The Grammar Logs -- Number Seventy-Eight

The
Grammar
Logs
# 78

Question I would like to know which is correct with respect to the usage of the commas around the parentheses.

Programmable logic controls, (PLC's), are used with most robots.
Programmable logic controls (PLC's) are used with most robots.
Programmable logic controls, PLC's, are used with most robots.

Source & Date
of Question Houston, Texas
2 March 1998
Grammar's
Response I would think that either #2 or #3 would do the job for you, my personal preference being #3, in which you set up the acronym as an appositive. In either case, though, I would leave out the apostrophe in the plural of the acronym -- PLCs.
An alert user from Richmond, BC, Canada, reminds us that PLC cannot be an acronym because it does not form a pronouncable word; it is, instead, an abbreviation — a distinction worth respecting.

Question How do you cite an Aol source in a bibliography? How do you cite a WWW source in a bibliography?
Source & Date
of Question Stafford, Virginia
2 March 1998
Grammar's
Response See the Guide to Writing Research Papers and click on Electronic, Online Resources.

Question Dear madam/sir:
May I ask you some questions?

"Inspite of the tallest boy in the class, David is the youngest of them all." Do I have to add a "being" in this sentence like this "Inspite of being the tallest boy in the class, David is the youngest of them all."
What part of speech is the word "being"?
When do I have use the word "being" in sentences like this?

Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
2 March 1998
Grammar's
Response Yes, you need "being," which is a gerund, in that sentence. See our new section on Gerunds and Infinitives and the special section on the Noun Uses of Gerunds and Infinitives. If that doesn't answer your question, please write back.

Question When is 'green' a noun, and when is it an adjective?
Source & Date
of Question Somewhere, United Kingdom
2 March 1998
Grammar's
Response [Is this a trick question? It sounds, somehow, like a child's riddle! 8-) ] When the word green is modifying something else, it's acting as an adjective: The green car crashed into the green garage. Otherwise, I suppose, it's a noun: The green of this wallpaper is quite nauseating.

Question Do you have a grammar rule that explains the usage of " have" "has"? For example:

Does she HAVE a book ?
She HAS a book.
In the above instance " have " and "has" has been used in the sentences involving the same person " she " How to explain this ? In what other instances do we see this kind of applications ? Pls direct me to an appropriate web site .
Thank you .
Source & Date
of Question Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3 March 1998
Grammar's
Response The -s ending of the verb disappears when the accompanying auxiliary form of the verb (is or does) carries the -s ending. I don't know of a specific web-page about this, but if you go to Dave's ESL Cafe, you can probably find some very good help.

Question What are the correct abbreviations of attention- attn? att'n? att?
Is the apostrophe ever used in the abbreviation of a single word?
Thanks for your advice.
Source & Date
of Question Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
3 March 1998
Grammar's
Response An appropriate abbreviation for Attention! is attn. I don't see why an apostrophe would be necessary in that abbreviation. In fact, looking through the Chicago Manual of Style's considerable chapter on abbreviations, I don't see any with an apostrophe. Doesn't that sort of go against the grain of what an abbreviation is for? The American Heritage Dictionary does a good job of listing abbreviations, by the way.

Question I have found that the descriptions in some (English-Japanese) dictionaries differ from others.

research: In one dictionary, "make researches into" is correct; In another, "do research" is correct and "make research" is wrong.
mind: In one dictionary, "come to mind" is correct and "come to one's mind" is wrong; In another, "come to one's mind" is correct.
Could you tell me which is correct, or if both are correct?
Source & Date
of Question Yokohama, Japan
3 March 1998
Grammar's
Response I have never heard the phrase "make research" before, and I doubt if you'll ever find that phrase approved in a dictionary. We often say, when we think of something, that something "comes to mind." I don't see anything wrong with saying that thoughts "come to one's mind," although it probably is a bit stuffy.

Question Please provide some sentence examples of preposition usage after "engrossed".
E.g. He was engrossed in/at/by the game.

Source & Date
of Question Singapore
3 March 1998
Grammar's
Response When we use the verb engross that way, we usually use the preposition "in" (because the mind has become so involved, wrapped up, within something): "He was engrossed in his studies." "At" would be inappropriate; "by" feels ok, but I'd stick with "in" if I were you. The verb can also be used in a more active sense. "The study of coins has engrossed his mind for decades."

Question Why are some of the words beginning with 'a' like 'afraid' and 'alike' modified by 'very much,' not 'very'?
Source & Date
of Question Shenzhen, Guang Dong, China
3 March 1998
Grammar's
Response I don't think this has anything to do with the word beginning with "a." We use "very much" as an amplifying intensifier, a phrase that heightens or boosts beyond an assumed norm. We could say that someone is very afraid or very much afraid. The phrase can also modify a noun, in which case the article will usually precede the noun: "He was very much a fool."
Authority: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993.

