expressions - Is there a better way to tell "s/he"?

For example:

Ask a grammatist, she or he will possibly know how to solve this question!

Is it possible to replace the she or he part with a single word - probably something not gender dependent - in this kind of sentences?

grammar - Should I use That or Which?

I can't figure out whether to use that or which:

"and initiate collaborative projects that will extend beyond the conference"

or "and initiate collaborative projects which will extend beyond the conference"

expressions - "By the way" in formal writing

Can I say "By the way" in an official document or professional meeting and other important/formal times?

I never saw any film which would include these words.

Answer

No, I wouldn't recommend doing so, as the phrase is informal. There are many formal alternatives you could use to make you sound more professional, some of those are:

it is worth noting
it might also be noted/observed

grammatical number - How should we treat a plural term that refers to singular term?

I'd like to better understand why is the following grammatical:

One of the problems is flags.

Here flags refers to the flagging system. However, flags is plural and the flagging system is singular.

I would consider the following alternatives grammatical:

One of the problems is the flagging system.
^{This is the actual meaning.}
One of the problems is the flagging.
^{This would be best option if the problem is in the process of flagging.}
One of the problems is caused by the flags.
^{Best if the problem was with displaying the actual flags, but avoids the [singular] is [plural] pattern.}
One of the problems is “flags”.
^{Quoted to denote unusual usage.}

The original is semantically clear to me, but I am unsure if it is grammatically correct.

---

NOTE:
This is related to the following question and this answer. There is already a short answer there, but I wanted more details and references to grammatical rules that govern this case (so I can further explore on my own) and thought it would be noise over there.

Answer

One of the problems is flags.

This is grammatical because the subject of the verb is is the singular pronoun one. Trim away the prepositional phrase and the predicate, and you get:

One... is...

... which is obviously correct.

One is very frequently used with a prepositional complement containing a plural noun, such as of the problems. This does not change the grammatical number of the subject.

One of the boys is sick.

One of the trees is falling over.

One of the candidates will win.

The only further wrinkle in this sentence is the fact that the predicate nominative flags is also plural. This, too, does not change the number of the subject, and it fact joining a singular subject with a plural predicate nominative is very common in English.

Open-source is many different developers working together freely.

A woman is not just her breasts.

So there really isn't anything ungrammatical about the original form of the sentence. Some people may find it infelicitous, and it could probably be reworded for clarity or style, but it isn't violating any of the rules of English grammar.

grammar - Wasn't and weren't?

"I would if I wasn't American."

"I would if I weren't American."

Which one is correct?

Answer

Both the sentences are accepted.

In the second sentence, I weren't American is using the subjunctive mood, which is correct, in that case (I read the sentence as I would do it, if I weren't American.). The subjunctive mood is nowadays less common.

As reported by the NOAD:

The subjunctive is used to express situations that are hypothetical or not yet realized and is typically used for what is imagined, hoped for, demanded, or expected. In English, the subjunctive mood is fairly uncommon (especially in comparison with other languages such as French and Spanish), mainly because most of the functions of the subjunctive are covered by modal verbs such as might, could, and should. In fact, in English the subjunctive is often indistinguishable from the ordinary indicative mood since its form in most contexts is identical. It is distinctive only in the third person singular, where the normal indicative -s ending is absent (he face rather than he faces in the example above), and in the verb to be (I were rather than I was , and they be rather than they are in the examples above). In modern English, the subjunctive mood still exists but is regarded in many contexts as optional. Use of the subjunctive tends to convey a more formal tone, but there are few people who would regard its absence as actually wrong. Today, it survives mostly in fixed expressions, as in be that as it may; far be it from me; as it were; lest we forget;: God help you; perish the thought; and come what may.

grammaticality - Controversy over verb choice in "neither you nor I {is/am/are} in control"

I was watching the film A Game of Shadows starring Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law when this line came up, "...neither you nor I is in control..." (I can’t remember the exact words that ended the phrase; if anyone can supply them, it would be much appreciated.)

It immediately struck me as being odd. When I mentioned this to my boyfriend; an English native speaker, with a PhD in something sciency, he told me it was correct. When I asked why, he couldn't explain but put forward the following sentence as an example. "Neither of us is in control..." However, I disagreed with the wording and said the sentence should have been: "Neither one of us is in control..." The genderless third person, one, is singular, and hence, so too the verb that follows. And we say, "one is" NOT "one are".

"Neither you nor I are in control over ..."

I believe the above sounds better, but it is more logical to say:

"Neither you nor I am in control..."

because the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; however, I'm not sure if I have ever read or heard this solution. So, I tried inverting the subject and auxiliary verb order and the resulting phrase was:

• "Neither you nor am I in control..."

which sounds very formal, pompous, and ... odd. Am I imagining things?

The two subjects you and I are two separate individuals who are not joined together, I agree the verb should be in the singular; but why should we use "is"? We don't say, "you is" or "I is". Before anyone rushes off to claim my question is a duplicate of a previous Stackexchange one: "Neither Michael nor Albert is correct" or "Neither Michael nor Albert are correct"? I want to explain why the answer to that question fails to explain why my boyfriend and the film makers consider the sentence below correct:

Neither you nor I is in control...

As I see it, Michael and Albert are two separate individuals, it therefore stands to reason that the verb should be singular, and "is" agrees with the subject. If I rephrase the neither and nor construction, I would get:

• Michael is not correct but neither is Albert
  OR



• Michael is not correct and Albert isn't either.

Which have the same meaning, (either being the negative equivalent of neither) the sentences are grammatical which leads me to conclude that the verb must be singular and hence

• Neither Michael nor Albert is correct

However, when I rephrase the "neither you nor I" sentence following the same procedure I have to say this:

• You are not in control but neither am I (‘I am’ is ungrammatical)
  OR


• You are not in control and I’m not either.

which leads me to surmise that the sentence below must be grammatically correct

• Neither you nor I am in control"

So, why does my boyfriend insist that the sentence ought to be:

Neither you nor I is in control

Which one of us is right and why?

Answer

When subjects are connected with neither/nor, the one closest to the verb controls the agreement. Thus, neither you nor I am. Why? Because lots of English grammar books say so.

Sounds awkward? It does. Lots of other English grammar books agree and so does actual usage. As you can see, there's an actual controversy here. There are workarounds that would please adherents of both viewpoints. The easiest one is probably neither I nor you are, but most of your proposed variations would work.

Of course "*Neither you nor I is" is totally wrong, because is doesn't agree with anything in this phrase.

Dependent clause *comma* independent clause *comma?* *coordinating conjunction* independent clause

I have a sentence that starts with a dependent clause, followed by an independent clause and another independent clause, but I'm not sure if a comma would be required before the coordinating conjunction. Here's the sentence:

"After taking the bus to work for years, I finally had enough money to buy a car, and now I can finally go to work without waiting outside in the cold for the bus to arrive."

In that sentence, I added a comma before the coordinating conjunction "and" because the clause after that is independent. But since a dependent clause comes before the two independent clauses, should the comma be removed? Is there a rule that states this?