Summertime, and the Livin' Is Easy

While summer may not begin officially for 13 more days, here at Word Wise’s corporate headquarters, we’ve already begun to let our vast staff of researchers, writers, editors, copyeditors, proofreaders, massage therapists, pedicurists, made-to-order omelet chefs, cubicle feng shui masters, kundalini yoga instructors, on-call aromatherapists, dog walkers, in-house French tutors, on-site carwash team, sommeliers, spa treatment administrators, Mommy-and-Me specialists, early-retirement counselors, and work-those-abs experts start to enjoy summer hours and a more relaxed dress code.   We’ve also decided to debut our summer-long back-to-basics Word Wise tips – two tips a week throughout the summer that if successful will both bring you back to third grade yet prepare you for the 21st century.                     Summer back-to-basics tip # 1: professional titles Professional titles are capitalized only when they directly precede a name. Spell out (and capitalize) all professional titles when they precede a name, except Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., and Sen. Sen. Barbara Boxer welcomed Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California. President Obama was there, too. When a person held a title in the past, will soon hold one, or holds one temporarily, capitalize it if it precedes a name, but do not capitalize the qualifier. There were several dignitaries there, including former President Bill Clinton, Ambassador-designate Suzette Long, and acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith of Blueberry Hill, Maine. Summer back-to-basics tip #  2: which or that? If you can tell what’s being referred to without the words which or that, use which. If you can’t, use that. For example: The time between seasons of "Project Runway," which finally begins Aug. 20, has been too long. Remove the phrase between the commas – which finally begins Aug. 20 – and we still understand the sentence. The time between seasons of "Project Runway" has been too long. A tip: Imagine “by the way” following every which: The time between seasons of "Project Runway," which [by the way] finally begins Aug. 20, has been too long. The which adds a useful, but not grammatically necessary, piece of information. So, if “by the way” makes sense, use which.