The Grammar Logs -- Number Seventy-Three

The
Grammar
Logs
# 73

Question When do you use "less" in a sentence and when do you use "fewer"?
Source & Date
of Question New Orleans, Louisiana
19 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Use "less" when you're talking about something you can't count: "He drinks less beer than his brother." Use "fewer" when you're talking about something you can count: "He has consumed fewer bottles of beer than his brother."

Question Does this sentence need a comma before and after the name Dioscorus?
"Upon hearing this her cruel father Dioscorus dragged his own daughter to the judge."
Do I need a comma in this sentence before and after the first Pauline?
"Theresa's sister Pauline became her second mother, and eventually Theresa lost her too when Pauline joined the convent at 16."
Also, is it ever proper to start a sentence with "and" or "but"?
Thanks, as always
Source & Date
of Question Unknown
19 February 1998
Grammar's
Response You can set off the name Dioscorus because it's not necessary in this sentence; it is a re-naming of the father -- commas before and after. (Personally, I would've put a comma after "Upon hearing this," but there would be some writers who would disagree with that decision.) We know who Pauline is by the end of her sentence, so even though Theresa could have more than one sister, it's quite unlikely she'd have two sisters who would do that, so Pauline's name is not really necessary, so I would use commas.
If you begin a sentence with "and" or "but," make sure that that sentence wouldn't be better served being connected to the prior sentence or being written without the conjunction. If not, then beginning with "and" or "but" is permitted unless you go nuts and make a habit of it, and then we'll take away your license. Beginning a sentence with "and" or "but" will nearly always draw attention to that sentence and to itself as a transitional device, and sometimes that can be quite effective.

Question How to use the words 'Only by' in the start of a sentence?
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
19 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I'm sorry, but I don't understand your question. "Only by working hard will he be able to accomplish his goals"??

Question He is who I met yesterday.
He is whom I met yesterday,
Which one is correct?
Source & Date
of Question San Francisco, California
20 February 1998
Grammar's
Response You're not giving me much to choose from! I would probably say "I met him yesterday." or "He is the man/boy/person I met yesterday." or "He is the person whom I met yesterday." I would regard either of the choices you give us as unacceptable.

Question MY PROBLEM: I've written...
"Step Lively! The ivies and creeping Charlie surrounding the camphor tree will reach out for your ankles!"
Is... "Step Lively!"... a complete sentence? I can't find a grammar rule to answer this question. The instructor called "Step Lively!" a COMMAND... like, "Stop!", "Go.", and "Don't move!" Is the noun... "You"... silent? If "Step Lively!" is NOT a complete sentence, how can it be re-written with the same effect? The instuctor is not sure, but will check her grammar sources. She'll have an answer by Monday, Feb. 23rd. Since the paragraph is DUE on Monday, she suggests that I type "Step Lively!" as a complete sentence.
Your help would be greatly appreciated! THANKS! (Is "THANKS!" a complete sentence?)
Source & Date
of Question San Diego, California
20 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Step lively! (there's no reason to capitalize "Lively") is a complete sentence. The subject, "you," is understood. It would be difficult to duplicate the effect of a command there. You could write, "Step lively, for the. . . ." or "You must step lively, for . . ." but it's not quite the same. Relax. Your writing is fine. Sometimes interjections such as No, Yes, Thanks, Relax are written as a separate sentence.

Question Infinitives and participles are closely related, non-finite verbals. If an infinitive acts as an adjective, must it be a participle? When can an infinitive be considered a participle? In the example, "I like to sleep", can "to sleep" be considered both an infinitive and a participle? Does some degree of interchangeability need to exist for an infinitive to also be a participle (as in "I like sleeping")? I was taught to treat infinitives, participles, and gerunds as separate types of non-finite verbals, but there is clearly some degree of over-lap.
Source & Date
of Question Colorado Springs, Colorado
20 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Infinitives and participles are distinct by virtue of their forms; they overlap, as you suggest, however, by virtue of their function. They both can be adjectives. (Well, participles are always adjectival, but infinitives are sometimes adjectives.) An infinitive cannot be considered a participle. In "I like to sleep" the infinitive is the object of what you like; it's behaving as a noun in that sentence, just as if you had said, "I like spaghetti." In "I like sleeping" the -ing form of the verb is acting as a noun, also, so it's not a participle here; it's a gerund. See our section called the Garden of Phrases and see if that helps. The phrase "non-finite verbal" doesn't mean anything to me.

