The Grammar Logs -- Number Ten

The
Grammar
Logs
# 10

Question Dear Grammar: I cannot find a rule or example in books that covers the problem of commas with participle phrases, as is this example: "The tools should be hung in size order,(?) creating easy access." The comma looks correct, but I'm not sure. Do we just go by the restrictive, nonrestrictive rule of comma placement? If so, is this phrase restrictive or not? Equally confusing to me is a sentence such as this: "Move the ficus to the northern-most window,(?) which is where it must remain to thrive." In this example, the comma also looks correct, but since the clause looks restrictive, shouldn't I drop the comma? Do we always set off such "which" clauses? Any help you could give me would relieve my mind. I thank you for your time.
Source & Date
of Question Phoenix, Arizona
16 May 1997
Grammar's
Response First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! You are Grammar Question-Poser #100!! Your prize: a 1997 Jaguar!! It will be on its way, via the internet, as soon as I figure out how to use my new compression software.
Now on to your question: I can never remember what "restrictive" means, so I prefer the term parenthetical element -- something which comes under the broad category of added information, something that can be removed from the sentence without changing its essential meaning. Your first sentence tacks on a participial phrase (an absolute phrase in the sense that it modifies the whole sentence), and it should be set off with a comma.
Some people will use "which" only for parenthetical information (restrictive) clauses, and that solves this problem: they will always set off a "which clause" with a comma. It is, however, possible and permissible to begin a nonrestrictive clause with which, and then you won't use a comma: "I really liked the chapter which begins the third part of the novel." But, yes, restrictive (parenthetical) "which clauses" would be set off with a comma or a set of commas. In your ficus sentence, for instance, you can have only one northernmost window, so the "which clause" that follows it is not essential to the sentence's meaning. Thus the comma. Good job! And congratulations again!

Question 1.Would you please tell me which of the following is correct. "What did you say the caller's name is?" or "was?"
2."Some machines require separate outlets; consequently, new outlets were installed." Why can't I use "because" instead of "consequently"? And why can't I place a semicolon before "because" and a comma after as in this sentence?
"I went to the store yesterday; because I forgot to pick up bread when I was there the day before."
3. I also would like to know if this sentence, however awkward, is correct:
Because I like seafood, I fish; because I like meat, I hunt."

Source & Date
of Question Anchorage, Alaska
16 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I'm going to waffle on that first one. "Is" makes sense because, we assume, the caller is still alive and still has a name. "Was" makes sense because he/she is no longer "that caller"; that person has gone on to something else, we hope. Personally, I prefer the "was."
Consequently is a conjunctive adverb; because is a subordinating conjunction. This doesn't answer your question why, but they are handled differently. The conjunctive adverbs -- such as however, moreover, nevertheless, consequently, as a result -- are frequently treated as parenthetical elements and require a comma to set them off. Also, they do not turn a clause into a dependent clause (as because does). When because connects two clauses, it also turns one of them into a dependent clause. Sometimes that dependent "because" clause will be connected to the independent clause with a comma, but sometimes no punctuation will be required.
You can say "Some machines require separate outlets because new outlets were installed" if you want to, but it won't make sense.
Your seafood/meat sentence is not only correct, it's downright elegant.

Question What is the correct order of usage for parentheses and brackets:

word(word) [word]
word(word [word])
word[word(word)]
word[word](word)

Source & Date
of Question Toronto, Canada
16 May 1997
Grammar's
Response There are only two uses for brackets that I know of: (1) You can use them to include explanatory words or phrases within quoted language: "Espinoza, the new soccer coach [at Notre Dame Academy] is going to be a real winner." Also within quotations, you could enclose [sic] within brackets to show that misspelled words or inappropriately used words are not your typos or blunders but are part of an accurately rendered quotation: "Reporters found three mispelings [sic] in the report." and (2) You can use brackets to include parenthetical material inside parenthetical material (i.e., your pattern #2). Be kind to your reader, however, and use this device sparingly.

Question I've been having a debate over the number of spaces after a period (don't ask why, because I really don't even know how this discussion came about).
Is it 1 space or 2?
Also, can you point me to some web sites which document this, I've had no luck in finding them.
Thanks.
Source & Date
of Question Elgin, Illinois
17 May 1997
Grammar's
Response It's a perfectly normal thing to wonder about, especially with spring in the air and all. The answer is that you should put only one space after a period. It used to be two spaces, but modern word-processing can do some really weird things when you double-space. I can say, however, that when you're using a mono-space font like Courier two spaces looks much better. I also have a tendency to use two spaces when I'm typing email -- again, for aesthetic reasons. But it's tough to teach your typing thumb new tricks. Try to teach it one space and leave it at that.
Try going to our site on APA-style research papers.

