Please clarify for me whether or not the words 'to be' are required for proper sentence structure in the following example. The first English dictionaries were, in fact, an effort to standardize the language, to stop it from shifting about so much. Thus your friend is right in suggesting that widespread usage does (eventually) greatly influence what comes to be regarded as acceptable. The American Oxford Dictionary recently wrote that restrictions about using the split infinitive were based on bad history and faulty logic and that we needn't worry our heads about that issue anymore. Now we're not so sure, and the word "their" is often accepted as a non-gender-specific third-person pronoun. Fifteen years ago, we rigidly pronounced that "Someone left their shoes on the bus" was wrong. The standards change over time, of course. Correct grammar, what is acceptable in Standard American English, is, in a rather loose and fuzzy way, what is regarded as acceptable by the most influential journals and periodicals and by those textbooks and dictionaries that are used in the academic world. There certainly are standards, but there is no single body (academic or otherwise) that determines such matters. I like it when I can say that you are both right. If you know the answer to these questions, I would be forever in your debt (whether or not I am right). My argument, that there ARE standards, and that they are administered by some academic body somewhere. His argument, that there really are no standards that's it's just common usage that determines the format. When I told him, he then wanted to know how the determination for capitalization schemes is decided. I ask this question because of an argument I had with a really irritating know-it-all in my department who asked me whether the school subject economics should be capitalized. What organization determines English grammar standards? Do they just evolve over time? If so, who determines what usage is "common usage"? Is there an International Grammatical Standards Organization? I would recommend avoiding the problem by changing the "and a spreadsheet" to "as well as a spreadsheet." and thus keep the singular verb, "is." Or you might actually number your attachments: (1) and (2). Still, it's a very hard sentence to read that way. Technically the answer is "are" because two things are attached.
TIMELIER OR MORE TIMELY ZIP
When it falls into the pattern of "a couple of ," however, it will take a plural verb (at least in the U.S., this is true): "A couple of birds are building a nest in the garage."Īttached IS a sample of a spreadsheet that will be used to track revenue for the ZIP Codes that were projected for increased revenue potential if an "Eagle" were used in these areas, and a spreadsheet with FY 99 actual revenue and volume figures.Īttached are a sample of a spreadsheet that will be used to track revenue for the ZIP Codes that were projected for increased revenue potential if an "Eagle" were used in these areas, and a spreadsheet with FY 99 actual revenue and volume figures. When you use "couple" the way you do above, the word is usually regarded as a collective noun, a singular entity, as in "That couple is cute," and it takes a singular verb. Should the word "couple" be considered a plural or singular noun? For instance, which verb is correct: (See the section on Using Numbers and Making Lists.) Just about anything goes in terms of punctuating a vertical list: you can use bullets or numbers or letters, you can end each item with a period or a semicolonas long as you're consistent within your document, from list to list.Īuthority: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. You're much better off using what is called a vertical list or display list. In terms of complexity, your list is beyond the proper limits of a list that can be contained within the flow of text. Should be periods in place of the commas. Is the comma placement correct? Since each item could standĪlone as a complete sentence, I wasn't sure if instead there.Should the first word in each item (a-f) of this list be.Offset, (c) Determine the roll offset, (d) Adjust the first dataįile to account for any roll offset, (e) Perform x,y registration,Īnd (f) Determine the pitch and the yaw offsets." Z offset, (b)Adjust the two data files to correct for any z "The offsets may be determined as follows: (a) Determine the It is best asked by first giving an example. This question concerns capitalization and punctuation. The Grammar Logs - Number Three Hundred, Twenty-Five The
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