2. ii
Example Key
Each example in this guide is followed by a set of numbers enclosed in
parentheses. These numbers correspond to the page, column, and paragraph
wherethe example is located.
Post-its (38.1.1)
The example Post-its can be found on page 38, in the first column’s first
paragraph.
References
The Chicago Manualof Style. Sixteenth Edition.
The rules provided in this style sheet were found in the sixteenth
edition of The Chicago Manualof Style.
Merriam-Webster’sCollegiate Dictionary.Eleventh Edition.
The Merriam-Webster’sCollegiate Dictionary was consulted
regarding compounds, pronunciation, and spelling.
3. iii
Abbreviations
Acronyms, Initialisms, Contractions 1
Names and Terms
Academic Subjects, Coursesof Study, and Lecture Series 1
Brand Namesand Trademarks 1
Daysof the Week, Months, and Seasons 2
Institutions and Companies 2
Military Terms 2
Associations 3
Signs and Mottoes 3
Parts of the World 3
PersonalNames 4
Religious Namesand Terms 4
Titles of Works 5
Numbers
GeneralPrinciples 5
Large Numbers 7
Dates 7
Punctuation
Colons 8
Commas 9
Semicolons 14
Hyphensand Dashes 14
Parentheses 15
Question Marks 16
Exclamation Points 17
Quotations and Dialogues
Quotations in Relation to Text 17
Quotation MarksOmitted 18
Spelling, Distinctive Treatmentof Words, and Compounds
Compoundsand Hyphenation 18
Emphasis 20
Word Division 20
5. Abbreviations
Acronyms, Initialisms, contractions – The word acronym refersto terms
based on the initial letters of their variouselements and read as single
words(AIDS, laser, NASA, scuba); initialism refersto terms read as a
series of letters (AOL, NBA, XML).
SAT (38.1.1)
M.I.T. (41.2.2)
Names and Terms
Academic Subjects, Courses of Study, andLecture Series
Academicsubjects - Academicsubjects are notcapitalized unlessthey
form part of a departmentnameor an official coursename or are
themselves proper nouns(e.g. English, Latin).
chemistry (38.1.1)
math (39.1.3)
reading (39.1.3)
English (40.2.1)
Brand Names and Trademarks
Brand namesthat are trademarks—often so indicated in dictionaries—
should be capitalized if they must be used.
Post-its (38.1.1)
6. 2
Skype (39.3.3)
Days of the Week, Months, andSeasons
Names of daysand months are capitalized.
Saturday (38.1.1)
Institutions andCompanies
The fullnamesof institutions, groups, and companiesand the namesof
their departments, and often the shortened formsof such names(e.g.,
the Art Institute), are capitalized. A the precedinga name, even when
part of the official title, is lowercased in runningtext. Such generic terms
as company and university areusually lowercased when used alone
(though they are routinely capitalized in promotionalmaterials,
businessdocuments, and the like).
Barnes & Noble (39.3.2)
Harvard (39.2.2)
Yale (39.2.2)
Institute for Advanced Study (40.3.3)
Advantage Testing (40.3.3)
Stanford (40.3.3)
the University of Pennsylvania (40.3.3)
Claremont McKenna College (41.2.4)
Military Terms
Armies, battalions, and such – Titles of armies, navies, air forces, fleets,
regiments, battalions, companies, corps, and so forth are capitalized.
7. 3
the United States Army (40.1.4)
Warsand revolutions – Namesof most major warsand revolutionsare
capitalized.
the First World War (40.1.4)
Associations
Associations, unions, and the like – The fullnamesof associations,
societies, unions, meetings, and conferences, and often the shortened
formsof such names, are capitalized. A the precedinga name, even
when part of the official title, is lowercased in runningtext. Such generic
terms as society and union are usually lowercased when used alone.
College Board(40.3.1)
Signs and Mottoes
Mottoes may be treated the sameway as signs. If the wordingis in
another language, it is usually italicized and only the first word
capitalized.
