Paleozoic, Triassic, Jurassic, etc. should be capitalized if designate formal and globally accepted units of geologic history or stratigraphy.

the Early Permian

Lower Cretaceous sediments

the Middle Devonian tectonic event

Modifiers early (lower), middle, and late (upper) should not be capitalized when designate informal time or position:

eruptions ceased in the early Pliocene time (i.e., volcanic material occurs in the strata the Pliocene starts with, but the exact time of volcanic extinction is unknown)

upper Cenomanian beds (beds occurring closer to the Cenomanian top)

The same rule is applicable to lithostratigraphic units or local stratigraphic scales.

the Upper Timpton subgroup (as a formal unit of the Timpton group)

the Lower Bodrack subformation

Never add words era, system, series, etc., to formal stratigraphic or time names whether they are used as nouns or adjectives. Do not write the Jurassic system, write simply (the) Jurassic. Do add words formation, group, horizon, etc., to the names of lithostratigraphic divisions at their first mention in text. Then use these words when required for clarity.

Personal titles are capitalized when they immediately precede а personal name or names and lowercased when used alone, in general contexts. Following а name or names, such titles are generally lowercased, but in formal usage, such as in the main heading of а paper, mail address, acknowledgments, or lists of contributors, they are usually capitalized.

А.P. Kapitsa, Director of the Pacific Institute of Geology

When Kapitsa became director of the Pacific Institute of Geology, he initiated reforms.

The names of academic degrees and honors should be capitalized when following а personal name, whether abbreviated or written in full:

Clyde М. Haverick, Doctor of Law John К. Follett, PhD

Names of planets and their satellites, asteroids, stars, constellations, galaxies, and other celestial objects are capitalized; however, the words sun, earth, and moon are usually lowercased unless they occur with other astronomical names. Also, note that generic terms forming part of а specific name are not capitalized.

the Milky Way the Andromeda galaxy Halley's comet Venus

but Her eyes were blinded by the sun.

Names of topographical features are capitalized. A generic term, such as mountain, desert, river, etc., used as part of а name is also capitalized.

the Rocky Mountains the Sakhara Desert the Volga River the Kara Sea

When а generic term follows more than one name, it is lowercased:

the Caspian and Aral seas the Sahara and Gobi deserts

When а generic term precedes more than one name, it is capitalized:

Seas of Azov and Okhotsk Mounts Elbrus and Kazbek

When а generic term is used descriptively rather than as part of the name or is used alone, it is lowercased:

the valley of the Podkamennaya Tunguska the Mongolian desert the Norwegian coast

Geological eras, periods, epochs, stratigraphic and tectonic divisions, and names of prehistoric divisions are capitalized.

the Silurian Pleistocene sandstone Precambrian age

the pre-Jurassic fossil the Vasyugan formation the Baikit high

the Nizhnyaya-Kheta group (i.e., the group named after the Niznyaya Kheta River)

but the Lower Kheta subformation (i.e., the lower stratigraphic division of the Kheta formation)

Capitalize Latin genus names, but do not capitalize species names, even in titles. Capitalize Latin names of groups higher than genus, but not those of subspecies and varieties.

Simphonaria pectinata var. pectalis (Nom.) Invertebrata Patella sp.

Nouns and adjectives designating political, cultural, historical, and geographical divisions are always capitalized, those referring to direction or area part are not:

Central Europe; the Middle East, the East, Western Siberia

but western Russia, central Europe; northern Africa.

Abbreviations

Use abbreviations sparingly. Spell out the term at first use in text, place the abbreviation in parentheses after it, then use the abbreviation in the remainder text.

Use abbreviations for geographic subdivisions (states, provinces, etc.) only when accompanied by a specific locale when the location otherwise may be unclear.

Abbreviate such words as article, volume, and section in literary references within the text when the number is cited.

Chap. 1 Vol. 9 Art. 5 Sec. 3

Abbreviate equation, figure, reference, and column when followed by a number or designating letter. Do not abbreviate table, appendix or page. Use No., not #, as an abbreviation for number.

Fig. 6 Eq. 5 Ref. 4 Col. A No. 5

Table 10 Appendix C page 57

Do not abbreviate the words day, week, month, and year; days of the week; months not used with а date; personal titles not used with а name; and states not used with а city. The exception may be in the table column headings.

Spell out and capitalize company and corporation as part of company names when they appear in а title or a person’s affiliation. Abbreviate them elsewhere in text. After the first mention, drop them entirely.

in а title on first mention thereafter

Dow Chemical Company Dow Chemical Со. Dow (or Dow Chemical)

Acronyms

Put acronyms in uppercase if they are “true” acronyms, i.e. with each letter standing for an actual word. Bring “false” acronyms into downstyle (i.e., uppercase first letter only).

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)

YUKOS (Yugansk, KuybyshevOrgSintez)

Arco (Atlantic Richfield Company)

Lukoil (Langepas, Uray, Kogalym oil)

In acronym names of societies and governmental agencies, do not use periods or spaces.

SPE IADC SPWLA NASA USGS

Many programming languages, some software applications, and a few other products have their names trademarked in all capital letters and are exceptions to the true acronyms rule; if the name is a trade name, capitalize the entire name—or the indicated portion of it—according to the trademarked style.

FORTRAN Macintosh OS UNIX dBASE for Windows

Use US as adjective only; spell out the United States as the noun form.

US energy policy industry of the United States

Leave the USA for designating a country in mail addresses.

See Appendix 3 and http://www.acronymfinder.com for the most common acronyms.

