The Grammar Logs
#542

I read through your information on compound possessives, but I need more information on two possessive nouns separated by "or." Which choice would be correct if requesting that a parent return his/her child's permission form?

• Your son or daughter's permission form needs to be returned.
• Your son's or daughter's permission form needs to be returned.

I would appreciate your opinion on this.

If you don't use "son's" some unhappy parent will attempt to return a son and you'll be stuck with feeding him. You might also consider a more active construction: "Please return your son's or daughter's permission form by ______ ."

During a sporting event, is it correct to say that there 2 times-out left or 2 time-outs left. Thank you for your help

Most people, nowadays, write that as one word, "timeout," and the plural, then, would be "timeouts."

Which expression is preferred: "We stand mute" or "We stand mutely"?

If that's all there is to it, we can regard the verb "stand" as a linking verb and use the adjective form, "mute." If the word is meant to convey the sense of "refusing or unwilling to testify," the adjective form "mute" would be preferred. In a longer sentence, you would lean toward the adverbial form: "We stood mutely by as the soldiers were led to their posts."

I need to know what the word "unlikely" is as in this sentence:

It is unlikely that it will snow today.

Thank you!

The word "unlikely" is an adjective in that sentence. In fact, it's always an adjective, although it looks like an adverb. Unlikely actually acting as a predicate adjective in that sentence because the real subject of the sentence is the noun clause "that it will snow today." The word it is a mere placeholder in an expletive construction: "That it will snow today is unlikely."

I'm confused about whether the following sentence needs an "and" after the last comma to avoid a comma splice or whether it can stand grammatically correct on its own:

"The dishes piled up, the floor became sticky, cockroaches multiplied in our kitchen, our clothes were scattered about in the bathroom and living room."

I don't mean for the list to be all-inclusive. If I stick an "and" after the last comma, it would seem as if these four actions are all that happened. But if I don't put the "and" in there, I think they seem like comma splices. Help?

Technically, no, we can't leave the sentence this way — but I wouldn't touch it, not even to insert the "and" after the last comma. You're right: with another comma, the sentence would suggest that these four things are all that happened. The list, without the serial comma, gives the impression that these are just four things in an indeterminate list that could go on and on. Stylistically, it's perfect; leave it alone.

• Since consultations are ongoing, there CONTINUE to be opportunities for all to bring forward priority themes from all perspectives.
• Since consultations are ongoing, there CONTINUES to be opportunities for all to bring forward priority themes from all perspectives.

I want to put an "S" on continues, but unless I can validate it with a reason, I won't be able to do this. Can you help?

Not really. The subject for the verb in question is the plural "opportunities," so you want the plural verb "continue." I hope that the phrase "bring forward priority themes from all perspectives" makes sense in context.

Is the usage of "assure" correct in this sentence:

"The purpose of these questions was to assure the quality and integrity of the whole examination."

if not, would ensure be used?

"Ensure" would be a big improvement. You could assure someone that the quality of the exam was top-notch, but you couldn't really assure the quality.

What is the proper way to use and punctuate "first-come, first-served"?

For example, is it

• first-come-first-serve?
• first-come-first-served?
• first-come first-serve?
• first-come, first-served?

If the construction appears in front of a noun that it modifies, use three hyphens:

We operate on a first-come-first-served basis,

If you use the construction as a simple declaration of how you operate, drop the hyphens:

Breakfast starts at 5 a.m. First come, first served.

From The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Styleby Bryan Garner. Copyright 1995 by Bryan A. Garner. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., www.oup-usa.org, and used with the gracious consent of Oxford University Press.

Does the singular odds survey ratio "one in three" when used as the subject of a sentence take a singular or plural predicate?

• One in three is a member of the subgroup.
or

• One in three are members of the subgroup.

My inclination is to believe that conventional grammar still has the propensity to go with the singular; however, a ever larger minority is swaying to the plural. My reasoning is that the only situation where "one in three is" would be correct, is if there were only three participants in the survey! Q.E.D. There would be a singular member of the subgroup. But alas, the more typical survey would consist of more than three, leaving us with the resultant "one in three are" so long as survey membership is six or above.

Your intuitions on this matter are correct. "One in [whatever the number]" takes a singular verb, always. Ignore the "larger minority."

Does the phrase "a lot of" function as an object complement?

• "There are a lot of questions."
or

• "There is a lot of questions."

The first one sounds correct, but I don't know exactly why.

The phrase "a lot of questions" is actually your subject in that sentence. That's why the plural "are" sounds correct — because the subject is plural.

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