Pay and grade

September 1st, 2009 at 07:00am Barry Wood

Most “pay” nouns are properly written as one word: “payment,” “paycheck,” “payday,” “payload” and “payroll.”

This list even includes three nouns fashioned from verb phrases: “payback,” “payoff” and “payout.” However, write the verb phrases as two words: “We hope to pay off all our debts this year. It’s a long story, but here’s the payoff.”

The only common “pay” noun that’s two words is “pay dirt.”

And now that schools have reopened, here’s my annual reminder on Associated Press style for “grade” words:

Spell out the ordinals “first” through “ninth”; use numerals for “10th,” “11th” and “12th.”

Hyphenate modifiers (”fifth-grade student,” “11th-grade class”) and the “graders” (”second-grader,” “10th-grader”).

Also, note the hyphen in “grade-point average.”

And Webster’s preferred spelling is “kindergartner,” with two “e’s” instead of three.

Master these, and you may go to the head of my class.

Entry Filed under: one word or two?, hyphen or no hyphen