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These are answers that AliMcJ has provided in Grammar & Punctuation
| Question/Answer | | henriyaz asked on 10/18/05 - re:-( grammar eng. help:-( plzzzzzz Hi..how r u?
Just 2 ask u a little favour can u plz suggest 4m which website about the present tense ending "ing". My son wants 2 know when or how to put double letters first b4 putting"ing".
Example: eating, reading- normal present tense
swimming- double "m" BEFORE " ing"?
sitting- double "t" BEFORE " ing"?
many txs 4 ur kind co-operation as usual:-)
Take care
H AliMcJ answered on 11/23/06:I may have the answer to this posted in my FAQs. I know that I have a whole handout printed up on this problem, and I will look for it (it will be on a 3.5" discette, and this computer has only a CD drive; I have a portable plug-in 3.5" reader, so this might be a good motivator for me to convert those old files).
The basics are, a silent "e" makes a long vowel, as in hope; we drop the "e" and add
"-ing" = hoping
No silent "e" makes a short vowel as in "hop," and we double the consonant after it and then add "-ing" = hopping
Words like read and look and others with two vowels before one consonant do not double the consonant = looking, reading
There are other rules, but these three
cover the most common usages. | | Question/Answer | | denberg asked on 10/15/04 - Should or Would? I've never seen a clear "rule" as to when to use "should" or "would". How do you know whether to say, "I should be grateful if..." or "I would be grateful if..." etc.
Many thanks. AliMcJ answered on 10/21/04:It's good to know what these mean, but they are out of use now.
A long time ago, we used to say "I shall" instead of "I will."
"should" is the past/subjunctive of "shall" and "would" is the past/subjunctive of "will"
The use of "shall" and "should" with the first person singular, "I," is no longer in use.
Now we use "should" to denote giving advice to someone else and "shall" to denote a legal obligation to do something, as in "On receipt of this payment, the payee shall no longer indemnify the person or persons rendering such payment."
Is that all clear?
That was an interesting question which I have never dealt with before -- I have been asked about the old "I shall," but have not encountered "I should be much obliged if...." in a question, nor have I even thought about it when seeing it (rarely) in stuffy costume dramas. | | Question/Answer | | mikayla asked on 09/24/04 - check fraud how can i get the reimbursed at my bank for check fraud? AliMcJ answered on 09/25/04:Go to the bank and ask them.
Call the bank and tell them to give you another checking account and close that one down before any more fraudulent checks are written, and ask the bank at that time what their fraud protection policies are.
Most probably their fraud protection policy does not cover any checks written before you report the loss of your checkbook. | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 08/04/04 - FOR or OF Hello,
Could you please tell me which of the following is correct?
a. "Some people refuse to pay premiums for the national pension plan."
b. "Some people refuse to pay premiums of the national pension plan."
Can I also say "Some people refuse to pay the national pension plan premiums."?
Thank you for always helping out. AliMcJ answered on 08/04/04:b. doesn't work.
pay premiums for the plan is correct -- "for' is an elliptical structure substituting for
"pay premiums to/that pay for the plan"
Either the first or the third is fine. B is not. | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 08/03/04 - Singular or plural... Could you please tell me if the following sentence is correct?
"If I had to attend a wedding ceremony more than twice a month, I'd go bankrupt."
Should I say "If I had to attend wedding ceremonies more than twice a month, I'd go bankrupt." ?
I am wondering if I should use a singular form "a wedding ceremony" or a plural form "wedding ceremonies" here...
AliMcJ answered on 08/04/04:Actually, you can use either one. Again, folowing my rule of thumb,
"When in doubt, avoid," we could simply restructure the sentence to read,
If I had to attend more than two wedding ceremonies a month, I'd go bankrupt. | | Question/Answer | | Cardboardtube asked on 05/22/04 - Preposition Syntax I've always heard that one may never end a sentence in a preposition. Recently, though, I've begun hearing that this is actually just a myth.
Are prepositions things with which we cannot end sentences?
or
Are prepositiosn things which we can end sentences with? AliMcJ answered on 06/16/04:People often end sentences with prepositions in casual speech, but in formal academic writing, it should be avoided. It can cause some very awkward clauses (of which I have no examples OR I have no examples of these because they occur in writing from time to time and if I write one down, I lose it by the time I need it for an example), so it is good practice to avoid doing that; then you won't be faced with awkward structures.
I prefer the wording of your first question (but it needs an "s" on "sentences," which I think you know)
Here's a good grammar joke about this:
A southern belle was giving a dinner party and a woman who was new to the area (and not very educated) came and said, "Excuse me, where do we put our coats at?"
The southern belle looked at her and said, "I don't know where you are from, but around here we don't end our sentences with prepositions."
The newcomer said, "Well, o.k. Where do we put our coats at, bitch?"
(note: "Where do we put our coats?" is correct -- the addition of the preposition makes it doubly incorrect, as in "Where's he at?" when "Where is he?" is sufficient) | | Question/Answer | | Cardboardtube asked on 05/22/04 - Preposition Syntax I've always heard that one may never end a sentence in a preposition. Recently, though, I've begun hearing that this is actually just a myth.
Are prepositions things with which we cannot end sentences?
or
Are prepositiosn things which we can end sentences with? AliMcJ answered on 06/16/04:People often end sentences with prepositions in casual speech, but in formal academic writing, it should be avoided. It can cause some very awkward clauses (of which I have no examples OR I have no examples of these because they occur in writing from time to time and if I write one down, I lose it by the time I need it for an example), so it is good practice to avoid doing that; then you won't be faced with awkward structures.
I prefer the wording of your first question (but it needs an "s" on "sentences," which I think you know)
Here's a good grammar joke about this:
A southern belle was giving a dinner party and a woman who was new to the area (and not very educated) came and said, "Excuse me, where do we put our coats at?"
The southern belle looked at her and said, "I don't know where you are from, but around here we don't end our sentences with prepositions."
The newcomer said, "Well, o.k. Where do we put our coats at, bitch?"
(note: "Where do we put our coats?" is correct -- the addition of the preposition makes it doubly incorrect, as in "Where's he at?" when "Where is he?" is sufficient) | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 06/08/04 - Please check my sentences Hello,
Could you please check my sentences below?
"My home is conveniently located. There are so many shops and stores in my neighborhood. Drugstores, convenience stores, book stores, beauty shops, grocery stores, whatever, except department stores. If you want to get some medecine, a drugstore is 30 seconds away. If you want to buy some groceries, a grocery store is 20 seconds away. If you want to see a dentist, the dentist is 10 seconds away ( actually, it's on the second floor of my apartment building. I live on the third floor). If you want to go out and have a drink, a drinking place is 15 seconds away ( it's on the first floor of my apartment building ). If you feel like gambling, a Pachinko parlor is 30 seconds away."
I really appreciate your help.
AliMcJ answered on 06/16/04:When you use "so" in front of an adjective, you need to follow it up with a "that" clause of result. Do not substitute "so" for "very" in writing. Also, in speech, it is an expression usually used by females.
{ } = omit
[ ] = insert
My home is conveniently located. There are {so}[very] many shops and stores in my neighborhood. ***Drugstores, convenience stores, book stores, beauty shops, grocery stores, whatever, [everything] except department stores.*** this is not a sentence -- where is the verb? to fix it, put a colon after neighborhood and make the "D" a "d"
You could avoid both problems by simply combining those sentences:
There are [drugstores, convenience stores, book stores, beauty shops, grocery stores, [everything] except department stores] {so many shops and stores} in my neighborhood. {Drugstores, convenience stores, book stores, beauty shops, grocery stores, [everything] except department stores.}
If you want to get some medecine {spelling error}, a drugstore is 30 seconds away. If you want to buy some groceries, a grocery store is 20 seconds away. If you want to see a dentist, the dentist is 10 seconds away ({actually,} it's on the second floor of my apartment building{.}[, and] I live on the third floor). If you want to go out and have a drink, a drinking place {{{???? a bar????}}} is 15 seconds away (it's on the first floor of my apartment building). If you feel like gambling, a Pachinko parlor is 30 seconds away."
Sentence two:
or:
My home is conveniently located. There are [a great] many shops and stores in my neighborhood.
or:
My home is conveniently located. There are [a lot of] shops and stores in my neighborhood.
or:
My home is conveniently located. There are [a number of] shops and stores in my neighborhood.
or:
My home is conveniently located. There are [numerous] shops and stores in my neighborhood.
Comment: you did an excellent job on your parallel structure of giving examples after your support of "conveniently located" with the list of stores then the things you can do and how far they are from your apartment.
one more note: Do not leave spaces after or before parentheses (like this -- no spaces --is correct)
Very Good!
| | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 06/16/04 - Please check my sentence. Hello,
Could you please tell me if the following sentence is natural?
"I hear that, generally, the class load in American college is heavier than in Japanese college."
I'm not quite sure if it's acceptable to say "in American / Japanese college"...
Thank you for your help. AliMcJ answered on 06/16/04:Though not incorrect, "generally" is awkwardly placed. Also, since you are making a general statement, you need to use the plural of college.
"I hear that{, generally,} the class load in American college[s] is [generally] heavier than in Japanese college[s]."
"I hear that the class load in American colleges is generally heavier than in Japanese colleges."
note:
I heard that too -- about colleges and universities in Taiwan (which uses the Japanese system of education -- testing and placement, testing and placement, testing and placement until the college level). The reason for this, I understand, is that students put forth great effort from upper elementary onward and if they manage to test into the "best" colleges through this ongoing process, then they can take it easy through college. The reverse is true in the United States (although the grade point average at the end of High School and the SAT scores determine whether a student can get into the "best" schools. I put "best" in quotes because they have a good reputation but are not necessarily the best places to learn all subjects and the schools without the cachet of the schools whose names are recognized as good schools in a state often make their students work harder for their grades. For example, California State University at Long Beach was, when it started, a "Normal College," what was a school for training teachers. As such, it didn't develop the reputation of UCLA, which everyone recognizes (and which is a good school). However, the art department at CSULB was (and may still be) the envy of students at UCLA who had the opportunity to visit CSULB, as LB teaches more technique and allows students to do with it what they will, while LA teaches more idea and theory and "creativity," but the students feel they lack the grounding in the formal training in all techniques (which itself spurs creativity). I don't mean to offend anyone by these statements. I went to CSULB for art and art education training; I would go to UCLA for further work in Spanish.
Different schools have different strengths and weaknesses which are not always apparent to entering students (but we generally choose schools on their proximity to our homes, at least in California). They are all good.
Back to cachet schools and schools striving to be number one. Steven Spielberg attended CSULB and dropped out. A few years ago he decided to finish and went back. The department made him do the same work everyone does -- they didn't just hand him a degree on the merits of the films he had already produced. To me, that is real cachet and I thank Mr. Spielberg for doing that -- and thank the instructors for holding him to the same academic standards as any student (certainly they accepted his films as "projects," but he still had to do the papers on them). He did it quietly and then showed up in his cap and gown to walk with the rest of the students. He did a lot for the school and for its graduates (like me) by doing that!
Back to working hard: In the United States we have more opportunities to go to college because even if someone has a high school GPA too low for the school of his/her choice, he/she can attend a community college for two years and take all the basic requirements and raise his/her GPA at the same time. This saves parents a lot of money as well, as the community colleges are far less costly. If a student can finish the first two years at community college (whether or not he/she needs to raise a GPA) and then transfer for the last two years to a university, it costs half as much for the four year degree.
The community colleges also make students work very hard for their grades (in general), as students attend as adults, as teens planning to transfer, and as people getting an AA degree in a technological field. They are also in the "we try harder" group as well -- they don't have the cachet of a big university, but the education you get in them is sometimes better, as the instructors know that not all students will continue after they finish there. Additionally, the classes are usually smaller and more personal at the less-known schools (both university and community college).
