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The
Grammar
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# 167![]()
QUESTION I'm in doubt about the using of Have and have got. If it is the same, why sometimes do Americans use have or have got?
Thank you
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Curitiba, Brazil Sunday, July 19, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE If you mean this in the sense of ownership, the "got" is redundant: I havegotfour dollars in my pocket.
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QUESTION What is the plural of 'equipment'? and information? SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil Sunday, July 19, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE Those nouns are non-count words: they don't have plural forms. You can have more than one piece of information or piece of equipment, but you can't have informations or equipments.
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QUESTION Could you please help me identify the subject noun phrase in this sentence. What in the name of heaven did he do that for?Thanks a bunch!SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Dearborn, Michigan Sunday, July 19, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE The subject of that sentence is not a phrase; it's he.
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QUESTION Please advise proper usage of quotation marks when speaker starts new paragraph within continuing conversation. e.g.:Should there be quotation marks before When?
John began, "Welcome, everyone. We're pleased you joined us, and hope you find our meeting informative.
When our business is complete, we'll be serving dinner."Thanks!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Dedham, Massachusetts Sunday, July 19, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE Yep. You don't end the preceding paragraph with a quotation mark, but you begin each quoted paragraph with a quotation mark and you continue in that way until you end the last of the quoted language with a closing quotation mark.
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QUESTION I have a report due on integrity tomorrow, and I don't know what to write. It's just really hard for me to put on paper. Please help! SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Unknown Sunday, July 19, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE Go to the Principles of Composition section and click on the "Developing a Definition" section. Make your essay as specific as possible. If you know someone who has illustrated integrity in a unique way, that would be helpful -- not someone who's been worked over before, like Ghandi or Lincoln, but the guy who runs the hardware store downtown, or your Little League coach, or your mom.
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QUESTION What kind of a word is "could?" ex: She could not feel the left side of her body? What kind of a word is "not?" ex: She is not going to remember this very well.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE San Marcos, California Sunday, July 19, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE Check out the section on Modal Auxiliaries; that's what could is in that sentence. The word not is an adverb. It tells you in what way she is going to remember something -- not. It's technically not part of the verb, but it modifies the verb so closely that it feels as though it's part of the verb.
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QUESTION What is the proper usage of "others" in the following sentence? Should it be other's or others' or others? This interaction and dialogue will be mutually beneficial because we will learn from each other's experiences.SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Denver, Colorado Monday, July 20, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE The each makes it singular and, since other is possessive, we need the apostrophe: "each other's experiences." If we're talking about a lot of people here, learning from one another, we might consider using one another's experiences, instead of each other's experiences.
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QUESTION What are the rules for using the perfect tenses? SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE Somewhere, Israel Monday, July 20, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE Go to the section on verb tenses and use the hyperlinks to the chart of tense forms and the article by Colin Mahoney on the uses of the perfect tense. If you have any specific questions afterwards, please write again.
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