The
Grammar
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# 212

QUESTION
When should the word "earth" be capitalized?

Should the word "pope" be capitalized when it stands alone without a proper name. A book I was reading called "Elements of Grammar" said it should be. Thanks for your time!

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Slinger, Wisconsin Wed, Sep 23, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
You could capitalize Earth when you're thinking of it as the title of the planet -- for instance, in a list of planets, you'd have Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Earth, etc. But you wouldn't capitalize it in a statement such as "They left the earth" or "The earth's surface is surrounded by. . .." Whether you capitalize pope or not is entirely up to you. Most references nowadays wouldn't capitalize it unless it immediately precede's the pope's name: "Pope John," for instance.

Authority for this last point: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994. Cited with permission. p. 209.
QUESTION
Should a season be capitalized (i.e. fall or Fall).

Thank you

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Cambridge, Massachusetts Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
No. Unless it's part of a proper noun -- like the Fall Festival of Small Appliances.

QUESTION
Capitalization question:
People who reside in Santa Clara County tend to. . . (should "county" be capitalized here?)
Is it always wrong to end a sentence with a preposition? Example: The child applies for the seminars she or he wishes to take and is notified by mail which ones they have been accepted to.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Los Gatos, California Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
You'll capitalize the word county as long as it's part of the name of a political entity. So yes, capitalize it in that sentence.

See our note on Prepositions and sentence-ending prepositions in particular.


QUESTION
I am looking for "standards" for writing meeting minutes are there any sources you can recommend. I work for an environmental and engineering company. Thank you for your help
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Natick, Massachusetts Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I, too, have been looking for such guidelines in an online site, but I've never found them. And I don't happen to have such resources where I am. I assume Robert's Rules of Order speaks to the issue, and your local bookstore or library ought to have a copy of that. [E-Mail Icon]If someone has a better idea (especially about finding guidelines online), I'll leave an e-mail icon here.

QUESTION
What exactly is passive voice?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Austin, Texas Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
See our section on the passive in Verbs and Verbals, take the quizzes on the passive construction, and then write back if you still have questions.

QUESTION
When writing about a series of items, people tend to place a comma before the "and". I feel this is not correct. Did you know, however, that Windows 97 prompts you if you delete the comma before the "and".

Please advise and provide the "rule". Thank you.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Somewhere, California Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In journalism, newspaper writing, you would probably never put a comma before the and in a series (3 or more) things. Otherwise, you probably would; thus, Windows 97's prompt. It's still an optional thing, and many writers will leave it out. The problem with leaving it out is that sometimes the last two items in a series -- especially if it's a long or complex list -- will tend to glom together, like macaroni and cheese. Oddly enough, this is one of the first rules cited in Strunk's Elements of Style, if you're still looking for authorities in the matter.

QUESTION
I am interested to know which answer to the following question is correct.
  • Question 1 :What is this?
    • Answer a :This is a book.
    • Answer b :It is a book.
  • Question 2 : What are these?
    • Answer a : These are books.
    • Answer b : They are books.
One of the popular Primary English Text Book printed "Answer b" as the model answer. As I can remember, our previous training will only accept "Answer a" as the correct answer. Please help.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Hong Kong Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I see nothing wrong with any of these responses. The responses with "this" and "these" are perhaps most precise, but "it" and "they" are also appropriate.

QUESTION
For one of our English assignments we are supposed to ask a grammar server a question and my question is What are the kinds of pronouns and what is the best way to learn them.

Thanks

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Dalton, Georgia Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The kinds of pronouns are listed in the section devoted to Pronouns. What is the best way to learn them? I recommend that you stage a small play in which the members of your English faculty will dress up like the various kinds of pronouns. The story, of course, will dramatically illustrate the role of the pronouns. You can call it "Eight Pronouns in Search of an Antecedent." Just don't let the Personal Pronoun hog all the good lines.

QUESTION
The following sentence contains a mistake.
"The litter may not, at present, pose a serious threat to health but it certainly decreases both comfortable and pleasure."
Should I use "comfort" instead of "comfortable" here? Or should I add "environment" after "pleasure"?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Hong Kong Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Yes, we need a noun there -- comfort (not "comfortable," an ajective) -- to go along with "pleasure." The "environment" after "pleasure" would just make things worse. Incidentally, I would put a comma after "health," before the coordinating conjunction.

QUESTION
I have looked far and wide in printed and online references for any guidance on choosing between toward and towards. I suppose I can accept tha possibility that the two might be interchangeable, but in some circumstances one may sound better than the other, and I cannot tell if that is a result of familiarity or correct usage. On your prepositions page you note that a person can walk toward the desk, and I would simply ask, since I believe a person can also walk towards the desk, is there any rule of thumb for preferring one over the other?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Fairfax, Virginia Thu, Sep 24, 1998
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The short answer is no, there isn't. It's only a matter of what sounds better to you. I would recommend consistency within a document, I suppose (although I probably have violated that rule of consistency myself). I've been told that towards is more British than American, but I'm not sure I believe that.

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