Back to the main point: since there are more opportunities to make up for lost time, college is where people really learn to make the most of their education and work hard; it is basically an opposite educational structure to Japan and Taiwan.
For this reason, Asian students who attend American Universities excel -- they have worked hard all their lives through school and continue to do so when they get into college.
Even for those students, I recommend Community COllege for the first two years, as they have ESL classes to offer, and the Universities really don't want to have to be offering remedial classes -- and the instructors don't want to have to be slowed down by people whose English is not up to the level of a native speaker. Foreign students have more opportunities to learn at community colleges (at least in California) with their wide variety of ESL classes leading up to the basic Composition class all college freshmen must pass. Their other classes (history, science, and so on) are more accessible too as there is ample tutoring available. Math is generally not a problem for Asian students, as they study more math in the lower grades than we do, so the classes are not only easy, but don't require a lot of language skills to get through.
| | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/19/04 - Do these make sense? Hello,
Do the following sentences make sense?
"I'm ashamed to say, but I've been caught speeding when I was riding my motor scooter, and got a speeding ticket. I was doing about 60 mph when I was suposed to go at less than 30 mph. I know all the scooters under 50 cc are not allowed to go over 30 mph, but if you do so, you are going to be a nuisance to other drivers."
I'm not quite sure if such expressions as "doing about 60 mph" or "go at less than 30 mph" or "go over 30 mph" are acceptable...
Could you please reword my sentences if they are awkward?
I appreciate your help. AliMcJ answered on 05/19/04:I'm ashamed to say [so], but I{'ve been} [was] caught speeding when I was riding my motor scooter{,} and got a speeding ticket. I was doing about 60 mph when I was su[p]posed to go {at} less than 30 mph. I know {all the} scooters under 50 cc are not allowed to go over 30 mph, {but}[and] if you do so, you are going to be a nuisance to other drivers."
{ } = omit
[ ] = insert | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/18/04 - "or" or "and" Hello,
Could you pleae tell me which of the following is correct?
a) Online chat can be as addictive as drugs, alcohol or gambling.
b) Online chat can be as addictive as drugs, alcohol and gambling.
Thank you for your help. AliMcJ answered on 05/18/04:"or" is the better choice, although both are possible and correct.
I would suggest another comma -- after "alcohol" in both, just for form's sake. Sometimes it leaves things unclear to leave it out, so it it best to put it in so that you're always safe. Those "sometimes" are few and none spring to mind readily. Usually we encounter them reading and it causes the reader to have to go back and read it again to make sense of them -- can't think of any examples of it. Just take my word for it, o.k.? | | Question/Answer | | luhayes asked on 05/16/04 - Correct tense Is the correct word "proven" or "proved" in the following sentence:
I wish I could have proven/proved the theory? AliMcJ answered on 05/17/04:proven is correct as the irregular past participle of the verb "prove:"
prove - proved - proven
British English doesn't use the irregular past participle but rather the regular "proved." | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/11/04 - "take trips" or "take a trip" Hello,
Does the follwoing sentence make sense?
"I'd like to take trips if I have enough time and money, but can't afford to do that at the moment."
Should I say "take a trip" rather than "take trips"?
Thank you in advance. AliMcJ answered on 05/12/04:Yes, you are correct. Since you have neither the time nor the money, taking a trip is a hope or wish or dream.
You could use the plural in a sentence like this:
I'd like to take more trips if I had enough time and money, but I can't afford to do so right now.
Also, you need the subjunctive "if I had...."
the time and money, because you don't have them.
One more item: your comma before "but" is not necessary as it is not connecting an independent clause (if you were to put "I" in it, it would be a clause, as it now has its own subject). Nonetheless, it is good practice to remember commas precede conjunctions (and but or so for yet nor), even if you overuse them, as conjunctions do not start sentences. | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/11/04 - Could you please check my sentence? Hello,
Does the sentence below work well as an answer to the quesion "What kind of people do you not like?"
"I don't like the kind of people who are selfish, provocative, narrow-minded and have no sense of morality."
Thank you in advance. AliMcJ answered on 05/11/04:Yes.
"I don't like {the kind of} people who are selfish, provocative, narrow-minded, and have no sense of morality."
{ } = omissable
you could put "who" in after "and," but you don't have to.
| | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/08/04 - Please check my sentenses Hello,
Could you please check my sentences below? Are these natural?
a) Burglaries are on the rise in my neighborhood.
b) Mugging is on the rise in my neighborhood.
c) There has been a rise in the number of mugging in my neighborhood.
I am not sure whether I should put "the number of" before the word "mugging"... should I make it "muggings"? In any event, I have a feeling that sentence (b) and (c) are incorrect.
Thank you in advance.
AliMcJ answered on 05/08/04:In "a," you can use either the mass noun "burglary" or the count noun "burglaries."
In "c" because you are hinting at counting them ("the number of"), "muggings" would be the correct choice. However, it would also be the correct choice if you just said "Muggings in my neighborhood have risen." The reason for this is most probably that "neighborhood" is a certain limited area, so the general noun "mugging" would be overkill. In a and b, you could use either the count or the mass nouns (with the corresponding verb, of course).
| | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/05/04 - Preposition problem Hello,
Could you pleae tell me which of the following is correct?
a) Effort is an excellent investment for the future.
b) Effort is an excellent investment in the future.
Thank you for your help. AliMcJ answered on 05/07/04:The usual usage would be "in the future." In this context also, "in the future" is correct.
If your were to say "for the future," it is closer in meaning to making an effort in the future, rather than now to get rewards from later, in the future.
Either one is o.k., but "in" is more commonlly used. | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/05/04 - "singular" or "plural" Hello,
Could you please check my sentence below?:
"I can't afford to go to English conversation school, so I teach myself."
Is it okay to say, "English conversation school" rather than "English conversation schools" ?
Thank you for your help.
AliMcJ answered on 05/05/04:singular is fine.
however, your verb tense in the clause of result needs work:
"I can't afford to go to Language School, so I'm teaching myself."
or
"I can't afford to go to Language School, so I'm studying on my own."
English Conversation School doesn't really work as a type of school. The more general "Language School" would work well. At a language school, you can take English Conversation classes. | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/05/04 - article problem Hello,
Could you please tell me which of the following sentences sounds right?
a) They should be carted off to mental hospital.
b) They should be carted off to a mental hospital.
c) They should be carted off to the mental hospital.
I often see people who keep insulting others when I'm chatting on the Net. The above is my comment on them.
Thank you for your help.
AliMcJ answered on 05/05/04:Thanks for giving the context -- in this context, the second one would be best, as it is a general statement and you have no idea where the people are; you just know where you would like them to be, in a mental hospital (whatever one is available to them in their area).
The second would refer to the local mental hospital (and in California, we referred to them by name -- should be carted off to Camarillo, should be carted off to Norwalk -- though both of those are closed. Well, Norwalk still is in operation but not as large as it once was: many buildings are just used for filming now). Either by name or with "the" gives it locality.
In New York and most of the United States, "carted off to Bellvue (Bellview?? Belleview?? Bellevue??)" is used. Bellvue is a large mental hospital that is public and it gets the worst cases. It's the oldest and largest in the U.S., so its name is somewhat iconic.
In any case, it needs an article.
We also say "...carted off to the loony bin" or "the nuthouse," which is idiomatic. | | Question/Answer | | ken123 asked on 05/02/04 - Also is there a word... Is there a word for a place that has two religions.
For example, if a province has two languages it is called a bilingual province.
Thanks AliMcJ answered on 05/04/04:Generally the expression, "a secular society" means that a number of religions co-exist there. | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/04/04 - Does this expression work well? Could you please tell me if the expression below work well?
"No exercise can be bad for your health."
Thank you in advance.
Manabu AliMcJ answered on 05/04/04:"Not exercising can be bad for your health," or "Exercise cannot be bad for your health." are two ways this could be taken (although the second of these makes no sense, as some exercises can hurt, depending on the person and his/her condition). | | Question/Answer | | Manabu asked on 05/04/04 - "do exercise" or "do some exercise" or "exercise" Hello,
I am having a hard time deciding which form of the following sentences I should use to describe my exercise habit. Could you please tell me which of the following is the most natural one?
a) I do gentle exercise every day. And I do vigorous exercise every other day.
b) I do some gentle exercise every day. And I do some vigorous exercise every other day.
c) I exercise gently every day. And I exercise vigorously every other day.
Could you also please check and correct my sentences below?
"I exercise regularly. I do some gentle exercise such as bending and stretching exercises a few times a day, and I do some vigorous exercise such as boxercise-like exercises every other day."
Thank you very much.
Manabu
AliMcJ answered on 05/04/04:The third is the best of the three first one.
{ } = omit
[ ] = insert
I exercise regularly. I do some gentle exercise[s] such as bending and stretching {exercises} a few times a day, and I do some vigorous exercise[,] such as boxercise-like exercises[,] every other day."
Generally we say "I exercise" and "I do exercises." | | Question/Answer | | gss30 asked on 05/04/04 - Rules I'd like to be aware of the main rules to separate syllables.
AliMcJ answered on 05/04/04:Every syllable has to have a vowel in it (which may be a -y)
Separate prefixes (pre-; re-; in-; un- and so on) and suffixes ( -ly; -ing; -er and so on)
Separate between double consonants (yel-low; syl-la-ble)
Each syllable makes only one sound (for example, "sound" is one syllable; on-ly is two) | | Question/Answer | | henriyaz asked on 03/14/04 - English help many thanks 4 ur kind advice
I want 2 check if it works over here:-)
Sorry 4 the trouble. AliMcJ answered on 03/16/04:I draw pictures for myself in order to help myself solve problems
How many turns does each right-hand gear make in each of the following systems?
a) small gear =10 turns
another small gear= 10 turns
Ten -- they're both the same size
b) medium gear=6 turns
small gear= 6 x2= 12 turns, he says SG has to turn twice of MG?!?
(he is correct, according to the parameters set in #4):
M gear gives 1 turn to make small gear (S) give 2 turns; therefore if the medium gear turns around 6 times, the small gear will turn 12 times
c) medium gear=3 turns
large gear = .............................?
Two (look at #3) (M turns 1-1/2 times for each turn of L; therefore, L has to turn two times to make M turn 3 times)
d) large gear= 4 turns
medium gear=................................?
4 x 3 according to #2 -- answer is 12
(m turns 3 times for each 1 turn of L; L turns 4 times; therefore, M turns 12 times)
L> M (1/2 TIME)
L>S( 3 TIMES) } is this something you M> S (2 TIMES) are supposed to use??
IF working with (M-S) (L-S)
To get the bigger , divide the number
to get rhe smaller multipy.
always find the small gear then divide. (NOT HERE -- ALL THESE ARE SIMPLE MULTIPLICATION TASKS)
can u pls help me for c) & d) as he has 2 prepare for exams:-(
| | Question/Answer | | woman2003 asked on 03/12/04 - help dear schoolmarm, what's the best way to explain my students why the letters y and w are not considered consonants at the end of words? AliMcJ answered on 03/13/04:Actually we have a memorized chant in school about the vowels: "a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y and w" It wasn't until I was teaching ESL that I found what that "sometimes" was. It is when they come at the end of words following a vowel, for spelling purposes (which also indicate pronunciation), they care considered vowels also.
When we add -ed, -ing, or -er to a short word that ends in a vowel and a consonant, the vowel is pronounced as a short vowel and we double the consonant; however, y and w in this case are not considered consonants but vowels, and follow the spelling rule for adding -ed, -ing, or -er to words that end in two vowels:
Hence, we have words like
can, hop, mop, trip
spelled
canning, hopping, mopping, tripping
canned, hopped, mopped, tripped
canner, hopper, mopper, tripper
This is a first grade spelling lesson which becomes ingrained, and so a native speaker/reader automatically knows if he is faced with a long or short vowel when seeing the words "hopper" and "hoper" --
the second part of the spelling lesson is that in short words that end in a silent "e"
such as cane, hope, mope (and tripe, which is not a verb but a rather disgusting food), are pronounced with the long vowel sound and when adding -ed, -ing, or -er to them, the "e" is dropped and the -ed, -ing, or -er is added:
cane, hope, mope, [tripe]
caning, hoping, moping
caned, hoped, moped
caner, hoper, moper
Now we come to the answer to your question.
