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The Grammar Logs # 138 |
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| QUESTION |
Which is correct?
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| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Boston, Massachusetts ___ Friday, June 5, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It's Fred). and sandwiches." Try the section called Punctuation Marks Besides the Comma. |
| QUESTION |
What is the correct structure of the Idiomatic Future ?
How do you call the "to" part of an infinitive. (We know it's not a preposition in that case) Thanks again. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Mexico City, Mexico ___ Friday, June 5, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| We are going to dance all night. He is going to do well on his exams. That's a good question about the "to" part of the infinitive. I've never seen it called anything other than "part of the infinitive." Martha Kolln calls it "the sign of the infinitive." You could also call it a function word -- in the sense that it doesn't mean anything, but it functions in some way. Authority: Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln. 4rth Edition. MacMillan Publishing Company: New York. 1994. 398.
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| QUESTION |
| What does writing convention mean? |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Unknown ___ Saturday, June 6, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The word convention simply means this is how things are done, this is acceptable usage. For instance, in television programs, the "fade" is an acceptable means of getting from one scene to another. The scene "dissolves" into a subsequent scene, and the audience accepts the fact that time and place have changed. The same thing can happen in drama with the close of a curtain or the darkening of lights. In poetry, you have line-breaks, stanza-breaks -- these things are all conventions. It's a kind of agreement that this is how we're going to do something. In writing, all of punctuation is a kind of convention: any generally agreed-upon, understood principle of structure or expression could be called a convention. |
| QUESTION |
| Is it grammatically correct for a colon to follow a verb when introducing a list of items?
Example:
Thank you. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Raleigh, North Carolina ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It's probably not the end of the world to use a colon there, but most style manuals suggest that you not use a colon unless the clause could stand as an independent clause (and where you know that either a list or an explantion is going to follow). The NYPL Writer's Guide suggests that using a dash (where you've used a colon) is acceptable "for those who feel that the introduction looks incomplete without some punctuation." Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994. 318. Cited with permission.
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| QUESTION |
Both of the 2 sentences below are grammatically ill-formed, but is there any difference in their ill-formedness?
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| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Hong Kong ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| See the new section on using Auxiliary Verbs, and use the hyperlink to the list of modal auxiliaries. The modal auxiliaries are usually not followed with an inflected form of the verb (the -ing and -ed endings that we see in your examples). |
| QUESTION |
| This site suggests that we use only one space after the punctuation marks which end a sentence. Since when does written English take this form? I was always taught to put two spaces after the punctuation which ends a sentence, also after colons. Thanks |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Birmingham, Alabama ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You certainly wouldn't be wrong to put two spaces after end-marks or after the colon, but most writing reference manuals, nowadays, recommend that people get into the habit of using one space, at least when a modern word-processing program is being used. The word-processor can insert the appropriate spacing after the punctuation mark, and putting in two spaces can actually screw up the spacing -- especially if the document is then printed professionally or if justified margins are used. It's a very hard habit to change, however, and I don't think anyone should get upset with a writer for using two spaces (except in the case of justified margins, where it can look really weird). |
| QUESTION |
| We've recently encountered a question in our office regarding the use of a period after "Ms". Please advise which is proper: Ms Jones no longer works in the office or Ms. Jones no longer works in the office. I've been under the impression that "Ms." should be used in the same manner as Mr., Mrs., etc. wherein a period would be required; however, I have not seen anything recently which would confirm this impression. Thank you for your help. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Reno, Nevada ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Some people object to the period because the word Ms is not really an abbreviation for anything. Most manuals I look at, however, put a period after it, I suppose so it's similar to Mr. and Mrs., if for no other reason. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. 460. Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994. 326. Cited with permission.
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| QUESTION |
| The question is regarding plurals of abreviations. Do I have 2 PC's or 2 PCs? Do we have MVPs in sports, or MVP's? Thanks! |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Denver, Colorado ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The manuals I consult all say not to use an apostrophe in creating the plural of an abbreviation: two PCs, two MVPs, four ICBMs, etc. If you're talking about the plural of a single letter, however, you would use an apostrophe: "there are three m's in commencement." |
| QUESTION |
Is the word "library" capitalized in the following sentence?
During the next months, we will begin extensive renovations at the library.Am I correct to say that if I am mentioning a specific library such as the New York Public Library; the word library is capitalized, but if I go on to refer to the library, without mentioning the name; "library" is not capitalized.
I'm a math person; English is just too difficult. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| Elmwood Park, New Jersey ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| In a document in which it becomes important to distinguish between, let's say, the generic idea of library and a specific library (but you don't want to repeat the full name of this specific library every time you use it), it is appropriate to capitalize the word Library when you refer to the specific institution. I don't think it has anything to do with "going on to refer to the library"; in fact, I'm not sure what you mean by that. If it's not necessary to make this distinction (i.e., if it's already clear that you're talking about the specific institution), then don't bother to use the capitalization. All of this means that I wouldn't capitalize the word library in your example. I, for one, am not buying your assessment of the relative difficulty of mathematics over English! 8-) |
| QUESTION |
use of nor in academic writing
The leaders do not direct nor motivate the group. |
| SOURCE & DATE OF QUESTION |
| St. Augustine, Florida ___ Sunday, June 7, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
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