Year: 2011

by Jennie Ruby

I am happy to report that, at least among readers of this newsletter, the past perfect is not dead. I received a lot of corrected sentences properly using the past perfect. Here, from Kris Westrum, are the corrected sentences:

1. If I had had my coat on yesterday when the downpour started, I would not have gotten so wet.
2. Although Tadd had his umbrella, his briefcase still got wet. (past tense)
3. I went out the door, picked up the paper, and walked to my car; then I realized that I had forgotten my keys.
4. The meeting was cancelled because the room reservation had not been made.
5. Because the field was not yet dry, the soccer game was postponed. (past tense)

In addition to many correct answers, we received some discussions and alternatives that bring up additional issues. For example, Linda EllisEnright explains why number 2 is correct:

Although Tadd had his umbrella, his briefcase still got wet. (OK as is, because the two events are happening at the same time, not one before the other.)

She also raises an interesting issue:

Incidentally, if the sentence started with "if" instead of "although," I think it would need the past perfect, but I can't quite explain why.

If Tadd had had his umbrella, his briefcase might not have gotten wet.

She is correct that using if would change the situation to one that requires the past perfect.

Why? When you are setting up a conditional expression (a clause starting with if), and you know that the condition that you are proposing was not true (saying "if he had had his umbrella," when I already know for a fact that he did not have his umbrella), you must use the subjunctive mood of the verb. To indicate the subjunctive mood in the past, you use one tense further past than normal–in this case, had had instead of just had.

The second part of the sentence also uses the subjunctive, because that part is also talking about something that we know is not true. Here, the subjunctive helping verb might, as well as the past perfect have gotten, indicates the subjunctive mood.

Linda also comments correctly on number 5:

Because the field was not yet dry, the soccer game was postponed. (Being wet was the state of the field at the same time as the soccer game was postponed. The two things happened simultaneously.)

OR (also OK):

Because the field had not yet dried, the soccer game was postponed. (I think this works because it is equivalent to saying "Because the field had not yet finished drying…" The sentence is referring to the moment that the field would have finished drying, which would have occurred (if at all) prior to the postponement).

In sum, we see from these sentences the two main uses of the past perfect:

1. To indicate that one past event happened before another past event
2. To create the subjunctive in the past

Thanks go out to Kay Honaker, Andrea Mitchell, Jon Chambers, Michelle C. McCready, and Jen Stamey for their corrected sentences. Good job on (almost) all of them!

My question for next week is whether you enforce a distinction between "over" and "more than."

1. (Over/more than) five years ago, we started publishing the survey results monthly.
2. The report was due (over/more than) a week ago.
3. The lot holds (over/more than) 300 head of cattle.
4. Three people scored (over/more than) 100 on the test.
5. There were (over/more than) 200 people in the lobby.

About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Editing with Word 2003 and Acrobat 7" and "Editing with MS Word 2007" to her credit. She is a publishing professional with more than 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.

by Jennie Ruby

Last week I asked readers to tell us how they format a numbered list. I received several responses. Here is a sampling: 

Kris Westrum explains the rational behind treating numbered lists differently in text versus in list form:

I never use parentheses around numbers in vertical numbered lists because the numbers stand out so nicely. But I always use them in lists in sentence form in order to set them off from surrounding text and punctuation.

Linda Craig adds to that the important point that treatment of lists should be consistent:

 I use the following

1. This

2. Is

3. A

4. Sample

I think you can use any form as long as it is consistent throughout the list.

Unless there is a definite reason for using numbers I prefer to use bullet points.

She also has a good point about bullets versus numbers: if the order does not matter, use bullets.

Lisa Heil gives us the traditional business option of using a parenthesis after the number in a vertical list. Although this style is not typically used in publishing, it is often used in business writing. Also major points for the cleverness of how she made her answer into a list!

Here is how I treat numbered lists:

1. I use a period.

2) Or I use a single parenthesis on the right.

3) I always make the list vertical.

4) That way each item stands out more clearly.

Thank you to all our correspondents this week!

My concern for next week is our disappearing past perfect tense. Let us know what you think of these examples–are they right or wrong–and I'll discuss them next time:

1. If I had my coat on yesterday when the downpour started, I would not have gotten so wet.
2. Although Tadd had his umbrella, his briefcase still got wet.
3. I went out the door, picked up the paper, and walked to my car; then I realized that I forgot my keys.
4. The meeting was cancelled because the room reservation was not made.
5. Because the field was not yet dry, the soccer game was postponed.

About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Editing with Word 2003 and Acrobat 7" and "Editing with MS Word 2007" to her credit. She is a publishing professional with more than 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.