The Grammar Logs -- Number Four

The
Grammar
Logs
# 4

Question A recent invitation to our prom read: Slip in to a Dream. I contend that that is incorrect and should have been: Slip into a Dream. I have been challenged on this. Please tell me who is correct. Gracias!
Source & Date
of Question Tampa, Florida
14 April 1997
Grammar's
Response Well, I'd just skip the prom if they're going to be that way. I agree with your contention. It should be Slip Into a Dream. The difference between in and into is one of movement. In indicates location or condition, whereas into indicates motion from one place to another or from one condition to another. She fell into the well in her back yard. You can slip into a coma, and then you're in a coma. There's a slang use of into, as well, as in "She's into grammar in a big way." Since your prom-folks are inviting you to go from one state of consciousness into another, the word should be into. Enjoy the prom!

Question What's the name of the verb tense in the sentence, "Beats me."
Source & Date
of Question Hillsboro, Oregon
15 April 1997
Grammar's
Response "Beats me," I hope, is a slang contraction of "It beats me," which is written in the simple present tense. (The simple present tense requires an -s ending for verbs when the subject is third-person singular -- he, she, it or anything those pronouns can stand for. So the -s ending on a verb is a sure giveaway that you're dealing with the present tense.)

Question
Is it correct to use apostrophes in phrases like: "the motor's operation", "the system's stability", and "the devices's properties" meaning "the operation of the motor", "the stability of the system", and "the properties of the device"? Is there any rule for it?
What is the difference in meaning between "operation conditions" and "operating conditions"?

Source & Date
of Question Czech Republic
16 April 1997
Grammar's
Response Those possessives are fine except for the devices's properties, for which you have an extra "s." (It should be the device's properties.) To create the possessive of a singular noun, add 's to the end of the noun. If the noun already ends in s, however, you will have to decide whether you want to add an 's or only an apostrophe. (Charles's book and Charles' book are both correct. I prefer Charles's book because that's how it sounds to me.) The "of" phrase to show possession is also correct. We are told to use it, especially, when "using the names of buildings and items of furniture and other objects," as in the roof of the hotel, the back of the desk.
Authority: Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook by Ann Raimes. Houghton Mifflin: New York. 1996.
As for your second question, I can't think of a situation where your first phrase would be preferred over the second. The word operating is clearly a participle modifying the word conditions, which is what I think you want here. In the first phrase, the relationship between the two words is not clear (at least it is not clear out of context); it might be a situation where you could use your possessive (the operation's conditions or the conditions of the operation).

Question How many spaces are there after a the end of sentence period and the next sentence? I am unable to find a definitive answer in the MLA Handbook fourth ed. Where will I be able to find documentation on this question?
Source & Date
of Question Riverside, California
16 April 1997
Grammar's
Response I think you're right: the MLA Handbook doesn't address the issue. The APA Publication Manual does recommend using only one space after end-marks of all kinds (as well as after colons and semicolons). It used to be two spaces, which is what creates the confusion. The reason for this change, I think, is that modern word-processing devices can sometimes create weird spacing if you double-space after end-marks. (This is particularly true if you use something other than straight flush-left margins.) If your spacing-thumb is used to putting in those two spaces after a period, you might have to hook yourself up to a car battery to jolt you every time you do it. After a month or so, the habit will be broken. Also, I would make an exception when you're using a mono-space font (such as Courier); the two spaces is aesthetically necessary in that case, I think.
Authority: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Assocation American Psychological Association. 4th ed. American Psychological Association: New York. 1994.

Question I have a son who is currently a pre-med junior in college and now is starting the long and tedious process of applying to medical schools. One of the requirements in this process is writing an autobiography. I promised I would help him with this and have been checking out the Internet hoping to find some help with setting this up, what to include, stuff like that, but as of yet haven't found anything to that nature. Could you possibly steer me in the right direction? Thank you for any help you could give me concerning this.
Source & Date
of Question Chicago, Illinois
16 April 1997
Grammar's
Response I wonder if a med school would be willing to share a model essay that does exactly what they're looking for? I would think your best bet is to not to try to do too much with this essay. Keep to a few salient facts that will provide the review committee some insights into why you want to go into medicine, why you have become the kind of person who should, in fact, go into medicine. You could spend a couple of sentences spouting off some facts -- lived in Oklahoma until I was four, shot me a bear . . . . but then quickly get to something that matters. I recommend, also, that you visit a couple of sites online that describe narrative and explorative essays: St. Cloud's Online Writing Center and Paradigm.
I hope your son becomes a rich doctor and supports you in the style to which you ought to become accustomed!

Question We are having a argument here. Which of the following is correct?

Welcome to the COPE Systems Web Page.
or
Welcome to the COPE Systems' Web Page.
Similarly which of these is correct?

