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The Grammar Logs # 222 |
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| QUESTION |
| If I am writing about Mr. and Mrs. McGee and I say " The McGees' garage is to the east of their house - where does the apostrophe go? How about if I say You are invited to a party at the Haakes - when Haake is the last name? Where does the apostrophe go? Thanks a bunch. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Franklin, Massachusetts  Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The apostrophe in "the McGees' garage" goes exactly where you put it. For the party, you pluralize the Haake name, Haakes (as you did), and then put an apostrophe after it, Haakes' (with the idea of house or apartment being understood). I can't imagine how you'd pronounce their name, but I hope the party's fun. |
| QUESTION |
| How do you start a sentence with a verb ? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Bloomfield, New Jersey Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Ask a question -- Did you take out the garbage yesterday? -- or give a command -- Run for your life! |
| QUESTION |
Which is correct using the APA style?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Superior, Wisconsin Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I can't find anything in the APA Publication Manual that speaks to this (but that book's index is not one of its strong points). I can't imagine, though, why you'd capitalize it. I think your last choice is the best. |
| QUESTION |
My class (Ph.d. research chemists-non-native speakers of English; very advanced) were asking me questions related to active and passive tenses. They were asking what tenses are the following and how would they be used in English:
However, when asked how these tenses are used, I was stumped to give them a response. Both are rare and not commonly used. So, my question to you, is there situations where these tenses might be used in English. Would you provide examples, if you can, for each of them. I told the class if they could provide examples, they should be teaching the course, not me! However, I am as curious as they are about the use of these tenses, especially since I have never used them. Thank you! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Springfield, Massachusetts Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| This is what happens when you let chemists near the English language. They must be stopped. If you wrote, "He has been being duped by his own lawyers," wouldn't that fit? But who would ever write that? We'd say, "He has been duped by his own lawyers." and forget about the progressive part of it. And the same is true of "She will have been being duped for seven years now." but more so. ("She has been duped for seven years now," we'd say, right?) I'm sure your chemists can come up with better examples than these, though -- especially if they're organic chemists. |
| QUESTION |
| I am a police officer and am having a little disagreement with my one of my supervisors. I begin my reports with phrases like the following; September 05, 1998, at 0555 hours I stopped a car for weaving. He insists that I should write it like this; On September 05, 1998, at 0555 hours I stopped a car for weaving. I believe the "on" is optional and if used somewhat redundant. What is the rule, guideline or your opinion on this. Thanks for your time. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Kearney, Missouri Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| On such a matter, I wouldn't disagree with my supervisor. Personally, I'd use the "on" (no, it doesn't feel redundant to me), but it doesn't seem like a big deal in a police report -- not that they're not important, but I'm rather surprised the date and time (your name and rank, etc.) are not part of some form you fill in before you get to the important narrative. |
| QUESTION |
| Can you please tell me if there is an aptonym, and if so could you please explain what it is and if possible give en example. Thank you |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Wellington Point, Queensland, Australia Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
![[E-Mail Icon]](../gif/email.gif){kind=small} No, that's a new one to me. Are you sure they didn't mean antonym, which is simply a word of the opposite meaning (or nearly so)? I'll leave an e-mail link here in case someone has a better idea.
Joan J_______ writes the following:
This is all from There's a Word For It by Charles Harrington Elster. |
| QUESTION |
| How does one decide which 'person' to use in writing; e.g. first person, second person, third person etc. Can you give examples of each 'person' in use. Thank you. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New South Wales, Australia Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I take it you're talking about writing fiction, right? Because there's not that much of a choice in writing expository prose: the third person is pretty much "it." Some writers will use the first-person narrator from time to time, but it isn't easy to maintain that constant "I." The second-person voice is sometimes used in poetry, but frankly, it's not a very good idea; readers usually find it annoying after a while. Just pick up an anthology of short stories and look at who's talking. Is the "I" that is telling the story also engaged in the story? If so, then it's a first-person story; otherwise, it's a third-person narrative. |
| QUESTION |
| Is there an anlaysis of the usage level of the 26 letters used in American English? In other words, is there a listing of the most commonly used letter through to the least used letter? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Manchester, New Hampshire Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| There probably is such data, but I don't know where to find it. I'm sure it's the vowels followed by those letters most often chosen in Wheel of Fortune. |
| QUESTION |
Should I use a comma between two independent clauses if the second clause does not contain a subject. The following is an example:
PgDn moves the worksheet display up one page, but leaves your cursor on the current field. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Austin, Texas Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If the second group of related words does not contain a subject, it's not a clause. What you've got there is a compound verb. PgDn moves and leaves. You could put the comma where you put it for the purposes of avoiding confusion, but not because you're connecting clauses. |
| QUESTION |
| In speaking English, I phone someone and say "May I speak to ... ". I wonder whether it is too formal and is written English or not. If so, what should I say in the situation? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF Hong Kong |
| Unknown Tue, Oct 6, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| That's a perfectly lovely, polite, and correct way of asking for someone -- spoken or written. Don't mess with it. |
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