STAR TS Translation Services Blog

Is there a space before a question mark?

In English, there is no space between the last word of a sentence and the question mark.

Thus, you will write:

How are you?

The rules differ from one language to another that’s why translators are constantly careful when translating.  In French or in Portuguese, it is required to add a space between the last word of a question and the question mark.  So, in French you will write:

Comment allez-vous ?

In Portuguese, you can write:

Foi brilhante !

This rule is applied with the exclamation mark as well.

By STAR Translation Services

Pluralizing words isn’t always a simple matter of adding an s on the end, and switching a word from masculine form to feminine form isn’t always a matter of adding -ess.

• The words alms, amends, cattle, clothes, doldrums, ides, pants, pliers, scissors, shorts, smithereens, and trousers are all plural but have no singular form.

Many words are both singular and plural.  Here are a few: Scissors, Species, you, pants, deer, moose, and sheep, are spelled and pronounced the same way in both their singular and plural forms.    Example: “There stands a sheep” and plural as in, “Look at that flock of sheep.”  More interesting words with this property are congeries, kudos, premises, shambles, series, and species. Fish can be both singular and plural, yet fishes is also a correct pluralization of the word.

• The words bourgeois, chassis, corps, faux pas, gardebras, précis, pince-nez, and rendezvous all have plurals spelled the same way but pronounced differently.

Anys…

As document authors, these little text particles often give us a hard time, whether it is for writing reports, original documents or translating into another language.  Let’s have a look at the most common “any” errors:

• “Anytime” VS “Any time”

The word “anytime” is often compressed into a single word by analogy with “anything” and similar words.

Writing tip: Think of “anytime” as a contraction of “at any time”. It will become easier to know when to use one, or the other.

• “Anyway” VS “Any way”

Anyway is an adverb meaning regardless. Any way is just the word way modified by the word any, meaning “any manner”.

Writing tip: Try to replace it by in any case. If it fits, use anyway. If not, use the two words.

• “Anymore” VS “Any more”

“Anymore” should be used when you mean “does no longer”. Ex: I don’t live here anymore.

“Any more” should be used when the words “any” and “more” can be used separately in a sentence. Ex:  I can’t eat any more cheesecake.