The Grammar Logs -- Number Nine

The
Grammar
Logs
# 9

Question When to use a or an? I know that you use AN before a word beginning with a vowel, but my grammar checker in my wordprocessor told me that I should use AN in this phrase: "Go to an FTP site." I don't understand this. F is obviously not a vowel. I would think it should read "Go to a FTP site." What's the right answer? Under what circumstances, other than before a vowel, should you write AN instead of A.
Thank you
Source & Date
of Question Palm Harbor, Florida
11 May 1997
Grammar's
Response The rule still holds, pretty much, except that you've got to think of vowel sounds, not vowels. Your word processor is right (and, by the way, you've got a good grammar checker there). You would say an FTP site because -- well, how do you say the letter F? -- F is pronounced "eff," which begins with a vowel sound. If you had an acronym (instead of an abbreviation) like, say, FOP, pronounced "fop," that word begins with a consonant sound and you would say a FOP representative.
Words beginning with "h" create a special case. For instance, we would say "a history lesson," but we would also say "an hour." That's because the word "hour" begins with a vowel sound, not the "h" sound. (This will also depend on regional pronunciation a bit.)
If the vowel which begins your word begins with a consonant sound, that word will have "a" in front of it instead of "an." We would say "a usual regimen" because that "u" actually sounds like "yoo," doesn't it?

Question I need to help someone brush up on the use of nominative, accusative and dative in English grammar in order to learn a foreign language (German). What is the best way to begin teaching this, if it was missed the first time around?
Source & Date
of Question New Ulm, Minnesota
12 May 1997
Grammar's
Response English has no dative case, so it's hard to make a comparison with German on that point. (In German, articles, etc. take a different form depending on whether you say "he went to the school" (zur Schule), say, or "he loved the school" (die Schule). (My forms are probably quite faulty there, but you get the idea.) Also, in English, the nouns themselves don't change. English pronouns will change form when they change case -- from nominative to possessive to accusative -- but nouns will change only insofar as they add an 's to show possession. I've included a chart on the Grammar page that might help.
What your beginner in German has to remember is that these things make a huge difference in another language; we're not used to paying attention to matters of case because they're not that big a deal in English (except with pronouns). This is one point on which English is actually easier than many other languages.
Does that help at all?

Question Can you explain to me parenthetical notation?
Source & Date
of Question Hayes, Virginia
13 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I think you mean parenthetical documentation, by which writers of research papers indicate their resources? If so, I recommend you visit our two web-sites dedicated to writing research papers: the first one is based on the Modern Language Association's style of documentation and the second is based on the American Psychological Association's style of documentation. Which one you use will be determined by the discipline in which you are writing and by your instructor.
Let me know if this isn't what you mean.

Question The Space Shuttle Challenger, the Titanic -- do these vessels still need to be italicized in a formal paper?
Source & Date
of Question St. Louis, Missouri
13 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I think I see the logic behind your question: if French words, say, eventually become familiar enough not to be italicized -- quiche, for instance, or bourgeoisie -- then why wouldn't this happen to things like the Challenger, the Titanic, the Nautilus? Well, it's a good thought, but I don't think it's happened, at least not among authors of writing manuals. The rules still call for the italicizing (or underlining) of such vessels' names. (Notice, by the way, that we don't italicize types of vehicles, such as Chevrolet Blazer, and in something like U.S.S. Eisenhower we don't italicize U.S.S.) This rule would not apply to newspaper writing; otherwise, I'm afraid the answer is yes. (The APA Manual, by the way, still vigorously prefers underlines to italics, but I would think the sophistication of word-processing devices has eroded the need for underlining.)

Question The question is about the use of who in the following sentence:
The certification should be made by a registered professional who is able to demonstrate competence in the subject area addressed within the sealed document.
Truthfully I dont think much of this sentence at all. How would an expert word it?
Source & Date
of Question West Palm Beach, Florida
14 May 1997
Grammar's
Response I think the problem with this sentence -- what turns it to gobbledygook -- is more in the passive constructions than in the who. What if you wrote, instead
A professional with credentials in the area defined within the sealed document shall certify _______________ .
(I don't know what he/she has to certify. Also, maybe you could change "within" to "by" or just "in"?) This assumes that if this person has the credentials, he or she is "registered" and has therefore already "demonstrated competence." I think the sentence now does its work much more efficiently.

