The Grammar Logs -- Number One Hundred, Twelve

The
Grammar
Logs
# 112

Question I teach ESL/EFL here in China.
When an author is writing dialogue for a script, or conversation in a setting that would have occured in a former period of time...but he chooses to use words or phrases/language that would not have been known at that time--what do we call that?
I believe that there is a specific term for that, but I cannot find it.
For instance, if I am writing a conversation that is supposed to have occured 500 years ago, but I include expressions (like "cool","right on", etc.) that are from present-day English -- isn't there a term for that kind of writing style?
Thank You!! We are limited in resource material here; this service which you provide is wonderful!
Source & Date
of Question Guangzhou, China
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't think you're talking about a particular style, are you? If you used a thing that didn't fit the time period of your drama (like the famous clock in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), you would call that an anachronism. The same word probably applies to language that is outside its time. Such language would end up having kind of surreal quality, but I don't think that's what you mean.

Question Which is correct? Any why?
She will graduate college next week.
She will graduate from college next week.

Source & Date
of Question Jonesboro, Georgia
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't know where the usage of "graduate" without the from comes from. I dislike it immensely. This is the online Merriam-Webster (used with permission) take on the matter:
transitive senses
1 a : to grant an academic degree or diploma to b : to be graduated from
2 a : to mark with degrees of measurement b : to divide into grades or intervals
3 : to admit to a particular standing or grade
intransitive senses
1 : to receive an academic degree or diploma
2 : to pass from one stage of experience, proficiency, or prestige to a usually higher one
3 : to change gradually

usage In the 19th century the transitive sense (1a) was prescribed; the intransitive [I graduated from college] was condemned. The intransitive prevailed nonetheless, and today it is the sense likely to be prescribed and the newer transitive (sense 1b) the one condemned. All three are standard. The intransitive is currently the most common, the new transitive the least common.

In any case, there doesn't seem to be room for the usage, "I graduated high school."

Question Dear Ms. Grammar,
Is there a rule to differentiate the use of "no more" and "no longer?"
There are no more edible fish in this river.
There are no longer edible fish in this river.
(These sentences seem interchangeable.)
-------
There are no more bananas in the kitchen.
(I wouldn't use "no longer" in this example.)
------
She is no longer working at XYZ Corp.
("No more" isn't used here.)
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, Japan
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response The sentence about the river are not exactly interchangeable, but almost. I think the "no longer" suggests that the passage of time or other process (contamination?) has caused the lack of edible fish, whereas the "no more" is more factual. With the bananas, we could say that there are no longer any bananas in the kitchen, but that's not what you asked, is it? And you are absolutely right about XYZ Corporation.

Question What are the past, present, future, perfect past, perfect present, and perfect future tenses of these words: lie, lay, sit, set, let, leave, learn, teach, may, can, rise, raise. ex. word=grow, grew (past), grow (present), will grow (future ), had grown (perfect past), have grown (perfect present), and shall have grown (perfect future).
Source & Date
of Question New Holland, Pennsylvania
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response Sorry, but my life is too short for that! Try going to the section on Verbs and clicking on the Tense Chart hyperlink. There is also a link to an irregular verb chart that should be of some use to you.

Question How would I show possession for a king or queen?
example: "The three witches, perhaps appearing because of James I's interest in witchcraft. . . ."

Source & Date
of Question Hinsdale, Illinois
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response Yes. If it looks clumsy to you, you might try to avoid the use of the apostrophe with the "of" construction: "the interest of James I in witchcraft." Or you could say "King James's interest" if the number were not necessary in context.
Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994.

Question a)I would be much obliged if you could provide me with more information.
Refer to the above sentence:
Is it correct to use would instead or will for normal letter writing?
b) We enclose herewith a copy of letter. or Enclosed herewith a copy of letter.
Why is it that we use enclosed for the second sentence instead of enclose.
Source & Date
of Question Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response That "herewith" is legalistic, redundant mumbo-jumbo. Why not say "We have enclosed a copy of the letter"? In the "enclosed" version as you've given it to us, there's a kind of elliptical construction; I would think you would need a comma after "herewith." The "would be obliged" is a correct use of the conditional mood.

Question Consider the following headings:

The Rationale of Conducting the Workshop
The Rationale for Conducting the Workshop
Are both prepositions acceptable?
Source & Date
of Question Singapore
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't see anything in the dictionary that explains why "for" is preferable, but I believe it is. I think the "of" suggests that what follows is going to be an explanation of the way in which the workshop is conducted, not an explanation of why the workshop is being conducted. That's not much to go on, but I hope it makes sense to you.

