|
|
Answers to Sample OWL Questions
- I don't know whether
already should be written as one word or
two in the following sentence: The senior was already/all ready to
graduate. Which should I choose?
- It's all ready. In
Quick Access, Lynn Troyka explains that already means
"by this time," but all ready means "fully prepared" (121).
Thus, in a sentence like, "I offered to make lunch for her, but she
had already eaten," already is one word. (She had eaten
by the time the writer offered to fix lunch.) However, "The
senior was all ready to graduate" indicates that the student is
prepared to graduate.
- Word keeps putting a green line under
of in the following sentence: He should of
known better. Why?
- If you right-click on of,
you'll see that Word is trying to tell you to change of to
have. In Rules for Writers, Diana Hacker explains:
"Should of is nonstandard for should have" (542).
One reason many writers use should of (or could of or
would of) when they should use should have (or
could have or would have) may be that should of
and should've (the contraction of should have) sound
alike.
- I'm using a generic example:
Any student who fails the exit exam
will fail the class. What pronoun do I use to refer to
student? If I want to explain that a student who fails the
class cannot take the next course in the sequence, do I say:
Furthermore, he will not be eligible to take the next course,
Furthermore, s/he will not be eligible to take the next course, or
Furthermore, they will not be eligible to take the next course?
- You might want to change that
generic example: All students who fail the exit exam will fail
the class. Then you can correctly follow the sentence
with: Furthermore, they will not be eligible to take the next
course. This is the safest option because some of the
"experts" disagree about what pronouns to use when referring to a
person of unknown gender:
- "English does not have a
neutral singular pronoun for a group of mixed genders or a
person of unknown gender. Referring to a group of mixed
genders using male pronouns is unacceptable to many people. . .
. Some writers attempt to avoid sexist usage by
substituting a plural pronoun. This strategy, however,
produces a grammatically incorrect sentence that also risks
putting off some readers."--Faigley, The Brief Penguin
Handbook, p. 455
- "When the antecedent is
anybody, each, or everyone, some people avoid
generic he by using a plural pronoun. . . . You
will hear such sentences in conversation and even see them in
writing, but many people in academic contexts still consider
anybody, each, and everyone singular, and they
think using their with singular antecedents is too
informal."--Lunsford, The Everyday Writer, pp. 262-63
- "Be sparing in your use
of the wordy constructions he or she and his or her.
Although these constructions are fine in small doses, they
become awkward when repeated throughout an essay."--Hacker,
Rules for Writers, p. 144
- "In the popular press (such
as newspapers and magazines), the use of the plural pronoun
they or them with a singular antecedent has been
gaining favor. . . . In academic writing, however, it is
better for you not to follow the practice of the popular
press."--Troyka and Hesse, Simon and Schuster Handbook for
Writers, p. 255
- "I'm not sure why, but many
people start seeing double when they use anybody, anyone,
everybody, everyone, nobody, no one, somebody, someone, each,
either, and neither. . . . I cringe when I hear a
sentence like Somebody forgot to pay their bill. .
. . You may be tempted to use their because you
don't know whether the somebody is a he or a she. Well,
your nonsexist intentions are good, but your grammar
isn't."--O'Conner, Woe is I, pp. 15-16
|
|