Database transfer techniques utilizing COPE Systems proprietary Processing Data File, or PDF, are capable of :
or
Database transfer techniques utilizing COPE Systems' proprietary Processing Data File, or PDF, are capable of :
There are two very determined camps here sure that they are right. Please help.
Source & Date
of Question Tucson, Arizona
18 April 1997
Grammar's
Response As long as you've got that word the in front of Cope Systems Web Page, you're going to go without the apostrophe. I think the s is throwing you off. Try it with "Welcome to the Harvard University Web-Page!" See what I mean? Take out the the, and you'd say Welcome to Harvard University's Home-page.
In the other problem, the PDF clearly belongs to Cope Systems, so you want the apostrophe: COPE Systems' proprietary Processing Data File. (If you don't mean that this file belongs to COPE Systems, then you've got to find another way of saying this.)
Well, did our side win? If yes, my bill is in the mail.

Question Hello. In the following example --

He has a job.
Does he have a job?
How do I explain why "has" changes to "have" in the question form?
Teaching grammar is new for me and sometimes (often) I run into situations that I don't know how to explain! Finding your site was quite a relief. Thanks for your help. I'm sure we will be chatting again. Melinda ESL (adults) teacher.
Source & Date
of Question Calgary, Alberta
20 April 1997
Grammar's
Response The same thing would happen, of course, in a statement: He does have a job. In either case, the explanation, if you can call it that, is that the auxiliary does takes on the necessary verb-ending (-s, in this case) to indicate tense and the main verb reverts to the base form (as if the ending were no longer necessary?). The same thing would hold true with the future tense, wouldn't it? He will have a job.
Does this answer your question?

Question
Should I add "s" after a unit noun of more than one unit i.e. 20 dollars, 25 metres or 2 m or 2 ms, 2 cm (centimetre) or 2 cms ?
Which is correct? "by additional producing" or "by additionally producing"
Is this correct? "your being response" And what is the grammar rule applied for using "being" here?
In which situation I can use "Yours," at the end of a letter? And is it polite to use with an older person say senoir friend in work?
Thank you very much in advance for your being response.
Source & Date
of Question Pathumtanee, Thailand
20 April 1997
Grammar's
Response
It is appropriate to put an s (or es) at the end of a word that you have pluralized, but don't put an -s ending on an abbreviation. (45 km).
It is hard to imagine a context in which "additional producing" would make sense, but it might. Could you provide us with the context of this phrase? "Additional production," maybe?
"Your being response"?? No, this doesn't work. I'm trying to think what you might've heard or read that made you think that was the phrase being used, but I can't. "For your kind response," or something like that, would make sense. "Your being responsive" would mean that you're using "your" as a possessive and the "being" as a gerund (noun behaving as a noun) and "responsive" as a modifier. That would make sense, but it would be rather strange, still.
I'm no expert on etiquette, but I think "Yours" is a less formal way of saying "Yours truly," or "Sincerely yours," and should probably be used only in casual situations. "For a senior friend at work"? Well, that would depend on how friendly you are and on the work environment itself. With "Sincerely yours," you can't go wrong, although that would be rather stuffy in a truly casual situation.
Incidentally, you've just won the Turning Globe Award for questioner from furthest away!

Question
Sometimes in a text book or magazine, I saw the use of "'s" with a thing viz. "system's functions". Is it correct?
If I end a sentense with an abbreviation word with dot, do I still need another dot as the full stop i.e. "The distance is 20 k.m.."?
Also which one is correct "k.m." or "km" or "K.M.' or "KM" or "kM" or "k.M." for kilometre?
For a noun used as an adj in front of other noun, can I put "s" to indicate plural after the first noun? i.e. "ten kilograms stone"

Source & Date
of Question Pathumtanee, Thailand
20 April 1997
Grammar's
Response
The 's on system forms the possessive of system, and that's all right. The -s ending on function creates the plural of function, and that's all right too.
No. You don't need to add another period here to create the end-mark.
km is correct (without periods).
Yes, although it might be better to say "ten kilograms of stone," because you aren't really turning that noun into an adjective. (But if you abbreviate, it would read 10 kg stone.)

Question In a sentence with nouns in a series, do you place articles before each noun.
For example: He owns a farm, mansion, orchard, and estate.
If you don't have to, then what if the lead article does not agree with all the nouns that follow? For example: a farm, but an orchard.
Source & Date
of Question Bombay, India
21 April 1997
Grammar's
Response You're right! With only the article "a" at the beginning of this series, you've created a problem in parallel form. To avoid the problem of having an article modifying a word it shouldn't ("a orchard"), you'll have to use the appropriate article before each of the nouns. One of my handbooks puts it this way:
In addition to makng parallel elements gramatically similar, be careful to include any words -- prepositions, articles, verb forms, and so on -- that are necessary for clarity, grammar, or idiom.

