The Grammar Logs -- Number Ninety-Four

The
Grammar
Logs
# 94

Question I can't figure out the difference between "believe" and "believe in". Thank you for telling me.
Source & Date
of Question Unknown
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response If you believe your doctor, that means that you think what your doctor tells you is valid and true. If you believe in your doctor, that means that you have great faith in his or her expertise, that you have no doubt that he or she will always do the right thing by you, etc.

Question When exactly do you place a comma before the words "because" or "that" in a sentence?
Could you provide examples of either situation?
Thanks
Source & Date
of Question Savannah, Georgia
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response It's hard to imagine a situation when the dependent clause introduced by "because" will be parenthetical in nature (i.e., it can be removed from the sentence without changing the essential meaning of the sentence). Is there a way we can tuck it into the middle of a sentence that will require commas?
Firefighters, because of their dangerous jobs, frequently suffer from hypertension.
Naah. We'd be much better off putting the "because clause" at the beginning of the sentence (and setting it off with a comma before "firefighters), or at the end of the sentence, with no comma. You could make a list of "becauses," I suppose: "Firefighters suffer from hypertension because they suffer from hypertension, because they're overweight, and because they use too much salt." But that's cheating.
When "that" introduces a clause, the clause is undoubtedly essential and you will not use a comma to set it off. However, there may be other circumstances that will require a comma before "that" when it's being used in other ways: "I will need that screwdriver, that pair of pliers, and that hammer." But that's not what you mean, is it?
I can't think of other situations, but there probably are some.

Question I was wondering if there is a gramatical explanation for the use of apostrophes in the phrase " do's and don'ts ". Apart from being visually awkward, shouldn't the phrase be " do's and don't's " or perhaps "dos and don'ts " ? If expanded, the phrase " do's and do not's " only adds to my confusion. Is this simply a case of popular wordplay that defies basic grammar ? Thanks for your consideration.
Source & Date
of Question Washington, D.C.
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response The Oxford American lists this phrase as "do's and dont's." Normally, when we pluralize a "word as word" (as in "There are four and's in that paragraph."), we italicize or underline the word as word and show the plural with an apostrophe and an "s." With a phrase that becomes part of the language, though, we don't bother with the italics. However, you've got a problem with "dos": we don't know how to pronounce it without the apostrophe. To be consistent, I suppose, we ought to add the second apostrophe to the don't's, as you suggest, but I guess we blow off the first apostrophe first (according to my dictionary, anyway). The same thing happens, it seems, with pros and cons except we never bother with the apostrophes or with the italics. Yes, chalk it up to usage.

Question We have a dispute in our office over the correct use of "the" in the following sentence: "Attached bill needs to be paid." I say the sentence should read "The attached bill need's to be paid." Or The Attached bills need to be paid." What do you think?
Source & Date
of Question Miami, Florida
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response You don't want the apostrophe in "needs," but otherwise I much prefer your version, with the "the." Why on earth would we leave it out? Isn't there a nicer, less passive way of saying the same thing? "We urge you to pay this bill before the end of the month" or "We urge you to pay this bill before we repossess your car" or something sweet like that?

Question I can find guides about who/whom and which/that, but I struggle with who/that. For example, which is correct?

The boy who sits next to me is obnoxious.
The boy that sits next to me is obnoxious.
and
I enjoy people who are upbeat about life
I enjoy people that are upbeat about life.

Source & Date
of Question Jonesboro, Georgia
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response All of the sentences above are correct. Many careful writers, however, do not like to refer to people with "that," much preferring "who." I tend to be part of that company. I hate to be so noncommittal about this, but the "that" is not, strictly speaking, incorrect. If I were boss, everyone would have to use "who" in those sentences, but I'm not.

Question First, I have been on the internet for years. I discovered your site yesterday, and have already concluded that it is one of the most useful around.
My question is as follows. I am translating (from French to English) an economics document in which the West African Monetary and Economic Union is mentionned repeatedly. This document sometimes refers to that organisation as "the Union", and sometimes as "the customs union." My intuition is to capitalize "the Union", but not "the customs union." What rule applies here?
Thanks for your help, and feel free to correct any errors in this missive while you're at it.
Source & Date
of Question Montreal, Qc., Canada
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response The answer is yes, you can capitalize the common name ("the Union is responsible for. . .) so that your readers can distinguish this reference from a more generic use of the common name ("union"). I suppose you're not capitalizing the "customs union" because it's not appropriate to substitute that for the specific name, "West African . . . "? Otherwise, if it's an appropriate substitution, I'd capitalize it.

Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997.

Question I am currently teaching my kids about figurative language (similes, metaphors, puns, idioms, hyperboles, etc.). Do you have anything that will help me? My kids are in sixth grade.
Source & Date
of Question Pottstown, Pennsylvania
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response The best online guide for this kind of thing that I know if is from the University of Victoria's Writing Center. You might have to provide examples that would be more comprehensible by your sixth-graders, but it's a good place to start.

Question Should i.e. or e.g. be capitalized when used to begin a sentence?
Source & Date
of Question Tarzana, California
31 March 1998
Grammar's
Response It's difficult to imagine a situation in which you would want to begin a sentence with either i.e. or e.g. These devices should be used sparingly, and then only within parentheses enclosed within larger structures (sentences). If you ever had to begin a sentence with one of these abbreviations, you would capitalize the first letter, but you should begin a sentence this way only if someone else is demanding it and holding a gun to your head.

