| Topic
| Question
|
| i before e
|
My teacher says there's a sentence that tells all or most of the exceptions
to the "i before e" rule, but she can't remember it. Do you know it?
|
| apostrophes
|
Please tell me where I should put the apostrophe (or apostrophes) in the
following sentence: "The children will be getting together at around 5:30
p.m. to celebrate James and Serena's sixth birthday."
|
| adverbs
|
I do not understand the differences between the adverbs "so," "much,"
and "very." Are there any rules that prescribe the correct or incorrect
use of these adverbs??
|
| either, neither
|
When I use "neither" or "either" I'm not sure if I need to write "neither
have" or "neither has." Please help... are there rules for this problem?
|
| both
|
Which is correct?
The offer applies to both Bob and Jim.
The offer applies to Bob and Jim.
The offer applies to Bob and to Jim.
|
| present or past tense?
|
Which tense is correct? "We ate Christmas dinner with an elderly Dutch
couple whom we know."
|
| apostrophes with plurals?
|
Please tell me which of the following are correct:
All of the people in red suits on the street let forth a series of ho-ho-ho's.
Congress is debating the safety of supplies of ABM's.
|
| last name ending in "s."
|
How do you pluralize a last name that already has an "s" on it?
|
| can, may
|
Why use CAN and not MAY?
|
| critical review
|
What is a critical review and how should I get these papers started?
|
| modifiers
|
Please correct the sentence below.
What do you do if someone asks you to dance with him/her, but you don't
want to at a night club?
|
| possessive
|
Could you please insert apostrophes where they belong?
1.Parents often question their children choice of friends.
2.Grammar is everybody favorite subject.
3. My friend and my brother cars have the same kind of stereo system.
|
| possessive
|
I have a question about the word "families" when it deals with a number
of families in a possessive sense. For example, The families' cars were
parked outside (ie a number of cars from a number of families were parked
outside. Is "families'" the spelling you would use in this situation?
|
| email
|
Do you spell "email" with a hyphen? Is e-mail / email countable or uncountable?
|
| ESL or EFL
|
Would you please tell me what's the difference between an "ESL" and an
"EFL" approach in English language class?
|
| bibliography
|
What should be included in a bibliography?
|
| numbers, APA style
|
When writing APA style, how do you use numbers in text? Do you use numerical
form or do you write them out alphabetically?
|
| numbers, writing out
|
Is "December 25th" correct, or is it "December twenty-fifth", or does
it matter?
|
| hyphens
|
I would like to know if there is a hyphen between the following: east-northeast,
five-star quality, and colonial-style hotels.
|
| subject, object
|
Hi, I want to know why this sentence uses she, not her:
|
| humor
v. satire
|
What is the difference between "humor" and "satire"?
|
| first-person
|
Please explain "use first-person terminology".
|
| parenthesis
|
Should punctuation remain within the closing parenthesis at the end of
a sentence, or after it, or both? What are the usage rules if the answer
is both?
|
| titles, official
|
Should titles such as president, secretary of state, etc. be capitalized
when referred to as "the secretary of state" or "president Bush"?
|
| non-count nouns
|
I am having problems understanding when I should treat non-count nouns
as collective or individual nouns. For example: feeling(s), opportunity(ies),
communication(s), skill(s), system(s), difficulty(ies) etc.
|
| articles: a, an
|
Do I use the article "a" or "an" before an abbreviation that begins with
the letter "N" (such as "NOI", which stands for Notice of Intent)?
|
| punctuation
|
Do I end this sentence with a period, exclamation point, or question mark:
Eighteen-year-old Ralph Samuelson figured that if one could ski on snow,
why not ski on water
|
| capitalization
|
Can you tell me if "Church" and "Local Church" should be capitalized in
the following sentence or if the three words should not be capitalized?
|
| tense: past, past perfect
|
I want to know the basic difference between these two sentences.
1) She went to Chicago.
2) She had been to Chicago.
|
| adverb and adjective clauses
| Hey!
I would like to ask you a couple of questions which are related to adverb
and adjective clauses.
1) What is the difference between "which" and "which is"?
2) When do I have to put only "which" and when do I have to put "which
is"?
|
| prepositions
| I
have problems! Please tell me how to correct the following:
1) HOW TO USE ENGLISH FOR GETTING SPECIFIC INFORMATION
2) I think the webpage [that or where] I visited is called "abcd."
|
| so, so that
| Could
you please explain the difference between so and so that? Those words
confuse me all the time.
|
| structure
| Are
there any errors in the following sentences?
1. What did you say was your name?
2. I regret to have hurt your dog.
|
| question mark
| I
need your help to know that is it required to put question marks after
statements like these:
1) Second, is there a larger job market for a master's degree in ESL than
in English Literature or Language.
