| QUESTION |
| How does one refer to both male and female alumni?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Henniker, New Hampshire  Wed, Sep 1, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Actually, "female alumni" is a—a what?—a contradiction in terms? an oxymoron? When the genders are grouped together, the masculine form of the noun simply takes over (sound familiar?), and—as far as the Latin is concerned—alumni would be appropriate. Things have changed, however. Wesleyan University's style guide, calls for alumni/ae when you are referring to mixed genders. You can avoid the problem and talk about graduates.
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| QUESTION |
| Can prepositional phrases be used as direct objects?
Also, in the following sentence how is the prepositional phrase used? Is the verb transitive or intransitive?
Maria talked to the girl.
Thank you
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Little Rock, Arkansas Wed, Sep 1, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I certainly don't want to say never, because someone will come up with an exception. In the sentence you give us, "to the girl" modifies the verb—tells us "how" in or "in what manner" the person "talked." If it modifies the verb, it's behaving as an adverb. The verb does not take an object, so it's an intransitive verb. (I think it always is—with the exception of the slang expression, "He talked the talk.")
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| QUESTION |
The sentence: Using information in this unit and the library books, encourage the student to describe the various scenes on the story cloth and explain what each reveals about America and the people who live there.
The problem: I read the main part of the sentence as a compound sentence with two understood subjects ([you] encourage the student; [you] explain what each reveals). However, friends view it as a compound verb (encourage and explain) and say that you can't have two understood subjects. Which is correct?
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Lubbock, Texas Wed, Sep 1, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm not sure what your friends mean when they say you can't have two understood subjects. Of course you can. The real problem with that sentence, as I see it, is that we don't know if "explain what each reveals" belongs with "encourage" or with "to describe." So is the student supposed to explain or is the instructor supposed to encourage and then explain? It helps to insert a "to" before "explain" if the student is supposed to do the explaining. If the instructor is supposed to explain things, I would create another clause altogether; the sentence is currently out of control.
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| QUESTION |
Exactly when is the word "earth" supposed to be capitalized? We have some general rules, but none of my reference materials are clear. Are the following sentences correct? We live on the planet Earth.
- The satellite hurled through space toward earth.
- We must save the earth's natural resources.
I need a firm rule for my students. Thanks.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Sulfur, Louisiana Thu, Sep 2, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm about to make up a rule. When you could substitute the word "Mars" (or "Venus," if you're of that mind) for the word "earth," then capitalize "Earth." Most of the time, we don't capitalize it, but when we need the title of the planet, we do. In your second sentence, then, we wouldn't capitalize it, but in the first—The satellite hurled through space toward Mars/Earth.—we would.
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| QUESTION |
I want to know more about "plural" forms in compound words.
- a 2-year-old boy
- 13-cents-a-gallon gasoline
Please let me know if we need to put an "s" in the word "cent." As I know, there is a rule that we don't have to put "s" if we use a hyphen in most compound nouns. But, I saw many writers of English keep using "s" like item 2 above. I am really puzzled.
Is there any general rules governing the use of "s" in the above phrases?
Your prompt answer would be highly appreciated.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hong Kong Fri, Sep 3, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
I had never noticed this before. As a general rule, with compounded units of measure, we use the singular: a six-inch rule, a ten-foot pole, a ten-gallon tank. Why we would say "13-cents-a-gallon gasoline" instead of "13-cent-a-gallon gasoline" is beyond me. If, God forbid, the price goes up, I think we would say "five-dollars-a-gallon gasoline," wouldn't we? So maybe it has something to do with money? ![[E-Mail Icon]](../gif/email.gif) I'll leave an e-mail icon here in case someone has some advice on this matter or can explain the thirteen cents.
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| QUESTION |
| In the following sentence, "Is the platypus the only one of the mammals that lay eggs?" correct as it stands, or should "lay" be changed to "lays"? Does "lay" agree with mammals or with "platypus"? Thanks for your input.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| East Chicago, Indiana Fri, Sep 3, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| If there is more than one mammal that lays eggs, then the verb in the first sentence is correct—but it doesn't really make sense. It means that "Of those mammals that lay eggs, the platypus is the only one." It would make a lot more sense to say that "The platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs" (if that is, in fact, true). Or, to ask the question, "Is the platypus the only mammal that lays eggs?"
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| QUESTION |
How come a long sentence with lots of verbs and stuff are not considered run ons?
For example,
Before we could go home we had to stack the chairs, clean the chalkboard, move the dust pans, sweep up broken glass, call security, all before we could leave.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Albany, Georgia Fri, Sep 3, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Actually, that sentence is screaming for a pretty big break before the word "all." I think I would have put a dash in there. Whether or not a sentence is regarded as a run-on depends on its structure, not its length. If it has two independent clauses incorrectly connected, it's a run-on. We have a 134-word sentence that, technically, is not a run-on sentence. Click HERE to read it.
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| QUESTION |
| What are the plural forms of "toast" (a piece of bread prepared in an oven) and "corn" (not the foot ailment)?
This is to settle a small family dispute.
Thank you.
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| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Alexandria, Virginia Sun, Sep 5, 1999
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| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| You can have pieces of toast, but you can't have toasts (with that meaning, anyway). And I don't think you can have corns, either, except on your feet. I was thinking that maybe farmers, in talking about different varieties of corn, might use the word corns, but I suspect they talk about kinds of corn.
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