Question Does the noun after the word 'any' or 'no' need to be in plural form?
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
3 March 1998
Grammar's
Response No, the words "no" and "any" can modify singular nouns. See the section on Articles and Determiners. The modifying word would usually be stressed (e.g., There was no doctor to be found in the entire county!) or it would be found preceding a non-count noun (e.g., There was no (or wasn't any) hospitality in this house before she came.).

Previous Grammar Log
Next Grammar Log
Index of Grammar Logs
Guide to Grammar and Writing

Question	I would like to know which is correct with respect to the usage of the commas around the parentheses. Programmable logic controls, (PLC's), are used with most robots. Programmable logic controls (PLC's) are used with most robots. Programmable logic controls, PLC's, are used with most robots.
Source & Date of Question	Houston, Texas 2 March 1998
Grammar's Response	I would think that either #2 or #3 would do the job for you, my personal preference being #3, in which you set up the acronym as an appositive. In either case, though, I would leave out the apostrophe in the plural of the acronym -- PLCs. An alert user from Richmond, BC, Canada, reminds us that PLC cannot be an acronym because it does not form a pronouncable word; it is, instead, an abbreviation — a distinction worth respecting.

Question	Dear madam/sir: May I ask you some questions? "Inspite of the tallest boy in the class, David is the youngest of them all." Do I have to add a "being" in this sentence like this "Inspite of being the tallest boy in the class, David is the youngest of them all." What part of speech is the word "being"? When do I have use the word "being" in sentences like this?
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 2 March 1998
Grammar's Response	Yes, you need "being," which is a gerund, in that sentence. See our new section on Gerunds and Infinitives and the special section on the Noun Uses of Gerunds and Infinitives. If that doesn't answer your question, please write back.

Question	Do you have a grammar rule that explains the usage of " have" "has"? For example: Does she HAVE a book ? She HAS a book. In the above instance " have " and "has" has been used in the sentences involving the same person " she " How to explain this ? In what other instances do we see this kind of applications ? Pls direct me to an appropriate web site . Thank you .
Source & Date of Question	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3 March 1998
Grammar's Response	The -s ending of the verb disappears when the accompanying auxiliary form of the verb (is or does) carries the -s ending. I don't know of a specific web-page about this, but if you go to Dave's ESL Cafe, you can probably find some very good help.

Question	What are the correct abbreviations of attention- attn? att'n? att? Is the apostrophe ever used in the abbreviation of a single word? Thanks for your advice.
Source & Date of Question	Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada 3 March 1998
Grammar's Response	An appropriate abbreviation for Attention! is attn. I don't see why an apostrophe would be necessary in that abbreviation. In fact, looking through the Chicago Manual of Style's considerable chapter on abbreviations, I don't see any with an apostrophe. Doesn't that sort of go against the grain of what an abbreviation is for? The American Heritage Dictionary does a good job of listing abbreviations, by the way.

Question	I have found that the descriptions in some (English-Japanese) dictionaries differ from others. research: In one dictionary, "make researches into" is correct; In another, "do research" is correct and "make research" is wrong. mind: In one dictionary, "come to mind" is correct and "come to one's mind" is wrong; In another, "come to one's mind" is correct. Could you tell me which is correct, or if both are correct?
Source & Date of Question	Yokohama, Japan 3 March 1998
Grammar's Response	I have never heard the phrase "make research" before, and I doubt if you'll ever find that phrase approved in a dictionary. We often say, when we think of something, that something "comes to mind." I don't see anything wrong with saying that thoughts "come to one's mind," although it probably is a bit stuffy.

Question	How do you cite an Aol source in a bibliography? How do you cite a WWW source in a bibliography?
Source & Date of Question	Stafford, Virginia 2 March 1998
Grammar's Response	See the Guide to Writing Research Papers and click on Electronic, Online Resources.

Question	When is 'green' a noun, and when is it an adjective?
Source & Date of Question	Somewhere, United Kingdom 2 March 1998
Grammar's Response	[Is this a trick question? It sounds, somehow, like a child's riddle! 8-) ] When the word green is modifying something else, it's acting as an adjective: The green car crashed into the green garage. Otherwise, I suppose, it's a noun: The green of this wallpaper is quite nauseating.

Question	Please provide some sentence examples of preposition usage after "engrossed". E.g. He was engrossed in/at/by the game.
Source & Date of Question	Singapore 3 March 1998
Grammar's Response	When we use the verb engross that way, we usually use the preposition "in" (because the mind has become so involved, wrapped up, within something): "He was engrossed in his studies." "At" would be inappropriate; "by" feels ok, but I'd stick with "in" if I were you. The verb can also be used in a more active sense. "The study of coins has engrossed his mind for decades."

Question	Does the noun after the word 'any' or 'no' need to be in plural form?
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 3 March 1998
Grammar's Response	No, the words "no" and "any" can modify singular nouns. See the section on Articles and Determiners. The modifying word would usually be stressed (e.g., There was no doctor to be found in the entire county!) or it would be found preceding a non-count noun (e.g., There was no (or wasn't any) hospitality in this house before she came.).