If a word ends in two vowels or two vowels and a consonant, we simply add -ed, -ing, or -er (if it already ends in an "e", drop it and add -ed, -er)
see, coo, boo, shoo, shoe
seeing, cooing, booing, shooing, shoeing
X cooed, booed , shooed, shoed
seer, "cooer," "booer", "shooer", shoer
and
school, drool, feel, steal, steel, steer, speak, look
schooling, drooling, feeling, stealing, steeling, steering, speaking, looking:
schooled, drooled, X, X, steeled, steered, X, looked
X, drooler, feeler, "stealer", steeler, steerer, speaker, looker
It is into the category of the words which end in TWO VOWELS (BOLD ABOVE)that the words ending in a vowel and y or w fall (in other words, they are considered vowels for spelling purposes as well as pronunciation purposes -- they make the preceding vowel a long vowel and, because they are not consonants in this case, are not doubled:
play, snow, show, say
playing, snowing, showing, saying
played, snowed, showed, X
player X (and "shower" [a made=up word that can be used to indicate the person who shows] as opposed to shower [of water])
(in the first "shower," it is the long "o" sound because it is made of the verb which ends in a silent vowel ["w" just like the "e"] and in the second "shower," the "w" is a consonant, and has the short "o" sound)
then there are these:
cry, try, spy
are these words with no vowel? no, because words cannot have no vowel, so which one is it? It's the "y" -- another "sometimes."
what sound does that "y" make here? an "i" sound, so with -ed, -er, change it to an "i" (but not with -ing because we don't want to have two "i's" EXCEPT in skiing because ski already ends in an "i" but doesn't make the "i" sound -- it's an exception, so just teach it singly as such)
crying, trying, spying
cried, tried, spied
crier, X "spier"
LAST, can we have syllables without vowels in them? No. However, "ly" is a syllable (so is "syl" for that matter syl-la-ble), so where is the vowel? It's the "y" -- another sometimes.
...so teach the chant at the beginning of this post, and then on those occasions when you come up to these, teach them by saying, "...and that is one of the 'sometimes' in which 'y' is considered a vowel."
There is no book to tell you this -- it is something you need to extrapolate from what you know so that you can help your students to understand it. Again, I highly recommend you carefully work through Betty Azar's Fundamentals of English Grammar and keep it on your desk for reference at all times. The charts help not only students see the patterns but help teachers to understand the underlying reasons for them. The exercises in them help all to internalize the patterns. Learning about a language is quite different from learning a language, just as knowing about a language is quite different from knowing a language. Practice of patterns is more important than explanations of them.
Start making charts to hang in your classroom, showing patterns clearly. Making these will help you to understand the structures underlying them and prepare you to be able to teach them. | | Question/Answer | | gss30 asked on 03/09/04 - Easy way HEEEEELLLLLLP!!!!!
I'd like to know an easy way to memorize pronunciation of the -s sound at the end of nouns and verbs in the present simple.
More: the d sound at the end of regular past tense verbs.
Thank you. AliMcJ answered on 03/09/04:The "s" sounds have been clearly gone over by Voice Guy.
as to the pronunciation of the past tense of regular verbs, which add -ed,
If the original verb ends in a t or a d, then the -ed is pronounced as -id
(wanted, needed, wasted, loaded, waited, stated)
If the original verb ends in an air sound (except for t), the -ed is pronounced as t:
asked, wished, kissed, helped, liked, hoped, hopped, walked, talked, typed
(and when you say these, you will make two ending air sounds -- the one from the verb and then the t sound (ask~t; help~t; like~t; they blend together more for s sounds, like kissed and wished and washed, but for practicing perfect pronunciation, make an effort to make the two separate air sounds).
I am using the expression "air sounds" to indicate that they are unvoiced sounds, formally known as "aspirated."
All the other verbs end in a d sound (called, mailed, rained ....)
| | Question/Answer | | xando asked on 03/06/04 - What's the different between raise and rise Hi
I was wondering if someone could help me figures out the different between raise and rise. how is it uses in a sentence? Is there one prefer over the other? Originally I had looked up the words in the dictionary, but they seem to offer the same meaning. My guess is that it mean the same thing and can be uses in either way...maybe back then people couldn't decide on which one to use, so they decided on both. I really don't know for sure, it was just a guess.
That's all, thanks :-D
AliMcJ answered on 03/07/04:You can raise something up, like "I raised my hand" or "I raised the box above my head" or "I raised the window." (You can also raise chickens or corn, as in breed or plant, feed, nurture, but that's something else entirely).
If you were to say, "The box rose in the air," you would be talking about supernatural phenomena, as the box is inanimate on its own.
The sun rises in the east; the sun rose at 6AM yesterday.
The clouds rose as the day went on.
He raised his head from the desk when the teacher came in.
Sometimes, you can say, "His head rose quickly when the teacher entered," or "The teacher asked a question and twenty hands rose" in place of saying "twenty students raised their hands" for the sake of economy. A person raises his own hand, but it can be seen to rise by another. However, boxes and clearly inanimate or unchanging objects cannot do this.
raise -- transitive (takes an object)
rise -- intransitive (no object) | | Question/Answer | | barelybad asked on 03/06/04 - When to precede a quote with a comma In the sentence below, I have no doubt a comma should precede the quote.
He said, "I'm walkin' here!"
But what about this next sentence?
He's the one who said, "I'm walkin' here!"
Second, what about this crossword clue?
1969 film character who said "I'm walkin' here!"
Thanks, and if you can cite any authority that would be extra-peachy.
--johnnyg aattssiiggnn kc.rr.com
http://barelybad.com
AliMcJ answered on 03/07/04:I'd put the comma in the first two, and in the third one, a comma is really necessary, but since it's a clue for a crossword puzzle, it is omitted to save space in the printing of the puzzle; grammatically we could make a point for the omission as well because, as a crossword clue in the first place, it isn't a complete sentence: the combination of those two reasons makes it acceptable, though technically incorrect in an academic sense. | | Question/Answer | | trzyna asked on 02/15/04 - Painting title punctuation What punctuation should be used for a painting title, underline or quotes? AliMcJ answered on 02/16/04:Quotation marks are what are used to indicate the title of a work of art (including a film). | | Question/Answer | | Kathi asked on 01/27/04 - Punctuation question on quotes How do you punctuate the following: Mr. Malloy said, "Who told you that you can't sing
The Star Spangled Banner?" Since "The Star Spangled Banner" is a title of a song, would you put it in single
quotes within the double quoted question- (Mr. Malloy said, "Who told you that you can't sing 'The Star
Spangled Banner'?" or what?) Thanks! AliMcJ answered on 01/27/04:The correct way is to put all punctuation within all quotes, so the question mark would be after "Banner:"
...sing 'The Star Spangled Banner?'"
However, the way you have it is fine. There are two schools of thought about this, and one says that if the end punctuation is a question mark, it should go outside of the quotes unless it is a part of what is being quoted. Since the title of the song is well-known and we know that a question mark is not a part of the title, putting it inside both quotation marks sticks with the traditional punctuation and also streamlines the look of the punctuation marks by grouping them together.
| | Question/Answer | | woman2003 asked on 01/08/04 - just to add Another thing: that we use will to say we are decidingbit at the moment. For ex:I'll have chicken, please, if the waiter asks, I'm still in doubt, but I decide it at the moment. AliMcJ answered on 01/10/04:"I'll have the roast beef, please."
"I'll have coffee."
I believe that the context is slightly different for the "will" in ordering.
Usually, to be polite, we say "I'd like to have an order of roast beef, medium rare, please." The reason for this is that it is an elliptical subjunctive, the rest of it being, "...if you don't mind bringing it to me [even though it's the person's job to do so, it is polite]" or "...if there is any."
When ordering off a menu, we would be more likely to use the "would like" form.
If a waiter asks you, "What would you like to drink?" and you know that the choices are set, with the dish, coffee, tea, or iced tea, then you say, "I'll have coffee, please."
Note that at the top of this the one using "will" uses "the roast beef," while the "would like" uses "anorder of roast beef."
In other words, if the waiter says, "Our specials tonight are roast beef, scallops on linguini, and baked salmon," then you would be more correct in using "I'll have...."
In still other words, if you are certain that the restaurant has it (because the waiter has just offered you a choice of items they have, like the choice of vegetables you could get with the dinner, you use "will;" if you're ordering off of the menu, it is always possible that they don't have an item, so you use the softer and subjunctive "would like." | | Question/Answer | | woman2003 asked on 01/08/04 - Thank you dear Ali, I've also studied that will is used for predictions in the same way as going to. They are interchangeable.And we also use will when we are planning something or offering.
And we use will when we think something will happen, but we aren't sure:I think it will rain, for instance, but I'm not sure of it.
And for example: I'm going to stay home tonight(I really want to stay home because I took the arrangements to do it). AliMcJ answered on 01/10/04:Yes, you're right. When we see cartoons of a crystal ball reader, she says "I see a man in your future," or "You will meet a man soon." Again, she is selling the prediction as if she were really able to tell what for sure will happen, but in reality, that surety should be softened by "going to" or "I think I'll...." -- things like that
I'm going to stay home tonight = I plan to. Also, it is in the very near future, so "will" is too harsh a word, too formal a word. For casual plans in the very near future we can also use the present continuous:
"I'm staying home tonight."
Another time we use "will" is a certainty of plan, but not the entire thing: "I'll be out of town this weekend. I'll be staying at the Motel 6 in Cleveland." Other plans from there, i.e. the certainty that you will not be in town and that you will be staying in a certain motel/hotel, would be "going to" or "plan to," like "I'm going to visit the zoo there." The person might say to the person who is going to feed her cat while she's out of town, "Call me if there's any problem," and the person promises, "I will. Don't worry." | | Question/Answer | | forare asked on 01/05/04 - website, Main page Dear experts,
can you please read and make necessary corrections
to be posted at my website main page.
thank you.
=====================
Happy New Year to all our visitors
(sitename), is dedicated to bring you the latest updates, news and photos from (town name )town.
With the coming year 2004, wide variety of photos and videos will be uploaded for everyone to share.
Currently we are updating our pages and soon will be:
- Christmas photo collection
- Photos of (town name) town
- Summer of 2003, and many more.
Thanks for your visit,
(My name)
AliMcJ answered on 01/05/04:Happy New Year to all our visitors
(sitename), is dedicated to bring[ing]* you the latest updates, news[,] and photos from (town name ){town}.
With the coming year[,] 2004, [a] wide variety of photos and videos will be uploaded for everyone to share.
Currently we are updating our pages and soon will {be}[have]:
- [The] Christmas photo collection
- Photos of (town name) {town}
- [The] Summer of 2003{,}
[-]...and many more.
Thanks for {your} visiting,
or:
Thank you for your visit
(also Thank you for visiting)
(My name)
* the "to" here is a preposition and not the "to" that is part of an infinitive, so you need the gerund "bringing."
{ } = omit
[ ] = insert | | Question/Answer | | woman2003 asked on 12/24/03 - Doubt Hello.
I'm Brazilian.I know the verb get has a lot of meanings, but I'd like to ask if sometimes it's used without any sense in a sentence, just as reinforcement.My father said he heard it from a teacher.
AliMcJ answered on 12/25/03:I'm not sure what you mean -- I have not heard it as an interjection.
If you have a copy of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, you can find about three pages of "get" expressions.
