The Grammar Logs -- Number Ninety-Two

The
Grammar
Logs
# 92

Question Is the following sentence grammatically correct?:
"I was never one for funerals and I was always one for funerals; this time was no different."
Yes it is an unusual sentence, awkward, etc. but it is the use of the semi-colon that I am most concerned about.
-Thanks.
Source & Date
of Question Toronto, Canada
27 March 1998
Grammar's
Response What's wrong with that sentence? It's delightful! The semicolon is fine. A period followed by another sentence would also work, grammatically, but the semicolon works nicely, I think.

Question My Dutch husband has been accepted for a high level military education program. A large majority of their assignments will be in English. Rencetly, he was given a pre-enrollment test that evaluated his level of English.
He asked me about a few of the questions and I had trouble with them. I have not been able to find any reference to them in grammer books or web sites. The test referred to them as 'question tags' and a sample of a question is:
He is going to the store, isn't he?
I am trying to find some rules pertaining to question tags in particular the use of had hadn't he, should, shouldn't he. I am not sure if this makes any difference however, from the instructions on the exam it is apparent that this is a British English test.
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Laren, Netherlands
27 March 1998
Grammar's
Response I'm not sure what the "British" aspect of things would have to do with question tags. I doubt if they're handled any differently in England. A question tag is a device to turn a statement into a question, as you did with your example. Try the following:

He should quit smoking, shouldn't he?
They're not doing very well, are they?
He finished on time, didn't he?
She does a beautiful job, doesn't she?
Harold may come along, mightn't he?
There were too many people on the dock, weren't there?
Be careful of this one; it's not "weren't they." This is a good question, and I'll add a brief section to the Guide about question tags.
If there are still questions, please let me know.

Question I just have a simple question: Should we use "I am not sure of..." or "I am not sure about ..."?
Thanks!
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
27 March 1998
Grammar's
Response Most of the time you're probably going to use "I am not sure about," but there's nothing wrong with "I am not sure of. . . ."

Question Please make these sentences passive.

Somebody has locked the box and I cannot open it.
A machine could do this much more easily.

Source & Date
of Question Zagreb, Croatia
27 March 1998
Grammar's
Response Anything for a friend in Croatia! (These are pretty clumsy sentences in the passive, but you asked for it!)

The box has been locked by somebody and it cannot be opened by me.
This could be done more easily by machine.

Question What would be the correct abbreviation of Miami-Dade County Public Schools?
Would it be MDCPS or M-DCPS?
Thank you
Source & Date
of Question Miami, Florida
27 March 1998
Grammar's
Response I doubt if there are any rules on this matter. I would go with the prevailing practice among other Miami-Dade entities. Call up my friends at Miami-Dade Community College. I see there is the AFL-CIO, but that's not exactly the same, is it? In reconstructing the words from the acronym, it is helpful to know that a hyphen belongs between those two words; thus, it makes sense to put it in the acronym.

Question Here is the sentence: Lance and Julie's eyes met while each (was or were) standing at opposite sides of the room.
Please let me know if was or were is correct. Many thanks
Source & Date
of Question Duluth, Georgia
28 March 1998
Grammar's
Response That sentence has some problems and there's just no saving it. First, we want Lance's and Julia's eyes; otherwise, they both own the same set of eyes. Second, the "each" looks like it could refer to "eyes," and eyes don't stand around that much. Third, "each" has to refer to someone, and we can't tell whom it's referring to; besides, you simply can't have "each" standing on opposite sides of anything. We need a plural "they" in that sentence. You're much better off rewording the whole thing: Lance and Julia were standing on opposite sides of the room. Their eyes met.

Question The question is-Which is correct?

