RSS Feed
May 25

While replacing and, but or although

Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 in Misused words and expressions

While

Avoid the indiscriminate use of this word for and, but, and although. Many writers use it frequently as a substitute for and or but, either from a mere desire to vary the connective, or from uncertainty which of the two connectives is the more appropriate. In this use it is best replaced by a semicolon.

Poor: The office and salesrooms are on the ground floor, while the rest of the building is devoted to manufacturing.
Better: The office and salesrooms are on the ground floor; the rest of the building is devoted to manufacturing.

From: William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style, 1918.

Comments are closed for this entry.