The
Grammar
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# 193

QUESTION
In the sentence "We examined the reports for the period January 1, 1996 through December 31, 1997." Would a comma go after "1996"? (I know that the phrase "the period" is unnecessary but the AICPA won't listen to me.) This example is a problem we're having with a comma happy person.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Lexington, South Carolina Monday, August 31, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In this case, your comma happy person is right: you want the comma after 1996. I'm not sure why that year ends up being treated parenthetically, but it is -- in every reference manual on punctuation that I've got. What on earth is the AICPA, and why won't it listen to you?

QUESTION
Here is a question for you.
Is it correct to say I feel bad, or I feel badly?
I have an ongoing discussion about this with an academic wizard.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Andover, Massachusetts Monday, August 31, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I feel bad. If you say you feel badly that means that your faculties for feeling are somehow impaired. The verb "feel" functions as a linking verb in this situation, so we want a predicate adjective, not an adverb. (That last part was for the wizard.)

QUESTION
Is it world-record holder. or world record-holder. After pondering for a while, I think it's the former, world-record holder; the latter implies a record-holder for the world. But I want to settle this once and for all for a style memo for our site. Thank you.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Monday, August 31, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I don't know if this will settle it for all time, but I'll go along with you. It's sort of like third-floor apartment and cross-country runner, isn't it? As you say, we don't "world" modifying "record-holder"; we want "world-record" modifying "holder."

Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 221.
QUESTION
Could you please tell me what a transition word is and a few examples. I am writing an essay that requires the use of transition words.

Thanks

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Tucson, Arizona Monday, August 31, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Please check out our section on Coherence and Transitions. You'll find a list and many examples of the use of transitional expressions. See, also, some of the sample essays in the Principles of Composition section, and you'll see how the transitional expressions are marked (especially in the cause-and-effect and argumentative essays).

QUESTION
I'm confused about using the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous. I read the section about verbs, but it didn't help me much. Tell me if these sentences are all correct, please.
  1. I have studied English since 1995.
  2. I have studied English for 3 years.
  3. I have been studying English since 1995.
  4. I have been studying English for 3 years.
I was told we use the Present Perfect when we talk about an action that started in the past and still happens. And the Present Perfect Continuous, to talk about an action that started in the past and is still in progress. So, do we always use "since" for the first one and "for" for the second?

Thank you so much.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Belem, PA, Brazil Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
You're absolutely right about the present perfect continuous stressing the fact that the action is still going on now, in the present. Both "for" and "since" work with the continuous. The first example sentence you give us sounds a bit odd; the "since" doesn't work too well with the present perfect.

QUESTION
Miss Grammer: I'm a Chinese student who learned English for many years. Unfortunately there are still a lot of questions I cannot understand. Can you tell me which is right among these sentences?
  1. Tom took the first in the maths exam.
  2. Tom took first in the maths exam.
  3. Tom took a first in the maths exam.
I cannot tell when and where I can use 'a' or 'the' before 'first'.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Beijing, China Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I believe that idiomatically we can say that "Tom took a first." That would mean that he got the highest score (but there may have been others who also got "a first"). We can also say that "he took first," which would mean the same thing, but it would probably also imply that there is only one first prize. "Took the first" sounds a bit strange to me. (Incidentally, we wouldn't put an "s" ending on "math" that way (mathematics, but not maths).

QUESTION
I read a sentence like this: Where is the TV and video? I think it is right "Where are the TV and video? and what does 'video' means here. Please tell me.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Taejon, Korea Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I don't know what "video" means there. It probably means VCR (the video recording and playback device). I suppose if the VCR and the television are in the same machine, one could say "Where is the TV and VCR," but usually they're two separate machines and you're right, one would say, "Where are the TV and the VCR?"

QUESTION
We are having a bit of difficulty determining the difference between affect and effect. I looked it up in the dictionary and found affect is a verb (except in the psychological term as in "he has a flat affect"), and effect a noun. BUT the book my daughter is using gives this as an example: "The strong wind had an affect on the tennis match". This goofed up my idea that if the sentence is asking for a verb, use affect, and a noun, effect.

Any suggestions or web-sites to search?

Thanks much.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Manitowoc, Wisconsin Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
No wonder the book goofed up your idea; that's an entirely inappropriate use of the word "affect." Are you sure the book wasn't asking you if that statement was correct or not? We could say the wind had an effect or we could say the wind affected the match, but we can't say the wind had an affect. The dictionary's your best resource here. Or you can check our Notorious Confusable note.

QUESTION
If I feel cold but I don't want to close off the fan, can I say
" May I turn down the fan?" o r" May I switch down the fan"?
in case the fan is needed to switch?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Hong Kong Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I would say, "May I turn down the fan?" (which would mean to turn it to a lower speed). If I said, "May I turn off the fan?" that would mean I was asking if I could make it stop altogether. "Turn up" is another of these separable phrasal verbs: "May I turn it up?" I guess we could say, "switch it off," but that would be rather unusual -- compared to "turn off," anyway.

QUESTION
Is the book title in this sentence correct?
I highly recommend Carl Rodgers' book Freedom to Learn.
Thanks
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
North Stonington, Connecticut Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Yes, except we would either italicize or underline the title. (I'm also assuming you've got the title itself right since I'm not familiar with the book.)

QUESTION
What is an oxymoron, and what does it mean to juxtapose two things?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Santiago, Chile Tuesday, September 1, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
An oxymoron is a literary figure of speech, a kind of paradox in which two things are held together in close proximity (there's your word juxtapose), like a noun and its modifier. They don't seem to make sense at first, they don't seem to go together, but then you realize that they do (which is the nature of paradox). Famous examples are "jumbo shrimp" and that Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sounds of Silence." Some people would say that "military intelligence" is an oxymoron, but not me.

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