USE OF NAMES IN FIRST REFERENCE

In first reference, use the first name, middle name, and family name; first name, middle initial, and family name; first initial, middle initial, and family name; or the first name and family name; not the first initial and family name:

Raymond Pascua Dumag,
Raymond P Dumag,
R P Dumag,
or Raymond Dumag,
not R Dumag;

Annabelle Quevedo Passi,
Annabelle Q Passi,
A Q Passi,
or Annabelle Passi,
not A Passi.

USE OF EXCLAMATION MARK II

Do not overuse exclamation marks because they will introduce an almost hysterical tone, or they will deaden the emphasis of a sentence or sentences:

We felt that the freshmen were craving for help, and we, the seniors, came to rescue!!! What was wrong with that? We never wanted to isolate the sophomores, but some of them triggered it all!!! It was a conspiracy!!! No. It was not!!! It was simply a synecdoche!!! We never intended to hurt the sophomores as a whole. We only wanted to deal with some.

ACT, SCENE, AND LINE NUMBERS

Express act, scene, and line numbers in figures: Act V, Scene 10, Line 15

MONTHS THAT HAVE FIVE OR MORE LETTERS

Abbreviate months that have five or more letters when they are used in complete dates: Jan. 1, 1996; Feb. 2, 1997; Mar. 3, 1998; Apr. 4, 1999; Aug. 8, 2004; Sept. 9, 2005; Oct. 10, 2006; Nov. 11, 2007; Dec. 12, 2008.

TRADEMARKS, BRAND NAMES, SERVICE MARKS

Capitalize specific names of trademarks, brand names, service marks, among other marks of ownership: Sony, Coca-Cola, Yahoo!, among others.

CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES

In second and further references, abbreviate constitutional bodies as follows:

BSP Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
COA Commission on Audit
Comelec Commission on Elections
CSC Civil Service Commission
OO Office of the Ombudsman

MAKATI SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL

In first reference to the Makati Science High School, write the Makati Science High School.

In second and further references, write the Makati Science (formal), not the MakSci or the MSHS (informal).

In headlines, write Makati Science, not the Makati Science High School, the Makati Science, the MakSci, or the MSHS.

FIRST NAME, MIDDLE NAME, FAMILY NAME

Names of persons, real or fictitious, are always capitalized. Names refer to the first name, middle name, and family name; first name, middle initial, and family name; first initial, middle initial, and family name; or the first name and family name; not the first initial and family name:

Richard Manuel Cruz,
Richard M Cruz,
R M Cruz,
or Richard Cruz,
not R Cruz;

Michelle Romero Quiambao,
Michelle R Quiambao,
M R Quiambao,
or Michelle Quiambao,
not M Quiambao.

USE OF EXCLAMATION MARK I

Use an exclamation mark after an interjection or exclamation or after an exclamatory sentence:

We felt that the freshmen were craving for help, and we, the seniors, came to rescue! What was wrong with that? We never wanted to isolate the sophomores, but some of them triggered it all! It was a conspiracy! No. It was not! It was simply a synecdoche! We never intended to hurt the sophomores as a whole. We only wanted to deal with some.

GENERAL RULE IN WRITING NUMBERS

In general, spell out numbers, either cardinal that indicates quantity or ordinal that indicates rank or order, one through nine, and use figures for numbers, either ordinal or cardinal, exactly 10 or higher than 10: one, two, three, 10, 11, 12, among others.

MONTHS THAT HAVE LESS THAN FIVE LETTERS

Spell out months that have less than five letters when they are used in complete dates: May 5, 2000; June 6, 2001; July 7, 2002.

GODS AND GODDESSES

Capitalize specific names of gods and goddesses: Zeus, Jupiter, Aphrodite, Venus, among others

INITIALISMS, ACRONYMS, CONTRACTIONS

In precise usage, initialisms, acronyms, and contractions are forms of abbreviations, which are used to save time and space. Initialisms refer to terms based on the first letters of their various elements and read as a series of letters: ABS-CBN for Alto Broadcasting System–Chronicle Broadcasting Network. Acronyms refer to terms based on the first letter or letters of their various elements and read as single words: Unesco for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; Napocor for National Power Corporation. Contractions refer to terms based on the first and the last letters of words and read similarly: Mr for Mister.

VOICE

The inflection of a verb that indicates that the subject is active or passive.

