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The Grammar Logs # 260 |
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| QUESTION |
| What is a pronoun modifier? On the ITBS section of testing, our school is scoring low in this area. The teachers wanted to do extra practice to increase our scores, but we are unsure of what this means. Please help! Thanks! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Cochran, Georgia  Sat, Nov 7, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I've never heard of this term before. Certain kinds of pronouns can perform modifying functions. Possessive pronouns modify: "her car, their dog, whose mittens," etc." And quantifiers are often pronouns: "some ice cream, many computers, few citizens," etc. And determiners, too; "this book, those socks," etc. Maybe the term is so ambiguous that it's seldom used, but I don't find it in the index of any of my usually reliable resources. |
| QUESTION |
| How many different things can the "-ing" form function as? What is the proper terminology in explanation of different functions? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Chicago, Illinois Sun, Nov 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| An "-ing" form can be part of the verb, the participle, as in "I am running for office." It can be a participle acting as an adjective, as in "We saw the running dog." And it can be a gerund, a verb form acting as a noun, as in "Running is good for you." Review the section on verb forms, especially the participles and gerunds. |
| QUESTION |
Is this sentence correct?
Private enterprises play too important a part in the country's long running economic expansion that no government dares to increase taxation on personal savings. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, Turkey Sun, Nov 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
No, it has a problem -- either with "too" or beginning with "that," and it's kind of hard to say what the problem is -- until we know what it means. I would imagine that a good rewrite might be the following:
Private enterprises play such an important part in the country's long-running economic expansion that no government dares to increase taxation on personal savings. |
| QUESTION |
What is improper about using a the word "hopefully" to begin a sentence?
EX: Hopefully, you will be able to answer this pesky question. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Newburgh, New York Sun, Nov 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Many writers will complain that the "hopefully" means that you will be able to answer this pesky question in a way that shows you are full of hope. And so many people get so excited about this that it's probably wise to avoid using the word. On the other hand, many careful writers insist that if "frankly" can begin such a sentence -- in such a way that it modifies the entire sentence, not just the initial (subject) of the ensuing clause -- then "hopefully" should be able to begin such a sentence. I think they're right. Hopefully has been a cast-out for too long. Hopefully, it can be salvaged. |
| QUESTION |
Why do we use the article "a" with words which have a long "u" sound?
Isn't long "u" a vowel sound? I realize "an" sounds better, but how do I explain this to my students?
Ex. a unit or a university |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Fairmont, West Virginia Sun, Nov 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| We would write a unit and a university because the "u" sound that begins those words actually begins with a "yoo" sound, which is consonantal (as opposed to the soft vowel "u" that begins words such as ugly and umbilical). |
| QUESTION |
| What are the rules for using "if only?" |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Birmingham, Alabama Sun, Nov 22, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm not aware of any rules, exactly. "If only" is simply an intensifier for "if." It's generally used in a preposed clause expressing an unreal wish: "If only I were taller, I'd be a great basketball player." Authority: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission. p. 325.
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| QUESTION |
| I'm a Korean and language institute student in Buffalo. I have a question. I learned that we shouldn't use "because" in the beginning of a sentence. But I saw many sentences which begins "Because". For example, can I say "I was late. Because I got up late"? Thank you. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Seoul, Korea Mon, Nov 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The notion that you cannot begin a sentence with "because" is nonsense. If you do begin a sentence with "because," make sure that your sentence wouldn't sound better and make more sense if it were connected to the sentence before it -- or if the "because clause" came later on in the sentence. And be careful not to create a fragment with your "because" sentence (which mean, in formal writing, that the response in your example would be inadequate). If your answer to those questions satisfies you, go ahead and begin the sentence with that word. |
| QUESTION |
Help me reword this sentence. The grammar check in my microsoft word says that this sentence is too long. It is also passive voice.
The frustration of her psychological needs as she searched for security, love, freedom and the constriction of her options, the inhumane life as a slave or death, caused Sethe to feel helpless and caused her to decide that death was her best option. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Castro Valley, California Mon, Nov 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You should pay attention to Word's complaint about sentences being too long only if it makes that complaint repeatedly. Then your paragraphs might be overwhelmed by too many long sentences and be in need of some variety. And this sentence is not in the passive voice. The sentence has other problems. You've got Sethe searching for "the constriction of her options," which doesn't make sense; the idea of "life as a slave or death" is peculiar, if not impossible (living as a slave or dying?); there's a considerable gap between the subject, "frustration," and the verb, "caused"; and -- finally -- when does Sethe decide that death was her best option? When she's allowing herself to wither away and Denver has to save her? Or are you talking about her "decision" to kill her infant child? I don't know if we can even call that a decision; it's something that she does, but does she really decide to do it? It's too big a question to write it off. |
| QUESTION |
| I'm a technical writer. Currently, I'm working on an on-line manual for a software company. They want to use
capitalization, headline style. I think it affects the readability and would like to use capitalization, sentence style. Do you know if there are any surveys available on the Internet regarding readability and capitalization? I need arguments. Thanks in advance |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Stockholm, Sweden Mon, Nov 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I think the Yale University style guide argues, persuasively, for sentence-style capitalization, showing that ALL CAPS -- indeed, anything other than sentence-style capitalization -- slows down readability and diminishes instant comprehension. The principle is meant for web documents, but I don't see why it wouldn't hold for other kinds of publication. I certainly have not followed the principle consistently. The APA Publication Manual has its own (sometimes weird) ideas about capitalization of headings, which you might want to pay attention to, and tech writers might have their own reference manuals. |
| QUESTION |
| I don't understand the way book credits are used in many films. Some say, "based on the book by Joe Blow," while others say "based UPON the book by Joe Blow." (I did not see "on/upon" used in the list of confusables listed in this site.) I always thought that "on" was the correct usage, but I am not certain as to why. (Or do they in fact mean the same thing?) Can you clear this up for me? One more thing: often people say (or write), "I've never seen a car like that before." Isn't the use of the word "before" unnecessary? I realize this is two questions, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Seattle, Washington Mon, Nov 23, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| "On" and "upon" are virtually synonymous, although "upon" is apt to sound rather stuffy to the modern ear. I had never thought of the "before" as it's used in your example sentence, and I suppose, in a sense, that it is redundant, although the present perfect tense ("have seen") certainly allows for it. |
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