The Grammar Logs -- Number Sixty-Seven

The
Grammar
Logs
# 67

Question Besides "honesty", does the word "integrity" include the connotation of "pride" and "dignity"?
Source & Date
of Question Singapore
8 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I suppose integrity might connote dignity in the sense that there is dignity in being incorruptible. "Pride"? Connotations vary, of course, from context to context, but since pride is such an ambiguous notion in the first place, that's probably stretching it.

Question During my stay in Taiwan I have found the following construction:
... looking forward to seeing you ...
as opposed to:
... looking forward to see you ...

Should we use always and infinitive after "to", or in which circumstances are we allowed to use a gerund after "to" ?.

Many thanks in advance.
Source & Date
of Question Taiwan
8 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I think most writers would use the gerund in that sentence: "I am looking forward to seeing you." It is the occasion, the seeing, that one is looking forward to. The infinitive form sounds very clumsy there. We would say "I hope/want/would like to see you." The infinitive form, understand, does not really come after the preposition "to"; it is the word to plus the root of the verb. So we can't really say anything about the infinitive coming after the word "to." I hope that makes sense to you. You might check out our new Garden of Phrases.

Question NOUNS: Could you please check if these nouns are under the correct group of nouns:1) liberty, friendship, jealousy,adversity: ABSTRACT NOUNS. 2) problem, letter,toy,debate,friend : CONCRETE NOUNS. If they are under the correct group name, is it possible for there to be a noun that is concrete and abstract(that if I named the group correctly)?If so, could you give me an example ?
Source & Date
of Question Grado, Italy
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response This is weird because someone asked me practically the identical question about a week ago. Yes, those look properly grouped to me. My response to the second part of your question, unfortunately, remains the same. I can't think of a noun that can be both concrete and abstract, but I'm sure there must be some, depending on context. For me, this distinction is not the most useful categorization of nouns. Isn't the reason for identifying abstract nouns the fact that we use them without a determiner: "Justice was absent in this classroom." But if that noun appears with a determiner, it's no longer abstract: "Where is the justice in this decision?" Does that count?

Question This time I have a very simple question which is being argued between myself and my friend.
It is related to department description and job title. Normally we say "Marketing Manager" or "Human Resources Department", of which I believe the noun "Marketing" and "Human Resouces" act as the adjective to describe the role of that person/department.
However, recently I encountered some "Administrative Department" or "Administrative Officer" which makes me uncomfortable. I think in this case the department itself or officer himself/herself becomes administrative rather than its/his role.
Could you shed some light on this for me?
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I'm afraid of questions like this; they're more philological than grammatical. You are your function, you are what you do, etc.? If you changed "administrative" to "administering," would the participle modify the role (not the person) as "Human Resources" seems to? If "the department itself or officer himself/herself becomes administrative," doesn't that mean that it or he/she becomes administrative in role, also? Perhaps it's too early of a Monday morning, but the distinction is not clear to me, nor is the usefulness of the distinction. Maybe I have become my role?

Question Hi, Grammar,
My first question today is the proper use of "You'd better". I am wondering whether 'You'd better' is a polite expression when giving advice. For example, when someone asks, "What do you think I should do?", is it more polite to say "You'd better give it up?" or "You should give it up." Or is either of them polite? If not, what should be a proper reply?
My second question is whether we can use a personal pronoun before a noun modified by an atributive clause. For example, is it right to say "Could you show me your book you bought yesterday? " In this sentence"...the book you bought..." of course is the normal use, I am wondering whether 'your' can be used to replace 'the'.
I came across a sentence in our text-book today which is contrary to what many grammar books state: " Miss Nightingale herself worked harder than anybody." As far as I understand, the ending word should be 'anybody else' instead of 'anybody', because she was not excluded in the people. Is my understanding right? Or is there any other usage for such kind of situation?
Thank you very much for your time.
Source & Date
of Question Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Well, "You should give it up" is somewhat more polite, but, in either case, a friend might be better served if you suggested an option instead: "You should (or "might") try something something else."? "You should give it up" should be used only if your friendly and well-meaning intent is very clear.
It would be inappropriate to use "your book" in that construction. The "you" of the sentence didn't buy "your book"; he/she bought "the book." (It only became "your book" afterwards.) You could say something like "Could you show me your book, the one you bought yesterday?" but that's another question, isn't it?
Your instincts about "anybody else" are quite right, although many people will casually leave out the "else."

