You wrote:
> Hello,
> You are turning out to become a regular resource for me, are you not?
> Here’s a question with which I’m hoping you might help me. Which is correct?:
>
> more important
> or
> more importantly
>
> “Drinking water helps to cure your thirst…______…it helps to hydrate you?”
>
> I’ve always thought that is should be “importantly,” but I hear this used
> least.
>
> Thank you,
>
In this sentence, “more important” is correct in the sense I believe you mean it to be. “Important” is an adjective; it modifies nouns or pronouns. “Importantly” is an adverb; it modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. In this
construction “Drinking water” is what is important. “Drinking water” is a gerund phrase and the subject of the sentence; therefore, it is a noun. You would use “important” to modify it.
Category Archives: Grammar
Prefixes Self- and Non- Together
Dear Ms. G:
You wrote:
In the phrase “The non-self-tapping screws are available.” Should there be two hyphens? One? I can’t figure this out.
Thanks.
“Non-self-tapping” is the best way. The prefix “self” is normally hyphenated. “Non” often is when it is used in a nonstandard or coined word as it is here. “Nonself-tapping” would be acceptable, but it is not as clear. (Does the screw tap a nonself?)
I Hope this helps.
Using “Less” and “Lesser”
Dear Mr. S:
You wrote:
>
> One page from your site www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000032.htm listed the
> word “less” as a positive adjective, with “less” and “least” being its
> comparative and superlative forms.
>
> I cannot think of an example in which “less” is used in a NON-COMPARATIVE
> sense. Can you give me an example?
>
> Thanks.
>
Good question. Less and lesser are often synonymous. However, less in the non-comparative sense is often used as a noun, so “Not that I loved Caesar the less” or “the lesser of two evils.” Less also can be used in the sense of “minus” as “a year less a month.”
This might be worth adding to the note at the bottom of page 32.
Hello again!
>
> I really appreciate your prompt answer. ( We have been debating whether the
> word “less” can be used as an adjective in the NON-COMPARATIVE form in the
> office. )
>
> But you still have not given me an example in which the word “less”:
> 1) is used as an adjective;
> 2) is used as an adjective in the original / positive form (not comparative
> or superlative).
>
> “Not that I loved Caesar the less” (COMPARATIVE adjective)
It is derived from the comparative, but it is not used comparatively in this sentence.
> “the lesser of the two evils” (“lessER” is used, but not “less”)
This could go either way, but lesser is more common in this sense. “Less” by itself can mean not as/so much or inferior. Granted, in Latin inferior was comparative, but it is not in English. That is what Shakespeare has Brutus
say in “Not that I loved Caesar the less.”
> “a year less a month” (verb?)
This is an adjective. It modifies “year.” My Funk & Wagnall’s gives that example as an adjective.
>
> Is it possible that the word “less” can not be used as an adjective in the
> positive form?
I believe the above examples show it can.
>
> The fight in the office is about the following sentence:
> “You eat too less.”
>
> I believe that “too less” here is not grammatical. I think this is a “too +
>
> there — I did not think that “less” is an adjective in the positive form.
> But your page lists “less” in the positive adjective column.
In this case you are correct because in this sentence the positive form is not less but little. The sentence should read “You eat too little.”
>
> Thanks for listening and thanks again for the prompt answer.
>
>
This actually shows the way the language has changed over time. In old English, prior to 1066, less was always comparative. By 1500 this was no longer the case. This also has happened to other words.
Originally there were nigh, near, and next. We still use all three words but near and next have not their original comparative and superlative meaning in virtually all cases. Indeed, now we say near, nearer, and nearest. Next
means “adjacent to,” and nigh usually means nearly.
Similarly there were late, latter, and last. Now late is one word with later and latest. Latter usually just means “second of two” and has lost in most cases the sense of lateness. Last has taken on a different meaning as well.
It appears that the same kind of thing has happened to “less,” but only sometimes.
Dear Mr. S:
You wrote:
>
> 1.) You still have not given me an example — an example from modern
> English, acceptable to any flavour of English — in which the word “less” is
> used in a positive form (excluding usage DERIVED from the comparative.) I
> would be happy with examples in the form of any common adjective usage:
> two long hours, three big houses, five red cars — six less
> as long as the Mississippi, as far as the eye could see, — as less as <> noun / noun phrase >, as less as < clause >
> too small, not deep enough — * too less? *not less enough?
>
The only meaning according to your definition would be in the sense of “minus,” as “four days less two hours.”
