The Grammar Logs -- Number Forty

The
Grammar
Logs
# 40

Question
Subjunctive Mood: When using the subjunctive mood to express wish, desire, remoteness, do you not employ the plural form of the verb whether the subject is singular or plural?
Example: If I were President, I would pressure Congress to eliminate gangster rap music through an amendent to the first amendent.

Source & Date
of Question Colorado Spring, Colorado
7 November 1997
Grammar's
Response Congratulations! You have asked the 400th Question to ASK GRAMMAR! Your prize is the entire Library of Congress! The next time you're in Washington, D.C., just pull up a truck to the back door of the LOC and tell them Grammar English sent you to pick up your books.
And as far as the subjunctive mood is concerned, you're right. There's a bit more to it, which you can discover at our Definition of "mood".

Question English is not one of my best subjects, but I try. If you could tell me if such words as I, my, us, we, those,that, and things are appropriate in writing a book report. I would be very grateful for your answer.
Source & Date
of Question Corunna, Ontario, Canada
10 November 1997
Grammar's
Response I'm guessing that your question comes up because someone might have said you should avoid the personal pronoun "I" in formal essays. That restriction is going to vary considerably from school to school, from instructor to instructor. Your essay might, in fact, sound more objective and carry more weight if you avoid the personal pronoun and stick to "the reader" or "we" or avoid that frame of reference altogether and just talk about what's going on in the book. That is, instead of saying, "I think the character of the old man in Hemingway's last novel . . . .", we would just say something about the character of the old man.
On the other hand, such detachment can start to sound fussy and stuffy after a while, and the personal pronouns, in fact, can lend an air of commitment, of "owning" what you're saying. It's a really good idea to talk this over with your instructor before committing yourself one way or the other.
As for those, that, and things, I think it might be kind of hard to write anything without the first two, but the word "things" might wear on the reader a bit. Can you come up with something more specific?

Question Am tutoring a Learning Disabled College student. He has written a rough draft and submitted it. The first sentence was written as: "Hills Like White Elephants", a short story by Ernest Hemingway, touches on an age-old issue: problems communicating in a relationship.
The professor struck the comma after the quotation marks and inserted it before the quotation marks: "Hills Like White Elephants," a short story...
Is this correct? I have been out of school for 26 years and am not up on things. Help if you can.
Source & Date
of Question Mt. Vernon, Illinois
10 November 1997
Grammar's
Response Yes, the practice in the United States is to put the comma (or the period) within the quotation marks, whether it makes sense or not to do so. I guess that makes it easy to remember, doesn't it?

Question Melissa must have worked there at some time or another.
In the above sentence what type of speech (adv. pro. adj. prep. .....) is the word "there". Please include an explanation with your response.
P.S. I am a grade ten student and this was a test question ( I received 93 %) on a recent grammar test. I indicated that it is a pronoun as "there" represents the place, which is a noun, that Melissa worked at. As I will be showing this to my teacher to attempt to convince her that I am correct, please , if it is not a problem, state your qualifications to be used as an expert source on the subject and state the URL of this site in your response to me.
Source & Date
of Question Toronto, Ontario, Canada
11 November 1997
Grammar's
Response You've got a nicely reasoned position there, Marc, but unfortunately, "there" is being used an adverb in that sentence: it tells where Melissa must have worked (modifies the verb). Sorry I can't help you boost that 93% any higher. (Ph.D. in English, taught writing for 28 years -- ok?)

Question Do Conjunctive adverbs always answer the question why? In my grammar book it gives many examples of conjunctive adverbs such as however, therefore and consequently,
The example is:
The candidate's plane was delayed in Oklahoma; therefore, his speech had to be postponed. All the other examples answer the question why as well.
Another question:
Are there any other non action verbs other than the forms of "be"?
Thank you for all your help.
Source & Date
of Question Flagstaff, Arizona
11 November 1997
Grammar's
Response It may seen that way sometimes, but, no, conjunctive adverbs serve many different functions. Visit our web-page on "Coherence" for an extensive list of these devices and their various uses.
There are several linking, non-action-type verbs. The verbs connected with senses are often in this category: I feel lousy. This cabbage stinks. This dress doesn't look so hot.

Question I am looking for a guide to the correct use of type case in the printed word. There are so many people writing their entire document entirely in upper case (all capital letters) and I say it is incorrect and very difficult to read. Is there an actual authority on the matter?
Source & Date
of Question South Dakota
11 November 1997
Grammar's
Response Yeah, me. Writing in ALL CAPS is just plain obnoxious. It's like someone screaming all the time, and, yes, it is more difficult to read. Who wants his or her document to look like a damn telegram? Seek no further. (You'll probably have a hard time finding an authority in a book, say, writing on this matter; it's just too stupid.)

