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The Grammar Logs # 211 |
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| QUESTION |
| When I can use word " some " and When I can use word "any" . How these words are to be used with sentence. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Bangkok, Thailand  Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| See the section on Quantifiers. And then write back if you still have questions. |
| QUESTION |
| Hello, Is the following sentence perfectly grammatical? It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars.What does the pronoun "It" refer to? Thanks in advance your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Suwon, Korea Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It's perfectly grammatical, if a tad archaic. It's the same kind of construction we use when we say "It's raining." It is our present environment, the feelings we get when we behold our surroundings. |
| QUESTION |
Is the following sentence correct with the comma or can the comma be removed. I know that this should be simple, but the small newspaper I work for is full of these "For more info(,) call" sentences. I want to remove the comma but feel that I may be wrong. Please help me.
For more information about the Streetscape program, contact Downtown Partnership at 410-244-1030. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Baltimore, Maryland Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I would leave the comma there, after this introductory modifier. Some writers might leave it out, but that's rather a lengthy introductory phrase; I think it should be set apart with a comma. |
| QUESTION |
| What part of speech is the word kindness? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Jersey City, New Jersey  Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Kindness is a noun, a non-count noun we can pluralize with kindnesses. |
| QUESTION |
| I'm translating from Latin and I need to know what it means that the word est is 3rd person singular, present, indicative. I guess it's really only the indicative that I don't understand. Please refresh my memory on the place of the indicative in English. Thanks! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Forest City, Iowa Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It means "he is," right? (Does it also mean she is and it is?) Anyway, it makes statement. It doesn't make a command and it doesn't ask a question and it doesn't express a wish; it's just a plain old statement like 98% of the sentences we write -- it's the indicative. |
| QUESTION |
| When is the 'non' hyphenated as a prefix? Sometimes the prefix is simply attached to the root, as in 'noncompliance' and other times it has a hyphen in it. What determines when the hyphen is used? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You rarely find non- attached to a word with a hyphen; its compounds are almost always closed (no hyphen). The only exceptions would be words such as non-native that it might look confusing without the hyphen. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 229.
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| QUESTION |
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Toronto, Ontario, Canada Tue, Sep 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Mail is a non-count noun; it's always singular. We want "When your mail has arrived. . . " |
| QUESTION |
| Could you please tell me how to find a direct object? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Glen Flora, Wisconsin Wed, Sep 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The direct object "receives" the action of the verb. In a sentence like "He hit the desk," it's clearly the word desk. It might be a bit more confusing when an indirect object is involved: "He gave the student in the library all the books he could carry." (where "student" is the indirect recipient of the action and "books" is the direct object of "gave"). |
| QUESTION |
I shall be grateful, if you explain the following grammar question.
One way for farmers to farm more crops is to use chemical fertilizer.Here, we are using IS as a linking verb to connect two infinitives-to farm more crops and to use chemical fertilizer. Similarly, One feature of his campaign to appeal to older people is to realize that old people count a lot in a voting.My friend says that above is wrong. We should say One feature of his campaign to appeal to older people is the realization that old people count a lot in a voting.Here, IS should connect a noun. Noun - One feature- to another noun -realization- not to an infinitive - to realize-> Would you please provide correct explanation for above. Thanks |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Dubai Wed, Sep 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Actually, in your first sentence, about the farmer, the linking verb is connecting a noun, "way," to an infinitive -- and there's nothing wrong with that. I believe that your friend is correct, but it's not because of the infinitive; it just makes more sense. The noun "feature" could be connected to an infinitive, but linking to "a realization" is simply more logical in this case. In any case I'm not sure what that sentence means. I think it should read "One feature of his campaign that appeals to older people is his realization that the older population counts a lot in voting." But I could be wrong about that. |
| QUESTION |
Are there any mistakes in this sentence?
Remnants of food around picnic sites and barbecue places attract both flies and rats. Rainwater standing in plastic containers, drink cans and bottles provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes.I think attract is not correct here, because it should agree with the noun "food," but my teacher doesn't support me. He thinks that it should agree with "Remnants," so he uses "attract" instead of "attracts". What's your opinion? Besides, the second sentence "Rainwater standing in ...... for mosquitoes." Can I use "Rainwater stands" and "providing a breeding" instead ? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hong Kong Wed, Sep 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Your teacher is right. Don't allow a prepositional phrase that comes between a subject its verb confuse you into thinking that the object of the preposition ("food" in this case) serves as the subject of the verb. Yes, I think you could change that "breeding ground" sentence as you suggest. I don't think it improves on it greatly, but it doesn't hurt it either. |
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