Question What is the Tag Question of the expression "Everybody loves her"?
Source & Date
of Question Mexico City, Mexico
1 April 1998
Grammar's
Response I suppose the technical answer for this is "Everybody loves her, doesn't he or she?" But that's pure nonsense, of course. This is probably another argument for saying that "everybody" is really either singular or plural. I think we'd say, "Everybody loves her, don't they?" Or, if we were really smart, we'd re-word and say something like "People really love her, don't they?" Do you have any other tag question problems like one?

Question I see "international" written as "int'l" in newspapers and other publications. Yet, "Intl." is the only reduced form I can find in any of my dictionaries and other references. Is "int'l" a new form? If so, in what situations is its use correct and in what situations should it not be used?
Thank you.
Source & Date
of Question Seoul, Korea
1 April 1998
Grammar's
Response You will see that apostrophe sneaking into abbreviations, especially when a rather lengthy word is cut down, leaving several letters out of the middle of the word. It isn't necessary and I would go with what your dictionary suggests and leave out the apostrophe. On the other hand, I don't think there's any kind of authority that can say int'l is wrong, either.

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Question	I can find guides about who/whom and which/that, but I struggle with who/that. For example, which is correct? The boy who sits next to me is obnoxious. The boy that sits next to me is obnoxious. and I enjoy people who are upbeat about life I enjoy people that are upbeat about life.
Source & Date of Question	Jonesboro, Georgia 31 March 1998
Grammar's Response	All of the sentences above are correct. Many careful writers, however, do not like to refer to people with "that," much preferring "who." I tend to be part of that company. I hate to be so noncommittal about this, but the "that" is not, strictly speaking, incorrect. If I were boss, everyone would have to use "who" in those sentences, but I'm not.

Question	I see "international" written as "int'l" in newspapers and other publications. Yet, "Intl." is the only reduced form I can find in any of my dictionaries and other references. Is "int'l" a new form? If so, in what situations is its use correct and in what situations should it not be used? Thank you.
Source & Date of Question	Seoul, Korea 1 April 1998
Grammar's Response	You will see that apostrophe sneaking into abbreviations, especially when a rather lengthy word is cut down, leaving several letters out of the middle of the word. It isn't necessary and I would go with what your dictionary suggests and leave out the apostrophe. On the other hand, I don't think there's any kind of authority that can say int'l is wrong, either.

Question	I can't figure out the difference between "believe" and "believe in". Thank you for telling me.
Source & Date of Question	Unknown 31 March 1998
Grammar's Response	If you believe your doctor, that means that you think what your doctor tells you is valid and true. If you believe in your doctor, that means that you have great faith in his or her expertise, that you have no doubt that he or she will always do the right thing by you, etc.

Question	I was wondering if there is a gramatical explanation for the use of apostrophes in the phrase " do's and don'ts ". Apart from being visually awkward, shouldn't the phrase be " do's and don't's " or perhaps "dos and don'ts " ? If expanded, the phrase " do's and do not's " only adds to my confusion. Is this simply a case of popular wordplay that defies basic grammar ? Thanks for your consideration.
Source & Date of Question	Washington, D.C. 31 March 1998
Grammar's Response	The Oxford American lists this phrase as "do's and dont's." Normally, when we pluralize a "word as word" (as in "There are four and's in that paragraph."), we italicize or underline the word as word and show the plural with an apostrophe and an "s." With a phrase that becomes part of the language, though, we don't bother with the italics. However, you've got a problem with "dos": we don't know how to pronounce it without the apostrophe. To be consistent, I suppose, we ought to add the second apostrophe to the don't's, as you suggest, but I guess we blow off the first apostrophe first (according to my dictionary, anyway). The same thing happens, it seems, with pros and cons except we never bother with the apostrophes or with the italics. Yes, chalk it up to usage.

Question	We have a dispute in our office over the correct use of "the" in the following sentence: "Attached bill needs to be paid." I say the sentence should read "The attached bill need's to be paid." Or The Attached bills need to be paid." What do you think?
Source & Date of Question	Miami, Florida 31 March 1998
Grammar's Response	You don't want the apostrophe in "needs," but otherwise I much prefer your version, with the "the." Why on earth would we leave it out? Isn't there a nicer, less passive way of saying the same thing? "We urge you to pay this bill before the end of the month" or "We urge you to pay this bill before we repossess your car" or something sweet like that?

Question	I am currently teaching my kids about figurative language (similes, metaphors, puns, idioms, hyperboles, etc.). Do you have anything that will help me? My kids are in sixth grade.
Source & Date of Question	Pottstown, Pennsylvania 31 March 1998
Grammar's Response	The best online guide for this kind of thing that I know if is from the University of Victoria's Writing Center. You might have to provide examples that would be more comprehensible by your sixth-graders, but it's a good place to start.

Question	Should i.e. or e.g. be capitalized when used to begin a sentence?
Source & Date of Question	Tarzana, California 31 March 1998
Grammar's Response	It's difficult to imagine a situation in which you would want to begin a sentence with either i.e. or e.g. These devices should be used sparingly, and then only within parentheses enclosed within larger structures (sentences). If you ever had to begin a sentence with one of these abbreviations, you would capitalize the first letter, but you should begin a sentence this way only if someone else is demanding it and holding a gun to your head.

Question	What is the Tag Question of the expression "Everybody loves her"?
Source & Date of Question	Mexico City, Mexico 1 April 1998
Grammar's Response	I suppose the technical answer for this is "Everybody loves her, doesn't he or she?" But that's pure nonsense, of course. This is probably another argument for saying that "everybody" is really either singular or plural. I think we'd say, "Everybody loves her, don't they?" Or, if we were really smart, we'd re-word and say something like "People really love her, don't they?" Do you have any other tag question problems like one?