>
> 2.) About “Not that I loved Caesar the less”
> :It is derived from the comparative, but it is not used
> :comparatively in this sentence.
> Can you instead give me an example in which “less” is used, BUT NOT DERIVED
> from the comparative?
>
> Is it correct to understand that Brutus meant to say that he did not love
> Caesar any less than he did others / someone else? He could not have meant
> “Not that I loved Caesar the little,” right?
Right. Your point makes sense, in that except for the case above, the modern use of less still suggests a comparison even if a direct comparison using “Than” is not used.
He would have said “I loved Caesar a little.” Comparisons and superlatives that take articles normally take “the.”
>
> I understand that there is the structure “the + < adjective in the positive
> form” in modern English. Some examples are: “the rich,” “the poor,” and
> “the young.” These structures could behave like nouns in sentences. The
> string “the less” in the Caesar example is NOT one of those. Brutus was not
> saying that he did not love “Caesar the little”, right?
Yes. Usually with the superlative, they are still clearly adjectives or adverbs, but not always. Indeed, our e-mail newsletter has been carrying a series written by a retired English teacher who says that in some cases it
would be more realistic to scrap the Latin-language-based grammar in describing English. One case is the concept of predicate nominatives and adjectives because a lot of times we cannot honestly distinguish the two as
they could in Latin.
>
> 3) About “the less of the two evils”
> Can you say “the less of the evil” or “the less of the five evils” We
> cannot say those things, right? I think the reason is because in those
> examples, the comparison becomes unclear. So “the less of the two evils” is
> a comparative usage, right?
Right. Less and lesser are both used and in many cases mean essentially the same thing. Less suggests size, lesser suggests degree.
>
> 4) About “a year less two months”
> The phrase “less two months” is adjectival in nature and it modifies “year.”
> But we cannot just say that “less” is an adjective to “year.” What is “a
> less year”? Just because we can say “a year minus two years” we cannot say
> that “minus” is an adjective to “year”, right?
>
Yes, it is. Minus actually does derive from Latin where it is an adjective also.
>
> Thanks again.
By the way, your written expression is excellent. I would never have guessed that you were not a native English speaker.
Past Participle as Adjective
Dear J:
You wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> Can the word “staggered” be used as an adjective such as in the following
> sentence:
>
> He takes a few drunken, staggered steps.
>
> Thanks and Happy New Year!
>
> – J
Yes. The Participle can be used as an adjective. Depending on what you
meant, “staggering” might be more appropriate, but either makes sense.
Two “Thats” in a Row?
Dear M:
You wrote:
In this sentence, what do the ‘thats’ mean and stand for?
“I doubt that that was the idea.”
I know the second ‘that’ refers to the object which was doubted, but what about the first ‘that’, and is this sentence correct.
The first “that” is a relative pronouns. The first one is relating the main clause to the subordinate clause. We use “that” like that many times. In modern English, it is optional, but it is usually written in any formal usage.
Examples:
He said that he would be late.
He said he would be late. (use is optional)
The second “that” is a demonstrative pronoun which is acting as the subject of the subordinate clause. “That” in this sense shows something you are pointing to or pointing out, but it is more distant than “this.” If you can replace the “that” with a “this” and the sentence still makes sense, then you know you have a demonstrative adjective: “I doubt that this was the idea.”
Yes, the sentence is correct. In many cases we would drop the first “that,” to say, “I doubt that was the idea,” but it means the same thing.
Basically, “that” has two different uses and meanings–one as a demonstrative pronoun or adjective (“this” vs. “that”) and one as a relative pronoun (connecting clauses). In this case you have one of each.
Verbs Following the Verb “Help”
Dear K:
You asked:
In the following sentence, is the usage of the word “cook” correct or incorrect?
“She insisted on helping me cook.”
Must one write “She insisted on helping me with the cooking.”?
Either one is fine. Both are perfectly good English. In the first one “cook” is an infinitive acting as a direct object of the gerund, “helping.” In the second one “cooking” is a gerund acting as the object of the preposition “with.”
Apostrophe Following an “S”
Dear M:
You wrote:
“The DS’ main feature…”
I thought this would require a second ‘s’; DS’s, standing for Dual Screen’s. But I’m not sure. Thanks.
There are actually three ways editors make a word ending in “s” possessive.
(1) Add an apostrophe all the time. This is the way the example you gave did it. While it is not as common, some authorities use it.
(2) Add an apostophe plus “s” all the time. Some authorities do it this way.
