The Grammar Logs
#603

I would like to know if the use of "and or" in the sentence below is appropriate and grammatically correct. Thanks!

Due to the constraints of verbal communication, nonverbal and or written methods should be used to reinforce the verbal message.

The construction "and/or," though commonplace, is seldom necessary. Almost always, a simple "or" will suffice. Then we get into the real problems with this sentence: if you walk into the sentence aware of the fact that "verbal" and "written" can mean the same thing, the sentence quickly fizzzles into meaninglessness. Perhaps the more precise "oral" should be substituted for "verbal" here? Most people will take "verbal" to mean "spoken," but some people won't, and it's a good idea to make distinctions like this along the lines of spoken (or oral) and written.

I notice that people frequently use the word "how" when it seems as though they should use the word "that." For example, people often say "did I tell you how he called me last night?" "How" in this case is not used to mean "the way in which." Instead, it is being used as if it meant "that" or "the fact that." It might also be used to imply "did I tell you the details of his call to me last night?" Is this use of "how" grammatically wrong? It always bothers me that people use "how" in this sense...or, as most people might say, it always bothers me how people use "how" in this sense.

Theodore Bernstein abhores this use of "how" to mean "that." It is not standard written usage to say "He told us how he had gone on a vacation during the heat wave," Bernstein writes, "unless the vacationist described the packing of his luggage, the trip to the airport," etc. Bernstein then goes on to deplore the even more casual "as how" (as in "He told us as how he had gone on a vacation") and the "still more vulgar" seeing as how or being as how. Unless a sentence is calling for a conjunction to convey "the way or manner in which," the conjunction that is required.

Now more than one hundred people are involved in the play.

What part of speech is MORE in the above sentence? What part of speech is THAN in the above sentence?

"More" is a comparative adjective (modifying "people") and you can regard "than" as either a preposition or a conjunction. I prefer to think of it as a preposition here, with "than one hundred" functioning as a prepositional phrase. It's wise to think of "more than" simply as a single device for expressing comparisons.

Authority: A Grammar of Contemporary English by Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. Longman Group: London. 1978.

In this sentence (from yesterday's New York Times):

Twice as many U.S. troops were killed in hostilities in June than in May.

Is it proper to use "than" or should that have been "as"?

A comparison set up with an initial "as" demands a follow-up "as." The writer has apparently switched from am "as … as" construction to a "more … than" construction" mid-stream. In fact, Fowler referred to this error as "swapping horses."

From Garner's Modern American Usageby Bryan Garner. Copyright 2003 by Bryan A. Garner. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., www.oup-usa.org, and used with the gracious consent of Oxford University Press.

Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. Used with the permission of Oxford University Press.

How do you correctly write the folowing sentence?

--This model is aimed at identifying struggling readers before they fall behind and offers readers having difficulties support throughout the first four years of schooling.

At the very least, I would split these ideas into two separate clauses, probably two separate sentences. (And maybe identify what kind of support is intended?)

This model attempts to identify struggling readers before they fall behind. It offers [academic?] support throughout the first four years of schooling to readers having difficulty [in ????].

"Alumni Association Awards Brunch"

Is there an apostrophe before or after the s in awards? Is there an apostrophe at all? Does it show possession?

There is no apostrophe; an apostrophe would show possession, which wouldn't make sense. Unfortunately, it still looks like the alumni association is giving an award to Mr. Brunch, whoever that is. Is there another word you could throw in there? "Alumni Association Annual Awards Brunch"?

Many years ago, a supervisor told me that using the word "unorganized" was incorrect and to say "disorganized." I hear people saying unorganized all the time. Is it a word or not?

When we say that something is unorganized, we simply mean that there doesn't appear to any organization to it. But that's not necessasrily a bad thing, is it? You can be having a party and you decide to go off to the movies, but you do it in an unorganized way. That's no big deal; one doesn't really expect a high level of organization there. However, when we say that something is disorganized, that means that organization is expected or valued in this context, but it's just not there. Working in an unorganized office might be kind of fun for a while; working in a disorganized office would just be chaotic. All of this is to say that disorganized is a pejorative word, but unorganized is not.

I recently wrote a message indicating:

I am pleased to announce that the closing of our transaction went very smooth today.

I was corrected by someone who said: This should read "smoothly", not "smooth". "Smooth" is an adjective, not an adverb. Can you please tell me if this is correct, or is it ok both ways??

Your friend gave you good advice. "Smooth" can be confusing, because we use the phrase "It went on smooth," and we use the adjective form, "smooth," to define the nature of the surface when we're finished (not the way it went on). But in your sentence, "smoothly" wants to define the way the transaction "went," so we need the adverb form. You might consider dropping the intensifier "very," as it's not doing much work for you. Save your very's for when you need them.

I'd like to know the difference between

• I like Arabic films
AND

• I like Arab films.

You probably mean "Arab films." (If you do a search for "Arab film," on Google, you'll find course descriptions, seminars, etc., on "Arab film," not "Arabic film." One hears and reads the word "Arabic" widely used where the Arabic language is important, perhaps its grammar, structure, sounds, etc. So you could probably talk about films in Arabic (i.e., the actors are speaking Arabic), but these actos are in Arab films. "Arabic" can be used to define anything characteristic of Arabia or Arab people, but in this context, use "Arab" and save "Arabic" for questions about language.

Is it grammatically correct to use "nuance" as an adjective eg. "we took a nuanced approach in writing our report"?

The adjective "nuanced" usually means "showing subtle distinctions, variations, niceties" and "sensibilities toward delicate shadings," etc. Maybe I've read too many reports in my lifetime to believe that a report can be done in a nuanced manner, but I should be open to surprises here. I'm afraid most people will wonder what you mean by it.

By permission. From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th edition © 2003 by Merriam-Webster, Inc. (www.Merriam-Webster.com).

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