When the subject performs the action of the verb, the verb is in the active voice.

Ivy Mae C Vitanzos translated the musical play.

When the subject receives the action of the verb, the verb is in the passive voice.

The musical play was translated by Ivy Mae C Vitanzos.

VERBAL

A word derived from a verb and used as a noun, an adverb, or an adjective, but not as a verb. It is either a gerund, an infinitive, or a participle.

The exercise may be aerobic, biking or running, or non-aerobic, strength training.

SEE GERUND, INFINITIVE, OR PARTICIPLE

UNINFLECTED VERB

A verb, such as bet, broadcast, burst, cast, cost, cut, forecast, hit, hurt, let, put, quit, read, recast, rid, set, shed, shut, slit, split, spread, sweat, simulcast, thrust, telecast, typecast, wed, wet, among others, that retains the same spelling in all its tenses.

TENSE

The inflection of a verb that indicates the time of action or state of being verbs, such as simple or primary tenses: simple past, simple present, or simple future; and perfect or secondary tenses: past perfect, present perfect, or future perfect.

Former President Fidel V Ramos intervened by asking his aides to work out a compromise with the Malaysians, and the Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a controversial decision, decided in favor of Don Emilio Yap, the owner of the Manila Bulletin.

RESTRICTIVE MODIFIER

Also called a non-parenthetic expression, it is a word, a phrase, or a clause that limits, qualifies, modifies, or describes a word, a phrase, or a clause in a way that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. It is usually introduced by a relative pronoun who or that and cannot be deleted because the meaning of the sentence will be affected.

One of the nearly 500 000 students in the Asia Pacific Region who participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition, Glenn Angelo Galano scored 30 out of 30 points in questions 1-10, 40 out of 40 points in questions 11-20, and 54 out of 80 points in questions 21-30 that earned him 124 out of 150 points and placed him in the top 2 percent in the junior division.

REGULAR VERB

A verb that forms its past tense and its past participle by adding –d or –ed to the present form of the verb.

After garnering seven out of 10 awards, III-Michael Faraday, under the direction of Ailyn P Icabandi, topped the 1999 Makati Science High School Musical Play Competition at the Makati Science Audio Visual Room, Oct. 29.

REDUNDANT VERB

A verb, such as bereaved, bereft; blended, blent; blessed, blest; burned, burnt; clothed, clad; dreamed, dreamt; dropped, dropt; dwelled, dwelt; kneeled, knelt; learned, learnt; lighted, lit; leaped, leapt; pleaded, pled; showed, shown; smelled, smelt; spelled, spelt; spilled, spilt; spoiled, spoilt; shined, shone; tapped, tapt, among others, that has two forms for its past tense.

POSSESSIVE

The inflection of a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective that indicates ownership, possession, or relationship.

His life changed when he learned that he was a wizard.

PERSON

The inflection of a verb, a pronoun, or an adjective that indicates the speaker, the person spoken to, or the person spoken about: first person singular (I, me, my, mine, myself), first person plural (we, us, our, ours, ourselves), second person singular (you, your, yours, yourself), second person plural (you, your, yours, yourself), third person singular (he, him, his, himself, she, her, hers, herself, it, its, itself), and third person plural (they, them, their, theirs, themselves).

Whenever you win or lose, in yourself and in those who believe in you, you have won even before you went there, because often times, when no one is left to recognize you, recognize yourself.

PERFECT TENSE

Also called a secondary tense, it is a tense formed by adding the forms of have that shows complex time relationships in completing the action or state of being verbs. The past perfect tense is formed by had and the past participle of the main verb; the present perfect tense is formed by has or have and the past participle of the main verb; and the future perfect tense is formed by will have or shall have and the past participle of the main verb.

If you say that love is caring for someone who makes sure you get enough sleep, leisure, and nutrition, I have loved.

PARTICIPLE

A verbal used as a noun when used alone or as an adjective when used as a modifier. The present participle ends in –ing; the past participle ends in –d, –ed, –n, –en, or –t, or changes the vowel. Though a participle cannot make an assertion, it can take an object and can be modified by an adverb.

Representing the City of Makati and the National Capital Region in the Republic of the Philippines–Thailand Students Exchange Program, Sabello B Bibit V, The Makati Science Vision news editor, and Hazel Ribbons L Basuel, Makati Science High School Science and Technology Club president, visited Thailand, Nov. 10-16.