(3) Do one or the other depending on how the word is pronounced. Add just the apostrophe when is the word is not pronounced with an extra syllable. Add the apostrophe plus “s” if the extra syllable is pronounced.
Most people would say “The Joneses’ house” (joans-ez) but would say the “The boss’s daughter” (boss-ez). This is the most common way and is probably what you were expecting.
So, to answer your question, the way you saw it written is not incorrect, but it is also not the way most editors would do it. We tell people in a case like this, whatever way you choose, be consistent.
Using “The”
Dear N:
You wrote:
Could one say, as far as grammar is concerned, “the disease of the common cold” instead of “the disease
which is the common cold”, in the same way one can say “the disease of malaria”?
I know that normally one would just say “common cold”, but I want to know if “the disease of the common cold”
is grammatically possible. If it is not, is it because we have the definite article and we say “THE common cold”?
No one would ever say it. The common cold is not a disease by most people. The word “disease” implies a certain severity. At worst, the common cold would be an illness, but a minor one at that.
For the sake of argument, let us assume that the common cold would be considered a disease. One would still not say “the disease of the common cold.” With the article “the,” there is a sense of specificity. In other words, “the common cold” is something specific. But “disease” is already specific and you are talking about the same thing. You would not use a second “the,” and very rarely does anyone use “common cold” without “the.”
Perhaps I can illustrate another instance. There is a difference between these two phrases:
1. The condition of pregnancy
2. The condition of the pregnancy
(Keeping with the medical imagery) #1 is describing a certain condition called “pregnancy.” It is general. It refers to a specific condition called pregnancy–just as the one example you gave referred to a disease called malaria. The condition is specific, but the pregnancy is not. You are just referring the state that women sometimes find themselves in.
If I were to ask someone, “What is the condition of pregnancy?” I would be asking, in effect, for a definition because “pregnancy” is not specific. I would expect an answer of something like, “Pregnancy is a condition of a female which…” etc.
However, #2 refers the specific condition of a specific pregnancy. I have a friend whose daughter is expecting a baby this week. I might ask her, “What is the condition of the pregnancy?” I am referring to the specific pregnancy of her daughter. I would be asking how her daughter’s pregnancy is coming along. I would be expecting an answer telling me how her daughter is feeling or if there are any signs of the baby coming forth.
I hope this helps. You rightly noted that the “the” does make a difference.
End Marks Before or After Quotation Marks
Dear Ms. M:
You wrote:
Isn’t this sentence incorrect??
Example: He got in trouble with the gang for “dropping dimes.” [Ed.–This is quotation from Grammar Slammer]
The ending quote mark should PRECEDE the period because the phrase in quotes is only a part of sentence, right?? So it should read:
Example: He got in trouble with the gang for “dropping dimes”.
This is what I was always taught and I was an English major all through school with a 3.8 average!
Please advise …
There is not universal agreement on the relative position of end marks and quotation marks. What you described is the standard for question marks and exclamation points because they contribute to the meaning of the piece they are quoting. That is not the case with periods and commas, so we follow most American authorities which simply say that commas and periods always precede the quotation marks.
Some authorities do apply that same standard to periods and commas, however. No doubt, that is the way you learned. The only thing is to be aware when someone is using a different standard. Once, for example, I was doing some proofreading for a firm that wanted it done the way you suggested; I did it their way because that was the way they wanted.
Actually, in the U.K., the standard has become the reverse. Most authorities there always place the periods and commas after the quotation marks. One of the adjustable settings on our grammar checker is whether to alert the writer the “American” or “British” way with respect to periods or commas and quotation marks.
Our guidelines follow the standard in most American textbooks and style sheets. See www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000064.htm .
I hope this helps, and thank you for your question.
Plural of a Non-Plural?
Dear M:
You wrote:
1.Details of equipments purchased after nov2004
2.Details of equipment were purchased after nov2004
“Equipment” is collective; there is no reason to make it plural. (To many people, using it as a plural would indicate ignorance, so avoid this. We see this all the time with the word “software.” Any native English speaker who sees the word “softwares” in an advertisement knows immediately that the person advertising the product is from a non-English speaking country and that the origin of the software is suspect.)
#2 means that the details were purchased, which is probably not your meaning. We assume you meant that the equipment was purchased, not the details.
Of course, “November,” is always capitalized. In English it is considered a proper noun.
This sounds more like a title than a complete sentence: “Details of equipment purchased after Nov. 2004.”
If you wanted to make it a sentence, you would probably say something like “Here are the details about equipment purchased after November 2004.”
I hope this helps