If you don't have a copy -- get one. It's the greatest key to understanding English for the non-native speaker. Linked to Amazon from:
http://AliMcJ.tripod.com/AliBabaB-10.html | | Question/Answer | | xando asked on 11/15/03 - Why are these sentences wrong? Hello all,
I'm writing a paper for a class and my professor has mark the following as errors. I would ask him but his rule is that he's not a english teacher. I really need some feedback or suggestion as to what I look for, so don't make the same mistakes. If you could provide links that would be helpful as well.
Many thanks.
Attention span can be defines as the ability to focus on given tasks.
Why are there such a huge demands for such information or products are unknown.
The experiements will be measure for four weeks.
The anticipate reactions will be that the students who ate healthy balance meals....
After the experiments,the students will be offer a three days pass to a local fitness center.
AliMcJ answered on 11/15/03:I am an English teacher and I can advise you on how to fix these -- I won't fix them for you, but I will be happy to read your revised sentences after you look over the notes as to exactly what the problems are, o.k.?
Attention span can be defines as the ability to focus on given tasks. (passive voice uses BE + past participle)
Why are there such a huge demands for such information or products are unknown.
(this sentence is garbled in terms of number agreement of the subject and verb; the whole sentence has numerous errors, beginning with -- is this a question or a sentence?)
The experiements will be measure for four weeks. (spelling error + passive voice uses BE + past participle)
The anticipate reactions will be that the students who ate healthy balance meals....
(when you use a verb as an adjective, you need to use the past participle form -- two of the same errors here)
After the experiments, the students will be offer a three days pass to a local fitness center. (passive voice uses BE + past participle); also a three-day pass
The error throughout is in using the passive voice and in understanding the use of past participles.
Don't shoot the messenger, but you probably need to take an ESL or Developmental Writing class, or even a review grammar class, which is why your instructor told you he is not an English teacher (I'm not saying you are one of these people, but we have trouble with students who won't take the extra classes that are provided for them, to get their skills up to a college level, so instructors understandably become frustrated with people who are not writing at a basic college composition level).
I highly recommend Betty Azar's Fundamentals of English Grammar for a reference book for you. You might also benefit by having a copy of Alice Oshima's Writing Academic English, both of which I have linked to Amazon from my Constant Recommendations page.
Review your grammar book and fix these questions and post them in a clarification and I will look at them again. | | Question/Answer | | stiamo_bene_insieme asked on 11/05/03 - edit essay Hi I am writing a essay about Sport in the Imagination: Fictional Representations of Sports.
Could you please edit it for me and see how it is It' really important and I have to hand it in tomorrow.
Thank you so much.
Roger Maris' 61 home run. Hank Aaron breaking Babe’s Ruth long standing home run. These were some of the memorable events that led filmmakers to make such movies. such events captivated the many hearts of the people who were there when there greatest baseball moments happened and filmmakers try to reproduce them in movies so they can entertain the audience but also using it a documentary purpose to make them understand and feel what the fans and many people experiences at that time.
There are a lot of movies relates to sports not only as memorable sporting events but also as a fictional sporting period such as an all girls baseball team portrayed in A League of their own. Sports not only in the form of a crucial game can become a protagonist in literary and cinematic fiction.
In the movie A League of their own, the game of baseball itself was not portrayed as a crucial game but has a different meaning of a crucial game. It was about the formation of the first and only women' professional baseball league. It happened in the Midwest US during world war II when play in Men' Major League Baseball was suspended.
Much of the movie was fictional as an all girls baseball league was never established during the years of the war. The maker of this movie was very good in idealizing the possibility of a girls play baseball.
On the other hand, filmmakers, try to be somewhat fictional by creating a movie based on events that highlighted that particular year like the recently incident of the Chicago Cubs fan who caught the ball costing the Cubs the World Series and moments like Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth' single-season home run record in the movie 61. AliMcJ answered on 11/06/03:Just doing the last paragraph -- other parts covered by Rebecca:
{ } = omit
[ ] = insert
On the other hand, filmmakers{,} try to be somewhat fictional by creating a movie based on events that highlighted that particular year[,] {like}[such as] the recent{ly} incident {of}[in which] the Chicago Cubs fan {who} caught the ball[,] costing the Cubs the World Series and moments like Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle rac{e}[ing] to break Babe Ruth'[s] single-season home run record in the movie ["]61["].
such as will give more than one example following; like generally would indicate one example (though it can be more). In this case, such as is better. | | Question/Answer | | lilac asked on 10/30/03 - 'learn to' and 'learn how to' Dear experts,
I'd like to know what is the difference in use between'learn to' and 'learn how to'.I also would like to be given some examples where both of them can be used indifferently and examples where one of the two forms sounds more appropriate than the other.
thanks for your kind help
AliMcJ answered on 10/30/03:learn to is, generally speaking, broader in its sense, while learn how to is more specific, as a specific skill within a broader topic.
They can usually be used interchangeably and I can't think of any places where the choice of one over the other would be discomfiting.
He wants to learn to read. = He wants to learn how to read.
He wants to learn to paint. = He wants to learn how to paint.
now, we can take a specific skills subset here where we might want to use "how" within the general area of learning to paint or learning how to paint:
He learned to paint, but he never learned how to draw well, so his paintings are not very good. (to draw is a subset, a necessary basic for painting) -- you could, however, still use "never learned to draw well."
He learned to talk before he learned to walk. (we would not use "how to" in this sentence, and I think the reason is not one of grammar but because it is idiomatically used this way, but we are talking about a general skill that can be expected of people).
However, we can say "After he had a stroke, he had to learn to how to walk again." Here, "how to" suggests the manner of doing it rather than simply something we all learn to do (but we could also simply say "learn to" in the same sentence).
Here's a very good example: something we all have to learn: "His mother said he had to learn to keep his room clean before he could earn money mowing the lawn."
Now look at this dialogue:
Son: "Can I mow the lawn for Mrs. Green?"
Mother: "No, you may not. You have things to do at home first."
Son: "but I can earn $15."
Mother: "You need to learn to keep your room clean first, young man."
Son: "...but I don't know how, and I know how to mow the lawn."
Mother: "Well, then, you'll just have to learn how to keep your room clean. Do you want to learn how to make your bed?" (subset of skills)
another:
"I want to learn to speak English, but first I have to learn how to make the basic sounds." We would not say "I want to learn how to speak English" because it is a very broad topic.
a good rule of thumb for whenever you see the word "how" is that it is indicating an adverb -- a manner or a modification of a verb. | | Question/Answer | | MikeRosen asked on 10/29/03 - pronoun case Is it "We felt that Bob and her should go home" or
"We felt that Bob and she should go home"?
Thanks, AliMcJ.
Mike AliMcJ answered on 10/29/03:While one might think that "felt," as a verb, might require an object form after it (her, him, them), the actual case is that the pronoun here is the subject of a second verb in the dependent clause:
"We felt" is the main clause (subject & verb)
"that" is the subordinator that makes this second clause --
"Bob should go home"
"She should go home"
"Bob and she should go home"
-- into a subordinate or dependent clause.
She is a subject pronoun for the verb should go
We felt that he and she should....
We felt that they should....
The verb "felt" does indeed require an object; however, the object is not the pronouns following it but the entire clause, which is a noun clause acting as the object of the verb; within that clause, we still have subjects (Bob and she) and a verb (should go). | | Question/Answer | | Ruckus asked on 10/18/03 - I am planning on going into the medical field ... Medical coding and transcribing but I need to work on my grammar and punctuation. Do you know of any resources that could help or books or online venues? AliMcJ answered on 10/20/03:Writing Academic English is a good book for both sentence grammar and punctuation and for total composition.
You can work through the sentence structure exercises in the back of the book like a workbook -- and if you need help, i.e. "I wrote this sentence and I'm not sure if it's right," you can post a sentence or two at a time here for checking.
I have the book linked to Amazon (used copies are available) from my Constant Recommendations page at
Ali's Constant Recommendations.
This one is the most thorough one-book compiliation of the grammar, punctuation, and structure used in formal writing. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 10/13/03 - "to" or "that" or "who" Could you please tell me the slight differences in nuance between the following sentences?
a. He was the first person to scold me.
b. He was the first person that scolded me.
c. He was the first person who scolded me.
I also would like to know which of the three is most common.
Thank you very much in advance.
AliMcJ answered on 10/14/03:addendum to first answer:
b and c mean the same thing; it is perfectly acceptable to use that in place of who or which in a restrictive clause (not set off by commas); it is incorrect in a non-restrictive clause, which is set off by commas (as is this one).
As I noted, "to scold" came more naturally in writing the initial explanation, but there are nuances expressed in the choice between the use of the infinitive phrase or the adjective clause, depending on context. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 10/13/03 - "to" or "that" or "who" Could you please tell me the slight differences in nuance between the following sentences?
a. He was the first person to scold me.
b. He was the first person that scolded me.
c. He was the first person who scolded me.
I also would like to know which of the three is most common.
Thank you very much in advance.
AliMcJ answered on 10/13/03:I'd say that the second is most common. The second and third mean the same thing. The first one can have a slightly different nuance in meaning, meaning that that was the first person in your life to ever have scolded you; the other two can mean the same and they can mean, more likely, that that was the first person in whatever situation it is that this conversation is about to have scolded you (like the first one at work to scold you for leaving the coffee machine on all night last week).
However, notice that I used "to scold" naturally when writing that last sentence.
It depends on the context. | | Question/Answer | | chxq99 asked on 10/10/03 - How To Say It Dear friends,
Can any body tell me how to describe a person who always hides himself in an enclosure (as if he lives in the deep mountain) and doesn't know the things that happened around him? For example, he is really ???, he didn't know that the civil war was already over.
Thank you.
Cheers, AliMcJ answered on 10/11/03:He is really a hermit.
He is really shut off from the outside world.
" " " out of touch. (...with the outside world [also]) | | Question/Answer | | booji_e asked on 10/01/03 - punctuation rules HI! I need a summary of basic punctuation rules regarding the use of commas, colon, semicolon, period, quotation marks, ! and ? .
Thanks AliMcJ answered on 10/05/03:Not Only Rules but Philosophy
Also the Strunk & White book mentioned in the article is a great reference book -- small and moderately priced. | | Question/Answer | | Tahoeguy asked on 10/02/03 - trademark If I have a registered trademark, for example "The Ingrid Stevens Method" ...do I also have control of "The Stevens Method" ? Or do I need to apply for a separate trademark for "The Stevens Method" ???
Thank you AliMcJ answered on 10/02/03:If you have already registered the first one, then you should apply to register the second one.
I believe that when applying for a registered trademark you can apply for several related ones (like these) at once, reserving the rights to the variations on the name. | | Question/Answer | | chxq99 asked on 09/28/03 - Not only....but Dear all,
If I want to express my praise towards a lady for her beautiful outlook and outstanding figure by using "not only....but", should I say,
Not only do you have a beautiful face, but you also own an attractive and outstanding figure."?
Thank you.
Cheers, AliMcJ answered on 09/29/03:Yes, the grammar used for "Not only (question word order), but (subject) also ...." is correct.
The use of "own" is strange here, as we don't usually use that in terms of physical characteristics -- "have" is fine, "possess" is sometimes used, but not in speaking directly to the person (it's too formal).
A better structure for this entire sentence would be:
Not only do you have a beautiful face, but you also have an outstanding figure.
Not only do you have a beautiful face but also an outstanding figure. (use verb only once, no comma)
or more natural would be:
Not only do you have a beautiful face, but your figure isalso outstanding.
and better yet, for a parallel construction of verb (is/do)
Not only is your face beautiful, but your figure is also outstanding.
(use attractive or outstanding, not both) | | Question/Answer | | Reenie asked on 09/24/03 - When did the plural rules change I was taught (30 years ago) that the following plurals were correct: monkies, donkies, dwarves, rooves, elves. Does anyone know when these rules changed? Or have I just forgotten?
