If I were subjunctive
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 19:59.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
I thought I was a pretty decent grammar cop myself. But today, while helping a bi-lingual French lad with his English, he mentioned a rule which was news to me!
In the sentence: If I _____ was/were
he was told by his Paris English teacher the correct usage would be "were."
Who is correct, his English teacher or this poor copy editor?
Thanks!
Teresa
A:
Dear Teresa,
Many other languages are more familiar with the subjunctive mood than we are.
Past vs. Passed
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 19:57.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
Which is correct?
If you do not send the rent check, you can’t stay passed tonight.
If you do not send the rent check, you can’t stay past tonight.
Catharine
A:
Dear Catherine,
The correct word is "past", which is used when talking about time. "Passed" is used when talking about motion, such as a car passing another.
There are a few exceptions and some gray areas, but here are some more examples:
He passed away.
I moved past the crowd.
He passed the ball to me.
Addressing the Ladies
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 19:54.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
We want to know how to address a letter to an older women who has never been married?
Miss?
Or
Ms?
Jacque
A:
Dear Jacque,
Courtesy titles have become somewhat complicated in the last 30 years but I've always been in favor of tradition, well, at least in terms of language. Of course, if you go WAY back, these words lose all sense of the modern idiom, but I digress . . .
Antiquities and Cliches
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 19:53.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
I wrote following statement for an ad, and is meant to express a present and ongoing preservation of a rare kind of horse. Is the word "is" properly used here? It sounds better to my ear than "was" and more appropriately describes my meaning in the context of the sentence, as word "legacy" refers to something which exists in the present.
"The legacy of the pure desert bred Egyptian horse is forged in antiquity."
Thank you!
Caryn
A:
Dear Caryn,
Is it I? or is it me?
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 19:52.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
My "expert" says the sentence "It is all about me" should be "It is all about I". Isn't me the object of the sentence and therefore correctly used?
I still have a problem with subjective and objectiove pronouns.
Max
A:
Dear Max,
The short answer is that you are correct.
Now for my rant!
Is "County" a proper noun?
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 19:51.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
Please tell me which is correct
...with offices in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties...
...with offices in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties...
the question is regarding the capitalization of the "C" in county. Various guide books have given us conflicting information.
A:
Dear Doris,
It all depends if the word is being used as a proper name or an adjective. Sometimes that's not so hard to determine.
I-Beams, iPods and t-shirts
Submitted by Grammer Cop on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 16:38.Q:
Dear Grammer Cop,
When used in a title, should the word I-Beam be capitalized as shown or should a lower case be used as in I-beam?
Donna
A:
Dear Donna,
I'll admit to having to do a bit of digging on this one . . .
First off, the word is spelled with a hyphen, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which I consider to be the final authority on spelling. Oddly, it's two words for "T square". So much for consistency of the English language. Most "I and T" words seem to be hyphenated (see list at bottom).