DHPN-1015
`Dell Inc. vs. Electronics and Telecommunications, IPR2013-00635
`Page 1 of 4
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`

`

`F—'——————7’
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`COPYRIGHT © 2000, 1979, ALLYN & BACON
`A Pearson Education Company
`Needham Heights, Massachusetts 02494
`
`All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
`in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
`copying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
`permission in writing from the Publisher.
`
`Earlier editions © 1959, 1972 by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
`
`The Introduction originally appeared, in slightly different form, in The New
`Yorker, and was copyrighted in 1957 by The New Yorker Magazine, Inc.
`
`The Elements of Style, Revised Edition, by William Strunk Jr. and Edward
`A. Tenney, copyright 1935 by Oliver Strunk.
`
`Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
`
`Strunk, William, 1869—1946.
`The elements of style / by William Strunk, Jr. ; with revisions,
`an introduction, and a chapter on writing by E. B. White. — 4th ed.
`p.
`cm.
`Includes index.
`
`ISBN 0—205-30902-X (paperback). — ISBN 0-205-31342-6 (casebound)
`1. English language—Rhetoric.
`2. English language—Style.
`3. Report writing.
`I. White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks), 1899-
`11. Title.
`PE1408.S772
`808'.042——d021
`
`1999
`
`99—16419
`CIP
`
`PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
`
`20 19
`
`18
`
`08
`
`
`
`Contents
`
`FOREWORD
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`1. ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`51¢
`
`Form the possessive singular of nouns
`by adding ’3.
`In a series of three or more terms with
`
`a single conjunction, use a comma after
`each term except the last.
`Enclose parenthetic expressions
`between commas.
`
`Place a comma before a conjunction
`introducing an independent clause.
`Do not join independent clauses with
`a comma.
`
`Do not break sentences in two.
`
`Use a colon after an independent clause
`to introduce a list of particulars, an
`appositive, an amplification, or an
`illustrative quotation.
`Use a dash to set off an abrupt break
`or interruption and to announce a long
`appositive or summary.
`The number of the subject determines
`the number of the verb.
`
`10.
`
`Use the proper case of pronoun.
`
`\101
`
`
`
`
`
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`28]
`
`THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE
`
`PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION [29
`
`
`
`It may be asked, what if you need to express a rather
`large number of similar ideas—say, twenty? Must you write
`twenty consecutive sentences of the same pattern? On
`closer examination, you will probably find that the diffi-
`culty is imaginary—that these twenty ideas can be classi-
`fied in groups, and that you need apply the principle only
`within each group. Otherwise, it is best to avoid the diffi-
`culty by putting statements in the form of a table.
`
`20. Keep related words together.
`The position of the words in a sentence is the principal
`means of showing their relationship. Confusion and ambi-
`guity result when words are badly placed. The writer must,
`therefore, bring together the words and groups of words
`that are related in thought and keep apart those that are not
`so related.
`
`He noticed a large stain
`in the rug that was right in
`the center.
`
`He noticed a large stain
`right in the center of the
`rug.
`
`You can call your mother
`in London and tell her all
`about George’s taking
`you out to dinner for just
`two dollars.
`
`For just two dollars you
`can call your mother in
`London and tell her all
`about George’s taking you
`out to dinner.
`
`New York’s first com-
`New York’s first com-
`mercial human—sperm bank mercial human-sperm
`opened Friday with semen
`bank opened Friday when
`samples from eighteen
`semen samples were taken
`men frozen in a stainless
`from eighteen men. The
`steel tank.
`samples were then frozen
`and stored in a stainless
`steel tank.
`
`In the lefthand version of the first example, the reader
`has no way of lmowing whether the stain was in the center
`of the rug or the rug was in the center of the room. In the
`lefthand version of the second example, the reader may well
`
`wonder which cost two dollars—the phone call or the din-
`ner. In the lefthand version of the third example, the read-
`er’s heart goes out to those eighteen poor fellows frozen in
`a steel tank.
`
`The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should
`not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be
`transferred to the beginning.
`
`In Beloved, Toni Morri-
`Toni Morrison, in
`Beloved, writes about char— son writes about characters
`acters who have escaped
`who have escaped from
`from slavery but are
`slavery but are haunted by
`haunted by its heritage.
`its heritage.
`
`A dog, if you fail to
`discipline him, becomes
`a household pest.
