Ask the English Teacher

The Difference...

Dherar asks:
If I said "The difference between me and you is ..." Does it mean that this is the only difference or it's one of the differences?

We'd assume that it's the only important difference:
The difference between me and you is that you're taller than I am.
The difference between me and you is our ages.
The difference between me and you is that you like fish and I don't.

Otherwise, we'd say: "One of the differences between me and you..." or "The differences between me and you include our height, our ages, and your fondness for fish."

Before

Rob writes:
Consider the following sentence:

"You should consider reading the notes before you come to class."

I thought "before" in the above sentence was simply a preposition or part of a prepositional phrase. My friend says that "before" is not a preposition because it is not followed by an object that links to the clause. My friend says that "before" is subordinate in meaning to the independent clause; therefore, it is a subordinate conjunction. Is this correct? If so, I'm wondering why my English education failed me. Is this something a typical person should know? If the sentence ended "...before class" would it be part of a prepositional phrase?

This is a complicated one, and I'm open to alternative suggestions. But here's how I read it.

"Before you come to class" is a subordinate clause, with a subject and a verb and "before" acting like a subordinating conjunction. "Before you come to class" needs to link to an independent clause if it's going to make sense. "Before" can be either an adverb or a preposition—that is, it can either modify a verb (He studied before the library opened) or describe a relationship (He studied before the doors to the library).

In this case, "before you come to class" is adverbial: It tells us when you should consider reading the notes. If you simply had the prepositional phrase "before class," it would still function like an adverb.

Thanks for a challenging question!

Graduated? Graduated From?

Elaine writes:
Which usage is correct...graduated high school or graduated from high school?
To hear graduated without from is as painful to the ears as "went missing"..both usages seem to have entered our language fairly recently.

It's even more complicated than you think. My dictionary reminds me that "He graduated from college is now more widely used than the older form, He was graduated from college. He graduated college is considered nonstandard."

In other words, graduating used to be something they did to you; now it's something you do for yourself. Like Elaine, I prefer graduated from.

But I continue to be surprised by the opposition to "went missing." It's very widespread in Commonwealth countries; Canadian news reports use it frequently, and we simply take it for granted.

For an interesting discussion of how "gone missing" began spreading in the US, see this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Meanwhile, a missing-persons website in Britain proudly calls itself Gone Missing UK.

Update: On December 28, Globe and Mail columnist Russell Smith has made some interesting observations about "graduating" and other usage problems: You can fax it, just don't write me. You won't agree with everything he says, but he's worth thinking about.

Came? Come? Had Come?

Renae in Australia asks:
Please inform me as to when “came” is correct and when “had come” is correct. Many people in Australia say “She come over” and I find it hard on my ears! Are they dropping off the “had” or are they forgetting to use the word “came”?

We'd use "had come" if we were in the past tense and had to mention an even earlier time: "She had come over before we arrived."

I suspect that people saying "She come over" as equivalent to "She came over." This seems to be a fairly common simplification in several English dialects around the world. It's a bit jarring, but it's not likely to go away.

Problems with Parallelism

Laura asks:
I'm having difficulty with parallel structure. Could you please help me with the following sentences.

"Parallel structure," or parallelism, means using the same parts of speech in words, phrases and clauses that form a kind of list. Let's take your first sentence:

The food at the party should be a lot, something everyone can eat, nicely decorated, and opening the appetite.
Each phrase should follow grammatically from "should be," so the last phrase is a problem: You can't can't say "should be opening the appetite."

The list also includes a noun ("lot"), a clause ("something everyone can eat"), an adjective ("decorated"), and a plain-wrong expression ("opening the appetite").

We could correct this in various ways; here's one:
The food at the party should be plentiful, acceptable to everyone, nicely decorated, and appetizing.
We've now got a string of adjectives, all describing the food.

Now let's just correct the next four sentences Laura sent. You'll see that I've revised a few other problems as well as faulty parallelism. If you have questions about the corrections, please post a comment and I'll try to explain.

The five steps are the following: (1)starting the problem, (2)observation that includes all points of view, (3)induction, (4)hypothesis, and (5)concluding your ideas.
The five steps are the following: (1) stating the problem, (2) including all points of view, (3) reasoning by induction, (4) framing a hypothesis, and (5) concluding your argument.

If I were to classify the material read, it would fall into 2 types, academic and pleasure.
If I were to classify the material read, it would fall into two types: academic and pleasure.

The article was divided into 2 sections for 2 reasons. First to give the reader some facts and figures on aviation; and second the last section of the article was written for the purpose of informing the reader when and where the first aircraft was invented.
The article was divided into two sections for two reasons: first, to give the reader some facts and figures on aviation; second, to inform the reader when and where the first aircraft was invented.

The rooms will be much larger, the decorations more elaborate, there will be a modern tile bath, and plenty of closets.
The rooms will be much larger, and the decorations more elaborate; there will be a modern tile bath and plenty of closets.

Or and Nor

The semester is over, Christmas is almost over, and I finally have time to answer some questions. Thanks for your patience!

Haytham asks:
Please advise the meaning of each of the following sentences:

1. I did not see John or Peter.
2. I did not see John and Peter.
3. I did not see John nor Peter.

The first sentence implies that John or Peter should have been available...but I didn't see either one. For example: My friends John and Peter often spend each night studying in the library. But tonight I went to the library; I did not see John or Peter.

The second sentence would be a rare usage. It implies that they are a team or unit, always together. For example, I didn't see John and Peter in the tennis doubles match.

The third sentence is incorrect. "Nor" should have a negative expression before it: I saw neither John nor Peter.