“If you aim for nowhere, that’s just where you’ll go,” one poster
observed. (38.1.2)
“Some days you’re the pigeon,” another, written in runny, guano-
coloredletters said. (38.1.3)
“Some days you’re the statue.” (38.2.3)
Parts of the World
Continents, Countries, Cities, Oceans, and Such - Entities that appear on
mapsare always capitalized, as are adjectives and nounsderived from
them.
New York City (39.3.2)
8. 4
Seattle (39.3.2)
Brooklyn(40.3.1)
Los Angeles (40.3.1)
Miami (40.3.1)
Regionsof the world and national regions - Termsthat denoteregions of
the world or of a particular country are often capitalized, as are a few of
the adjectives and nounsderived from suchterms.
Midwest(40.2.2)
Personal Names
Capitalizationof personal names - Namesand initials of persons, real or
fictitious, are capitalized. A space should be used between any initials,
except when initials are used alone.
Debbie Stier (38.2.1)
Robert Oppenheimer (39.1.3)
Haruki Murakami (39.1.4)
Walter Lippman (40.1.4)
Carl Campbell Brigham (40.1.4)
James Bryant Conant (40.2.2)
Religious Names andTerms
Alternative names – Alternativeor descriptive namesfor God as
supremebeing are capitalized.
the Lord (40.3.1)
9. 5
Prophetsand the like – Designationsof prophets, apostles, saints, and
other revered personsare often capitalized.
Moses (40.3.1)
Titles of Works
Treatment of bookand periodical titles – When mentioned in text, notes,
or bibliography, the titles and subtitles of books and periodicalsare
italicized and capitalized headline-style, though some publications may
requiresentence style for referencelists. A book title cited in fullin the
notes or bibliography may be shortened in text.
*The New Yorker’shouse style places quotation marksaround book
titles, rather than italicizing them like CMOScalls for.
“The PerfectScore Project:Uncovering the Secrets ofthe SAT”
(38.2.1)
“The New Math SAT Game Plan” (39.3.3)
“Outsmarting the SAT” (39.3.3)
“The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar” (39.3.3)
“The Big Test” (40.2.2)
Numbers
General Principles
Chicago’sgeneral rule—zero through one hundred – In nontechnical
contexts, Chicago advisesspelling out whole number from zero through
one hundred and certain round multiplesof those numbers. Mostof the
rest of the chapter deals with the exception to this rule and special
cases. For hyphensused with spelled-outnumbers, see7.85, section 1.
10. 6
For someadditional considerations, consultthe index, under numbers.
For numeralsin direct discourse, see 13.43. For an alternative rule, see
9.3.
twenty (38.1.1)
twenty-five (38.2.1)
forty-six (38.2.1)
410 (39.3.1)
680 (41.1.2)
740 (41.1.1)
Hundreds, thousands, and hundred thousands – Any of the whole
numbersmentioned in 9.2 (see Chicago’s generalrule—zero through
one hundred above) followed by hundred, thousand, or hundred
thousand are usually spelled out(except in the sciences) — whether
used exactly or as approximations. See also 9.8.
five hundred (40.3.2)
sevenhundred and ninety-five (41.1.1)
Ordinals – The general ruleapplies to ordinalas well as cardinal
numbers. Notethat Chicago prefers, for example, 122nd and 123rd
(with an n and an r) over 122d and 123d. Thelatter, however, are
common especially in legal style. The letters in ordinalnumbersshould
not appear as superscripts(e.g. 122nd not 122nd)
fifth (39.1.4)
sixth (39.1.4)
second(39.1.4)
tenth (39.2.1)
11. 7
third (39.3.4)
Consistency and flexibility - Wheremany numbers occur within a
paragraphor a series of paragraphs, maintain consistency in the
immediate context. If accordingto rule you mustuse numeralsfor one
of the numbersin a given category, use them for all in that category. In
the same sentence, or paragraph, however, items in one category may
be given as numeralsand items in another spelled out.
