texts:
I was looking through a few words that would convey the idea of trying (fighting the gravity pull) to stay in one position in the air for a very short while. (Implies having difficulty keeping that position)

And I have these choices, but maybe somebody knows of a better word or a more common one, or maybe a special term for that:

hold - to hold in the air for a few seconds.
freeze - to freeze in the air for a few seconds. (From police slang)
drift - to drift in the air for a few seconds. (Somehow drift feels like a long-time action)
stay - to stay in the air for a few seconds. (This seems not to include any difficulties with doing so)
float - to float in the air for a few seconds. (This seems to convey the idea of floating as in water)

Out of these I think hold is my best shot.


texts: "It makes the proof of most theorems (become) trivial" - do I need become here?

texts:
I want to say "By assuming XXX, it makes the proof of most theorems (become) trivial and less interesting"

Should I use "become" here? It looks to me both of them is ok...


texts: What is the meaning of "dubbed"in this context?

texts:
Most humans are now enhanced to be resistant to many infectious diseases. Vaccination is human enhancement. Apart from "anti-vaxxers" - as those who lobby against childhood inoculations are often dubbed - most of us are content to participate. And society as a whole benefits from being free of those diseases.

What is the meaning of “dubbed” in this context?


texts: Should prepositions be repeated while joining multiple prepositional phrases?

texts:
1.Results indicated positive paths from A to B, B to C, and C to A and B.
2.Results indicated positive paths from A to B, from B to C, and from C to A and B.
Which of the above sentences is considered grammatically correct? Is it necessary to repeat "from" after the comma and/or the conjunction "and"?
I'd like to know what would be considered correct in American English, if it makes any difference.


texts: What are some other ways to say "My phone ran out of power", meaning my battery got depleted. What is the level of formality of each one?


texts:
From Steve Jobs' speech, there is a sentence:

  It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms.

What does "It wasn't all romantic" mean? Does it mean "there is no romance at all", or "partially romantic, partially not"?


texts: About the use of "still" in this context

texts:
The following text is an excerpt from this article (the last paragraph) :

  But the dyspeptic diatribes came in spurts, and the president whipsawed between frustration and freewheeling meetings and golf outings, including one on Saturday with the president of the P.G.A. and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to two people familiar with his playing partners. Still, Mr. Trump was frustrated by the news media’s coverage of his rally in New Hampshire. He repeatedly complained about misleading pictures of empty seats, or that attendance at the arena had beat Elton John’s record crowd there, but no one was covering it.

I don't think the adverb still here expresses opposition nor does it express continuity, so what is its meaning then in this context?


texts: Can the indefinite article be omitted in "watch solar eclipse"?

texts:
I have read the following passage, and I wonder whether watch solar eclipse is correct.

  On July 22, 2009, there was solar eclipse in the sky. In the morning, we got up early. After we had breakfast, my Father told me to take sunglasses to watch solar eclipse on the playground. Many people arrived there early because it appears every 500 years. At about 9:00 am. We saw the bright sky became gray. It also became much colder. After a while, the sky was bright again. We are lucky to watch solar eclipse.


texts: What is the meaning of phrase 'Let there be light, let there be life'

texts:
What is the meaning of given phrase, I have listen this in one movie. I am not able to make out. Can anybody tell me

  Let there be light, let there be life


texts: Asking about position of an element in an order

texts:
Suppose we have a sequence of elements, for example of fruits on a shelf. Let's say I want to ask about the position of the apple in the sequence. The answer, of course, is an (ordinal) number. But what is the question I should use?

I construct tables with data and often there's a name of an element in one column and in the other column there's the ordinal number of the element. The column has got its name. Its name should be short and clear. A short question which the value (the ordinal number) responds to would be a proper name.

I have an impression that the name "Which" sounds bad because "which?" is a question one would ask if there was a small set of possible answers (for example "red, blue, green" or "first, second, third"). Here the ordinal number might be much bigger. "WhichOne" sounds like the better version of "Which", but still having the same problem. "WhichNumber" sounds extremely childish and in fact the answer to the question "Which number?" should be a (regular) number, not an ordinal number. "WhichInTheOrder" doesn't sound bad to me but I'm not sure if a native speaker would ask a question like "Which in the order is the apple?".

