Ask the Grammar Geek
Got a burning grammar question? Something you’ve always wanted to ask an editor about the publishing process? Even a question about web standards and why they’re important? Or how about a random pop-culture question, like the answer to which TV show was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers?Leave me a comment. I’ll answer it here…
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I tend to avoid having dialogue tags appear before the dialogue but when it does, which use of punctuation is correct?
Is it: David leaned in closer to whisper, “Isn’t it time for The Biggest Loser?”
Or: David leaned in closer to whisper: “Isn’t it time for The Bigest Loser?”
Thanks for your help!
I think both could be considered grammatically correct, but I try to avoid using colons in fiction, it just feels a little too strict, I guess?
I’ve always used the first example.
Hi
I have three short questions.
someone has told me that the sentence below is incorrect
1. It’s a too difficult task for me. “a” refers to the task, of course. Could you explain to me why it is incorrect? (P.S. it should be:…why it is incorrect?, or …..why is it incorrect?)
II. Is it possible to say: I’ve just seen him a minute ago.
III. Is it correct to ask: Who did see you on your way here?
Shouldn’t it rather be: Who saw you?, if so, why???
thanks
What is the rule for the different pronunciations of “y” as a vowel?
I’d be grateful for your expertise! (My son was docked an entire grade category for the year here in Austria, based on these “errors”–which infuriates me, because I believe that, at most, they are subjective rather than objective “mistakes.”)
My son’s 5th grade English teacher here in Austria asked her students to “write the following sentences in the present tense simple or the present tense progressive (-ing Form)”:
1) “I (get up) at 6:30 every morning”
My son’s answer (marked as “wrong” by the teacher): “I am getting up at 6:30 every morning.”
2) “On Sunday my mom often (bake) a cake”
My son’s answer (again, “wrong”): “On Sunday my mom often is baking a cake.”
3) “Sometimes our English teacher (give) us a lot of homework.”
My son’s (“wrong”) answer: “Sometimes our English teacher is giving us a lot of homework.”
Aren’t all of my son’s answers indeed correct present tense progressive constructions?
Perhaps the teacher thought that present tense simple would have been preferable to present tense progressive in these sentences, but that’s not what she asked for. Her instructions were to use one or the other; my son chose to use the latter. All of my son’s answers are correct English, aren’t they?
My son also was penalized several points on a recent test for using “wrong word order.”
He wrote: “I play often with my brother after school.”
The teacher penalized him, saying the correct sentence should be, ” I often play with my brother after school.”
He wrote: “Gregory goes often with his best friend at the weekend to the cinema.”
His teacher again penalized him, and wrote: “Gregory often goes to the cinema with his best friend at the weekend.” (Personally, I think the “correct” construction should be, “At the weekend, Gregory often goes to the cinema with his best friend.” Again, though, isn’t some of this preference rather than dogma?)
Finally, not that I’m looking for ammo . . . OK, I’m looking for ammo! The teacher instructed the students to, “Write a text about TV.”) Isn’t that an incorrect usage of the word “text”?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Regards,
Steve
Wooh! I’ve been neglecting my Ask me page…
@Luke:
You know I’ve gone over this back and forth, and I don’t really see why this would be incorrect. My best guess is the placement of too difficult. a too-difficult task, by using the compound adjective, says that the task is too difficult for anyone. Because you’ve included the “for me”, then it’s too difficult a task for me, so that the too difficult modifies “me” rather than “the task”.
It is, but it doesn’t really make sense. Because you just saw him a minute ago, the use of past perfect tense doesn’t fit. “I just saw him a minute ago” makes more sense.
In your first example, the action is done by you. Who are you seeing, who did you see. In the second one, you’re asking if someone else saw you, which changes the perspective of the question.
Sorry for the late reply, I hope that helps.
@Beth
I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. To which rule do you refer? Can you please clarify?
@Steve
Actually, I agree with your son’s teacher on this one. Because ‘every morning’ happens both in the past and the future, the use of the present – I am getting – gives us a tense confusion. I will be getting up at 6:30 every morning is right when we’re referring to the future. I got up at 6:30 every morning works for the past. But for what was asked, yes, I get up is correct.
