Page 181 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

By accident is the older and more traditional form. The American variant on
accident is newer but still several decades old. Both mean accidentally. Use by

accident in all formal writing and speech.

17.13 Or and Nor

In strict usage, nor should always be paired with neither.

■ Wrong: I felt no sympathy nor anger at the murderer.

■ Right: I felt neither sympathy nor anger at the murderer.

Or, however, can be paired with either but does not have to be.

■ Right: You can have either the chicken or the fish.

■ Right: You can have the chicken or the fish.

See also sections 5.2, Subject-Verb Agreement, and 14.2, Correlative

Conjunctions.

17.14 Repetition

Repetition is an important rhetorical device that can be used effectively in all

forms of speech and writing.
For example, you can repeat a key word or phrase for emphasis. See section

2.4, Example Paragraphs, for illustrations from published works.

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo used repetition several different
ways in his 1984 speech to the Democratic National Convention.

■ “The strong”—“the strong,” they tell us, “will inherit the land.”
■ That’s not going to be easy. Mo Udall is exactly right—it won’t be
easy.

■ We speak—we speak for young people demanding an education and

a future. We speak for senior citizens.