What would be the correct and specific question to ask in order to receive an answer like "The apple is 10th".?


texts: Is it ok to follow up a that clause with another that clause?

texts:
I am wondering if it's grammatical to follow up a "that clause" with another "that clause".

Here's an example:

  There's this rumor that has been making the round lately, namely, that
  you are cheating your wife.

Is the above ok even if we remove "namely"? Do we need to put a comma after "lately"? Is this a common sentence structure? What would you call such a sentence structure?


texts: How should be the order of perfect tense in "what" questions?

texts:
I am confused about order in the following sentences. Which one is correct?

  What changes you have made?

or

  What changes have you made?


texts:
Can word 'stagnation' mean state of not moving physicaly (by a person)?

English is not my main language and I couldn't find the right answer.

Thanks


texts:
I have come accross a very strange use of the verb "to be committed". It's from the Curious Savage:

DR. EMMETT. How could they possibly have believed you?

MRS. SAVAGE. They should be committed, shouldn't they?

What does the "they should be committed" sentence mean? Does it mean "it's them who should be placed in the "mad house""?

Thanks.


texts:
After Miss Tyson, Mr. Brundage, and Mr. Bartlett had been fired and Mr. Munson had taken his hat and stalked out, mailing in his resignation later, old Roberts had been emboldened to speak to Mr. Fitweiler. He mentioned that Mr. Munson's department had been "a little disrupted" and hadn't they perhaps better resume the old system there? Mr. Fitweiler had said certainly not. He had the greatest faith in Mrs. Barrows' ideas. "They require a little seasoning, a little seasoning, is all," he had added.

What does seasoning mean here? I am sure it is not referring to spices used in cooking!

What does they need a little seasoning mean?

For context


texts: Is it okay to use Capital letters for H F D in "Happy Friendship Day"

texts: While writing Happy Friendship Day is it okay to use H F and D as capital letters ?


texts:
From the song American Pie by Don McLean:

  I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
  With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
  But I knew I was out of luck
  The day the music died
  I started singin'

Could you please tell me what broncin' buck means?


texts:
Are these affirmations correct ?

I have a diploma in speaking english.
I have a diploma/degree in nursing.


texts:
I was pretty clear about Gerunds. But following two examples make me confused.

  he had a newspaper empire backing him

This example is from google translator https://translate.google.co.in/?um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&client=tw-ob#auto/en/back . They say "backing" is verb here. But i think "backing" is used here as a gerund(noun).

Another example

  I’ve been dreaming of summer all winter long

This example is from http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/nouns/gerunds/ (at the bottom). They say "dreaming" is gerund here. But i think it is a verb.

So are these examples are wrong  or am  I  missing something ?


texts: Can a participle phrase modify a whole sentence or clause?Or they have to stick to a specific word or phrase?

texts:
This is what my friend asked me and he gave out the following examples:

  Facebook's new feature translates your post into different languages depending on who's reading it.
  Depending on what Duncan decides, Pau Gasol could be the answer for the Spurs.
  Kremlin: Russia will ease sanctions on Turkey depending on talks outcome

Now I know that you are supposed to use the present participle form here, any other form just sound strange, but the thing is, I don't know how to explain the word placement, because that phrase is so commonly used, we sort of using it without questioning its property. So is the phrase depending on modify and if it modify a whole sentence, what should we called it and why must it be in the present participle form, grammatically speaking of course.

And correct me if I'm wrong but on the following phrase:

  If viewed from the distance, the mountain is beautiful.

The subject of the first clause is also mountain, right?


texts: What is the meaning of "Colin made him mine"?

texts:
Cora changed the tune made by Sophie and Alex,
so Sophie didn't like it and Alex convincing Sophie
for not to interrupt Cora's decision. Colin is Cora's
friend.

