Search results for 'tag:Grammar tag:Abbreviations' matching tags 'Grammar' and 'Abbreviations'

Re: is this correct

Clive — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:42:14 GMT

Hi,
is this ~~grammetrically~~ grammatically correct?

do u believe in intutions and ESP (extra sensory perception) kind of things, i always ignore them thinking mere coincidences.
but the questions is ..are coincidences so frequent?
No. In addition to grammar problems, your spelling is incorrect, you are missing capital letters, your punctuation is not correct and you are using an inappropriate texting-style abbreviation.

Do you believe in intuition and ESP (extra sensory perception)? I always ignore events of this kind, thinking of them as mere coincidences, but the question is whether coincidences occur so frequently.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Plural of s = s'es?

Pter — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:52:02 GMT

Sorry Yoong Liat, I think I didn't made it clear. The abbreviation of PS was made up arbitrarily. I didn't mean postscript. I could have used anything like BS, CS, DS, etc. in my question.

Regarding the apostrophe for abbreviations, let me quote some of the references I've read:

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
http://www.bartleby.com/68/50/4650.html

usually add -s: two Xs, Ph.D.s, MIAs, 1990s, the â20s. Use an apostrophe only when you need it to prevent confusion: Mississippi has four iâs. He got Aâs in both courses.

The Economist Style Guide
http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=673905

Thus IOUs, MPs' salaries, SDRs, etc.

Times Online Style Guide
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986718.ece

An apostrophe should be used to indicate the plural of single letters - p's and q's.
(Note that it doesn't say an apostrophe should be used for plurals of abbreviations.)

Guide to Grammar and Style by Jack Lynch
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/a.html

Apostrophes are sometimes used to make acronyms or other abbreviations plural (another matter of a local house style). My preference: don't use apostrophes to make abbreviations plural â not "They took their SAT's," but "They took their SATs." The only exception is when having no apostrophe might be confusing: "Two As" is ambiguous (it might be read as the word as); make it "Two A's."

Back to my original question. What I would like to ask is whether I should use "s" or "es", i.e. the choice of

1a. There are two s'es in the sentence.
1b. There are two PSes in the meeting.

OR

2a. There are two s's in the sentence.
2b. There are two PSs in the meeting.

In addition, how should they be pronounced?

PS I have never seen P.SS. or p.ss. My copy of Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary does not have such an entry nor does any other dictionary I checked.

Re: Application letter for vacation

Grammar Geek — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:47:39 GMT

First, capitalize the word I and other proper nouns, and then rewrite this without using abbreviations, and spell August correctly - then we can worry about grammar and syntax.

Re: Abbreviated titles and their plurals

Grammar Geek — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:35:55 GMT

Anonymous

Attorney General can be abbreviated to AG. ... When one AG meets with another AG the correct grammar is Attorneys General, with the correct abbreviation being AsG.

I have never seen such an abbreviation in my life. I would use AGs without a moment's hesitation, and then only in speech. If I were writing it, I'd write it out in the plural.

MPs, AGs, SGs, etc.

Abbreviated titles and their plurals

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:29:26 GMT

Hi there all. Can anyone help me with this one?

Attorney General can be abbreviated to AG. Likewise, Solicitor General or Witch Finder General can be abbreviated to SG and WFG respectively. When one AG meets with another AG the correct grammar is Attorneys General, with the correct abbreviation being AsG. This is the same with the other two (and others): Solicitors General (SsG) and Witch Finders General (WFsG).

An an elected Member of Parliament is called an MP. However, I've noticed that the expression that is used to define a grouping of these is MPs and not, as I would think, MsP.

Any ideas?

Re: Abbreviation of "number"

Cool Breeze — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:34:23 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
It's still a bit unclear to me whether "no." (or some other abbreviation, maybe) can be used to replace number eg. in phrases "Number of messages" and "Serial number". Would you please share your views. I do have a reason for using abbreviations.

no.,
1.    north.
2.    northern.
3.    number.
Also, No.
(Random House Unabridged Dictionary)

Webster's disciples think both no. and No. are correct. I wouldn't omit the full stop/period after no. even if I were a Brit as that might cause confusion in some contexts. I would not use no./No. in "number of messages" or any other similar expressions. No. looks all right when it is used with a numeral: No. 5. I would consider "serial number" a borderline case but would probably refrain from using the abbreviation in that context. As GG says, this is a matter of style rather than grammar.

CB

Re: Is the grammar used correctly in the paragraph?

Verade — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:52:23 GMT

I would not use the abbreviation 'ibbl' (perhaps you did not actually use it)--also, the rest is good, except for the last sentence. Try: "These trainees gave me a top rating for my work."

Re: Reduplication com'on guyyyyyyyyyyz

khoff — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:18:53 GMT

Hello, welcome to the forum. I just wanted to let you know that you are more likely to get a response if your post includes capital letters and punctuation, and avoids abbreviations like "how r u" and "plz." I don't mean to offend you -- but the people here are all volunteers, and we choose how we want to spend out time. Many people will be more inclined to help you if you make an effort to use standard English. Correct spelling is also a plus -- of course we don't expect English learners to spell everything perfectly, and typos do happen to everyone, but if you are studying linguistics you should at least know it is not ligustic.

Also, although personally I am not familiar with "reduplication," it sounds like the Linguistics section is the appropriate place for your post -- you don't need to "reduplicate" it in General English Grammar Questions and Basic English Grammar.

Re: Please check my cover letter

Grammar Geek — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:50:58 GMT

Hello Mika,

Welcome to the forums.

Usually, a cover letter begins a little more gently. Something like: I'm writing to apply for the position of Financial Advisor that you have advertised for in the Grammar Times. I believe my experience and aptitude make me an excellent candidate for this position.

You are pursuing a degree, not perusing it. At least, I hope so.

Don't use abbreviations that are not commonly known. What is MVO?

You are a bit repetitive - see how often you use "carpenter" and "duties" in the first two lines? Also, your tenses are a little mixed up. These are duties you DID perform or ARE performing? Use "As a result" not "That's why."

I'm also a little confused because you start by saying it's a financial advisor position, and end with "fixed income and graduate training program."

I have enclosed my resume for your review. That's all you need to say for that one.

You should also have something like "Thank you for your consideration" as a closing.

Re: grammar problem, thanks.

Clive — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:26:33 GMT

Hi,

Can anybody explain me the difference between: not like & don't like.

It's better if you provide a few complete sentences as examples of what you are asking about, rather than just fragments.

Perhaps you are thinking of sentences like these.

I do not like coffee.

I don't like coffee.

These are the same, except #2 is an abbreviation and less formal.

best wishes, Clive