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The Grammar Logs # 264 |
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| QUESTION |
| When do you put a comma BEFORE because and when don't you? In your examples on clauses you used a comma in one situation and you didn't in the other. The word "because" joined the clauses in both cases. Thanks |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Ann Arbor, Michigan  Thu, Dec 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Good question. It's going to depend on whether you think the "because clause" is added information, a parenthetical element, or not. Usually, when the "because clause" comes at the end of a sentence, it is not set off with a comma. One of my examples -- "Ramonita never talked to her friends about joining the choir, because she was afraid they would make fun of her." -- could very well be written without the comma. I added the comma because it felt like sort of an afterthought to me and I wanted to make it clear that the final clause modified the entire independent clause and was not the reason she joined the choir. It probably would be a better sentence if the "because clause" appeared at the beginning of the sentence. |
| QUESTION |
Hello.
I've found the following sentence.
1. He asked me if I wonder why he didn't come.Is this sentence correct? If not, which of the following paraphrases is correct?
2. I don't read his novel yet.Can #2 be correct in a certain context? My friend insists so. However, I think "don't" should be "haven't". I'd greatly appreciate your assistance. Thank you very much in advance. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Sapporo, Japan Thu, Dec 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I think the second rewrite is best. The past tense of "asked" and "didn't" forces you to use the paste tense "wondered" in order to be logically consistent. I can't imagine a context in which "I don't read his novel yet." would make sense. We want "haven't" in that sentence. |
| QUESTION |
Are you aware of "Writing and Thinking" by Foerster, Steadman and MacMillan (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1959)? This is the bible I have been using for writing questions since my college days at the University of Minnesota. On page 8 in the second paragraph it
says:
"...A major sentence which contains two or more independent predications is called a compound sentence: for example, The river rose and the levee broke. ..."My question is did something change since this book was written? I refer to the rule concerning two independent clauses and the need for a comma plus a small conjunction as listed on your site. This example appears to violate that rule. In fact, this book never mentions anything about whether the two clauses are balanced or short, etc. The clear indication to me from this and from my own experience is that there is a lot more to deciding the need for a comma in a compound sentence than the fact that they exist as your rule implies (states?). It seems to me that the reason for the decision to compound a sentence should affect the need for a comma: He had a red face and the hair on his face was white.I can see no good reason to put a comma in this sentence because I want the reader to read it continuously. I could add ten or twelve words to each portion of the sentence, and as long as it didn't get too complex, it should not require a comma -- ever. I realize that the sentence could be written differently, but that is not the effect that I want. By having the rule, you have robbed me of a way that I can change the meaning of the sentence based on how I punctuate it, and therefore, how you read it. He had a red face, and the hair on his face was white.as well as: He had a red face and a white beard.are both different from the first rendition of the sentence and possibly have different meanings. I await your comments with bated breath! Here are some other examples of situations where I don't want to use a comma:
PS I don't like the idea of dropping the comma before "but" in the example that you use. It seems quite arbitrary to do so. I think that the main reason we use a comma in compound sentences is for "contrasting". Thanks! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Unknown Thu, Dec 3, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The ambiguity of "as long as it didn't get too complex" is important in deciding whether two "nicely balanced" and not too lengthy independent clauses can be connected without the comma. I have trouble with "He had a red face and the hair on his face was white." (without the comma) because I don't like the way "red face" and "the hair" tend to blur together. The tasks of those two clauses seem discrete enough (in my judgment) to call for the comma. In "He had a red face and a white beard," the and is connecting two objects, not two clauses, so a comma is not necessary. I can't find where I've dropped the comma before the "but" (referring to your postscript), so I can't comment. This is what the New York Public Library's Writer's Guide has to say on this matter: If the clauses are short and misreading is unlikely, the comma between the independent clauses can be dropped.Authority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994. p. 243. Cited with permission.