  Because behind all her Buddhism-in-a-thong philosophy  what she cares
  about is seats filled and units sold.  Nothing's gonna make her your
  pal any more than years with Colin made him mine.


texts: Checking the grammaticality "bound to make mistake"

texts:
Could you please tell me if there is an error in this sentence?

  Unless you are careful, you are bound to make mistake in your work.

The book offers:

  (a) Unless you are careful,
  (b) you are bound to make mistake
  (c) in your work.
  (d) No error.


texts: Why is damn a swear word while dang and darn aren't?

texts: I want to know that why is damn considered a swear word while dang and darn are never considered swear words.


texts: How to change a declarative sentence with 'a lot' info na exclamative one?

texts:
I struggle with the transformation of a declarative sentence with "a lot" into exclamative. I am familiar with the rule but I am not sure in this specific case:

  He talks a lot.

will be

  How lot he talks!

or

  What a lot he talks!

I am inclining to the first option since "a lot" is an adver, but the indefinite article is kind of confusing.

Thanks a lot!


texts: Which is better "drive to do" vs "drive in doing"

texts:
Which is better?

to drive to do: "he was driven to choose quickly"
to drive in doing: "he was driven in choosing quickly"


texts:
Why do people use "of" in some phrases, like this one:

  •"These are the contacts of my dad"

And not

  •"These are my dad's contacts"

I've seen sentences like the first-one so often.


texts: "Listen to his parents argue" vs. "listen to his parents arguing."

texts:
Example sentence:

Now and then he'd press his ear against the door and listen to his parents argue/arguing in the hallway.

Do the two options have the same meaning? Or they mean slightly different things?


texts: Phrases to introduce an answer to a question?

texts:
What are some ways to offer a solution or answer to a question? For example, "Try this" or "How (or what?) about this".

I'm looking for some other idiomatic expressions in English that could be used when presenting an answer to a question (for example, on Stack Overflow).


texts: I have a male cousin. What does my son call him? An Uncle?

texts:
Uncle: the brother of your mother or father; the husband of your aunt

  aunt: the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle

  brother: a boy or man who has the same mother and father as another person

  sister: a girl or woman who has the same mother and father as another person

Say I have a sister and my son calls her "aunt", for example, "Aunt Mary"

I have many cousins, too. They are children of my father's brothers or sisters.

What does my son call my cousins? "Uncle Tom" etc?

I am confused.


texts:
It is a mathematical paper. There are many terms in a series, and the 2nd term is special and has to be treated specially.

How to phrase it?

'to treat the 2nd term individually'?


texts: (have a commitment) or (have another commitment)

texts:
I have made up the examples below.
(1) Sorry, I can't fix your computer next week because I have a commitment.
(2) Sorry, I can't fix your computer next week because I have another commitment.
Which one is correct: "a" or "another" commitment?


texts: What does it mean to "stock the campfire"?

texts:
I heard in a movie description:

  Worm-like grubs writhe in a pot, as Edy stocks the campfire with a stick.

The scene shows a man, Edy, using a stick to stir a campfire. Does the verb stock have the meaning of "stir"? Or does it refer to a different action? I am putting the audio clip here for reference (uploaded to Clyp, an audio sharing site).


texts:
My computer was delivered with the screen broken.

  My computer was delivered in a broken-screened state.

What I want to say is first sentence . Today an english teacher told me that second sentence is grammatical and has same meaning as the firs one but it is not natural and is very odd. I wonder if he is right . He told me that it is used like “ blue-eyed” , blue-eyed is adjective then broken-screened is an adjective.


texts: A sentence in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE chapter 35

texts:
I am perplexed by this sentence in the book, because at least in my opinion,  “was” and "obtruded" here are in conficlt. Also I think the right usage should be "he obtruded on my notice again most painfully"; or regardless of the context, in correct grammar, it may also be put as "he was again most painfully obtruding on my notice". Am I right? I beg your answer and explanation.

