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The Grammar Logs # 276 |
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| QUESTION |
Do we use the present tense or the past tense after the word 'never'?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Unknown  Fri, Jan 1, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The first option you give us -- "You never liked him." -- means that in the past you didn't like him (obviously), but it can also imply that you don't like him now, in the present. "You never like him" means that you don't like him now, in the present, but my statement obviously implies past experience in this regard (because of the word "never"). In fact, the word "never" always implies that past knowledge. If I said, "You never like what I like." that is a statement of present truth, but it's clearly based on past experience. I suppose it depends on what you want to stress, the past experience or the present assertion. I'm sure we hear "You never liked him" more than the other construction. |
| QUESTION |
| Would you like to tell me how to use" have to" and" must"? Thank you ! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, China Sun, Jan 3, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| There isn't much difference. The "must" is probably a bit more formal and elegant. In some contexts, with certain rise in pitch, it might be a bit more forceful, although that is something that one can control in speech much more than in writing. If you throw in a "got," the "have to" is a bit more forceful and a bit less elegant: "You have got to see this movie!" |
| QUESTION |
| 1. Is the dress-up a compound word?
2. Is ground ball a compound word? I was recently informed by a supervisor that I was incorrect in providing those two words as examples of compound words. Thanks |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Madison City, Alabama Sun, Jan 3, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| With all due respect to your supervisor, a compound word is defined by the Chicago Manual of Style as a construction that can be open -- as in "ground ball," hyphenated -- as in "ill-favored" or "mass-produced," or closed -- as in "henhouse, typesetting." "Ground ball" is definitely a compound word and is listed that way in the online Webster's. I don't know where "dress-up" comes from, though. You dress up for a party, especially if it's a dress up affair. The hyphen doesn't seem to fit there, and it's not in the dictionary. That's the test for 95% of compounds: can you find them in a good dictionary. If they're not in a good dictionary, they still might make sense. See the Chicago Manual for guidelines. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 202. |
| QUESTION |
The meaning of the following sentences are same?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hyogo, Japan Sun, Jan 3, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| They're pretty close in meaning. The first two seem closer, though, in suggesting that the two sisters are equal in talent. The third could mean the same, but there's a bit more of a suggestion that the opposite is true, that she's more talented -- probably because of a bit more emphasis on the "not." That's my take on these three constructions -- but they're close. |
| QUESTION |
Which of the following is correct:
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Jerusalem, Israel Tue, Jan 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I guess because the "seeing" is a thing that we are looking forward to, we treat it as a noun and want to use the gerund ("-ing") form. Either the second or third would be preferred over the first. |
| QUESTION |
| There was once a time when you could utter the following sentence to a group of men and women without sounding ambiguous or sexist: "Each student should turn in his paper." Nowadays, you are likely to see this kind of sentence rewritten so that "his" is replaced by "his or her" or by "their." To my eye, "his or her" is awkward, and "their" is just plain wrong grammatically. As an editor, I run into sentences of this type often. I can sometimes rewrite such a sentence to avoid the issue (e.g., "Students should turn in their papers."), but this work-around is not always optimal. How do you deal with this type of problem? Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Bethesda, Maryland Tue, Jan 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| In all but the most formal writing, "their" is becoming the acceptable gender-nonspecific substitute for his/her. Frankly, I now prefer "their" to his/her -- when I can't pluralize and avoid the problem altogether. But in formal academic prose, it's still appropriate to use the his/her construction-monster or to choose one gender pronoun (his or her) and stick with it within a paragraph. Until their is more widely acceptable in formal prose, we're stuck with the problem. |
| QUESTION |
| What are the rules governing the use of the words pass, passed, and past? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Tallahassee, Florida Tue, Jan 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm not sure what you mean by "rules." "Pass" is the base form of the verb, to pass, but is also used in the present tense. We pass the drug store every morning on the way to work. Pass the bread, please. "Passed" is the past tense. We passed the drug store just now. He passed for 420 yards. And "past" is a noun, meaing things that have happened, that have gone by. The Civil War is in our past. You'll usually see an article or an adjective in front of "past." It can also be an adjective, but it's not used too often that way: "Past events have taught us something." Try to remember that things that have passed are in our past. |
| QUESTION |
Is the following sentence correct?
A sample of postnatal women were interviewed. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Somewhere, Korea Tue, Jan 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| In this case, I think that "sample" is acting as a collective noun and -- assuming the women were interviewed separately -- it can be treated as if the constituents of the unit (the women) are being considered as individuals -- thus the "were" is appropriate. If you said "a group of postnatal women," you'd probably use the singular verb. |
| QUESTION |
Hi, please help clarify this for me.
Why do we say "a ten-page book" and not "a ten-pages book"? But we say this book has ten pages.Do I always use singular in this situation?Thank you! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Nicosia, Cyprus Tue, Jan 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| With that construction, where the modifier follows a number, yes, we always use the singular: a ten-foot pole, a four-mile highway, a six-inch ruler. I guess it happens that way because the word is a indication of the kind of measure being taken. |
| QUESTION |
Which is the correct usage?
Thanks! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Bozeman, Montana Tue, Jan 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I need more choices. I'm assuming you've got more than one buddy, so we need your buddy's name, so no commas to set off "John Doe." However, the mayor is the major, her name is parenthetical, and we would set off Mary Contrary with a pair of commas. There's no need to capitalize "mayor" in this construction -- and it doesn't have anything to do with the commas, although we would write "he provided Mayor Contrary the latest minutes." |
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