The
Grammar
Logs
# 146

QUESTION
The word military is singular or plural? (similarly the word police too).
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
State College, Pennsylvania Tuesday, June 16, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Military is almost always a singular word -- "The military is not interested. . . -- but it can be pluralized to "militaries" and it can, itself be a plural (standing, I guess, for various branches of the military), but that is quite rare. Police, on the other hand, is a collective noun but it always behaves as a plural word: "The police are interested in. . . ."

QUESTION
What are the definitions for clauses? [simple compound and complex]
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Unknown Tuesday, June 16, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I think you mean the various kinds of sentences, not clauses. If you want the definitions of clauses, click Clauses; if you want the definitions of sentences, click on Sentence Types.

QUESTION
When does one use two spaces after a period in both personal work and desk top publishing? What is the acceptable format on spacing after sentences for research papers?

  • Outlining--Do the periods have to align?
  • Numbering items--Do the periods have to align?
    • There is software that does not make the above easy.
    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Littleton, Colorado Tuesday, June 16, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    I don't think anyone says it is wrong to put two spaces after a period, but it is no longer considered necessary. Also, some modern word processors just look better with one -- definitely not two. (And if you ever get into using justified margins -- probably not a good idea -- the two spaces are definitely out.) If possible, get in the habit of using one space -- unless you're still using an old-fashioned typewriter or a mono-space font like Courier.

    The periods do line up in the outlines I've seen, but I don't know how necessary that is. Is it the software that creates the difficulty? Most of the newer versions can accomodate outlining fairly well when you know how to work the tabs.


    QUESTION
    I would like to know the following.
    "According to the today's newspaper, the cold weather killed our garden's product."
    I cannot find any grammatcial error, but I cannot understand the true meaning of this sentence, even though I can translate this sentence. The more difficult thing is that there is no more sentences before or after this sentence. So I cannot guess the contextual meaning. I would be very much appreciative if you let me know the true meaning of this sentence or any grammatical error.
    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Ulsan, Korea Tuesday, June 16, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    I don't think you want an article ("the") in front of "today's newspaper," and I think the paper meant produce (with an "e," not a "t") -- and it might have meant gardens' (as in plural possessive), but we can't say that for sure out of context. Does that help?

    QUESTION
    What is the difference between (going to) and (will)? Examples:
    • I am going to go to Kyoto?
    • I will go to Kyoto.
    • I am going to clean my room today.
    • I will clean my room today.
    • Our class was cancelled so I will draw pictures instead.
    • I am hungry. I am going to eat a slice of pizza.
    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Unknown Wednesday, June 17, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    Essentially, there isn't any. I think most writers would say that the "will" construction is more appropriate in formal (or academic) circumstances. Also, there's a bit more of the suggestion of determination in the "will" construction -- but that can depend on intonation.

    QUESTION
    Today in my College English II class, my teacher informed the class that we were not to begin sentences with prepositional phrases. I thought you could use introductory prepositional phrases -- which are usually set of by commas. My question therefore is: Can you begin a grammatically correct sentence with a prepostional phrase?
    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Garden Plain, Kansas Wednesday, June 17, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    Just remember that your teacher is always right, OK? You might remind him or her that the very first sentence in most translations of the Bible begins with a prepositional phrase, "In the beginning. . ." Your teacher is right in the main, however. A prepositional phrase operates primarily as a "postmodifier," as something that comes after the thing it modifies; thus, it seldom appears at the beginning of a sentence. But it certainly can: "In the case of yadda-yadda, there is . ." "Except for the two recent cases of burglary, yadda-yadda. . ." "Without a car, it's going to be tough." "Like her mother and aunt before her, Sarah became a famous lawyer."

    QUESTION
    I would like to know the name of the punctuation mark used in words such as Cliche. It is typically a line above the e.

    Thank you

    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Richmond, Virginia Wednesday, June 17, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    The mark in cliché and résumé is called an acute accent. There's another name for it, in French, something like agouilh, but my memory of that is locked away in some horror den with other bad memories of French 201. Its "opposite," so to speak, è, is called the grave accent (pronounced "grahv," if you want that French spin on it). These marks can go on other vowels, of course, depending on what language the words are borrowed from.

    QUESTION
    Dear friend,

    Would you help me in this quiz: How can I make a use of "AIN'T"? Where, when and how to use it.

    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Belem - Para - Brazil Wednesday, June 17, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    It's a good idea, of course, never to use the word aint. If it is used at all, it would be in only the most informal writing or speech. and if it is used there, it should be used as the contraction for "am not," so you could use it, for instance, in something like "I aint reading another novel this summer!" Some writers have said that "Aint I?" makes more sense than "Aren't I?", which one often hears (instead of "Am I not?"), and there's a good point to be made there. To use aint, indiscriminately, in all negative situations, for all persons and tenses, is a big mistake.

    QUESTION
    We are wondering at our school what is the correct plural form for "pair"?

    There is a question on an end of level test for third grade that poses this question: I bought two new ______ of stockings. The students must choose between pair, paires, pair's and pairs. The teacher's in our school are split between pair, and pairs.

    Please help us so we can teach our students the correct word. Thank you!

    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    West Jordan, Utah Wednesday, June 17, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    That's a ridiculously tough question for third graders. It is possible to use the word pair as the plural of pair: "We've sold several pair of stockings this morning," but I think you'll find most dictionaries preferring pairs: "We've sold several pairs of stockings this morning." I think "pair" as the plural of pair is more of a regional or dialect usage.

    QUESTION
    Please tell me which word to use, effect or affect in the following sentence: "This will (effect/affect) every occurrence of this appointment."
    SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
    Boca Raton, Florida Wednesday, June 17, 1998
    GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
    Affect's the verb (which is what you want); effect's the noun. By the way, I can't imagine what that phrase means: "every occurence of this appointment," but that's none of my business.

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