Question Can you tell me how to make a simple sentence,and can you tell me how to use some tense such as:Present,Past,Present Continuous,Present Perfect,Past Perfect,Simple Future.
Note: Simple Sentence--Can you give me some formula of the sentence such as: Subject+Verb+Object. A formula of the sentence.
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
20 February 1998
Grammar's
Response A simple sentence consists of only one independent clause and one subject-verb relationship. It could consist of only a subject and verb: "We won!" Or you can throw in an object: "We won the game." For help with tenses, go to the section on verbs and click on the hyperlink to the chart on tenses in the active voice.

Question Do you have any information on "Business Writing" classes?
Source & Date
of Question Euclid, Ohio
20 February 1998
Grammar's
Response No, I don't. But where there's money to be made, there will be people offering courses in Business Writing on the World Wide Web. Put your search engines to work, and I'm sure they'll come up with something. Choose carefully!

Previous Grammar Log

Question 1) How to distinguish 'comprise' and 'comprise of'?
2) What is the difference between 'concerned with' and 'concerned about'?
3) What does 'must + perfect perfect tense' or ' modal + perfect perfect tense' mean?
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
20 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Some people would argue that "comprise of" is inappropriate. We use "comprise" to mean "include." The Connecticut community college system comprises seventeen separate campuses. Some writers would say "The system is comprised of seventeen campuses," and that would drive some people crazy, but today's dictionaries don't really condemn that usage.
It seems me that we would use "concerned with" to mean that there are certain issues that engage our attention, as in "This book is concerned with issues of overpopulation." The phrase "concerned about" seems more personal, as in "These municipal leaders are concerned about urban decay."
I don't know what a perfect perfect tense is. I'm familiar with the present perfect -- "I have answered the phone." So we could combine that with "must" by saying "I must have answered the phone [seven times today]."?

Question MMMM
Source & Date
of Question Unknown
21 February 1998
Grammar's
Response You would want to use the singular form of the verb in all those sentences. Mathematical sums and quantities are often regarded as non-count items. You can't count any of the things you name: twenty-percent of the work force is one thing. Let's use students versus student body as an example. You would say "Three-quarters of the student body IS against tuition hikes" because there's nothing there for you to count: it's all one body or a single fraction of that body. However, if you said, instead, three-quarters of the students, you would say "Three-quarters of the students ARE against tuition hikes" because you can count three-quarters of the students. I hope that's clear and that I haven't confused you with my example. (Incidentally, it would be appropriate to put a "the" before "work force" and "population.")

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Question	Does this sentence need a comma before and after the name Dioscorus? "Upon hearing this her cruel father Dioscorus dragged his own daughter to the judge." Do I need a comma in this sentence before and after the first Pauline? "Theresa's sister Pauline became her second mother, and eventually Theresa lost her too when Pauline joined the convent at 16." Also, is it ever proper to start a sentence with "and" or "but"? Thanks, as always
Source & Date of Question	Unknown 19 February 1998
Grammar's Response	You can set off the name Dioscorus because it's not necessary in this sentence; it is a re-naming of the father -- commas before and after. (Personally, I would've put a comma after "Upon hearing this," but there would be some writers who would disagree with that decision.) We know who Pauline is by the end of her sentence, so even though Theresa could have more than one sister, it's quite unlikely she'd have two sisters who would do that, so Pauline's name is not really necessary, so I would use commas. If you begin a sentence with "and" or "but," make sure that that sentence wouldn't be better served being connected to the prior sentence or being written without the conjunction. If not, then beginning with "and" or "but" is permitted unless you go nuts and make a habit of it, and then we'll take away your license. Beginning a sentence with "and" or "but" will nearly always draw attention to that sentence and to itself as a transitional device, and sometimes that can be quite effective.

Question	He is who I met yesterday. He is whom I met yesterday, Which one is correct?
Source & Date of Question	San Francisco, California 20 February 1998
Grammar's Response	You're not giving me much to choose from! I would probably say "I met him yesterday." or "He is the man/boy/person I met yesterday." or "He is the person whom I met yesterday." I would regard either of the choices you give us as unacceptable.

