The Grammar Logs -- Number Eleven

The
Grammar
Logs
# 11

Question Appropriate/inappropriate use of the so-called "royal plural" in theses and research reports. I have used "we" as a device to engage the reader, but used "I" when it is clear that "I" and only "I" did or thought something. I am told I should always use the royal plural!
Source & Date
of Question Sydney, Australia
20 May 1997
Grammar's
Response If you can do it without sounding stuffy or stilted, it's probably a good idea to avoid the first-person altogether in formal, academic prose. If it's appropriate, however, use it. That "I," which takes responsibility for what it says, can seem like a breath of fresh air after much royal stuffiness. Generally, the first-person plural (or, as you call it, the "royal plural") is used more for work in the humanities: "We can hear in Robert Frost's 'Design' a wry humor at work." So I take it that the advice given to you came from an English professor or some such being? Consistency is a virtue here. Don't switch from that journalistic we to a singular I without due cause. It's my understanding, also, that the "we" is regarded as inappropriate for work in the sciences and engineering, where nothing as cloudy as a royal plural would be tolerated.

Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997.

Question Should all prepositions be initial letter-lower case when writing a header or title? For example:
The Cat Jumped in the Box
Should "in" be capitalized?
Source & Date
of Question Whately, Massachusetts
20 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Yes, you should set prepositions in all lower-case letters and, no, don't capitalize "in." There are surely exceptions to this, situations in which a preposition assumes "important word" status, but, as a general rule, prepositions won't be capitalized in titles.

Question Over the past several years, I have noticed in current literature that verbs with irregular past tenses (for example, light-lit) are being made regular (light-lighted). When did this change begin and who started it? Where will it end (swim-swimmed)?
Source & Date
of Question Williamsburg, Virginia
22 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I don't have the proper tools at home (neither the Oxford English nor the Webster's Dictionary of English Usage) to look up "lighted" to find out when it snuck into our vocabulary, but I have a feeling it's a great dealer older than you might think. The dictionaries I do have list "lighted" as the preferred past-tense form. What are some other examples you've found? I've always thought irregular verbs were part of the fun of English, but I suppose it doesn't seem so much fun to an ESL learner. If the past of fight is fought, why isn't the past of light lought? Or why isn't the past of fight fit? The answer to your last question is that it will never end, and that's the nature of the beast. You might post your query, also, to the alt.english.usage listserv; it's the kind of thing they delight in discovering and discussing.

Question Something in my bones tells me that the following sentence is not grammatically correct.
Why cannot you go to the dentist? (or why can't you go....)
Is it correct to say, instead,
Why can you not go to the dentist?
If so, then what is the "rule" that the first example sentence broke?
Thanks so much, Grammar! This has been driving me nuts for days.
Source & Date
of Question Seattle, Washington
22 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Let's try another auxiliary verb (other than can) and see if that helps. We would say "Why DO you not go to the dentist?", but we wouldn't say "Why DO NOT you go to the dentist?" Right? And the reason for that is that the not is an adverb that wants to modify the main verb, not the auxiliary, so we want it next to the main verb. Now with the contraction, the closest it can get to the main verb is still in front of the subject: "Why DON'T you GO to the dentist?" or "Why CAN'T you go the dentist?" The difference between do not and cannot is that cannot gets written as one word. (I'm not sure why this is so, but it is -- unless you're being extremely emphatic about the not and then you could say, "You can not go to the movies!" We do break it up, however, when we ask the question, just as we break do and not (so that the not can modify the main verb): "Why can you not go to the dentist?" That explains it for me, anyway.

Question Do you capitalize seasons (Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter)? For example:
In the Fall, I am moving to Texas. Thank you.

Source & Date
of Question Monmouth, Illinois
22 May 1997
Grammar's
Response No, don't capitalize the names of seasons. Thanks for asking the question. I forgot to include this in my section on Capitalization, an oversight I will now repair.

Question I have a problem using transitions when i write a research paper. Here is an example of one that i had a problem with :
One East Berliner, a mother of six children, was denied admission to an East Berlin hospital because her husband earned his living in the West. She died hours later from blood loss. Youths were distressed by the government that told them what they should think and study.

