Ask Our Grammar "Experts" Showing 651-700 of 1,580

[Carol]

I will see if my hubby has suggestions when he gets home.

[Carol]

Ruth that brought tears to my eyes.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Ruth wrote: "It has done it before, but not for several years now. Before it always yielded to my poking about in the Device manager. This time...nada.

What did it in was Youtube--Will the Circle be Unbroken..."

Are the speakers plugged in? I know that's a stupid question, but I've forgotten to check at times. It's easy to kick the plug out.

Is the volume muted? I've done that, too.

[Carol]

I have done that or I turn the outside speakers off. Sometimes the speaker cable gets loose especially if there are pets around.

[Ken, Moderator]

Yes. Check the little horn in the lower right. Click and the volume meter shows.

Also, rebooting sometimes does wonders (like a massage for us).

You can always use it as an excuse to buy a new computer system. Rationalization sometimes leads to precious updating of systems.

[Ruth]

Thanks, guys. But I've done all that. Now I'm letting it sit and mellow for a while, think that'll work?

Ha. My dad used to snort and say "There is no spontaneous recovery in mechanical objects."

But then, that was before computers.

[Ruth]

System Restore restored it.

[Ken, Moderator]

Yay. Music, maestro!

[Carol]

Restore, re-intall one of those re's brothers usually works.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Great! :)

[Ruth]

Yeah, re-install was going to be my next step.

[Sarah]

Is the possessive apostrophe correct here?

"They were commended for their story on IBM's considering raising capital despite a difficult market situation..."

[Sarah]

Never mind. As awkward as it looks, I'm sure it's correct, "considering" being a gerund.

thanks

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Yes, because it was also IBM's "consideration."

[Ruth]

Yes.

[Sarah]

My boss is not a native speaker and sometimes he asks me if something I've written is correct. Usually I'm sure, but he's asked me abut this type of usage a few times and finally I felt insecure enough... but, thanks, I'm sure the possessive is fine in front of the gerund.

[Ken, Moderator]

Gerunds are mammals, no?

[Lilyane]

Yes, closely related to gerbils.

[David]

They like to sipple at parties, too.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

....and they are very hairy!

[Ken, Moderator]

Hairy-ing.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

And possessive.

[David]

My sister took one to court, but lost hirsute.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

heeheehee

[David]

The guy who won was Al O'Pecia.

[Ruth]

I thought the winner was Hal O'Tosis. I'm sure it wasn't Nosmo King, though.

[Sarah]

laugh

[Cecily]

S. wrote: "Is the possessive apostrophe correct here?

"They were commended for their story on IBM's considering raising capital despite a difficult market situation...""

I think that you're right that it's right but looks wrong. Consequently, I'd rephrase it to say:

"They were commended for their story on IBM's consideration of raising capital despite a difficult market situation..."

(Personally, I'd also reduce the jargon by saying "in a difficult market", but that's a more minor and subjective issue.)

[Sarah]

I'm wondering about the use of "disambiguate."

Is it correct to say -
"The pictures disambiguate the difference between paly and paly-bendy" (two patterns of heraldry), or could one say "The pictures disambiguate paly and paly-bendy," or is "disambiguate" being used incorrectly? Maybe "distinguish" is better?

thanks for any advice.
sarah

[Cecily]

Disambiguate is about removing doubt, so it wouldn't make sense to use it without saying what the doubt was. So, "disambiguate the difference between x & y" makes more sense than "disambiguate x & y".

However, that is a bit of a mouthful, and personally I would say "distinguish between x & y" or possibly "clarify the difference between x & y".

On the other hand, part of the culture of heraldry is archaic and flamboyant language, so maybe your original construction is ideal for the context.

[Sarah]

Thanks!

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

Cecily, I like your post. I just needed to say that, I felt like I read a nice poem. :)

On another note, I forgot to say thanks for the grammar help before. The sentence wasn't mine, I just copy edit. It was written by a youth who has either been homeless or in foster care (I can't remember who wrote it). I need to keep their voice but make it grammatically correct. I only change sentences if they really don't make sense because otherwise I'd be changing every sentence in the articles. They write amazingly well considering their history and experiences but no so well in the grand scheme of things. :) I would have written it as "we talked about the programs that are helping us be successful." These kids love flowery language though. It's like they think that to write well you need to use lots of big words. :)

[Cecily]

Gosh Kelly, that's an interesting thing to do - and a difficult balancing act between retaining the author's true voice and making it readable to a wider audience. It must be very rewarding (as well as rewording!) though.

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

It is. These kids are amazing. They don't just write these articles, they also spend a ton of time advocating for foster and homeless youth, visiting with congressional and human services leaders, sharing their stories, training other youth in how to advocate for themselves. You can read a copy of the paper online if you want. The latest edition is here:

http://www.mockingbirdsociety.org/the...

[Carol]

Wow it is astonishing how you young adults are stepping forward and moving things along. Congratulations to all who are involved and who benefit from this program. Great minds do great things.

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

LOL, it's fabulous and thank you for your comments but I'm not a young adult. I just edit and layout the paper. I'm a foster parent myself which is how I got involved.

[Carol]

You are a lot younger than me. I still think it is great, however old anyone is. It looks like a fantastic project.

[Nita]

Are both these sentences okay to use? Or is one correct and the other wrong?

What do you like best about being a writer?
or
What do you like most about being a writer?

Thanks!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Both sound fine to me.....

[Ken, Moderator]

My ear agrees.

[Nita]

Great! Thanks Debbie and Newengland!

[David]

Is there a word for "anapest" that isn't a dactyl?

[David]

Is there a term for words with internal capitals, such as PowerPoint, iPad, and their iLk?

[Ken, Moderator]

pOetic lIcense?

[David]

camelCase, I'm told.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

iLk???

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Oh....just got it....bit slow this morning....

[Carol]

I didn't get it. So I am super slow.

[Ken, Moderator]

RandoM cAps sO iT LOoks liKE A rAnsom nOtE.

[Carol]

oH i sEe