Question I would like to know everything about case and misrelated participles.
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, South Africa
26 April 1998
Grammar's
Response Check out the section on Pronouns for help with case. It's simply a matter of the proper form for subjects versus objects and then possessives (I, you, he/she/it; we/you/they; my, your, his/her/its; ours/your, their) "Misrelated participles," though, I'm unfamiliar with. You might want to check out the section on Verbals and look at how participles function as modifiers. Perhaps you're talking about dangling participles, which are a kind of misplaced modifier?

Question 1. I'm writing a college senior-level research paper, and have a variety of references from various sources and in various formats (e.g., books, articles taken off the Internet that *were* published in hard copy periodicals, online arti cles that---to my knowledge---were never published,). Does each TYPE of reference get its own page, or are all sorts of references combined into one "Reference" addendum. If all are combined into one, in what order ought they be listed? (My instinct is to put books first, but after that I'm stumped.) If this is addressed in your site somewhere, I apologize in advance for not finding the information somehow.
2. I'm attaching some charts and graphics to illustrate some statistics (the statistics are NOT within the body of the paper). Do these go before or after the footnote and reference pages? I see that they are not to be numbered, so I suspect they go after everything else, but I'd appreciate your feedback.
Thank you in advance for your kind attention to this matter. Your web site is wonderful, and I will make its existence known to all my professors and many classmates.
Source & Date
of Question West Chester, Pennsylvania
27 April 1998
Grammar's
Response I assume you're using the style recommended by the Modern Language Association. Most of these questions are addressed by the Guide to Writing Research Papers (which is hyperlinked from the Guide to Grammar and Writing, also). This is what the MLA handbook has to say about tables and illustrations: "Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the parts of the text to which they relate. A table is usually labeled Table, given an arabic numeral, and captioned. Type both label and caption flush left on separate lines above the table, and capitalize them as you would a title (do not use all capital letters). Give the source of the table and any notes immediately below the table."
Given a choice between citing an article that is available on the internet and one that is available in print, use the one in print.

Question I am looking for lesson plan ideas, or a comprehensive explanation of metaphors and similes for teaching 5th grade. Thank you for your help
Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
27 April 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't have such a thing, nor do I know where you can find it, especially not for fifth graders. You might start your search with the Glossary of Literary Terms and A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices from the University of Kentucky. It might give you some ideas, anyway.

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Question	I teach ESL/EFL here in China. When an author is writing dialogue for a script, or conversation in a setting that would have occured in a former period of time...but he chooses to use words or phrases/language that would not have been known at that time--what do we call that? I believe that there is a specific term for that, but I cannot find it. For instance, if I am writing a conversation that is supposed to have occured 500 years ago, but I include expressions (like "cool","right on", etc.) that are from present-day English -- isn't there a term for that kind of writing style? Thank You!! We are limited in resource material here; this service which you provide is wonderful!
Source & Date of Question	Guangzhou, China 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	I don't think you're talking about a particular style, are you? If you used a thing that didn't fit the time period of your drama (like the famous clock in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), you would call that an anachronism. The same word probably applies to language that is outside its time. Such language would end up having kind of surreal quality, but I don't think that's what you mean.

Question	Which is correct? Any why? She will graduate college next week. She will graduate from college next week.
Source & Date of Question	Jonesboro, Georgia 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	I don't know where the usage of "graduate" without the from comes from. I dislike it immensely. This is the online Merriam-Webster (used with permission) take on the matter: transitive senses 1 a : to grant an academic degree or diploma to b : to be graduated from 2 a : to mark with degrees of measurement b : to divide into grades or intervals 3 : to admit to a particular standing or grade intransitive senses 1 : to receive an academic degree or diploma 2 : to pass from one stage of experience, proficiency, or prestige to a usually higher one 3 : to change gradually usage In the 19th century the transitive sense (1a) was prescribed; the intransitive [I graduated from college] was condemned. The intransitive prevailed nonetheless, and today it is the sense likely to be prescribed and the newer transitive (sense 1b) the one condemned. All three are standard. The intransitive is currently the most common, the new transitive the least common. In any case, there doesn't seem to be room for the usage, "I graduated high school."