Is it I or is it hot in here?
Is it me or is it hot in here?
Second QUESTION-
what is the rule to determine the above?
Thanks- There's a lunch riding on the answer!!!
Source & Date
of Question Trumbull, Connecticut
28 March 1998
Grammar's
Response How come I never get a lunch on these bets? I'm afraid you're going to have to go dutch. Technically, from a purist's point of view, we would write "Is it I?" But who talks that way? I can't remember where I read this, but imagine a detective going through an entire novel looking for a woman, and then he finds this obviously murdered woman and he turns her over, sees her face, and says, "My God!, It is she!" It's not going to happen. Many writers, nowadays, would argue that the object case of the pronoun, "Is it me?" "It's her!" is perfectly acceptable.

Question I often get confused about the tense to be used in direct and indirect speech, as the following example shows:

"I work for a large computer company," John said.
1. John said that he worked for a large computer company.
2. John said that he works for a large computer company.
If it is true that John is currently working for that computer company, should (1) or (2) be used. If (1) is used, it seems to imply that it is a past event. But if (2) is used, it seems funny to have "said" in past tense and "works" in present tense.
So please advise me on this matter. Thank you in advance.
Source & Date
of Question Sydney, Australia
28 March 1998
Grammar's
Response You're right. If John still works for that company, Sentence #2 is correct. This is how the New York Public Library's Writer's Guide puts it: "A verb in a dependent clause ["that he works"] that refers to a general or universal truth or a habitual action is always in the present tense, even if the verb in the main cause ["said"] is in the past tense.
Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994. 151.

Question Hi, dear editor,
I want to know the difference between the usages of "often", "usually" and "always". I am looking forward to your answer.
Thanks.
Source & Date
of Question Hong Kong
28 March 1998
Grammar's
Response In order of frequency of habitual action, I would list these words in the following way:

I usually do my homework before I watch television. (meaning that more often than not that's how I habitually do things)
I often do my homework before I watch television. (meaning I do not always do things this way, but frequently, far more often than not, this is how I do things)
I always do my homework before I watch television. (meaning that I don't do things any other way, ever -- except that one should allow for a certain amount of exaggeration here)

Question "Soon all but one of the farmers was asleep." As usual when the noun before but is plural we should use the verb in its plural form, but here we have the singular verb. Is it right or wrong in grammar?
Source & Date
of Question Shenzhen, China
29 March 1998
Grammar's
Response I can't figure out what being before but has to do with our choice of verbs in this sentence. "All" is your subject and since it is referring to something countable, farmers, it is a plural subject and requires a plural verb, were asleep. I do have to admit, though, that I have a tendency to put a singular verb in that sentence.
Authority: Evelyn Farbman, Professor of English at Capital Community College and author of Sentence Sense: A Writer's Guide.

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Question	Is the following sentence grammatically correct?: "I was never one for funerals and I was always one for funerals; this time was no different." Yes it is an unusual sentence, awkward, etc. but it is the use of the semi-colon that I am most concerned about. -Thanks.
Source & Date of Question	Toronto, Canada 27 March 1998
Grammar's Response	What's wrong with that sentence? It's delightful! The semicolon is fine. A period followed by another sentence would also work, grammatically, but the semicolon works nicely, I think.

Question	My Dutch husband has been accepted for a high level military education program. A large majority of their assignments will be in English. Rencetly, he was given a pre-enrollment test that evaluated his level of English. He asked me about a few of the questions and I had trouble with them. I have not been able to find any reference to them in grammer books or web sites. The test referred to them as 'question tags' and a sample of a question is: He is going to the store, isn't he? I am trying to find some rules pertaining to question tags in particular the use of had hadn't he, should, shouldn't he. I am not sure if this makes any difference however, from the instructions on the exam it is apparent that this is a British English test. Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Laren, Netherlands 27 March 1998
Grammar's Response	I'm not sure what the "British" aspect of things would have to do with question tags. I doubt if they're handled any differently in England. A question tag is a device to turn a statement into a question, as you did with your example. Try the following: He should quit smoking, shouldn't he? They're not doing very well, are they? He finished on time, didn't he? She does a beautiful job, doesn't she? Harold may come along, mightn't he? There were too many people on the dock, weren't there? Be careful of this one; it's not "weren't they." This is a good question, and I'll add a brief section to the Guide about question tags. If there are still questions, please let me know.

