The
Grammar
Logs
# 202

QUESTION
When you say : he is 6 ft 3 in tall do you say 6 feet or 6 foot ?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Somewhere, France Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
We use the singular when the mode of measurement is preceded by a number: "a ten-foot pole." (Please don't ask me why.) But then we would say the pole is ten feet long.

QUESTION
Is starting a sentence with a prepositional phrase considered proper English grammar?
Example: Because the train was late, we had to drive to the city.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Spartanburg, South Carolina Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
That's not a prepositional phrase; that's an adverb clause. Some writers argue that you shouldn't begin a sentence with because. Where they get such a notion is beyond me. Just be careful that the clause that begins with because is not your only clause -- because you will have written a sentence fragment. This is not a problem in the sentence you wrote.

QUESTION
Maybe you can help me with an English usage question. When we say, "What do you wish for?", is that proper? I was taught that you should not end a sentence in a prep. I can only think of one other way to say, "What do you wish for?", and that is "For what do you wish?" but it sounds awful. How would you write those five words? Is "..wish for?" one of those exceptions to the rule?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Chesapeake, Virginia Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I would say, "What do you wish for?" (which is, I guess, not the same as "What do you want?", is it?) It's a good example of the silliness of the rule against ending a sentence with a preposition.

QUESTION
Examples of Pronouns/Antecedent Agreement
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Waco, Texas Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
See Pronouns and be sure to take the quizzez at the end of the section as well as any other appropriate quizzes in the Quiz List. Then write back if you still have any questions.

QUESTION
In regards to high tech language, when do I capitalize words like:
Internet
Web space
e-mail
and when do I not capitalize them. In reference to the Internet, do I capitalize "the" or just "internet"? thanks
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Santa Barbara, California Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
There's no reason to capitalize any of those words in question -- until such time as these words become sacred, that is, and people begin to worship the Internet -- then you can capitalize it..

QUESTION
Two questions:
  1. I learned to type on a typewriter and was taught to put two spaces between sentences. I have recently started work as a technical writer and have discovered that a single space between sentences is a standard practice in the publishing industry. Eve ry book I find has a single space between sentences. Why was I taught to put in two spaces, and when did this standard change? I have some old books (1729 and 1864) which have two spaces between sentences.
  2. When using quotations around a label which does not have a period, does a period still go inside the last quotation mark when it is at the end of a sentence? For example, here is a step in a proceedure:
    Press the button marked "Red"
    Where does the period go? The button is not marked R-E-D-., it is marked R-E-D and that is all, but if I put the period inside the quotation mark, this will lead to confusion.

    Or if I write the following line:

    At the prompt type, "Done"
    Where does the period go? I only want the user to type D-o-n-e, not D-o-n-e-., but if I put the period inside the quotation mark, again this will lead to confusion.

    Everything I have read says always put the period inside the quotation mark but I have never seen these examples addressed.

If you could help me with these two questions, I would appreciate it.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Wilsonville, Oregon Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Yes, when using proportional spacing on a word processor, use only one space after a period. It's tough to change that habit of hitting the space-bar twice, but give it a try. (If you're using a monospace font, such as Courier, you can put two spaces after the period.)

Technically, the period should still go inside the quotation marks, but I see the problem. I've never owned a typing manual, but if you followed their lead, it would probably solve your problem. In philosophy, I know, you can use single quotation marks to denote the name of a concept and, in that context, periods and commas are placed outside the single quotation marks. I wonder if you could use that same idea in this special circumstance.


QUESTION
  1. In the following sentence, shouldn't the writer have used 'be prepared for a traffic jam'?
    The Ken Starr report is available at these sites on its release (prepare for a traffic jam).
  2. In reply to a question asked about the birth year of a kid, which one should a mother use?:
    • "1988 was the year she was born."
    • "1988 is the year she was born."
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Calgary, Canada Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Yes, I think "be prepared for" would be more appropriate. Furthermore, I don't know why that information is inserted parenthetically.

The mother would be wise to say, "She was born in 1988." But 1988 was the year.


QUESTION
Isn't it incorrect to say "fresh baked bread" or "fresh brewed iced (or is it ice?) tea"? I always thought you needed the adverb "freshly" to modify brewed or baked in those examples. After all, fresh bread is good, but it's WHEN it was baked that's important - not that it WAS baked. Otherwise, you'd have dough!

Thank you.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Washington, D.C. Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I had never thought of that before, but you're right: freshly makes more sense. I imagine, though, that most people will use fresh baked bread as a kind of shorthand in informal speech and writing -- especially in ad copy.

QUESTION
Would you say "ever so often" or "every so often," please?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Louisville, Kentucky Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
"Every so often" is the phrase you want to express the idea of something happening at intervals, from time to time. As an intensifier you will see a phrase such as "He was ever so angry at me" or "Was he ever angry at me!" In that context, it's conceivable that we might write something like, "She whacked him on the head ever so often," meaning that she struck him repeatedly. That would certainly be a rare usage compared to something such as "On TV news, we hear about good things happening every so often."

Authority for this note: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission.


QUESTION
Where might I be able to locate information on simple subjects and complete subjects. My daughter is having trouble with this in school, and I have been out of school much too long to remember. If you have some basic rules that apply to this subject, and some examples, I would certainly appreciate the help.

Thank you

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Fayetteville, North Carolina Friday, September 11, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Find the subject of a sentence by finding the verb, and then asking who or what verbs/verbed. In "The man in the ugly shirt worked on my car." the verb is "worked," and who worked? "The man in the ugly shirt" -- which is the subject. However, the simple subject is stripped of all modifying words and phrases; in this case, man is the simple subject. This doesn't mean that a simple subject is always one word, however. The subject of this sentence -- "What he doesn't know about baseball could be printed on a baseball card." -- is not "what" or "he" or "baseball"; it's "what he doesn't know about baseball." You can't leave out a single word of that noun clause in naming the simple subject, and it is all the subject of the verb "could be printed." I hope that helps and doesn't only confuse you further.

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