Thanks! AliMcJ answered on 09/24/03:If a word ends in "y," it changes to "ie," but not those words that end in "ey"
baby = babies
try = tries
key = keys
donkey = donkeys
monkey = monkeys
Roofs is an irregular plural; knife, knives; wife, wives; hoof, hooves; roof = roofs (which I was taught over 30 years ago in elementary school, but I still check the dictionary to be sure, as I often forget which is irregular, hoof or roof; I just remember by roof as the more commonly used noun is the one with the streamlined spelling)
| | Question/Answer | | simon asked on 09/05/03 - living a comfortable life My friend who got married and went to life in USA came back few weeks ago. At a dinner given in her honor, when asked by another girlfriend how is her married as compared to her earlier life. She said that “oh I am living a comfortable life…”.
We were all ooooooh and aaaaaaaaaaaaaahs but what did she exactly mean.
Does she mean affluent life or wealthy life or just trying to say that she is loaded?
AliMcJ answered on 09/05/03:It's a life free of economic worry and other worries as well. "Comfortable" is sometimes a euphemism for "wealthy," especially from the person who is. It can be an understatement of wealth or simply a factual statement that the person doesn't have to worry about money and probably won't have to.
Wealth is also, comparative or relative. I live a comfortable life, but the Dallas city manager will be retiring after 25 years of service with a monthly retirement payment higher than my husband's and my combined monthly salaries when working. To me $14,000 a month is obscenely more than comfortable, especially when you consider that a teacher's salary is around $30,000 a year up to $45,000 (and school administrators can make $100,000 a year and up). | | Question/Answer | | thistletex asked on 09/03/03 - Rhyme I couldn't answer this question when somebody asked me offliine. What single syllable English word has the
most rhymes? That is, what is one of the words in said rhyming set? AliMcJ answered on 09/03/03:cat?
at
bat
cat
chat
fat
flat and so on.... | | Question/Answer | | chxq99 asked on 08/24/03 - Use The Right Preposition Hi there,
Please correct me in case I make a mistake if some one ask me where do I live:-
I live at 123 Churchhill Road, New York City.
I live at Churchhill Road.
I live in New York.
I live in the New York State.
Thank you.
Cheers,
AliMcJ answered on 08/25/03: live at 123 Churchhill Road, New York City.
(at an address)
I live {at} [on] Churchhill Road.
(on a street)
I live in New York.
(in a city)
I live in {the} New York State. (New York State is the name of the state, so it cannot have an article, just as you cannot be The chxg99 but can be the person named chxg99)
You have heard this pattern and have gotten them confused:
I live in the state of New York.
I live in the city of New York.
Here is one of my ESL pages. It has a section on in, on, at (big to small) in terms of time and space:
Theatre of Arts ESL Page 3 | | Question/Answer | | SCOOBY asked on 08/22/03 - fling Hello,
what is the definition of "fling" as in between two people? Sorry, I had trouble finding the meaning in the dictionary.
thank you. AliMcJ answered on 08/23/03:to have a fling with someone is to have a very brief, casual affair -- nothing serious for either person and all in fun | | Question/Answer | | beckyr asked on 08/19/03 - Book Titles in a document Does the title of a book (in a document) go in double quotes "..." or single quotes '...'?
Thanks! AliMcJ answered on 08/20/03:Neither. It should be either underlined or in italics (one or the other throughout the paper). Since most machines used for typing now have the italic function, italic is correct. On a manual typewriter or in handwriting, underlining is correct. | | Question/Answer | | MikeRosen asked on 08/19/03 - was or were Dear AliMcJ:
I'm still having trouble with the following. Which one is correct?
He always walks as if he is tired.
He always walks as if he were tired.
If "were" is correct in the above, is it considered passé or highfalutin?
Thanks again.
Mike AliMcJ answered on 08/20/03:"was" is incorrect in either of these.
"were" is correct and is not passé, nor is it highfalutin (as some people consider the use of "whom" in spoken English).
In spoken English, it is o.k. to say "He walks like he's tired," which then skirts the subjunctive -- it follows the pattern of "He looks tired;" He looks like he's tired" "He always looks tired;" "He always looks like he's tired." This is speculative and could be a real possibility, which makes this a conditional sentence and not a subjunctive one.
If, however, we know he is not tired, it is correct to use "were" as it is the correct verb for the unreal present (subjunctive):
He always looks as if he were tired.
Furthermore, to use "as if," "were" would definitely be the better choice, as "as if" is more formal usage and indicates that you don't believe he really is tired and so calls for the subjunctive. | | Question/Answer | | slimorish2003 asked on 08/09/03 - anti-educationist I know the word "anti-education" exists but what about "anti-educationist"? AliMcJ answered on 08/11/03:Without its context, it's hard to say for sure, but it sounds to me like it refers to a person who is against the educational reforms that wash over education with regularity, usually to start all over again, not a person who is against education but is against all those in the education business?racket?service? against those involved in the administration of the providers of knowledge to the children.
If you've read the latest Harry Potter, there is a wonderful example of some educationists at work -- Dolores Umbridge out in the fore! | | Question/Answer | | pegasus asked on 07/24/03 - "Did he not know...?" or "Did he know...?" Thanks to Rich Turner who answered my question in his website forum. I am redirecting a revised question here on your request.
All along I had thought that the correct form is "Did he not know that he would surely fail?". But I wrote an essay where the prof (not a Prof of English though, but he is British) thought that the sentence should have been "Did not he know...?"
Additionally, I stumbled on the the New International Version translation of Bible verse Jeremiah 26:19 concurred with the prof: "Did not Hezekiah fear the LORD and seek his favor? And did not the LORD relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them?"
But the King James version stated it otherwise... "did he not fear the LORD...?"
So now I am confused... are both versions acceptable? AliMcJ answered on 07/27/03:"Did he not know" sounds correct and natural to me.
"Did not he know" sounds archaic (and, since you have a Biblical precedent for it, it is) and pretentious.
The King James is an older version than the NIV, and I'd go with that one (perhaps your instructor would prefer "Did not he feareth...." [joke]) | | Question/Answer | | pegasus asked on 07/27/03 - Singular or plural? Which one is correct?
"The hair of both men were long"
"The hair of both men was long"
My thoughts are that since "hair" is not used in a unitary sense, especially when both men have their own unique head of hair, the plural is correct.
Anyone with a more erudite clarification? AliMcJ answered on 07/27/03:The singular verb is correct. Usually when something feels awkward, and is correct, one should find another way to say it that is also correct.
Both men's hair was long.
Both of the men's hair was long.
Both men wore their hair long.
Both men needed haircuts.
("Their hair was long" is your sentence reduced to its basic components, where you can see that "was" both sounds and is correct) | | Question/Answer | | jewels asked on 07/12/03 - which is wrong? This gave him a frightful appearance with his being the main attraction at a circus sideshow being his best prospect for survival until he was mercifully rescued by Dr. Treves.
In this sentence, would it be more correct to say:
...with him being the main attraction at a cirucus sideshow being his best prospect
Thanks AliMcJ answered on 07/12/03:his being
"being" is a gerund (noun) and so requires a possessive pronoun | | Question/Answer | | jewels asked on 07/12/03 - How does this sound for a first paragraph? How does this sound for a first paragraph?
The Elephant Man
Society tends to judge people by the way they talk, look and act, holding them to the standard accepted as normal. As powerfully demonstrated in the play "The Elephant Man" by Bernard Pomerance, one cannot judge a book by its cover, nor a person by his grotesque appearance. In this play, a gentle man named John Merrick it treated as a freak and an outcast because he was born with a disease that causes an over growth of bone and other tissues called Proteus Syndrome. This gave him a frightful appearance with him being the main attraction at a circus sideshow being his best prospect for survival until he was mercifully rescued by Dr. Treves. The play is an excellent example of the harsh judgments of society on people viewed as unusual. The Merrik "experiment" was a success because not only did John Merrik and Dr. Treves benefit from the effort, many in society learned compassion and benefited also. AliMcJ answered on 07/12/03:causes {an} over{ }growth of bone and other tissues
{ } = omit
I believe overgrowth would be one word.
I think your first first paragraph was better -- this has too many ideas thrown into it that lack transition -- they might belong in the essay, but not in the intro.
| | Question/Answer | | jewels asked on 07/11/03 - I just saw this category thought maybe I should post here I am writing a report on a play called Elephant Man.
This is my first paragraph. Can you please check it for me.
Society tends to judge people by the way they talk, look, and act, holding them to the standard accepted as normal. As demonstrated in the play "The Elephant Man" by Bernard Pomerance, one cannot judge a book by its cover. The play is an excellent example of the harsh judgments of society on people viewed as unusual. The Merrick "experiment" was a success because not only did John Merrick and Dr. Treves benefit from the effort, many in society learned compassion and benefited also.
thanks
AliMcJ answered on 07/12/03:excellent. Last sentence needs perhaps a comma:
The Merrick "experiment" was a success because[,] not only did John Merrick and Dr. Treves benefit from the effort, many in society learned compassion and benefited also.
Jeffrey's answer is excellent also -- both of us noticed the sentence needed something; I looked on the "not only" clause as one that could be omitted, subordinate, with the main thought being "The Merrick 'experiment' was a success because...many in...." which would call for a comma. Either solution is fine, but the sentence needs something.
also, this sentence, while grammatically correct, is awkward -- it is almost a dangling participle (but isn't):
As demonstrated in the play "The Elephant Man" by Bernard Pomerance, one cannot judge a book by its cover.
perhaps a better solution (though more formal) would be:
That one cannot judge a book by its cover
is demonstrated in the play "The Elephant Man" by Bernard Pomerance.
or even better, change to active voice:
The play "The Elephant Man[,]" by Bernard Pomerance [demonstrates that] one cannot judge a book by its cover.
The play is here the thing -- the main idea: this is your opening paragraph, so "As demonstrated...." is not a sensible "voice" to be introducing the play.
| | Question/Answer | | woman2003 asked on 06/25/03 - allowed to Why can't we say
It is not allowed to smoke here
and we have to say
Customers aren't allowed to smoke here
Thank you
AliMcJ answered on 06/26/03:for the same reason we can't say
Yo no gusto fumar but we can say No me gusta fumar.
You are not allowed to smoke here (passive verb "to be allowed" to allow someone to do something)
Smoking is not allowed here.
(again, one is a gerund and the other an infinitive, but in Spanish the infinitive often represents what would be in English the gerund, as after a preposition or in the cases you see here)
You can say
It is not permissable to smoke here.
No se permite fumar aquí. = Smoking is not permitted here (fumar = both the gerund and the infinitive in English, depending on use) and
No se puede fumar aquí = smoking is not allowed here (passive)
No pueden fumar aquí = (You are not allowed to smoke here). (active)
In other words, there is no "because" answer: it just is the way it is, como en «gustar» | | Question/Answer | | Choux asked on 06/21/03 - A Little Help on Grammar Please I just can't remember diddly about the past tenses of verbs. (I'll blame watching too many Jerry Springer Shows where verb tenses are meant to be mangled)
Anyway, past tense: I went to the store.
Hear lots of had went to the store...stuff like that. Seems like people add extra verbs where not needed in conjunction with the past tense of a verb.
Can someone give me a list and examples of how to "past tense" a verb (is past progressive one?).
Thanks in advance. Chou AliMcJ answered on 06/22/03:go - went - gone
see - saw - seen
drink - drank - drunk
draw - drew - drawn
sleep - slept - slept
ring - rang - rung
swim - swam - swum
fling - flung - flung
The first is present, the second is simple past, the third is the past participle. These are irregular verbs.
The kind of people who appear on Jerry Springer (and sadly to say, many elementary school teachers) commonly mix up the simple past and the past participle.
The first column is used to speak of habitual action (I drink beer) and used with auxiliary verbs (I can drink beer; I might drink beer....).
The second refers to actions completed at a definite time in the past.
