The Grammar Logs -- Number Thirty-Eight

The
Grammar
Logs
# 38

Question
Hi! Could you tell me if I should write
"Nilla and I are happy."
or
"Nilla and I am happy."
Thank you in advance.

Source & Date
of Question Helsinki, Finland
31 October 1997
Grammar's
Response When you compound subjects with and, you're going to end up with a plural verb, are in this case. You have to be careful, though, of those situations in which the and creates something that is really one: "Rice and beans is my favorite dish." But that's rare.

Question Do I always need a comma before the word but. For example, is this correct:
I wanted to go but didn't.
How about here? I wanted to go, but I didn't.
Thank you -- what's the rule that applies?
Source & Date
of Question Carthage, Tennessee
31 October 1997
Grammar's
Response It would make life easier if the answer were yes, but, no, the comma is not always necessary before but. In my first sentence here, I've used the comma + the little conjunction but to connect two independent clauses. In your second example -- I wanted to go but I didn't. -- you've left out the comma, and that's ok because the clauses are quite short and simple and nicely balanced and there's no chance of the reader becoming confused. However, I can tell you that the comma would be correct in that situation, and some people would argue that any time you have a "change in direction" like that, especially connecting two independent clauses, the comma is a good idea. I agree. The same is true of your first example: "I wanted to go but didn't." Again, the turn of direction in the sentence is so brief and simple (and only one clause is involved) that you really don't want the comma.
There are other situations in which I wouldn't use the comma before but. In that peculiar idiom, "There but for the grace of God goes Charlie," we wouldn't use it, and in something like "The Industrial Revoluation happened sometime after the War of Independence but before the Civil War."
Sorry to have said so much about so little!

Question It seems to me it's very hard to learn English language. I'm have a lot of confusion in using the English languages, especially in grammar and using of words. How can i improve it? Can you kindly teach me a way and where i can learn the English. Thanks !
Source & Date
of Question Sarikei, Sarawak, Malaysia
31 October 1997
Grammar's
Response I think your best bet for consistent help in English as a Second Language is one of the home-pages that specializes in that. Try going to our college's ESL page and clicking on DAVE'S ESL CAFE. There are a lot of people there whose lifework is helping people learning English at that ESL level.

Question I find myself debating the same grammatical points with a coworker over and over again, and I have not been able to find anything in your guide or in other references that would help me reach a resolution. Please help us.
Localities therefore are being pressured to reduce property assessments.
>OR
Localities are therefore being pressured to reduce property tax assessments.
>OR
Localities are being pressured, therefore, to reduce property tax assessments.
Which, if any, placements of "therefore" are incorrect? (No. 2, in particular.)
Lower property tax revenues may result in budget cuts in some localities, which could impair the localities' ability to provide necessary services.
>OR
Lower property tax revenues may result in budget cuts in some localities, which could impair their ability to provide necessary services.
Is the parallelism in the first sentence necessary, or is the second sentence OK?
Property tax liability could influence a plant's sale price, and thus affect the level of stranded costs.
>OR
Property tax liability could influence a plant's sale price, and thereby affect the level of stranded costs.
Are "thereby" and "thus" interchangeable?
Thanks much. What a great service!
Source & Date
of Question Albany, New York
31 October 1997
Grammar's
Response Those conjunctive adverbs, like therefore, are slippery devils and can appear almost anywhere in a sentence. I don't think any of those three options for the placement of therefore is incorrect, although the second is my least favorite (I guess because I don't like to see it in the middle of my verb string, although there's nothing really wrong with that).
In your second sentence, it's not instantly clear that their refers to "localities" and not "revenues" or "cuts" (although it takes no genius to figure it out); therefore, I would risk the redundancy (or re-name "localities") and make it immediately clear what you're referring to.
There's not much difference between "thus" and "thereby," although "thus" comes a bit closer to being a tightly logical connection -- as in consequently. Thus, I would go with thus. You might consider leaving the comma out of that sentence.

Question
Okay, in a list like this:
basketball, hockey, or baseball
Does the first comma mean "and" or does it mean "or"?
Thanks.

Source & Date
of Question Princeton, Minnesota
1 November 1997
Grammar's
Response I hope I'm not being dense here, but if you asked me which I liked best--basketball, hockey, or baseball -- wouldn't you be surprised if I answered basketball and hockey? The "meaning" of that first comma is determined by the conjunction or (or and).

Question
I read the following sentence in the Washington Post.
"None of the children was injured"
Should'nt it be
"None of the children were injured"
and if not why?
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Bristow, Virginia
3 November 1997
Grammar's
Response The word "none," which is your subject here, can be either singular or plural, and you can't tell from the sentence you give us which would be preferred. If you meant none as "not one," then you would definitely want the singular verb "was," which the Post used. However, the word "none" can also be a plural word with a plural verb. Sometimes something else in the sentence will help you decide:

None of them leave their seats during the film.

Question I'm a little confused about the different uses of the "-ing form."

When do verbs take the infinitive and when the "-ing form"?
When do this form function as gerund? adjective?
What are the different functions of this verbal?

Source & Date
of Question Durango, Mexico
2 November 1997
Grammar's
Response A verb form ending in -ing can be 1) part of a verb string: I am running, I was running, I will be running, etc.; 2) a gerund -- a verb form acting as a noun: Walking is good for you. I love walking on a nice fall day. or 3) a present participle (adjective) -- The running water made a delightful sound.

The gerund and participle forms are called verbals. Another verbal is the infinitive form: to plus the root of the verb. Infinitives can act as nouns:
To err is human. I like to walk.
It can act as an adjective:
Your chance to run for office will soon be gone. (modifies "chance")
It can act as an adverb:
I found it easy to beat him at chess. (the infinitive phrase modifies the adjective "easy.")
Does this answer your question?