Out of more than half a million students who now take the SATs
eachyear, fewerthan five hundred will earn a “perfect” score.
(40.3.2)
Large Numbers
Millions, billions, and so forth- Wholenumbersused in combination with
million, billion, and so forth usually follow the general rule.
two million (40.1.4)
Dates
The year alone – Years are expressed in numeralsunlessthey stand at
the beginningof a sentence, in which case rewordingmay be a better
option.
1982 (39.2.4)
2005 (39.2.4)
1933 (40.2.2)
1999 (40.2.2)
Month and day – When specific dates are expressed, cardinalnumbers
are used, although these may be pronounced asordinals.
12. 8
The SATs were administered for the first time on June 23, 1926.
(40.1.4)
Decades – Decadesare either spelled out (as long as the century is clear)
and lowercased or expressed in numerals. Chicago calls for no
apostrophesto appear between the year and the s.
the nineteen-seventies (40.3.1)
Punctuation
Colons
Use of the colon – A colon introducesan element or a series of elements
illustrating or amplifyingwhathas preceded the colon. Between
independentclausesit functionsmuchlike a semicolon, and in some
cases either mark may work as well as the other; usea colon sparingly,
however, and only to emphasize that the second clause illustrates or
amplifiesthe first. (The colon should generally convey the sense of “as
follows.”)The colon may sometimes be used instead of a period to
introducea series of related sentences.
My hopes were modest: I was looking to avoid humiliation.
(39.1.1)
There was just one hitch: Ethan wasn’t interestedin studying for
the SAT. (39.2.3)
Before embarking on her quest, Stier’s only experience with the
SAT was the sort that most students have, or at leasthad: she’d
takenthe exam just once, in 1982, whenshe was in high school.
(39.2.4)
It’s now a billion-dollar industry whose primary product is
heartache:college admissionis, after all, a zero-sum game.
(40.3.3)
13. 9
Colonswith “as follows” and other introductory phrases – A colon is
normally used after as follows, the following, and similar expressions.
She buys a Barnes & Noble’s worth of review books:“Dr. John
Chung’s SAT Math,” “A-Plus Notes for Beginning Algebra,”
“The New Math SAT Game Plan,” “Kaplan SAT 2400,”“Kaplan
SAT Strategies forSuper Busy Students,” “Kaplan SAT
Strategies, Practice & Review,” “Outsmarting the SAT,” “The
Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar,” “PWN the SAT: Math
Guide,” and the College Board’s “OfficialSAT Study Guide,”
which is knownas “The Blue Book.”(39.3.3)
Colonsto introduce speech or quotations – A colon is often used to
introducespeech in dialogue.
A colon may also be used instead of a commato introduceaquotation,
either where the syntaxof the introduction requiresit or to more
formally introducethe quotation.
Then I realized that everyone else was alreadyscribbling away, so
I ditched that idea and went with the obvious: “No pain, no gain.”
(39.1.3)
So Stier thought she would model the behavior she was hoping to
inspire: “I thought maybe I could motivate Ethan to care about
the SAT, just a little, if I climbed into the trenches myself.”
(39.2.3)
Commas
Commasin pairs – Whenever acomma is used to set off an element, a
second comma is required if the phraseor sentence continuesbeyond
the element being set off. This principleapplies to many of the uses for
commasdescribed in this section. An exception is madefor commas
within the title of a work.
14. 10
Stier, a divorced mother of two who lives in Irvington, New York,
decided to take up the SATs for the same reasonwe all do foolish
things: out of love. (39.2.2)
Her oldestchild, Ethan, a B student with modest athletic abilities
(yet severalminor concussions), was a sophomore in high school.
(39.2.2)
Serial commas - Items in a series are normally separated by commas.
When a conjunction joinsthe last two elements in a series of three or
more, a comma—known asthe serial or series comma or the Oxford
comma—should appear beforethe conjunction. Chicago strongly
recommendsthis widely practiced usage, blessed by Fowler and other
authorities, since it preventsambiguity. If the last elementconsists of a
pair joined by and, the pair should still be preceded by a serial comma
and the first and.
