The Chicago Manual of Style

Peter B. Kaufman talks about The Moving Image Peter B. Kaufman is Associate Director of Development at MIT Open Learning. He is the author of The New Enlightenment and the Fight to Free Knowledge (Seven Stories Press, 2021) and founder of Intelli...

Peter B. Kaufman’s new book provides a publisher’s road map for a world in which video has become at least as important as text. The Moving Image: A User’s Manual is the subject of our latest interview at CMOS Shop Talk.

I.e., E.g., Etc. Latin may be a dead language, but many of its words and phrases flourish in today’s English. The most common Latin borrowing might be an abbreviation: the all-purpose etc., short for et cetera, “and o...

The abbreviations “i.e.” and “e.g.” are clearly not the same, so why are they always getting mixed up? And which one can be used with “etc.”? Refresh your knowledge of three common Latin abbreviations, this week at CMOS Shop Talk.

Headshot of a long-haired Chihuahua staring straight into the camera against a sky-blue background and announcing the November CMOS Q&A.

Q. Why doesn’t “post-traumatic stress disorder” have an en dash?
Q. Neither I/me nor my dog responded. “I” or “me”?
Q. What’s the best way to style “the f-word”?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the November Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Punctuating Interrupted Conjunctions Coordinating conjunctions join pairs of words, phrases, or clauses, but when such a conjunction is interrupted by an intervening phrase or clause, it can be difficult to know where to put the commas.

Interruptions can be annoying, especially when you’re not sure where to put the commas. Interrupted conjunctions are the subject of this newly updated post, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A little blue heron stands on a partially submerged log in green, marshy water and announces the CMOS Q&A.

Q. Should “little blue heron” be capitalized?
Q. Should it be “sample A” or “Sample A”?
Q. How would you style the title of a playlist?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the October Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Capitalizing Kinship Names and the Like A kinship name is a name for a family member, whether close or distant. Such names include mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, and so on.

Family members may deserve our love and respect, but when do they merit an initial capital? Get the latest advice for capitalizing kinship names and similar words for people, this week at CMOS Shop Talk.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for ...

Q. Why is MS Word asking me to change “all of” to “all”?
Q. Do I have to put boat names in italics?
Q. How do I cite a Substack post?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the September Q&A at CMOS Online.

A Few Exceptions Worth Noting Even the most straightforward rule will be subject to an exception sooner or later. That’s why CMOS qualifies so many of its rules with usually or generally. But some exceptions are so common that the...

One of the best ways to understand a rule is to consider its exceptions. Find out more in this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk (and be sure to read to the end for links to two more “exceptional” posts).

A pied French bulldog in a golden collar trots along a wide sandy beach on a sunny day while announcing the CMOS Q&A.

Q. Can the first defined use of an abbreviation be plural?
Q. Does “painters tape” need an apostrophe?
Q. How do you cite a book that has a typo on the title page?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the August Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Inside the Q&A: Tips and Tricks The Chicago Manual of Style Q&A first went online in 1997. According to a page from June of that year at the Wayback Machine, one early question was about submitting manuscripts on disk, which back th...

Our online Q&A has been answering your questions about Chicago style since 1997. This month we dig into the archives for some tips and tricks, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A white shepherd dog in a tropical shirt and yellow sunglasses smiles at us from a perfectly blue sky and announces the July Q&A

Q. Should “Fortune” be in italics in “Fortune 500”?
Q. Is a comma needed after a word like “yesterday”?
Q. Does a term following “called” need to be in italics?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the July Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

When Commas Come in Pairs Commas, like the two in this sentence, often come in pairs. When they do, they’re usually acting like miniature parentheses. In fact, whenever you’re tempted to omit the second of two commas, convert ...

Commas, like people and ducks, are often found in pairs. Read all about it in our latest post—which includes links to five related posts, all newly updated. Only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A closeup of a Labrador retriever standing up to its neck in a golden pond against a backdrop of trees and next to a tennis ball that features the text "June Q&A"

Q. Should a unit with a fraction like “1/4” be singular or plural?
Q. How would Chicago style the AI company name “io”?
Q. Why is “due process clause” lowercase in Chicago style?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the June Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Citing Book Reviews Chicago-style source citations are designed to be both concise and informative. Ideally, readers should be able to tell what a citation refers to despite its abbreviated nature.

