The Grammar Logs -- Number Fifty-Nine

The
Grammar
Logs
# 59

Question Which is correct: 'Beer is made from hop.' or 'Beer is made of hop.'? Do they mean the same?
Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
16 January 1998
Grammar's
Response The phrase I'm familiar with is "made with hops" or "from hops." To say that something is "made of hop" would suggest that it is the main or only ingredient, which, of course, wouldn't be true since this ingredient from the hop plant is only one of many flavoring agents. Not that I ever touch the stuff myself.

Question Please explain the difference between proven and proved?
Source & Date
of Question Greenville, Texas
16 January 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't think there is any difference. Not so long ago, "proved" was definitely the preferred past participle, but "proven" is catching up rapidly. It might still be said that "proved" is preferred in formal or mathematical situations.
This comes from the online Merriam Webster's Dictionary:
Surveys made some 30 or 40 years ago indicated that proved was about four times as frequent as proven. But our evidence from the last 10 or 15 years shows this no longer to be the case. As a past participle proven is now about as frequent as proved in all contexts. As an attributive adjective proven is much more common than proved.

Question What is the difference between 'tired of ...' and 'tired from ...'?

'I am tired of running.' vs. 'I am tired from running.'
'I am tired of reading.' vs. 'I am tired from reading.'
'I am tired of you.' vs. 'I am tired from you.'
Are these all correct? Is there a difference in meaning? I have tried to look this up in the standard Webster dictionary with no success. Is there a dictionary or handbook that that is easy to use and has information on questions like this?
Source & Date
of Question California
17 January 1998
Grammar's
Response The difference between these two phrasal verbs is that being tired from something means that the activity has exhausted you, being tired of something means that you don't want to do it anymore because it bores you (at least for the time being). Usually, though, it's a physical activity, and I don't think we can say, "I'm tired from you," though we could say, "I'm tired from listening to you all night."
Go to our section on Phrasal Verbs where there is a link to Ruth Vilmi's material on such verbs. DAVE'S ESL CAFE should also have material on phrasal verbs; I know Dave has some quizzes on these verbs. You'd need a really good unabridged dictionary to keep track of them.

Question Please direct me to a listing of how to punctuate titles of various media, i.e. articles, books, etc., when mentioning them in a paper or listing them in a bibliography.
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Claymont, Delaware
17 January 1998
Grammar's
Response I take it you're asking about capitalization, right? Take a look at our Guide to Writing Research Papers, and if that doesn't help, get back to us.

Question
Source & Date
of Question U.S.A.
19 January 1998
Grammar's
Response

Question Can I say "make less and less mistakes" instead of "making fewer and fewer mistakes"?
Source & Date
of Question Victorial, British Columbia, Canada
19 January 1998
Grammar's
Response You could say it, but it would be wrong. Use _fewer_ when modifying something that is countable (like mistakes).

Question Is it possible to use an infinitive as an object of a preposition? If so, can you give me an example?
Source & Date
of Question Cherry Hill, New Jersey
19 January 1998
Grammar's
Response I could cheat and say that "the answer is IN To Kill a Mockingbird," but that's a real stretch. I've always told students that an infinitive or infinitive phrase can act as a noun and, therefore, can do anything that a noun can be, including being an object of a preposition. Now that you ask the question, however, I can't find a good sentence in which one works that way. What about "I am ABOUT to write a letter to my mom"? Nearly always, I think, the verbal form that follows a preposition is going to be a gerund. I'll keep looking, though.

Question Do we use a singular verb after the words like will , never , after , before and should ? Please clarify one by one . Thanks .
Source & Date
of Question Malaysia
20 January 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't know of any connection between those words and the choice of singular and plural verbs. Can you give us an example of when the question might arise?

Question I would like to know how to use the passive form. For example:

a) The price will increase because of the sluggish economy
b) The price will be increased because of the sluggish economy.
I would like to know which one is correct and how to use the passive form. Please answer for me.
Source & Date
of Question Seoul, Korea
20 January 1998
Grammar's
Response We use the passive form when we want to de-emphasize the actor in the sentence (for whatever reason) or when the actor is not particularly important in the first place. In your second sentence, for instance, we don't state who actually raises the price, just that it will be increased for certain reasons. That's fine, probably because we don't know or care who will raise the price, just that it will be raised. There's a brief section on passive construction in our digital handout on Verbs. I suggest you look at that, take the quizzes, and get back to us if you still have questions.

