Monthly Archives: February 2005
Pronouncing "the" Definite Article
Two people in the past week have requested information on pronouncing the definite article, “the.” This issue lies outside my area of expertise, so I can’t reply with authority. What I can offer instead is the consensus among the results of a quick Google search, which happens to coincide with what my opera-singing sister-in-law thinks…
I versus Me
I just received an excellent question about proper first-person pronoun usage. The issue is tough to resolve because sometimes grammatical correctness takes a back seat to common usage, and rightly so. Now, on to the question: “I am a teacher in South Africa and recently found a worksheet with the heading “Me and My Environment”. Is this heading grammatically correct and would it be appropriate to hand out to the children (I don’t want parents turning around and complaining)”
Affect and Effect
Mable Scott asks, “What is the rule for using affect or effect?”
Comma with Also
When begining a sentence with “also,” do I have to put a comma after “also?”
non sequitur
A reader asks: The following sentence has been supplied by a client to use in a print project. A) The Application Form a person who wishes to make a claim will use I know it’s wrong and I think I … Continue reading
Possessive Form of Singular Nouns Ending with S
Many people struggle with the possessive case of singular nouns when the words already end with s. The general rule is this: Form the possessive singular of nouns with ‘s. Here are some examples: James‘s cat Mrs. Jones‘s attorney Dr. … Continue reading
Me Myself or I
Time for the English Master to settle another contentious grammar issue, before someone gets hurt. Pat asks:
My friend and I were having a dispute about when to use “me” correctly in a sentence that’s referring to two people. If I were to say something along the lines as, “Is that meat okay for Bob and I/me to eat?” would I use I or me? If I were to eliminate Bob from the sentence, it would be correct to say “Is that meat okay for me to eat?” So why would I change me to I?
Marking Titles
A reader asks: “When writing about a short story, do you underline the title of the story or do you use quotation marks around the title of the story?”
Subject Verb Agreement with (N)either (N)or
A student asks the English Master to settle a dispute: Please answer this grammar question for me:
Neither my brother nor my sister ______ ever visited the White House.
a. have
b. has
c. is
d. are
If you answer it please explain why. There is a battle on our school grounds as to what the correct answer is. Thanks for the help.
Showdown – Conjunctive Adverbs versus Coordinating Conjunctions
Kevin writes:
Your semicolon discussions inspired this inquiry. Many of my students use “however” as a conjunction when they are really using it as a signal adverb to begin an independent clause.
Example: My professor is a kind soul at heart, however he is a nasty grader.
I insist that the comma should be a semicolon or period, but I’m overwhelmed with students who use “however” as the equivalent of “but.” I am increasingly seeing this usage in periodicals and among my colleagues as well. Do you think, English Master, that this usage rule is going the way of the split infinitive?