The Grammar Logs -- Number Forty-Four

The
Grammar
Logs
# 44

Question I'm wondering when I have to use the present perfect tense and the past tense. For example,

I have bought some chocolate.
I bought some chocolate.
I can't make it heads and tails of it.What's the difference between A and B? I can't make the choice..WHEN do I have to use the present perfect tense?
Source & Date
of Question Seoul, Korea
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response
In the examples you give us, there is not a lot of difference in the two tenses. The difference between the simple past and present perfect is that the present perfect, when the speaker stresses the auxiliary form of have, is a bit more insistent about the fact that the action has been accomplished at some prior time.
But I have done all my homework.
It can also be used to talk about something that began in the past and continues into the present:
I have lived in Connecticut for almost thirty years.

Question What is the difference between "a house", "an apartment", and"condominium"? What is the difference between "house" and "home"?
Source & Date
of Question Taichung, Taiwan
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response In the U.S., at least, a house is a structure that stands by itself, usually designed to be an individual's or family's residence. An apartment is usually a living unit within a much larger structure and is almost always rented, not owned, by the resident. A condominium is owned by the resident, but it's hard to say what form it will take, a stand-alone structure or something that looks more like an apartment.
A home can be any place where people live. So we can say, with equal accuracy, that my home is on Woodland Street and that Connecticut is my home. The idea of home, however, invariably carries with it strong emotional overtones: "Home is where the heart is," etc.

Question 'Can I borrow your book?'
Why put 'please' there?
I think that's 'Can I borrow your book, please?'
Please tell me why.
Source & Date
of Question Unknown
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response The word please, in its adverb form, is used as a function word to express politeness or emphasis in a request (according to WWWebster's online dictionary). As such, it can end up almost anywhere in the sentence. Personally, I like your ordering better.

Question What's the difference between amendment and change?
Source & Date
of Question Almeria, Spain
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response There isn't much difference. An amendment is a correction or an addition or deletion, usually to a document and usually accomplished by means of some constitutional or parliamentary process. Without that process, you're probably changing language, not amending it.

Question Question: When to capitalize "merry" with Christmas and "happy" w/ New Year. Example, when writing a letter and in the middle of a paragraph, which example is correct:

Best wishes to you and your wife and I hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Best wishes to you and your wife and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The argument was if you replace Happy New Year with bubbly New Year, bubbly would not be capitalized. So do we capitalize Happy or Merry when used with the traditional holiday greeting in the middle of a paragraph?
What if used in a paragraph that is printed in volume on a greeting card to be distributed globally.
Thanks for your help.
Source & Date
of Question Minster, Ohio
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response I'm trying to think of some analogy for this, but can't. My sense of it is that Merry and Happy have become such a traditional part of the greetings' phrasing that they're going to be capitalized mid-sentence, almost as if they're part of a quotation without the quotation marks ("though it's been said many times, many ways," etc.). I'm not just wishing someone a joyful New Year's, but Happy New Year's. It's as if the "Happy" has become part of it, in a way, say, that "bubbly" has not.
Is that good enough? I don't think you're going to find any written rules on this matter, and it's probably just as well.

Question
What type of sentence is the below:
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
In my office we are trying to remember our English but cannot come up with the right answer. We do not think it is a cliché, or is it?
Source & Date
of Question Denison, Texas
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response If you're talking about the sentence's structure, it's a compound sentence. You've combined two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Probably what you have in mind, though, is that this is an adage, or an apothegm, or an aphorism. Whether or not it's also a cliché depends on how boring it is. In formal prose, it's probably wise to avoid such expressions unless you're putting some kind of fresh spin on the rather hackneyed language.

Question My class wrote to you about a week ago, but you never wrote back. Our question was about how we put an apostrphe after Elvis. Would it be Elvis's or would it be Elvis'. Please reaspond.
Source & Date
of Question Bridgeport, West Virginia
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response I think I responded to you -- not only late, but with the answer to someone else's question! To form the possessive of Elvis, put an apostrophe s after the word: Elvis's legacy.

Question What about "none" -- is it singular or plural? And is "they" acceptable as either singular or plural these days?
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, Maryland
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response
None is both singular and plural. That is, it can be either. There may be clues in the sentence that tell you whether it should be singular or plural:
None have done THEIR report yet.
(where the their tells you to use the plural verb).
As for "they," we can say it's often accepted as a non-gender-specific singular pronoun, but that acceptance is by no means universal. Go to our section on pronoun usage and click on the two hyperlinks for further information on the history and future of the "singular they."

Question I would like a detailed answer on. what exactly is an abstract of a research paper? Is it an outline? How do I start to do this? My research paper is due on Monday Nov. 24, 1997. I am all finished except for the abstract, and the bibilography. How do I do the Bibilography? Also is it all the resources I used?
Source & Date
of Question Hoosick Falls, New York
23 November 1997
Grammar's
Response It's rather unusual to write an abstract for a paper being written in the MLA-style of documentation. The MLA Handbook doesn't speak to it. I would refer you to our apa-style Guide to Writing Research Papers which does address writing an abstract. Where you would put this abstract in an otherwise mla-style paper, though, is beyond me. Somewhere right after the title would be appropriate, I suppose.
For the bibliography, you'll create what's called a Works Cited page, and you'll list only those resources you've actually used. See our online mla-style Guide to Writing Research Papers for plenty of advice on creating the Works Cited page. If you're creating an annotated bibliography, that's a different animal, which is also described in the online Guide.
Good luck with your paper.

