User:Amgine/SG Details-P

p's and q's

See apostrophes for forming plural of letters.

Note the etymology is disputed, however journalists might profitably consider it to mean "mind your punctuation and quotes".

pace

The latin term "in peace", generally legal use "with all due respect to" (use is generally ironic, extremely polite, and in this usage always italicized).

paedophile

Properly, pædophile, but acceptably pedophile.

Note ephebophile is the painfully-precise term for someone whose sexual attractions are to adolescents (WHO describes adolescent as ages 10-25). The term pædophile is commonly applied to sexual attraction or relations with children under the age of majority.

palace

Capitalize in full name, e.g. Blenheim Palace.

paleo-

Not palaeo-.

paleontology

The study of lifeforms in prehistoric and geologic times, as opposed to archaeology.

Palestine

Do not use except historically, or in reference to the Palestine Liberation Organization's representative in the United Nations. There is no existing country of Palestine, despite international agreements demanding its existence and recognition.

Do not use Wikipedia articles regarding any Middle-East conflict issue either as reference or as a link; they are heavily biased, generally in favour of the Israeli point of view.

Palestinian National Authority

Not Palestine (although note Palestine Liberation Organization). After first mention, Palestinian Authority or PNA are acceptable. The organization created in 1994 as required by the Oslo Accords as a five-year interim administrative body. In 2006 the Hammas party in the occupied territories won the elections and formed a government, since which point Israel and other sovereign nations have effectively disengaged from/halted the peace processes.

Do not use Wikipedia articles regarding any Middle-East conflict issue either as reference or as a link; they are heavily biased, generally in favour of the Israeli point of view.

Palestinian territories

Avoid use whenever possible. The term is extremely extremely loaded, and is generally used by Israel to frame news coverage to their point of view of solely Gaza strip and the West Bank and ignoring the League of Nations, United Nations, and international agreements which involve additional territories which Israel claims under rights of conquest.

Palme d'Or

The top award at the annual Cannes Film Festival.

pan-African

But Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania.

Pandora's box

Note capitalization.

pantyhose

Prefer tights, nylon tights. (Note: nylons are not equivalent - nylons are separate stockings.)

paparazzi

Plural; singular is paparazzo.

paraffin

Not paraffine. Synonym for kerosene, the term preferred in North America.

paratroopers

Not paratroops.

parentheses

Punctuation falls outside the parentheses (for example), except when the parenthetical remark is a complete sentence. (This is an example of the exception.) Capitalize a parenthetical statement only if it is a complete sentence. Where the remark within a sentence requires different punctuation, punctuate appropriately inside (You mean like this?).

Paris

Home to oft-misspelt locations:

• Champs Élysées
• Élysée Palace
• Jardin du Luxembourg (not de)
• Jardin des Tuileries (not de)
• Jeu de Paume (not Pomme)
• Quai d'Orsay

Parker Bowles, Camilla

No hyphen. On her marriage to the Prince of Wales she became Duchess of Cornwall. When in Scotland, and when he is identified as the Duke of Rothesay, she is officially the Duchess of Rothesay.

Parkinson's disease

After James Parkinson.

Parliament

Capitalize in the proper noun, and in later references when referring to the proper noun. Do not capitalize in reference to legislative bodies which do not incorporate the term: e.g. the Russian parliament (the Duma).

Note the adjectival use is generally lowercase when referring to one of many, but uppercase when referring to a singular. Examples parliamentary private secretaries, but Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Parsi

Not Parsee.

parties (political)

On first mention, use the full common name, for example Democratic Party, capitalizing as proper name. Thereafter use lowercase party, uppercase initials, or capitalized common name. (e.g. the Democrats, the party, the DNC although the latter is more specifically the fundraising and leadership of the party.)

Partition

Capitalize when referring to the partition of British India into the separate countries of Pakistan and India in August of 1947.

passive voice

In the passive voice the subject is acted on by the verb. Jim was seen by Bob is written in the passive voice. Bob saw Jim is in the active voice, and is more direct and concise. Avoid writing in the passive voice.

pdf

Portable document format. The initialism is never capitalized except as the first word in a sentence, and then Pdf. Need not be spelled out for online publication, except when it is a major element of the article in which case pdf thereafter.

percent

Spell out the word, not %. Use numbers rule to decide whether the number should likewise be spelled out.

perspicuity, perspicacity

Perspicuity is the character of clarity, lucidity of something else, originally the translucence. Perspicacity is the skill or talent to see (or write, or speak) clearly, to have keen insight or to mentally understand; discernment.

Ph.D.

Avoid except in direct quotes. Use instead doctorate in [correct field of study].

plurals

Form the plural of a noun with -s, or -es where the final letter is an s or a vowel. e.g. nouns, successes, tomatoes. This is a general rule for which there are many exceptions. Do not use an apostrophe + s to form a plural of numbers: 1970s, 1700s, 737s. Likewise, do not use an apostrophe + s to form a plural of any abbreviated term or acronyms: M.D.s, ATVs.

Treat group nouns of people as plural: the family are on holiday, the public await the outcome. Corporate or governmental entities take the singular verb except where this sounds unnatural; e.g. The National Institutes of Health are..., but Johnson & Johnson is... Be consistent throughout an article; if using the plural verb form, use plural every time, recasting the sentence if necessary.

Where there is still confusion, refer to the specific term in the SG Details. If it is not listed, and you cannot determine what is the best plural for the region where the news event occurred, leave Amgine a request.

possessives

Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's. It does not matter what the final letter of the noun may be: Dickens's book, the actress's performance, the tax's effect. This is true whether it is a proper noun or not: Thomas's research paper, Miss's dog.

Form the possessive plural of nouns which end in s with an appended apostrophe: Lehman Brothers' stock, the actresses' contracts, the taxes' revenues. Form the possessive plural of nouns which do not end in s with an 's: the women's votes, the geese's flight.

Exceptions:

• Pronouns do not form the possessive with an apostrophe: his, hers, whose, etc. The exception to the exception is the indefinite possessive pronoun one's, as in "one's opinion may be wrong."
• Some personal names, generally historic figures, whose names end in 's' but which in normal speech do not include the additional '-es' sound, may form the possessive with an appended apostrophe: Ullysses' companions, Saint-Saëns' symphony. Roger Waters' album is more common in spoken speech than Roger Waters's album, though the latter is grammatically correct.

prefixes

Use a hyphen when creating a word or using a rare construction involving pre-, post-, anti-, multi-, pro-, etc. Do not hyphenate very short prefixes such as un-, co-, bi- or using micro- or the SI prefixes.

pro-choice

Avoid use. Use advocates of a woman's right to choose [abortion], etc. See abortion.

pro-life, pro-lifer

Do not use. Use anti-abortion, anti-abortionist, etc. See abortion.

prima donna

Not italicized.

protégé

With acute accents.

protester

Never protestor.

punctuation

Normal rules apply, but pay particular attention to punctuation near quotations.