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The Grammar Logs # 270 |
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| QUESTION |
| When however or for example separates clauses is there a ; before them (; for example,)? Is highway capitalized in highway 95? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  Thu, Nov 12, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Yes. See the section on Semicolons for additional help. You would capitalize Highway 95 for the same reason you capitalize Fifth Avenue or U.S. Route 66 or Interstate 84. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 253. |
| QUESTION |
| I am writing by-laws. When referring to the directors, do I capitalize the word director. Also, if referring to officers and directors, do I capitalize those words? When referring to the board of directors, do I capitalize B and D? Do I capitalize various committee names such as finance committee? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Salem, Massachusetts Wed, Dec 16, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| There may be special patterns under the rubric of parliamentary order that would obtain here. Otherwise, following the lead of the Chicago Manual of Style, such names would be lower-cased. "In text, titles following a personal name or used alone in place of a name (other than in direct address) are, with few exceptions, lower-cased." The Chicago manual lists such examples as "the governer of Illinois" and "the chief justice of the Unites States." In a list of such officers or officers, however, it would be wise to capitalize the terms. The important thing for your document, however, is surely consistency. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 240-1. |
| QUESTION |
| How do you alphabetize a magazine article in a bibliography when no author is given and the title is a number (written in numerals)? The title of the article is "2,500 Years of the Marathon." |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Leavenworth, Kansas Wed, Dec 16, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If there were many such entries, you could list the numbered items at the beginning of your list. Otherwise, alphabetize them as if they were spelled out. Your article would be alphabetized as if it started with the words "Two thousand. . . ." Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 741. |
| QUESTION |
Please explain which tense (in parentheses) should be used correctly in the 3 following sentences.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Wed, Dec 16, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You made him review; you had him do; you made the horse go. Those are called Causative Verbs. Most causative verbs are followed by a subject and then an infinitive: "She allowed her students to read aloud." But there are some exceptions, as you have noted. Just about any decent writing reference book will have something about causative verbs (or you can click on the hyperlink above for a brief explanation). |
| QUESTION |
Dear Grammar,
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Bangkok, Thailand Thu, Dec 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| We need an article in front of "firm decision" -- "that a firm decision has been made." But I think you'd be better off sticking with the simple past in that sentence: "It was not until recently that a firm decision was made to take part in the venture." No, I'm not aware of other websites, but I'm sure there are some. Start with Other Online Resources, from the Guide's front page. |
| QUESTION |
| What's the difference between the terms 'state' and 'province'?
For instance, should I call Nebraska a state or a province? And What does 'ho ho ho' mean? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hong Kong Thu, Dec 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm sure that a political scientist could give you a detailed answer. It probably has something to do with the representative relationship between the "mother country" and its constituent units -- states or provinces. In Canada, there are provinces; in the U.S., states. And it wouldn't do, in either country, to mix the nouns. Nebraska's a state. Massachusetts, on the other hand, is technically a commonwealth (having something to do with the area's original charter), but the distinction is virtually meaningless. "Ho ho ho" is someone's clumsy attempt to mimic the sound of laughter. (All attempts to mimic, in writing, the sound of laughter are clumsy.) Because Santa Claus is a big-time laugher (jolly old elf, and all that), this sound somehow got associated with him: it's like Santa owns the patent on "Ho ho"-ing. |
| QUESTION |
| Hello, Why do we use article "the" in the following sentence : I feel better when the days are longer.Thanks |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, Lithuania Thu, Dec 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Good question. I think it's because, in a sense, we're referring to specific days. We would say, for instance, "the days are shorter in December" because we're referring to December days. In the context of your sentence, you're referring to specific days or a set of specific days, not just a random sampling of days scattered throughout the year.![[E-Mail Icon]](../gif/email.gif){kind=small} I will leave an e-mail icon here in case someone can explain this more clearly.
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| QUESTION |
| I've got two questions for you. The first one is concerning something I just read in Newsweek. I guess there was some controversy over the recent lift on Oxford's ban on splitting infinitives. So what is it? The second is, what is the origin of the word syphilis? For such a beautiful word it's got such a vulgar reality attached to it. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, Ecuador Thu, Dec 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I haven't seen the new The Oxford American Desk Dictionary, which came out in October of 1998, which says that the rule against the split infinitive can generally be ignored, that the rule "is not firmly grounded, and treating two English words as one can lead to awkward, stilted sentences." ("To Boldly Go," The Hartford Courant. 15 Oct 1998.) Opinion on this issue among English instructors and others who feel strongly about the language remains divided, however. See our section on Infinitives.
That's true of many medical terms, I suppose. Diphtheria is kind of a pretty word and scarlet fever has its fans-- but don't get me started on mumps. The word syphilis comes from the New Latin, from Syphilus, hero of the poem Syphilis sive Morbus Gallicus ("Syphilis or the French disease") by a sixteenth-century Italian poet and physician, Girolamo Fracastoro. Authority for this last paragraph: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission. |
| QUESTION |
Given the sentence:
"A person should conduct his or her business in a manner which best reflects their best interests."While the message could be in question, what is the conventional wisdom concerning the disagreement between "his or her" and "their"? Is it better to stay in agreement and write "his or her best interests"? Or for brevity, retain "their"? Help. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Jackson, Wyoming Thu, Dec 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Once you buy into the "his or her business," you've got to stick with it and write "his or her best interests." You're better off pluralizing the subject to begin with:
People should conduct their business in a manner which best reflects their best interests.Or, if you're brave, use what some grammarians call the gender-non-specific pronoun, "their," from the outset: "A person should conduct their business in a manner which best reflects their best interests."But be prepared for some people to object to that. |
| QUESTION |
| Please define "pluperfect" and give an example. Thank you. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Berwick, Maine Thu, Dec 17, 1998
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The pluperfect is a Latin grammarian's term for the past perfect tense: "I had walked," "we had seen," etc. |
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