Question I am writing a research paper and I would like to know how to refer to an appendix within the paper. Do I simply place "See Appendix A" at the end of the sentence? Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Source & Date
of Question Nashville, Tennessee
13 November 1997
Grammar's
Response "For help with such matters, see appendix B." For some reason, you're not supposed to capitalize the names of sections of your paper when mentioning them within the text.

Previous Grammar Log
Next Grammar Log
Index of Grammar Logs
Guide to Grammar and Writing

Question	I'm wondering when I have to use the present perfect tense and the past tense. For example, I have bought some chocolate. I bought some chocolate. I can't make it heads and tails of it.What's the difference between A and B? I can't make the choice..WHEN do I have to use the present perfect tense?
Source & Date of Question	Seoul, Korea 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	In the examples you give us, there is not a lot of difference in the two tenses. The difference between the simple past and present perfect is that the present perfect, when the speaker stresses the auxiliary form of have, is a bit more insistent about the fact that the action has been accomplished at some prior time. But I have done all my homework. It can also be used to talk about something that began in the past and continues into the present: I have lived in Connecticut for almost thirty years.

Question	What is the difference between "a house", "an apartment", and"condominium"? What is the difference between "house" and "home"?
Source & Date of Question	Taichung, Taiwan 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	In the U.S., at least, a house is a structure that stands by itself, usually designed to be an individual's or family's residence. An apartment is usually a living unit within a much larger structure and is almost always rented, not owned, by the resident. A condominium is owned by the resident, but it's hard to say what form it will take, a stand-alone structure or something that looks more like an apartment. A home can be any place where people live. So we can say, with equal accuracy, that my home is on Woodland Street and that Connecticut is my home. The idea of home, however, invariably carries with it strong emotional overtones: "Home is where the heart is," etc.

Question	'Can I borrow your book?' Why put 'please' there? I think that's 'Can I borrow your book, please?' Please tell me why.
Source & Date of Question	Unknown 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	The word please, in its adverb form, is used as a function word to express politeness or emphasis in a request (according to WWWebster's online dictionary). As such, it can end up almost anywhere in the sentence. Personally, I like your ordering better.

Question	Question: When to capitalize "merry" with Christmas and "happy" w/ New Year. Example, when writing a letter and in the middle of a paragraph, which example is correct: Best wishes to you and your wife and I hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Best wishes to you and your wife and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The argument was if you replace Happy New Year with bubbly New Year, bubbly would not be capitalized. So do we capitalize Happy or Merry when used with the traditional holiday greeting in the middle of a paragraph? What if used in a paragraph that is printed in volume on a greeting card to be distributed globally. Thanks for your help.
Source & Date of Question	Minster, Ohio 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	I'm trying to think of some analogy for this, but can't. My sense of it is that Merry and Happy have become such a traditional part of the greetings' phrasing that they're going to be capitalized mid-sentence, almost as if they're part of a quotation without the quotation marks ("though it's been said many times, many ways," etc.). I'm not just wishing someone a joyful New Year's, but Happy New Year's. It's as if the "Happy" has become part of it, in a way, say, that "bubbly" has not. Is that good enough? I don't think you're going to find any written rules on this matter, and it's probably just as well.

Question	What type of sentence is the below: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." In my office we are trying to remember our English but cannot come up with the right answer. We do not think it is a cliché, or is it?
Source & Date of Question	Denison, Texas 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	If you're talking about the sentence's structure, it's a compound sentence. You've combined two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Probably what you have in mind, though, is that this is an adage, or an apothegm, or an aphorism. Whether or not it's also a cliché depends on how boring it is. In formal prose, it's probably wise to avoid such expressions unless you're putting some kind of fresh spin on the rather hackneyed language.

Question	What's the difference between amendment and change?
Source & Date of Question	Almeria, Spain 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	There isn't much difference. An amendment is a correction or an addition or deletion, usually to a document and usually accomplished by means of some constitutional or parliamentary process. Without that process, you're probably changing language, not amending it.

Question	My class wrote to you about a week ago, but you never wrote back. Our question was about how we put an apostrphe after Elvis. Would it be Elvis's or would it be Elvis'. Please reaspond.
Source & Date of Question	Bridgeport, West Virginia 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	I think I responded to you -- not only late, but with the answer to someone else's question! To form the possessive of Elvis, put an apostrophe s after the word: Elvis's legacy.

Question	What about "none" -- is it singular or plural? And is "they" acceptable as either singular or plural these days?
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere, Maryland 23 November 1997
Grammar's Response	None is both singular and plural. That is, it can be either. There may be clues in the sentence that tell you whether it should be singular or plural: None have done THEIR report yet. (where the their tells you to use the plural verb). As for "they," we can say it's often accepted as a non-gender-specific singular pronoun, but that acceptance is by no means universal. Go to our section on pronoun usage and click on the two hyperlinks for further information on the history and future of the "singular they."

Question	I am writing a research paper and I would like to know how to refer to an appendix within the paper. Do I simply place "See Appendix A" at the end of the sentence? Your help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you,
Source & Date of Question	Nashville, Tennessee 13 November 1997
Grammar's Response	"For help with such matters, see appendix B." For some reason, you're not supposed to capitalize the names of sections of your paper when mentioning them within the text.