QUESTION |
I've been struggling with the following sentence: And even if
donated blood were plentiful, no one could guarantee that it didn't carry the AIDS virus or some other disease.
Is "didn't" right, or should it be "doesn't"?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Somers Point, New Jersey Sun, Jul 2, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
The "were plentiful" is, appropriately, in the subjunctive mood. "Could guarantee" and "didn't carry" will cast the main clause into the past. On the other hand, I don't see anything wrong with "no one can guarantee that it doesn't carry. . . ." if you want to describe a present situation.
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QUESTION |
Are there any commas in the following sentence:
I saw George who as you know is a 13 month old male.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Reno, Nevada Tue, Jul 4, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
I would write it this way:
I saw George, who, as you know, is a 13-month-old male.
That looks like a lot of commas in a short space, but they're all necessary. You could always simplify the sentence as "I saw George, a 13-month-old male."
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QUESTION |
Should a comma be used before an 'and' when joining two ideas
in a sentence?
Examples:
- Jake is an attentive and co-operative student at all times, and has continued to make good progress in all areas this semester.
- Sarah is a very capable reader. She applies herself well to all written tasks, and is always keen to participate in oral reading activities.
I am a primary school teacher and have just completed reports. I was told to
make changes as a comma should never be used before 'and'. I have used it to
show a pause between ideas.
Thank you
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia Tue, Jul 4, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
It's certainly an overstatement to say that you'd never use a comma before and. You do use a comma + and to connect two independent clauses and to connect the final element of a series. See the Rules for Comma Usage. In the sentences you give us, you don't really need the comma because the ideas you're adding together are not expressed as independent clauses. On the other hand, I think you can argue that the comma (especially in the first sentence) does make the sentence somewhat more readable by making the ideas slightly more discrete. This is more true of the first sentence because you have already used an and in your first "idea." If I were writing these sentences, I think I'd use a comma in the first sentence but not in the second.
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QUESTION |
Does this sentence I made make perfect sense?
Does the barber shave himself or have someone else do it?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Seoul, Korea Tue, Jul 4, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Well, one knows what you mean by it, but no, it doesn't really make sense. "Have someone else" do what? Shave himself? How can he have someone else shave himself? If he does, the barber still didn't get a shave! There's a name for this logical mess, but I don't remember what it is. Maybe this is why so many barbers look kind of scruffy.
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QUESTION |
Question concerning noun verb agreement:
- My hat and scarves are new.(correct)
- My hats and scarf is new. ( I thought the verb should be, are.)
Does the position of the singular or plural nouns determine if the verb is singular or plural?
This is argued by a number of individuals.
Thank you.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Northampton, Massachusetts Thu, Jul 6, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
Unless "my hats and scarf" can be said to constitute a kind of ensemble, making up a singular entity, you'll want a plural verb ("are") in this sentence, regardless of the order of the parts.
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QUESTION |
In usage, is the word 'little' equivalent to 'nothing'
AND
What is the difference between 'a little' and 'little'
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Bangalore,KAR, India Thu, Jul 6, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
If we say "He understood little," that means that he understood almost nothing. "He understood a little [of what was said, for instance]," on the other hand, is more positive. He did understand a little bit, at least, and that is quite a bit more than "He understood little." I'm sorry that this is so confusing. Something similar happens with "few" and "a few." If "he has few friends," that means he has practically no friends. If "he has a few friends," that, again, is more positive: at least they're countable.
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QUESTION |
As technical writers, we often use the imperative mood. I'll give
an example, then define the problem.
"Click the object and drag it to the desired location."
As an editor, would you place a comma after "object"? With the implied "you" as a subject,
how do you know whether to treat this as a compound predicate or a compound sentence?
When you write it (and read it) with the implied subject, it sounds a little s
tilted.
"[You] click the object, and [you] drag it to the desired location."
The second "you" seems unnecessary. So would you assume a compound predicate was
intended in this case?
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Norcross, Georgia Sat, Jul 8, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
You will, sometimes, find an imperative sentence that is complex enough so that you ought to assume that the understood subject, "you," is repeated and the two clauses should thus be separated by a comma. In your sentence, though, we can easily assume that the understood "you" has two verbs, "click" and "drag," and no comma is necessary. You describe the situation very well.
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QUESTION |
I'm curious about the use of the "suspense". Is it proper?
When a crew member returns from leave of absence, the application shall remove the Pay
Adjustment PCN from suspense and notify the crew member's manager that the Pay
Adjustment PCN processing will continue.
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SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Wayne, Pennsylvania Sat, Jul 8, 2000
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GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
It sounds odd, but the word "suspense" is used that way in bookkeeping as in a description of funds that are kept in escrow until actual allocation and that seems to apply here.
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.
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