Question Under what circumstances can I ensure that I make the right choice between "insure" and "ensure?" If I could insure against such grammar mistakes when I write, it would ease my mind. Do you offer such insurance? Rest assured that I will keep your response confidential if you desire.

Example: To ensure the safety of crime victims during trial, each will have a police officer accompany them to court.
Example: I will insure that injuries to all baseball players will be reduced by requiring that batting helmets be worn.
Help me.
Source & Date
of Question Jeffersonville, Indiana
13 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Both words, insure and ensure, mean to "make certain," but we usually reserve insure for the specialized sense of protecting against financial loss. In all of your examples you will want to use the word ensure. In the last one, if you said something like "I can insure your baseball players against injury if they wear proper helmets," you could use insure, because you're going to pay off if they get hurt. Don't forget about assure, by the way, which usually has a person as an object: "I assure you that this is safe."

Authority: The St. Martin's Handbook by Andrea Lunsford, Robert Connors. 2nd ed. St. Martin's Press: New York. 1992.

Question When we say (1) It leaves at what time? or (2) What does it look like?
why did we use -s in the first question (with "leaves"), but we did not use it with the second question?
Source & Date
of Question Cairo, Egypt
14 May 1997
Grammar's
Response The answer to your question has to do with the use of an -s ending on third-person, present tense verbs. "It leaves" is third-person, present tense, and you quite rightly use an -s ending with that verb. So what happens with the -s ending in "What does it look like?" The -s ending is still there; it's just with the "does" instead of with the "leave." We could express the present tense in still another way, the progressive, and the -s ending will appear in still another way: "What time IS it leaving?" With third-person (he/she/it) subjects and present tense verbs, that -s ending will get in there somewhere, either in the main verb itself or in an auxiliary.

Question MY QUESTION IS WHEN WE CHOOSE HE'S OR HE IS, I'M OR I AM.
FOR EXAMPLE.....
I..... A STUDENT.
WILL WE CHOOSE I AM OR I'M? AND WHY!
Thank you
Source & Date
of Question Houston, Texas
15 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Choosing whether to use contractions or not is not a decision to be taken lightly. There can be an enormous difference in tone between I'm a student and I am a student. Generally, using contractions will mean that your prose will be less formal, perhaps more friendly. You should be aware that many people would consider any contractions to be out of place in formal, academic prose or technically precise text, so it would be a good idea to avoid contractions there. Even in formal writing, however, an occasional contraction could lend a moment of human grace and ease to an otherwise stuffy paragraph, and only a mad-eyed purist could object. (So there.)

Question 1) Does the term "grammar", in the strict sense, properly apply only to a structure or a context, as opposed to the meanings of individual words per se?
2) Does not the English language contain some officially accepted redundancies? "False pretense" is one that irks me.
Source & Date
of Question Orlando, Florida
15 May 1997
Grammar's
Response Yes, you're right. The domain of grammar, strictly speaking, is the structure of language, the formation of words and their relationships within sentences and larger forms. The meaning of words, however, is not not without relevance, for meaning and function are often related. (In nonsense verse, for example, words that have no connection to anything we know about nonetheless seem to exhibit certain formal characteristics and suggest meaning because of where they fall within a pattern of such nonsensical sounds and phrases.
No one would ever admit to creating or sanctioning "officially accepted redundancies," and you pick out a good one. "A point in time" is one that hearkens back to the Nixon era. The government is good at creating such nonsense, and someone, somewhere, surely has compiled a list of such phrases on the World Wide Web. If you come across such a thing, let me know.

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Question	Can you explain to me parenthetical notation?
Source & Date of Question	Hayes, Virginia 13 May 1997
Grammar's Response	I think you mean parenthetical documentation, by which writers of research papers indicate their resources? If so, I recommend you visit our two web-sites dedicated to writing research papers: the first one is based on the Modern Language Association's style of documentation and the second is based on the American Psychological Association's style of documentation. Which one you use will be determined by the discipline in which you are writing and by your instructor. Let me know if this isn't what you mean.

