The
Grammar
Logs
# 170

QUESTION
Which is correct?
  1. We are very excited about your joining our company.
    or
  2. We are very excited about you joining our company.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Annapolis, Maryland Wednesday, July 22, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
What you probably mean here is "your joining" our company since it is the joining that's got you excited. However, let's say this person is a celebrity or someone really special and you're excited about this particular person coming into your company; it is then conceivable that "you joining" would be correct. In the context of this sentence, you could choose either. I would go with "your joining."

QUESTION
Is the use of "should" (not meaning ought to) indicative of subjunctive? (No pun intended: indicative, subjunctive, hahaha) For example: If I should see you, I will say hello.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Allentown, Pennsylvania Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
It's a form of the conditional and the subjunctive is one way we express the conditional, so they're probably related, but not the same. In that sentence you give us, I think most people would say, "If I should see you, I would say hello." But it doesn't really mean "ought to" in that sentence (as you point out; it's a much more tentative, conditional statement. See the sections on the Subjunctive and the Conditional Verb Forms and be sure to visit the hyperlink to modal auxiliaries.

QUESTION
My sentences seem to want to run together. I'm not sure when to place my commas. I write historical romance novels and am trying to get them published. Can you help me?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Davison, Michigan Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Help you what? Get published, no. Get a handle on commas, maybe. Try the section on Comma Usage and Run-on Sentences and write back if you have questions.

QUESTION
This question is about "suppose to" versus "supposed to". Your rule states "Suppose to, use to. The hard "d" sound in supposed to and used to disappears in pronunciation, but it shouldn't disappear in spelling. "We used to do that" or "We were supposed to do it this way."

Your example shows past tense only. If we are writing in the present tense, do we then use "suppose to", without the "d"?

Example: "I am suppose to go to the store." Or should it still be "I am supposed to go to the store."
Thank you!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Bremerton, Washington Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
No, even in the present tense, it's "supposed to," "used to." (Present perfect, actually) Sorry if our examples led you astray.

QUESTION
My question is how to express the plural possesive of "children". Since "children" is already plural, would it be "children's" as in the following sentence:
  1. She deposited said sums into the children's accounts.
    or should it be:
  2. She deposited said sums into the childrens' accounts.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
West Palm Beach, Florida Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
With words such as men, women, children -- plurals formed by changing the actual form of a word (man, woman, child) -- the possessive is usually formed simply by adding apostrophe-s: The men's room, women's clothing, the children's accounts.

QUESTION
Which is the correct word usage in this sentence and why.
If more speed, time, and money (don't/doesn't) convince you, nothing will.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Lincoln, Nebraska Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I don't see any way that these three things can be glommed together into one thing. You want the plural verb here, "don't." They're not macaroni and cheese, which can be regarded as one thing; they're three separate considerations.

QUESTION
Maybe you can answer this. I work for a newspaper. When publishing letters to the editor, at the bottom where we print who wrote it, is it proper to capitalize their title, since we're essentially referencing their letter. Here's an example:
Diane Jones
director of information
San Diego College.
Does APA mandate that her title be capitalized? Thank you very much for your assistance!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
San Diego, California Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I'm not sure that the APA is the reference book you want to turn to for capitalization in newspapers. Doesn't the AP, Associated Press, have a style guide that addresses such matters? I don't find anything in the APA Manual that addresses this, but that doesn't mean it isn't there, just that I can't find it. I would capitalize the person's title, but I know the tendency in much journalism is to get away from all such capitalization whenever possible. In the Chicago Manual of Style, it says that "In text, titles following a personal name or used alone in place of a name are, with few exceptions, lower-cased." But that's not what you're doing in this listing of the office after someone's name.

Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 240.
QUESTION
Is the word company capitalized when referring to a specific corporate entity. This question is not referring to the word company when used as part of the name of the corporate entity.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Point Comfort, Texas Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In other words, if you're writing a document for the Alcoa Company (if that were the name of it) and there were occasions when you had to talk about the Company (referring to Alcoa), would you capitalize it? Yes, you could, to make the distinction between this company and a more generic use of the word. If I've confused you, or that's not what you mean, you'll have to write again.

QUESTION
What is the difference between a and an?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Bayside, New York Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
It sounds like a wise-guy answer, but the letter "n" is the difference between a and an. They're both indefinite articles and they work the same way. The only difference is in what words they precede. See the section on Articles and Determiners and write back if you have questions.

QUESTION
Is there a difference in definition or usage between "therefore" and "therefor" or are they just two different ways to spell the word?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Burbank, California Thursday, July 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
We don't run across the word "therefor," which means "in return for," much outside of legal documents. "I will give you Park Place and Broadway and you will give me Marvin Gardens and all four railroads therefor."

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