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.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Lexington, South Carolina Monday, August 31, 1998
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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?
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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.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Monday, August 31, 1998
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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.
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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.
- I have studied English since 1995.
- I have studied English for 3 years.
- I have been studying English since 1995.
- 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.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Belem, PA, Brazil Tuesday, September 1, 1998
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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.
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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?
- Tom took the first in the maths exam.
- Tom took first in the maths exam.
- Tom took a first in the maths exam.
I cannot tell when and where I can use 'a' or 'the' before 'first'.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Beijing, China Tuesday, September 1, 1998
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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).
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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.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Taejon, Korea Tuesday, September 1, 1998
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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?"
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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.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Manitowoc, Wisconsin Tuesday, September 1, 1998
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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.
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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?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Hong Kong Tuesday, September 1, 1998
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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.
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QUESTION |
What is an oxymoron, and what does it mean to juxtapose two things?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Santiago, Chile Tuesday, September 1, 1998
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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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