| QUESTION |
Which sentence is correct as far as possesion? Look at the
phrase "the Soundtronics designers..."
- ...has emerged as the partner of choice for such companies as ..., who are leaving it up to the Soundtronics designers and engineers to bring a concept to life.
OR
- ...has emerged as the partner of choice for such companies as ..., who are leaving it up to the Soundtronics' designers and engineers to bring a concept to life.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
San Jose, California  Sun, Oct 22, 2000
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| With the word "the" included in "the Soundtronics designers," the word "Soundtronics" is simply attributive; it's not possessive. If you omit the word "the," it becomes possessive: "Soundtronics' designers and engineers have determined. . . ."
|
| QUESTION |
- "We value respect by acknowledging all voices and ideas have merit."
- "We value respect by being trustworthy and trusting others."
- "We value respect by considerate, direct and honest communication."
What's wrong with these sentences? They just FEEL wrong.
Thank you.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hillsborough, North Carolina Mon, Oct 23, 2000
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| In the first version, you definitely want a "that" before "all"; otherwise, "all voices" sounds like the object of the sentence and "ideas have merit" sounds like a very loosely connected independent clause. The basic problem with these sentences, however, goes beyond structure. I'm not sure what it means, "We value respect [by doing these things]." Is that the same as showing respect?
|
| QUESTION |
Is the sentence below correct? If not, how to correct it and
still have it read as well as it does now?
"Women can, and indeed ARE, taking the lead in building a free society."
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Seattle, Washington Tue, Oct 24, 2000
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| That sentence has a serious problem in parallel form. If you take out the second element, "and indeed are," you're left with "Women can taking. . . ," which doesn't make any sense. You could try something like "Women can take — and indeed are taking — the lead in building a free society." I'd use the dashes to provide for a somewhat more emphatic break.
|
| QUESTION |
I was given this sentence on a copyediting test:
We considered that if MCHC is to live up to its name, it would be necessary
to create either a new name derivation or a name change; we have elected to
do neither, but have decided to devise a new index.
I made a new sentence beginning with "we" but the verbs in the first sentence
("MCHC is to.." and "it would be necessary") didn't seem right. I changed the "is"
to "was" so the sentence read "if MCHC was to live up to its name, it would be..."
but I think that probably wasn't correct. What should I have done?
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Willow Springs, Missouri Tue, Oct 24, 2000
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| The sentence gets off to a rather verbose start with "We considered that if. . . " You might consider tucking "we" into the sentence later on. The change to "was" doesn't really help; it's a matter of present exigency. Can you fix the two parts of your "either" choice: "it would be necessary either to create a new name derivation or to change the name of the ____"? (I have no idea what that means, by the way: "to create a new name derivation.")
|
| QUESTION |
| How do you write a sentance using an objective pronoun with a objective
necessary appositive? Please explain along with an example.
Thank You
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Hillcrest, New York Wed, Oct 25, 2000
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I'm afraid I don't know what an "objective necessary appositive" is. If I had to guess, it would be something
like "I'll never forget him, my best friend." But that appositive, "my best friend," is not really "necessary," is it?
|
| QUESTION |
In the following sentences, which is correct?
- "It was a pleasure for Ray Brown, Eddie Smith and I to have the opportunity to meet with you recently"
- "It was a pleasure for Ray Brown, Eddie Smith and me to have the opportunity to meet with you recently"
My boss uses "I" in the sentence but I think it should be "me". Would you please tell me
which is correct.
Looking forward to your reply and thanks in advance for your help.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| London, England Thu, Oct 26, 2000
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Tell your boss that he would write "It was a pleasure for me to have the opportunity. . . ," and that he shouldn't change the form of his pronoun just because Ray and Eddie got involved. You're right; we want "me." But you also want to keep your job, so be careful.
|
Previous Grammar Log