Rather, he wrote, scoreswere anindex of a person’s schooling,
family background, familiarity with English, and everything else.
(40.2.1)
Not long after Harvard started using the SAT, Princeton,
Columbia, and Yale followedsuit. (40.2.2)
In the nineteen-seventies, Kaplanexpanded his operations into
cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago,and Miami. (40.3.1)
Restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses — “which” versus“that” – A relative
clause is said to be restrictive if it providesinformation that is essential
to the meaningof the sentence. Restrictive clauses are usually
introduced by that (or who/whom/whose) and arenever set off by
commasfrom the rest of the sentence. The pronoun that may
occasionally be omitted (but need not be) if the sentence is justas clear
without it.
That Ethan might try to follow a similar trajectoryis precisely
what has her concerned. (39.3.1)
15. 11
What might be calledthe Institute for Advanced Study of tutoring
services is a Manhattan-basedoperationcalled Advantage
Testing. (40.3.4)
She comes to feel so at home there that when other students
arrive for their sessionsshe buzzes them in. (41.1.1)
A relative clause is said to be nonrestrictiveif it could be omitted
without obscuringthe identity of the noun to which it refersor
otherwise changing the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
Nonrestrictive relative clauses are usually introduced by which (or
who/whom/whose) and areset off from the rest of the sentence by
commas.
After issuing a series ofwarnings, which she read word for word
from a script, she told us that we’d have twenty-five minutes to
complete the first sectionof the exam—the essayquestion.
(38.2.1)
The SATs inventor, a Princetonprofessornamed Carl Campbell
Brigham, had workedon the Army’s I.Q. test, and the civilian
exam he came up with was a first cousinto the military’s. (40.1.4)
This made it difficult to assessthe claim made by the College
Board, the exam’s administrator, that studying for the SATs
would serve no purpose. (40.3.1)
Commaswith restrictive and nonrestrictiveappositives – A word,
abbreviation, phrase, or clause that is in apposition to a noun (i.e.,
providesan explanatory equivalent)is normally set off by commas if it
is nonrestrictive — that is, if it can be omitted without obscuring the
identity of the noun to which it refers.
The proctor, who herself seemedoddly nervous, handed around
the tests and the answerbooklets. (38.2.1)
The three-part test, with a top score of 2400, wasintroduced in
2005. (39.2.4)
16. 12
In 1933, James BryantConant, a chemist, became the president of
Harvard. (40.2.2)
Commaswith parenthetical elements – If only aslight break is intended,
commasshould be used to set off a parenthetical element inserted into a
sentence as an explanation or comment. If a stronger break is needed or
if there are commaswithin the parenthetical element, em dashes or
parentheses should be used.
We must have been given different tests, because, wheneverI was
trying to read, she was clicking awayloudly on her calculator.
(39.1.4)
Stier, in her words, was “beginning to feelfrantic.” (39.2.2)
Stier, in turn, is enragedby their behavior. (39.3.5)
At last, Alagappan relents, and Stier spends the last two weeks of
her projectcamped out in Advantage’s office. (41.1.1)
Commaswith “however,” “therefore,” “indeed,” and so forth – Commas —
sometimes paired with semicolons—aretraditionally used to set off
adverbssuch as however, therefore, and indeed. When theadverbis
essential to the meaningof the clause, or if no pauseis intended or
desired, commasare not needed.
Advantage, however, will not assignher a tutor on such short
notice. (41.1.1)
Commaswith independent clausesjoined by conjunctions – When
independentclausesarejoined by and, but, or so, yet, or any other
conjunction, a commausually precedesthe conjunction. If the clauses
are very short, and closely connected, the commamay be omitted unless
the clauses are part of a series. These recommendationsapply equally to
imperativesentences, in which the subject (you) is omitted but
understood.