Question What is an appositive and what is a subjective compliment (forms of nouns?) ??
Source & Date
of Question Fairfield, Connecticut
11 November 1997
Grammar's
Response An appositive is a re-naming of something earlier in the sentence. In the sentence, "My brother, an engineer in the Navy, has recently retired." the phrase "an engineer in the Navy" is acting as an appositive to "my brother" in the sense that it re-names him.
I think you mean a "subject complement" (a subjective complement would be something like "I think you're a good kid," but I can't prove it). A "subject complement" follows a linking verb and modifies or refers to the subject (on the other side of the verb).
He is a great teacher
"A great teacher" is the subject complement of "he," in this case. It could also be called a predicate noun. If I'd said, "He is great," the word "great" would also be a subject complement, but it could be called a predicate adjective. Is that confusing enough?

Question What is the difference between "based on" and "on the basis of"?
For example, Based on your observations, describe the five steps of meiosis. OR Based on the fact that the dominant trait reappears in future generations, he formulated the law of dominance.
My revisor says it should be "On the basis of" in both cases, but cannot explain why.
Please clarify. Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Montreal, Quebec, Canada
13 November 1997
Grammar's
Response In terms of meaning, there probably is no difference, but the phrase "based on" creates a dangling participle that wants to modify the subject of your sentence, the understood "you" of the first example or the "he" of the second. So it looks as though either subject is "based on" something, which is not what you mean. The revision is better.
What's a revisor, and where do you buy them?

Question I'm always confused about the word "hopefully." Seems I use it in the wrong place. Any tips?
Source & Date
of Question Gold Beach, Oregon
13 November 1997
Grammar's
Response Some people argue that in a sentence such as "Hopefully the plane will leave by noon" that the adverb says the plane will leave filled with hope. They're probably being silly. Lots of people get excited about this word, though, and, for that reason, you might consider avoiding it in contexts where other people's opinion is terribly important to you (memos to the boss, etc.). The online WWWebster's Dictionary has this to say (see below) about the use of "hopefully."
it is hoped : I hope : we hope
usage In the early 1960s the second sense of hopefully, which had been in sporadic use since around 1932, underwent a surge of popular use. A surge of popular criticism followed in reaction, but the criticism took no account of the grammar of adverbs. Hopefully in its second sense is a member of a class of adverbs known as disjuncts. Disjuncts serve as a means by which the author or speaker can comment directly to the reader or hearer usually on the content of the sentence to which they are attached. Many other adverbs (as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, unfortunately) are similarly used; most are so ordinary as to excite no comment or interest whatsoever. The second sense of hopefully is entirely standard.

Question What is the proper form for addressing a married couple who are both doctors? For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but both are MD's. What if both are Ph.D's? Please enlighten me. Thanks!
Source & Date
of Question Gaithersberg, Maryland
13 November 1997
Grammar's
Response You could write Drs. Jones, but I would reserve that for physicians or psychiatrists or veterinarians. As for Ph.D., depending on what kind of Ph.D. they are, I'd probably use Mr. and Mrs. Jones or, if it's appropriate, Professors Jones.
Frankly, it's going to sound better if you can come up with some first names here: Professor Charlie M. Jones & Professor Carla Obdullah Jones.

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Question	Subjunctive Mood: When using the subjunctive mood to express wish, desire, remoteness, do you not employ the plural form of the verb whether the subject is singular or plural? Example: If I were President, I would pressure Congress to eliminate gangster rap music through an amendent to the first amendent.
Source & Date of Question	Colorado Spring, Colorado 7 November 1997
Grammar's Response	Congratulations! You have asked the 400th Question to ASK GRAMMAR! Your prize is the entire Library of Congress! The next time you're in Washington, D.C., just pull up a truck to the back door of the LOC and tell them Grammar English sent you to pick up your books. And as far as the subjunctive mood is concerned, you're right. There's a bit more to it, which you can discover at our Definition of "mood".

Question	Am tutoring a Learning Disabled College student. He has written a rough draft and submitted it. The first sentence was written as: "Hills Like White Elephants", a short story by Ernest Hemingway, touches on an age-old issue: problems communicating in a relationship. The professor struck the comma after the quotation marks and inserted it before the quotation marks: "Hills Like White Elephants," a short story... Is this correct? I have been out of school for 26 years and am not up on things. Help if you can.
Source & Date of Question	Mt. Vernon, Illinois 10 November 1997
Grammar's Response	Yes, the practice in the United States is to put the comma (or the period) within the quotation marks, whether it makes sense or not to do so. I guess that makes it easy to remember, doesn't it?

