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The Grammar Logs # 310 |
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| QUESTION |
| My boss always uses a semicolon before words like therefore and however. An example would be: The office is closed on Tuesdays; therefore, we cannot see patients on that day. He also uses a semicolon when he uses i.e. For example: Additional funds could be used to contribute to various charitable organizations; i.e., Red Cross, United Way, the American Heart Association, etc. In both examples above I usually just use a comma instead of a semicolon. Which is correct? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Ottumwa, Iowa  Wed, Feb 24, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| There's certainly nothing wrong with the semicolon before the "therefore" of your first example. That's what Semicolons are best at. The Chicago Manual of Style suggests that when a break greater than a comma is called for (which seems to be the case in the second example you give us), a semicolon preceding an i.e. or an e.g. can be used. If that list is meant to be a series of illustrative examples, the abbreviation of e.g. ("for example") would be more appropriate. In fact, the Chicago manual seems to prefer almost anything over a colon in that situation. I have always seen a comma after the "i.e.," but Burchfield feels that it isn't appropriate. Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993. Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996.
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| QUESTION |
Dear Sir or Madam:
Hello, how are you? I have one small question about this sentence:
Then in the 18th century, the government started to crumble when the Chinese were subjected to the control of corrupt warlords and TO a collapsing Ch'ing dynasty.Originally, I left out the 'TO' in "control of corrupt warlords and a collapsing Ch'ing dynasty." But then, I remembered my teacher taught our class parallelism within a sentence. However, the more I read this sentence, the more it didn't seem to flow. Please help me on this grammar mistake. Do you think that the sentence is too long to begin with? Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate your help tremendously. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Tuscaloosa, Alabama Thu, Apr 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm not sure what the relationship is between a collapsing "Ch'ing dynasty" and the crumbling government, but are you saying the same thing twice? There's nothing wrong with your parallel form although "subjected to the control of corrupt warlords and TO the collapse of the Ch'ing dynasty." might go a bit better—providing it makes sense and you're not being redundant. |
| QUESTION |
1. Which is better environment or surroundings in the following sentence, and why?
Most of the behaviors of animals have something to do with their environment/surroundings.2. Why is it "well-built" and "medium-build", NOT "well-build" and "medium-built"? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Yokohama, Japan Thu, Apr 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| "Surroundings" is usually somewhat more intimate than "environment." Your surroundings are the stuff around you, in your room. That could be your environment, also, but environment is a somewhat more detached, scientific word. Without knowing your scientific thesis, I wouldn't know what word you want to use there. Well-built and medium-built are combinations of the modifying adverb and the past participle of the verb. He is "well built" means that he is nicely muscled, etc. A person who has a medium build is of average size and frame. I believe it is also possible to say that would define a medium-built person. |
| QUESTION |
| My son's teacher and I are having a debate on punctuation. Please
help. He punctuates this sentence this way: "What is your name,"
asked Michelle? I say it should be: "What is your name?" asked
Michelle. Also he uses a question mark in an indirect sentence:
I wonder why this is such a cool place? I always thought that in an
indirect question you would not use a question mark: I wonder why
this is such a cool place. Please help! And if you know of books that could help me prove this I would appreciate that also. I've told him that he was wrong (politely, of course) but he continues to teach the kids his way. Thank you! |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| San Luis Obispo, California Thu, Apr 15, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I don't know what to tell you. You're right and he's wrong—unless there's a misunderstanding somewhere. There are dozens of books that would support your position on these questions. You could start with Longman's Handbook:
Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997. See chapter 34.
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| QUESTION |
| Hello there, I've been wondering about the difference between "if" and "whether" in indirect speech.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Tokyo, Japan Fri, Apr 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Use whether when you're considering alternatives; use if before a specific outcome (stated or implied). In your first example, I think either would do; in the second and third, we want whether.
Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997. p. G-23.
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| QUESTION |
| In a creative document, what is the best way to write "the great beyond" as a specific place? Capitals? Quotation Marks? Other? |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Coral Springs, Florida Fri, Apr 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I don't know what that phrase is doing in a creative document of any kind, nor do I know how it's a specific place. If you're using it in some kind of ironic way, I suppose you might try capital letters—but you should expect a smile from your reader, at best. |
| QUESTION |
| Hello, I'm trying to find an answer in regard to capitalizing terms of endearment or address, such as: darling, honey, dearie, miss, ma'am, sir, etc. I know that if 'miss' and 'sir' are part of one's title, they are to be capitalized. I know that if 'honey' an d 'dearie' are used at the beginning of a sentence, or are someone's name, they are to be capitalized. But what about the rest of the time? Thank you so much! I love your web site. |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Oak Harbor, Washington Fri, Apr 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| No, we don't capitalize endearments. I'm not sure why not, but we don't. For some reason, the question never comes up when nasty epithets are used instead of endearments. "Why don't you go downstairs, stupid?" (That's me talking to my cat.) |
| QUESTION |
| This site is so helpful! My question is... What is the plural of "software"? I always thought it never took an "S". Does it? Please help! Thank you |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Montreal, Quebec, Canada Fri, Apr 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The plural of software exists only in Bill Gates's dreams. It's like the plural of furniture—it doesn't exist. It means pieces of programming, but it's a singular word in form and meaning. |
| QUESTION |
First, let me thank you for providing this service. Please tell me if hyphenation is needed in the following example:
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Portsmouth, Virginia Fri, Apr 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Is that anything like "with as little disturbance of surroundings as possible"? If you must use "minimal to no," don't use the hyphens. |
| QUESTION |
| Is using "in back of" grammatically correct, or should one always use "behind?" |
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| New York, New York Fri, Apr 16, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| In the United States, "in back of" is an acceptable substitute for "behind." Less so in the UK. Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996.
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