Grammar Correction

Forums: Grammar, English, Esl, Hear And Isten
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Dear Colleagues, First accept my thanks for your wonderful academic posts. I've few questions which need your wise answers. Questions are below:

Which one is correct and why?

1. Family comes or family come. Band plays or Band play.

2. Can we use 'hear' in listening question. For example you will hear two people talking about their family life. Listen to them and answer the questions.

3. How do we use time am or a.m.

I shall be thankful for your kind advice.

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@mahid,

1. Family comes or family come. Band plays or Band play.
Family comes first and the band plays really well.

2. Can we use 'hear' in listening question. For example you will hear two people talking about their family life. Listen to them and answer the questions.
- Yes, you can use "hear" for "listen" sometimes as in your example.

3. How do we use time am or a.m.
- You can really use either. I think a.m. is technically correct but no one really cares.

0 Replies

@mahid,

1. Don't worry, this question (No 1) bothers native English speakers too, and comes up often as a question on A2K

Words like Army, Police, team, committee, band are known as collective nouns and are usually taken a singular.

So, the band plays.

2. Yes.

3. Both are seen, am and a.m.
I prefer a.m. in text. In tabular form, you might see the simplified form am

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@mahid,

Quote:

1. Family comes or family come.

His family comes from Australia. From what country does your family come?

Quote:

Band plays or Band play.

My band plays all kinds of modern music. What kind does your band play?

Quote:

2. Can we use 'hear' in listening question. For example you will hear two people talking about their family life. Listen to them and answer the questions.

Sorry Mahid you’ll have to restate

Quote:

3. How do we use time am or a.m.

The latter. The general rule is: If the abbreviation spells a word then use periods

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@mahid,

mahid wrote:

Dear Colleagues, First accept my thanks for your wonderful academic posts. I've few questions which need your wise answers. Questions are below:

Which one is correct and why?

1. Family comes or family come. Band plays or Band play.

Family comes/Band plays.

There is a difference in the way British English and American English native speakers match verbs and collective nouns. AmE (American English) will use all collective nouns as singular, as in your examples.

However, BrE (British English) speakers will treat certain kinds of collective nouns as plural, leading to such statements as:

Parliament have...
Manchester United have...

I'm not a BrE speaker, so I can't explain it in much detail, though.

Quote:

2. Can we use 'hear' in listening question. For example you will hear two people talking about their family life. Listen to them and answer the questions.

We tend to use 'hear' when a sound reaches our ears without any intent on the part of the hearer. We tend to use 'listen' for the times when we are focusing our attention on a sound over a time span.

Ex:
I was listening to the radio when I heard something that sounded like a gunshot.

Quote:

3. How do we use time am or a.m.

I shall be thankful for your kind advice.

a.m. is correct in both BrE and AmE, I think.

1 Reply

@FBM,

Quote:

a.m. is correct in both BrE and AmE, I think.

Although the trend in this country is away from the period, it’s often used where it spells a word, especially where the word might not be recognized as an abbreviation

I am fyi a convert to pantheism, but in discussing with my highly-educated mother my morning participation in the writing of a Boston electrical code regarding a current setting in the detection of broadcast-band radio stations:

I am in fact the am participant, dear ma with ma, but at least in MA by code with am, am advised the load cannot exceed 120 ma; so

I am in fact the a.m. participant, dear Ma with M.A., but at least in MA by code with a.m., am advised the load cannot exceed 120 ma.; so

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

so I insist fyi I AM

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

You cluttered up a fairly simple thread, Dale. This was a foreign student asking for help.

1 Reply

Very poorly written. I think you ought not to advise students of English.

0 Replies

@McTag,

Quote:

You cluttered up a fairly simple thread, Dale. This was a foreign student asking for help.

Am I not allowed to kid a little

Although the trend in this country is away from the period, it’s often used where it spells a word, especially where the word might not be recognized as an abbreviation

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

The comment quoted above, Tag, is simple and straightforward, not at all difficult for anyone possessing the slightest familiarity with the Mother Tongue. The example given is of course fanciful but I apologize if it confused you

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

Being snide and clever-clever doesn't make it any better.

There are other threads which may be better suited to your talents. This one was a straightforward request for help.

2 Replies

@McTag,

Concerning periods in abbreviations I was replying to Engineer post #976, item 3

Shouldn’t I have done that

Is it not permitted to reply to another participant

1 Reply

@McTag,

Quote:

This one was a straightforward request for help.

Mac I don’t understand why you’e so upset. He made a request for help, I helped him.

In the OP Mahid asks,

Quote:

How do we use time am or a.m.

and I reply that in one convention periods are used where the abbreviation spells a word

He asked a question. I answered it. Why does that make me such a bad person

I’m baffled. Everywhere I go on a2k there’s someone who seems terribly angry at all times about nearly everything, however innocent

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@dalehileman,

Quote:

Concerning periods in abbreviations I was replying to Engineer post #976, item 3

Shouldn’t I have done that

You were? Then I withdraw my remarks.
Perhaps I was feeling too touchy yesterday.

I hope the original questioner feels he has made some progress.

1 Reply

@McTag,

Quote:

You were?

Yes

Quote:

Then I withdraw my remarks.

Apology accepted

Quote:

Perhaps I was feeling too touchy yesterday.

Always a risk in this disphoric contretemps of punitive recrudescence

Quote:

I hope the original questioner feels he has made some progress.

Maybe Mahid will respond

0 Replies

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