Skip to main content

King County Editorial Style Manual - Listings - V

King County Editorial Style Manual - Listings - V

v. Abbreviation for verb in this style manual. See verbs.

valley. Capitalize as part of a full name: the Green River Valley. Lowercase in plural uses: the Green River and Snoqualmie valleys.

vanpool, VanPool One word. Capitalize as VanPool when referring to the name of the Transit Division's program. See carpool, high-occupancy.

variations. See exceptions for guidance on variations to this style manual.

VCR. See videocassette recorder.

VDT. Abbreviation for visual display terminal. Spell out.

vendor.

verbal. See oral, verbal, written.

verbiage. Sometimes misused. It means "an excess of words," not "words, diction or wording." Also, consider using simpler wordiness instead, if that's what you mean.

verbs. A verb is a word that expresses existence, action or occurrence.

Follow this spelling rule when adding ed and ing to form the present participle and past tense of a verb: If the stress in pronunciation is on the first syllable, do not double the consonant: cancel, canceling, canceled. If the stress in pronunciation is on the second syllable, double the consonant unless confusion would result: admit, admitted, admitting.

Use a singular verb form after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, no one, someone, somebody: Although both routes serve Bellevue, neither serves the Overlake park-and-ride lot. Everyone at the meeting wants to speak. See none.

Use a plural verb when the word and joins two or more nouns in a compound subject. Exceptions to this rule include compound subjects qualified by each or every and certain compounds, often clichés: Every window and mirror on the truck was broken. Give and take is essential to good communication.

A singular subject takes singular verbs even if it is connected to other nouns by with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with and no less than: The plant manager, as well as her supervisors, is involved in the training. See as well as; in addition to; along with, together with.

See active vs. passive verbs; headlines, headings; split infinitives.

versus. Spell it out in ordinary speech and writing: The committee discussed the proposal to revise the project versus proposals to reevaluate the entire construction program. In short expressions, however, the abbreviations vs. is OK: The issue of taxes vs. services has long been with us.

very. Use this word sparingly. It may not be needed: It was a very tragic death. Where emphasis is necessary, use stronger, more descriptive words. See hyphen.

Veterans Day, Department of Veterans Affairs. No apostrophe, say federal law and style guidelines. See holidays.

via. It means by way of (a place or street), not by means of (a vehicle or tool). Use via (or simpler through) to show the direction of a journey: The route goes from Seattle to Southcenter through Rainier Beach. The route travels through downtown Seattle via Fourth Avenue. Don't use via to show the means by which someone makes a journey: He made the trip by bus. Not: He made the trip via bus. See by means of.

viable. It means "capable of living." Overused and misused in references to options, alternatives, plans, products and actions. Instead, consider using feasible, workable, possible, practical or another synonym.

viaduct. Capitalize when used with Alaskan Way: Alaskan Way Viaduct. Lowercase when used alone: The viaduct is closed for repairs..

vice versa. Two words.

videocassette recorder. Use on first reference. VCR is acceptable on second reference.

videotape (n. and v.). Largely replaced by digital recording or video recording.

Vietnam. Not Viet Nam.

VIP, VIPs. Acceptable in all references for very important person (s).

virgule (/). Avoid using the virgule--also called a slash, forward slash, diagonal or slant--to represent omitted words or letters. Examples include per in 40,000 tons/year, to in price/earnings ratio, or in his/her and oral/written tests, versus in parent/child issues, with in table/mirror, w/o for without and c/o for in care of. Also, avoid using virgules (or hyphens) with numerals to give dates, especially if your readers could confuse the order of the day and month: 2/11/94, 11-16-1993.

The virgule may replace and in some compound terms: the Seattle/King County region, the May/June issue, an innovative classroom/laboratory. Using and, however, may be less ambiguous. When using the virgule, don't separate the punctuation mark from adjacent words or numbers with spaces.

The virgule may be used to separate the numerator from the denominator in numbers containing fractions. See fractions.

Use the virgule--or forward slash--in Internet addresses: https://search.kingcounty.gov/. Use the backslash (one word)--\--for writing commands in DOS and computer directories. See World Wide Web.

virtually. Overstated. Try omitting, or use almost instead.

voice mail. Two words. Hyphenate when used to modify a noun: Thirty people left voice-mail messages about the project.

votes. Use numerals and a hyphen for pairs of votes: The council voted 10-3 for the project. Spell out numbers under 10 in other uses: The proponents won by a seven-vote margin.

vs. See versus.

Back to Top

Quick links

How to use this guide

Select the letter that begins the term you’d like to look up, then scroll down to find the term (or use your browser’s Find function).

Learn more
expand_less