Question This question concerns the hyphenation of compound modifiers that precede a noun. These compound modifiers are hyphenated as long as they do not in "ly," as in "poorly written report." In most instances, the "ly" is used to construct an adverb. But I've been stumped by one case -- "family oriented." Does the exemption to the hyphenation rule apply to adverbs only, thus requiring that "family oriented" be hyphenated? Or is "family oriented" written without the hyphen?
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Miami, Florida
17 May 1997
Grammar's
Response The exemption, as you call it, does not apply only to adverbs. It's not exactly accurate to say that the "ly" words act to create an adverb form; they are adverbs, and they're modifying the word that follows them, usually, and thus the hyphen is not appropriate. ("Family," of course, is not an adverb. I don't know how many other nouns end in "ly" -- holly, homily -- but you've got one there.) However, you could (and should) hyphenate family-oriented. "This is a family-oriented institution."
Another situation (besides the adverb one you mention) where you would not hyphenate compounded words is when the word is a comparative or superlative modifier: "Chicago Hope is the most popular medical show of the new season." Be aware, also, of how hyphens can change the meaning of things. "I have four year-old dogs" or "I have four-year-old dogs." Play around with hyphens in this next sentence: "The construction supervisor ordered four extra hard hats."

Question I am an ESL Teacher (Very Novice) who wants to learn more so that I can be a better teacher. I am interested in the sequence that grammar should be learned. Is there any defintive works or research ? I realize this might be a loaded question but nevertheless.
Any direction would be appreciated Thanks
Source & Date
of Question Pusan, South Korea
19 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I'll try to come up with some names of texts, etc. that might help. In the meantime, I refer you to Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, a web-site that is not only lots of fun but is a hang-out for many generous professional ESL instructors as well. Pose a question on Dave's bulletin board or Discussion Center, and I'm sure you'll get a good answer.

Question Is it OK to omit an auxiliary verb and pronoun? In other words, is the following correct:
"Forget your password? You may retype it now."
This can also be written: "Did you forget your password? You may retype..."
I presume the latter to be correct; how about the (shortened) former? Thank you in advance!
Source & Date
of Question Holmdel, New Jersey
19 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Well, it's not correct exactly. In fact, it's a sentence fragment precisely because it's missing a subject-verb relationship (as you point out). Frequently, however, it is stylistically effective and appropriate to use a sentence fragment in just that way. It might not be the kind of thing you'd want to do in formal or academic prose, but it does lend itself to a breezy, casual air and that's all right in the proper context. I think the test has to be how it plays with your audience. One further thought: in the context of an error or dialog box, a certain amount of syntactical shorthand is permissible as long as the reader is neither offended nor confused by the fragment.

Question What's a quick n' easy way to check and correct passive voice in my writing? I think I read in the Atlantic Magazine a few years ago that you should replace the "to be" verbs from your writing to really zip it up.
Source & Date
of Question Boston, Massachusetts
19 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I recommend that you read the brief definition of the passive voice in our Guide and then take the accompanying Quiz on Eliminating Passive Constructions.
In addition, there is a hyperlink to the University of Minnesota's Writing Center, where they have a couple of online quizzes on recognizing and replacing the passive voice.
The to be verb, in itself, is not passive, but the auxiliary verbs that accompany the passive construction are often made up of the to be verb, and maybe that is what the Atlantic was talking about. The decision was made by the committee is more active (has more pizzazz?) if we say it this way: The committee made the decision. Furthermore, there is something to be said about keeping an eye out for to be constructions that aren't doing any work for you. Mr. Edwards is a teacher at Gridley High School. He wrote a book on sea chanteys. We can eliminate that first to be verb and turn that information into an appositive: Mr. Edwards, a teacher at Gridley High School, wrote a book on sea chanteys.