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| QUESTION |
| Is it Season's Greetings or Seasons Greetings? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| 'Tis is the greetings typical of the season that we send to one another about this time of year, so we want "Season's Greetings!" |
| QUESTION |
| Could you explain and direct me toward a reference (we use Chicago Manual of Style and AP StyleBook in our office) that contains the rule concerning agreement issues in sentences such as "Students are advised to consult their department about additional requirements." Is it "their department" (singular) or "their departments" (plural) if the students belong to possibly different departments. I believe that departments is correct, but copy consistently arrives with the singular "department." For a while I added "respective" before the singular "department" but that got cumbersome. It was also cumbersome to change the sentence to the singular "A student." Thanks for your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Honolulu, Hawaii Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Yes, if you change it to "a student," you'll get into worse trouble with the his/her/their business. It is permissible to use a singular noun as object in this situation; otherwise, it can appear that each student has more than one department. Remember the sentence: "Students are allowed to change their mind." We would not use the plural minds there (even though we're talking about more than one student) because we wouldn't want to make it sound as if students have more than one mind -- especially when we're lucky if they have a mind in the singular. |
| QUESTION |
I'm trying to analyze the following sentence:
The same music may sound very different after a big meal or while lying down daydreaming."After a big meal" is a prepositional phrase, right? But what about "while lying down daydreaming"? Can you tell me how each word functions in this sentence? Thank you so much for your help! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Portland, Oregon Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| "While lying down daydreaming" is a clause with the subject-verb "you are" understood. Thus "while" is a subordinating conjunction, lying down is a phrasal verb, and "daydreaming" is a participle modifying the understood subject. The problem with the sentence is that it sounds as if the music is lying down and daydreaming, which is, I hope, not what you mean. I'd get the "you are" (or "the listener is") back into that clause. |
| QUESTION |
Is this sentence grammatically correct. If it is not, correct the sentence and cite the general rule that applies to this situation.
To minimize panic, the teachers or the principal always need to take charge during an emergency. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, California Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No, we have a subject-verb agreement problem here. When subjects are compounded with "or," the subject closer to the verb will determine the number of the verb. Thus, the singular "principal" needs a singular verb, "needs." |
| QUESTION |
Pls consider the following sentence: "Journalists from the United States and Germany spent two months traveling in each others' countries."Should the possesive form here actually be "each other's"? Many thanks. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Unknown Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| "Each other" is singular, so the apostrophe ought to be before the "s." It remains unclear, however. You might be better off breaking this sentence into two parts. |
| QUESTION |
| Isn't it correct to use a comma before and after an abbreviation within a sentence? For example - ABC Insurance, Inc., has now opened for business. Another example - John Smith, Jr., is a client of ours. Are these correct? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New Orleans, Louisiana Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If the abbreviation is regarded as a parenthetical element, yes, and those two abbreviations are often regarded as a parenthetical elements. You should know, however, that some corporations do not use a comma before the Inc. and some people do not use a comma before the Jr. (In fact, the Chicago Manual of Style recommends not using the comma before Jr. in any case.) In that event, you wouldn't use a comma either before or after the abbreviation. |
| QUESTION |
The purpose of this email is to help me resolve an argument with the president of the company who is convinced that one must use plural possessive adjective when referring to a collective noun. For example, The Company is a content provider. Their activities are limited to...I believe that the Company is a collective noun which calls for singular possessive adjective. At least that's how it would be in French. Thank you for your help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Montreal, Quebec, Canada Sat, Dec 5, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Most of the time you're right, "Company" is a collective entity, and we would refer to it and its activities. It is certainly not uncommon in informal writing and speech, however, to refer to the "company" as a conglomeration of individuals and as a plural entity -- even to mix singular and plural references in the same paragraph: "Midas is a good muffler company. They are offering a 20% discount this week." I guess this answer doesn't help you very much, but your boss's usage of the plural pronoun to refer to the company is not uncommon. |
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