Pick a position and then bang awayat it, the way you might at a
piñata, or a rabid dog. (39.1.2)
17. 13
I felt increasinglyat a disadvantage, and not just because the last
time I reckonedthe surface area of a cylinder my fellow test-
takers had not yet been born. (39.1.4)
I went to erase the errant marks, but then I wasn’t sure how
many I needed to get rid of. (39.2.1)
Commaswith compound predicates – A commais not normally used
between the partsof a compound predicate—thatis, two or moreverbs
having the same subject, as distinct from two independentclauses. A
commamay occasionally be needed, however, to preventamisreading.
Still, she attended Bennington College and went on to a successful
careeras a book publicist. (39.3.1)
Stier requests extra practice sheets so she can quickly work her
way up to high-schoolmath. (40.1.2)
She’s spent an entire year bisecting angles and factoring
quadratics (41.2.1)
Comma preceding main clause – A dependentclausethat precedesa
main clause should be followed by a comma.
By the time I gotto the tenth section, I was zonked. (39.2.1)
That night, the kids decamp to their father’s house. (40.1.1)
Bowedbut not broken, she returns to the tutoring centeralone.
(40.1.2)
Commaswith “not” phrases – When a phrase beginning with not is
interjected in order to clarify a particular noun, commasshould be used
to set off the phrase.
“a guaranteedstarter job in the industry—a job, not an
internship—were gone.” (39.3.2)
18. 14
In the early decades ofthe test, scores were revealedonly to
schools, notto students. (40.3.1)
Semicolons
Use of the semicolon – In regular prose, a semicolon is most commonly
used between two independentclausesnot joined by a conjunction to
signal a closer connection between them than a period would.
I wanted to argue againstthe question’s very premise; who can
even really say what progress is? (39.1.3)
Intelligence testing was a new but rapidly expanding enterprise;
during the First World War, the United States Army had given
I.Q. tests to nearly two million soldiers to determine who was
officer material. (40.1.4)
Many of the questions were tricky; some were genuinely hard.
(41.2.3)
Semicolonsin a complex series – When items in a series themselves
contain internalpunctuation, separatingthe items with semicolons can
aid clarity. If ambiguity seems unlikely, commasmay be used instead.
She Skypes with a tutor named Staceyin Seattle;undertakes a
regimen calledCogmed, which is supposedto improve her
memory; and meets with a tutor named Erica in New York City.
(39.3.3)
Hyphens and Dashes
Em dashesinstead of commas, parentheses, or colons – The em dash,
often simply called the dash, is the most commonly used and most
versatile of the dashes. Em dashes are used to set off an amplifyingor
explanatory element and in that sense can function as an alternative to
parentheses, commas, or a colon—especially when an abruptbreak in
thought is called for.
she told us that we’d have twenty-five minutes to complete the
first sectionof the exam—the essayquestion. (38.2.1)
19. 15
SAT scores thencame in two parts—verbal and math—with a
maximum combined value of 1600. (39.2.4)
At first, it seems that her math score—a510—hasalso improved
(41.1.2)
Em dashesin place of commas – In modern usage, if the context calls for
an em dash where a comma would ordinarily separatea dependent
clause from an independentclause, the commais omitted. Likewise, if
an em dash is used at the end of quoted material to indicate an
interruption, the commacan be safely omitted before the wordsthat
identify the speaker.
He tells her that the whole premise of her project—sampling a
different method of test prep eachmonth—is misguided (41.1.1)
Whateveris at the center of the SAT—callit aptitude or
assessmentorassiduousnessorambition—the exam at this point
represents an accident. (41.2.4)
Em dashesto indicate suddenbreaks – An em dash or a pair of em dashes
may indicate a sudden break in thought or sentencestructure or an
interruption in dialogue.