Question	The question is about the use of who in the following sentence: The certification should be made by a registered professional who is able to demonstrate competence in the subject area addressed within the sealed document. Truthfully I dont think much of this sentence at all. How would an expert word it?
Source & Date of Question	West Palm Beach, Florida 14 May 1997
Grammar's Response	I think the problem with this sentence -- what turns it to gobbledygook -- is more in the passive constructions than in the who. What if you wrote, instead A professional with credentials in the area defined within the sealed document shall certify _______________ . (I don't know what he/she has to certify. Also, maybe you could change "within" to "by" or just "in"?) This assumes that if this person has the credentials, he or she is "registered" and has therefore already "demonstrated competence." I think the sentence now does its work much more efficiently.

Question	When we say (1) It leaves at what time? or (2) What does it look like? why did we use -s in the first question (with "leaves"), but we did not use it with the second question?
Source & Date of Question	Cairo, Egypt 14 May 1997
Grammar's Response	The answer to your question has to do with the use of an -s ending on third-person, present tense verbs. "It leaves" is third-person, present tense, and you quite rightly use an -s ending with that verb. So what happens with the -s ending in "What does it look like?" The -s ending is still there; it's just with the "does" instead of with the "leave." We could express the present tense in still another way, the progressive, and the -s ending will appear in still another way: "What time IS it leaving?" With third-person (he/she/it) subjects and present tense verbs, that -s ending will get in there somewhere, either in the main verb itself or in an auxiliary.

Question	MY QUESTION IS WHEN WE CHOOSE HE'S OR HE IS, I'M OR I AM. FOR EXAMPLE..... I..... A STUDENT. WILL WE CHOOSE I AM OR I'M? AND WHY! Thank you
Source & Date of Question	Houston, Texas 15 May 1997
Grammar's Response	Choosing whether to use contractions or not is not a decision to be taken lightly. There can be an enormous difference in tone between I'm a student and I am a student. Generally, using contractions will mean that your prose will be less formal, perhaps more friendly. You should be aware that many people would consider any contractions to be out of place in formal, academic prose or technically precise text, so it would be a good idea to avoid contractions there. Even in formal writing, however, an occasional contraction could lend a moment of human grace and ease to an otherwise stuffy paragraph, and only a mad-eyed purist could object. (So there.)

Question	1) Does the term "grammar", in the strict sense, properly apply only to a structure or a context, as opposed to the meanings of individual words per se? 2) Does not the English language contain some officially accepted redundancies? "False pretense" is one that irks me.
Source & Date of Question	Orlando, Florida 15 May 1997
Grammar's Response	Yes, you're right. The domain of grammar, strictly speaking, is the structure of language, the formation of words and their relationships within sentences and larger forms. The meaning of words, however, is not not without relevance, for meaning and function are often related. (In nonsense verse, for example, words that have no connection to anything we know about nonetheless seem to exhibit certain formal characteristics and suggest meaning because of where they fall within a pattern of such nonsensical sounds and phrases. No one would ever admit to creating or sanctioning "officially accepted redundancies," and you pick out a good one. "A point in time" is one that hearkens back to the Nixon era. The government is good at creating such nonsense, and someone, somewhere, surely has compiled a list of such phrases on the World Wide Web. If you come across such a thing, let me know.

Question	The Space Shuttle Challenger, the Titanic -- do these vessels still need to be italicized in a formal paper?
Source & Date of Question	St. Louis, Missouri 13 May 1997
Grammar's Response	I think I see the logic behind your question: if French words, say, eventually become familiar enough not to be italicized -- quiche, for instance, or bourgeoisie -- then why wouldn't this happen to things like the Challenger, the Titanic, the Nautilus? Well, it's a good thought, but I don't think it's happened, at least not among authors of writing manuals. The rules still call for the italicizing (or underlining) of such vessels' names. (Notice, by the way, that we don't italicize types of vehicles, such as Chevrolet Blazer, and in something like U.S.S. Eisenhower we don't italicize U.S.S.) This rule would not apply to newspaper writing; otherwise, I'm afraid the answer is yes. (The APA Manual, by the way, still vigorously prefers underlines to italics, but I would think the sophistication of word-processing devices has eroded the need for underlining.)