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The Grammar Logs # 131 |
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| QUESTION |
When is it appropriate to use I versus me.
Tom, Dick, Harry and I... or Tom, Dick, Harry and me...Are either of these correct? Me and my brother attended college. I and my brother attended college. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Montreal, Quebec, Canada ___ Friday, May 22, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| "I" is always the subject of a sentence. You would say I attended college, right? Combine "I" with "my brother" and you don't want to change the form of the pronoun. And since, in English, we usually put the other person first (one of the few ways that English can show politeness), we would say "My brother and I attended college." Throw in a few more, and the same rule applies: "Tom, Dick, Harry, and I . . . ." |
| QUESTION |
Why the word "dispose" is always followed by the word "of"?
E.g. Please dispose of the garbage into the trash can. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ___ Friday, May 22, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It is often -- probably more often than not -- accompanied by the preposition "of," especially when we're talking about throwing something away. But not always. My Oxford American lists a couple of exceptions: "Man proposes, God disposes." "Their friendliness disposed us to accept their invitation." "We felt disposed to accept." An even more unusual meaning (I think) is "to put things in order": "The troops were disposed in single-file ranks." As to the why of the "of" in "dispose of," I have no idea. And people who have no idea always say, "It's a matter of usage." |
| QUESTION |
| What a great service! Thanks in advance for your advice. Should the word "these" or "those" be used in following sentence? . . ."I have had the privilege of golfing at some of the most legendary courses in the world. Like some of these (those) fantastic courses, . . .(name of course) provides . . . |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Bellevue, Washington ___ Friday, May 22, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If you had listed some of those legendary courses, I would think you'd want to use "these," because they (or their names, anyway) would be "at hand." Without the names, "those" feels more appropriate. The only real difference between them (except for sound) is a matter of proximity: "these books are right here on the table" and "those books are over there, on the shelf." |
| QUESTION |
| What is the difference between a homonym and a homophone? |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Lafayette, Indiana ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I had to look them up because I didn't know. A homonym is one of two or more words spelled and pronounced alike but
different in meaning (as the noun quail and the verb quail). A homophone is one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (as the words to, too, and two). And, incidentally, a homograph is one of two or more words spelled alike but different in meaning or derivation or pronunciation (as
the bow of a ship, a bow and arrow). The important distinction, then, is that words like the verb obJECT and the noun OBject are homographs but not homonyms -- because they're not pronounced alike. Now I know something. Thanks for your question. I should add these to the Notorious Confusables. Authority: Merriam-Webster's WWWebster Dictionary. Used with permission.
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| QUESTION |
| My question deals with complements. Explaining action verbs and direct/indirect objects --not bad Explaining linking/being verbs + predicate nominatives or predicate adjectives --also not bad How should I explain the use of an adverb or adverbial phrase after a linking verb?
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| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Somewhere, Indiana ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The predicates of these sentences you give us consist of everything except the subjects (girls and boys, respectively). The adverbs ("here" and "in the room") are parts of the predicates. However, they modify the verbs, not the subject (as a predicate adjective would do). They tell where the girls are and where the boys are. |
| QUESTION |
I have a question about using quotes in the body of a composition. One colleague of mine argues that it is preferable for students to introduce quotes in their papers by using a colon e.g., Holden Caulfield had finally matured: "The thing with kids is if they want to grab for the gold ring you have to let them. If they fall off they fall off but it is bad if you say anything."I have always believed that it is better to blend quotes (except when setting them off has a definite purpose such as dramatic effect). By blending, I mean something like this: Holden Caulfield's journey is completed when he watches Phoebe on the carrousel and realizes, "The thing with kids is if they want to grab for the gold ring you have to let them. If they fall off they fall off, but it is bad if you say anything."If one method 'right' and one 'wrong' ? Is one method preferable? As I said, I have always believed that the ability to blend a quote seamlessly into a passage was preferable except in specific situations. Can you offer any opinions/advice? I appreciate your input. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Cincinnati, Ohio ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Personally, I have always preferred the "blending" method of working the quoted material into the text, but I don't think there's any hard and fast rule on the matter. If you used only the method of leading up to a quotation with an independent clause, then setting the quoted material off with a colon, I would think that would get cumbersome after a while. If your quotations are much more extensive than the example you offer, you're going to want to set them off as blockquotes anyway, and then the colon usually works better. |
| QUESTION |
| Part of my sentence goes like this: "...suitable for prime, business location." What I want to emphasize here is that, ... is suitable for a prime location and, at same time, a business location. So, can I use a comma in between "prime" and "business"? Or should I omit the comma? Thanks for your help. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Taiwan, ROC ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I think what you really want to say is that you have "a prime location, suitable for business." If you insist on using the order of adjectives you've got now, the meaning is a little different, but you don't want the comma. (If you could put a conjunction, like "and," between the two adjectives, you'd want a comma, but you can't.) |
| QUESTION |
A friend and I are bickering over the following sentence:
I'm sure that their are a myriad of cultural reasons why most nations do not circumcise.Is this sentence correct? Thanks, |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| St. Louis, Missouri ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Bicker no more. But first, change that "their" to "there." You are using the word "myriad" to mean "a very great number," which is singular, so you want to say, "There is a myriad of . . . ." If you used "myriad" as an adjective (as in "myriad reasons"), you would want a plural verb: "I'm sure that there are myriad cultural reasons why. . . ." You might also try to avoid that "reasons why" and change it to "reasons that." And one further thought, if I may: do you really mean "myriad" here. Wouldn't several be more appropriate? |
| QUESTION |
| Dear Guru, Please assist me in the usage of in/at in the sentences below. I am confused whether to use in or at. Something is telling me that they are not interchangeable in those contexts.
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| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Kota Raja, Besut, Trengganu, Malaysia ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You definitely want to be in the conference room. If the place were more vague, you could use at: at the college or at the hotel, for instance (but then we would say "in Singapore.") The preposition before "the meeting," though, is interchangeable; in or at will do. If it bothers you, you could always switch to "during." |
| QUESTION |
| If the plural of "deer" is "deer" then would the plural of "beer" also be "beer"? Which is correct? I only ordered two beer. Or I only ordered two beers. Please help to end an ongoing debate. Thanks, Mystified |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Mississauga, Ontario, Canada ___ Saturday, May 23, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Is this some kind of Mississaugan joke? You ordered only two beers (with the -s ending). I don't know why the plurals of some animals are formed without the -s ending, but they are. So we can still be Mystified, but at least we've got the word right. |
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