On this particular day, the essayquestioninvolved progress—
does it require struggle and conflict? (39.1.2)
I couldn’t remember exactlyhow it went, and so, heeding Stier’s
advice—“Details count;factual accuracydoesn’t”—Imade
something up. (39.1.3)
Ironically—or defensively?—this was most apparent to me while I
was blathering on about the Manhattan Project. (41.2.3)
Parentheses
Use of the parentheses - Parentheses—stronger than a commaand
similar to the dash—are used to set off material from the surrounding
20. 16
text. Like dashes but unlikecommas, parentheses can set off text that
has no grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence.
Her oldestchild, Ethan, a B student with modest athletic sbilities
(yet severalminor concussions), was a sophomore in high school.
(39.2.2)
Intelligence testing was a new but rapidly expanding enterprise;
during the First World War, the United States Army had given
I.Q. tests to nearly two million soldiers to determine who was
officer material. (Walter Lippmann dismissedthese tests as
“quackeryin a field where quacks breed like rabbits.”) (40.1.4)
Three decades later, she’s proposing to loft herselfinto the upper
reaches ofthe ninety-ninth percentile. (Stier can never quite
figure out why there isn’t a hundredth percentile.)(40.3.2)
QuestionMarks
Use of the questionmark – The question mark, as its namesuggests, is
used to indicate a direct question. It may also be used to indicate
editorial doubt(e.g., regarding a date or facts of publication)or
(occasionally) at the end of a declarative or imperativesentence in
order to express surprise, disbelief, or uncertainty.
Was this passage“analyzing an activity” or “challenging an
assumption”? Both seemedvalid. Was a phrase in a second
reading passage“speculative” or“ironic” or “defensive”?
Damned if I knew. (39.2.1)
Ethan would soonbe applying to college,but what were his
chances ofgetting into a goodone? (39.2.2)
What does all this “struggle and conflict” accomplish? (41.1.2)
Questionmarksin relationto surrounding text and punctuation – A
question mark should be placed insidequotation marks, parentheses, or
brackets only when it is part of (i.e., applies to) the quoted or
parenthetical matter.
21. 17
“ ‘How long till the polynomials?’ I’d always ask Jennifer,” she
recalls. (40.1.3)
ExclamationPoints
Exclamationpointswith quotationmarks, parenthesesor brackets – An
exclamation point should be placed inside quotation marks,
parentheses, or brackets only when it is part of the quoted or
parenthetical matter.
“You go, Mom!” he called out during one of the breaks.
Quotations and Dialogue
Quotationin RelationtoText
Initial capital or lowercase—run-inquotations – When aquotation
introduced midsentenceformsasyntactical partof the sentence, it
begins with a lowercase letter even if the original begins with a capital.
When the quotation has a moreremote syntactic relation to the rest of
the sentence, the initial letter remainscapitalized.
When I got to the point of quoting Robert Oppenheimer’s famous
line “Now I am become Death, the destroyerof worlds,” I
couldn’t remember exactlyhow it went, and so,
heeding Stier’s advice—“Detailscount;factual accuracy
doesn’t”—Imade something up. (39.1.3)
Unspokendiscourse – Thought, imagined dialogue, and other interior
discoursemay be enclosed in quotation marksor not, according to the
context or the writer’s preference.
22. 18
“Declare,don’t waffle,” she counsels. (39.1.2)
“A possibility presented itself,” she writes. (39.2.2)
“Ironically,” Stier observes, “itwas now time for Ethan to begin
studying for the SAT (40.1.2)
QuotationMarks Omitted
Decorative Initials(“drop caps” and raised initials) – When the first word
of a chapter or section openswith a large raised or dropped initial
letter, and the first wordsof the chapter or section consist of a run-in
quotation, the openingquotation mark is often omitted.
aking the SATs is not something to do lightly. (38.1.1)
tier, a divorced mother of two who lives in Irvington, New
York, decided to take up the SATs for the same reasonwe all
do foolish things: out of love. (39.2.2)
he SATs were administered for the first time on June 23,
1926. (40.1.4)
Spelling, Distinctive Treatment
of Words, and Compounds
Compounds and Hyphenation
Adjective + noun – Hyphenated beforebut not after a noun.
