xvi INTRODUCTION unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline,but that every word tell. There you have a short,valuable essay on the nature and beauty of brevity-fifty-nine words that could change the world.Having recovered from his adventure in prolixity (fifty-nine words were a lot of words in the tight world of William Strunk Jr.),the professor proceeds to give a few quick lessons in pruning.Students learn to cut the dead- wood from“this is a subject that,”reducing it to“this sub ject,"a saving of three words.They learn to trim "used for fuel purposes”down to“used for fuel.”They learn that they are being chatterboxes when they say "the question as to whether"and that they should just say"whether' -a saving of four words out of a possible five. The professor devotes a special paragraph to the vile expression the fact that,a phrase that causes him to quiver with revulsion.The expression,he says,should be"revised out of every sentence in which it occurs."But a shadow of gloom seems to hang over the page,and you feel that he knows how hopeless his cause is.I suppose I have written the fact that a thousand times in the heat of composition revised it out maybe five hundred times in the cool after- math.To be batting only .500 this late in the season,to fail half the time to connect with this fat pitch,saddens me,for it seems a betrayal of the man who showed me how to swing at it and made the swinging seem worthwhile. I treasure The Elements of Style for its sharp advice,but I treasure it even more for the audacity and self-confidence of its author.Will knew where he stood.He was so sure of where he stood,and made his position so clear and so plau sible,that his peculiar stance has continued to invigorate me-and,I am sure,thousands of other ex-students-during the years that have intervened since our first encounter.He had a number of likes and dislikes that were almost as whimsical as the choice of a necktie,yet he made them seem utterly convincing.He disliked the word forceful and
xvi] INTRODUCTION unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. There you have a short, valuable essay on the nature and beauty of brevity-fifty-nine words that could change the world. Having recovered from his adventure in prolixity (fifty-nine words were a lot of words in the tight world of William Strunk Jr.), the professor proceeds to give a few quick lessons in pruning. Students learn to cut the deadwood from "this is a subject that," reducing it to "this subject," a saving of three words. They learn to trim "used for fuel purposes" do\Vl1 to "used for fuel." They learn that they are being chatterboxes when they say "the question as to whether" and that they shouldjust say "whether"-a saving offour words out of a possible five. The professor devotes a speCial paragraph to the vile expression the fact that, a phrase that causes him to quiver with revulsion. The expression, he says, should be "revised out of every sentence in which it occurs." But a shadow of gloom seems to hang over the page, and you feel that he knows how hopeless his cause is. I suppose I have written the fact that a thousand times in the heat of composition, revised it out maybe five hundred times in the cool aftermath. To be batting only .500 this late in the season, to fail halfthe time to connect with this fat pitch, saddens me, for itseems a betrayal ofthe man who showed me how to sMug at it and made the s\Vinging seem worthwhile. I treasure The Elements ofStyle for its sharp advice, but I treasure it even more for the audacity and self-confidence of its author. Will knew where he stood. He was so sure of where he stood, and made his position so clear and so plausible, that his peculiar stance has continued to invigorate me-and, I am sure, thousands ofother ex-students-during the years that have intervened since our first encounter. He had a number of likes and dislikes that were almost as whimsical as the choice of a necktie, yet he made them seem utterly convincing. He disliked the wordforceful and
INTRODUCTION xvii advised us to use forcible instead.He felt that the word clever was greatly overused:"It is best restricted to ingenu- ity displayed in small matters."He despised the expression student body,which he termed gruesome,and made a spe- cial trip downtown to the Alumni News office one day to protest the expression and suggest that studentry be sub- stituted-a coinage of his own,which he felt was similar to citizenry.I am told that the News editor was so charmed by the visit,if not by the word,that he ordered the student body buried,never to rise again.Studentry has taken its place.It's not much of an improvement,but it does sound less cadaverous,and it made Will Strunk quite happy. Some years ago,when the heir to the throne of England was a child,I noticed a headline in the Times about Bonnie Prince Charlie:CHARLES'TONSILS OUT."Immediately Rule 1 leapt to mind. 1.Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.Thus write, Charles's friend Burns's poems the witch's malice Clearly,Will Strunk had foreseen,as far back as 1918,the dangerous tonsillectomy of a prince,in which the surgeon removes the tonsils and the Times copy desk removes the finals.He started his book with it.I commend Rule 1 to the Times,and I trust that Charles's throat,not Charles'throat is in fine shape today. Style rules of this sort are,of course,somewhat a matter of individual preference,and even the established rules of grammar are open to challenge.Professor Strunk,although one of the most inflexible and choosy of men,was quick to acknowledge the fallacy of inflexibility and the danger of doctrine.“It is an old observation,”he wrote,“that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric.When they do so,however,the reader will usually find in the sen- tence some compensating merit,attained at the cost of the
