Dear KB:

You wrote:
>
> I have a promotion exam at work coming up. I am looking for an
> answer as to what is best to study in preparing for this test. The
> following is a sample question of what I will be looking at on this exam:
>
> Directions: Read the information given, and then select the choice which
> presents the information most clearly and accurately.
>
> Frank met Sam after the class. Sam received a call. Because of this,
> Frank left early.
>
> Which choice below presents this information most clearly and accurately?
>
> A. Frank met Sam after the class, but he left early because Sam received
> a call.
> B. Frank met Sam after the class, but he left early because he received a
> call.
> C. Frank met Sam after the class, but Sam received a call, so he left
> early.
> D Sam received a call when Frank met him after the class, so he left
> early.
>
> Explanation: Choice B sounds as if it was Frank who received the call.
> Choices C and D sound as if it was Sam who left early. Choice A makes it
> clear that Sam recieved a call and that Frank left early. Choice A is the
> BEST ANSWER because it is the only choice that is clear and accurate.
>
> -thank you
>
Sounds good. This is what we call an ambiguous antecedent problem. If the reader does not know for sure what person, place, or thing that a pronoun is referring to, then you have not communicated clearly.

For more on this see https://englishplus.com/grammar/00000030.htm.

Dear BJ:

> here i am with more grammar problems, that i hope you
> will help to solve:
> in comparative ~er…~er structures, the rule says you
> have to use the same structure after ‘the ~er, the
> ~er’, as in the examples:
> 1. the harder you work, the more you accomplish, or:
> 2. the greater the experience, the higher the salary;
>
> my problem is the verb ‘to be’ in such structures;
> can i say instead of: 3.’the hotter the food is, the
> harder it is to eat’ – 3a.’the hotter the food, the
> harder it is to eat’?,
> or: 4. instead of: ‘the older the children are, the
> more their parents expect from them’ – 4a.’the older
> the children, the more their parents expect from
> them’?;
>
> is the structure: 5. ‘the bigger the house, the more
> expensive it is’ correct [no verb ‘to be’ in the first
> part]? or, is it necessary to keep the structures
> parallel by using the verb ‘to be’ in both parts?
> please, help!!!
> regards, and thank you;
> baba jaga
>
I think I understand your question.

The parallel structure refers to the pattern of the clauses and the verb tenses. It does not refer to the actual verb chosen. You do not need to use the verb to be in the second clause at all. And in some cases, like 4a above, the verb to be is understood. Both 4 and 4a are standard English.

All the examples you gave are fine. A well-known English saying goes like this: “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” In colloquial speech, you can use parallel comparatives without a verb as long as the “to be” is understood. English speakers often say, “The bigger, the better.”

Dear RT:

You wrote:
>
> The original note was, “Busy now, will write later.” This seems like two
> sentence fragments, joined by a comma. That seems quite incorrect,
> grammatically speaking.

This is what we might call “notice writing.” This is the kind of thing you see on notices and signs, along the lines of “Wet paint” or “Back at 1:30.” It would either be two sentence fragments, as you wrote, or a single sentence fragment with a compound verb. In everyday speech the missing words would be understood: Either “[I am] busy now, [but I] will write later” or “[I am] busy now [and] will write later.” At best this is conversational; it certainly is not standard.

You replied:
>
> Thank you, but my problem is with the lack of the conjunction before the
> verb ‘will.’ I understand that’s it fine for handwritten notes (most
> everything is), but technically speaking, I didn’t know that one can
> simply
> omit the conjunction and still have the sentence be grammatically correct.
> Is there a rule to support your answer?
>
> Would “I’m somewhat busy, talk later.” be correct as well?
>
> Thanks again!
>
No, to be grammatically correct you are right. You would need to have a conjunction at the least: “I am busy and will talk later.” “I am busy; talk later” would work if the “talk” were imperative. I understood your question to be about a quickly jotted memo or something similar. We would understand it, but, no, it is not standard English.

Sometimes even in formal English or poetry the conjunction may be dropped to get someone’s attention. That figure of speech is called asyndeton.

Dear R T:

You wrote:
> Is “I’m busy now, will write later.” a grammatically correct sentence?
>
It is grammatically correct, although the comma is probably not the clearest punctuation mark to use there.

It is fine for handwritten notes to someone, but avoid contractions and comma splices in any formal situation. Formally, you would write: “I am busy now but will write later.”