  His resentment was in proportion to the distress of his
  circumstances--and he was doubtless as violent in his abuse of me to
  others as in his reproaches to myself. After this period every
  appearance of acquaintance was dropped. How he lived I know not. But
  last summer he was again most painfully obtruded on my notice."I
  must now mention a circumstance which I would wish to forget myself,
  and which no obligation less than the present should induce me to
  unfold to any human being. Having said thus much, I feel no doubt of
  your secrecy.


texts: What does it mean "Not with that attitude they don't"?

texts:
I don't understand about "Not with that attitude they don't".
Shouldn't "Not with that attitude" follow by "they do"?
In my understanding, "Not with that attitude they do" means "If they don't have that attitude, they do succeed".
But people are using negative term "they don't/can't/won't" following "Not with that attitude", is that because of grammar?


texts:
least is superlative of little.

But I'm not sure if it means the same here or not:

  Sergeant Margaret Sorensen, fortyish, stocky, blond hair going gray,
  always an early riser, is enjoying her Sunday morning coffee at home
  in her favorite,
  least flattering flannel pajamas when she gets a call from one of the officers at the station.

So could you help me please?


texts:
Context: A burglar has cut the phone line of a house. Inside the house a woman was talking on a landline phone when the line was cut.
Then -
The woman tries to dial again, but the phone is dead.
Is this correct and logically phrased in the context?


texts:
I would like to say that "A" does "B" in the same way as "C" does "B". Can I directly say:

  As "C" does "B", "A" does "B".

It looks a little strange to me, since the "as" may mean "when" here.


texts: Should I hear be able to a difference in pronunciation between "or" and "all", and if so, what is it?

texts:
I’m not a native speaker of English; I’m Vietnamese. When I listen to a voice sample of or vs all, I can’t hear any difference between those two words.

Do they really have the same pronunciation? If so, does this happen everywhere? How can native speakers hear them as different words? Please clarify.


texts:
Something confused me a lot about relative clause. For example, If I say

  The book of the writer that I like is one of the bestsellers.

What I want to emphasize here that the book of the writer is what I like not writer so is this usage ok ? I mean it sounds to me as if the liked thing is writer here not book.

I just made the sentence up to explain what confuses me.I hope I could explain what I mean.


texts: 'My brother and his fiancee had been together for two years.' Why 'had been' not 'have been'?

texts:
The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one event happened before another in the past. Ok, that's good.

So in this sentence 'my brother and his fiancee had been together for two years.' why 'had been' is used not 'have been'? I think 'have been' is more natural. Sometimes it is difficult for non-native speaker to understand past perfect. So, why does the author use 'had been' not 'have been'?


texts: What is the meaning of "is out cleaning houses, trying to make a fortune"?

texts:
What is the meaning of "is out cleaning houses, trying to make a fortune" in the following sentences(Source: Keeping House illustrated by WENDY SMITH ),

  "I am quite worn out," she told the cat and the parrot one day. "The
  house is so topsy-turvy that I have decided to send for Robin
  Puckertucker, the Wonder HouseKeeper."

  She looked up the number and telephoned immediately. "This is a
  recorded message," said a voice. "Robin Puckertucker
  is out cleaning houses, trying to make a fortune. Please leave your name and address when you hear the tone and Robin will rush round
  early tomorrow morning. And please make sure you don't spoil things by
  trying to tidy up yourself!"

?

Does "Robin Puckertucker is out cleaning houses, trying to make a fortune" mean "Robin Puckertucker is out. and he is cleaning houses. and he is trying to make money" ?

Does "Please make sure you don't spoil things by trying to tidy up yourself!
" mean "Do not just try to clean yourself, but also clean things" or "Do not try to clean things by yourself, but let Robin clean it up"?


texts: Is the phrase «as general an answer as possible» correct?

texts:
Is it correct to say:

  It would be nice to have as general an answer as possible.

I'm not sure... I think I've read similar sentences, if I'm not mistaken.

Any help would be appreciated.


texts:
In a museum I saw this sentence, I was a bit surprised

  By the time the letter was posted, the children were already dead.

Is it correct? I would write The children had been dead.

What is the difference between these two apart tenses used?


texts: Is this "either or" the same as "whether or?

texts:
Without intelligence, either one's own or another's, true life is impossible.Source

either ones own or another's is the same as "whether one's own or another's?


texts:
I thinks these are common expressions.