Question When does one use "different from" versus "different than"
Source & Date
of Question Dallas, Texas
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Things are almost always different from something else. However, if "different from" leads to something horribly wordy, different than might be an accepable alternative: "I'm a different person now than I used to be" is preferable to "I'm a different person now from the person I used to be." Note that an entire clause follows the "different than" construction.
Authority: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Question I am compiling a list of donors for publication (printed and on a donor plaque.) Is is okay to use an apersand instead of the word AND in the list? We are trying to conserve space, but still want to be correct. What are the rules about using apersands in general, and more specifically, in lists such as mine?
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Baltimore, Marylyand
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I assume you're using it to connect spouses' or siblings' names, as in Arthur & Karen Grasso? I can't find anything that forbids it (except within the flow of normal text, where it's simply a lazy device). I have read that when writing out the title of an old book, you should change ampersands (note spelling!) to "and." But as long as it's clear that you're using it as a typographical device to conserve space & lettering and especially if you're using an elegant script, an ampersand would look very nice, indeed, and I can't imagine anyone objecting. (I've also seen the word "and" written in a tilted way in such a list, which amounts to very much the same thing as far as I'm concerned.) This might be more of an issue for Ask Ann Landers than it is for Ask Grammar English, however.

Question Two grammar questions that/which have been bothering me. If one was/were to know the answer that/which I seek, and it was/were up to me, I'd use 'that was'. There are certain occasions, not necessarily the above, when those words' uses confuse me and it would be very satisfying to know the answer.
That/which was/were
Thank you very much.
Source & Date
of Question Easton, Massachusetts
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response You want to use "that" to introduce those clauses. See our section on "that versus which" in the Notorious Confusables; that should help. For your verb choices, however, you want the subjunctive form, "were," to express desires or wishes, especially when the clause begins with if. See our section on the subjunctive.

Question When speaking about an individual who actually (not hypothetically) managed an account, the following sentence was used in an anecdote:
"I asked him if he were happy with his performance."
Is it correct to use "was" instead of "were" since the question requests how this person actually felt, not how he would have felt if a certain condition existed?
Source & Date
of Question New York, New York
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I think you're right. (I hope this response doesn't confuse the writer immediately above.) When the "if clause" refers to a condition presumed to exist, we should use the common indicative, not the subjunctive mood.
Authority: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Question I'm curious about the phrase "How Come." Is it proper, grammatically, to ask the question "How Come" instead of "Why." Example: How come you didn't do this?
Source & Date
of Question Bakersfield, California
9 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Only in the most informal speech and writing would you want to use this phrase, "How come?" It's shorthand, of course, for "How does/has it come to be/pass that. . . .?" which is a very wordy way of asking Why.

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Question	During my stay in Taiwan I have found the following construction: ... looking forward to seeing you ... as opposed to: ... looking forward to see you ... Should we use always and infinitive after "to", or in which circumstances are we allowed to use a gerund after "to" ?. Many thanks in advance.
Source & Date of Question	Taiwan 8 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I think most writers would use the gerund in that sentence: "I am looking forward to seeing you." It is the occasion, the seeing, that one is looking forward to. The infinitive form sounds very clumsy there. We would say "I hope/want/would like to see you." The infinitive form, understand, does not really come after the preposition "to"; it is the word to plus the root of the verb. So we can't really say anything about the infinitive coming after the word "to." I hope that makes sense to you. You might check out our new Garden of Phrases.

Question	This time I have a very simple question which is being argued between myself and my friend. It is related to department description and job title. Normally we say "Marketing Manager" or "Human Resources Department", of which I believe the noun "Marketing" and "Human Resouces" act as the adjective to describe the role of that person/department. However, recently I encountered some "Administrative Department" or "Administrative Officer" which makes me uncomfortable. I think in this case the department itself or officer himself/herself becomes administrative rather than its/his role. Could you shed some light on this for me?
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I'm afraid of questions like this; they're more philological than grammatical. You are your function, you are what you do, etc.? If you changed "administrative" to "administering," would the participle modify the role (not the person) as "Human Resources" seems to? If "the department itself or officer himself/herself becomes administrative," doesn't that mean that it or he/she becomes administrative in role, also? Perhaps it's too early of a Monday morning, but the distinction is not clear to me, nor is the usefulness of the distinction. Maybe I have become my role?

