The Grammar Logs -- Number Seventeen

The
Grammar
Logs
# 17

Question Now it's about two o'clock and I am not feeling well. My boss is away from the office and will not be back until four o'clock. I want to write him a note and go home. What verb tense should I use to write a message to my boss?
Present perfect continuous, simple continuous, past continuous, or present?
Thank you very much for your help.
Source & Date
of Question Portland, Oregon
19 June 1997
Grammar's
Response I think your note is going to have provide the context of time. It's 2 pm and I feel lousy and am going home. You could use a combination of present and present continuous: It's 2 pm and I feel lousy and am going home. Or the simple past: At two o'clock I felt lousy and went home. I prefer the present. The past continuous gets really confusing, I think, whether you provide a time clue or not.
Go home. Take two aspirins and write back in the morning to tell us what your boss did.

Question CSR is an abbreviation my company uses to shorten the lengthy title of Customer Service Representative. Which of the following statements is grammatically correct?
A) All CSR's must attend this meeting.
B) All CSRs must attend this meeting.

Source & Date
of Question Neenah, Wisconsin
19 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Common practice nowadays is to create the plural of such abbreviations without the apostrophe. (The exceptions being the letters of the alphabet: He got four A's last term and "words as words": There are four and's in that paragraph.) So, My sister and I have identical IQs and we both have PhDs from Harvard and we hang out with the CSRs from Neenah, Wisconsin.

Question In the sentence, "This is one of the many grammar questions that PUZZLE(S) me all along," should the capitalized word come with an "s" or not?
Please let me know the answer. Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Dallas, Texas
19 June 1997
Grammar's
Response That "all along" is screwing up your sentence. With that phrase in there, the correct verb tense is probably "puzzled" (and you'll have to choose between have puzzled and has puzzled). But that's not really your question. Let's leave off the "all along" and choose between puzzle and puzzles. The correct choice here would be puzzle. If you re-ordered the sentence this way: "Of the many grammar questions that ______ me, this is one," you would undoubtedly choose puzzle, right? That's because the relative pronoun, that, is referring to questions, which is plural. This device of re-ordering the sentence works fine when you're writing; when you're speaking, it's not so easy to go through such a process to come up with the right answer.

Question I often confuse affect and effect. Please help. Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Fairfield, California
19 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Please check out the Grammar Logs. That should answer your question, but if it doesn't please get back.

Question I am writing a letter to prospective employers. In this letter I want to say "I have recently attained my Bachelors Degree in Accounting." Is Degree and Accounting capitalized?
Source & Date
of Question Eagan, Minnesota
19 June 1997
Grammar's
Response No, you would write, "I recently earned by bachelor's degree in accounting" (and don't forget the apostrophe). Academic degrees are not capitalized unless they come as a title after someone's name: Grammar English, Doctor of Humane Letters. (Ooh, I like the sound of that!)

Question U.S. Navy Ships - Is entire name always capitalized (e.g. USS SHILOH) or is just the first letter (e.g. USS Shiloh)?
Source & Date
of Question Louisville, Kentucky
19 June 1997
Grammar's
Response You'll capitalize only the U.S.S. and the first letter, S, of Shiloh. Also, you'll want to italicize (or underline) the word Shiloh (but not the U.S.S.).

Question When writing a sentence that has a phrase within it that required parentheses, but which also concludes the sentence, is the period placed within the parentheses or outside of the parentheses?
Here is an example of my question (I hope you can help.)

Source & Date
of Question Santa Cruz
20 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Your example sentence might not be the best. We would probably write those sentences separately, and, if we wanted to put the second sentence in parentheses, we'd put the period within those parentheses. This is how Troyka puts it:
A complete sentence enclosed in parentheses sometimes stands alone and sometimes falls within the structure of another sentence. Those that stand alone start with a capital letter and end with a period (or question mark or exclamation point). Those that fall within the structure of another sentence do not start with a capital letter and do not end with a period.
Authority: Quick Access: Reference for Writers by Lynn Quitman Troyka. Simon & Schuster: New York. 1995.

