The Grammar Logs -- Number Seventy-Four

The
Grammar
Logs
# 74

Question Can you give me some sentence examples on the usage of "prejudice towards" and "prejudice against"? Are there any other prepositions that are tied after "prejudice"?
Source & Date
of Question Singapore
21 February 1998
Grammar's
Response You could use the noun form of prejudice, "He shows prejudice toward Arab people" or "His actions reveal a prejudice against Arab people." I suppose that a prejudice "about" certain things would also be possible. If you're using prejudice to mean inclination, you might say that your actions reveal a prejudice "for" something. Usually, though, we hear the participle form of the verb: "He is prejudiced against tall people." With the verb, the participle form, it's almost always "against." I can't think of any other prepositions that work with this verb.

Question Please send information on how to practice on my grammar usage.
Source & Date
of Question Miami, Florida
21 February 1998
Grammar's
Response The best advice I can give you is to give my friends at Miami-Dade Community College a call and tell them you want to take some advanced courses in their English as a Second Language program. If you're interested only in work on the internet, I suggest you get in touch with Dave's Esl Cafe.

Question What is the difference between Direct and Indirect Speech?and What are Vowels and Consonants? Thank You!
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
22 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Direct speech is the attribution of speech so that your reader actually "hears" the speech in your text, as in "She said, 'Don't do that anymore, Lee.'" Direct speech involves the use of quotation marks. Indirect speech is language that is reported as spoken but is not actually "heard," as in "She said that I shouldn't do that anymore." Frequently the word "that" is used to report indirect speech.
The vowels in the English alphabet are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y (as in only). All the other letters are consonants.

Question I know I should put a comma in the following sentence, but I am not sure why.
E.g. He has a history of diabetes, for which he is being treated with Diabeta.
Explain "for which".
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere in Canada
22 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I think you want the comma there because that last phrase (a rather elaborate prepositional phrase) is sort of "tacked on." It's certainly not what you'd call an afterthought, but structurally it's rather tacked on. You need the "for which" to make certain that the which refers to the diabetes, not anything else (like "history").

Question Consider the following sentences:

He stresses the importance of planning.
He stresses on the importance of planning.
According to some authorities, Sentence 2 is wrong, but I feel that both should be acceptable. Please enlighten.
Source & Date
of Question Singapore
22 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Usage dictates that we can put stress on something, but we can't "stress on" something. Lately, people have been saying that they "stress about" something, by which they mean that they worry about something. It's a colloquialism and one can hope that it won't last.

Question Many people believe it good luck ____ a son of a millionaire.
(A)to bear (B)born (C)to be born (D)to be borne...
which one is correct?
Thanks you very much.
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
22 February 1998
Grammar's
Response I suppose either A or C could be correct. "A" would mean that you are the mother of a millionaire's son, and that could be good for both you and your child -- depends on the millionaire, I suppose. And "C" would mean that your are a millionaire's child, which is usually, but not always, a lucky thing. Usage dictates that we use the word "borne" (a form of "to bear") only with the word "by," so we could say the child was "borne" by the wife of a millionaire. "B" would make no sense at all.

Question When using quotations to recite text in a paper, EXAMPLE: "To be or not to be that is the question" is it proper to use a comma after the quote or within the last quotation mark EXAMPLE: ," or ", then to continue on with the sentence?
Source & Date
of Question Seymour, Indiana
22 February 1998
Grammar's
Response In the United States, the conventions for using commas and periods dictate that those two marks will go inside quotation marks, regardless of logic. It might not make sense, but it is easy to remember.

Question We use "in" for parts of the day, e.g., "in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening."
Consider the following:

He cycles in the night.
He cycles at night.
Are both acceptable? If yes, do they have different connotations?
Source & Date
of Question Singapore
23 February 1998
Grammar's
Response No, we would say "He cycles at night." (Actually, we'd say "He rides his bike at night." We seldom hear the word "cycle" that way in the U.S. "Biking" would be more common, in fact.) I don't know why, but the phrase "in the night" differs from "at night." It's also different from "in the morning." We would ride our bike "in the morning" but not "in the night." I wish I could say it's consistent with "at noon," but it's not ("at noon" being a specific hour of the day). I'm afraid I can't explain it.

Question Doreen is richer than I.
Doreen is richer than me.
Which is correct?
Source & Date
of Question Shenzhen, China
23 February 1998
Grammar's
Response Most careful writers would say that "Doreen is richer than I." is correct. There's an understood verb at the end, they'd say, "richer than I am." Some writers, however, would argue that "than" can function as a preposition (like "like") and that we want the object of a preposition there, "me." Certainly in formal writing and speaking, you would be wise to use "I."

Question What is the difference between "start" and "begin"?
Source & Date
of Question Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
23 February 1998
Grammar's
Response There's not much difference. My dictionary gives "to begin or cause to begin" as the definition of "start." We can say "start the car," but not "begin the car." It is perhaps a bit more formal or elegant to say, "Let us begin the ceremony," as opposed to "Let us start the ceremony." "Start" does sound a bit more mechanical in that regard. The Biblical translation of Genesis, for instance, begins with "In the beginning," not "At the start."