Question	Hi, Grammar, My first question today is the proper use of "You'd better". I am wondering whether 'You'd better' is a polite expression when giving advice. For example, when someone asks, "What do you think I should do?", is it more polite to say "You'd better give it up?" or "You should give it up." Or is either of them polite? If not, what should be a proper reply? My second question is whether we can use a personal pronoun before a noun modified by an atributive clause. For example, is it right to say "Could you show me your book you bought yesterday? " In this sentence"...the book you bought..." of course is the normal use, I am wondering whether 'your' can be used to replace 'the'. I came across a sentence in our text-book today which is contrary to what many grammar books state: " Miss Nightingale herself worked harder than anybody." As far as I understand, the ending word should be 'anybody else' instead of 'anybody', because she was not excluded in the people. Is my understanding right? Or is there any other usage for such kind of situation? Thank you very much for your time.
Source & Date of Question	Shenzhen, Guangdong, China 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Well, "You should give it up" is somewhat more polite, but, in either case, a friend might be better served if you suggested an option instead: "You should (or "might") try something something else."? "You should give it up" should be used only if your friendly and well-meaning intent is very clear. It would be inappropriate to use "your book" in that construction. The "you" of the sentence didn't buy "your book"; he/she bought "the book." (It only became "your book" afterwards.) You could say something like "Could you show me your book, the one you bought yesterday?" but that's another question, isn't it? Your instincts about "anybody else" are quite right, although many people will casually leave out the "else."

Question	When does one use "different from" versus "different than"
Source & Date of Question	Dallas, Texas 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Things are almost always different from something else. However, if "different from" leads to something horribly wordy, different than might be an accepable alternative: "I'm a different person now than I used to be" is preferable to "I'm a different person now from the person I used to be." Note that an entire clause follows the "different than" construction. Authority: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Question	I am compiling a list of donors for publication (printed and on a donor plaque.) Is is okay to use an apersand instead of the word AND in the list? We are trying to conserve space, but still want to be correct. What are the rules about using apersands in general, and more specifically, in lists such as mine? Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Baltimore, Marylyand 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I assume you're using it to connect spouses' or siblings' names, as in Arthur & Karen Grasso? I can't find anything that forbids it (except within the flow of normal text, where it's simply a lazy device). I have read that when writing out the title of an old book, you should change ampersands (note spelling!) to "and." But as long as it's clear that you're using it as a typographical device to conserve space & lettering and especially if you're using an elegant script, an ampersand would look very nice, indeed, and I can't imagine anyone objecting. (I've also seen the word "and" written in a tilted way in such a list, which amounts to very much the same thing as far as I'm concerned.) This might be more of an issue for Ask Ann Landers than it is for Ask Grammar English, however.

Question	Besides "honesty", does the word "integrity" include the connotation of "pride" and "dignity"?
Source & Date of Question	Singapore 8 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I suppose integrity might connote dignity in the sense that there is dignity in being incorruptible. "Pride"? Connotations vary, of course, from context to context, but since pride is such an ambiguous notion in the first place, that's probably stretching it.

Question	NOUNS: Could you please check if these nouns are under the correct group of nouns:1) liberty, friendship, jealousy,adversity: ABSTRACT NOUNS. 2) problem, letter,toy,debate,friend : CONCRETE NOUNS. If they are under the correct group name, is it possible for there to be a noun that is concrete and abstract(that if I named the group correctly)?If so, could you give me an example ?
Source & Date of Question	Grado, Italy 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	This is weird because someone asked me practically the identical question about a week ago. Yes, those look properly grouped to me. My response to the second part of your question, unfortunately, remains the same. I can't think of a noun that can be both concrete and abstract, but I'm sure there must be some, depending on context. For me, this distinction is not the most useful categorization of nouns. Isn't the reason for identifying abstract nouns the fact that we use them without a determiner: "Justice was absent in this classroom." But if that noun appears with a determiner, it's no longer abstract: "Where is the justice in this decision?" Does that count?

Question	Two grammar questions that/which have been bothering me. If one was/were to know the answer that/which I seek, and it was/were up to me, I'd use 'that was'. There are certain occasions, not necessarily the above, when those words' uses confuse me and it would be very satisfying to know the answer. That/which was/were Thank you very much.
Source & Date of Question	Easton, Massachusetts 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	You want to use "that" to introduce those clauses. See our section on "that versus which" in the Notorious Confusables; that should help. For your verb choices, however, you want the subjunctive form, "were," to express desires or wishes, especially when the clause begins with if. See our section on the subjunctive.

Question	When speaking about an individual who actually (not hypothetically) managed an account, the following sentence was used in an anecdote: "I asked him if he were happy with his performance." Is it correct to use "was" instead of "were" since the question requests how this person actually felt, not how he would have felt if a certain condition existed?
Source & Date of Question	New York, New York 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I think you're right. (I hope this response doesn't confuse the writer immediately above.) When the "if clause" refers to a condition presumed to exist, we should use the common indicative, not the subjunctive mood. Authority: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Question	I'm curious about the phrase "How Come." Is it proper, grammatically, to ask the question "How Come" instead of "Why." Example: How come you didn't do this?
Source & Date of Question	Bakersfield, California 9 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Only in the most informal speech and writing would you want to use this phrase, "How come?" It's shorthand, of course, for "How does/has it come to be/pass that. . . .?" which is a very wordy way of asking Why.