Question	Dear Ms. Grammar, Is there a rule to differentiate the use of "no more" and "no longer?" There are no more edible fish in this river. There are no longer edible fish in this river. (These sentences seem interchangeable.) ------- There are no more bananas in the kitchen. (I wouldn't use "no longer" in this example.) ------ She is no longer working at XYZ Corp. ("No more" isn't used here.) Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere, Japan 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	The sentence about the river are not exactly interchangeable, but almost. I think the "no longer" suggests that the passage of time or other process (contamination?) has caused the lack of edible fish, whereas the "no more" is more factual. With the bananas, we could say that there are no longer any bananas in the kitchen, but that's not what you asked, is it? And you are absolutely right about XYZ Corporation.

Question	a)I would be much obliged if you could provide me with more information. Refer to the above sentence: Is it correct to use would instead or will for normal letter writing? b) We enclose herewith a copy of letter. or Enclosed herewith a copy of letter. Why is it that we use enclosed for the second sentence instead of enclose.
Source & Date of Question	Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	That "herewith" is legalistic, redundant mumbo-jumbo. Why not say "We have enclosed a copy of the letter"? In the "enclosed" version as you've given it to us, there's a kind of elliptical construction; I would think you would need a comma after "herewith." The "would be obliged" is a correct use of the conditional mood.

Question	Consider the following headings: The Rationale of Conducting the Workshop The Rationale for Conducting the Workshop Are both prepositions acceptable?
Source & Date of Question	Singapore 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	I don't see anything in the dictionary that explains why "for" is preferable, but I believe it is. I think the "of" suggests that what follows is going to be an explanation of the way in which the workshop is conducted, not an explanation of why the workshop is being conducted. That's not much to go on, but I hope it makes sense to you.

Question	What are the past, present, future, perfect past, perfect present, and perfect future tenses of these words: lie, lay, sit, set, let, leave, learn, teach, may, can, rise, raise. ex. word=grow, grew (past), grow (present), will grow (future ), had grown (perfect past), have grown (perfect present), and shall have grown (perfect future).
Source & Date of Question	New Holland, Pennsylvania 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	Sorry, but my life is too short for that! Try going to the section on Verbs and clicking on the Tense Chart hyperlink. There is also a link to an irregular verb chart that should be of some use to you.

Question	I would like to know everything about case and misrelated participles. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere, South Africa 26 April 1998
Grammar's Response	Check out the section on Pronouns for help with case. It's simply a matter of the proper form for subjects versus objects and then possessives (I, you, he/she/it; we/you/they; my, your, his/her/its; ours/your, their) "Misrelated participles," though, I'm unfamiliar with. You might want to check out the section on Verbals and look at how participles function as modifiers. Perhaps you're talking about dangling participles, which are a kind of misplaced modifier?

Question	1. I'm writing a college senior-level research paper, and have a variety of references from various sources and in various formats (e.g., books, articles taken off the Internet that were published in hard copy periodicals, online arti cles that---to my knowledge---were never published,). Does each TYPE of reference get its own page, or are all sorts of references combined into one "Reference" addendum. If all are combined into one, in what order ought they be listed? (My instinct is to put books first, but after that I'm stumped.) If this is addressed in your site somewhere, I apologize in advance for not finding the information somehow. 2. I'm attaching some charts and graphics to illustrate some statistics (the statistics are NOT within the body of the paper). Do these go before or after the footnote and reference pages? I see that they are not to be numbered, so I suspect they go after everything else, but I'd appreciate your feedback. Thank you in advance for your kind attention to this matter. Your web site is wonderful, and I will make its existence known to all my professors and many classmates.
Source & Date of Question	West Chester, Pennsylvania 27 April 1998
Grammar's Response	I assume you're using the style recommended by the Modern Language Association. Most of these questions are addressed by the Guide to Writing Research Papers (which is hyperlinked from the Guide to Grammar and Writing, also). This is what the MLA handbook has to say about tables and illustrations: "Place tables and illustrations as close as possible to the parts of the text to which they relate. A table is usually labeled Table, given an arabic numeral, and captioned. Type both label and caption flush left on separate lines above the table, and capitalize them as you would a title (do not use all capital letters). Give the source of the table and any notes immediately below the table." Given a choice between citing an article that is available on the internet and one that is available in print, use the one in print.

Question	I am looking for lesson plan ideas, or a comprehensive explanation of metaphors and similes for teaching 5th grade. Thank you for your help
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 27 April 1998
Grammar's Response	I don't have such a thing, nor do I know where you can find it, especially not for fifth graders. You might start your search with the Glossary of Literary Terms and A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices from the University of Kentucky. It might give you some ideas, anyway.