Topics

1

You Asked Me This Question / Who and whom

« on: November 08, 2019, 05:29:50 PM »

Hi sir Joe,

Just want to ask which of the below construction is correct:

The person who you speak with is ... or The person whom you want to speak with is...?

I am aware about the rules; however, I got confused with the structure above.

Thanks

2

You Asked Me This Question / A syntax query

« on: February 23, 2019, 03:41:38 PM »

Hi sir Joe,

I hope you are doing ok.

I would just like to ask you regarding the structure of the below conditional sentence.

      "If INTERESTED, kindly send me a message."

I am not just quite sure if the form of the verb in the "if-clause" is correct or if it is possible in mixed conditionals.

I always find this structure being used by job advertisers on Facebook.

Shouldn't it be written as " If you ARE INTERESTED, kindly send me a message"?


Thank you.


Mike

3

You Asked Me This Question / "It's color red" versus "It's colored red"

« on: January 16, 2019, 02:12:22 AM »

Hi sir Joe,

May I know your thought on the above topic?

I actually answered some random grammar queries in Quora, and one of these is with regard to the use of "It's" and "Its". However, another member posted his comment as you can see on the attached images.

4

You Asked Me This Question / A Question about Morphology

« on: January 02, 2019, 09:00:04 AM »

Hi Sir Joe,

Something came up in my grey matter while studying morphology. I hope you'll be able to provide me with a better explanation on this.

I can't help but contemplate on the definition given to the concept "morphemes". Most of the references that I read define it as " the minimal units of words that have a meaning".  

However, I feel like this definition only applies to free morphemes and disqualifies the bound morphemes. Let's take the word "loveLY" as an example.

The word "LOVE" is the free morpheme, and the meaning is clear. However, for the suffix "LY", which is an example of a free morpheme, I can't figure out exactly if this suffix indeed carries meaning on its own in order for it to be qualified in the definition of the concept "Morphemes".

May I know you thought on this, sir Joe?


Thanks and happy New year! =)

5

My Media English Watch / Word Stress in Miss Universe

« on: December 23, 2018, 03:40:43 PM »

Hi sir Joe,


Merry Christmas in advance!

It's been a while since I visited this site, but, of course, I will never forget this site as this is a hoard of treasure for teachers, learners, and language enthusiasts like me.


Well, the reason I visited this site is that I can't help but notice Miss Gray's pronunciation of the word "assess" when she answered the final question in the recently concluded Miss Universe.

What I noticed was she seemed to put the stress on the first syllable,didn't she?Or, was I just too sensitive with how it was pronounced?


Thank you!

Mike

6

You Asked Me This Question / The Sentence Structure of the Direct or Quoted Speech

« on: September 29, 2017, 06:27:30 AM »

Hi sir Joe,

How's your day? I hope you are doing ok.

By the way, I just dropped by to ask you in which sentence structure does the Quoted or Direct Speech fall - simple or compound? (Just thought of it yesterday while reading a book)


She said, "I am going to Baguio next week."


Thank you!





  

7

Use and Misuse / A Sentence Syntax Conundrum

« on: June 29, 2017, 09:15:52 AM »

Hi sir Joe,

Good day!

Just drop by to ask you a question regarding the sentence structure of the below statement. I lifted this statement from a certain document in our office.

" Please be aware of a ___ % fee including GST may apply to all debit/credit card transactions."

Can this grammatical constuct be defensible without the use of "that" or "which" before "may"?

Also, I find the use of the introductory structure "Please be aware of" a bit odd. I'd rather use "Please be advised that". What about you sir?

Thanks!

Mike

8

Badly Written, Badly Spoken / A case of Filipinoism/Filipinism?

« on: April 27, 2017, 06:49:03 AM »

Hi sir Joe,

Good day!

Just want to ask if there is such a word as "dormer" in American or British English. The reason why I'm asking is that when I visited my graduate school's website, I had seen an advertisement which has this line that runs as "The Normal Hall Dormitory is now accepting male and female student dormers for A.Y. 2017 - 2017."

I have this feeling telling me that there is something wrong with that advertisement. I can sense Filipinoism/Filipinism in such construct. I am thinking of using the word "boarders" or "lodgers" in lieu of the word "dormers". May I know your thoughts on this?

Thanks!

If you want to check it sir Joe, I have copied and pasted the link below.

https://www.pnu.edu.ph/

9

Use and Misuse / Noun Clause Tense

« on: September 22, 2016, 01:34:41 PM »

Hi sir,

Just want to ask you about the tense usage in noun clauses functioning as a subject of a sentence. Do noun clauses grammatically functioning as subjects in a sentence follow the sequence-of-tenses rule?

What I had for breakfast gave me heartburn.      (The action was contained in the past.)

What she did remains a mystery.                       ( The action happened in the past but the effect is still true
                                                                         at  the present time.)

How media are reporting the news is being scrutinized by the public.

How she maintains her body bothered me for a while.           (Could this structure be possible?)


Hope you can give me a clear-cut explanation on this.


Thank you.

10

Badly Written, Badly Spoken / Yellow journalism

« on: September 22, 2016, 09:32:19 AM »

Hi sir Joe,

What can you say about the headline below that appeared on the Manila Bulletin:

   "Witnesses finger Leila."

It sounds offensive and inappropriate for me. Offensive in the sense that it gives double meaning in the Filipino context (I know that you know what I meant by this) and inappropriate in the sense that, I'm pretty sure, there is a better word to use than this word.

