Language & Grammar discussion

Hi,

I'm looking for some help with a grammar related problem.

Which of the following two sentences is correct, and why?

1. In case you would like to resign, you will be required to give one month's notice or pay one month's salary in lieu of the notice.

2. In case you would like to resign, you will be required to give one months notice or pay one months salary in lieu of the notice.

The only difference is the apostrophe in the word "months." Otherwise, both sentences are identical. I am not sure whether it is correct with or without the apostrophe. Because one month is singular, do I simply write "give a one month notice?" Or is it okay to write "month's" in the possessive sense because it is a notice/salary of one month?

Thank you,
Delnaz

Thanks, Gabi but what about the movie 'Two Weeks Notice' starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant? Why haven't they included the apostrophe there?

I'm still unclear.

You say the notice is tied to one month, but the argument posted on several other forums is that the month cannot possess the notice, and therefore it is correct without the apostrophe. What do you think?

Don't take cues for proper grammar from Hollywood, Delnaz. "One month's notice" is the correct form. So is "two weeks' notice," despite what anyone else is telling you. It is a form of possession, since the notice belongs to those two weeks (notice OF two weeks, the "of" indicating possession). It's an awkward usage admittedly, but it's the correct one.

Of course, you could avoid any ambiguity at all and just re-phrase, if you're in the position to do so: "You will be required to give a one month notice..." etc.

Or. "You will be required to give notice of 1 month (or 4 weeks)."

Delnaz wrote: "Hi,

I'm looking for some help with a grammar related problem.

Which of the following two sentences is correct, and why?

1. In case you would like to resign, you will be required to give..."

As John says, take little notce of Hollywood or even the world of advertising for that matter. If you were a kid, which would you think the more correct phrase?

"Drink a pint of milk a day"

or

"Drinka Pinta Milka Day"

Anyone wanna ansa the above question?

In Britain we have such phrases as "cuppa" meaning 'cup of (something)' which eventually lead to a product brand being marketed as Cuppa Soup.

You should look online for a style guide. Most leading newspapers publish their guides to house style.

You question is a standard and would be included.

[edit] Back in the 1960s advertisers adapted the lyrics of the following song popular 30 years before. However, any child growing up during that period (and many semi-literate adults) would think that "cuppa" was the norn:

I like a nice cup of tea in the morning
For to start the day you see
And at half- past eleven
Well my idea of Heaven
Is a nice cup of tea
I like a nice cup of tea with my dinner
And a nice cup of tea with my tea
And when it 's time for bed
There 's a lot to be said
For a nice cup of tea

Delnaz wrote: "Hi,

I'm looking for some help with a grammar related problem.

Which of the following two sentences is correct, and why?

1. In case you would like to resign, you will be required to give..."

I can recommend highly The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, which covers such matters.

Gabi wrote: "With apostrophe is correct. The notice is tied to One Month. Possessive, therefore."

Correct, both in form and in reasoning.

Delnaz wrote: "Thanks, Gabi but what about the movie 'Two Weeks Notice' starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant? Why haven't they included the apostrophe there?."

Presumably because they think it looks better than Two Weeks' Notice on the billboards, and they either don't know better or don't care, and don't think their audiences will care.

Delnaz wrote: "Thanks, Gabi but what about the movie 'Two Weeks Notice' starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant? Why haven't they included the apostrophe there?"

Reminds me of the almost endless battle between grammarians and advertising copy writers when Winston came out with the advertising slogan

Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should.

They of course should have said "as a cigarette should," but they thought that would sound pedantic to their target audience of smokers, and didn't care that they were teaching improper grammar to a generation (or two or three) of Americans every time they ran that slogan on radio or TV, which they did constantly for years. Sigh.

So when do we begin to accept the prepositions at the end of sentences, or has acceptance already been given to?

Geoffrey wrote: "So when do we begin to accept the prepositions at the end of sentences, or has acceptance already been given to?"

Long ago.

Hooray

Geoffrey wrote: "So when do we begin to accept the prepositions at the end of sentences, or has acceptance already been given to?"

There never was a good grammatical basis for that rule; even though I am generally a traditionalist, I consider that one long exploded and abandoned, and good riddance.

And pub signs are the epitome of grammatical and syntactical rectitude.

Syntactical rectitude? Wassa mean? Wiping one`s arse?

I don't know. Maybe Terry Prachett explains it in his latest book.

Geoffrey wrote: "So when do we begin to accept the prepositions at the end of sentences, or has acceptance already been given to?"

I accept in principal the end of the rule, however, my brain wants to reconstruct every sentence I hear with a preposition at the end.I automatically do it every time. It is like some obsessive/compulsive habit. Educational brainwashing is a life long thing!

Agree with Juanita. I'm OK with prepositions at the end, but don't think they're the smartest way to end a sentence. Still, there's a time to.

Geoffrey wrote: "So when do we begin to accept the prepositions at the end of sentences, or has acceptance already been given to?"

It never was a "proper" rule. It was invented in the 17th century by the playwright John Dryden, even though it wasn't the norm then (or since) and even he didn’t always adhere to it. It was propagated further when the first English grammar books were written, based on Latin grammar.

There may always be an alternative, and sometimes you should use it, but often it's clumsy. It's about having a feel for language, rather than a tick list of rules, but of course it’s easier to teach rules than to teach discernment.

One thing I've noticed in international groups such as this is that most Brits have no qualms about ending with a preposition (or starting with a conjunction), whereas many Americans do.

See http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/langua... for starters.