Er, you’re both wrong.
On Sunday, my mom often bakes a cake. Like the previous example, the use of the gerund (is baking, am getting up), happens in the right at this very moment. But because Sunday is a time in the past and the future, you need the present, active verb – bakes (I bake, you bake, she bakes).
It’s the same issues… gives (and it should be gives, not give) is correct. ‘Is giving” happens now. gives is present, but isn’t happening right at this very moment.
Unfortunately, no. What I suspect is that your son’s teacher wanted the students to recognize when to use the gerund (-ing) and when to use the verb. In the examples you’ve cited, they’re not correct English in the context of those sentences.
For your son’s examples to be correct, it would have to be:
I am getting up at 6:30 this morning.
Today, my mom is baking
The teacher is giving us a lot of homework this afternoon.
Again, the teacher is correct. By putting often between the verb and the preposition (goes to, plays with), you’re left with a split infinitive. (Although I take exception to “at the weekend”. It’s traditionally “on the weekend”). I do, however, agree that “On the weekend, Gregory often goes to the cinema with his best friend.” sounds better.
Yes, here I’ll agree with you, although it’s a bit of semantics. For the most part, text refers to words that are already written. So, once the essay/paragraph/pages are written, you could say, the text is about TV. But it doesn’t sound right to actively write text.
I hope that helps. But remember, I teach web design, not English. *grin*
If you are adding a caption to a photo, for example, of someone with their son, dog, whatever……. which is appropriate?
1) My dog and I
2) Me and my dog / my dog and me
Thanks!
@Mickey: It’s My dog and me. When deciding whether to use me or I with and, take out the and part and see which sounds right… For example, you wouldn’t say, this is a picture of I, you’d say, this is a picture of me. So you would say, this is a picture of my dog and me.
Which is correct?
Custom Home for the Jensens
Custom Home for the Jensen’s
It will always, always be: Custom Home for the Jensens.
The apostrophe in this example would only be used if you were to say “the Jensens’s custom home”. In this case, we add the S to Jensen to make it plural (Jensens), and then we add the ’s to make it possessive (belonging to the Jensens = Jensens’s)
I talk more about the use of the apostrophe here: http://grammargeek.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/ask-the-grammar-geek-3/
I’ve asked a few people this online, but have not yet gotten a response:
What’s the difference, grammatically, between these two sentences that makes the first one awkward and the second one less so (I realize there are even LESS awkward ways to say this, but the first sentence just sounds SO blatantly wrong…!)
“Renoir’s first job was a porcelain painter”
vs.
“Renoir’s first job was as a porcelain painter.”
Thanks!
I’ve been re-reading the same sentence so many times that it has now lost all meaning to me. I was hoping you could help!
Which of the following constructions would you use?
1) Science should encourage theoretical knowledge to be translated into practical applications.
2) Science should encourage that theoretical knowledge be translated into practical applications.
I am having trouble because 1) Sounds as if the theoretical knowledge will do the “becoming” and 2) is awkward because of the “encourage that” sequence. Which is correct? I know there is a workaround (“Science should encourage the translation of…”) but I was hoping a fresh set of expert eyes could help me make sense of this sentence!
Thanks!
Which of the following is the most proper way to phrase this?
1) “If it can be broken, then it can be fixed”
2) “If it can be broke, then it can be fixed”
3) “If it can break, then it can fix”
Your help would be much appreciated!!
What does this mean? Is it a double negative?
“I don’t think she doesn’t like you.”
Yes, this is a double negative. It means, I think she likes you…, which is a much easier way of saying that.
Hi,
1)This assignnment requires careful planning or you will not complete it on time.
2)It may not be true or even a Japanese idea.
I would appreciate it if you could teach me the meaning and nuance of “or” in each of these sentences as they seem to use the word in a different way.
Thanks, jo
Please define per say
Is there a possessive case of news? If so, how would you punctuate it?