The
Grammar
Logs
# 153

QUESTION
Different ways to use the most important modals.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Hialeah, Florida Friday, June 26, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Please visit our section on Auxiliary and Modal Verbs and then write back if you still have question. (Be sure to use the hyperlink to "modal auxiliaries."

QUESTION
Please explain which form of 'bad' is correct and why.
  • I feel badly about what happened.
  • I feel bad about what happened.
Please explain the difference between using well and good
  • He is doing well
  • He is doing good.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Windsor, Connecticut Friday, June 26, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
These questions have reached the status of Frequently Asked Questions. Please visit the explanations hyperlinked from that page, and get back if you still have questions. Incidentally, you feel bad, but he can be doing either well or good, depending on what you mean -- "well," if you're doing a good job or being healthy; "good" if he's doing good works (also informal or slang for feeling OK).

QUESTION
My forgetful friend was proud of remembering sending her mother a birthday present in time for the big day. "You will confuse her." I said. "She won't know who it's from." "She will know." My friend responded with a sigh. "I forgot to put my name on it."

The above paragraph was extracted from my reference book on English which was designed to help the students studying for college entrance examinations. The book says that remembering sending must be changed into having remembered to send because of grammatical reason. But I cannot understand why remembering sending is unacceptable. I would like to know which is correct or if both of them are correct.

Thank you.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Ulsan, Korea Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The book is right in this case. "My friend was proud of remembering sending" is a confusing tense. We need to put the act of remembering prior to that moment of his being proud, so we need a perfect tense to denote that the moment is in the past, "having remembered." Besides, this way we avoid that clumsy string of -ing verb forms.

QUESTION
"A lot of people try it, many of them students just like you."

QUESTION: Should the last word be "you" or "yourself"?

Thanks for your help.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
White Plains, New York Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
As a general rule, it's a good idea to avoid using the reflexive form if the simple form of the pronoun will suffice -- which I think is true in this sentence. I would go with "you."

QUESTION
Which sentence is correct?
  • I met a woman whose husband is a teacher. OR
  • I met a woman whom her husband is a teacher.
Why? How can I make my students understand the difference? Thank you.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Mexico City, Mexico Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
You want the possessive form in that sentence, "whose," because the husband "belongs to" the woman. I suggest you visit our brief section on Pronouns and the who-whom problem. (Whose is also addressed there.) It's probably more important to look at the quizzes on who/whom/whose because it's only in the practice of choosing among the various forms of who that students finally get the hang of it. It's not that difficult, really, and choosing the proper form becomes a kind of a puzzle that students actually enjoy working at.

QUESTION
What is a noun adjunct?

What is the word,"although" considered to be?

For example in the following sentence, please tell me what should be the correct punctuation mark separating the independent clauses? Should a comma, semi-colon, or 2-em dash precede the word, "although?"

Quotation marks are often used to set off words as phrases to be searched as a whole, although some search engines use parenthesis, commas, or hyphens rather than quotation marks.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Baltimore, Maryland Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Frankly, I don't know what a noun adjunct is. I'll take a guess that it's something like the role of "last night" in "He arrived last night." It's a noun phrase that acts as an adverbial modifier. I'll post this question and less than satisfactory answer and maybe someone who knows will send us a better answer by means of e-mail.

Although is a subordinating conjunction in that sentence. You could use a comma set to set off that clause, and because it is sort of an afterthought, a dash would not be inappropriate. You might also consider putting the important information at the end of the sentence (which is usually a good idea anyway):

Although some search engines use parentheses, commas, or hyphens rather than quotation marks, quotation marks are often used to set off words as phrases to be searched as a whole.
QUESTION
Which is correct?
  1. You need to have great written and verbal communications skills. OR
  2. You need to have great written and verbal communication skills.
  1. The cat, the hat, and the boy were all outside.
  2. The cat, the hat and the boy were all outside.
Thanks!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Dallas, Texas Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Communication can be used in either its singular or plural form to mean the system or technology of expressing and transmitting information. "Communications" seems to be used more and more when talking about the technology, the study.

It's probably a good idea to put a comma between all the elements in a series ("the cat, the hat, and the boy), including the last two. You don't have to do it that way, but there will be occasions when the last two items tend to glom together (like macaroni and cheese) if you don't.


QUESTION
I cannot, for the life of me, remember how to format a proper business letter! The heading is the thing that is particularly baffling me at present. Please help me?

Thank you!

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Phoenix, Arizona Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In a standard, block format for a business letter, you can center the heading, one-and-a-half inches from the top. It should include your complete address and the date. Double space and then, going back to the left-hand margin, add the name, title, and address of the recipient of your letter. Double space again and add the salutation: Dear So-and so:

I think this is something I should add to the Guide to Grammar and Writing. It's become a Frequently Asked Question.


QUESTION
When we use separable phrasal verbs, is it possible to write them as inseparable?

Thanks!

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Mexico City, Mexico Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
There's only one correct answer to your question, and that's "sometimes." Please review the section on Phrasal Verbs and get back to us if you still have a specific question.

QUESTION
Dear GRAMMAR:
  • I am looking at the dog.
  • I am watching the dog.
Which sentence is right and what is the difference?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Taipei, Taiwan Saturday, June 27, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Both sentences are correct. Depending on the context, "watching" usually entails observing the actions of the object (the dog, in this case), whereas "looking at" doesn't involve much action on the part of the object. For instance, you can look at the Grand Canyon, but you probably can't watch it (although you could certain watch the way its colors change during the day, the movement of cloud-shadows across its walls, etc.). You can look at a painting, but you probably wouldn't watch it, unless it were a multi-media piece of art that involved some movement. This is probably an oversimplification.

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