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The Grammar Logs # 196 |
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| QUESTION |
I would like to ask the differences between 'in which' and 'which'. That is, why some people use the phrase 'in which' while some use 'which'. Are there any rules about this?
For example:
We aim to care for the local communites in which we operate.Can I use 'which' instead of 'in which' this case? Thanks. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Unknown  Thursday, September 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No, you have to use "in which" in that sentence because you are operating within the local communities; you're not operating them. They're really not at all synonymous. |
| QUESTION |
| My professor says the second sentence is grammatically incorrect, why? I will rewrite the whole paragraph, so you see how the sentence fits in. "I aim to be efficient, hardworking and productive towards making a positive and powerful difference in the hotel and surrounding community. Finally to transfer this knowledge and skill with me to make a positive contribution to the hotels and people of Kenya and Africa as a whole."The sentence has a subject and verb and conveys an independent thought. I have read through the fragments section and the sentence still makes sense to me. Please help! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Miami, Florida Thursday, September 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The second sentence contains two infinitives, but no real verbs. And if we can't find a verb, we can't find a subject. Perhaps you should review the uses of the Infinitive Phrase and the Infinitive. Infinitives can be subjects ("To err is human."), but on their own they cannot be verbs. |
| QUESTION |
| How do you tell the difference between the pronoun who and whom in a non-quizzitive, and quizzitive sentence? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New York, New York Thursday, September 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Quizzitive? Is that the same as interrogative? It asks a question? "Who is that? Whom did he run over?" See the section on Pronouns and Who/Whom and be sure to take the quizzes on who/whom. Write back if you still have questions. |
| QUESTION |
Our office is in dire need of a correct grammatical interpretation of this sentence. A lot of money is at stake.
Here is the dilemma. Two office members had a bet that they could reach a certain weight goal within a period of time. Person A stated the bet as follows:
"I bet that neither of us will make the weight goal in the time allotted"Person A took this to mean that if person B made the goal but person A did not, person A would win. Likewise if neither person A nor B made the goal, person A would win also. (Person A assumes that there is an all or nothing concept with this bet, he thought he was pretty smart since all he had to do was eat like a piglet and not make the goal and therefore win the bet) Person B has understood the bet to mean the opposite - ie if Person B made the goal and person A did not, person B would win. Which is the correct interpretation of the bet? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New York, New York Thursday, September 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If they both agreed to that language, they're both nuts and should be fired forthwith. If neither one of them achieved the weight loss, Person A wins -- but to assure this eventuality he has to pig out and make sure that Person B does the same (leaving donuts, boxes of candy, and bowls of chocolate chip ice cream on his desk) -- because if Person B does lose the weight, then someone has achieved the weight loss and Person A loses the bet. With that language, of course, there is no motivation for Person A to lose weight in any case. If Person B achieves the weight loss, Person A loses twice: he loses the bet, and then he has a heart attack. And I get half the bet in any case, my usual fee. |
| QUESTION |
| I learned never to use an adverb with a linking verb (ex: I feel badly when it should be I feel bad), but I continue to hear people (especially "educated" people) saying, "I feel strongly." Did I learn this rule correctly, or am I off base? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Columbus, Georgia Thursday, September 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You're certainly right about the adjective "bad" with the linking verb "feel": when a friend dies, we "feel bad" (not badly). So I, too, am having a hard time justifying the use of "strongly," in the expression "I feel strongly" (which, by the way, is in the Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, as an example of a correct use of this verb in the intransitive sense). We can't say "I feel strong," because that means I've been working out in the gym. It sort of makes sense, though, to use strongly with feel as a transitive verb if one of its meanings is "believe," as in "I believe strongly." That's how I understand this usage. |
| QUESTION |
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, Malaysia Friday, September 4, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
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| QUESTION |
| After "some" do we use plural or singular. For example, I asked someone do you have some papers? he corrected me by saying paper not papers. I went to a bookstore and I asked do you have some pen and he replied some pens? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Montreal, Quebec, Canada Friday, September 4, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Some can modify either Count or Non-Count Nouns, which means that it can modify both plural or singular items. Papers can be be a count noun when referring to newspapers or the papers that your class hands in to the instructor. Or it can mean the material, sheets of which you have in your notebook. In the latter meaning, paper is a non-count noun and we can't have a plural, so "some" would be modifying the singular "paper," the material. "Pens," on the other hand, is always countable, so it is appropriate for "some" to modify the plural "pens." (Otherwise, you would have asked, "Do you have a pen?") See the section hyperlinked above and maybe that will help. |
| QUESTION |
| Is Master's Degree capitalized on both words? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Oak Park, Michigan Friday, September 4, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No, in the normal flow of text, don't capitalize either master's or degree. |
| QUESTION |
Is this punctuated correctly?
"What is he going to say,. 'How can I help.?'" said Mary.If a person speaking anticipates the words of someone else and voices them, should those words be treated as a direct quote? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Eagle Rock, Virginia Friday, September 4, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
No, those double punctuation marks are a problem. I'd try it this way:
"What is he going to say? 'How can I help?'" asked Mary.Merging the two parts of Mary's question into one sentence creates difficulties that are unnecessary, I think. But I also think you are right to put this "voiced and anticipated" language between single quoation marks. |
| QUESTION |
| I need to know about dangling participles. What are they? Where did this rule come from and what is the logic behind it? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| St. Louis, Missouri Friday, September 4, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Where did the rule come from? I don't know. It's pretty sensible, really. You don't want something trying to modify something that it ought not to modify, and things have a tendency to modify what they're next to. So when you begin a sentence with a modifying phrase, it needs to modify the very next thing that comes along; otherwise, it's a dangler! See Modifiers and do the exercises at the end of that section. |
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