| QUESTION |
Please advise which is correct.
- C & C LLP are delighted that you are able to join us for a round of 18 holes at the Angus Glen Golf Club on Friday, May 24, 2002 or
- C & C LLP is delighted that you are able to join us for a round of 18 holes at the Angus Glen Golf Club on Friday, May 24, 2002
C& C LLP is a law firm (partnership) consisting of several partners and associates.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
Toronto, Ontario, Canada  Fri, May 10, 2002
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Normally, organizational and corporate names are regarded as singular: "General Motors is bringing out two new lines of SUVs this summer." Sometimes, however, something else in the sentence will dictate that the subject be regarded as plural. Here, you don't want to say that the invitee is able to join it, the company, for a round of golf, so you used us, instead. I think I would have used them (instead of "us"), especially since the sentence begins talking about the company in the third person. But the plurality of that notion suggests that we ought to use a plural verb, "are delighted." I can't remember where I read it, but I do recall seeing some authority suggest that corporate names describing partnerships (almost always the case with law firms) should always be regarded as plural anyway.
|
| QUESTION |
In the sentence below, was I correct in putting commas after
the words "appropriate and necessary steps?"
As mentioned, Deputy Smith is an accomplished investigator. He has the innate ability to
quickly identify the crucial facets of each case, and take the appropriate, necessary steps, to
categorize them in order of importance.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Commerce, California Fri, May 10, 2002
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| I wonder if you need both adjectives. If they're necessary, aren't they appropriate? If you can get rid of either word, you can probably get rid of all the commas, changing "them" to "those facets." I would encourage you, incidentally, to change "facets" to "aspects" and reconsider your use of "innate." Mr. Smith was probably not born with those abilities, abilities which undoubtedly grew and multiplied during the course of his vast experience as an investigator.
|
| QUESTION |
The question concerns "where," when it is used as a relative pronoun. Can it refer to an abstract noun? example:
It is a government where the people have the power.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Coburg, Bavaria, Germany Sun, May 12, 2002
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Bernstein says that this is a stylistic rather than a grammatical problem, but I'm not sure what that distinction means. Others are more blunt, saying that you simply can't connect a noun to a clause with either where or when. Bernstein points out that the restriction doesn't apply when the thing being modified is appropriately either spatial or temporal in nature: "The equator is where we find ourselves equidistant from the north and south poles" and "Dawn is when most people are most alert." However, Bernstein then says that where and when are often used inappropriately in "amateurish definitions," and your example (a definition of "democracy," perhaps) would be a good example. We would want "in which" there, instead.
Authority: The Careful Writer by Theodore Bernstein. The Free Press: New York. 1998.
|
| QUESTION |
| The word "fleet" is in some grammars considered as either singular
or plural. So the verb that follows can be used in both forms.
But a friend of mine, who has lived in the States for some time, insists that she would never use
"fleet" with a plural verb form.
So, how is the correct transformation of the sentence "The Japanese have attacked the American
fleet at Pearl Harbour" into the Passive Voice? Should it be "The American fleet has been
attacked..." or "The American fleet have been attacked..." Or are both possible and correct?
Thank you for answering me
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Sintra, Portugal Wed, May 22, 2002
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| My Merriam-Webster's doesn't seem to provide for a plural sense of "fleet." However, if you do a search for "fleet have," for instance, in Google, you'll discover some uses of the word as a plural. "The fleet have encountered several storms. . . ." So far, the only plural uses I've seen have been in British Websites, which wouldn't surprise me. The British will use "staff" as a plural far more readily than Americans, and that tendency might carry over to "fleet." You'd have to consult the Oxford English Dictionary, I suppose, to truly confirm this. I would unhesitatingly recommend using fleet as a singular, collective noun.
|
| QUESTION |
| May a comma be used to separate complete coordinated
predicates, i.e. phrases, as in the following example? Example: He excels in mathematics, but
performs poorly in sports.
Finally, are commas always necessary to set off, for example, two coordinated contrasting
adjectives, as in the following sentence? Example: An unprepossessing, but charming, lad stole
the hearts of the judges to claim first prize in the contest.
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Surrey, BC, Canada Wed, May 22, 2002
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| Consult with Comma Rule #7. A comma is often used to handle abrupt changes in direction within a sentence, and presenting contradictory evidence and turns of thought falls within that category. You could probably also regard the "but charming" as a parenthetical element, and your description of the modifiers "unprepossessing, but charming" as "coordinated and contrasting" also explains the use of the comma. In other words, you've got several reasons for using commas in this and similar situations.
|
| QUESTION |
| When talking about a miner's (miners') hat, would the apostrophe
come before or after the 's'? Obviously, more than one miner can't wear the hat at a time, which
would suggest apostrophe-'s'. However, it is a specific TYPE of hat worn by miners in general,
which would suggest 's'-apostrophe.
My dictionary refers to butcher's paper, but surely it is paper used by butchers in general.
Therefore, shouldn't it be butchers' paper? Help!
|
| SOURCE OF QUESTION & DATE OF RESPONSE |
| Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Wed, May 22, 2002
|
| GRAMMAR'S RESPONSE |
| It's a rare question that contains miners' hats and butcher's paper in the same grammarlog! Surely, if you've got several miners, you can talk about miners' hats, but you, singular, would own, singularly, a miner's hat. And, I suppose, the butcher's paper is used by only one butcher at a time, so we use the singular "butcher's paper." We would understand by this phrase that we're referring to the kind of paper used by a (singular) butcher to wrap meat.
|
Previous Grammar Log