The
Grammar
Logs
# 176

QUESTION
Could you please tell me the correct spacing for a name in which only the initials are available?
e.g., Would Robert Louis Stevenson be: R.L. Stevenson or R. L. Stevenson?
(In case that doesn't show up too well, the spacing is: R.(no space)L.(space Stevenson or R.(space) L.(Space)Stevension)

Thank you for your help.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Calgary, AB, Canada Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
It goes against my personal preference, but most authorities nowadays (especially the APA Publication Manual) tell us not to put a space after the period in someone's initials (except after the last one, of course). The reason for this is that we don't want a word-processor to break up someone's initials at the end of a line, and that might very well happen if put a space between the R. and the L. of R.L.'s initials. Special coding could prevent that break, but who wants to get into that?

QUESTION
I am attempting to proofread a document that is scheduled to be published by a local Episcopal church. The parishoner who wrote the history of the church uses capital letters quite freely, and I believe that most of them should be lower case. However, I am wondering if there any special rules for capitalizing religious terms. Some examples of the writer's usage would be Parish, Parish Hall, Church, Church School, Chapel, Rector, Mission. I do not believe that any of these terms need to be capitalized unles they name a specific, such as Trinity Episcopal Church. Am I correct, or are there some special rules that apply here of which I am unaware? The [person] who wrote this is not going to like my changes, so I want to be on firm ground!

Thanks very much.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
You're on firm ground. If "Parish Hall" is the name of the meeting room, it would be capitalized, and it would be possible (but not necessary) to capitalize the word "Church" within the document when it refers to this specific church (in order to distinguish this use of the word from its more generic use). You're problem is not spelling, it's politics.

QUESTION
If you are writing about a group of items, such as, apples, oranges, kiwis and bananas, do you put a comma after kiwis? In other words, generally speaking, is there a comma before an "and" when you are talking about a group of things? Thank you, Grammar!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Brampton, ON, Canada Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I would put a comma there, but you don't have to. If you don't, you will run the risk of the two last things in your list running together, but it's still up to you. The comma is always right (except in newspaper writing, which always leaves it out).

QUESTION
We had discussion whether this acronym is proper with its puncutations.
W.W.J.D.?
It stands for "What Would Jesus Do?"

My point is in this acronym, there is no need to have fourth period since the question mark would take care of itself. She says that there has to be four periods and a question mark, preserving the upper case.

So is this acronym correct, "W.W.J.D?" or "W.W.J.D.?" ?

Thanks

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Buena Park, California Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Technically, I think you need both the period and the question mark, although it does look funny. Why don't you compromise and get rid of all the periods?

QUESTION
What would be the correct way to make this statement?
  • You better go to school today.
    or
  • You'd better go to school today. ( You had better go to school today.)
Thank you for your help.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Redland, California Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In colloquial, very informal writing or speech, the "You better go" is acceptable. In academic or formal prose, neither would be recommended. You're much better off with "You should go to school today" or "You ought to go to school today."

QUESTION
Hello : I would like to ask about the following questions :

Recently my tutor informed me that "All we have to do nowadays is study hard" is correct while "All we have to do nowadays is to study hard" is wrong based on sth called a cleve structure or sth...
Is he right ?? He also told me that the sentence "Police officials announced that crime rate is increasing" is correct while "Police officials announced that crime rate had been increasing" is wrong. Is he right here too ?

Confused.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Hong Kong, China Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I've never heard of "cleve structure or sth," so I can't help you. I've heard of Cleft Sentences (such as "It was Charles who arranged our itinerary."), but that has nothing to do with this sentence. You don't need the "to" part of the infinitive after verbs like hear, feel, let, watch, do, etc. "We let her to play."

Within the proper context, the second sentence about the crime rate could be correct. The officials announced (at some point in the past) that the crime rate had been increasing (at some point prior to their announcement). We would probably use the definite article "the" in front of "crime rate."


QUESTION
Use of nearby

Which one is correct:

He lives nearby or He lives nearby my house.
Can a noun be added after nearby?

Thanks for your regular help.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Nearby is weird because it looks like a preposition (mostly because it's made up of two prepositions), but it's actually an adjective or an adverb. So you can use it to modify a noun: "He lives in a nearby town." or you can use it to modify a verb: "He lives nearby." But, no, you can't use it to create a prepositional phrase: "He lives nearby my house."

QUESTION
re: followup activites:

Is it "a followup letter to a meeting" or "a followup letter from a meeting"

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Winnipeg, MB, Canada Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The online Webster's spells that word with a hyphen: follow-up. If your letter is used to follow up something that happened or that was called for in a meeting, it could be called "a follow-up letter to a meeting."

Authority for this note: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission.


QUESTION
Thank you very much for your past reply. It was very useful. I have a new query.

Consider the following sentences.

  1. Several years later, Vince is attending his older son, Joey's, wedding.
  2. Several years later, Vince is attending his older son's, Joey, wedding.
  3. Several years later, Vince is attending his older son's -- Joey -- wedding.
  4. Several years later, Vince is attending Joey's wedding -- his older son.
Question:
The (a) is a quotation from a newspaper--is it correct? The (b) is a suggested fix. The other two are suggested stylistic improvements. It seems that two sentences would work better here. Please comment on correctness and style of all four.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Columbus, Ohio Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Frankly, any of the four is a lost cause. Most writers would scramble to avoid such a sentence and come up with something like:
Several years later, Vince is attending the wedding of his older son, Joey. [or "... of Joey, his older son."]
QUESTION
I'm confused with at, in. example:
  • I'll be in home next week
  • I'll be at home next week
My question is: when Do I need to use in and at?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Denison, Texas Thursday, July 30, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Although we can be either "in college" or "at college," we are usually "at home" (though we would be "in the house"). We would be "at the movies" but "in the theater." I'll be "in Portland" next week, "at a business conference." The in, in short, is often more specific, referring to being within a physical structure, than at.

Previous Grammar Log

Next Grammar Log

Index of Grammar Logs

Guide to Grammar and Writing