2) I want to know whether you will allow me to come or not.
|
| that or who
| My
style book says that you should use "that" when referring to a group of
people. For example, The number of parents that are... Is this correct,
or should it be "who"? Please advise.
|
clauses,whether or not
| I
don't know how to make a sentence with noun clauses, adjective clauses
and adverb clauses . Could you please send me some simple examples to
show me with explanation? The second question I would like to ask you
is about whether and whether or not. Could you please show me the difference?
|
| transitions
| When
using "unfortunately" at the beginning of a sentence, is it incorrect
if a comma is not used after it?
|
| compound adjectives
| When
do compound adjectives need to be hyphenated?
|
|
subject-verb agreement
| Which
verb is correct in the following sentence? In Canada today, one in four
women over the age of fifty (has/have) osteoporosis.
|
| commas between adjectives
| When
do adjectives need commas between them, and when don't they?
|
| but
| Is
it all right to use the conjunction "but" to begin a sentence?
|
| ages
| For
persons' ages: Use the number at all times or write out?
|
| brackets
| Why
would one put brackets around the first letter of a word in a quote?
|
| dates
| Should
dates be written out?
|
| email
| Is
"e-mail" a countable noun?
|
| have or get
| Which
is correct, "have" or "get"?
|
| renown, renowned
| Is
it "renown" or "renowned"?
|
| fragments
| "Well,
take restaraunts, for example." Is this a fragment?
|
| format
| Is
it necessary to put two spaces after a period?
|
| prepositions
| Which
is idiomatically correct, "competence in" or "competence at"?
|
| website
| Is
it: website, web site, or web-site? Also, if we refer to "our" website
(such as "Please visit our website at...") do we need to capitalize the
word?
|
| loan, lend, borrow
| What
are the rules for using the verbs loan, lend, borrow? Why can't I say,
"Will you borrow me a pen?"
|
| degrees, academic
| When
writing a degree, for example, in John Doe, M.B.A. or M.S., can you just
use MBA or MS? What is the rule for this? What warrants using MBA rather
than M.B.A.?
|
| commas
| Do
I need to use commas before titles in quotes?
|
| first person
| Some
teachers say it's okay to use first person in some papers. Others say
never to use "I." Which is correct?
|
| articles
| If
someone is hurt or sick, why do they say that person is in hospital instead
of in the hospital?
|
| dashes
| Hi,
I am very confused about the use of em and en dashes. Could you explain
the correct usage with a couple of examples?
|
| words, making your own
| Would
it always be correct to form a new word by adding prefix or suffix to
a word despite the fact that there is no such word in a general dictionary?
|
| likewise
| What
part of speech is "likewise" ?
|
| number, a number
|
What is the distinction between "the number" as a singular subject and
"a number" as a plural subject?
|
| titles, M.D.s
| What
is the correct title to use when addressing a couple who are both doctors?
|
| that, which
| Could
you briefly explain the difference between "that" and "which" and give
a couple of examples?
|
| quotes
|
In a direct quotation, is it OK to omit the brackets that normally indicate
that a change of capitalization has taken place?
|
| "arm's length"
|
The bare infinitive and an arm's length agreement
|
| yet, ever
|
What is the difference between the use of "yet" and "ever"?
|
| character analysis
|
I am having trouble writing a character analysis. I would appreciate any
help you can give me.
|
| articles before plural nouns
|
I have some problems using or dropping "the" before plural countable nouns.
Could you please help me?
|
| the
|
In the sentence, "Our society is based on the family," should I use 'the'
before the word, 'family' ? If so, why?
|
| thesis statement
| I
need to know if my thesis statement is too broad or too narrow or neither.
|
| you or your
| Which
is correct, "I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to pursue..."
or "...you giving me the opportunity..."?
|
| online, email
| Can
you tell me when to use "on-line" versus "online"? How about "E-mail"
versus "e-mail"? Is there a source you consistenly use? Many thanks.
|
| i.e., e.g.
| I'm
wondering what the current consensus is regarding "i.e., e.g."
|
| run-ons
| My
question is, What are three different ways to correct run-on sentences?
|
| hyphen
| Could
you please tell me how I would write out time to time--with hyphens, i.e.
'time-to-time' or not?
|
| A.D., B.C.
| What
is the pc version of AD (as in BC/AD as designations for time)?
|
| hair, hairs
| Why
is hair singular and not plural?
|
| simple or continuous
| Can
you explain to me when I use the simple and the continuous form?
|
| plural ending in "s."
| How
would I write the following: doubting Thomas's or doubting Thomases?
|
| besides, in addition
| What's
the difference between BESIDES and IN ADDITION?
|
| gender specific
| I
once wrote, 'As an open university student, he must work harder than regular
students.' I used to use 'he' to represent a student; is it male chauvinism?
|
| effect, affect
| I
have trouble telling the difference between effect and affect. Can you
give a clear answer with specific examples?
|
| factive
| What
is a factive? I have to do a presentation on "The status of a clause following
a factive, nominal vs. adverbial."
|
| participial phrase
| What
is a participial phrase? Give me an example and explain the answer.
|
| there be
| What
kind of verb will follow "there be" in a sentence?
|
| semicolons, colons
| Please
explain when to use semicolons and colons and offer some examples.
|
| singular or plural?
| Do
I use a singular or a plural verb following two subjects differing in
number?
|
| citations, internet
| What
is the correct way to cite something that is obtained from the internet?
Is it alright to simply write a web address?
|
| period, quotation marks
| When
does the period go outside of the quotation marks?
|
| punctuation
| Could
you give me a brief explanation of some punctuation marks?
|
| numbers, writing out
| When
should I write out numbers?
|
| citations, MLA, electronic
| How
do I cite electronic sources in MLA format?
|
| APA
| Does
APA style require all present tense?
|
| revisions
| How
much revising is enough?
|