Writing for Business - A Whatis.com Blog » backup http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business Is your grammar as good as your code? Tue, 21 May 2013 19:44:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Backup vs. back up http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/backup-vs-back-up/ http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/backup-vs-back-up/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:05:10 +0000 Ivy Wigmore http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/?p=813 Which is correct?
If you don’t _______ your data effectively, you risk losing it.
a. backup
b. back up


Answer: b

Explanation:
Back up is correct when it serves as a verb; backup is a noun.

By the way, the same rule holds for other words that are sometimes separate and sometimes used as a compound: When you WORK OUT you listen to your WORKOUT playlist. (Yes, I am yelling — that one drives me crazy.)

Grace Fleming covers Confusing Compounds for About.com.

Follow us on Twitter @tao_of_grammar

]]> http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/backup-vs-back-up/feed/ 0