The Grammar Logs -- Number Fifty-Five

The
Grammar
Logs
# 55

Question Q1: Which sentence is more correct:
S1: 'Welcome to our home.'
S2: 'Welcome in our home.'

Q2: Can I use 'Who' and 'Whose' to refer to things (as opposed to persons)? For example, is the following expression correct?
'The house whose gate is open ...'
Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
2 January 1998
Grammar's
Response As a greeting, it would be a little unusual to say "Welcome in our home!" But there would be nothing wrong with saying "You are welcome in our home." "To" is the preposition of choice here.
Yes, "whose" can refer to things as well as people, although "who" cannot.

Question Rules of capitalization?

Northern Michigan
northern Michigan
Which is correct?
Source & Date
of Question Phoenix, Arizona
5 January 1998
Grammar's
Response If Northern Michigan were an identifiable geographical sector so named (i.e., the kind of area you would find labeled on a map), you would capitalize the "n" of "Northern." However, I suspect that it's just an adjective modifying Michigan, so it wouldn't be capitalized. You should write that "these hardy people settled in northern Michigan."

Question Is the following sentence correct?
The downward revision of the economic growth rate was mainly due to recession in foreign trade sector as well as sluggishness in domestic investment caused partially by the tense and unstable relationship between two countries.
Are "and " and "as well as" completely substituted in usage of conjunction?
Source & Date
of Question Taipei, Taiwan
5 January 1998
Grammar's
Response Yes, the "as well as" can substitute nicely for "and" in that sentence (as it often does elsewhere). I would have put a the in front of "foreign trade sector," but, other than that, the sentence looks fine to me.

Question Which form is correct?
'take a plunge' or 'take the plunge'
(meaning to do something risky or to get married)? Why?
Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
5 January 1998
Grammar's
Response I doubt if anyone knows why this particular idiom, "to take the plunge" -- which means, of course, to make a commitment to a particular course of action -- uses the definite article instead of the indefinite article, but it does. I guess that means it would be inappropriate to use "take the plunge" when the definite article would be inappropriate (i.e., you'd have to be talking about a defineable course of action). But, again, I certainly don't know why the expression came to be used or constructed the way it is, and I don't have immediate access to the kinds of reference materials that would have the answer.

Question When is it proper to put a period inside quotation marks at the end of a sentance and when should the period be put outside the quotation marks?
Source & Date
of Question Madison, Wisconsin
5 January 1998
Grammar's
Response In the United States, it is customary to put commas and periods inside quotation marks, regardless of logic. (In British systems, you would allow logic to determine whether the mark goes inside or outside the quotation mark.)
Go to our section on punctuation marks (other than the comma) and see if that helps. If it doesn't, please write back.

Question We are studying nouns in homeschool. Are any of the words in the following sentence nouns (ideas or places?):
The opposite of above is below.
Thank you very much.
Source & Date
of Question Florence, Alabama
5 January 1998
Grammar's
Response There are three nouns in that sentence: opposite, above, and below. I suppose you could say that "opposite" is an idea, but it's harder to characterize "above" and "below." They're not things in that sentence (as they would be, say, in "See the above."), and I they're more than places; in fact, I think they're ideas, again, in the same sense that heaven and hell are opposite places and ideas. At any rate, they're clearly nouns, "above" serving as the object of a preposition and "below" serving as the predicate nominative.

Question My sister is always using past perfect when she speaks to me about things she's done in the past. It's becoming annoying, and I think using simple past will have a better effect. Could you please shed some light on the subject?
Source & Date
of Question Dunmore, Pennsylvania
5 January 1998
Grammar's
Response Without examples, it's hard to imagine someone falling so in love with the past perfect that she would abandon the simple past altogether. If the simpler verb forms do the trick, use the simpler verb forms. As a general rule, whatever is more efficient is more elegant. Surely there are moments when the past perfect is absolutely necessary; it wasn't invented for the pure fun of it. But if the simple past works, use it. (This is especially true, I know, in poetry.)

Question Which sentence is correct?
'He was in hospital.',
'He was in the hospital.' or
'He was in a hospital'?
Why?
Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
6 January 1998
Grammar's
Response The first version is incorrect, but the second two are fine. Although we're dealing with little words here, this is too big a topic to cover here. Let me recommend that you go to our digital handout on articles and try those hyperlinks to Purdue University and the University of Toronto. I hope you find the answer to your questions about articles there. It's amazing how complex an issue it is.

Question I need to teach the standard format for a bibliography and footnotes to Grade 9-11 students for their use when writing research essays.
Can you help me, please?
Source & Date
of Question Chase, British Columbia, Canada
6 January 1998
Grammar's
Response Forget footnotes. Teach them parenthetical citations, mla-style. Go to our college's Guide to Writing Research Papers. It's about the best you'll find online, I think.