I drank some beer last week.
The third, the past participle, is used with the perfect tenses: present and past perfect as well as as an adjective.
I have drunk a lot of beer in my time.
I haven't drunk beer for a while.
I said I had drunk a lot of beer in my time. (had + pp refers to the earlier of two past times); He was tired because he hadn't slept the night before.
Th progressive, or continuous tenses use present participles: v+ing.
I am typing. (pres. prog. or pres continuous)
I was typing. ( past progr)
I have been typing for ten minutes. (pres perf contin/progr)
I had been typing until the phone rang. (past perfect continuous/progressive)
The continuous or progressive tenses, then, use a form of "be" with a present participle.
Barely literate people (and it is regional too, blue collar wise) commonly say "I seen it," and you will see an example of that used in literature to convey a person's background here on one of the ESL questions.
The past perfect is used by more educated people, so that is where we encounter elementary teachers with "I had went" in place of "I had gone." They might have control of "I have gone," but when it gets into a more elevated tense, as in "I wish I had gone," they lose control of it.
Now to ring rang rung; swim, swam, swum; fling, flung, flung:
Children commonly transfer what they know about one verb to another, and this is an indication of a level of grammatical sophistication, whether it is correct or not, beginning with "I swimmed," and "I drawed" and this moves on into some confusion with past tense and past participles in the irregular verbs. A wonderful instance of this is a famous line from a baseball player:
"Who flang that ball?" (sang and rang are past tense of sing and ring, so it stands to reason that flang would be past of fling, but it ain't).
There is also what I call the Nathan Detroit school of grammar, in which people "add extra verbs where not needed in conjunction with the past tense of a verb" in order to give themselves an air of grammatical sophistication, as the example you gave above, "I had went" in place of "I went." It is similar to people saying "They gave it to he and I," using subject pronouns in place of object pronouns because they've been told is isn't correct to say "Him and me went to the store," (and it isn't correct):
He and I went.
They gave it to him and me. are correct.
If you need a grammar review/reference book, a great one is Betty Azar's Fundamentals of English Grammar
You might also enjoy my Grammar Police page. | | Question/Answer | | TheGanoobies asked on 06/12/03 - hmmmm maybe someone will answer this please check this and let me know if it is punctuated correctly. Does it sound okay7? Thank you
The Manipulation of Modern Readers
The English language has many words with many different meanings, which when skillfully used, can be used to manipulate readers. Everyday in life people are being manipulated by what they read. Readers are often influenced by the words an author uses when reading an article. Political editorials are notorious for containing manipulative language to persuade its readers to one side or the other. Through the use of modern words and phrases such as ‘hyped’, ‘mouse potato’, ‘ethnic cleansing’, ‘haunting fear’, ‘demon weed’, ‘diehard prohibitionists’,‘ more dangerous than cocaine,’ in the enclosed editorials the authors are manipulating the feelings and emotions of the reader in order to sway them one way or the other. AliMcJ answered on 06/13/03:, which[,] when skillfully used,
everyday is an adjective; every day tells of frequency.
A motel near us advertises "everyday breakfast service;" it doesn't sound very appealing, does it?
editorials (plural) persuade [their] = number agreement
commas should go inside the quotes, and you need to use "and" between the last two items in a series ...."'diehard prpohibitionists,' and 'more dangerous than cocaine' in...."
and no comma after the end item in the series
you might want to use the plural "readers" instead of "reader" | | Question/Answer | | lynchfitz asked on 06/02/03 - Capitolization within a full sentence quote In this sentence-
Bob said, "Ostrich feathers are very hot!" before heading out the door.
Since the quote is a full sentence, should ostrich be capitalized? AliMcJ answered on 06/03/03:Yes. It's completely correct the way it is. Good job! | | Question/Answer | | lynchfitz asked on 06/02/03 - Full Sentence quotes Sentence Example--
Frank said that he felt strongly that "ostriches are a danger!".
Should there be a period at the end of this sentence or does the exclamation point take care of it? AliMcJ answered on 06/03/03:This is not a direct quotation; it is indirect speech, indicated by the relative pronoun "that." Given that, then, the sentence should be:
Frank said that he felt strongly that ostriches were a danger.
If you want it to be direct speech, then write,
Frank said, "I feel strongly that ostriches are a danger!"
You don't need the period at the end because the exclamation point of the quoted statement serves as an indicator of the end of the sentence.
| | Question/Answer | | simon asked on 05/28/03 - help me develop this / developing a checklist for proofreading developing a checklist for proofreading and learning & developing Strategies for PICKING UP errors.
I would like to develop my own checklist before turning in any document to my FINICKY DETAILED ORIENTED BOSS. Who also has x-ray vision!!!!!
Can someone help. If they have one can they share?
AliMcJ answered on 05/28/03:I believe that Alice Oshima's Writing Academic English has a checklist in the back of the book (if not, the exercises she takes you through in the back provide you a checklist, if you go section by section).
I have it linked to Amazon and others from my recommended books site at:
Ali Baba's Recommended Books
In the meantime, I'll work on a rubric checklist for writing and make a page of it linked to my ESL pages. It'll be a good reference page to add:
Mrs. Johnson's Launch Pad
(bookmark it and check back later in the summer) | | Question/Answer | | TheGanoobies asked on 05/19/03 - are these sentences completely correct? punctuation and all? 1. In the 90s, many jobs will require information processing, therefore, students will need a liberal arts orientation to do the following: gather information, analyze it, process it, and store it.
2. Will education be ongoing?
3. "Emphatically yes," said one consultant.
4. "Tanke engineers," she continued,"In five years 50 percent of what they've learned goes into the computer; in ten years it'll be 90 percent."
5. They'll have to go back to school every ten years for new information to get replenished; as it were, so will people in other fields.
AliMcJ answered on 05/19/03:1. In the 90s, many jobs will require information processing{,}[;] therefore, students will need a liberal arts orientation to do the following: gather information, analyze it, process it, and store it[.]
"Emphatically yes," said one consultant.
o.k.
could also be
"Emphatically[,] yes," said one consultant.
or
"Emphatically[,] yes!" said one consultant.
or
"Emphatically yes!" said one consultant.
4. "Tanke (Take?)
5. They'll have to go back to school every ten years for new information to get replenished{;}[,] as it were{,}[;] so will people in other fields.
{ } = omit
[ ] = insert | | Question/Answer | | Carol asked on 05/17/03 - Punctuation question Here are 3 sentences, can you tell me, why there is a comma used after 'old' in the 2nd and 3rd sentence but not the 1st sentence?
1. This 67-year-old Hispanic male patient.....
2. The patient is a 31-year-old, white man....
3. This is a 31-year-old, white man....
Does this have to do with adjective and noun phrases or does it have to do with how the sentences begin?
I am a medical transcriptionist and this is something that students question all the time. I'm unable to find a specific reason.
Thank you
Carol AliMcJ answered on 05/19/03:The patient is a 67-year-old Hispanic male
The patient is a 31-year-old white male
The patient is a 67-year-old Hispanic man
The patient is a 31-year-old white man
hmmm, when I take that one as an example, it makes me wonder just why it is that
as #1 This 31-year-old white male patient would not have a comma....
It makes little sense, as when we have a series of adjectives, they only require commas if they are in the same category:
The old white weather-beaten lighthouse....
requires no commas.
The old white weather-beaten, rat-riddled, falling-down lighthouse....
requires commas between the participial adjectives, as they are all the same category.
general quality - age - color - participle - origin - material (as in the lovely old red leaning midwestern wooden barn -- although the origin/material parts are often transposed, just to the ear) is part of the order they go in and if there is more than one in a category, they require commas. (there is a whole long string of them that can make some fun exercises); however, the phrases above don't seem to fit a pattern other than using a comma if you use man and not if you use "male." That's all I can extrapolate from what I see here; I guess I'd have to say that using a comma in any of the examples you gave is incorrect.
What I do see here is that it might have to do with race, wherein "white" is considered to be "normal," so mentioning it is unnecessary and, as such is an appositive, requires a comma, whereas "Hispanic" is something that needs to be stated....
I think that the use of the comma is, then, not only incorrect but an archaic reflecting of racial attitudes.
For what it's worth, the trend in English is to use fewer commas, so dropping it in all of these would be
- grammatically logical
- politically correct
- progressive
It would be appropriate here to introduce George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," which you can read online (better to print out and read) at:
Politics and the English Language by George Orwell, 1946 | | Question/Answer | | Morag asked on 03/27/03 - quotation marks I need to know where the final quotation marks go in the following sentence. Which is correct?
He told her she was "too sensitive to criticism."
He told her she was "too sensitive to criticism".
Thanks.
AliMcJ answered on 03/27/03:The period goes inside the quotation marks. | | Question/Answer | | woman2003 asked on 03/20/03 - language use What is right?
It's her ot It's she and Why? AliMcJ answered on 03/21/03:She answered the phone. It was she who answered the phone. It was she.
I answered the phone. It was I who answered the phone. It was I.
subject pronoun because it was that person who did the action. This is so commonly used incorrectly that everyone is confused. If you reconstruct the original sentence, as above, it's easier to see.
Also:
"This is she," when we answer the phone
"Is Ali there?"
"This is she."
(this is she who is speaking, whose voice you hear) same reason -- subject of "is speaking" | | Question/Answer | | bluto asked on 02/06/03 - Question Hi ya Ali....
Have not had the chance to 'talk' to you. I've seen you in the forums tho. :)
I have a grammar question for you.
Why, in some sentences are there parts of the sentence in bracket?
I don't have a real example, but lemme make one up so you know what I mean:
When the group [traveled abroad] they often stayed in hostels.
See what I mean? I see that kind of thing from tme to time, but have never been able to figure out what the deal was! lol
Thanks! :)
Oh, by the way. I took a peek at your Art web page. I like your style. I haven't painted in years and years and....well...you get the picture. I've done mostly drawings. Pen-n-ink, or just a good ole pencil. I've never been any good at watercolor, So I think the work you did with that was pretty darn good.
bluto AliMcJ answered on 02/07/03:brackets indicate information that was added by the person quoting the rest of the sentence -- it indicates it wasn't part of the original quote. In this case, the brackets are within a quote:
"When the group traveled [abroad], they often stayed in hostels."
indicates that the original sentence is:
"When the group traveled, they often stayed in hostels," and that the person quoting the sentence has added "abroad" for clarification, but it is not part of what was originally was said.
Another place we find brackets is within parentheses. (We might have a long parenthetical statement [like this] that we need to clarify even further, so for "arentheses within parentheses [so to speak], we use brackets within parentheses) | | Question/Answer | | richturner asked on 01/18/03 - Attributive adjectives and possessives Here's a tough one that possibly belongs on the ESL board, but I'm posting it here because I'd like to see this board get more action.
How do I explain to a non-native speaker when we may use an attributive adjective before a noun and when we use the possessive case? For example, when a non-native speaker asks me whether to write "the UN resolution regarding Iraq" or "the UN's resolution regarding Iraq," I am inclined to say that either is correct. However, I would write, "We are celebrating the Eagles' [plural possessive] victory" (and probably not "the Eagles victory"). It seems to me that we may have either a possessive noun or a noun used as an attributive adjective in some instances, yet in others we are required to use the possessive case. What determines the difference? AliMcJ answered on 01/23/03:part of it is that "a UN resolution" has become as idiomatic as "a book store."
We could say "The UN's resolution to do whatever...." and it gives it more of a personal or individualized touch.
With "the Eagles' victory" it is something that belongs to them and they are a small group of individuals who achieved it.
I think the distinction between personal/individual and somewhat common or mass is the defining factor.
