| QUESTION |
Which way is correct:
- Attached is the diskette and the form; or
- Attached are the diskette and the form
Since there are two items, it seems it would be 'are',
but since there is only one diskette, maybe it's 'is'.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Somewhere, Texas  Thursday, August 20, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| That's an inverted sentence (with the subject coming after the verb), and you've got two separate things acting as the subject, so you want the plural "are."
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| QUESTION |
When identifying the verbs in sentences that use is and are, like...
- I am going to the store.
- She is walking to the store.
What is the verb? Just the am or is...or is it the am going and is walking. For homework, I was asked for the verb, not verbs so I guessed it is just the is and am. What is correct?
Thank you!
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Orlando, Florida Thursday, August 20, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The full verbs (including the auxiliary -- is and are, in this case, and the main verbs) are "am going" and "is walking." If your instructor asks for the verbs, without being more specific, he or she probably wants the whole thing -- "am going" and "is walking."
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| QUESTION |
| Sentence: For us to accommodate all students, we have extended our enrollment.
Questions: if I remove "For us" in the beginning of the dependent clause,
- Will it be better, grammatically?
- Will it alter the meaning of the original sentence?
Thanks in advance
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Taipei, Taiwan Thursday, August 20, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You have the "we" in the main clause, so I don't think the "for us" is necessary. I think the sentence is improved without it, and the meaning remains clear. You might consider moving the "to accommodate all students" to the end of the sentence. "We have extended our enrollment in order to accommodate all students." Although your sentence order is fine as it is.
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| QUESTION |
| For the name Nicholas-how do I show possession using the apostrophe? Is it 1) Nicholas' birthday is Dec 21st or
2) Nicholas's birthday is Dec 21st
Thank you
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| North Ridgeville, Ohio Thursday, August 20, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Personally, I prefer Nicholas's birthday. But if you prefer, you can write it Nicholas' birthday. Incidentally, that happens to be absolutely the best day of the year for a birthday -- not really, but it's my birthday, so I pretend it is.
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| QUESTION |
| I am a medical transcriptionist. Through the course of typing reports yesterday, we realized that the word "oftentimes" is one word. Couldn't believe I didn't know this. Is it ALWAYS one word?? Have checked a few different dictionaries and couldn't find any usage rules. Please help. Thank you so very much.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Sayre, Pennsylvania Thursday, August 20, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| To the best of my knowledge the word oftentimes is always used as one word, although it might originally have been two words. One wonderful thing about getting into language study is the perpetual surprise and discovery in things you once took for granted. Incidentally, I wouldn't go crazy with that word oftentimes: don't use it where often or repeatedly would do the job.
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| QUESTION |
| I have a two big problems -- I misuse commas all the time and my spelling is awful. I have tried your grammar quizes, but am wondering if there are more like these out there. Also is there something out there to help with spelling? Thanks
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Alexandria, Virginia Friday, August 21, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It might be time to borrow some writing handbooks from the library. (See our list on Grammar's Bookshelf on the main page.) It's important to try to diagnose the reasons for comma misuse. You probably don't really misuse them "all the time," but it's important to try to figure out when you do misuse them -- and then work on a problem at a time. Otherwise, the task might seem overwhelming. There are probably books and software in the bookstore that should help with spelling. As we say in our section on Spelling, it's a personal problem, and how you learn to spell is going to depend on what kind of a learner you are.
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| QUESTION |
| When is it correct to use the word "towards"? I always use toward. For example: He walked toward the door.
My friend would write the sentence: He walked towards the door.
Who is correct?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| San Jose, California Friday, August 21, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It's a pleasant dilemma, because you both are. Unlike the difference between besides (adverb) and beside (preposition), say, there is no real difference between toward and towards -- except for the sound, of course. Go with whichever word sounds better to you.
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