Question I've always had a difficult time understanding the difference between AFFECT and EFFECT. I've looked them up in the dictionary at various times and, for the moment, understood, but later, when the time comes to use one of them, I take a guess or go back to the dictionary. Do you have a good "handy-dandy" way to remember which to use?
Feel free to critique my grammar above. I'm sure I must have left out at least one semicolon. I'm 68, retired, and would like to learn to improve my grammar now that I have some time to spare.
Source & Date
of Question Avon, Massachusetts
19 May 1997
Grammar's
Response You may be one of those who are truly cursed, who must live out their days in darkness, never knowing whether something's had an affect or an effect on them, whether they've been affected or effected. Effectively challenged. Or is affectively? Sad.
If there's any easy way to remember the difference, I don't know about it. Affect's almost always the verb (unless you're trying to effect a change), and effect is almost always a noun. No handy-dandy mnemonic there, no George Eliot's Old Grandfather Riding A Pig Home Yesterday in sight. Do you have a wife or trusted friend who could hook you up to a car battery and every time you use the wrong word, she or he will zap you a good one? Go to my Notorious Confusibles and write the "affect/effect" sentences a hundred times on the blackboard. There's also a quiz at the end of that section that might help. See what effect that has on you.
I hope you have a lovely retirement in spite of this most grievous impairment.

Question I need some examples of MLA-style research papers.
Source & Date
of Question Virginia Beach, Virginia
19 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Sorry, I don't have any examples of mla-style papers, in their entirety. Our college's Guide to Writing Research Papers has many examples of what documentation is supposed to look like, examples of properly formatted pages, etc. But no actual papers. Nor do I know of any place on the WWW that has papers like that. This doesn't mean they don't exist, however.

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Question	What is the correct order of usage for parentheses and brackets: word(word) [word] word(word [word]) word[word(word)] word[word](word)
Source & Date of Question	Toronto, Canada 16 May 1997
Grammar's Response	There are only two uses for brackets that I know of: (1) You can use them to include explanatory words or phrases within quoted language: "Espinoza, the new soccer coach [at Notre Dame Academy] is going to be a real winner." Also within quotations, you could enclose [sic] within brackets to show that misspelled words or inappropriately used words are not your typos or blunders but are part of an accurately rendered quotation: "Reporters found three mispelings [sic] in the report." and (2) You can use brackets to include parenthetical material inside parenthetical material (i.e., your pattern #2). Be kind to your reader, however, and use this device sparingly.

Question	This question concerns the hyphenation of compound modifiers that precede a noun. These compound modifiers are hyphenated as long as they do not in "ly," as in "poorly written report." In most instances, the "ly" is used to construct an adverb. But I've been stumped by one case -- "family oriented." Does the exemption to the hyphenation rule apply to adverbs only, thus requiring that "family oriented" be hyphenated? Or is "family oriented" written without the hyphen? Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Miami, Florida 17 May 1997
Grammar's Response	The exemption, as you call it, does not apply only to adverbs. It's not exactly accurate to say that the "ly" words act to create an adverb form; they are adverbs, and they're modifying the word that follows them, usually, and thus the hyphen is not appropriate. ("Family," of course, is not an adverb. I don't know how many other nouns end in "ly" -- holly, homily -- but you've got one there.) However, you could (and should) hyphenate family-oriented. "This is a family-oriented institution." Another situation (besides the adverb one you mention) where you would not hyphenate compounded words is when the word is a comparative or superlative modifier: "Chicago Hope is the most popular medical show of the new season." Be aware, also, of how hyphens can change the meaning of things. "I have four year-old dogs" or "I have four-year-old dogs." Play around with hyphens in this next sentence: "The construction supervisor ordered four extra hard hats."

Question	I am an ESL Teacher (Very Novice) who wants to learn more so that I can be a better teacher. I am interested in the sequence that grammar should be learned. Is there any defintive works or research ? I realize this might be a loaded question but nevertheless. Any direction would be appreciated Thanks
Source & Date of Question	Pusan, South Korea 19 May 1997
Grammar's Response	I'll try to come up with some names of texts, etc. that might help. In the meantime, I refer you to Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, a web-site that is not only lots of fun but is a hang-out for many generous professional ESL instructors as well. Pose a question on Dave's bulletin board or Discussion Center, and I'm sure you'll get a good answer.

Question	I need some examples of MLA-style research papers.
Source & Date of Question	Virginia Beach, Virginia 19 May 1997
Grammar's Response	Sorry, I don't have any examples of mla-style papers, in their entirety. Our college's Guide to Writing Research Papers has many examples of what documentation is supposed to look like, examples of properly formatted pages, etc. But no actual papers. Nor do I know of any place on the WWW that has papers like that. This doesn't mean they don't exist, however.