New Year's Resolutions
Time-saving resolutions
UN resolutions
Oh -- I think that with book store, shoe store, the adjective noun in front indicates that the noun it is describing is OF them. | | Question/Answer | | tedjnesbitt asked on 01/07/03 - Whoever/Whomever Rich:
I lost your address, but I was able to track you down at this site. I need an opinion. There is a heated
discussion going on at a listserv to which I belong. There are two "leading" answers, with persuasive
explanations to back them up. Here's the question:
In the following sentence, which pronoun is correct AND WHY?
Whoever/Whomever the boss likes the best will likely get the promotion.
It's a poorly written sentence, but we don't need a revision. On the basis of how it is now written,
should the pronoun be whoever or whomever . . . . and WHY?
Thanks for your input.
Ted Nesbitt AliMcJ answered on 01/08/03:Ohhhh -- here it is: I was looking on PointAsk. I'm cutting and pasting my answer here from the other site:
Thanks -- I love hair-raising and hair-splitting grammar!
The boss likes him best. He will get the promotion.
He whom the boss likes best will get the promotion.
It sounds 'stupid' to say "Whomever the boss likes best will get the job," but if the boss likes the person best, it has to be an object pronoun, as it is the object of the verb in the noun clause (The boss likes him best, and him=whom). "He" is the subject of the main clause (He will get the promotion)
Therefore, "Whomever the boss likes best will likely get the promotion" is correct.
The entire clause "Whomever the boss likes best" functions as a noun in the sentence but "whomever" is still the object of the verb "likes" which is not the main verb in the sentence.
**ADDITION: conversely, we would say "He will give it to whoever wants it," and "whoever" would be the subject of the noun clause, the whole of the clause functioning as the indirect object of the verb "give" -- broken down, it would be "He will give it to him." "He wants it." -- "him" is replaced by "he wants it," i.e. "whoever wants it."
Looking at the opposite case helps to clarify why "whomever" is correct in the first example.**
While "whom" and even more whomever are going out of usage, whomever is more correct in this sentence even in that light because it is a somewhat formal sentence. If the sentence were the oral construction of "He'll give to to whoever he wants to," whoever would be somewhat more acceptable.
I teach my students that if we have a sentence that breaks the old formal rule of not ending sentences with prepositions, then it's not necessary to use the object pronoun whom; using it is an example of what I call "jailhouse grammar:" or the Nathan Detroit School of Grammar: "it looks good, sounds erudite, but it ain't right:"
"To whom did you speak" is correct, but "Whom did you speak to," is simply pompous foolishness. In other words, you might as well be hanged for a murderer as a thief: if you break one rule, break both of them "Who did you speak to?" is correct under that circumstance.
Me? I like whom and whomever. I'm very much a grammar traditionalist because of the precision that can be brought with precise grammar. Just because everyone does it "don't make it right" (like the "laying around the house" applied to anything but fowl) or as a Spanish proverb goes
Falta de todos, consuelo de bobos.
Is the listserv you ran into this on alt.english.usage or alt.usage.english?? Things get very heated there! | | Question/Answer | | marcel asked on 12/20/02 - proprietary 'something' Does any of you experts know what "proprietary" means in combination with, for example, "software" or "hardware".
- Proprietary software
- Proprietary hardware
Does it simply mean that it is owned by a person/company or does it have something to do with registered trademarks or does it mean something else?
Thank you AliMcJ answered on 12/21/02:Sheesh! I'm having the devil of a time clicking the correct button -- follow-up or answer. Here is the same thing as an answer:
I think it means that it belongs to someone and "all rights are reserved." I believe I have seen in in conjunction with shareware -- software that is developed and shared and relies on people to send in donations on an honor system to the person who developed it: "here, try this and if you like it, send $5" sort of thing.
It does mean it is someone's intellectual property and therefore, all rights to it belong to that person: i.e. you cannot copy it. In the case of a patent, the hardware may have been produced on a small scale, not bought by a conglomerate giant, and so the person who developed it is caught between a rock and a hard place: sell it on a small scale and risk someone stealing his idea, or keep it and make no money and risk not having a large corporation buy the patent from him/her.
Does that help?
| | Question/Answer | | Unknown asked on 12/06/02 - Advice How should one ask this question?
What is the right way to spell advisers,
or should it be,
What is the right way to spell advisors.
Anyway, I think you got the question.
Mick AliMcJ answered on 12/07/02:They're both correct, but I would prefer "advisor" over "adviser."
With the -or suffix, it is more like a formal title, while with the -er suffix, it is someone who does that. Adding -er makes what we call an "agent noun."
-or is a more formal kind of "a person who does that." (actor, professor) | | Question/Answer | | marcel asked on 11/21/02 - research INTO or ON Thank you all for your answers. I looked it up in the "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English". I couldn't find it at first but today I gave it a second chance and there it was:
Longman's example:
[+into/on]: research into the causes of cancer
So, INTO or ON. AliMcJ answered on 11/27/02:This keeps coming up as unanswered. Thanks for the follow up, and yes, it's do research on/into.
Good old Longman! | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/25/02 - Paraphrase "She always shings when doing her work."
"When writing English he often consults the dictionary."
Would it be ok to paraprase the two sentences above respectively like
"She always shings when she does her work."
"When he writes English he often consults the dictionary." ?
Thanks for your help! AliMcJ answered on 11/26/02:These are fine, except
"When he writes English[,] he often consults the dictionary."
an adverbial phrase at the beginning requires a comma.
I'm wondering just what it is she does when she works -- sings? shimmmies? or shinnies up a tree? (wink) | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/21/02 - "be on going to do" vs "be going to do" Hello,
This time, I would like to ask you about a way of expressing future time, i.e. "be going to".
I found this statement on the web:
"I'm on going to say this one million times. THE PRESIDENT CANNOT SET TAX POLICY THAT IS CONGRESS'S JOB."
Why did he said "I'm on going to say"? Is there any difference in nuance between "I'm on going to do something" and "I'm going to do something"?
Thank you for your help, AliMcJ answered on 11/21/02:as in another q, it is possible that what he actually had said was, "I'm a-gonna say this one million times." and it was transcribed by a non-native speaker who didn't recognize "I'm a-gonna do something" as a regionalism in spoken American English only and so transcribed it as any preposition he/she could think of, having heard the "a."
In short: It ain't right and it ain't a-gonna be right, not never." (all completely incorrect grammar, but it can be heard, usually spoken by someone wearing an old pair of blue overalls and carrying a pitchfork -- joke) | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/21/02 - acceptable or unacceptable Hello,
Could you please tell me if it's ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE to use the sentence below to express future time?
"I'm in going to stay at home and write letters."?
I know "I'm going to stay at home and write letters."is correct. But I would like to know if it's ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE and grammatically incorrect to put "in" between "am" and "going".
I found these sentences below on the web.
"In the article Kaige said that he was in going to move to the United States to make English-language films."
http://grove.ufl.edu/~mleslie/week11.html
"He was in going to return it but decided to keep it and play a joke on someone."
http://cairns.crazychic.net/datalogs/mission3-3.html
"...he was in going to make sure that Ezra never doubted him again."
http://themagnificent2.homestead.com/files/WithoutYou2.htm
"She said that it was out of their hands that the jail had called and he was in going to be in jail for 110 days so they closed his chart."
http://www.bitchandgripe.com/TN%20Tennessee.htm
I appreciate your help,
AliMcJ answered on 11/21/02:I have never seen this and have never to my knowledge heard it (and if I did, I was too polite to notice it).. It is completely unacceptable.
The only thing remotely like it is "I'm a-gonna go open me a can a whup a$$" I'm a-gonna being a regionalism, not written, only spoken.
WHere did you find these examples? They must be misprints.
The last one could be something acceptable, with a comma and meaning something else:
"She said that it was out of their hands[,] that the jail had called and he was in[,] going to be in[,] jail for 110 days[,] so they closed his chart."
He was in -- going to be in for x days.
"He was in" He was in jail at the moment, and to clarify, he was not only in jail but would continue to be in jail for the next 110 days.
| | Question/Answer | | marcel asked on 11/20/02 - research into Or should it be "research INTO"? AliMcJ answered on 11/20/02:see first answer for other prepositions mentioned
(oh, I forgot "for" -- "I do research for Lilly Pharmaceuticals: I research the effects of antidepressants on mice")
with "into," it would be more appropriate to say "I need to look into the effects of...." but it is slightly different than research.
I highly recommend the Longman Book of Contemporary English, as it answers questions like these -- which prepositions may/can/should follow verbs. It is linked to Amazon from one of my ESL pages:
Theatre of Arts ESL Pages | | Question/Answer | | marcel asked on 11/20/02 - research for, in, of, to Research FOR (IN, OF, TO) the feasibility of meteor burst communication.
Which of the prepositions is the correct one? AliMcJ answered on 11/20/02:no preposition is needed with the verb "research;"
you're remembering having seen "do research on something"
"do research in the field of astrophysics"
"do some research about something"
The sentence you have posted here is a fragment, (unless it is a command sentence, an order), as it lacks a subject:
"I need to research the feasibility of...." | | Question/Answer | | frostroad asked on 11/20/02 - Invention and creation Would you please tell me the difference in "invention" and "creation".
Which one would you use to mean a newly designed computer software?
Thank you. AliMcJ answered on 11/20/02:I would say "creation" for the software because it is more in the realm of ideas and art; "inventions" are more like machines or tools -- the lightbulb, a flying machine, a thinking machine, a perpetual motion machine. After something is invented, then it is developed, so we speak of the development of the airplaine or the development of the computer.
| | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/15/02 - I have a question Do the following sentences work fine when you refer to the bird, doll, clock, etc. that were "singing","dancing","ticking" etc.?
"The singing bird on the perch was shot to death."
"The dancing doll on the table suddenly stopped."
"The ticking clock on the wall suddenly exploded."
"The barking dog in the yard was a nuisance."
"Her crying baby in the next room was a nuisance."
Thank you for your help,
AliMcJ answered on 11/17/02:The first one is a little weird because we identify singing birds from non-singing birds as "song birds," so the participle is a useless addition here.
The song bird on the perch was shot and killed."
The bird singing on the perch was shot and killed."
(shot to death is overkill in the case of a bird: when people are shot and killed, it's one shot or two; shot to death is many bullets, like from a firing squad or semi-automatic weapon or many shots)
On the last one, I'd go with:
"Her baby crying in the next room was a nuisance." , and then I'd think, no, her baby isn't a nuisance but the baby's crying is -- we identify what is the nuisance here, and it becomes a gerund, not a participle:
"Her baby's crying in the next room was a nuisance." since this is for hair-splitting grammar (and I love it), we need the possessive in front of the gerund.
"The barking dog was a nuisance" is fine: it's the kind of dog that it is that makes it a nuisance.
ticking clock is almost redundant, but exploded gives you a reason to mention the ticking.
a dancing doll is a kind of a doll (like the wind-up ballerina in "The Nutcracker") | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/17/02 - Does the following sentence sound fine? 2 Let me ask you one more question.
Does the following sentence sound fine?
"The barking dog is my neighbour's"
the tense is different than my previous post.
Thanks! AliMcJ answered on 11/17/02:ah ha!
Let's say the police come to your door on a noise complaint and you say, "Oh, sorry. That's not my dog who was barking. It's my neighbor's barking dog, and that darn animal gets them all going!"
I know I changed the structure, but I had to to put it in a context. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/17/02 - Does the following sentence sound fine? Hello,
Let me ask you a question.
Does the following sentence sound fine?
"The barking dog was my neighbour's"
Thanks! AliMcJ answered on 11/17/02:Yes -- and it means that it barked a lot -- noticeably so, itc identifying characteristic to you and the person with whom you are speaking. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/14/02 - Simple question 2 "I took pictures of some birds, flying in the blue sky"
Does this sentence still leave a possibility that I was flying while I photographed some birds?
The point here is "comma".
Thanks! AliMcJ answered on 11/14/02:The comma doesn't belong there -- only if you moved the entire phrase to the front, and then it would suggest you were flying, and would certainly point away from the birds' flying, although it would be the most logical connection. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/14/02 - Simple question "I took pictures of some birds flying in the blue sky."