What can a book review teach us about automated source citations (and AI)? This updated post explores some of the limits of automation—and the benefits of editorial intervention—only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

An Australian Shepherd Border Collie mix dog jumping high in the air playing Frisbee above a green, grassy field.

Q. Should Winston-Salem be spelled with an en dash?
Q. Is it “dogs have a tail” or “dogs have tails”?
Q. Why is Southern California capped but not western Arizona?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the May Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

En Dashes, the Editor’s Mark An en dash can function either as a strong hyphen or as an ordinary dash. As a strong hyphen, it can connect numbers or words. As an ordinary dash it’s nothing special.

It’s often mistaken for a hyphen, but editors know the difference. The subtle but powerful en dash is the subject of this newly updated post at CMOS Shop Talk.

A tabby kitten announces the April CMOS Q&A while leaping full length above a grassy field and against a blue sky with the faintest wisps of cloud on the horizon

Q. Can you omit a person’s middle initial in running text?
Q. Should the word “than” be capitalized in a title?
Q. Can “et al.” stand for just one person?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the April Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

When to Capitalize an Initial “The” A “the” at the beginning of a word or phrase that would normally be capitalized—including the name of an organization or the title of a work—presents a dilemma. When is the “the” capitalized? In Chica...

Sometimes a “the” at the beginning of a proper noun is capitalized—and sometimes it’s not. Read all about it (including updates relative to the 18th edition), only at CMOS Shop Talk.

Grammar Fans Flock to a Film About Participles and Gerunds “Rebel With a Clause” celebrates the improbable cross-country journey of a woman who gently imparts grammar rules to strangers.

Grammar Fans Flock to a Film About Participles and Gerunds www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/n...

The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition Find it. Write it. Cite it. The Chicago Manual of Style Online is the venerable, time-tested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. ¶ It is the indispensable reference for ...

Q. What is Chicago style for elongated words?
Q. Which is preferred, (n + 1)st or (n + 1)th?
Q. How should we cite website content that has been removed?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the March Q&A at CMOS Online.

Filmmaker Brandt Johnson and grammar guru Ellen Jovin chat about Rebel with a Clause, a new docu-comedy about Ellen’s pop-up grammar advice stand on a road trip across America Rebel with a Clause follows the adventures of Ellen’s Grammar Table and will have its New York City premiere on March 4 at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan. A book with the same title was published in 202...

There’s a new Grammar Table documentary! Join us as Brandt Johnson and Ellen Jovin talk about their “grammarous” adventures in filmmaking, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

A "smiling" border collie wearing red heart-shaped glasses against a white background with heart-shaped illustrated confetti and three cartoon conversation hearts spelling out Q and A in lowercase announcing the February CMOS Q&A

Q. Do you have any guidance on the recent name changes for the Gulf of Mexico and Denali?
Q. How would I spell out numbers to the right of the decimal point?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the February Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA

Chicago Style Workout 1: Series and the Serial Comma This workout is the first in a series of dozens of workouts at Shop Talk, each of which has now been updated to refer and link to the 18th edition of CMOS. Whether you’re a beginner or an old pro, the...

Are you ready for a Weekend Workout? Take our first quiz, “Chicago Style Workout 1: Series and the Serial Comma”—now updated for the 18th edition. Only at CMOS Shop Talk.

Chicago Style Workouts Now Updated for the 18th Edition As many of you know by now, the 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style was published last September. To find out what’s new, you can check out “What’s New in the 18th Edition?” But now there’s an...

Looking for a fun, interactive way to explore the new edition of CMOS? All 81 (and counting) of our “Chicago style” workouts have now been updated to refer and link to the 18th edition. Start taking our quizzes today, only at CMOS Shop Talk.

The Chicago Manual of Style for PerfectIt: 18th Edition Update A little more than three years ago, we introduced The Chicago Manual of Style for PerfectIt, the proofreading software that works with Microsoft Word. That initial release was based on the 17th editio...

The 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style is in PerfectIt proofreading software! Learn how it works—and what the update entailed—today at CMOS Shop Talk.

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Two Welsh Corgi dogs wearing pom pom hats in a snowy field and announcing the monthly January 2025 post of the Chicago Manual of Style Online Questions and Answers at https://cmos.style/QandA

Q. Can I change “%” to “percent” in quoted text?
Q. Is it wrong to put a space before a question mark?
Q. How would I include an ISBN in a source citation for a book?

We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the January Q&A at CMOS Online.

Check it out at cmos.style/QandA