The
Grammar
Logs
# 382

QUESTION
Is it "prize possession" or "prized possession"?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
New York, New York Tue, Mar 21, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Either one. "Prized" can mean "treasured," "esteemed." But the word "prize" can also mean "outstanding of a kind" — well, pretty much the same thing.

Authority for this note: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Electronic Edition. 1994. Used with permission.


QUESTION
We have a proposal containing the following sentence: "Any change to such price will be thoroughly discussed with XYZ Company and mutually agreed." I feel we need to add "upon" after agreed. This was written by our legal department (which has been wrong before) - is it "legalese"?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Princeton, New Jersey Tue, Mar 21, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
According to Burchfield, the use of "agree" without a prepositional complement (to, with, upon, etc.) is common in the legal world but still controversial (among grammarians, anyway) in England, but is virtually unheard of in the U.S. (outside of Princeton, anyway). I think you need the "upon."

Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. (under "agree") Used with the permission of Oxford University Press.
QUESTION
I have a question regarding the usage of "each"--I know it can function as both a pronoun and an adverb. In the sentence: Mike, Bob, Sue, and Jane each has a dog, is "each" functioning as a pronoun or an adverb? Should it be "has" or "have"? Thanks for your help.
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Raleigh, North Carolina Wed, Mar 22, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Burchfield describes this situation this way:
When each immediately follows a plural pronominal subject the following verb is in the plural: "We each have our own priorities." . . . When each is not the subject, but is in apposition with a plural noun or pronoun as subject, the verb (and any complement) is invariably plural: "The three parties each have a right to a confidential briefing.
So the answer to your question is that it's a pronoun in that situation, and you want the plural verb "have."

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.
QUESTION
Because of the sentence order, I am having a hard time with the plurality of the word "exists" in the following:
"I have discovered that there exists things that do, in fact, stagger the velocity of time."
This sounds correct to my ear. However, the "s" at the end of "exists" and at the end of "things" do not seem to match. I've even tried replacing "exists" with "are" and "is" and feel that "are" is right. Could you please tell me if my ear is correct. Also, could you explain why I might be having such a problem with this.

Thank you,

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Toronto, Ontario Wed, Mar 22, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Within this noun clause (which begins with "that"), you have an expletive construction "there exist things. . . ." In such a construction, the subject follows the verb but still determines the number of the verb. The subject is plural, so we need a plural verb, "exist." The problem with the sentence is the expletive construction itself. If you can avoid it, you're better off: "I have discovered that things exist that do, in fact, . . . ." I should note that some writers contend that "there" is what they call an "existential subject" and should be regarded as singular. Thus they would say, "There is a man and a woman in the foyer" (instead of are). Although this will sometimes happen in casual speech, in formal and academic prose, we allow the actual subject (which follows the verb) to determine the number of the verb.

QUESTION
I have a question about the use of "respectively".

I received a comment, by a non-native speaker (just like me), on one of my manuscripts that the use of respectively is not correct when refering to 3 or more. I have been using this construction for a long time, also in papers that were corrected by nativ e English speakers, without getting any comment on it.

E.G. the use of respectively in the following sentence would not be correct.

"Plants A, B and C were, respectively, 6, 8 and 9 cm high."
Only the sentence
"Plants A and B were, respectively, 6 and 8 cm high."
would be allowed. Is this true? If so, and respectively can not be used in such cases, what is the alternative? The dictionary does not really provide an answer. Although all examples given only use two subjects, the description does not exclude the use of 3 or more subjects.

Thank you for you kind efforts.

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Somewhere, Japan Wed, Mar 22, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
I don't see anything in my dictionary or my other reference books that suggests that "respectively" is limited to a description of two things. It means "in the order given," and that seems to fit your first example with three plants. With all due respect to your critic or editor, I don't see the problem. [E-Mail Icon]If necessary, you could change it to "Plants A, B and C were 6, 8 and 9 cm high, in that order." I'll include an e-mail icon here in case someone else would like to weigh in on this.

QUESTION
When writing about birds should I capitalize the names? For example Eastern Bluebird, or Bobolink or do these names stay lowercase?

Thanks

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Amherst, Massachusetts Fri, Mar 24, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
In general the same rule applies to animals that applies to plants. Don't capitalize their names unless the name is derived from another proper noun. The birds you name above would remain in the lower case. But Baltimore oriole, for example, gets the "B" of Baltimore capitalized.

QUESTION
Is 12:00am the same thing as midnight? Is 12:00pm the same thing as noon?

Thank you!

SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Fri, Mar 24, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Actually, it's the other way around. Midnight is part of the day which is just coming to an end; it's twelve post meridian (after mid-day, which starts after noon). So midnight is 12 p.m. and noon is 12 before mid-day because it belongs to the morning, not the afternoon. I hope this explanation hasn't completely confused you.

QUESTION
On question 4 of:
http://webster.commnet.edu/shr-cgi-shl/quiz.pl/sensen/its_there_quiz.htm
it asks:
His fear of ____ being a very long season seemed contagious.
1) its
2) it's

Now I'm no grammar expert but I believe that that is incorrect.
Please look into this and contact the correct person involved.

Thank you
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Brookfield, Wisconsin Fri, Mar 24, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
The quiz indicates that "its" would be the correct choice for that sentence, and the quiz is correct. "It's" would mean "it is," which wouldn't make sense there. We need the possessive form of "it" because "being" (a gerund) belongs to "it." Thank you, though, for keeping us honest.

QUESTION
When do I use 'amid' versus 'amidst' and when do I use 'among' versus 'amongst'?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Allentown, Pennsylvania Fri, Mar 24, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
Both "amid" and "amidst" are rather fussy words; "in the midst of" is probably a good substitute. "Amid" is far, far more common than "amidst." "Amongst" is rarely used in American English; it's somewhat more common in British English. I'd stick with "among." (They mean the same.)

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.
QUESTION
I just read something on CNN that I found strange. Here it is, paraphrased:
"The agreement will be approved this week by an (a???) European Commission committee. "
I just read your section on the indefinite articles "a" and "an", and I found the "h" exception to the consonant rule. Is there also a Y-sound exception to the consonant rule? Or is this a CNN typo?
SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Wed, Mar 29, 2000
GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE
We'd use "a" before "European" because that word begins with consonantal "yoo" sound. I can't tell from your example which article CNN actually used. If they used "an," they made a mistake.

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