QUESTION |
When to use " subject to" or "subjected to"?
The following two examples are excerpted from a dictionary:
- A directive that could be subject to misinterpretation. ( *subject to* used as an adjective )
- 2.The patients on that ward are subjected to infection. ( *subject to* used as a verb, transitive )
In both cases , "subject to" and "subjected to"
are used after variant forms of the verb "to be";
now why is that "subject to" is classified as an adjective
in the first example--hence, the "ed" is dropped, whereas it's
classified as an verb in the second--the "ed" is retained?
Aren't the two examples very much alike as far as sentence
construction goes? What is happening here?
Thanks in advance!
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Somewhere, Canada Thursday, September 10, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
I believe that "subject to" is probably better in both those sentences with "subject" (the adjective, as you point out) suggesting that something suffers a particular liability or exposure or has a tendency or inclination (is prone to) something else. If we must endure constant verbal abuse, we are subjected to it. The dictionary you cite must have felt that the patients were put in a position of having to endure infections and thus subjected was appropriate. I much prefer what the online Merriam-Webster's has to say about these words.
Authority for this note: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission.
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QUESTION |
What is the appropriate use of commas when you are listing a person (i.e. mom) and their proper name (i.e. Kelly)?
Example:
She lives with her mom, Kelly, her dad, David, and her brother, Nick.
Where Kelly is the mom, David is the dad and Nick is the brother.
Thank you!
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, September 11, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
You could probably get away with that, although it's awfully confusing. You can use semicolons to help sort things out: "She lives with her mom, Kelly; her dad, David; and her brother, Nick." But since she probably has only one Mom and one Dad, those names are not necessarily parenthetical, so you could write it this way: "She lives with her mom Kelly, her dad David, and her brother, Nick. (The last comma is necessary only if she has more than one brother.) Personally, I prefer the solution with the semicolons; I find "her mom Kelly" kind of hard to read.
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QUESTION |
What is the difference in meaning and use of the form "be going to" and "will" as in the following sentence. The weather will rain tomorrow...The weather is going to rain tomorrow.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Auckland, New Zealand Friday, September 11, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
We wouldn't say, "the weather is going to do anything." Well, we wouldn't in the United States, anyway; it may be a way of saying things in New Zealand, and I should never say never! We might say, "It will rain tomorrow," and we might say, "It is going to rain tomorrow," and there would be virtually no difference between those two sentences.
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QUESTION |
If it is my intention to indicate that it was I, myself and not someone else who did something, is the following sentence justified?: "I, went to the store."
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Brooklyn, New York Friday, September 11, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
No. You can write, "I myself went to the store" or "I went to the store myself," but that comma after the subject, all by itself, is just asking for trouble.
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QUESTION |
When do you capitalize the title president as in USA?
The president left Washington--our president---
When president directly relates to the office and person is it capitalized?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
San Antonio, Texas Friday, September 11, 1998
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Most of the reference manuals I consult recommend capitalizing President when referring to the President of the United States. Otherwise, you don't capitalize the word unless it's immediately preceding the person's name (almost as if it were part of the person's name), "We invited President Gorbachev to lunch," but in journalism (newspapers), even that wouldn't be capitalized.
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