Just new here, please help me with my ms word grammar

[Guest]

Hi All,

on the options>options>spelling&grammar /writing style --i check grammar only

i type this one...
No later than the end of every month.
then a green under-line appears

and then i type another one
Not later than the end of every month.
then no green line appears.

my boss told me that the first one is correct and it is a common one used in
the USA.

please explain the grammar difference, and what does the green under-line
means.

regards...

 

[CyberTaz]

Don't tell him/her I said so, but the first is *not* grammatically correct
from the standpoint of strict interpretation of the rules of grammar

However, "rules of grammar" no longer seem to be *rules* in many
environments and the common test for acceptable language is determined by
frequency of usage... IOW, "if enough people do the wrong thing it must be
right - especially if I'm one of those people".

Bottom line - give the boss what he/she wants in order to keep your job as
long as the boss is willing to accept responsibility for an fallout. Of
course, that's exactly how the impropriety is perpetuated

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Guest]

thanks you sir MVP Hi CyberTaz,
its a good thing that you warn me *NOT* to tell my boss about your "rules of
grammar"..

yet i'm still confused, is it true that it's the common language in the
USA...i'm very far from there....maybe you are?

also, maybe myboss looks at the green under-line as the correct one---please
literally advise...with no offense for any wrong grammar...

gracias and regards


--
*****
birds of the same feather flock together..

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Pace CyberTaz, I see nothing wrong with the grammar in the first example; it
is very idiomatic. Googling for "no later than" will turn up myriad good
examples.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

hI MVP Suzanne,

Appreciate your counter reply.

I am now very confused with ms word - I need to know the correct grammar
for Contract drafting not only for my current boss but also for my future
bosses...its like taking a single bean from my pocket and plant it in a
fertile ground to harvest in the near future...

I do not cherish something that can not be protected by something which is
not fixed in the wall - dictionary/webster/wherever reference- in the
dominating world of english language, most specially Contracts...

True learning must have a firm ground....How about the green under_line? Can
you please explain that...for true learning experience in ms_word...

gracias and regards,
--
*****
birds of the same feather flock together..

Pace CyberTaz, I see nothing wrong with the grammar in the first example; it
is very idiomatic. Googling for "no later than" will turn up myriad good
examples.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi

I think there are two separate issues here.

One issue is about grammar.

In my part of the world, "no later than..." is quite formal. The "no later
than" is, I suppose, an idiomatic expression since it does not make literal
sense on its own. It would be appropriate in a formal letter or in a
contract. It is not appropriate in informal speech (I would never say
"Please come to dinner no later than 8pm"!).

"Not later than..." is slightly more formal. I would only use it in a
contract, or if I was being very stern in a letter. Lawyers would say "not
later than...".

But I think both are correct grammar.


The other issue is about Word.

English is very complicated. Writing a computer program that can detect
grammatical mistakes means that somehow the computer programmers have to
codify English grammar. But English grammar is inconsistent. So the grammar
checker in Word can only ever be a guide. It points us to sentences we
should check. It can never provide certain judgement about your text.

However, what you typed is not a complete sentence (as I'm sure you know).

If I type "No later than the end of every month." Word marks it with a green
wavy line. And if I right-click, I see that Word thinks this is a fragment,
not a whole sentence. And that's quite true: it's not a complete sentence.
So Word was correct.

If I type "Not later than the end of every month." Word does not mark it
with a green wavy line. But this is not a complete sentence! So here, Word
is wrong. Word should have marked this as a fragment.

If I type

"You must return the form no later than the end of next month."
and
"You must return the form not later than the end of next month."

then I don't see a green wavy line for either sentence. In these cases, I
think Word is correct.


Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word

hI MVP Suzanne,

Appreciate your counter reply.

I am now very confused with ms word - I need to know the correct grammar
for Contract drafting not only for my current boss but also for my future
bosses...its like taking a single bean from my pocket and plant it in a
fertile ground to harvest in the near future...

I do not cherish something that can not be protected by something which is
not fixed in the wall - dictionary/webster/wherever reference- in the
dominating world of english language, most specially Contracts...

True learning must have a firm ground....How about the green under_line?
Can
you please explain that...for true learning experience in ms_word...

gracias and regards,

 

[Guest]

thanks MVP Shauna Kelly,

you stretch my know-how one step further...

gracias and regards
driller

 

[Guest]

Thanks MVP Suzanne,

(I would never say
"Please come to dinner no later than 8pm"!).

thanks for the pointer, in formal WRITING and in formal CONVERSATION..
Especially to others whom we need to hear it nicely !

"I prefer to plant a bean seed and cherish to grow in an upright
position."-Jack in the Beanstalk

formally yours,
driller