Questions about "Grammar" (Usage, Spelling, Syntax, Punctuation, . . . the whole kit-and-caboodle)
I don't really know all of the terms for some things pertaining to grammar, if that makes sense.
Usage,
AKA "being a word" and "using a word in syntax":
Is "thusly" a word?; When do you use who vs. whom? When to use
which/that/who/whom?; When to use "that" and when to use "which"; "which" and
"that"?
Synonyms--words whose meanings are very nearly identical: The difference between "healthful" and "healthy"? The difference between "addicting" and "addictive"?; "composed of” vs. “comprises”?; When to use “bring” vs. “take.” I NEVER remember the correct usage!; "Toward" versus "towards" - I always think "towards" sounds strange - is it grammatically correct?
Spelling, AKA "orthography," turning phonology into written characters: In some English words borrowed from other languages are their any rules of gender agreement? For example, I heard that technically the word blond refers to males and blonde refers to females (or maybe it's the opposite?).; The plural of Brontosaurus?; e.g. vs. i.e. (abbreviated Latin phrases)?; Would it be a history or an history?
Homophone spelling, a special case of spelling accuracy that changes the word's meaning: Effect vs. affect?; The difference between “effect” and “affect”?; Farther vs. further?;
Parts of Speech, AKA how words' functions identify their legal use in syntax: How do I tell a word is an adverb if it doesn't end in "ly"? I am always irked with songs that use improper grammar . . . there is a line in a song called "Walk Away," and it goes as follows: "Just walk away, oh, and don't look back, 'cause if my heart breaks, it's gonna hurt so bad." We were confused about whether that 'so bad' was incorrect. In terms of grammar as opposed to rhyme, should it be 'so badly' instead?
Inflection, AKA how words' spelling indicates their case if they are nouns or their tense if they are verbs: How do you make a word that ends in "s" possessive?; I have a hard time with apostrophes at the end of plural nouns, before singular or plural nouns. Ex.: The boys’ phones were off. Or is it: The boys’s phones were off. Do you ever put an additional “s” after the apostrophe?; On a possessive plural noun, when do you put the apostrophe after the s and when do you put it before the s? Is it Jesus' or Jesus's?
The subjunctive use in English?; My main grammar question is about the "past/present tense" or being. For example; "If I were/was in Egypt during the building of the Pyramids, I would have helped out." (Or something like it.) I think it should be "were" but I've been yelled at by teachers and peers alike. Also, in what context is their version correct, if indeed I am mistaken?
Punctuation--"pointing" the sentence to help readers parse its structure: Commas? What are the official rules about commas?; Commas versus semicolons in lists; the oxford comma; should you have a comma before "because" in a sentence, especially in more complex sentences.; Comma usage, but I’m not sure if it’s a comma splice: I like this example from one of your links: "Harry Potter," by J.K. Rowling, is a remarkable book. "Harry Potter," by J.K. Rowling is a remarkable book." Comma before the author's name? Comma after the author's name? Both? None? I've been told many different things by many teachers. I also have a problem with this comma placement, but I can’t think of any other examples I have from my own writing.; I really don't understand comma usage fully. I've gotten papers marked for too many commas and for not enough.; I also tend to use commas way too often, so maybe the appropriate use of commas would be good.
Punctuation beyond the comma: dashes versus semi-colons; What's the difference in usage between hyphens and colons? - Independent and dependent clauses, how they are related to commas and semicolons, and whether using them perfectly really matters.;
The punctuation that surrounds "however"...(...;however,... or ,however,)?; My question regards the use of punctuation at the end of a quotation. It has always irritated me that punctuation that is not part of the quotation is inside the quotation marks. Why is this?
Parallelism in phrases and dangling modifiers; That's the only question I was able to come up with (well that and obviously how to get rid of prepositions at the end of sentences). --Is ending a sentence with a preposition now something we are okay with?
Format, AKA
social conventions that vary from venue to venue within a given linguistic
community: How do you know which order to use
titles for people? (for MLK Jr. in which order and why are his titles Dr. and
Reverend; and also for some professors, How do you know where to order their
titles of Doctor and Professor?);
I know how
to do in text MLA citations but when it comes to the works cited page I don't
really know the proper way to do it. I've cited sources differently in
different classes and haven't gotten much feedback about it.
Pronoun Reference--the question nobody asked for the first time in fifteen years! How does one avoid number agreement errors when talking in general terms about singular nouns without specifying gender in reference ("The student must make his/her choices." *"The student must make their choices." "One must make one's choices." *"One must make their choices.")
Will the use of "they" and "them" that has already been assimilated into mainstream spoken English become officially accepted by grammarians? How can we solve the problem when tutoring? The short answer: generalize in the plural when talking about human beings.
Kirsch, Gesa. “The Politics of I-Dropping.” College Composition and Communication. 45:3 (October 1994) 381-3. Web. http://www.jstor.org/stable/358817
Myers, Miriam Watkins. “Current Generic Pronoun Usage: An Empirical Study.” American Speech 65:3 (Autumn 1990) 228-237. Web. http://www.jstor.org/stable/455911
Stotko, Elaine M. and Margaret Troyer, “A New Gender-Neutral Pronoun in Baltimore, Maryland: A Preliminary Study.” American Speech. 82:3 (Fall 2007) 262-79. Web. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=26915504&site=ehost-live
Style--the "kit-and-caboodle" of compositional form, that which is not required or prohibited, but which transmits aesthetic values
Can we have more than one style? How does style communicate meaning?
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