|
The Grammar Logs # 207 |
|
| QUESTION |
| I am a college student taking an class in Language Learnig in Secondary Schools. Each of us has to do a lesson a specific point of grammar. My subject is the subjunctive mood. I am unfamiliar with this concept and don't remember studying this in high school. Could you give me any suggestions for a interesting and informative lesson plan? Thank you for any help that you might be able to give me. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Atwater, Ohio  Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You can visit our brief section on the Subjunctive and see if that helps. I think there is also a quiz there on the uses of the subjunctive, which might give you some ideas. The hard part is knowing when it's necessary and when it isn't. You might also review the section (linked on the verbs page) about the uses of the conditional. |
| QUESTION |
| I found no difference between the use of "apply" and "put on" in the same situation. Do you say apply hair tonic or put on hair tonic, put on hair rinse or apply hair rinse, put on face cream or apply face cream, put on eye shadow or apply eye shadow, put on lipstick or apply lipstick, put on foundation or apply foundation, put on mascara or apply mascara or both the two verb and idiom can be used with the same meaning or do you have any other words or phrases to say stuff like these. Thank you very much. Your website is very helpful to me and it is one of my top five websites for foreign students who study ESL. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Gold Coast, Australia Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The short answer to your question is "yes." "Apply" and "put on" are virtually interchangeable in those situations. Perhaps "put on" is a tad less formal. |
| QUESTION |
| What is the usage of THE? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Chengdu Sichuan, China Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Please see our section on Articles and Determiners. There are hyperlinks there to quizzes and other resources about the definite article the which ought to be helpful. |
| QUESTION |
| Use of the word underway or under way? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| San Angelo, Texas Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You're rarely going to use the single word underway -- used to describe something happening or in process: "the underway shipbuilding in Lancaster. . . ." Most of the time, you'll use a two-word phrase: "The Titanic is now under way." or "Plans are now under way . . . ." |
| QUESTION |
| How do you make a last name plural such as Thomas? For example, the Thomas are going to Hawaii on vacation. Would there be an apostrophe on the end? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Huntington Beach, California Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No, no apostrophe. Pluralize a name ending in "s" by adding "es": The Thomases are going to Hawaii. |
| QUESTION |
Which is more correct?
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Columbia, South Carolina Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I believe that "responsible" is usually followed by "for" plus a gerund (ending in "-ing"), at least in this context. We are responsible for doing something -- not responsible to do something. |
| QUESTION |
Who, That, Which. When do you use these? Example, This turned out to be a very informative forum with a great deal of understanding reached by all who attended.Please explain if it should say "who attended" or "that attended". Not sure when to use these words. Thanks |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Richardson, Texas Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'd use "who" there. It's possible to use "that" to refer to people when you're not being very specific: "Students that skip their final exams are going to have a hard time passing." But your sentence seems to be referring to a fairly specific group of individuals. I don't think that would be wrong in that sentence, but who would be preferred by most writers. |
| QUESTION |
| When at a doctor's office I often hear the nurse say "doctor will see you now" or "doctor will be right in." Shouldn't the preceed these statements. I certainly wouldn't expect my professor's office assistant to say "professor will see
you in a minute." Thank You in Advance. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Chicago, Illinois Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Your professor has an office assistant?? I agree. That seems like a bizarre use of a person's title. Although we sometimes use the title as a substitute for a person's name when addressing that person -- "Doctor, what is this growth on my lip?" -- I don't think we can use the title that way when speaking to other people. The use of an article -- a, an, the -- would be quite appropriate in that context. |
| QUESTION |
The following sentence transformation question was given.
Answer: Everyone would rather go cycling than jogging.Please advise. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Singapore Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If we want our two compared elements to be strictly parallel, don't we have to say, "Everyone would rather go cycling than go jogging"? |
| QUESTION |
| I am having trouble ordering the end of my letter. My name is typed below my signature, but then am uncertain of the order of the following: enclosure cc bcc Also, the spacing in between: one line empty in between all? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, New York Sat, Sep 19, 1998
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I would use the following:
Enclosure And no, don't leave any spaces between these lines. |
Previous Grammar Log