11

You Asked Me This Question / Attribution, Comma and Colon

« on: September 02, 2016, 06:56:44 AM »

Hi sir Joe,

I would like to know if the following structure for direct speech could be used interchangeably.

1. President Duterte said, " I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time."
2. President Duterte said: " I will eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months' time."

The first example uses comma after the word of attribution, whereas the second example uses colon after the word of attribution.

What I have observed is that the first structure is more common in fiction. The second structure is in news report.

Is this a matter of style or is the preference over the other structure guided by the kind of writing?

Should the latter be the case, Is this a rule set in stone?  

12

Time Out From English Grammar / What is so special with the 24th of September?

« on: September 01, 2016, 10:14:43 AM »

Hi guys,

Just an FYI, Every 24th of September writers, readers, editors, publishers, and language enthusiasts in the United States gather to celebrate the National Punctuation Day. This was founded by Jeff Rubin in 2004 with the aim of promoting the correct use of punctuations. ☺☺☺

Example of a punctuation error:

                 "Let's eat Grandma."               versus                     "Let's eat, Grandma."

Do you really want to eat your grandma or are you just inviting your grandma to eat? Which is which? ☺☺

The second statement is correct. The placement of comma tells us that the word "grandma" is in vocative case.

13

Use and Misuse / Relative Markers: As Determiners and As Pronouns

« on: August 24, 2016, 02:05:10 PM »

Hi sir,

I am currently studying the different types of determiners and I got stuck in relative markers used as determiners. Things got mixed up in my grey matter while trying to analyze sentences.

Just want to ask for clarification about my observation on the relative markers function in a sentence. For this inquiry, I would refer to the group of Relative Pronouns as Relative Markers so as to avoid confusion to our forum members as this Relative Markers assume different functions in a sentence depending on context. I'd like to find out if their functions can  be defined by how they are structured in sentences.

A relative marker can function as a determiner and as a pronoun in a sentence. My understanding of a relative marker used as a determiner is that it should premodify noun (same with the other types of determiner) as in the structure below:        

                            Determiner + Noun

                             The girl in the mirror is my friend

                             Where: The words "the" and "my" premodify the nouns that follow them.

                        
                           This is the same pattern/structure that I am also expecting from a relative determiner.
                           Also, for a relative marker to function as a determiner it must satisfy the requirements
                           in writing an adjective clause and those are:

                             1. There should be a relative marker.
                             2. There should be a subject and a verb following the marker.
                             3.  The clause formed should answer what, which, how many and how much.


                            Structure: Noun + Relative marker + Noun + subject


                           Examples:           They predicted THAT john would have to resign.
                                                     I will show you which house is mine.
                                                     I'll take whatever money they've got
                                                                
                       Other examples are:

                        The tree, WHOSE branches were all dry, had to be cut down.
                        That is the man WHOSE dog was in your yard
                                            
            
                       As a pronoun, the relative marker can de identified by its two structures:
      
                       A. Noun + Relative Markers + Verb
                        
                                An atheist is a man WHO HAS no invisible means of support.
                                The woman WHO called me yesterday was my mother.
                                The man THAT CAME to the office yesterday was my brother.
                                I told you about the woman WHO LIVES next door.

                        B. Noun + Relative Marker + Personal Pronoun + Verb

                           The bike that I bought last week was stolen.

                            The example under B is a relative marker which is pronoun in function.
                            THAT modifies the noun bike.                        


  Questions: Are my observations correct?
                

                             Also please see the given sentences below:

                 A.  Although I respected what the teacher said, I disagreed with his conclusion.

                           "What the teacher said" is a noun clause. Can we say that for noun clauses, if
                            the relative marker precedes a noun it's function is a determiner.


                 B.  Anyone who says that English teachers are boring will be punished.

                     "Who says that English teachers are boring" is a relative clause. WHO functions only as
                       relative pronoun.

                      " That English teachers are boring" is a noun clause. That functions as a determiner.

Question: Have I properly Identified the functions of determiners in the given examples sir?

                 Follow-up: What about in the below construction sir?

                                  What I need is love.

                                  "What I need" is a noun clause but the word that follows " What"  is a pronoun. Is
                                  the word " What" determinative in function? If not, what is the function of the word
                                  "What" in the given statement above?

Thank you sir.

                    

                

14

Use and Misuse / Determiner Usage

« on: August 15, 2016, 10:05:36 AM »

Hi Sir Joe,

I was randomly reading posts on Facebook the other day and one of the posts by a Facebook user caught my attention. The post runs like this: "You are a one stupid idiot." This line, although it was not addressed to me, got stuck in my grey matter and I can't help but ask you about the structure of the statement for clarification as it has started bothering me since then. lol! ☺

Question: Can the use of the indefinite article "a" before "one" in the statement above be justified as correct or is that a faultily crafted sentence? Reason why I'm asking is that I could hardly recall the topic about determiners and its classification according to their position: pre - determiner, central determiner and post - determiner.

Thank you sir Joe.
 

15

Use and Misuse / Unless Otherwise or Unless?

« on: August 12, 2016, 01:12:59 PM »

Hi sir,

Could you please explain the semantic difference between the usage of "Unless Otherwise" and "Unless" in a sentence. Are there any definitive rules set as to when to use each type/structure?

Examples:

       "You may smoke unless otherwise instructed." Versus "You may smoke unless instructed."

Thank you. ☺