  Lead with an impressive accomplishment.

  Start with a belief statement

I cannot tell the difference between both. are "lead with" and "start with" exchangeable?


texts: What does this use of "tingling" meaning?

texts:
I'm having trouble understanding a use of the word "tingling". I heard "my throat is tingling" is feeling numb sensation when my American husband caught a cold.

But in my language (Japanese), we don't say feeling numb for throat.  We feel stinging feeling like tiny needles into throat (we say it chikuchiku) or throat feel igaiga which means throat is rough by inflammation and when you swallow, you feel stinging sensation. But my husband says tingling throat is really feels like numb, no feeling of throat. Is that called "tingling"?

Also I checked the definition:

  "what is tingle: to have a feeling as if a lot of sharp points are being put quickly and lightly into your body"
  "experience or cause to experience a slight prickling or stinging sensation."

But it's very unclear for me because I found these sentences:

  "That face lotion makes my skin tingle."
  "My fingers and toes are tingling with the cold."

But seems all different sensation.

We don't say something like stinging sensation for lotion didn't good for us. We feel like hurt by burning sensation, electronic sensation.
and when we feel hand get so cold and hurt, we express it hirihiri which is like burning hurt sensation by cold weather.

And seems like tingling is used for pins and needles (paraesthesia) in legs or hands. But it's like no feeling for hands, legs and feeling electronic sensation and if people feel it in legs, hard to walk or can't stand up.
Sounds so different to stinging, pricking sensation :(

So I'm having trouble understanding this.
Tingling is only used for numb, stinging sensation?!
I'm feeling like we feel different sensation by culture.
Or just English isn't clear and using "tingling" in many situations?


texts:
You have one red pepper and one green pepper. Would the following phrase be correct to express this?

  Red and green peppers.


texts:
I wrote:

   Many non-ferrous metallic alloys contain this element: bronze, brass,
  etc.

But teacher said:

   Many non-ferrous metallic alloys contain these elements: bronze,
  brass, etc.

But why?

Context is:

  Copper is a ductile, malleable metal with a very high thermal and
  electrical conductivity. Many non-ferrous metallic alloys contain this
  element: bronze, brass, etc.


texts: Does "feeling hurt" always imply "hurt by someone"?

texts:
From a psychiatric questionnaire:

What sort of things do you do if you are feeling sad, angry, or hurt?

Does "feeling hurt" here implies "your feelings have been hurt by someone", or can it imply "feeling hurt" for a reason not related to any actions of another person?
I'm translating this questionnaire into Russian and in Russian there is a way to translate this as "hurt by somebody" (insulted) or just "feeling pain in one's soul" (could be not related to any actions of other persons).


texts: What does "Therapist and client relationship" mean?

texts:
What does "therapist and client relationship" mean? And is there a short description for it or synonym?

B:‘’My  mother  mentioned you, often.’’
A: ‘’Strange,  she  never mentioned  you  to me.’’
B: ‘’You asked no questions  of her?’’
A: ‘’Not  really.  She  has  always  been  warm  and  inviting  with  me. Always  attentive  to  my  needs.  But,  she  always  held  herself rather… how  should  I  put  it?  Secretly…  yes,  I  always  felt  that  she  wanted  to keep  herself private.’’
B: "Sounds like a therapist and client relationship."


texts: My school teacher said that "Could I go?" is more polite than "Can I go?" but according to me "Could I go?" can not be used interchangeably but should be used as to infer that if I was allowed to go at that time?


texts:
Let me check your ‘follower’ list.
Let me check your ‘followers’ list.

Follower list or followers list, which one is correct here?


texts: Do I need "it" in the following sentence?

texts:
Vegetables and beer wasn't a typical mix. But one Tom enjoyed (it)
  because half of it came from his wife's hands.

Why or why not?


texts:
You have just had dinner. You can't be hungry now.
can we use couldn't in this sentence instead of can't?


texts: prepositions at the end of What and Which/that clauses

texts:
I don't understand why these clauses led by what or that/which end with prepositions, why do we need a preposition at the end and what are the grammar rules.

