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Use and Misuse / Whoops!
« on: May 17, 2009, 08:39:02 AM »
In “Give Your English the Winning Edge”, you write:
“Many people discover to their dismay that their many years of formal study of English has not given them the proficiency level demanded by the job market, by the various professions, or by higher academic studies.”
Although “many years of study” has a sense of singularity, it is still undeniably a plural subject and therefore demands “have”.
And, in a list of attributes, should not there be a comma after each, except the second last?
In the same vein,
“In this exciting new volume, the National Book Award-winning author of English Plain and Simple unravels the various mechanisms and tools of English for combining words and ideas into clear, logical, and engaging writing.”
There is a comma after the second-last adjective. In my brief squiz at the excerpt from GYETWE, I noted that you do this all the time. Has some authority changed convention?
“Many people discover to their dismay that their many years of formal study of English has not given them the proficiency level demanded by the job market, by the various professions, or by higher academic studies.”
Although “many years of study” has a sense of singularity, it is still undeniably a plural subject and therefore demands “have”.
And, in a list of attributes, should not there be a comma after each, except the second last?
In the same vein,
“In this exciting new volume, the National Book Award-winning author of English Plain and Simple unravels the various mechanisms and tools of English for combining words and ideas into clear, logical, and engaging writing.”
There is a comma after the second-last adjective. In my brief squiz at the excerpt from GYETWE, I noted that you do this all the time. Has some authority changed convention?