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Question	Please explain the difference between proven and proved?
Source & Date of Question	Greenville, Texas 16 January 1998
Grammar's Response	I don't think there is any difference. Not so long ago, "proved" was definitely the preferred past participle, but "proven" is catching up rapidly. It might still be said that "proved" is preferred in formal or mathematical situations. This comes from the online Merriam Webster's Dictionary: Surveys made some 30 or 40 years ago indicated that proved was about four times as frequent as proven. But our evidence from the last 10 or 15 years shows this no longer to be the case. As a past participle proven is now about as frequent as proved in all contexts. As an attributive adjective proven is much more common than proved.

Question	What is the difference between 'tired of ...' and 'tired from ...'? 'I am tired of running.' vs. 'I am tired from running.' 'I am tired of reading.' vs. 'I am tired from reading.' 'I am tired of you.' vs. 'I am tired from you.' Are these all correct? Is there a difference in meaning? I have tried to look this up in the standard Webster dictionary with no success. Is there a dictionary or handbook that that is easy to use and has information on questions like this?
Source & Date of Question	California 17 January 1998
Grammar's Response	The difference between these two phrasal verbs is that being tired from something means that the activity has exhausted you, being tired of something means that you don't want to do it anymore because it bores you (at least for the time being). Usually, though, it's a physical activity, and I don't think we can say, "I'm tired from you," though we could say, "I'm tired from listening to you all night." Go to our section on Phrasal Verbs where there is a link to Ruth Vilmi's material on such verbs. DAVE'S ESL CAFE should also have material on phrasal verbs; I know Dave has some quizzes on these verbs. You'd need a really good unabridged dictionary to keep track of them.

Question	Please direct me to a listing of how to punctuate titles of various media, i.e. articles, books, etc., when mentioning them in a paper or listing them in a bibliography. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Claymont, Delaware 17 January 1998
Grammar's Response	I take it you're asking about capitalization, right? Take a look at our Guide to Writing Research Papers, and if that doesn't help, get back to us.

Question
Source & Date of Question	U.S.A. 19 January 1998
Grammar's Response

Question	I would like to know how to use the passive form. For example: a) The price will increase because of the sluggish economy b) The price will be increased because of the sluggish economy. I would like to know which one is correct and how to use the passive form. Please answer for me.
Source & Date of Question	Seoul, Korea 20 January 1998
Grammar's Response	We use the passive form when we want to de-emphasize the actor in the sentence (for whatever reason) or when the actor is not particularly important in the first place. In your second sentence, for instance, we don't state who actually raises the price, just that it will be increased for certain reasons. That's fine, probably because we don't know or care who will raise the price, just that it will be raised. There's a brief section on passive construction in our digital handout on Verbs. I suggest you look at that, take the quizzes, and get back to us if you still have questions.

Question	Which is correct: 'Beer is made from hop.' or 'Beer is made of hop.'? Do they mean the same?
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 16 January 1998
Grammar's Response	The phrase I'm familiar with is "made with hops" or "from hops." To say that something is "made of hop" would suggest that it is the main or only ingredient, which, of course, wouldn't be true since this ingredient from the hop plant is only one of many flavoring agents. Not that I ever touch the stuff myself.

Question	Can I say "make less and less mistakes" instead of "making fewer and fewer mistakes"?
Source & Date of Question	Victorial, British Columbia, Canada 19 January 1998
Grammar's Response	You could say it, but it would be wrong. Use _fewer_ when modifying something that is countable (like mistakes).

Question	Is it possible to use an infinitive as an object of a preposition? If so, can you give me an example?
Source & Date of Question	Cherry Hill, New Jersey 19 January 1998
Grammar's Response	I could cheat and say that "the answer is IN To Kill a Mockingbird," but that's a real stretch. I've always told students that an infinitive or infinitive phrase can act as a noun and, therefore, can do anything that a noun can be, including being an object of a preposition. Now that you ask the question, however, I can't find a good sentence in which one works that way. What about "I am ABOUT to write a letter to my mom"? Nearly always, I think, the verbal form that follows a preposition is going to be a gerund. I'll keep looking, though.

Question	Do we use a singular verb after the words like will , never , after , before and should ? Please clarify one by one . Thanks .
Source & Date of Question	Malaysia 20 January 1998
Grammar's Response	I don't know of any connection between those words and the choice of singular and plural verbs. Can you give us an example of when the question might arise?