Story lines vs. Storylines

Some grammar rules (and embarrassing mistakes!) transcend the uniqueness of different regions and style guides. This new International Grammar section by OnlineBookClub.org ultimately identifies those rules thus providing a simple, flexible rule-set, respecting the differences between regions and style guides. You can feel free to ask general questions about spelling and grammar. You can also provide example sentences for other members to proofread and inform you of any grammar mistakes.

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revna01
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Story lines vs. Storylines

Post by revna01 »

Has anyone had this come up in their reviews? From what I can tell, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary shows "story lines", whereas other sources state it is acceptable to use "storylines" as a noun. Grammarly prompts the usage of "storylines" as opposed to the splitting of the words. Thoughts?
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Post by DennisK »

Compound words: The Germans know how to deal with this subject. They just mash all these words into one long word. We English speakers, however, need to make it more confusing. Welcome to grammar's very large gray area! I was confronted with that same quandary when using the word: fly-fish or fly fish. The Collins dictionary lists this word as fly-fish, but Merriam Webster lists it as either fly-fish or fly fish. I believe I could also get away with the word, flyfish. Grammarly has some interesting thoughts concerning compound words:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/open-and ... und-words/
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Post by revna01 »

Haha! Yep, I totally understand what you mean. The gray (grey) area is extensive :) In one book I read the author used quotations in a way I wasn't familiar with. I researched it and found their method to be used primarily in the U.K. I learned something new with that one.
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Post by lbhatters »

SABRADLEY wrote: 26 Mar 2018, 09:23 Has anyone had this come up in their reviews? From what I can tell, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary shows "story lines", whereas other sources state it is acceptable to use "storylines" as a noun. Grammarly prompts the usage of "storylines" as opposed to the splitting of the words. Thoughts?
It depends on the context. It might be the compound word or it might be the two seperate words. They are distinct and should not be confused, due to their definitions.

"Storylines" are plots or stories, whereas "story lines" are individual sentences in a story.

To check this, change them to singular. One storyline means one story, or one plot, and one story line is one sentence in a story. You can't substitute the two.
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Post by revna01 »

I was using "storylines" to describe the plot and it was an unfamiliar word for a reader. I was curious how others were using it. Thank you for the clarification!
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Post by lbhatters »

Cool. Glad to help!
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Post by kfwilson6 »

I had this same question. I used story line in one review and the editor said he thought it was supposed to be one word but wasn't sure. I checked before I posted it because I really couldn't decide, but Merriam Webster had it as two separate words with the definition of "the plot of a story or drama". So I trusted that source. Even more interesting to me, because I do not want to lose points over this, when I typed my first ten today I put storyline and it is red underlined as a grammatical error (as it is as I write this post). So if the grammar checking on this website itself is saying it is incorrect, I definitely would say that story line to refer to the plot should be counted as acceptable.
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Post by love_b00ks »

Words, grammars, they are every varying because they are alive! Can be confusing for many of us but we just have to deal with it, learn and just go with the flow. :D
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Post by Fatima_Palacios »

lbhatters wrote: 04 Apr 2018, 08:59
SABRADLEY wrote: 26 Mar 2018, 09:23 Has anyone had this come up in their reviews? From what I can tell, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary shows "story lines", whereas other sources state it is acceptable to use "storylines" as a noun. Grammarly prompts the usage of "storylines" as opposed to the splitting of the words. Thoughts?
It depends on the context. It might be the compound word or it might be the two seperate words. They are distinct and should not be confused, due to their definitions.

"Storylines" are plots or stories, whereas "story lines" are individual sentences in a story.

To check this, change them to singular. One storyline means one story, or one plot, and one story line is one sentence in a story. You can't substitute the two.
This was very helpful thanks
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Post by a9436 »

Thanks! Would I be correct to assume that the same is true for plotlines?
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