Source & Date
of Question Los Angeles, California
22 May 1997
Grammar's
Response The example you give us goes beyond a lack of transitions; it enters the realm of the non sequitur. I have no trouble providing the connection between the death by loss of blood and the first statement; that's OK. But what does this have to do with the youths being distressed by the government? Providing adequate transitions is largely a matter of realizing that your readers don't know what you know; you have to be kind to them, treat them with kid gloves, assume they're a little slow, even. You know the connection between those youths and the woman dying, but your readers don't see it yet. Slow down and spell things out more. Where your mind leaps from one side of the creek to the other, the readers' minds are left behind and you're going to have to provide some stepping stones. Efficiency and economy are good things in writing, but you're writing like you're getting paid by the hour. Pretend, for a while at least, that you're getting paid by the word.
This is a big question. Check out Chuck Guilford's treatment of organization and transitions in his web-site Paradigm. Tell him I sent you.

Question I don't know when to use "THEN" or "THAN". Can you explain it to me in simple language. Thanks.
Source & Date
of Question Surrey, B.C., Canada
23 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Does it help to know you're not alone? Than is a conjunction, a joiner, used in comparisons, then an modifier (adverb) indicating time. "Holmes knew then that Moriarty was wilier than he had thought." or "I was taller than my son back then." Write that latter sentence 100 times on the blackboard. Don't cheat and use a word-processor!
Authority: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Question My wife is from overseas. I am having a hard time explaining to her when to use "this" and when to use "that" such as when pointing to something and saying, "This is... and that is...". Is there a specific grammar rule I can refer to that will assist us? Thanks for your response.
Source & Date
of Question Fort Lauderdale, Florida
24 May 1997
Grammar's
Response No matter where your wife's from, this is not easy to explain. The only thing that I can think of is really weird, but try it. What if you said "This here" and "That there." That's ungrammatical as hell, but it might make the point. "This here rose is an American Beauty," suggests that you're holding it, it's immediately at hand. "That there rose is an American Beauty," suggests that you're pointing to it, it's "over there" or "right there." Then, when she understands or feels the difference, get her to please stop saying "there" and "here." See if that works, and if it doesn't, blame someone else.

Question Here are the examples: (by the way, I'm using an "&" to represent the section symbol)

...authority found in Texas Water Code, &5.102.
...authority found in Texas Water Code &5.102.
...authority found in the Texas Water Code, &5.102.
...authority found in the Texas Water Code &5.102.
...authority found in &5.102, Texas Water Code.
I believe (b), (c) and (e) are correct, but I can't find it in any grammar references or style guides.
Source & Date
of Question Austin, Texas
24 May 1997
Grammar's
Response If we can believe the APA Publication Manual on this one, I'd go with your "C" option on this, except I'd put a space between the section symbol and the numbers that follow. Also, would a date be possible? If so, put the year in parentheses, just before the period. And, apparently, don't underline or italicize any part of it.
Authority: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Assocation American Psychological Association. 4th ed. American Psychological Association: New York. 1994.

Question My teacher is asking me to write only in present tense and third person all my assignments. My problem is that sometimes I write in the past and it is difficult to switch to present tense again. How can I do this without changing the meaning of my writing?
Source & Date
of Question Honolulu, Hawaii
24 May 1997
Grammar's
Response The short answer is that you can't. The longer answer is that, in order to conform to what your instructor wants, you're going to have to try to see that everything is happening now, in the present tense. Check for verbs ending in -ed, or verbs with the auxiliaries did or was or were. Those are probably written in the past, and you'll want to re-write those in the present tense. Since you'll be using third-person subjects, a lot of your verbs now are going to have -s endings. There is some merit in this: for instance, it is good to write about literature as something that is going on now. After all, that is exactly the illusion that good literature creates.

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Question	Should all prepositions be initial letter-lower case when writing a header or title? For example: The Cat Jumped in the Box Should "in" be capitalized?
Source & Date of Question	Whately, Massachusetts 20 May 1997
Grammar's Response	Yes, you should set prepositions in all lower-case letters and, no, don't capitalize "in." There are surely exceptions to this, situations in which a preposition assumes "important word" status, but, as a general rule, prepositions won't be capitalized in titles.