Question 1. When using parentheses at the end of a sentence, does one place the period within or without the parentheses?
2. Does the adjective full have a comparative form such as 'fuller' and 'fullest'?
Source & Date
of Question Chicago, Illinois
20 June 1997
Grammar's
Response (1) See the question above you in the Grammar Logs. The answer is without.
(2) Yes, but you'd want to be careful how you use it. I think the moon can be fuller tonight than it was last night, and next week it will be at its fullest. Also, someone's beard can be fuller than someone else's. Even though the definition of full seems to suggest completeness, there seems to be room for degrees of fullness, thus the comparative fuller and the superlative fullest.

could you send me any information you may have on editing. I am a sub-editor, and any update information would be helpful. Thanks.

Question could you send me any information you may have on editing. I am a sub-editor, and any update information would be helpful. Thanks.
Source & Date
of Question Bridgetown, Barbados
22 June 1997
Grammar's
Response A really good place to start to find online material, at least, would be the Frequently Asked Questions site for the Copy-Editing listserv.
In addition, I recommend Copy editor for the Washington Post Bill Walsh's Curmudgeon Stylebook at his web-page, called The Slot.
Good luck!

Question How do you cite a personal interview and a newsletter put out by an Association? Thanks!!
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, Somewhere
22 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Have you looked at the Guide to Writing Research Papers?

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Question	CSR is an abbreviation my company uses to shorten the lengthy title of Customer Service Representative. Which of the following statements is grammatically correct? A) All CSR's must attend this meeting. B) All CSRs must attend this meeting.
Source & Date of Question	Neenah, Wisconsin 19 June 1997
Grammar's Response	Common practice nowadays is to create the plural of such abbreviations without the apostrophe. (The exceptions being the letters of the alphabet: He got four A's last term and "words as words": There are four and's in that paragraph.) So, My sister and I have identical IQs and we both have PhDs from Harvard and we hang out with the CSRs from Neenah, Wisconsin.

Question	In the sentence, "This is one of the many grammar questions that PUZZLE(S) me all along," should the capitalized word come with an "s" or not? Please let me know the answer. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Dallas, Texas 19 June 1997
Grammar's Response	That "all along" is screwing up your sentence. With that phrase in there, the correct verb tense is probably "puzzled" (and you'll have to choose between have puzzled and has puzzled). But that's not really your question. Let's leave off the "all along" and choose between puzzle and puzzles. The correct choice here would be puzzle. If you re-ordered the sentence this way: "Of the many grammar questions that ______ me, this is one," you would undoubtedly choose puzzle, right? That's because the relative pronoun, that, is referring to questions, which is plural. This device of re-ordering the sentence works fine when you're writing; when you're speaking, it's not so easy to go through such a process to come up with the right answer.

Question	1. When using parentheses at the end of a sentence, does one place the period within or without the parentheses? 2. Does the adjective full have a comparative form such as 'fuller' and 'fullest'?
Source & Date of Question	Chicago, Illinois 20 June 1997
Grammar's Response	(1) See the question above you in the Grammar Logs. The answer is without. (2) Yes, but you'd want to be careful how you use it. I think the moon can be fuller tonight than it was last night, and next week it will be at its fullest. Also, someone's beard can be fuller than someone else's. Even though the definition of full seems to suggest completeness, there seems to be room for degrees of fullness, thus the comparative fuller and the superlative fullest.

Question	I often confuse affect and effect. Please help. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Fairfield, California 19 June 1997
Grammar's Response	Please check out the Grammar Logs. That should answer your question, but if it doesn't please get back.

Question	I am writing a letter to prospective employers. In this letter I want to say "I have recently attained my Bachelors Degree in Accounting." Is Degree and Accounting capitalized?
Source & Date of Question	Eagan, Minnesota 19 June 1997
Grammar's Response	No, you would write, "I recently earned by bachelor's degree in accounting" (and don't forget the apostrophe). Academic degrees are not capitalized unless they come as a title after someone's name: Grammar English, Doctor of Humane Letters. (Ooh, I like the sound of that!)

Question	U.S. Navy Ships - Is entire name always capitalized (e.g. USS SHILOH) or is just the first letter (e.g. USS Shiloh)?
Source & Date of Question	Louisville, Kentucky 19 June 1997
Grammar's Response	You'll capitalize only the U.S.S. and the first letter, S, of Shiloh. Also, you'll want to italicize (or underline) the word Shiloh (but not the U.S.S.).

Question	How do you cite a personal interview and a newsletter put out by an Association? Thanks!!
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere, Somewhere 22 June 1997
Grammar's Response	Have you looked at the Guide to Writing Research Papers?