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The Grammar Logs # 215 |
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| QUESTION |
When asking someone to write information onto a form, what is more correct?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Carlsbad, California  Sat, Sep 26, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| We might "fill in" a particular space on a form, but I believe we "fill out" the entire form. Phrasal verbs are sometimes not very precise. |
| QUESTION |
Which one of the following is correct?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hong Kong Sat, Sep 26, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| With expletive constructions, the verb precedes the subject, as you seem to have realized, and here your subject is compounded: a boy and a girl. However, with expletive constructions followed by compound subjects, use a singular verb if the subject closer to the verb is singular.
Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997. p. 268.
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| QUESTION |
| Is the langauge used in internet chatrooms speech or written language? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, England Sat, Sep 26, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| None of the above. I think it's a language of its own; call it "chat," if you wish. It has much of the structure of speech, and its reliance on emoticons and abbreviations for gestures, facial expressions, etc. makes it more like speech than writing. Yet it is written, of course. People who insist on the structure of writing while in a chat room are often very unhappy trying to engage in the unstructured language blizzard that constitutes chat. Chat is probably just waiting for the technology to make real, unwritten speech possible. Then it will turn into a giant perpetual cocktail party where everyone remains forever young and good-looking. |
| QUESTION |
| I am writing a personal statement for medical residency training. Does the name of the specialty have to be capitalized?? For example," The reason I have chosen (General Surgery): Does General Surgery have to be in caps? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Cincinatti, Ohio Sat, Sep 26, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No. You might apply to the General Surgery Department (or some such academic entity), but you can say that you have chosen to go into general surgery. |
| QUESTION |
| Can you tell me some rules of using "that" clause? How can we distinguish it from the "wh-" ?? Besides, can you tell me what's the full mark of Toefl? Is it 700? Sat, Toefl , Gmat, GCE, GSCE,and GCEAL, which is the most difficult? Finally, any Grammatical errors committed in the above sentence? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hong Kong Sat, Sep 26, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Please refer to the Notorious Confusables article on That versus Which and then write back if you still have questions. I have no idea how those tests are graded, nor do I have any idea which is the most difficult. You might try Dave's ESL Cafe, to see if anyone there would know. |
| QUESTION |
| Please help me with these two sentenses: A) Please explain which verb tense should be used in the following sentence--and if both can be used, will it change the meaning of the sentence? 1. Emperor Nero "had been looking" or "had looked" for a reason to arrest Christians even before the fire that destroyed much of Rome.B) Can I use "infinitive" in place of "gerund" in the following sentence without changing the meaning, and again will the meaning change if I used either "past perfect" or "past perfect progressive"? 1. I had only played (had only been playing) golf for ten minutes when it started "raining" (to rain) .Thanks for your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Taipei, Taiwan Sat, Sep 26, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You can say that Nero "had been looking" or "had looked." The first version means that he might, in fact, still have been looking at the time of the fire. Incidentally, this sentence means that he looked for reasons to arrest Christians after the fire, right? In the second sentence, "started raining" and "started to rain" are virtually synonymous. "Had only played," however, could mean that you started playing and then stopped when ten minutes were up and before it started to rain, whereas "had only been playing" means that you were in the process of playing golf, a process that started ten minutes before the rain started. Please send e-mail addresses along with grammar questions. Sometimes a confusion needs to be cleared up before an answer is posted. |
| QUESTION |
Which is grammatically correct:
Our product quality "remains" or "have remained" high through all these years.Thanks for your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Taipei, Taiwan Sun, Sep 27, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Since "quality" is a non-count noun in this context, I think you want "has remained" high (singular verb). With that change, either verb tense would do fine. You could probably do without the preposition "through." |
| QUESTION |
When writing the names of currency
US dollars vs US DollarsWhich one is the correct way to write it? Thank you |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Plano, Texas Sun, Sep 27, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I would write it U.S. dollars. There's no reason to capitalize it. The currency of other countries might be capitalized based on the spelling conventions of foreign languages. |
| QUESTION |
| My question refers to nouns used as adjectives and if they can ever be in the plural.
Some cases are very clear: a shoe salesman and not a shoes salesman; the Six-Day War and not the Six-Days War, etc.
But what about these: does a list of activities become an activity list or an activities list; does a list of contacts (in an organization) become a contact list or a contacts list. Please help me out here. I'm at a loss as to why I think you can say activities/contacts list. If it can be said, why is it correct and how does it differ? Thank you! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Tel Aviv, Israel Sun, Sep 27, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| There is no reason to think that a plural noun cannot become attributive: a writers group comes to mind. And most sports writers would say that "the Bears quarterback has improved." "Contacts lists" might be regarded as a tad clumsy because of all those "s" sounds getting jumbled together. |
| QUESTION |
| Since its foundation the company has had a rather unusual approach. / Since its foundation the company has a rather unusual approach. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Maribor, Slovenia Sun, Sep 27, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I think most writers would use "founding" instead of "foundation," but the verb of choice would be "has had." |
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