This morning I was tweaking an introduction, and I came across a place that made me pause: is the possessive of CBS written CBS’ or CBS’s? I liked the latter, simply because you do pronounce that last “s”: C-B-S-ess. I went back and forth and then I had a brainwave: Liz, call ’em up and ask!
So, I did. After flummoxing the receptionist and the gal who picked up the phone in HR, the HR gal asked someone who didn’t know, and then she asked someone else who did. CBS prefers CBS’. There you have it.
While poking around its site, I came across a horrible mistake, which I was happy, happy, happy to share with the HR gal when she returned:
CBS is comprised of some of the most successful and recognized properties in media, and fully embraces the spirit of competition.
Regular readers of my blog will recognize the common mistake: “comprised of.” There are two ways this sentence can be written correctly, and that ain’t it. Here we go:
CBS is composed of some of the most successful and recognized properties in media, and fully embraces the spirit of competition.
Some of the most successful and recognized properties in media comprise CBS, and we fully embrace the spirit of competition.
Remember: A large thing is composed of small things; small things comprise a large thing.
It helps me to remember that A jury is composed of jurors; jurors comprise a jury.
Sort of that fewer/less rule I like so much: Fewer snowflakes; less snow.
You can count snowflakes (fewer), but you can’t count snow (less).
Recent Comments