Question	MY PROBLEM: I've written... "Step Lively! The ivies and creeping Charlie surrounding the camphor tree will reach out for your ankles!" Is... "Step Lively!"... a complete sentence? I can't find a grammar rule to answer this question. The instructor called "Step Lively!" a COMMAND... like, "Stop!", "Go.", and "Don't move!" Is the noun... "You"... silent? If "Step Lively!" is NOT a complete sentence, how can it be re-written with the same effect? The instuctor is not sure, but will check her grammar sources. She'll have an answer by Monday, Feb. 23rd. Since the paragraph is DUE on Monday, she suggests that I type "Step Lively!" as a complete sentence. Your help would be greatly appreciated! THANKS! (Is "THANKS!" a complete sentence?)
Source & Date of Question	San Diego, California 20 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Step lively! (there's no reason to capitalize "Lively") is a complete sentence. The subject, "you," is understood. It would be difficult to duplicate the effect of a command there. You could write, "Step lively, for the. . . ." or "You must step lively, for . . ." but it's not quite the same. Relax. Your writing is fine. Sometimes interjections such as No, Yes, Thanks, Relax are written as a separate sentence.

Question	Can you tell me how to make a simple sentence,and can you tell me how to use some tense such as:Present,Past,Present Continuous,Present Perfect,Past Perfect,Simple Future. Note: Simple Sentence--Can you give me some formula of the sentence such as: Subject+Verb+Object. A formula of the sentence.
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 20 February 1998
Grammar's Response	A simple sentence consists of only one independent clause and one subject-verb relationship. It could consist of only a subject and verb: "We won!" Or you can throw in an object: "We won the game." For help with tenses, go to the section on verbs and click on the hyperlink to the chart on tenses in the active voice.

Question	When do you use "less" in a sentence and when do you use "fewer"?
Source & Date of Question	New Orleans, Louisiana 19 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Use "less" when you're talking about something you can't count: "He drinks less beer than his brother." Use "fewer" when you're talking about something you can count: "He has consumed fewer bottles of beer than his brother."

Question	How to use the words 'Only by' in the start of a sentence?
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 19 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I'm sorry, but I don't understand your question. "Only by working hard will he be able to accomplish his goals"??

Question	Infinitives and participles are closely related, non-finite verbals. If an infinitive acts as an adjective, must it be a participle? When can an infinitive be considered a participle? In the example, "I like to sleep", can "to sleep" be considered both an infinitive and a participle? Does some degree of interchangeability need to exist for an infinitive to also be a participle (as in "I like sleeping")? I was taught to treat infinitives, participles, and gerunds as separate types of non-finite verbals, but there is clearly some degree of over-lap.
Source & Date of Question	Colorado Springs, Colorado 20 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Infinitives and participles are distinct by virtue of their forms; they overlap, as you suggest, however, by virtue of their function. They both can be adjectives. (Well, participles are always adjectival, but infinitives are sometimes adjectives.) An infinitive cannot be considered a participle. In "I like to sleep" the infinitive is the object of what you like; it's behaving as a noun in that sentence, just as if you had said, "I like spaghetti." In "I like sleeping" the -ing form of the verb is acting as a noun, also, so it's not a participle here; it's a gerund. See our section called the Garden of Phrases and see if that helps. The phrase "non-finite verbal" doesn't mean anything to me.

Question	Do you have any information on "Business Writing" classes?
Source & Date of Question	Euclid, Ohio 20 February 1998
Grammar's Response	No, I don't. But where there's money to be made, there will be people offering courses in Business Writing on the World Wide Web. Put your search engines to work, and I'm sure they'll come up with something. Choose carefully!

Question	MMMM
Source & Date of Question	Unknown 21 February 1998
Grammar's Response	You would want to use the singular form of the verb in all those sentences. Mathematical sums and quantities are often regarded as non-count items. You can't count any of the things you name: twenty-percent of the work force is one thing. Let's use students versus student body as an example. You would say "Three-quarters of the student body IS against tuition hikes" because there's nothing there for you to count: it's all one body or a single fraction of that body. However, if you said, instead, three-quarters of the students, you would say "Three-quarters of the students ARE against tuition hikes" because you can count three-quarters of the students. I hope that's clear and that I haven't confused you with my example. (Incidentally, it would be appropriate to put a "the" before "work force" and "population.")