Authority: The St. Martin's Handbook by Andrea Lunsford, Robert Connors. 2nd ed. St. Martin's Press: New York. 1992.

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Question	I have a son who is currently a pre-med junior in college and now is starting the long and tedious process of applying to medical schools. One of the requirements in this process is writing an autobiography. I promised I would help him with this and have been checking out the Internet hoping to find some help with setting this up, what to include, stuff like that, but as of yet haven't found anything to that nature. Could you possibly steer me in the right direction? Thank you for any help you could give me concerning this.
Source & Date of Question	Chicago, Illinois 16 April 1997
Grammar's Response	I wonder if a med school would be willing to share a model essay that does exactly what they're looking for? I would think your best bet is to not to try to do too much with this essay. Keep to a few salient facts that will provide the review committee some insights into why you want to go into medicine, why you have become the kind of person who should, in fact, go into medicine. You could spend a couple of sentences spouting off some facts -- lived in Oklahoma until I was four, shot me a bear . . . . but then quickly get to something that matters. I recommend, also, that you visit a couple of sites online that describe narrative and explorative essays: St. Cloud's Online Writing Center and Paradigm. I hope your son becomes a rich doctor and supports you in the style to which you ought to become accustomed!

Question	Should I add "s" after a unit noun of more than one unit i.e. 20 dollars, 25 metres or 2 m or 2 ms, 2 cm (centimetre) or 2 cms ? Which is correct? "by additional producing" or "by additionally producing" Is this correct? "your being response" And what is the grammar rule applied for using "being" here? In which situation I can use "Yours," at the end of a letter? And is it polite to use with an older person say senoir friend in work? Thank you very much in advance for your being response.
Source & Date of Question	Pathumtanee, Thailand 20 April 1997
Grammar's Response	It is appropriate to put an s (or es) at the end of a word that you have pluralized, but don't put an -s ending on an abbreviation. (45 km). It is hard to imagine a context in which "additional producing" would make sense, but it might. Could you provide us with the context of this phrase? "Additional production," maybe? "Your being response"?? No, this doesn't work. I'm trying to think what you might've heard or read that made you think that was the phrase being used, but I can't. "For your kind response," or something like that, would make sense. "Your being responsive" would mean that you're using "your" as a possessive and the "being" as a gerund (noun behaving as a noun) and "responsive" as a modifier. That would make sense, but it would be rather strange, still. I'm no expert on etiquette, but I think "Yours" is a less formal way of saying "Yours truly," or "Sincerely yours," and should probably be used only in casual situations. "For a senior friend at work"? Well, that would depend on how friendly you are and on the work environment itself. With "Sincerely yours," you can't go wrong, although that would be rather stuffy in a truly casual situation. Incidentally, you've just won the Turning Globe Award for questioner from furthest away!

Question	Sometimes in a text book or magazine, I saw the use of "'s" with a thing viz. "system's functions". Is it correct? If I end a sentense with an abbreviation word with dot, do I still need another dot as the full stop i.e. "The distance is 20 k.m.."? Also which one is correct "k.m." or "km" or "K.M.' or "KM" or "kM" or "k.M." for kilometre? For a noun used as an adj in front of other noun, can I put "s" to indicate plural after the first noun? i.e. "ten kilograms stone"
Source & Date of Question	Pathumtanee, Thailand 20 April 1997
Grammar's Response	The 's on system forms the possessive of system, and that's all right. The -s ending on function creates the plural of function, and that's all right too. No. You don't need to add another period here to create the end-mark. km is correct (without periods). Yes, although it might be better to say "ten kilograms of stone," because you aren't really turning that noun into an adjective. (But if you abbreviate, it would read 10 kg stone.)

Question	A recent invitation to our prom read: Slip in to a Dream. I contend that that is incorrect and should have been: Slip into a Dream. I have been challenged on this. Please tell me who is correct. Gracias!
Source & Date of Question	Tampa, Florida 14 April 1997
Grammar's Response	Well, I'd just skip the prom if they're going to be that way. I agree with your contention. It should be Slip Into a Dream. The difference between in and into is one of movement. In indicates location or condition, whereas into indicates motion from one place to another or from one condition to another. She fell into the well in her back yard. You can slip into a coma, and then you're in a coma. There's a slang use of into, as well, as in "She's into grammar in a big way." Since your prom-folks are inviting you to go from one state of consciousness into another, the word should be into. Enjoy the prom!

Question	What's the name of the verb tense in the sentence, "Beats me."
Source & Date of Question	Hillsboro, Oregon 15 April 1997
Grammar's Response	"Beats me," I hope, is a slang contraction of "It beats me," which is written in the simple present tense. (The simple present tense requires an -s ending for verbs when the subject is third-person singular -- he, she, it or anything those pronouns can stand for. So the -s ending on a verb is a sure giveaway that you're dealing with the present tense.)