Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Let 2013 be a more successful year!
I wish all the visitors of this blog a very successful year.
Monday, November 22, 2010
'Square feet' or 'Square foot'?
A: What is the average cost of construction nowadays?
B: It is Rs.1,500/- per sqaure feet.
A: So, a house of an area of 1,000 sft costs Rs.15 lakh, doesn't it?
B: Yes, of course.
____________
Now, here, 'per square feet' means 'for each square feet'.
Each is singular, meaning one, in which case feet does not agree with per or each or one.
Now, mathematically, area means length multiplied by breadth. If length is 1 foot and breadth also is 1 foot, the area is 1 x 1 = 1 (one).
We may, therefore, say 'per square foot' or 'for one square foot'.
B: It is Rs.1,500/- per sqaure feet.
A: So, a house of an area of 1,000 sft costs Rs.15 lakh, doesn't it?
B: Yes, of course.
____________
Now, here, 'per square feet' means 'for each square feet'.
Each is singular, meaning one, in which case feet does not agree with per or each or one.
Now, mathematically, area means length multiplied by breadth. If length is 1 foot and breadth also is 1 foot, the area is 1 x 1 = 1 (one).
We may, therefore, say 'per square foot' or 'for one square foot'.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The antecedent is plural
Is the following sentence correct?
"This is one of the most interesting books that was published last year."
There is an error in this sentence and it is linked to the antecedent. The relative pronoun 'that' used in the sentence stands for a word that goes before it. Whether that word is 'one' or 'books' is the question. It is the latter. 'Books' being plural in number needs a plural verb. Accordingly the verbal 'was published' should have been 'were published'. Thus the correct version is : "This is one of the most interesting books that were published last year".
"This is one of the most interesting books that was published last year."
There is an error in this sentence and it is linked to the antecedent. The relative pronoun 'that' used in the sentence stands for a word that goes before it. Whether that word is 'one' or 'books' is the question. It is the latter. 'Books' being plural in number needs a plural verb. Accordingly the verbal 'was published' should have been 'were published'. Thus the correct version is : "This is one of the most interesting books that were published last year".
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Plural forms of hyphenated words
When a word has two or more constituents we often hyphenate them. A word so hyphenated is considered single for all general purposes; e.g. well-wisher, seven-year-old etc. These words appear as well-wishers and seven-year-olds in their plural forms. On the same analogy why can't we make the plural of any hyphenated word by adding an 's' to the ending component? For instance, the plural of 'brother-in-law' may be made 'brother-in-laws' rather than 'brothers-in-law'. Though, for semantic reasons, British English may not recognize such pluralizations as standard, a trend to use it that way is emerging. Is it acceptable? This is a logical question that deserves to be debated.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
The Order of Persons
Usually, the Second Person-the Third Person-the First Person (II-III-I) is the order we follow when we want to mention all the three Persons in a context.
eg. You, she and I should meet the manager now.
However, there may be occasions when we have to share the credit of the success we may achieve or to shoulder the burden for the failure we may suffer. While the II-III-I order can be used in the former case, the I-II-III (the First Person-the Second Person-the Third Person) order is preferred in the latter.
eg: I, You and John are responsible for the defeat in the match.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Millard Fuller, the greatest philanthropist of our time!
Millard Fuller (1935 - 2009) was founder of Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing, USA. Millard, an acknowledged philanthropist, gave up his whole fortune worth millions of dollars for housing the poor all over the world. India has also benefited from his ministry with more than 20,000 families extricated from their substandard housing conditions and accommodated in simple, decent homes. Millard's mission, which aims at the ultimate objective of the eradication of poverty housing from the earth, continues as successfully as before. The Fuller Center for Housing, led by David Snell (President) and guided by Linda Fuller (Co founder) is making fast strides in helping the underprivileged that are in need of shelter within and outside the US. The corpus for this noble non-profit organization includes donations made by humane people like you.
Please visit http://www.fullercenter.org/ for more details.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Subject - Verb Concord
Is this sentence correct?
"I suggest that he consult a doctor immediately."
Yes, it is. Though, apparently, the subordinate clause (he consult a doctor immediately) does not display the subject-verb concord, 'he consult' needs to be construed as 'he should consult'. The auxiliary verb 'should' in such cases can be unexpressed.
