The
Grammar
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# 329

QUESTION
What are the captialization rules for measurement units which are named after the discoverer? For example, the unit of electrical current is the ampere, also abbreviated "a". Is the correct usage "Ampere" with an abbreviation "A" or is "ampere" with an abbreviation "a" acceptable.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Tucson, Arizona Wed, Jun 23, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Oddly enough, such words themselves are not capitalized (ampere, hertz, joule, etc.), but the abbreviations are set in the capital and are the same for singular or plural expressions.

Authority: Chicago Manual of Style 14th ed. U of Chicago P: Chicago. p. 479. 1993.


QUESTION
Please help settle an office dispute for me. I have been accused of using too many commas in my writing. I do not even agree with the example given during the accusation.
  • When I went to the store I bought a coat.
  • NOT: When I went to the store, I bought a coat.
The punctuation hound feels that commas are not used to separate essential (restrictive) clauses from the independent clause of a sentence; therefore, the first sentence is correct. I feel that "When I went to the store," is an introductory clause that is not essential, so the comma is appropriate. It could be broken up to read:
I went to the store. I bought a coat.
What do you think?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Schaumburg, Illinois Wed, Jun 23, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Don't bother breaking up the sentence that way to make your point: it's a complex sentence with an introductory adverb clause and the comma after an introductory adverb clause is always correct (whether the clause is essential or not). If your colleagues want to argue that the sentence is brief, simple, and easy to understand without the comma, then they can do so, but no one should take exception to your use of a comma in that sentence. You might be over-using commas elsewhere, but that certainly is not a good example.

Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997. p. 448.
QUESTION
If I'm sick, should I say "I'm nauseous" or "I'm nauseated"? Doesn't "I'm nauseous" mean that I'm causing nausea rather than feeling nausea?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Chicago, Illinois Wed, Jun 23, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Until recently you could find writing authorities (even dictionaries such as the Oxford American) that would argue that "I'm nauseous" means that you cause nausea or that you are nauseating—not that you don't feel well. The distinction no longer obtains, however. Burchfield contends that anyone who argues that nauseous cannot mean nauseated is out of touch with contemporary language." If you don't want to raise eyebrows, however, I suggest that you use "I'm nauseated" when you're about to throw up on someone's shoes.

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


QUESTION
"We claim that C++ has gotten so complicated that it needs to be learned that way too. It's not that the sum of the complexity of the individual features is all that great."

Above is a paragraph fragment, Could you identify the sentence parts in the second sentence?

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Tokyo, Japan Wed, Jun 23, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Using some rather broad strokes, I could. The subject is "it," a pronoun that really has no antecedent. The predicate nominative (on the other side of the linking verb, "is") is a noun clause: "that the sum of the complexity of the individual parts is all that great." Within that noun clause, of course, you have the subject "sum" and its verb "is," some modifying prepositional phrases, and a predicate adjective "great," which is also modified by "all that." I hope that will suffice.

QUESTION
According to a grammar book, the following have the same meaning.
  1. It is dangerous to swim in this river.
  2. This river is dangerous to swim in.
  3. This is a dangerous river to swim in.
If the book is right, then what does to swim in modify in #3? Dangerous? (a) River? Or a dangerous river?

I'd appreciate your assistance on this. Thank you so much in advance.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Sapporo, Japan Wed, Jun 23, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
That infinitive phrase is modifying the "river." The word "dangerous" modifies it also, of course, but the adjective is taking a pre-noun position, and the infinitive often takes the post-noun position: "The first runner to cross the finish line wins the race."

QUESTION
As a technical editor for a computer company, I run into the use of "Note that" over and over. I have always marked it to be "Notice that" and today somebody challenged me as to why "Notice" was better than "Note."

I began by saying that "note" is a noun and "notice" is a verb.

Too simple. Somebody dredged up a dictionary definition saying that "note" was vt. Okay, if it's transitive (as in "he noted her arrival"), you can use it. But when applying it to "Note that" you're making it imperative.

