The Grammar Logs
#559

Could you clarify which is correct and furnish an explanation? Referring to a Web site:

• Log on to your account.
or

• Log onto your account.

Use "log on to" — because the Shorter OED says to use either "in" or "on" after this use of the verb, "to log." It might be because "into" and "onto" generally imply a sense of motion that is not really appropriate in this context.

Authority for this note: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Fifth Edition. Oxford University Press, New York. 2002.

Hello, and thank you for your time and effort on this web page.

There is a sentence which describes a statue, and I know it is grammatically incorrect. The trouble is that I do not know which grammar rule is being broken. The sentence reads:

The subject of the sentence switches from the man, to the amulet, to the crescent moon. Which grammar rule is being broken?

Thank you very much.

The subject of your main clause doesn't really shift; the subject starts out as "it" and remains so. The problem arises when the subject of the dependent clause, "who" has two verbs, "wears" and "wields," which is fine, but they're separated by another verb form "depicting" (a participle modifying "amulet") so that when the "and" comes along to compound "wears" to "wields" we expect it to provide another participle to compound something parallel to "depicting." There's a whole lot of subordinating going on in this sentence and things simply get lost in the shuffle, that's all. The sentence is trying to do too much at once. The dependent clause might be saved by switching the two verbs: "who wields a brilliant longsword and wears an amulet depicting a crescent moont."

I need some clarification on the use of the word "timely." According to my dictionary, it can function as both an adjective ("The timely article in the newspaper was worth reading.") or an adverb. Most of the instances I've seen it used as an adverb offend my ear and sense of propriety because they just don't "sound" right to me. Two examples: "The report was filed timely." "The Trustee will vote as instructed by such participant if the Trustee timely receives such participant's voting instructions." (The second sentence is a real life example, and sounds particularly ghastly to me.) Are they really grammatically correct? Do I need to adjust my ear?

I'm surprised to find that my Shorter OED lists "timely" as an adverb also, and gives an example similar to yours: "They seemed to move the Socialists slightly, but timely, to the Right" (meaning "at the right time" or "soon enough" or "in time"). I do agree with you, though, that this usage is odd and people who use "timely" in this manner are not to be trusted. Leave your ear alone.

Authority for this note: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Fifth Edition. Oxford University Press, New York. 2002.

I have never been convicted of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to any felony involving fraud, misrepresentation or theft…Yes or No.

Wouldn't this be better phrased as, I have been convicted…

Would you please let me know as I would like to have the commission fix the wording. Thank you

If someone read that question to me in a courtroom, I would reply, "No, I have never been convicted …"

"Yes, I have never been convicted …" sounds quite odd, yet the positive. "yes," answer seems to be what we're looking for from innocent people. It might be better to write the question as follows:

___I have never been convicted …

___I have been convicted …

That way, people won't be confused by the question and the choice will be clear. (In short, I think you're absolutely right about the ambiguity of the question and its possible answer.)

When do you use the word YOU or YOURSELF? Example:

How To Create Consumer Confidence in You in these Uncertain Marketing Conditions.

"In you" sounds odd. But "in yourself" sounds like you are the person who is supposed to have confidence, and aren't you looking for others to have confidence in you? To avoid the problem, can't we talk about "creating consumer confidence in your product/your company/your whatever"? Or just get rid of the "in you"? Won't it mean the same thing, pretty much? Or "How Does Your Company Inspire Consumer Confidence in Uncertain Marketing Conditions?"

Can you help me explain the errors in the newspaper title "Blame Anybody Except She Who Did It"?

The word "except" can be used as a conjunction (meaning "unless"), but it's rare: "Except you repent, you shall be doomed." In your headline, "except" is a preposition, and you need the object form of the pronoun that follows, "except her." If that sounds odd, replace the pronoun with the noun: "Except the Woman Who Did It."

I'm not sure as to whether or not the verb following the words "The Jan Companies" should be singular or plural. The word "companies" itself is plural, yet the entity itself is only one establishment. For example should it be: The Jan Companies owns/own, The Jan Companies provides/provide, The Jan Comapnies takes/take? Any help you could give would be much appreciated! Thanks!

As you have suggested, the Jan Companies is a singular entity, one establishment, and it should take a singular verb, like "provides/owns/is," etc.

Is there a hypen between the word first and grade? Example Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students will be there.

You will find many exceptions to this, but the answer, according to the New York Times stylebook is yes, use the hyphen when those words are used as pre-noun modifiers (as in your sentence).

Authority: The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. by Allan M. Siegal and William G. Connolly. Times books: New York. 1999.

The remainder of the cleaning proces may need altering or possibly omitting. This sentence sounds incorrect. ...may need altering or possible omission. Which is correct?

"May need possible omission"? What can that mean? Can we put the agent of the action back in this sentence: "You may need to alter the remainder of the cleaning process or leave it out altogether"?

• Is it correct to say "I liked that book better than the other book?"
• Or do you need to say "I liked that book more than the other book?"

I.e., "I thought that book was better than the other book, so I liked it more."

According to Burchfield, better than is often found in American speech and casual writing, but you'd rarely find it in British English. In formal or academic writing of any kind, you'd want to substitute "more than" for "better than."

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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