Question	I just have a simple question: Should we use "I am not sure of..." or "I am not sure about ..."? Thanks!
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 27 March 1998
Grammar's Response	Most of the time you're probably going to use "I am not sure about," but there's nothing wrong with "I am not sure of. . . ."

Question	Please make these sentences passive. Somebody has locked the box and I cannot open it. A machine could do this much more easily.
Source & Date of Question	Zagreb, Croatia 27 March 1998
Grammar's Response	Anything for a friend in Croatia! (These are pretty clumsy sentences in the passive, but you asked for it!) The box has been locked by somebody and it cannot be opened by me. This could be done more easily by machine.

Question	What would be the correct abbreviation of Miami-Dade County Public Schools? Would it be MDCPS or M-DCPS? Thank you
Source & Date of Question	Miami, Florida 27 March 1998
Grammar's Response	I doubt if there are any rules on this matter. I would go with the prevailing practice among other Miami-Dade entities. Call up my friends at Miami-Dade Community College. I see there is the AFL-CIO, but that's not exactly the same, is it? In reconstructing the words from the acronym, it is helpful to know that a hyphen belongs between those two words; thus, it makes sense to put it in the acronym.

Question	Here is the sentence: Lance and Julie's eyes met while each (was or were) standing at opposite sides of the room. Please let me know if was or were is correct. Many thanks
Source & Date of Question	Duluth, Georgia 28 March 1998
Grammar's Response	That sentence has some problems and there's just no saving it. First, we want Lance's and Julia's eyes; otherwise, they both own the same set of eyes. Second, the "each" looks like it could refer to "eyes," and eyes don't stand around that much. Third, "each" has to refer to someone, and we can't tell whom it's referring to; besides, you simply can't have "each" standing on opposite sides of anything. We need a plural "they" in that sentence. You're much better off rewording the whole thing: Lance and Julia were standing on opposite sides of the room. Their eyes met.

Question	The question is-Which is correct? Is it I or is it hot in here? Is it me or is it hot in here? Second QUESTION- what is the rule to determine the above? Thanks- There's a lunch riding on the answer!!!
Source & Date of Question	Trumbull, Connecticut 28 March 1998
Grammar's Response	How come I never get a lunch on these bets? I'm afraid you're going to have to go dutch. Technically, from a purist's point of view, we would write "Is it I?" But who talks that way? I can't remember where I read this, but imagine a detective going through an entire novel looking for a woman, and then he finds this obviously murdered woman and he turns her over, sees her face, and says, "My God!, It is she!" It's not going to happen. Many writers, nowadays, would argue that the object case of the pronoun, "Is it me?" "It's her!" is perfectly acceptable.

Question	Hi, dear editor, I want to know the difference between the usages of "often", "usually" and "always". I am looking forward to your answer. Thanks.
Source & Date of Question	Hong Kong 28 March 1998
Grammar's Response	In order of frequency of habitual action, I would list these words in the following way: I usually do my homework before I watch television. (meaning that more often than not that's how I habitually do things) I often do my homework before I watch television. (meaning I do not always do things this way, but frequently, far more often than not, this is how I do things) I always do my homework before I watch television. (meaning that I don't do things any other way, ever -- except that one should allow for a certain amount of exaggeration here)

Question	"Soon all but one of the farmers was asleep." As usual when the noun before but is plural we should use the verb in its plural form, but here we have the singular verb. Is it right or wrong in grammar?
Source & Date of Question	Shenzhen, China 29 March 1998
Grammar's Response	I can't figure out what being before but has to do with our choice of verbs in this sentence. "All" is your subject and since it is referring to something countable, farmers, it is a plural subject and requires a plural verb, were asleep. I do have to admit, though, that I have a tendency to put a singular verb in that sentence. Authority: Evelyn Farbman, Professor of English at Capital Community College and author of Sentence Sense: A Writer's Guide.