Then somebody else pointed out that "notice" is also a noun.

Should I give up on this? Or should I just state that "your editor prefers 'Notice that' over 'Note that'?

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Menlo Park, California Fri, Jun 25, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The dictionaries don't really back me up on this, but my sense of the distinction that we can make between these words as verbs is that "note" carries with it a bit more sense of care and thoroughness and earnestness. You can barely notice something, but I don't think you can barely note it. Otherwise, I don't think you can win this battle: they are both verbs and one is listed as the other in the dictionary's definitions.

QUESTION
Hello, I have a punctuation question regarding the usage of the word though. Please tell me which of the following is correct.
  • "I have to admit, though, it was not an easy task."
  • "I have to admit though it was not an easy task."
Although the word "though" is parenthetical information because it is only one word is it alright not to use the commas?

I appreciate your time in helping me solve my dilemma. Thank you!

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Montreal, Canada Fri, Jun 25, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
If you're treating the word "though" as a qualifier and as a parenthetical element with this sentence, you really ought to include a "that" at the beginning of your subordinate clause:
I have to admit, though, that it was not an easy task.
I could be wrong, but I think that will make your punctuation easier.

QUESTION
For some reason, I'm suddenly unsure of the proper verb to use with "any." My example is "if any of these responsibilities (is or are??) overlooked, the quality of data ..." I think it should be ARE, since responsibilities is plural. But I'm not sure and wanted an authoritative opinion. Thanks for your help! GREAT SITE!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Denver, Colorado Fri, Jun 25, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Most of the indefinite pronouns—like all, any, some—can be either singular or plural, depending on what you're referring to. Since you're referring to a plural, "responsibilities," "any" is also plural, and you want the plural verb, "are."

QUESTION
I'm currently working on my Ph.D. in English Literature, specifically Cultural Studies, so I am constantly reading scholarly journal articles. It seems that the trend among many of these writers is a new type of punctuation for the following sentence construction: "Bob and Steven went skiing and, as a result, they missed the exam." While my forte is certainly not grammar, I do, nonetheless, feel that the above sentece is incorrectly punctuated. Did I miss out on a new rule?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Memphis, Tennessee Fri, Jun 25, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Since we can't really write that sentence without any commas, it's probably best to put the comma between the two independent clauses, before the "and," where it belongs. Strunk and White argue that when a parenthetical element (such as "as a result") comes immediately after a comma + conjunction you can leave out the comma before the parenthetical element. (But you still have to put one after it.) There is a tendency—even among good writers—to put a comma after the coordinating conjunction when it's connecting two independent clauses. This habit is related to bad oral hygiene and cannot be defended.

QUESTION
I have been using the word "Lesser" all my life and someone recently told me there was no such word...he says there's just "Less" not "Lesser". Is this correct?

Also he tells me that I can't say "this is lesser than that" .... he says I've to say "This is less than that"....Is this true?

Could you also give me a reference to refer to to prove this to my friend?

Thanks

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Springfield, New Jersey Fri, Jun 25, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Generally, the word "lesser," a comparative of "little," is going to be preceded by an article of some kind: "This is the lesser of two evils; this is a lesser consideration." As an adverb, it's going to precede an adjective or participle: "Of these two comedians, Durante is lesser known." In the example sentence you give us —"This is less than that."—I'm afraid I have a hard time imagining how we could justify using "lesser." Your friend has a point, but tell him he's definitely wrong about "lesser" not being a word.

Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. — or any dictionary, really. . . .
QUESTION
Can you tell me which would be correct? Twelve hours of credit was given for this course. Twelve hours of credit were given for this course. Thanks!
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Edneyville, North Carolina Sat, Jun 26, 1999
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The "twelve hours" is a lump sum (like fifty dollars. . ..), so we want a singular verb, "was."

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