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The Grammar Logs # 163 |
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| QUESTION |
When using a subordinating conjunction such as "now that" to write an adverb clause, what kind of verb are you suppose to use following "now that"??
example:
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Richmond, BC, Canada  Sunday, July 12, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I believe that the "now that" in this context implies that an action has happened, so you want the present perfect tense, "has shut down." You could, however, use the present progressive (putting both verbs in the same tense), meaning that the two events are parallel in time, that the ending process for one company happens at the same time as the beginning process for another: "Now that the company is shutting down, a new company is opening." |
| QUESTION |
| When would you use "anyone" and "anybody"? Please give me some examples. Thank you. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Rochester, New York Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Does anyone/anybody here know Charlie? Anyone/anybody who has lived in Rochester knows what winter is all about. (I would prefer "anyone" in this second example.) She doesn't care about anyone/anybody. |
| QUESTION |
| This question is one from TOEFL Test Grammar Section. The Nez Perce Chief Joseph vowed that he would lead his people in the path of peace--
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say that "peace should not be a place for him to live in," but I completely agree with you: "a" is the only acceptable option for that question. Have you discussed it with your instructor? Maybe you read it wrong? The other options don't even seem close. |
| QUESTION |
| How to create a cover letter to go with a resume. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Laurel, Maryland Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Visit our college's Career and Placement Center and see the sample cover letter at http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/career/resume/cover.htm. Good luck with the job hunt! |
| QUESTION |
| Possessive form of Barnabus and of Jesus: your site seems to say that Barnabus's and Jesus's would be right. Other places say just s'. In those specific instances, what do you think? Thanks for your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Memphis, Tennessee Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I don't know why, but the Chicago Manual of Style, says that traditional exceptions to adding the apostrophe and the s are the names of Jesus and Moses. So you would write Jesus' robe and Moses' journey. (There are other exceptions, like names that end in "-eez" -- Xerxes' army and Demosthenes' writings.) As for Barnabus, I would go with the 's for the possessive: Barnabus's robe. Frankly, it's up to you. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. 201.
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| QUESTION |
| The meaning of "state-of-art", can't find in dictionary. "SOHO" abbreviation, popular in Hongkong, what does it mean ? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hong Kong Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The online WWWebster's says "state of the art" means "the level of development (as of a device, procedure, process, technique, or science) reached at any particular time usually as a result of modern methods." I have heard it used, however, as a description of something that is absolutely the best, the latest, the most technologically sophisticated that is possible at this time. (Don't forget the the in that phrase, for what it's worth.) I have no idea what SOHO means in Hong Kong. It's a district of central London and also a neighborhood in New York City, but I don't know what it is in Hong Kong.
An alert reader, Sara, tells us that SOHO means "Small Office, Home Office" in some circles. Would that fit?
Authority for this note: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission.
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| QUESTION |
| Hi, my question is the following what's the difference between "cheat me on" and "cheat on me"? Which one is the correct one. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I've never heard of "cheat me on." There is, of course, a difference between "cheat me" and "cheat on me." The first means that you have taken advantage of me in some way -- you told me the car you sold me had 50,000 miles and it really had 80,000. You cheated me. If you "cheat on me," that usually means you have betrayed me -- usually in an affair of the heart (e.g., you snuck out and went to a party with someone else -- a rather mild case of "cheating on me"). |
| QUESTION |
| What is the difference between MLA and APA styles of writing? Which is better ? When do you use one or the other? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, Florida Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| For two things that are supposed to do the same thing, they are sometimes quite different in detail. See our MLA-style Guide to Writing Research Papers and our APA-style Guide to Writing Research Papers and judge for yourself. The MLA style is used for the humanities, primarily; the APA style more for the social sciences. (There are exceptions to this at many schools and some schools have adopted and endorsed entirely different styles of documentation). |
| QUESTION |
Which one is correct?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Monday, July 13, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| With the third-person singular, present tense, we want an -s ending -- He has a glass of milk. In your next example, the -s ending is incorporated in your "does" and is not repeated in the "have," so we want "Does he have . . ." (Incidentally, I don't think we'd use an article with "good dress sense," would we? "Dress sense" is an interesting phrase!) |
| QUESTION |
| How can I improve my writing skills, both in grammar and style? Thanks for your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Malta Tuesday, July 14, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Without knowing something about your educational opportunities in Malta, I can't say. As a community college English instructor, I'm partial to systematized classroom instruction, but that's certainly not the only way to learn grammar. I take it you're beyond learning vocabulary and basic patterns -- things one learns best from immersion in an English-speaking culture -- and you're interested in learning grammar for the sake of learning grammar. There's a list of books I would recommend on the main page, the Bookshelf, and any one of those volumes would prove helpful. If you can get your hands on Joseph Williams's book, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace -- it's absolutely superb, but it's not for writers bedeviled by really basic grammatical problems. For that, one of the handbooks would serve. Finally -- and perhaps most important -- read, read, read. |
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