Question	Melissa must have worked there at some time or another. In the above sentence what type of speech (adv. pro. adj. prep. .....) is the word "there". Please include an explanation with your response. P.S. I am a grade ten student and this was a test question ( I received 93 %) on a recent grammar test. I indicated that it is a pronoun as "there" represents the place, which is a noun, that Melissa worked at. As I will be showing this to my teacher to attempt to convince her that I am correct, please , if it is not a problem, state your qualifications to be used as an expert source on the subject and state the URL of this site in your response to me.
Source & Date of Question	Toronto, Ontario, Canada 11 November 1997
Grammar's Response	You've got a nicely reasoned position there, Marc, but unfortunately, "there" is being used an adverb in that sentence: it tells where Melissa must have worked (modifies the verb). Sorry I can't help you boost that 93% any higher. (Ph.D. in English, taught writing for 28 years -- ok?)

Question	Do Conjunctive adverbs always answer the question why? In my grammar book it gives many examples of conjunctive adverbs such as however, therefore and consequently, The example is: The candidate's plane was delayed in Oklahoma; therefore, his speech had to be postponed. All the other examples answer the question why as well. Another question: Are there any other non action verbs other than the forms of "be"? Thank you for all your help.
Source & Date of Question	Flagstaff, Arizona 11 November 1997
Grammar's Response	It may seen that way sometimes, but, no, conjunctive adverbs serve many different functions. Visit our web-page on "Coherence" for an extensive list of these devices and their various uses. There are several linking, non-action-type verbs. The verbs connected with senses are often in this category: I feel lousy. This cabbage stinks. This dress doesn't look so hot.

Question	What is the difference between "based on" and "on the basis of"? For example, Based on your observations, describe the five steps of meiosis. OR Based on the fact that the dominant trait reappears in future generations, he formulated the law of dominance. My revisor says it should be "On the basis of" in both cases, but cannot explain why. Please clarify. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Montreal, Quebec, Canada 13 November 1997
Grammar's Response	In terms of meaning, there probably is no difference, but the phrase "based on" creates a dangling participle that wants to modify the subject of your sentence, the understood "you" of the first example or the "he" of the second. So it looks as though either subject is "based on" something, which is not what you mean. The revision is better. What's a revisor, and where do you buy them?

Question	I am looking for a guide to the correct use of type case in the printed word. There are so many people writing their entire document entirely in upper case (all capital letters) and I say it is incorrect and very difficult to read. Is there an actual authority on the matter?
Source & Date of Question	South Dakota 11 November 1997
Grammar's Response	Yeah, me. Writing in ALL CAPS is just plain obnoxious. It's like someone screaming all the time, and, yes, it is more difficult to read. Who wants his or her document to look like a damn telegram? Seek no further. (You'll probably have a hard time finding an authority in a book, say, writing on this matter; it's just too stupid.)

Question	I'm always confused about the word "hopefully." Seems I use it in the wrong place. Any tips?
Source & Date of Question	Gold Beach, Oregon 13 November 1997
Grammar's Response	Some people argue that in a sentence such as "Hopefully the plane will leave by noon" that the adverb says the plane will leave filled with hope. They're probably being silly. Lots of people get excited about this word, though, and, for that reason, you might consider avoiding it in contexts where other people's opinion is terribly important to you (memos to the boss, etc.). The online WWWebster's Dictionary has this to say (see below) about the use of "hopefully." it is hoped : I hope : we hope usage In the early 1960s the second sense of hopefully, which had been in sporadic use since around 1932, underwent a surge of popular use. A surge of popular criticism followed in reaction, but the criticism took no account of the grammar of adverbs. Hopefully in its second sense is a member of a class of adverbs known as disjuncts. Disjuncts serve as a means by which the author or speaker can comment directly to the reader or hearer usually on the content of the sentence to which they are attached. Many other adverbs (as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, unfortunately) are similarly used; most are so ordinary as to excite no comment or interest whatsoever. The second sense of hopefully is entirely standard.

Question	What is the proper form for addressing a married couple who are both doctors? For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but both are MD's. What if both are Ph.D's? Please enlighten me. Thanks!
Source & Date of Question	Gaithersberg, Maryland 13 November 1997
Grammar's Response	You could write Drs. Jones, but I would reserve that for physicians or psychiatrists or veterinarians. As for Ph.D., depending on what kind of Ph.D. they are, I'd probably use Mr. and Mrs. Jones or, if it's appropriate, Professors Jones. Frankly, it's going to sound better if you can come up with some first names here: Professor Charlie M. Jones & Professor Carla Obdullah Jones.