What clauses:

  We took an interest in what they are having a discussion about.

  We don't understand what he is interested in.

That/which clauses:

  The employee doesn't know the tasks which he is assigned to.

  He drew a picture which students are afraid of on the wall.

  This is the friend he can't stop talking about.

Are the sentences still correct if theose prepositions are omitted?


texts:
On stackoverflow.com I found 583 occurrences of "enamored with" and 209 occurrences of "enamored of".

Does this mean that "enamored" take normally the preposition "with"—or, both prepositions, "with" and "of", are correct and there is no matter?


texts:
I am wondering, can 'fluctuation' be mentioned in a bar chart like this:

  the bar chart depicts the fluctuation of the number of pets per certain category.


texts:
During a discussion, people were criticizing the teen singer Justin Bieber of his poor style of dress on one of his photos wearing an outfit that included a drop crotch pants. Someone then mentioned about his roomate who wears the same style of pants, he said:

  My roomie has like 4 pairs of rick owens drop crotches.

Another person replied:

  That's pretty ballin but I just can't get behind the drop crotch look.

What does get behind mean? Does it mean giving support to or approval of somebody/something?


texts:
What does one mean in this context?

  We have travel brochures for ten different destinations

  Feel free to take one

Does it mean:

You can take one brochure
You can take as many brochures as you want of one type
You can take as many brochures as you want of all types


texts: "Something, and since then, something else." - can "and" be in or out of the subclause constituents delimited by commas?

texts:
Elsewhere someone asked a question about the following sentence:

  [I] - I ate the pie, and since then, I have had a stomach ache.

Please consider the following variation (comma placement):

  [II] - I ate the pie and, since then, I have had a stomach ache.

In example I, what is the rationale for having a comma before the "and"?
Does example II make sense for the native speaker, and, if so, does the meaning differ from I?
Does the grammatical function of what's enclosed with the commas vary between I and II; is what's left, when we remove both the commas and what's inside, a consideration in that respect?

I have taken a look at the CGEL. First I identified that you can have "since" alone with the meaning of "since then" for instance "...ever since"; but this is in the context of the realisation of terminal-point duration elements with adjuncts to clauses (chapter 8, p.708). Chapter 20 deals with Punctuation per se; I acknowledge the potential for variation. I'm trying to understand why you would(n't) include "and" in the subclausal constituents (p.1745) when using heavy-styled punctuation (p. 1727). Where I'm coming from, I'm thinking "if there was just 'and', and no 'since then', this would be more complete a sentence than the two parts marked with a single comma because is that even a sentence at all?" or... "why would you take a break in speech after the pie if you don't give a clue to introducing anything else; then shouldn't that pause be a period instead?". It's all very naive thinking, as I have no command whatsoever of formal grammar. I have asked questions accordingly.


texts: How to remove ambiguity in "You must purchase A that optionally includes B, C, and D."?

texts:
The following sentence, in my opinion, is ambiguous.

  You must purchase A that optionally includes B, C, and D.

The meaning can be one of the following.

  You must purchase A, C, and D. A optionally includes B.

or

  You must purchase A. It optionally includes B, C, and D.

Question

How to remove ambiguity from the main sentence only by rewording it with a single sentence such that the reworded sentence means the first meaning? With the same constraint, how to make it means the second meaning?


texts:
I'd like to know how exactly 'infinitive' modifies a noun.

  I suggest you write out the speech you will be giving at the conference and practice it as many times as possible. When you think you're ready, gather up some people to listen to your speech, so you can have a rehearsal before the conference starts.

what's the meaning of people to listen to your speech?

(a) people who is willing to listen to your speech.

(b) people who is able to listen to your speech.

  If you need anyone to talk with about this matter, just remember that I'm always here.

what's the meaning of anyone to talk with about this matter?

(c) anyone who is willing to talk with you about this matter.

(d) anyone that you can talk with about this matter.

I don't think there's an answer among abcd, so please let me know know to transform it to a relative clause.


texts: "Only a little money I have", "Only a little money do I have"

texts:
Those sentences which start with negative words other than subjects are inverted. For example:

  Little did I dream it.

