QUESTION |
Can you give me all the information about
"BE GOING TO"
when, how, questions, etc.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Perhaps you should write again with a more specific question? It's a way of expressing the future in English: "I am going to study today. We are going to work in the garden today." In questions, as usual, the auxiliary comes before the subject: "Were they going win the game?"
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QUESTION |
Dear Grammar,
Is it correct to say:
- -Harry Bailey fell under the ice and drowned at the age of nine.
or
- -Harry Bailey fell under the ice and was drowned at the age of nine.
Thanks!
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Allentown, Pennsylvania Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Unless I'm misreading the dictionary, you could use that word either in the active or the passive (i.e., either would do). In the active, intransitive sense of the word (Harry drowned), it can mean that Harry "became drowned," or suffocated under water. You could also use the verb in the transitive sense: "Harry drowned the cats." I had never thought of these different uses of "drown" before. Thanks for your note.
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QUESTION |
Their passion, creativity, leadership, execution, and drive HAVE/HAS put us on the path to achieve best of breed in our industry. Question: Which is correct, HAVE or HAS, and why?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Raleigh, North Carolina Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
All of those things are discrete elements; it's a whole bunch of things that have put us on this path. You've got a plural subject, you need a plural verb; it's that simple.
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QUESTION |
Is it grammatically correct to say:
"Motion by Dr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Jones, approving the minutes of the August 20, 1999, Regular Board Meeting."
Or is it necessary to put it in either of the following formats?
- "The motion was made by Dr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Jones, approving the minutes of the August 20, 1999, Regular Board Meeting."
or
- "It was moved by Dr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Jones, approving the minutes of the August 20, 1999, Regular Board Meeting."
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Modesto, California Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
I can't find, online, any advice on the language for reporting minutes, and I don't have the necessary reference books. It's been my experience that the most important thing is consistency within the organization or at least consistency within an individual meeting's minutes. I would recommend your #1 version, but with an infinitive: "The motion was made. . . to approve. . ." but that's a personal preference, and I don't speak with any great authority on this matter.
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QUESTION |
In the following sentence, why should the period be contained within the quotation marks--At the heart of Amistad month, October 20, Dr. Fred Steilo will deliver a presentation on the Amistad uprising, titled, "Perspectives on Amistad."
The words in quotes are a title, not a quotation. Therefore, they are only a part of the sentence.
If I rearranged the sentence to say: (Dr. Fred Steilo will deliver a presentation on the Amistad uprising titled, "Perspectives on Amistad" on October 20, the final program in the series.) it is obvious the words in quotes are not spoken in either sentence and the second sentence does not end the same way.
Appreciate your thoughts.
What a great web sight, I wish I had it when I was teaching.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Troy, New York Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
You're trying much too hard to be sensible about this matter. In the United States, we put commas and periods inside the quotation marks whether it makes sense or not. If you try to be logical about this choice, you'll only drive yourself mad or you'll have to be transported to England, where they actually have to think about such things. Incidentally, I wouldn't use a comma before the title in your rewritten sentence.
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QUESTION |
A major part of my job is writing reports that are presented to the Federal Parliament. The reports are often long and detailed.
Information is often presented as lists. A list might contain four or five items, ranging in length from a few word to one or two sentences. The style we use in our reports features an introductory clause, punctuated with a colon, and the lists run-on, indented with a 'bullet'. Each list item is punctuated with a semi-colon at the end of the item, except the second last item, which has "; and", and the last item, which concludes with a period.
eg:
"The following matters were considered:
- the prevailing environmental conditions;
- staff availability; and
- physical resources available (including the servicability of the resources)."
Question - if a list item contains more than one sentence, is it still appropriate to conclude the final sentence of the item with a semi-colon (assuming that the list items 'run-on')?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Canberra, Australia Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
You'll find different answers for this question, depending on which authority you consult. The best answer, truly, is that consistency within your documents is the most important thing. The Chicago Manual of Style would leave out that "and" before the last item. The New York Public Library's Guide to Usage would write your list exactly as you did it. The NYPL also has a list with complete sentences within it that has no end punctuation marks at the end of each item, not even the last one (and there is a dash at the end of the introductory clause).
Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 160.
Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994. Cited with permission. p. 318.
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