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The Grammar Logs # 282 |
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| QUESTION |
| I write technical manuals. And I have come across something that I can not get an easy answer to.
Use of the word "the" in sentence structure. For an example:
Thank You |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Indianapolis, Indiana  Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| A review of the material on articles might help. In your two questions about men fighting, the first sentence refers to a specific group of men -- a bartender, say, complaining about the "the men" in a bar engaging in fistfights from time to time. Without the "the," the sentence is a more general, philosophic kind of statement -- that men in general fight too much, or that they fight at all. I don't know why people leave out the "the" in front of an acronym. We would never say, "He applied for a job with FBI."; we'd say, "with the FBI," and we should write it that way, too. Whether you say "rules" or "the rules" depends on how generic you're being. Are you referring to the specific rules of a set of bylaws, say, or are you referring to more general rules of fair play? |
| QUESTION |
| Are noun clause subjects always singular? I thought so, but then I got a sentence in a student's paper that read, "What interest me the most are the rules." I told him that it should be "What interests me the most is the rules." I know that "What interests me" is a singular subject, but how about the fact that it has a plural complement (rules)? Wordperfect's grammar checker gave the correct form as: "What interests me the most are the rules," but that doesn't sound right to me. What's your take on it? Could you refer me to a source? Thanks. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Ada, Ohio Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
I can't find a resource that says what we want to hear, that a noun clause acting as a subject is always singular. Every example I find is singular, but when it's connected to a predicate with a linking verb that predicate is always singular. One could avoid that troublesome sentence by inverting it: "The rules are what interests me the most." ![[E-Mail Icon]](../gif/email.gif){kind=small} I'll leave an e-mail icon here in case another user can help us out here. As a resource, I'd recommend Quirk's book:Authority: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission. [Look up "nominal clauses."]
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| QUESTION |
In this paragraph, do you see any incorrect sentence structure? If so, where, and how do I fix it?...
The ARUD center, which distributed these drugs (mainly heroin), claimed that by supervising drug users and supplying the drugs from a clean environment, they could reduce the number of addicts and, therefore, reduce the number of people being infected by HIV. So far there is no sign of improvement. The rate of crime and violence haven't changed, and the rate of people using illegal drugs haven't changed since the start of the project. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Brookings, Oregon Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The word rate is singular and requires a singular verb (in both cases) -- hasn't. I suppose you could say that the rates of crime and violence haven't changed -- but the rate hasn't. |
| QUESTION |
Which is correct?:
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Richmond, Virginia Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I imagine, in each case, it's how you mean to use the phrase. "Level of invective" would mean (like "level of insult") how serious is this as invective, as verbal abuse. "Level of invectiveness" would be a ranking of the quality of abuse within the invective. Not much difference. "Apparently dire" suggests that the financial straits are probably dire, but only apparently so. In "apparent dire financial straits," the word "apparent" modifies directly the word "straits" (or the noun phrase "financial straits") (i.e., the straits are apparent -- not apparently dire). I think "apparently dire" is what you mean. |
| QUESTION |
| I would like to know the definition and function of a complement and a finite verb. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Auckland, New Zealand Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| A complement (usually a noun or an adjective) is linked to a subject with a linking verb. He is tall. He is a student. A subject complement will re-name or re-identify the subject. A finite verb will change its form in the third-person singular present tense -- I sing, he sings -- or when it changes to the past tense: I sing, I sang. Nonfinite verb forms do not change in that way: The bewildering student/students; the boring lecture was/is. |
| QUESTION |
| I'm grading sentences for the word excellent. Has the meaning of the word changed? Can it be a noun instead of an adjective? Or is using excellent as a noun showing slang usuage? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Payette, Idaho Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I can't imagine using the word excellent as a noun. (I guess "your excellency" comes close, but that's not what you mean, is it?) It's still very much an adjective. Several years ago, it was used by teenagers as a substitute for the more established "cool," but that was superseded by "radical" and by God knows what else since then. |
| QUESTION |
| Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg _are_ white" or, "The yolk of the egg _is_ white"? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Saginaw, Michigan Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Grammatically, we would want to say "The yolk of the egg is white." Ornithologically or biologically (ovumologically?), we'd be wiser to say "The yolk of the egg is yellow." Unless you've got some weird eggs up there in Saginaw. |
| QUESTION |
In an essay, what is the proper way to write the name of a film?
Is it capitalized and quoted? Or, is it capitalized, only?
Example: |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Saratoga, California Mon, Jan 18, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Capitalize the first, last, and all important words (as if it were the name of a book), and then either underline or italicize it. (I prefer italics, personally, but some teachers don't like italics, so ask first.) There might be some movies -- I can't think of any now -- which purposely have no capital letters in their titles, and then you would want to conform to that exact spelling -- but still underline or italicize. |
| QUESTION |
| When writing the phrase "98 &186;F", do you put the "F" right next to the degree symbol or do you separate it with a space? Also, when writing the term "3 MW of power" as in "3 megawatts of power" do you place the "MW" right next to the "3" or separate it with a space? You might have guessed that these are electric company questions. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Louisville, Kentucky Tue, Jan 19, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The degree symbol is separated from the numeral by a space, but it goes right next to the C. or F. (oddly enough, if you ask me). You could also write this without any spaces, as in 98%186;F. Abbreviations -- mw or whatever -- are separated from the numeral by a space. Do I get a break on my electric bill? Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. p. 297. |
| QUESTION |
| Would you say "besieged WITH" or "besieged BY" such as "besieged with information" or "besieged by information..."? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tue, Jan 19, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| That's rather an odd thing to be besieged with/by, but if I have to make a choice, I'll go with by -- because the information is besieging you (if you say so). |
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