`
`Unless disciplined, a dog
`becomes a household pest.
`
`Interposing a phrase or a clause, as in the lefthand exam-
`ples above, interrupts the flow of the main clause. This
`interruption, however, is not usually bothersome when the
`flow is checked only by a relative clause or by an expression
`in apposition. Sometimes, in periodic sentences, the inter-
`ruption is a deliberate device for creating suspense. (See
`examples under Rule 22.)
`The relative pronoun should come, in most instances,
`immediately after its antecedent.
`
`There was a stir in the
`audience that suggested
`disapproval.
`He wrote three articles
`about his adventures in
`
`Spain, which were pub—
`lished in Harper’s Magazine.
`This is a portrait of Ben-
`jamin Harrison, grandson
`of William Henry Harrison,
`who became President in
`1889.
`
`A stir that suggested
`disapproval swept the
`audience.
`He published three arti-
`cles in Harper’s Magazine
`about his adventures in
`
`Spain.
`This is a portrait of Ben—
`jamin Harrison, who be—
`came President in 1889.
`
`He was the grandson of
`William Henry Harrison.
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`30]
`
`THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE
`
`If the antecedent consists of a group of words, the rela-
`tive comes at the end of the group, unless this would cause
`ambiguity.
`
`The Superintendent of the Chicago Division, who
`
`N0 ambiguity results from the above. But
`
`A proposal to amend the Sherman Act, which has been
`variously judged
`
`leaves the reader wondering whether it is the proposal or
`the Act that has been variously judged. The relative clause
`must be moved forward, to read, “A proposal, which has
`been variously judged, to amend the Sherman Act. .
`.
`Similarly
`
`The grandson of William
`Henry Harrison, who
`
`William Henry Harri-
`son’s grandson, Benjamin
`Harrison, who
`
`A noun in apposition may come between antecedent and
`relative, because in such a combination no real ambiguity
`can arise.
`
`The Duke of York, his brother, who was regarded with
`hostility by the Whigs
`
`Modifiers should come, ifpossible, next to the words they
`modify. If several expressions modify the same word, they
`should be arranged so that no wrong relation is suggested.
`
`All the members were
`
`Not all the members
`
`not present.
`
`were present.
`
`She only found two
`mistakes.
`
`She found only two
`mistakes.
`
`The director said he
`hoped all members would
`give generously to the
`Fund at a meeting of the
`committee yesterday.
`
`At a meeting of the
`committee yesterday, the
`director said he hoped all
`members would give gen—
`erously to the Fund.
`
`
`
`PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION [31
`
`Major R. E. joyce will
`give a lecture on Tuesday
`evening in Bailey Hall, to
`which the public is invited
`on “My Experiences in
`Mesopotamia” at 8:00 RM.
`
`On Tuesday evening at
`eight, Major R. E. joyce
`will give a lecture in Bailey
`Hall on “My Experiences
`in Mesopotamia.” The pub-
`lic is invited.
`
`Note, in the last lefthand example, how swiftly meaning de—
`parts when words are wrongly juxtaposed.
`
`21. In summaries, keep to one tense.
`In summarizing the action of a drama, use the present
`tense. In summarizing a poem, story, or novel, also use the
`present, though you may use the past if it seems more nat-
`ural to do so. If the summary is in the present tense, ante-
`cedent action should be expressed by the perfect; if in the
`past, by the past perfect.
`
`Chance prevents Friar john from delivering Friar
`Lawrence’s letter to Romeo. Meanwhile, owing to her
`father’s arbitrary change of the day set for her wedding,
`juliet has been compelled to drink the potion on Tuesday
`night, with the result that Balthasar informs Romeo of her
`supposed death before Friar Lawrence learns of the non—
`delivery of the letter.
`
`But whichever tense is used in the summary, a past
`tense in indirect discourse or in indirect question remains
`unchanged.
`The Friar confesses that it was he who married them.
`
`Apart from the exceptions noted, the writer should use the
`same tense throughout. Shifting from one tense to another
`gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution.
`In presenting the statements or the thought of someone
`else, as in summarizing an essay or reporting a speech, do
`not overwork such expressions as “he said,” “she stated,”
`“the speaker added,” “the speaker then went on to say,” “the
`author also thinks.” Indicate clearly at the outset, once for
`
`
`
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