The Grammar Logs -- Number Eighteen

The
Grammar
Logs
# 18

Question Can you tell me the answer to the following and how do i know which one is correct.
1. Be ..... (patience, patient). We'll be ready soon.
2. Three pupils were ..... (absence, absent) yesterday.
3. What is the ..... (significance, significant) of the remark you have just made?
4. The accident on the building site was caused by somebody's ..... (negligent, negligence)
5. I can see them in the ..... (distance, distant)

Source & Date
of Question Negara Brunei Darussalam
24 June 1997
Grammar's
Response 1. Be patient. (the adjective)
2. Three pupils were absent. (the adjective)
3. What is the significance. . . . (the noun)
4. . . . was caused by somebody's negligence. (the noun)
5. . . . in the distance. (the noun)

A possessive or an article acts as a noun marker or determiner and a noun will follow.

Question Which is correct:

leave a message for Tammy or myself, and we will get back to you.
or

leave a message for Tammy or me, and we will get back to you

Feel free to give Tammy or myself a call.
or

Feel free to give Tammy or me a call.

Source & Date
of Question Alameda, California
24 June 1997
Grammar's
Response There's no reason to use the reflexive forms in any of these sentences. Go with "me." (See what happens when you leave Tammy out of these arrangements. You're not going to say "Give myself a call," I hope.)

Question They (girls) have different preferences than boys to significant elements and characteristics of software.
Is this sentence incorrect in any way?
Is the use of HAVE incorrect?
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, Somewhere
27 June 1997
Grammar's
Response The answer to both questions is Yes. Things are different from other things; thing differ from other things. I suppose you could say something like "Girls' preferences about significant elements and characteristics of software are different from boys' preferences." (Is there a significant different between element and characteristic? If not, eliminate one of those words.)

Question We are having a very irritating discussion at work! We have 'standard operating procedures' for certains tasks, such as shutting down a system, starting up a system, and so forth. These are commonly known as 'SOPs'. A coworker recently sent an email which stated something like: "There is a SOP for shutting down the system. Please use it to shut down gracefully." The point in question is whether it is correct to say 'a' SOP or whether it is correct to say 'an' SOP. We all agree that if it were to be written out and not abbreviated, the correct usage would be 'a standard operating procedure'. Thanks very much!
Source & Date
of Question St. Marys, Georgia
27 June 1997
Grammar's
Response This all depends on how you're saying the word. Are you saying "sop," as in dipping your bread in milk gravy, or are you saying "s-o-p," thus spelling it out. If you're spelling it out, then the first sound is actually "ess," which begins with a vowel-sound, so you would say "an ess-oh-pee." If you're saying "sop," you would say "a sop." And this would translate into writing as well.

Question What are the most common uses of should?
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, Somewhere
27 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Try the Webster Hypertext Interface at
http://c.gp.cs.cmu.edu:5103/prog/webster

Question Please explain why the following sentences are said to be in the present tense when there is a verb in the past tense in them?

The car is checked for oil leakage.
They are informed of the rules.
Please provide the answer for the following:

Mrs. Joe, together with her sister-in-law, (has, have) gone window shopping.
Mr. Yong, as well as Mrs.Yong (do, does) not dare ride in the mini-bus because the driver is reckless.
Wendy, accompanied by her cousin, (has,have) gone to church.
Thanks for your help.
Source & Date
of Question Seremban, Negri Sembilan, Malaysia
28 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Those sentences are said to be in the present perfect tense because they describe a present condition in which something has been accomplished (thus "perfected") in the past. The is and are are clearly present, but the -ed ending describes something that has happened.
In your three sentences, you will choose a singular verb in each case (has, does, has) because the verb in each case is singular: Mrs. Joe, Mr. Yong, and Wendy. Each sentence has a singular subject that is modified by a phrase that contains something that seems to go along with the subject and thus turns it into something plural, but the phrase doesn't work that way: it simply modifies the subject and does not compound the subject (i.e., if we had used the compounding "and" instead of "together with," "as well as," and "accompanied by," we would have used the plural verbs).