But how about only a little/few? Do they work like little or few?


texts:
I came across this from a speech transcript:

  When we were on the boat, we were hoping to see some dolphins.  We
  were unlucky on the two days we went, but we did get to see some eagles flying close to land.

Question：

If here "the two days" is seen as a longer period of time than a particular day, shouldn't "in/over/during/etc" have been used?

Or is "the two days" two particular days in the speaker's mind? In that sense, has the defining clause "we went" got something to do with it?


texts: Is this sentence correct in the context of grammar (Present Perfect, Past Perfect)?

texts:
A: Do you know this man?

  B: Yes, I'd seen him before war, but I haven't seen him since that
  time.


texts: When is suitable to use present simple / present progressive in the next context?

texts:
When is correct to use structure no. 1, and when is suitable to use structure no. 2?

  Which city do you live in?
  Which city are you living in?


texts:
Pleasure: feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.
enter link description here
Can satisfaction feel happy?


texts: if it weren't for vs. hadn't it been for

texts:
I encountered two sentences that went like this:

If it weren't for the New Critics, none of you probably would have been able to sit patiently through any of your middle or high school English classes.
If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive today.

Why did the first speaker use 'would have been' and the latter 'wouldn't be'? Could somebody please kindly elaborate on usage of the conditional clause?


texts:
If I ask someone this question:

What have you been doing in the last two hours?

is it the same if I asked: What were you doing two hours ago?

If it is different, what is the difference can you explain?

Thanks


texts: What's the grammar of "was as far as ever from realizing his dream of an independent Italian kingdom"?

texts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Julius_II#League_of_Cambrai_and_Holy_League

The sentence is:

  Although Julius had securely established papal authority in the region immediately around Rome was as far as ever from realizing his dream of an independent Italian kingdom.

I add a related question:

Is it necessary or better to exchange the positions of the noun ("Julius") and the pronoun ("he"), so that the noun is in the main clause?

"Although he had securely established papal authority in the region immediately around Rome, Julius was as far as ever from realizing his dream of an independent Italian kingdom."

How to arrange the noun and its pronouns in a sentence?


texts: The most suitable polite greeting (Hello/Good day/?)

texts:
Which way is the most appropriate, to greet a person in the letter? I'm writing him for the first time and appeal to him to ask for advice.

  Hello Username!
  Good day, Username!
  Another wording?

Thank you in advance!


texts:
I read a sentence:

  The overarching principles that drive my approach to everything are laid out in Life Principles. In this section, I explain my principles in greater depth and show how they apply in the natural world, in our private lives and relationships, in business and policymaking, and of course at Bridgewater.

I understand 'Drive' is a metaphor here.
Could it be substitute with an alternative appropriate word?


texts: Is 'also' necessary in "not only... but also..." structures?

texts:
The car not only is economical but also feels good to drive.
I identified with Rowan Atkinson not only as an actor but also as a person.

Yes, both sentences, as they stand, are perfectly acceptable English, but I wonder if one can correctly rewrite them without the word also. If not, why not?


texts:
The Weekend is singing

MAYBE YOU CAN SHOW ME HOW TO LOVE

where "HOW TO LOVE" sounds like /haʊdʌv/.
Do Americans usually pronounce "HOW TO LOVE" /haʊdʌv/?


texts: there aren't many opportunities when/where/that I can practice my English

texts:
I am wondering which is the correct form for this sentence

  There aren't many opportunities when/where/that I can practice my English.

plus, if I want to express I don't have lots time or chances to speak English in my daily life, what are some other ways to express this?


texts:
Langdon had been standing inside the men's room refusing to run from a crime he didn't commit, when Sophie began eyeing the plate glass window and examine the alarm mesh running through it.  Then she peered downward into the street, as if measuring the drop.

This is from the book The Da Vinci  Code.  I don't know what "alarm mesh" is.  Can someone help me to understand it?


texts:
I was just wondering how can I decline a help offer politely from someone whom especially I don't know very well.

For example, I am moving in a new house and a neighbor sees me carrying boxes and says Do you need help? or I can give you a hand if you want.

