The
Grammar
Logs
# 306

QUESTION
(Usage question) Can an issue be contentious? For instance, This has turned out to be a contentious issue.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Provo, Utah Mon, Apr 5, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Yes, anything that provokes contention (discord, argument) is contentious, so the word can apply to the issue that provokes the argument as well as the people who demonstrate contentiousness.

QUESTION
Dear Grammar,

I need your assistance on use of the word "nary." My proposed sentence is this: "Effortlessly benevolent and cheerful even at dawn, Good Samaritans fling themselves into servicing their fellow man with nary a hint of grumbling." Unsure about proper usage, I checked the dictionary, which basically informed me that the "a" after "nary" is incorrect, because "nary" means "not one" or "no." Nonetheless, I have never heard the word used without the "a" following it. What is correct?

Thanks

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
San Jose, California Mon, Apr 5, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Burchfield says that "nary" seems to be derived from "never a"; the Oxford American says it means "not any." In either case, the word is always followed by "a," as you have always heard it used. Whatever dictionary you used is incorrect.

Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996.

Authority for this note: Oxford American Dictionary: Oxford University Press, New York. 1980.


QUESTION
Has it become gramatically acceptable to say or write "I am done my work?" If not, can the objection be overcome by adding "with?"
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Moorestown, New Jersey Mon, Apr 5, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
"I am done my work" is completely unacceptable; I can't imagine any level of discourse where it would be tolerated. "I am done with my work" is surely acceptable in an informal setting; "I have finished my work" would be an improvement, of course. In spite of its "brevity," the verb "do" is astonishingly complex. Any good dictionary will have a whole page of definitions and variations.

QUESTION
Do you have a section on resume writing?

I love your web site!

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Boston, Massachusetts Mon, Apr 5, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
On the front page of the Guide, there is a hyperlink to Forms of Communication, which contains a basic resume, thank-you note, etc. (You'll need Acrobat Reader with your internet browser.) There's also a hyperlink to additional material in our Career Center's pages.

QUESTION
Would the following sentence be an acceptable one:
"We have a new partner in Zenith Marketing."
Or am I required to use a sentence such as this.
"We have a new partner, Zenith Marketing."
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Akron, Ohio Mon, Apr 5, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I don't see anything wrong with that sentence. It's sort of like "We have a good friend in Bob," isn't it? I'm not sure where that idiom comes from, but it seems to have become an acceptable way of saying things, at least in American speech. In really formal prose, you might be better off with your second version, and you might be even better off by letting your sentence actually say something about Zenith: "Our new partner, Zenith Marketing, is a premier. . . ." But I doubt if anyone would raise an eyebrow at the first version.

QUESTION
Would you tell me what is the difference between IN SPITE OF and DESPITE, and give me some examples please ? I know it is almost the same but there is a little difference.

Thanks a lot.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico Tue, Apr 6, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In general use, there isn't enough difference to worry about. From what I gather from the dictionaries I have (not adequate, really, to this task), I think "in spite of" has an air of defiance or even contempt about it that "despite" probably does not measure up to. The online Merriam-Webster's includes each word as a synonym in the definition of the other.
  • She played despite her hip injury.
  • She played in spite of her coach's instructions.
QUESTION
I heard recently that substituting the ampersand in enumerations is appropriate, and perhaps even preferred, when one of the list items normally includes the word "and". For example, the following list specifies "place and route tools" rather than place tools and route tools.
A significant improvement has been achieved recently in simulation, synthesis, and place & route tools.
Would an ampersand be appropriate in this case?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Pocatello, Idaho Tue, Apr 6, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
That's an interesting use of the ampersand and I see some logic to it, but I'm not aware of any language authority recommending that particular usage. (That doesn't mean it isn't happening, just that I'm not aware of it.) [E-Mail Icon] I'll leave an e-mail icon here in case another user has some information on this use of the ampersand.

QUESTION
I have problems with using the definite article in cases as follows:
Another rational outcome from the fit is a stronger electrostatic interaction in the case of M44ND substitution....
Have I to write
  • ...in case...
    or
  • ...in THE case?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Osnabrueck, Germany Tue, Apr 6, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
"In case" means "as a precaution against the event that"; "in the case of" means "in the particular situation of." Since I don't have the slightest idea what this sentence is about, I can't really tell which is meant. (I suspect the latter.) (Are you sure that rational is the word you want here?)

QUESTION
How many spaces are there after a colon, one or two?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Chicago, Illinois Wed, Apr 7, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Nowadays, with word-processors, we use one space after both periods and colons. In days of yore, with monospace typewriters, we were taught to use two spaces, and this habit is very hard to change for some folks.

Authority: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Assocation American Psychological Association. 4th ed. American Psychological Association: New York. 1994. p. 244.
QUESTION
Which sentence of the two is correct if indeed over the history of the university the classes have been ten to fourteen people large?
  1. The lady said that the classes at Columbia University are usually ten to fourteen people large.
  2. The lady said that the classes at Columbia University were usually ten to fourteen people large.
The rule in the section on tense squence says that the verb in the dependent clause must be in the past tense if the verb in the independent clause is in the past tense, unless the dependent clause express a general truth. Is this a general truth or a logical exception to the rule or what?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Santa Fe, New Mexico Wed, Apr 7, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
It's the verb "said" that sets us up for the present tense here: she said (in the past, obviously) that this is (present tense) true. You see this kind of thing in newspaper accounts constantly: "The President said that the planes are continuing/will continue their operations." There's nothing wrong with your second sentence; however, that version would mean that it is no longer true that there are ten to fourteen people in each class. (Incidentally, a statement like that is not a very careful or precise use of numbers. Is the class size an average, a mean, or what? Averages can be meaningless when five senior classes have eight students but your freshman Intro to Psych class has two hundred.)

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