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The Grammar Logs # 290 |
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| QUESTION |
| Which is correct "candlelight dinner" or "candlelit dinner"? It seems I see "candlelight" used more, but wouldn't that technically mean dining on burning pieces of wax? Any other noun used in front of "dinner" means that's what you're eating (e.g., fish dinner). Wouldn't the adjective be the better choice or am I just splitting hairs? Just a thought for Valentine's Day. Thank you. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Unknown  Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I agree with you, that "candlelit dinner" is a better choice of modifier. But the dictionaries offer "candlelight" as a variant of "candlelit," so there you have it. "Candle-lighted" would make more sense. |
| QUESTION |
| When should you use "collectible" vs. "collectable"? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Bentonville, Arkansas Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The online Merriam-Webster's says that "collectable" is a variant of "collectible." Burchfield says that "collectable" is the preferred spelling of these words, which mean the same thing (according to him), but that "collectible" is used more frequently in the U.S. If you're into the antiques and collectibles crowd, I'd use whatever they seem to be using. Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996.
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| QUESTION |
| Is the phrase "cannot else but be" correct? (I used it in the sentence "Creative activity conditional to the progress of science cannot else but be transdisciplinary", which incited some controversy). |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Leiden, The Netherlands Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I guess I understand the excitement. I like the sound of your new phrase, but I think you'd be much better off with "cannot be other than. . . ." or "must be. . . ." |
| QUESTION |
| Which is correct? Jacobs, as well as (we, us), (has, have) given (his or her, their) share? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Brown Deer, Wisconsin Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The phrase "as well as we" modifies "Jacobs," but it does not "compound" Jacobs into something plural. So we want "Jacobs, as well as we, has given his share." (Assuming Jacobs is male.) Frankly, you're better off with "Jacobs has given his share, and so have we." or "Like the rest of us, Jacobs has given his share." |
| QUESTION |
| Which are the three parts of Peru?
What are the three parts of Peru? Which of the above is correct and why? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| London, U.K. Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| "Which" would be acceptable if you were looking, say, at an extensive list of "parts," and you wanted someone to name (select from the list) those parts that belong to Peru. If you wanted someone simply to name the three parts of Peru, you'd use the "what." |
| QUESTION |
| I wrote "Humans' fundamental needs include......" in my English essay; however, my teacher changed the sentence into "The fundamental needs of humans......" I cannot distinguish the difference between the two. Can you explain it to me? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Burnaby, B.C. Canada Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| There isn't much difference, frankly, but it is better to put the word that you want to focus on at the head of the phrase in question. Also, the sense of "humans" you're using here sort of puts it into that inanimate or conceptual mode, and you're better off using the "of" construction for such possessives. |
| QUESTION |
| Where would a hyphen be inserted (or would one be necessary) in the compound phrase "a 200 square foot building"? Is it grammatically correct to say "a 200 square feet building"? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Pewaukee, Wisconsin Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| When the modifiers come before the word modified, use a hyphen and use the singular: "a 200-square-foot building." When the modifiers come after the word modifiers, use the plural without the hyphen: "We were looking for a floorplan with 200 square feet." |
| QUESTION |
| Can you teach me how to write minutes? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Nairobi, Kenya Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If you have Acrobat Reader on your browser, you can go to the "Forms of Communication" section and open the model for minutes listed there. |
| QUESTION |
| Hi Grammar, I remember learning in school that the verb "graduate" should be used in the (passive?) voice, as in "She was graduated from Harvard." I noticed, however, this construction in one of your examples: "She had graduated..." Please explain! Thanks. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Culver City, California Mon, Feb 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The verb "graduate" has a long and weird career; its major points of usage seem to vary from transitive to intransitive and back again. At one point -- but a very long time ago -- the chief use would be something like "Harvard graduated her in English" and I suppose the passive form of that would be like the sentence you've suggested. Nowadays, only the intransitive is widely accepted: "She graduated/has graduated/ had graduated/ is graduating from Harvard." I recommend that you review the uses of "graduate" in the online Merriam-Webster's. Authority for this note: WWWebster Dictionary, the World Wide Web edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Used with permission. |
| QUESTION |
| Is the sentence "The book's at Louise" a correct alternative for "Louise has the book"? Thanks for the advice. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Kirkop, Malta Tue, Feb 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No, not quite. You could say "The book's at Louise's." We need the possessive form of "Louise" to indicate that the book is at her house or in her shop. |
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