Dear English class!

Before I take off for California, I just wanted to give you a few follow-up thoughts on
vocabulary and expressions we used in our class last week.
It's a real pleasure to have such a nice group of active, good speakers of English!
Have a wonderful summer, and I look forward to seeing you in September.
Marly

Vocabulary from class July 20, 2010

Headquarters: As I explained, headquarters is a noun that is always used in the plural. I told
you that it is always used with a plural verb. After thinking about it some more, I realized that
we often -- probably just as often -- use it with a singular verb:
Siemens headquarters is in Munich.
Siemens headquarters are in Munich.

Both sound equally correct and equally common to me. (So, to use our phrase from last
week, you can "take your pick.") My favorite online English dictionary, merriam-
webster/dictionary.com, confirmed this:

Main Entry: head·quar·ters

Pronunciation: \-tərz\
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Date: 1647

1 : a place from which a commander performs the functions of command

2 : the administrative center of an enterprise

Headquarter, without the "s" is a verb. It is most commonly used in the passive:
Siemens is headquartered in Munich.
Or as a transitive (active verb with a direct object):
They will headquarter their new business in Berlin.

To my mother's

In English, whenever we visit someone somewhere, we use the possessive form, because we
are actually describing the place where we are visting the person. (Yesterday I went to my
mother's house,… my boss's office…, my friend's apartment.) The fact that we often leave
off the noun (I'm going to my mother's, to my friend's, to my boss's) doesn't change the
possessive nature and character of the sentence construction. We leave it off when the place
is clear to the listener.
But in the first and second person, we never leave off the noun: Let's have the meeting in my
office, let's go to your house tonight. ( I know this feels a little cumbersome for Germans.
Unfortunately, the convenient expressions "bei mir, bei dir…., zu mir oder zu dir…." are
missing in the English language!)
When speaking of places with formal names that don't "belong" to someone, we don't use the
possessive (unless the possessive is already in the name, as in "McDonald's") :
Tomorrow I'm going to…… Siemens, Areva, Starbucks, Burger King, ....
responsible

Responsible is an adjective. We ask, "Who is responsible here?"

We can also ask, "Who is the person in charge?"
Der Verantwortliche can therefore be translated as the responsible person or the person in
charge.

We are responsible for something.

We are responsible for doing something.

We are in charge of something.

We are in charge of doing something..

Both forms can take a noun or a gerund. Please note the different prepositions used!

Who is responsible for the Spanish project?

Who is in charge of the Spanish project?

Who is in charge of making the arrangements for the conference?

Who is responsible for making the arrangements for the conference?

person, persons and people

In conversation, use "person" in the singular and "people" in the plural. "Persons" is usually
used in situations with official or legal implications, focusing on the individuals and their
rights and obligations, rather than describing the group as a whole. You will often find the
word "persons" in announcements or in the small print on legal documents.
A sign or an announcement might say: "All persons with boarding passes please proceed to
the gate." (They are addressing many individuals). vs
"There were lots of people at Fielmann last week." (focus on the group, not the individuals).