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The Grammar Logs # 166 |
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| QUESTION |
Which usage of was & were is preferred?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Torrance, California  Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| That's a good use of the Subjunctive: use were. |
| QUESTION |
| Would you please teach me about the following. My question is how to spell Japanese words which have long vowels. As you know, Tokyo is pronounced [to:kyo:], not [tokyo] because it is a well-known place name. However, for example, how do you pronounce "Sato" ? In Japan some peple such as baseball players use "h" when they want to have the vowel pronounced long, like "Satoh" for [sato:]. Is it awkward to do so ? In passports we Japanese never use "h" for this purpose. But how do you distinguish whether the vowels are long or short? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Ora gun Gunma Prefecture Japan Friday, July 17, 1998 |
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I notice that not even the online dictionaries try to show long vowels the way it is traditionally done; in fact, maybe it can't be done on the World Wide Web except through a graphic. If you can imagine a small dash where we see the umlaut mark in ü, above that "u," that's how a long vowel would normally be designated in English. I don't know if that serves to answer your question, though. Your question is way outside any realm of expertise that I ever pretended to own. |
| QUESTION |
| My colleague and I have a point of contention over prepositions. She says that it is wrong to begin a sentence with a preposition. I say that it is ok, but that one should avoid ending a sentence with a preposition. Which is the correct answer? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New York, New York Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Trying to avoid beginning a sentence with a preposition must be a real strain. It's bad enough trying to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition! There is, as far as I know, no restrictions about initial prepositions. The restriction against ending a sentence with a preposition is based on very shaky historical grounds and many very good writers choose to ignore the rule. Whether you choose to ignore the rule probably reveals more about how picky your boss or teacher or editor might be and about your relationship with said boss, teacher, or editor than it does about grammar. See the section on Prepositions. |
| QUESTION |
Thanks a lot! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New York, New York Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
This is what the online WWWebster's has to say about the distinction:
A body of opinion favors in with the "interest, benefit" sense of behalf and on with the "support, defense" sense. This distinction has been observed by some writers but overall has never had a sound basis in actual usage. In current British use, on behalf (of) has replaced in behalf (of); both are still used in American English, but the distinction is frequently not observed. Authority for this note: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission. |
| QUESTION |
| I have written a short story that, after about 150 revisions, is close to ready for submission. In the course of revision nearly all the sentences have changed, but a few have seemed perfect since conceived. One of the perfectly conceived sentences has, frankly, seemed perfect only in tone. The grammar has always felt shaky, but, until I viewed your website's "movie" on colons, I hadn't found a single usage guideline to go on (even in The Gregg Reference Manual!). The sentence in question is the opening line of my story. Here it is, as conceived: The map confirmed what Natalie recalled, that they were buried near the fence at the edge of the grounds.Based on your guideline, it seems that the comma after "recalled" should actually be a colon. I have resisted doing this because it would make the rhythm of the opening sentence more abrupt than I wanted. A dash would be worse, since it would add speed to the abruptness and, besides, the story is already so full of em dashes that I didn't want to open with one. So please tell me: Is my comma incorrect or just quirky? (And would the editor of the Atlantic Monthly agree with your answer?) Thank you for giving me this opportunity to obsess needlessly. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Paoli, Pennsylvania Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The comma seems perfectly adequate to me. I agree that a colon is a bit too much of a break here. I'm not sure what you mean by a dash adding "speed to the abruptness," but the comma is just fine. I hope it is immediately clear what "they" are (and that Natalie is not buried, along with others, on the grounds). The editors of the Atlantic Monthly have never accepted any of my poems, so their judgment is obviously in grave doubt; they should be ignored. |
| QUESTION |
| Which is correct? Aren't I or am I correct? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Even though "aren't I" makes absolutely no sense (How did "are" get connected to "I"?), it has replaced "ain't I" (which was at one time a perfectly fine contraction for "am not") as the expression most often used in that situation. Many careful writers prefer "Am I not correct?" |
| QUESTION |
What is the grammatical term for a word that has dual meanings.
for example: box - something you put stuff in and the sport. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Belleville, Illinois Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| That's a homonym. But look at the Notorious Confusables article on Homonyms, Homographs, and Homophones because I don't want you to go away without being totally confused. |
| QUESTION |
I'm trying to figure out if I need to use a comma before the word "where" in the following sentence, and what the explanation is behind the response:
She is a graduate of Smith College where she received her B.S. in marketing.Thank you! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New York, New York Friday, July 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I would definitely use a comma after Smith College. Although the clause "where she received her B.S. in marketing" contains important information, structurally it is "added information" (although I wouldn't exactly call it an afterthought) and ought to be treated as a parenthetical element (i.e., set off by a comma). |
| QUESTION |
| After a party, my friend was leaving for home. The host (an old lady) told him, "Keep yourself". What does 'keep yourself' mean. I have checked several dictionaries and books on idiom, but I can't find the meaning of this expression. Could you please help us? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Singapore Saturday, July 18, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I've never heard that expression. It's probably a bit of shorthand for "keep yourself well" or "stay well," but I wouldn't know for sure. I don't have a dictionary of slang myself, and such books don't account for all the regionalisms that abound in the English-speaking world anyway.
One of our readers suggests this:
In Modern Hebrew, this is the term still used when you want to tell
somebody to take care of themselves (as in you are worried about them).
So my instincts tell me that the hostess in discussion meant something
like "take care," and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this were some
antiquated form that could be dug up in old literature. |
| QUESTION |
| Errr..... Ummmm..... When you wanna ya know like say "Me and Susan wanna like go to the beach and stuff." Is it like "me and susan" or "susan and me or "susan and I"? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Honolulu, Hawaii Saturday, July 18, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Susan and I. Aloha. |
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