Question In addresses for a family of more than one member, is it, for example, Smith's or Smiths?
Source & Date
of Question Charlestown, Rhode Island
28 June 1997
Grammar's
Response Smiths. We use the apostrophe to create plurals only in a couple of situations: single letters (He got four A's last term.) and "words-as-words" (There are four and's in that last paragraph. [And the and would be italicized or underlined, but not the "'s".])

Question When using quotation marks within quotation marks which come at the end of a sentence where does the period go? Which example is correct? A) John said, "Then he told me 'Stop'." or B) John said, "Then he told me 'Stop.'"
Source & Date
of Question Los Altos, California
28 June 1997
Grammar's
Response It doesn't make sense to me, but the rules for quotation marks and punctuation marks seldom do: the single quotation mark and the double quotation mark will both go outside the end punctuation mark -- "Then he told me 'Stop.'"

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Question	Can you tell me the answer to the following and how do i know which one is correct. 1. Be ..... (patience, patient). We'll be ready soon. 2. Three pupils were ..... (absence, absent) yesterday. 3. What is the ..... (significance, significant) of the remark you have just made? 4. The accident on the building site was caused by somebody's ..... (negligent, negligence) 5. I can see them in the ..... (distance, distant)
Source & Date of Question	Negara Brunei Darussalam 24 June 1997
Grammar's Response	1. Be patient. (the adjective) 2. Three pupils were absent. (the adjective) 3. What is the significance. . . . (the noun) 4. . . . was caused by somebody's negligence. (the noun) 5. . . . in the distance. (the noun) A possessive or an article acts as a noun marker or determiner and a noun will follow.

Question	Which is correct: leave a message for Tammy or myself, and we will get back to you. or leave a message for Tammy or me, and we will get back to you Feel free to give Tammy or myself a call. or Feel free to give Tammy or me a call.
Source & Date of Question	Alameda, California 24 June 1997
Grammar's Response	There's no reason to use the reflexive forms in any of these sentences. Go with "me." (See what happens when you leave Tammy out of these arrangements. You're not going to say "Give myself a call," I hope.)

Question	What are the most common uses of should?
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere, Somewhere 27 June 1997
Grammar's Response	Try the Webster Hypertext Interface at http://c.gp.cs.cmu.edu:5103/prog/webster

Question	We are having a very irritating discussion at work! We have 'standard operating procedures' for certains tasks, such as shutting down a system, starting up a system, and so forth. These are commonly known as 'SOPs'. A coworker recently sent an email which stated something like: "There is a SOP for shutting down the system. Please use it to shut down gracefully." The point in question is whether it is correct to say 'a' SOP or whether it is correct to say 'an' SOP. We all agree that if it were to be written out and not abbreviated, the correct usage would be 'a standard operating procedure'. Thanks very much!
Source & Date of Question	St. Marys, Georgia 27 June 1997
Grammar's Response	This all depends on how you're saying the word. Are you saying "sop," as in dipping your bread in milk gravy, or are you saying "s-o-p," thus spelling it out. If you're spelling it out, then the first sound is actually "ess," which begins with a vowel-sound, so you would say "an ess-oh-pee." If you're saying "sop," you would say "a sop." And this would translate into writing as well.

Question	In addresses for a family of more than one member, is it, for example, Smith's or Smiths?
Source & Date of Question	Charlestown, Rhode Island 28 June 1997
Grammar's Response	Smiths. We use the apostrophe to create plurals only in a couple of situations: single letters (He got four A's last term.) and "words-as-words" (There are four and's in that last paragraph. [And the and would be italicized or underlined, but not the "'s".])

Question	When using quotation marks within quotation marks which come at the end of a sentence where does the period go? Which example is correct? A) John said, "Then he told me 'Stop'." or B) John said, "Then he told me 'Stop.'"
Source & Date of Question	Los Altos, California 28 June 1997
Grammar's Response	It doesn't make sense to me, but the rules for quotation marks and punctuation marks seldom do: the single quotation mark and the double quotation mark will both go outside the end punctuation mark -- "Then he told me 'Stop.'"