Question
Can I say: I am not a good skater.
when can I use was, were + pp?
is am are + pp?
Thank you.

Source & Date
of Question Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
4 November 1997
Grammar's
Response You can say "I am not a good skater" as long as you are not a good skater.
I assume that p.p. means present participle, right? You use the present participle to describe an ongoing action. "I was running" means that at some point in the past the action was going on, as process: "I was running around Stanley Park this morning when it started to rain." With the present tense auxiliaries, it describes a process that is going on now: "I am failing Chemistry." It can also describe a process that will go on in the future: "This weekend I am biking to Seattle with my friends." (which would often be written as "going to bike" or "will bike")

Question My sixth grade class is studying plurals. We know that the plural of the rodent mouse is mice, but we do not know what the plural of the computer mouse would be. Can you please advise?
Source & Date
of Question Bridgeport, West Virginia
5 November 1997
Grammar's
Response The lexicon jury is still out on that one, I believe. Most dictionaries seem to avoid the question and give definitions of the single computer mouse. FOLDOC: The Free Online Dictionary of Computing uses the word "mice." I myself would prefer "mouses" to make the distinction between the computer device and the furry little rodents, but "mice" is probably the word you want.

Question
In a memo to the executive staff of a corporation should corporate's be capitalized or not. The sentence reads as follows:
As a result of our last meeting, I have been asked to coordinate corporate's (or Corporate's) participation in the Technology '98 Forum to be held .....
thanks for your input.

Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
5 November 1997
Grammar's
Response I can't imagine a situation in which you would use the word corporate that way. I think you could "coordinate the corporate participation" (using the word as an adjective and not capitalizing it), or you could say you are "coordinating the Corporation's participation," which is a different matter. Then you could capitalize Corporation as long it's clear that you are referring to a specific entity, which you've fully named earlier and which you often call "the Corporation."

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Question	Hi! Could you tell me if I should write "Nilla and I are happy." or "Nilla and I am happy." Thank you in advance.
Source & Date of Question	Helsinki, Finland 31 October 1997
Grammar's Response	When you compound subjects with and, you're going to end up with a plural verb, are in this case. You have to be careful, though, of those situations in which the and creates something that is really one: "Rice and beans is my favorite dish." But that's rare.

Question	Okay, in a list like this: basketball, hockey, or baseball Does the first comma mean "and" or does it mean "or"? Thanks.
Source & Date of Question	Princeton, Minnesota 1 November 1997
Grammar's Response	I hope I'm not being dense here, but if you asked me which I liked best--basketball, hockey, or baseball -- wouldn't you be surprised if I answered basketball and hockey? The "meaning" of that first comma is determined by the conjunction or (or and).

Question	I read the following sentence in the Washington Post. "None of the children was injured" Should'nt it be "None of the children were injured" and if not why? Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Bristow, Virginia 3 November 1997
Grammar's Response	The word "none," which is your subject here, can be either singular or plural, and you can't tell from the sentence you give us which would be preferred. If you meant none as "not one," then you would definitely want the singular verb "was," which the Post used. However, the word "none" can also be a plural word with a plural verb. Sometimes something else in the sentence will help you decide: None of them leave their seats during the film.

Question	Can I say: I am not a good skater. when can I use was, were + pp? is am are + pp? Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 4 November 1997
Grammar's Response	You can say "I am not a good skater" as long as you are not a good skater. I assume that p.p. means present participle, right? You use the present participle to describe an ongoing action. "I was running" means that at some point in the past the action was going on, as process: "I was running around Stanley Park this morning when it started to rain." With the present tense auxiliaries, it describes a process that is going on now: "I am failing Chemistry." It can also describe a process that will go on in the future: "This weekend I am biking to Seattle with my friends." (which would often be written as "going to bike" or "will bike")

Question	In a memo to the executive staff of a corporation should corporate's be capitalized or not. The sentence reads as follows: As a result of our last meeting, I have been asked to coordinate corporate's (or Corporate's) participation in the Technology '98 Forum to be held ..... thanks for your input.
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 5 November 1997
Grammar's Response	I can't imagine a situation in which you would use the word corporate that way. I think you could "coordinate the corporate participation" (using the word as an adjective and not capitalizing it), or you could say you are "coordinating the Corporation's participation," which is a different matter. Then you could capitalize Corporation as long it's clear that you are referring to a specific entity, which you've fully named earlier and which you often call "the Corporation."

Question	It seems to me it's very hard to learn English language. I'm have a lot of confusion in using the English languages, especially in grammar and using of words. How can i improve it? Can you kindly teach me a way and where i can learn the English. Thanks !
Source & Date of Question	Sarikei, Sarawak, Malaysia 31 October 1997
Grammar's Response	I think your best bet for consistent help in English as a Second Language is one of the home-pages that specializes in that. Try going to our college's ESL page and clicking on DAVE'S ESL CAFE. There are a lot of people there whose lifework is helping people learning English at that ESL level.

Question	My sixth grade class is studying plurals. We know that the plural of the rodent mouse is mice, but we do not know what the plural of the computer mouse would be. Can you please advise?
Source & Date of Question	Bridgeport, West Virginia 5 November 1997
Grammar's Response	The lexicon jury is still out on that one, I believe. Most dictionaries seem to avoid the question and give definitions of the single computer mouse. FOLDOC: The Free Online Dictionary of Computing uses the word "mice." I myself would prefer "mouses" to make the distinction between the computer device and the furry little rodents, but "mice" is probably the word you want.