Question Hi!!! Having a debate over here regarding "ize" words -- such as formalize, customize, privatize, etc. Heard it was poor grammar to use such words. What's your take?
Source & Date
of Question Manhasset, New York
6 January 1998
Grammar's
Response Many writers think that the use of the suffix -ize to create new verbs -- such as privatize, marginalize -- has gone too far. (Of course, once the verbs are created, they breed and their horrid children, marginalization and privatization, take over the earth.) I don't know a better word for customize or popularize (make popular?), but perhaps we have run a bit amok the last twenty years or so with our -ize words. This is what the New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage has to say: "[t]he device has been sorely overworked, perhaps because those who use it think a longer word seems more important. Finalize, for example, is merely an ostentatious way to say "decide" or "settle" or "finish."
Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994.

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Question	Q1: Which sentence is more correct: S1: 'Welcome to our home.' S2: 'Welcome in our home.' Q2: Can I use 'Who' and 'Whose' to refer to things (as opposed to persons)? For example, is the following expression correct? 'The house whose gate is open ...'
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 2 January 1998
Grammar's Response	As a greeting, it would be a little unusual to say "Welcome in our home!" But there would be nothing wrong with saying "You are welcome in our home." "To" is the preposition of choice here. Yes, "whose" can refer to things as well as people, although "who" cannot.

Question	Rules of capitalization? Northern Michigan northern Michigan Which is correct?
Source & Date of Question	Phoenix, Arizona 5 January 1998
Grammar's Response	If Northern Michigan were an identifiable geographical sector so named (i.e., the kind of area you would find labeled on a map), you would capitalize the "n" of "Northern." However, I suspect that it's just an adjective modifying Michigan, so it wouldn't be capitalized. You should write that "these hardy people settled in northern Michigan."

Question	Is the following sentence correct? The downward revision of the economic growth rate was mainly due to recession in foreign trade sector as well as sluggishness in domestic investment caused partially by the tense and unstable relationship between two countries. Are "and " and "as well as" completely substituted in usage of conjunction?
Source & Date of Question	Taipei, Taiwan 5 January 1998
Grammar's Response	Yes, the "as well as" can substitute nicely for "and" in that sentence (as it often does elsewhere). I would have put a the in front of "foreign trade sector," but, other than that, the sentence looks fine to me.

Question	Which form is correct? 'take a plunge' or 'take the plunge' (meaning to do something risky or to get married)? Why?
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 5 January 1998
Grammar's Response	I doubt if anyone knows why this particular idiom, "to take the plunge" -- which means, of course, to make a commitment to a particular course of action -- uses the definite article instead of the indefinite article, but it does. I guess that means it would be inappropriate to use "take the plunge" when the definite article would be inappropriate (i.e., you'd have to be talking about a defineable course of action). But, again, I certainly don't know why the expression came to be used or constructed the way it is, and I don't have immediate access to the kinds of reference materials that would have the answer.

Question	When is it proper to put a period inside quotation marks at the end of a sentance and when should the period be put outside the quotation marks?
Source & Date of Question	Madison, Wisconsin 5 January 1998
Grammar's Response	In the United States, it is customary to put commas and periods inside quotation marks, regardless of logic. (In British systems, you would allow logic to determine whether the mark goes inside or outside the quotation mark.) Go to our section on punctuation marks (other than the comma) and see if that helps. If it doesn't, please write back.

Question	We are studying nouns in homeschool. Are any of the words in the following sentence nouns (ideas or places?): The opposite of above is below. Thank you very much.
Source & Date of Question	Florence, Alabama 5 January 1998
Grammar's Response	There are three nouns in that sentence: opposite, above, and below. I suppose you could say that "opposite" is an idea, but it's harder to characterize "above" and "below." They're not things in that sentence (as they would be, say, in "See the above."), and I they're more than places; in fact, I think they're ideas, again, in the same sense that heaven and hell are opposite places and ideas. At any rate, they're clearly nouns, "above" serving as the object of a preposition and "below" serving as the predicate nominative.

Question	My sister is always using past perfect when she speaks to me about things she's done in the past. It's becoming annoying, and I think using simple past will have a better effect. Could you please shed some light on the subject?
Source & Date of Question	Dunmore, Pennsylvania 5 January 1998
Grammar's Response	Without examples, it's hard to imagine someone falling so in love with the past perfect that she would abandon the simple past altogether. If the simpler verb forms do the trick, use the simpler verb forms. As a general rule, whatever is more efficient is more elegant. Surely there are moments when the past perfect is absolutely necessary; it wasn't invented for the pure fun of it. But if the simple past works, use it. (This is especially true, I know, in poetry.)

Question	Which sentence is correct? 'He was in hospital.', 'He was in the hospital.' or 'He was in a hospital'? Why?
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 6 January 1998
Grammar's Response	The first version is incorrect, but the second two are fine. Although we're dealing with little words here, this is too big a topic to cover here. Let me recommend that you go to our digital handout on articles and try those hyperlinks to Purdue University and the University of Toronto. I hope you find the answer to your questions about articles there. It's amazing how complex an issue it is.

Question	I need to teach the standard format for a bibliography and footnotes to Grade 9-11 students for their use when writing research essays. Can you help me, please?
Source & Date of Question	Chase, British Columbia, Canada 6 January 1998
Grammar's Response	Forget footnotes. Teach them parenthetical citations, mla-style. Go to our college's Guide to Writing Research Papers. It's about the best you'll find online, I think.