Does this sentence leave a possibility that I was flying while I photographed some birds?
AliMcJ answered on 11/14/02:It has the possiblity, but because logic demands that it is more porbable that the birds were flying than you, it is clear that you were taking the pictures and the birds were flying.
If you were to move the entire thing to the front, with a comma, then it would suggest you were flying (when you were actually dangling a participle).
Even with a sentence like "I took pictures of houses flying in the sky," the image conjured up would be that a tornado had lifted the houses.
I took pictures of houses flying in an airplane. would open the possibility that the houses were flying in an airplane, though logically it would be you. To clarify it, you would add "while:" I took pictures of houses while flying in an airplane. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/13/02 - To AliMcJ Thank you for your help, AliMcJ!
As for this assignment, actually, it would be more like a paper. In this linguistics class I was suggested that I study "-ing" adjectives from perspectives of semantics, syntacx and pragmatics.
For example, "-ing adjectives" just sounds like adjectives with the "-ing" suffix. But there are two types of "-ing" adjecitives (, I assume)--"full" adjectives and "non full" adjectives. "full" adjectives can be modified by adverbials such as "very" and "too" denoting gradance( a very entertaining person), and "non-full"adjectives cannot(* a very singing bird). This is a matter of semantics and syntax. Pragmatics needs contexts.
I'm trying to find out some subtle diffences in meaning and nuance between some sentences constructed in differnt ways. So I posed some questions about "the barking dog" and "the dog barking", which have differnt constructions--post-modification and pre-modification. I'm also trying to find out that how the meaning of a sentence will change in a different context.
Well,that's why I'm here to ask.
Hope my explanation makes sense.
I still have a lot of trouble expressing my thoughts in English clearly. I can read quite well but can't write well.
I always appreciate your help, AliMcJ answered on 11/13/02:I appreciate your questions! They really get me going around and around.
Your command of English is, by the way, excellent.
I'd like to recommend a book you might enjoy: "The Deluxe Transitive Vampire:" it's a humorous gothic treatment of sentence structure and grammar.
Betty Azar's Fundamentals of English Grammar
and her
Understanding and Using English Grammar might be good ones to add to your bookshelf
and, the Must Have for all non-native speakers is The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
(I have it linked to Amazon from several of my pages:
http://AliMcJ.tripod.com/AliBabaB-6.html
http://AliMcJ.tripod.com/ESLTOA1.html
You will find it a goldmine of help and inspiration!) | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/11/02 - Need your help Hello,
Do these following sentences sound fine?
"The bird singing was shot to death"
"The doll dancing suddenly stopped dancing"
"The clock ticking suddenly exploded"
"The dog barking was a nuisance"
"Her baby crying was a nuisance"
I'm trying to make sentences including these phrases "the bird singing", "the doll dancing", "the clock ticking","the dog barking" and "her baby crying". All of these phrases have "article(exept "her") + noun + ing participle" constructions and there is nothing added to these phrases, meaning not modified by adverbs. And one more thing to note is that all of the head-words(noun) are not objects of verbs of perception(see, hear, watch etc).
Can you come up with some sentences including those phrases above, which are not objects of verbs of perception, not modified by adverbs?
I wonder if you could give me some sentences including all of the phrases above.
I appreciate your help, AliMcJ answered on 11/11/02:"The bird singing was shot to death"
"The doll dancing suddenly stopped dancing"
"The clock ticking suddenly exploded"
"The dog barking was a nuisance"
"Her baby crying was a nuisance"
You know what will happen if these are not objects? They'll still turn into gerunds!
Even the bird's singing annoyed him.
The doll's dancing was too mechanical to be believed.
The clock's ticking....
The dog's barking....
Her baby's crying....
as the subject of the sentence.
Exactly what is the assignment here? I se you have outlined it, but I (for one) would like to see where and how this exercise was suggested.
| | Question/Answer | | marcel asked on 11/11/02 - substitute for vs. replace with How should I interpret the following text?
You can substitute pecans for the walnuts in a brownie recipe.
Does it mean:
You can replace pecans with the walnuts in a brownie recipe.
Or:
You can replace walnuts with the pecans in a brownie recipe.
In my view, the latter is correct. AliMcJ answered on 11/11/02:You're correct -- use pecans in place of walnuts.
It's a bit weird to use substitute pecans for walnuts, because pecans are more expensive, so if I were to write the recipe, I'd say "You can use pecans instead of walnuts for a richer flavor...." | | Question/Answer | | marcel asked on 11/08/02 - forgot OR have forgotten If I'm correct "have forgotten" is much less frequently used than
"forgot".
Do the following examples correctly illustrate the difference?
Did you go to the dentist today?
Damn, I completely forgot!
Comment: I didn't remember it at the appointed time.
What is your social security number?
Uh, I have forgotten!
Comment: I still haven't the least idea what my social security number is. AliMcJ answered on 11/08/02:the time period is important: I forgot a one time appointment; I have forgotten something that I used to know well (for a long time).
BTW: British English uses "have forgot" also | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/08/02 - Could you please give me some example contexts... Thank you Jimguy, AliMcJ and Chad for all your answer to my question.
Actually, I need your help again.
Could you please give me some example contexts including the following phrases?
"a walking figure (or person/ man/ woman etc)"
"an entertaining person"
"a working man"
I know I'm asking and worrying too much about the "-ing participles". But I have to, because I have to complete this assignment on "ing adjectives" by the end of this month. I have to analyse these expressions including "ing." I'm a college student majoring in English.
Actually, I really don't want to dilly-dally with this trifle matters. I would like to learn practical English. Sticking to grammar too much doesn't help you learn natural English, I believe.
I would like to spend more time on watching English movies, reading Egnlish books and newspapers, and listening to a radio English conversation program.
Hope you understand my situation. And hope my English makes sense...
I appreciate your help, AliMcJ answered on 11/08/02:P.S. We are all understanding people here (i.e. we understand problems with grammar and problems with learning English as a Second Language).
We wouldn't say "We are understanding what you say," but we can say "We are understanding people." (a permanent characteristic, or at least a long-term one) | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/08/02 - Could you please give me some example contexts... Thank you Jimguy, AliMcJ and Chad for all your answer to my question.
Actually, I need your help again.
Could you please give me some example contexts including the following phrases?
"a walking figure (or person/ man/ woman etc)"
"an entertaining person"
"a working man"
I know I'm asking and worrying too much about the "-ing participles". But I have to, because I have to complete this assignment on "ing adjectives" by the end of this month. I have to analyse these expressions including "ing." I'm a college student majoring in English.
Actually, I really don't want to dilly-dally with this trifle matters. I would like to learn practical English. Sticking to grammar too much doesn't help you learn natural English, I believe.
I would like to spend more time on watching English movies, reading Egnlish books and newspapers, and listening to a radio English conversation program.
Hope you understand my situation. And hope my English makes sense...
I appreciate your help, AliMcJ answered on 11/08/02:I do understand your situation. I guess you could use as a measure (a rule of thumb) whether the -ing is a temporary condition, in which case you wouldn't put it in front of the word:
The walking woman -- "The woman walking across the street" would be more usual, as it is temporary identification.
(If you speak spanish, it is akin to the ser/estar distinctions with adjectives)
He is a working man. (He works every day and he works hard)
He is waiting for you; the man waiting for you left an hour ago. He wouldn't be "a waiting man"
He is a very entertaining person (every time I see him, he makes me laugh).
A lot has to do with -ing in front of or behind the noun (as a part of a participial phrase) | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/07/02 - A walker vs a walking person Finally I can post my questions anain...
Let me ask you a question.
What is the difference between the two expressions below?
"a walker"
and
"a walking person"
I also would like to know when to use which.
I assume that the latter way of saying is more flexible than the former. For example, (I suppose) you can say:
"a walking woman"
"a walking man"
"a walking girl"
"a walking boy"
i.e. you can specify what kind of person the walker is. (I suppose) you cannot say "a man walker", "a girl walker" etc. Well, I'm not sure...
Could you please help me out?
AliMcJ answered on 11/07/02:Those are very awkward.
We might say, "Walkers start the marathon at 6AM and runners start at 8AM," to distinguish those who are walking the course from those who are running it. A "walker" is not a commonly used word, but "runner" is.
A female runner, a male runner, children who are running the course today
Female runners under 18; Male runners under 18; Female runners under 13, male runners under 13 can be categories for a race.
You're worrying too much about the -ing participles. They depend on context and are used to identify people at the particular moment of a conversation. | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 11/03/02 - Are these phrases acceptable? Hello,
Let me ask you a question.
Are these following phrases grammatically correct?
Are these logically acceptable?
[1]"the frequently barking dog"
[2]"the occasionally barking dog"
[3]"the sometimes barking dog"
[4]"the rarely barking dog"
[5]"the proudly barking dog"
[6]"the quietly barking dog"
[7]"the fiercely barking dog"
Thank you for your help, AliMcJ answered on 11/03/02:They are all correct.
I agree with Jeffrey that "sometimes" is awkward. It is possible, but since sometimes is 50/50, then it wouldn ID the barking dog (who would have to bark more than 50% of the time to earn the title). I think that "rarely" is also awkward for the same reason. | | Question/Answer | | scott1328 asked on 11/02/02 - Did you all know you can use HTML tags... ...to format your questions and responses?
You wondering how use an apostrophe? You need to use an entity reference: such as an & followed by the charters rsquo; for right single quote yields ’
You wondering how to use bold and italics and underlines? Use the B, I and U tags respectively.
It makes me wonder if embedding images in a question would work?
Such as !["Does]()
Ah well I doubt if the powers that be will allow HTML formatting to coninue to work but we shall see.
You can put cha AliMcJ answered on 11/03/02:Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you! That will be a big help in showing people corrections when they need them! | | Question/Answer | | ap990869 asked on 10/31/02 - Could you please give me your reaction? Which impression do you get when you read the sentence "He got stuck in a revolving door.
[1] He got stuck in a door that was revolving.
[2] He got stuck in a door that revolves(a subclass of doors).
[3] He got stuck in a door that revolves that was revolving.
All interpretations are possible?
And is it OK to say "He got stuck in a revolving door revoliving." when you want to make it clear that the revolving door(a subclass of doors) was revolving?
Thank you, AliMcJ answered on 10/31/02:If you
e stuck in it, its no longer revolving, unless you get stuck in it going around and around, but either way you
e stuck and you wouldn add another revolving to the sentence.
A revolving door is a certain kind of door. All of us have managed to get stuck somehow, and each would take its own kind of description -- for example one can be stuck going around and around because he/she forgets to get out, moves too slowly, doesn know how to use one, gets an article of clothing attached, is surrounded by an excited soccer team in all the other doors who are having fun running around and around and around and the person can get out fast enough....
or, as I answered elsewhere, it can be like the young Chinese woman tugging her huge suitcase along behind her on a leash, figuring that it would fit in the compartment behind her. It was too big and the door stuck on it, so there she was in one compartment, leashed to her giant suitcase that prevented the doors from revolving (and they don go both directions). | | Question/Answer | | richturner asked on 10/30/02 - Hey, Gang! I figured Id post this here because just about everyone here is from AskMe (there isnt a trivia board or a message board, is there?). Anyway, you all know how I hate to grumble :) [joke]. Is it just me (I?), or are the pages here at AnswerWay a bit slow loading? Its not bad for me at home where I have cable, but its still slower than almost any other sites. Any thoughts or experience along these lines will be appreciated. So far, one reason Im not here much is the slow loading.
Rich AliMcJ answered on 10/30/02:The pages dont seem slow here, but the questions seem to come slowly.
Your pages might be loading slowly because of the habit memory of your computer -- once theyve been somewhere already, they load faster. Keep visiting frequently, logging in frequently and see if the loading time improves. |
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