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Question	What is the difference between Direct and Indirect Speech?and What are Vowels and Consonants? Thank You!
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 22 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Direct speech is the attribution of speech so that your reader actually "hears" the speech in your text, as in "She said, 'Don't do that anymore, Lee.'" Direct speech involves the use of quotation marks. Indirect speech is language that is reported as spoken but is not actually "heard," as in "She said that I shouldn't do that anymore." Frequently the word "that" is used to report indirect speech. The vowels in the English alphabet are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y (as in only). All the other letters are consonants.

Question	I know I should put a comma in the following sentence, but I am not sure why. E.g. He has a history of diabetes, for which he is being treated with Diabeta. Explain "for which".
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere in Canada 22 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I think you want the comma there because that last phrase (a rather elaborate prepositional phrase) is sort of "tacked on." It's certainly not what you'd call an afterthought, but structurally it's rather tacked on. You need the "for which" to make certain that the which refers to the diabetes, not anything else (like "history").

Question	Consider the following sentences: He stresses the importance of planning. He stresses on the importance of planning. According to some authorities, Sentence 2 is wrong, but I feel that both should be acceptable. Please enlighten.
Source & Date of Question	Singapore 22 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Usage dictates that we can put stress on something, but we can't "stress on" something. Lately, people have been saying that they "stress about" something, by which they mean that they worry about something. It's a colloquialism and one can hope that it won't last.

Question	Many people believe it good luck ____ a son of a millionaire. (A)to bear (B)born (C)to be born (D)to be borne... which one is correct? Thanks you very much.
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 22 February 1998
Grammar's Response	I suppose either A or C could be correct. "A" would mean that you are the mother of a millionaire's son, and that could be good for both you and your child -- depends on the millionaire, I suppose. And "C" would mean that your are a millionaire's child, which is usually, but not always, a lucky thing. Usage dictates that we use the word "borne" (a form of "to bear") only with the word "by," so we could say the child was "borne" by the wife of a millionaire. "B" would make no sense at all.

Question	We use "in" for parts of the day, e.g., "in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening." Consider the following: He cycles in the night. He cycles at night. Are both acceptable? If yes, do they have different connotations?
Source & Date of Question	Singapore 23 February 1998
Grammar's Response	No, we would say "He cycles at night." (Actually, we'd say "He rides his bike at night." We seldom hear the word "cycle" that way in the U.S. "Biking" would be more common, in fact.) I don't know why, but the phrase "in the night" differs from "at night." It's also different from "in the morning." We would ride our bike "in the morning" but not "in the night." I wish I could say it's consistent with "at noon," but it's not ("at noon" being a specific hour of the day). I'm afraid I can't explain it.

Question	Can you give me some sentence examples on the usage of "prejudice towards" and "prejudice against"? Are there any other prepositions that are tied after "prejudice"?
Source & Date of Question	Singapore 21 February 1998
Grammar's Response	You could use the noun form of prejudice, "He shows prejudice toward Arab people" or "His actions reveal a prejudice against Arab people." I suppose that a prejudice "about" certain things would also be possible. If you're using prejudice to mean inclination, you might say that your actions reveal a prejudice "for" something. Usually, though, we hear the participle form of the verb: "He is prejudiced against tall people." With the verb, the participle form, it's almost always "against." I can't think of any other prepositions that work with this verb.

Question	Please send information on how to practice on my grammar usage.
Source & Date of Question	Miami, Florida 21 February 1998
Grammar's Response	The best advice I can give you is to give my friends at Miami-Dade Community College a call and tell them you want to take some advanced courses in their English as a Second Language program. If you're interested only in work on the internet, I suggest you get in touch with Dave's Esl Cafe.

Question	When using quotations to recite text in a paper, EXAMPLE: "To be or not to be that is the question" is it proper to use a comma after the quote or within the last quotation mark EXAMPLE: ," or ", then to continue on with the sentence?
Source & Date of Question	Seymour, Indiana 22 February 1998
Grammar's Response	In the United States, the conventions for using commas and periods dictate that those two marks will go inside quotation marks, regardless of logic. It might not make sense, but it is easy to remember.

Question	Doreen is richer than I. Doreen is richer than me. Which is correct?
Source & Date of Question	Shenzhen, China 23 February 1998
Grammar's Response	Most careful writers would say that "Doreen is richer than I." is correct. There's an understood verb at the end, they'd say, "richer than I am." Some writers, however, would argue that "than" can function as a preposition (like "like") and that we want the object of a preposition there, "me." Certainly in formal writing and speaking, you would be wise to use "I."

Question	What is the difference between "start" and "begin"?
Source & Date of Question	Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, P.R. China 23 February 1998
Grammar's Response	There's not much difference. My dictionary gives "to begin or cause to begin" as the definition of "start." We can say "start the car," but not "begin the car." It is perhaps a bit more formal or elegant to say, "Let us begin the ceremony," as opposed to "Let us start the ceremony." "Start" does sound a bit more mechanical in that regard. The Biblical translation of Genesis, for instance, begins with "In the beginning," not "At the start."