INTRODUCTION [xvii advised us to use forcible instead. He felt that the word clever was greatly overused: "'It is best restricted to ingenuity displayed in small matters." He despised the expression student body, which he termed gruesome, and made a special trip downtown to the Alumni News office one day to protest the expression and suggest that studentry be substituted-a coinage of his own, which he felt was similar to citizenry. I am told that the News editor was so charmed by the visit, if not by the word, that he ordered the student body buried, never to rise again. Studentry has taken its place. It's not much of an improvement, but it does sound less cadaverous, and it made Will Strunk quite happy. Some years ago, when the heir to the throne of England was a child, I noticed a headline in the Times about Bonnie Prince Charlie: .CHARLES~ TONSILS OUT." Immediately Rule 1 leapt to mind. 1. Form the possessive Singular of nouns by adding S. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, Charles's friend Bums's poems the witch's malice Clearly, Will Strunk had foreseen, as far back as 1918, the dangerous tonsillectomy of a prince, in which the surgeon removes the tonsils and the Tirnes copy desk removes the final s. He started his book with it. I commend Rule 1 to the Times, and I trust that Charles's throat, not Charles' throat, is in fine shape today. Style rules ofthis sort are, of course, somewhat a matter of individual preference, and even the established rules of grammar are open to challenge. Professor Strunk, although one ofthe most inflexible and choosy of men, was quick to acknowledge the fallacy of inflexibility and the danger of doctrine. "'It is an old observation/' he wrote, "'that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost ofthe
xviii INTRODUCTION violation.Unless he is certain of doing as well,he will prob ably do best to follow the rules.' It is encouraging to see how perfectly a book,even a dusty rule book,perpetuates and extends the spirit of a man.Will Strunk loved the clear,the brief,the bold,and his book is clear,brief,bold.Boldness is perhaps its chief dis- tinguishing mark.On page 26,explaining one of his paral- lels,he says,"The lefthand version gives the impression that the writer is undecided or timid,apparently unable or afraid to choose one form of expression and hold to it."And his original Rule 11 was "Make definite assertions."That was Will all over.He scorned the vague,the tame,the colorless, the irresolute.He felt it was worse to be irresolute than to be wrong.I remember a day in class when he leaned far for- ward,in his characteristic pose-the pose of a man about to impart a secret-and croaked,"If you don't know how to pronounce a word,say it loud!If you don't know how to pro- nounce a word,say it loud!"This comical piece of advice struck me as sound at the time,and I still respect it.Why compound ignorance with inaudibility?Why run and hide? All through The Elements of Style one finds evidences of the author's deep sympathy for the reader.Will felt that the reader was in serious trouble most of the time,floundering in a swamp,and that it was the duty of anyone attempting to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get the reader up on dry ground,or at least to throw a rope.In revising the text,I have tried to hold steadily in mind this belief of his,this concern for the bewildered reader. In the English classes of today,"the little book"is sur- rounded by longer,lower textbooks-books with permissive steering and automatic transitions.Perhaps the book has become something of a curiosity.To me,it still seems to maintain its original poise,standing,in a drafty time,erect, resolute,and assured.I still find the Strunkian wisdom a comfort,the Strunkian humor a delight,and the Strunkian attitude toward right-and-wrong a blessing undisguised. E.B.WHITE
xviii] INTRODUCTION violation. Unless he is certain of doing as well, he will probably do best to follow the rules." It is encouraging to see how perfectly a book, even a dusty rule book, perpetuates and extends the spirit of a man. Will Strunk loved the clear, the brief, the bold, and his book is clear, brief, bold. Boldness is perhaps its chief distinguishing mark. On page 26, explaining one of his parallels, he says, "The lefthand version gives the impression that the writer is undecided or timid, apparently unable or afraid to choose one form of expression and hold to it." And his original Rule 11 was "Make definite assertions." That was Will allover. He scorned the vague, the tame, the colorless, the irresolute. He felt it was worse to be irresolute than to be wrong. I remember a day in class when he leaned far forward, in his characteristic pose-the pose of a man about to impart a secret-and