| QUESTION |
Hi,
Could you resolve my hesitations:
should it be "there IS" or "there ARE" in the following sentence:
"For a hidden plug-in there IS/ARE no menu item and hence no way to run it."
Thank you.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
St. Petersburg, Russia  Wed, May 26, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| When expletive constructions (there is/are, here is/are, for instance), the subject follows the verb and determines the number of the verb. "No menu item" is singular so we want "is" in this sentence. With "menu items," of course, we'd want "are."
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| QUESTION |
| If you have "in" and "to" next to each other in a sentence like "How to log in to the system" would you write them as two separate words or combine them to the word "into"? It seems to me that I have learned that "in" and "to" always combine to form "into" but I don't know whether that is correct. Are there any rules regarding this?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Arhus, Denmark Thu, May 27, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| When you are expressing direction, you probably need to use "into." When the "to" can be translated as "in order to," you should keep the words separate. Thus "I drove in to see my mother." And "I drove into Detroit."
Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996.
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| QUESTION |
Use of plural acronyms: I'm writing about a device called an Integrated Transceiver System (ITS). If I'm talking about a group of these devices, which is the correct way of writing the plural of the acronym:
- ITSs <--- this is the way I've always written it
- ITS's
- ITS'
Hope you can help.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK Thu, May 27, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| As long as you can create your acronym with ALL CAPS, that's a satisfactory plural for it -- ITSs. I have seen some reference manuals call for an apostrophe, especially for acronyms that end in "S," where things can get a bit confusing, but I think most manuals nowadays call for the addition of a simple "s" to create the plural -- ATMs and CPUs, etc.
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| QUESTION |
Which of the following is grammatically correct and why?
- - Sign on to the computer system.
- - Sign onto the computer system.
What are the guidelines for using "on", "onto", and "on to"?
Thank you.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Denver, Colorado Thu, May 27, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The single word version of this construction seems to be gaining more and more popularity. He fell onto the floor would always have been written "on to" before the 18th century. There are circumstances, however, where only one or the other will do. We want to "step onto the grass," for instance, and where the word "to" wants to be separate, we must manage to let it be separate: "We walked on to the next village." In a sentence such as "We moved onto other matters," the "onto" seems to suggest a physical motion which would be inappropriate: "We moved on to other matters" would be better. ("He moved onto the couch," of course, would be acceptable.) I hope this doesn't confuse you more than it helps.
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| QUESTION |
Which is the correct way to show possession in the following sentences:
- The boy who lives down the street's dog ran away.
or
- The the boy's who lives down the street dog ran away.
I know that I usually show possession similar to the first example in my everyday speech, but it looks odd when I write it. In other words, the first example sounds right, but I'm not sure if it is grammatically correct or not.
Thanks for your help!
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Goddard, Kansas Thu, May 27, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| In casual, everyday speech (as you point out), we might actually say something like that first sentence, and just about everybody would know what we meant. (Putting the apostrophe -s anywhere else just makes matters worse.) In writing, of course, we'd use the "of construction": "The dog of (or "belonging to") the boy who lives down the street just ran away."
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| QUESTION |
Please help me! I cannot find ANYONE who knows the answer to this question. Can one begin a sentence with "I.e.,"? For example:
I.e., if three people go to the store then one person will have to stay here and watch the baby.
Is this correct or incorrect usage? Where can I find documentation for this??
Thanks.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico Fri, May 28, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I can't say it's impossible, but it seems highly unlikely that you'll ever find a place where beginning a sentence with something that means "that is" would be appropriate. Most writing manual insist that i.e. should be used only parenthetically, which means it ought to be tucked into the middle of a sentence (if it's used at all), and Burchfield notes that it's always written in the lower case, which precludes its use at the beginning of a sentence. The Chicago Manual of Style notes the various kinds of punctuation that can precede i.e., and the period isn't one of them. I should add that in casual speech, a sentence like the one you write as an example would not be that uncommon—but I would use "That is" and not I.e.
Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. 1993.
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