Web-Related Items

Use the prefix e to denote computerized or electronic form and put it hyphenated and lowercased.

e-mail e-business e-commerce

The prefix e is not capitalized, even in a title or at the beginning of a sentence, unless it is part of text set in all capitals.

A Closer Look at e-Commerce

e-business is looking better all the time.

WELCOME TO THE E-ZONE!

The prefix e is not hyphenated when used as a trademarked name with that style.

eSPE eLibrary eUpdate

Numeral Usage

Use numerals with units of time or measure, and insert а space between the number and the unit, except before °, °C, °F, ˚API, K, %, and after a currency code

With items other than units of time or measure, use words for numbers less than 11; use numerals for 11 and above, unless the number is the first word of а sentence.

three flasks tenfold but 30 flasks 20-fold

Numbers applicable to the same category should be treated alike within the same context. If you must use figures for some of the numbers in а sentence, use figures for all the numbers in that category.

Of the samples tested, 13 were positive, 7 were negative, and 2 showed an inconclusive result.

Do not begin а sentence with а numeral. Recast the sentence; otherwise, spell out the number and the unit of measure if there is one. Do not repeat a spelled-out number in numerals, which is a legal convention.

Twenty-two grams of sample was dissolved in 20 ml of acid.

Numerals are not spelled out when used in а mathematical sense.

The incidence of blowouts increased by а factor of 4.

Use numerals with а.т. and р.т.

Use а comma in numbers 10,000 and higher, i.e. 30,000; 71,251,022; but 9999; 4000.

For very large numbers in narrative text, use а combination of numerals and words: 5 billion cubic meters (or 5 bln.m³), 4.5 million years (or 4.5 mln.a). In technical texts, especially with SI units, give preference to exponential notation: 5∙10⁹ m³, 4.5∙10⁶ a. Do not blend metric units and customary units.

Use numerals for decades, and form their plurals by adding an s (without an apostrophe and hyphen). Use the full form of the number, not а contraction (unless colloquial style is required).

Incorrect Correct
the '50-s the 1890s; the middle 50s

When numerals are used as names rather than for enumeration, form their plurals by adding an apostrophe and s to avoid confusion with mathematical expressions.

many 6's were registered.

Use decimals rather than fractions with units of time or measure, except when doing so would imply an unwarranted accuracy.

3.5 h not 3½ h

In nontechnical context, spell out and hyphenate fractions.

one-quarter of the production

Spell out the ordinals first through tenth; use numerals for 11th and succeeding ordinals. Never add ordinal endings to roman numerals. Do not hyphenate numerals and ordinal endings.

Note: An ordinal may not be spelled out if it is part of an accepted formulation of а name (е.g., the title of а conference). Also, in references, ordinals are not spelled out when they refer to an edition of the book.

Do not add ordinal endings to numbers in dates.

When two numbered items are cited in narrative, use and. However, use а comma within brackets or parentheses when two references are cited.

Figs. 1 and 2 but Lewis [12, 13] found that....

It can be seen in (1) and (2) that.... not It can be seen in (1, 2) that....

Use an en dash with three or more numbered items in а series, both in narrative and in parentheses.

Tables 2–4 show that.... Past results (27–31) indicate that....

Use а period, not а comma, for decimals. Use an initial zero before the decimal.

Incorrect 0,01 .01 Correсt 0.01

When numbers are on а line, the comma is followed by а space; when numbers are in superscripts or subscripts, the comma is not followed by а space.

14, 27, 115, and 146 but 5^1,6

Monetary Amounts

Monetary amounts are formatted as numerals preceeded (with no space) by the three-letter currency code set by the International Standardization Organization (ISO), Standard ISO 4217. The currency code consists of a two-letter country code followed by a one-letter currency code

USD5000 (US dollar)

CAD80,000 (Canadian dollar)

GBP145 (UK pound sterling)

EUR620 (European Union euro)

RUB10,000 (Russian ruble) (RUR is now obsolete, it refers to rubles prior to 1997 denomination)

A legal convention requires to repeate a spelled-out number in the numerical form. Always put the numeric representation in parentheses after the spelled out quantity. (Notice that in Russian legal documents this order is reverse).

Incorrect
RUB20,000 (twenty thousand)

Correct
Twenty thousand rubles (RUB20,000)

Units of Measure

Abbreviate the unit of measure when it stands with а numeral; leave а space between the number and the unit of measure, except when they form а unit modifier, in which case use а hyphen between them.

500 m³ of oil but 500-m³ tank

Spell out the unit of measure when no quantity is given.

several milligrams not several mg

In ranges and series, retain only the final unit of measure.

10–12 mg 5, 10, and 20 kV
25–30% 30, 60, and 90°C,

The degree sign is an exception when it indicates angles, e.g., 30°, 60°, and 90° rotations.

Hyphenate unit modifiers containing а number, а unit of measure, and а word.

3-year-old child 4-m-thick layer

When а sentence starts with а specific quantity, spell it out, along with the unit of measure.

Twenty-five milliliters of acetone was added.

However, it is better to recast the sentence

Acetone (25 ml) was added.

Even when а sentence starts with а spelled-out quantity, use numerals in the rest of the sentence.

Twenty milliliters of acetone and 5 ml of НСl were added.

Use the percent symbol without а preceding space (25%, 45–50%, vol%, wt%).

Do not blend metric and customary units of measure.

Use a hyphen in customary units and a space in metric units of measure to indicate multiplication.

mD-ft B/D-psi

25 P s 7.9 kW h

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 974