croaked, "If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud! Ifyou don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!" This comical piece of advice struck me as sound at the time, and I still respect it. Why compound ignorance with inaudibility? Why run and hide? All through The Elements ofStyle one finds evidences of the author's deep sympathy for the reader. Will felt that the reader was in serious trouble most ofthe time, floundering in a swamp, and that it was the duty of anyone attempting to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get the reader up on dry ground, or at least to throw a rope. In revising the text, I have tried to hold steadily in mind this belief of his, this concern for the bewildered reader. In the English classes of today, "the little book" is surrounded by longer, lower textbooks-books with permissive steering and automatic transitions. Perhaps the book has become something of a curiosity. To me, it still seems to maintain its original poise, standing, in a drafty time, erect, resolute, and assured. I still find the Strunkian wisdom a comfort, the Strunkian humor a delight, and the Strunkian attitude toward right-and-wrong a blessing undisguised. E. B. WHITE
I Elementary Rules of Usage 1.Form the possessive singular of nouns by add ing 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.Thus write. Charles's friend Burns's poems the witch's malice Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names ending in-es and-is,the possessive Jesus',and such forms as for conscience'sake,for righteousness'sake.But such forms as Moses'Laws,Isis'temple are commonly replaced by the laws of Moses the temple of Isis The pronominal possessives hers,its,theirs,yours,and ours have no apostrophe.Indefinite pronouns,however,use the apostrophe to show possession. one's rights somebody else's umbrella A common error is to write it's for its,or vice versa.The first is a contraction,meaning "it is."The second is a possessive. It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas
I Elementary Rules of Usage 1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, Charles's friend Bums's poems the witch's malice Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names ending in -es and -is, the possessiveJesus', and such forms as for conscience' sake, for righteousness' sake. But such forms as Moses' Laws, Isis" temple are commonly replaced by the laws of Moses the temple of Isis The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and ours have no apostrophe. Indefinite pronouns, however, use the apostrophe to show possession. one's rights somebody else's umbrella Acommon error is to write ifs for its, or vice versa. The first is a contraction, meaning "it is." The second is a possessive. It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas. 1
2THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE 2.In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction,use a comma after each term except the last. Thus write, red,white,and blue gold,silver,or copper He opened the letter,read it,and made a note of its contents. This comma is often referred to as the "serial"comma. In the names of business firms the last comma is usually omitted.Follow the usage of the individual firm. Little,Brown and Company Donaldson,Lufkin Jenrette 3.Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas The best way to see a country,unless you are pressed for time,is to travel on foot. This rule is difficult to apply;it is frequently hard to decide whether a single word,such as however,or a brief phrase is or is not parenthetic.If the interruption to the flow of the sentence is but slight,the commas may be safely omitted.But whether the interruption is slight or consider able,never omit one comma and leave the other.There is no defense for such punctuation as Marjorie's husband,Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yes- terday or My brother you will be pleased to hear,is now in per- fect health Dates usually contain parenthetic words or figures.Punc- tuate as follows: February to July,1992
2] THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE 2. In a series ofthree or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. Thus write, red, white, and blue gold, silver, or copper He opened the letter, read it, and made a note ofits contents. This comma is often referred to as the '''serial'' comma. In the names of business firms the last comma is usually omitted. Follow the usage ofthe individual firm. Little, Brown and Company Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette 3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas. The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot. This rule is difficult to apply; it is frequently hard to decide whether a single word, such as however, or a brief phrase is or is not parenthetic. Ifthe interruption to the flow of the sentence is but slight, the commas may be safely olnitted. But whether the interruption is slight or considerable, never omit one comma and leave the other. There is no defense for such punctuation as Marjorie's husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday. or My brother you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health. Dates usually contain parenthetic words orfigures. Punctuate as follows: February to July, 1992