The
Grammar
Logs
# 328

QUESTION
Subject-verb agreement:
Does the presence of dashes affect s-v agreement?
EX.: The success of the project--and the chance to make a difference-- (I wrote the sentence first with "depends" and then had second thoughts.)
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Smithfield, Rhode Island Sun, Jun 20, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The effect of the dash (as opposed to using commas or no punctuation at all in that sentence) will be to emphasize the material between dashes. But the conjunction "and" still prevails in terms of punctuation and your instincts (your second thought) are correct: you want to use the plural verb.

QUESTION
I have always felt that teenage son should be teenaged son and wax paper should be waxed paper. Did I learn something right a long time ago and I don't know why? Is everyone else doing it wrong?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Maquoketa, Iowa Sun, Jun 20, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
"Wax paper" would be a very difficult thing to wrap your sandwich in; "waxed paper" makes a lot more sense. With "teenage son," however, you're fighting a losing battle. The dictionary lists "teenaged" as a variant of "teenage," a word that has taken on a life of its own—which is not surprising considering what it describes.

QUESTION
My composition begins - The summit of Crestone Needle lies 14,197 feet above sea level ......

Later in the composition I refer to Crestone Needle by its common name i e - the vertical north face of "The Needle" bulges . . . .

Is this correct to capitalize "the" and to use quotation marks?

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Williston, Tennessee Sun, Jun 20, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
There's no reason to capitalize "the" here, but capitalizing the word "Needle" does make sense since we are referring to this particular geological formation and the capital helps distinguish it from other such formations. (This would not be a problem with more common terms -- the lake, say, or the moraine.) There's also no reason to use quotation marks, now that you've nicely established what needle means in this context. (Does the Needle really "bulge," by the way?)

QUESTION
Is the word shant ever used in speaking or is it British English?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Boston, Massachusetts Mon, Jun 21, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The word "shan't" (with an apostrophe) is an acceptable contraction for "shall not'; however, it is rarely used outside of England.

QUESTION
Which is the correct grammar?
  • "What they did was....?
    or
  • What they did is....?"
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Singapore Mon, Jun 21, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
"What they did" is a noun clause serving as the subject of this sentence. Whether you choose to say something about "what they did" in the present or the past—or the future, for that matter—is up to you.

QUESTION
When a business letter is sent out, then later a typo is found, should the letter be corrected and re-sent? Should a note be included saying something to the effect "this second letter is sent to correct errata"? Please advise. Thank you.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Unknown Mon, Jun 21, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Unless the typo is going to cause a misunderstanding or cost somebody some money or cause intolerable embarrassment, I wouldn't draw the recipient's attention to the error. Let it go, and proofread more carefully next time. I certainly would not try to "correct errata"; the errata or corrigenda sheet is a list of errors (and their corrections) in a published work. It wouldn't be appropriate as a follow-up to correspondence.

QUESTION
I believe that the number zero may only be properly pronounced as "zero", not "oh". The latter confuses the number as a letter. Am I right or too fussy?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Bloomington, Minnesota Mon, Jun 21, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The answer to your "either-or" questions is yes. You're probably right and too fussy. In technical or business contexts, it's probably important to pronounce that "0" as "zero." When I'm giving my phone number to people I pronounce the O's as "zeros," but (oddly enough), when I'm giving my mailing zip code, I use "oh" for the zeros. Burchfield suggests that usage is about evenly split on this issue.

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


QUESTION
My question is: I was told never to use the word "at" at the end of this phrase..." I don't know where it's at." By omitting the word "at" at the end of this sentence and still using the contraction "it's" makes this phrase a broken sentence, I would assume. I would understand the reason for omitting the word "at" if using " it is" instead of the contraction "it's". Please explain the difference to me as I do not wish to be humiliated at work again regarding my grammar! Thank you
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Lake Ozark, Missouri Mon, Jun 21, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Judging from your note, I don't think you're going to be embarrassed by your writing any time soon. Some people might object to the "at" because it's a preposition coming at the end of a sentence. Indeed, it's a sentence-ending preposition we can do nicely without—especially if, as you suggest, we change the "it's" to "it is": "I don't know where it is." If you leave out the "at" when you're using "it's," the reader or listener is left wondering if you're talking about where something is going or where it exists or what. The only way around this is to use what I hereby label the existential declarative: "I know know where it is."

QUESTION
What is (or is there ?) the difference between adviser and advisor?

thank you

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Somewhere, Israel Tue, Jun 22, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The dictionary lists "adviser" as the first (and preferred) spelling of this word, but "advisor" is acceptable. According to Burchfield, the OED says that both spellings have a long history, both in England and elsewhere in the English-speaking world. I've always written it "advisor"; Burchfield prefers "adviser."

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


QUESTION
In the following sentence, should I use the verb "have" or "has" after the word "buyer"?
In order to comply with requirements, is essential that the buyer (has or have) the right to require the seller to proceed with the performance of work.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Fort Worth, Texas Tue, Jun 22, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Since this is sentence is couched in the mode of a recommendation, it is an appropriate place to use the Subjunctive Mood. (as in "He recommended that Joe have his teeth capped.") Use the "have."

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