last-minute (38.1.1)
free-response (39.1.4)
T
S
T
23. 19
middle-class (40.2.2)
Number, ordinal, + noun – Adjectiveform hyphenated before a noun,
otherwise open.
third-grade level (40.1.2)
ninety-ninth percentile (40.3.2)
Number + noun – Hyphenated before a noun, otherwiseopen.
billion-dollar (40.3.3)
zero-sum (40.3.3)
Noun+ participle – Hyphenated beforea noun, otherwise open.
sleep-deprived (38.1.1)
guano-colored(38.2.1)
Manhattan-based(40.3.4)
Noun+ noun, two functions(both nounsequal) – Both noun and adjective
formsalwayshyphenated.
emergency-evacuation(38.1.1)
test-preparation(39.2.3)
test-takers (40.3.2)
Participle + up, out, and similar adverbs – Adjectiveform hyphenated
before but not after a noun. Verbform always open.
run-up (39.3.4)
Compoundsformed with specificterms – Adjectiveformshyphenated
before and after the noun; noun formsopen. Somepermanent
compoundsclosed, whether nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
24. 20
half a million (40.2.2)
Wordsformed with prefixes – Compoundsformed withprefixesare
normally closed, whether they are nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs.
A hyphen should appear, however, before a capitalized word or a
numeral.
mid-nineteen-fifties (40.2.2)
Emphasis
Italics for Emphasis – Use italics for emphasis only as an occasional
adjunctto efficient sentence structure. Overused, italics quickly lose
their force. Seldom should as much as a sentence be italicized for
emphasis, and never a whole passage.
Stier had receiveda 410 on the verbal and a 480 on the math,
scores she characterizes as “verybad.” (39.3.1)
“ ‘Not for a long time,’ Jennifer would say. (40.1.3)
this is when the FederalTrade Commissiondecided to investigate
his claims (40.3.1)
“Everyone uses them,” a real-estate mogulshe knows tells her
(41.1.1)
Word Division
Dividing after a vowel – Unless a resulting break affects pronunciation,
wordsare best divided after a vowel. When a vowelformsa syllable in
the middleof a word, it should run to the first line if possible.
Diphthongs are treated as single vowels(e.g., the eu in aneurysm).
stu-dents (40.3.1)
na-tional (40.3.2)
25. 21
pri-mary (40.3.3)
Dividing wordsending in “ing” – Mostgerundsand presentparticiples
may be divided beforethe ing. When the final consonantbeforethe ing
is doubled, however, the break occursbetween the consonants.
begin-ning (39.2.2)
tutor-ing (39.3.5)
read-ing (41.1.2)
Dividing compounds, prefixes, and suffixes – Hyphenated or closed
compoundsand wordswithprefixesor suffixesare best divided at the
naturalbreaks.
success-ful(39.3.1)
im-prove (39.3.3)
en-raged(39.3.5)
Dividing according to pronunciation – In the usage preferred by Chicago
and reflected in Webster’s, mostwordsaredivided accordingto
pronunciation rather than derivation.
assump-tion (39.2.1)
behav-ior (39.2.3)
al-most (39.2.4)
Inconsistencies
Periods withAbbreviation
CMOS (10.4): Use no periodswith abbreviationsthat appear infull
capitals, whether two lettersor more and evenif lowercase letters
appear withinthe abbreviation: VP, CEO, MA, MD, PhD, UK, US, NY, IL.
26. 22
I.Q. (40.1.4)
Ph.D. (40.3.4)
Word Divisions
Dividing wordsending in “ing” – Mostgerundsand presentparticiples
may be divided beforethe ing. When the final consonantbeforethe ing
is doubled, however, the break occursbetween the consonants.
recall-ing (39.3.4)
Compound/Hyphen Usage
According to Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, teenagersisnot
hyphenated.
teen-agers (38.1.1)(41.2.2)
