The
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# 188

QUESTION
I have two questions:
  1. Is there a rule when to use the "d" in size when it is a compound adjective? For example, it is king-size bed but medium-sized office building.
  2. Is there a rule when to use the comma before "too." For example, I like him, too. I am going to the store too.
Thank you.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Richmond, Virginia Friday, August 21, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The dictionary seems to prefer compound adjectives like that without the "d" or "-ed" ending, but it also lists the variant of king-sized, etc. I don't think there are any rules on the matter, but I don't know.

Your question about "too" is a tough one. I agree with your punctuations of those sentences, but I think it has more to do with one's sense of the rhythms of the sentence than with "too" being parenthetical (or inessential) in one sentence and not in another. If I reworded your second sentence into "I, too, am going to the store." I'd use a pair of commas to set off the "too" because in that sentence order, it feels disjunctive. [E-Mail Icon]I'll leave an e-mail icon here in case someone else can send us some helpful guidelines.


QUESTION
What is the proper way to use "et al" to refer in a paper to authors? Do I italicize it, and is there a period after 'et' or 'al'? For example, would the following sentence be correct:
An experiment was recently performed by Willey, et al., which simulated emission of radiation.
Thanks
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Boulder, Colorado Saturday, August 22, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
That depends on whether you're using the MLA style of documentation or the APA style of documentation (or some other style). See the mla-style at the Guide to Writing Research Papers; to see the apa-style guide, click HERE. It will depend on how many authors are involved, whether or not you should use the abbreviation for et alia (which, yes, has a period after al., but which is neither underlined nor italicized -- in either mla or apa style).

QUESTION
Is the following punctuated correctly and in correct tense?
Recently divorced after 10 years in an unhappy marriage, she left home and didn't look back. There was nothing left for her in Wisconsin but bad memories, and a fresh start in a new location was more than appealing. Now, as she stares at the designs scattered over her desk, she isn't so sure she made the right decision. She knows she wouldn't be thinking so negatively if she weren't so tired.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Washington, D.C. Saturday, August 22, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
There's nothing wrong with the punctuation, but I don't know why we have the shift to the present tense, beginning with "stares." Telling a story in the strictly present tense is a very tricky device, and probably not worth it. If you're going to shift like that, I think you'll need more of a transition than that word "now."

QUESTION
How do i know when to use the word "she" and the word "her" in a sentence?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Beverly Hills, California Saturday, August 22, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Use "she" whenever you need a subject of a verb: "I knew what she was doing; she was playing with my emotions." And use "her" whenever you need an object form or possessive form: "He left her, and that was her motive for revenge." See Pronouns.

QUESTION
Could you please explain this idiom:
"beauty is as beauty does"
thanks
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Unknown Saturday, August 22, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The short answer is No. Nor do I have the reference books that could give us an answer. I've always assumed it meant that Someone is beautiful who does (acts) beautifully -- and that no matter how physically beautiful someone is, that person is not beautiful if he or she does not behave well. [E-Mail Icon] I'll leave an e-mail icon here in case someone else has a better idea.

QUESTION
Which one of the following is correct?
  1. From where have you done your schooling?
    or
  2. From where you have done your schooling?
Thanks.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Sunday, August 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The first one. The "from where" sounds a bit stilted to me, however, and I don't know if I'd use it. In the U.S., anyway, we'd probably say something like "Where did you go to school?" or "Where did you get your education?"

QUESTION
I have a question about nouns after the word 'no' or 'zero.' I believe they should not be plural, but sometimes it sounds better that way.

Example: An abstract unit of currency called 'hit credit,' doesn't it sound better if I write "this person has zero hit credits" rather than "this person has zero hit credit"? Thanks in advance

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Los Angeles, California Monday, August 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
There is nothing about "no" that says we can't use it to modify a singular noun as long as it's a non-count noun: "There is no gas in the tank." If "hit credit" is a non-count noun, as credit would be (and it's hard for me to say because I don't know what it means), then "no hit credit" is fine. As for "zero," that's kind of a colloquialism and I wouldn't use it in formal writing when I mean "no."

QUESTION
Please identify the main subject of the following sentence:
Its big scoop pushed piles of dirt.
Is it "its" or "scoop"? Thanks!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Electric City, Washington Monday, August 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
To find the subject of a sentence, first find the verb. Then ask "what pushed"? The scoop pushed, so scoop is your subject. Its is telling you that this scoop belongs to something else (i.e., it's being a modifier), a bulldozer or some such thing.

QUESTION
How to use she, her, me, I as pronouns and in which condition you will use me, her rather than I and she.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Camas, Washington Monday, August 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Please refer to our section on Pronouns and the Cases of Nouns and Pronouns. You'll be using I and she when you want a subject: "I am tall but she is taller." You'll be using me and her when you want an object: "He left me and he left her at the same time." Her can also serve as the possessive form of that pronoun: "That's her car."

QUESTION
1. What's the difference between extend and expand?

2. Which of the following sentences is correct (in spoken language) - when we want to express that finally we have understood.

  • I got it or
  • I've got it.
Thank you with advance
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Helsinki, Finland Monday, August 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
There are extensive definitions in the online Merriam Webster's, which I recommend to you. In the context of these words as contrasts, I think the difference is one of dimension: extend to mean the enlargement of something in one direction, expand to mean the enlargement of something in several directions at once.

Both of those phrases, "I've got it!" and "I got it!" are kind of idiomatic and we wouldn't use them in formal prose when we mean "I understand." Either one is correct, just as "I understand it" and "I have understood it" would be correct. We also hear the idiomatic expression, "I have it!", which means the same thing.


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