|
Purdue OWL News for September 17, 2004
|
The Purdue OWL Staff
|
Sep 17, 2004 12:15 PDT
|
The Purdue OWL News
September 17, 2004
Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
The Purdue OWL News is an online newsletter about happenings in the
Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing
Lab (OWL). You can visit our website at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/>. To unsubscribe
from the newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this email.
Writing Question of the Week
This is from /Dragon Seed/ by Pearl S. Buck (page 18).
“Sell it,” she had said. “It will buy me a pair of earrings.”
“Do you want earrings?” he had asked her in surprise. “But your ears are
not pierced.”
“I can pierce them,” she had said.
“I will buy you the earrings,” he had answered her, “but not with your
own hair.”
Question 1: Why did the author use the *past perfect* form (she */had
said/* or he /*had asked*/)?
Question 2: How would the meaning change if the author used the *simple
past* form (she /*said */or he /*asked*/)?
Sincerely,
Tommy
Answer:
Hello Tommy,
My assumption is that the use of past perfect is a literary convention
here. Past perfect is a verb tense used often in epic works to indicate
a great temporal distance between past and present. We know that we use
past perfect to indicate that the action is completed before another
event in the past. So, past perfect is used to indicate a certain
temporal vagueness - which is to say that the events took place in a
very remote past.
I would say that the meaning would not have changed with the use of past
tense. However, it would bring a different information (nuance) about
the time of the narration and refer to an action whose completion is
probably closer to the present. Simple past tense is used to indicate a
completed action or condition, so this means that on a temporal axis
events take place closer to the present.
Hope this helps,
Oana, OWL instructor
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish
to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to
include your name and/or your email address when we publish your
response. The following week, we'll publish the best information and
advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a question for our
readers, please send it to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu.
Last Week's Question
What do you think of the current use of "absent" as a preposition? I
know it's an adjective and means "missing" or "not present," but it
sounds awkward to me to say "Absent his approval, the project cannot go
forward." Or, "Absent a down payment, you can't buy this property." I
feel it's artificial and too trendy. I teach Composition and Technical
Communications, and I'm not sure what to advise my students.
Response:
As strange as it sounds, "absent" is also a preposition and can be used
correctly in the above sentences. It's from legal language, but the
usage appears to be expanding.
-- Suzanne Mantha
Next Week's Questions
Question #1:
s it proper to use an exclamation point as in the sentence, "Mom! What's
for dinner?" Does this make the sentence complete or should there be a
comma after mom. I'd appreciate hearing from you.
-- Glen Mayberry
Question #2:
It seems only fairly recently that I have heard the word "grow" used in
sentences such as, "We are going to grow the economy." This just
doesn't sound right to me, but I suppose that if you can grow a garden
you can grow the unemployment, etc. Is this a correct use of the word?
-- Sara from Lenoir, NC
What's Happening on OWL
OWL Eye on...How would you organize the OWL?
A major part of our ongoing redesign involves organizing the materials
on OWL so they are much easier to find. If you have any suggestions
regarding organization and navigation, please send them along to Karl at
webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu.
OWL Eye on...Multimedia content
In the coming months, we'll be designing and adding more multimedia
content to our OWL. We'd like to get your feedback about what kinds of
multimedia content would be most useful to you as a user of our website.
Send your multimedia ideas to Chris at
coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
OWL Eye on...Fall Schedule
The Writing Lab at Purdue University will be available during its
regular hours. It offers one-on-one tutorials, in-lab and in-class
workshops, lab tours, conversation groups, and a multitude of other
Writing Lab resources every weekday.
Fall 2004 Writing Lab Hours:
Tutoring Hours: M-Th 9-4; F 9-1
ESL Conversation Groups: M 1:30-2:30, Tu/Th: 4:30-5:30, W: 11:00-noon,
F: 11:30-12:30
OWL Eye on...In-Lab Workshops for September
Tues. Sep 21 from 12:30-1:30 PowerPoint
Wed. Sept. 22 from 3:30-4:30 Writing for an American Academic Audience
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can email us at any time at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator,
Chris Berry, at coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster,
Karl Stolley, at webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Chris and Karl take
turns writing the newsletter.)
If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to get your
own subscription, visit
http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/ to subscribe.
This newsletter is copyright (C) 2004 the Purdue University Writing Lab
and Purdue University. Purdue's OWL is located at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu.
|
|
 |
|