Question	Do you capitalize seasons (Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter)? For example: In the Fall, I am moving to Texas. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Monmouth, Illinois 22 May 1997
Grammar's Response	No, don't capitalize the names of seasons. Thanks for asking the question. I forgot to include this in my section on Capitalization, an oversight I will now repair.

Question	I have a problem using transitions when i write a research paper. Here is an example of one that i had a problem with : One East Berliner, a mother of six children, was denied admission to an East Berlin hospital because her husband earned his living in the West. She died hours later from blood loss. Youths were distressed by the government that told them what they should think and study.
Source & Date of Question	Los Angeles, California 22 May 1997
Grammar's Response	The example you give us goes beyond a lack of transitions; it enters the realm of the non sequitur. I have no trouble providing the connection between the death by loss of blood and the first statement; that's OK. But what does this have to do with the youths being distressed by the government? Providing adequate transitions is largely a matter of realizing that your readers don't know what you know; you have to be kind to them, treat them with kid gloves, assume they're a little slow, even. You know the connection between those youths and the woman dying, but your readers don't see it yet. Slow down and spell things out more. Where your mind leaps from one side of the creek to the other, the readers' minds are left behind and you're going to have to provide some stepping stones. Efficiency and economy are good things in writing, but you're writing like you're getting paid by the hour. Pretend, for a while at least, that you're getting paid by the word. This is a big question. Check out Chuck Guilford's treatment of organization and transitions in his web-site Paradigm. Tell him I sent you.

Question	Over the past several years, I have noticed in current literature that verbs with irregular past tenses (for example, light-lit) are being made regular (light-lighted). When did this change begin and who started it? Where will it end (swim-swimmed)?
Source & Date of Question	Williamsburg, Virginia 22 May 1997
Grammar's Response	I don't have the proper tools at home (neither the Oxford English nor the Webster's Dictionary of English Usage) to look up "lighted" to find out when it snuck into our vocabulary, but I have a feeling it's a great dealer older than you might think. The dictionaries I do have list "lighted" as the preferred past-tense form. What are some other examples you've found? I've always thought irregular verbs were part of the fun of English, but I suppose it doesn't seem so much fun to an ESL learner. If the past of fight is fought, why isn't the past of light lought? Or why isn't the past of fight fit? The answer to your last question is that it will never end, and that's the nature of the beast. You might post your query, also, to the alt.english.usage listserv; it's the kind of thing they delight in discovering and discussing.

Question	My wife is from overseas. I am having a hard time explaining to her when to use "this" and when to use "that" such as when pointing to something and saying, "This is... and that is...". Is there a specific grammar rule I can refer to that will assist us? Thanks for your response.
Source & Date of Question	Fort Lauderdale, Florida 24 May 1997
Grammar's Response	No matter where your wife's from, this is not easy to explain. The only thing that I can think of is really weird, but try it. What if you said "This here" and "That there." That's ungrammatical as hell, but it might make the point. "This here rose is an American Beauty," suggests that you're holding it, it's immediately at hand. "That there rose is an American Beauty," suggests that you're pointing to it, it's "over there" or "right there." Then, when she understands or feels the difference, get her to please stop saying "there" and "here." See if that works, and if it doesn't, blame someone else.

Question	My teacher is asking me to write only in present tense and third person all my assignments. My problem is that sometimes I write in the past and it is difficult to switch to present tense again. How can I do this without changing the meaning of my writing?
Source & Date of Question	Honolulu, Hawaii 24 May 1997
Grammar's Response	The short answer is that you can't. The longer answer is that, in order to conform to what your instructor wants, you're going to have to try to see that everything is happening now, in the present tense. Check for verbs ending in -ed, or verbs with the auxiliaries did or was or were. Those are probably written in the past, and you'll want to re-write those in the present tense. Since you'll be using third-person subjects, a lot of your verbs now are going to have -s endings. There is some merit in this: for instance, it is good to write about literature as something that is going on now. After all, that is exactly the illusion that good literature creates.