English Style Guide

In such cases, however, the use of the possessive pronoun blurs the distinction between (1) and (2). This means that the latter form can turn up in contexts where it would otherwise not occur:

Despite his promptly signing the Treaty, …

Bear in mind, though, that such constructions often look better rephrased:

Even though he promptly signed the Treaty, …

Despite promptly signing the Treaty, he ….

7 LISTS

7.1Use your word processor’s automatic numbering facilities wherever possible, since it is much easier to amend a list if the numbers are automatically adjusted.

For the list items themselves, take care that each is a grammatically correct continuation of the introduction to the list. Do not change syntactical horses in midstream, for example by switching from noun to verb. Avoid running the sentence on after the list of points, either by incorporating the final phrase in the introductory sentence or by starting a new sentence.

When translating lists, always use the same type of numbering as in the original, e.g. Arabic numerals, small letters, Roman numerals, etc. If the original has bullets or dashes, use these. However, you need not use the same punctuation (points, brackets, etc.) for list numbers, and indeed should not do so if they would otherwise look the same as numbered headings elsewhere in the text.

The four basic types of list are illustrated below. In multi-level lists, follow the same rules for each level.

7.2Lists of short items (without main verbs) should be introduced by a full sentence and have the following features:

♦introductory colon

♦no initial capitals

♦no punctuation (very short items) or comma after each item

♦a full stop at the end.

7.3Where each item completes the introductory sentence, you should: - begin with the introductory colon;

- label each item with the appropriate bullet, number or letter; - end each item with a semicolon;

- close with a full stop.

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9 March 2012