Another example , you are alone and while you are strolling in public like shopping center or park, you feel dizzy and sit down in a collapsed manner and suddenly someone approaches you and says Are you ok? Would you want me to call one of your friends? but you feel better and want to decline the help offer.

So can I say  Thank you for your interest as the reply in the above 2 scenarios?


texts:
Look at the lines under the point "Health Concerns". In this line there is a line which reads

  Health concerns

  "A health survey was conducted with the local people... it found that diseases like cholera, dysentery, and skin disease were predominant in the post-Ganga Sagar Mela period," observed a paper titled [...]

It is an news article published by an eminent newspaper. My question is should it not be like this?

  "it is found that diseases like cholera,dysentery, and skin disease were predominant in the post Ganga Sagar Mela period"


texts:
Wine is made from grapes.
  That bridge is made of steel.

A Korean dictionary says that 1’s ‘from’ is used because of the change of the property from grapes to wine, and there is not the change in 2 they use ‘of.' But is it really right?  I have these cases below from Webster’s Learner’s and COCA.

  a doll made from cloth  (Webster)
  The outsole is made from rubber originally designed to prevent chefs from falling on greasy kitchen floors.  (COCA)

I think from the cases that ‘from’ are used for both cases in property change and not. This is my question: In the following sentence, “I made this bag from my old jeans”, can you use ‘from’ or 'of'? Or do you use only ‘of’?


texts:
Just a little simplified version

  Cheap soft-porn magazines were clipped with clothes pegs to ropes that hung from the ceiling.

This part "clothes pegs to ropes" bugs me.i get the idea that author wants to convey or do I? Clothes were on the pegs which were in turn attached to the ropes. TIA


texts:
I am confused about the use of "to + infinitive"  and "to + 'gerund' "

Eg.

1 Yesterday I went to study.

2 Yesterday I went to studying.

Is either incorrect or less preferable?


texts: How does the word "ever" change the meaning of these sentences?

texts:
Please teach me the difference that the word ever makes in below-mentioned sentences.

Nobody speaks with me.
Nobody ever speaks with me.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is it correct to say "don't pull out your hangnail/ dead skin" or "don't pull off your hangnail/ dead skin"?

texts:
The first 2 pictures show hangnails and the 3rd picture show dead skin.
I think people say "to pull out hairs" (source from dictionary) because a hair has its root (maybe about 1 or 2% of the hair length) plucked in the skin of our head. Because it is  "in", so we pull it "out".
But do we say "pull out the hangnail/ dead skin" or "pull off the hangnail/ dead skin"?
For example, "don't pull out/off your hangnail/ dead skin because you might get your finger bleeding. Leave it alone."
Also we have the structure "get somebody/something + adj." (meaning, to reach a particular state or condition; to make somebody/something/yourself reach a particular state or condition) (1)
For example, "He got his fingers caught in the door."
And the structure "get somebody/something to do something" and "get somebody/something doing something" (meaning,  to make, persuade, etc. somebody/something to do something) (2)
For example, "I finally got Michael to talk" and "It's not hard to get him talking".
Is "you might get your finger bleeding" a correct expression?
If it is, then which one (1 or 2), does it fall into?
I am not sure if the present participle "bleeding" an adjective.
Do we say "you might get your finger to bleed"?


texts: The meaning of the bold part in the text?

texts:
Trump insisted h.i s inaugural crowd was the biggest in history, even
  in the fa e of clear photographic evidence that it wasn't; his
  then-spokesman Sean Spicer reinterpreted "crowd size" to really mean
  "audience around the globe"; when that did not help, Trump's
  counsellor Kellyanne Conway coined the now infamous phrase
  "alternative facts". T his was widely mocked as implying that, when
  reality renders your lies "fake news", you can simply move to an
  "alternative reality" where your assertions are true. Since then,
  members of the "reality-based community" -- to use a phrase that originated from the Bush administration -- have been treated to a spectacular series of claims, retractions aml denials, most recently culminating in Rudy Giuliani's pithy, if utterly confused, pronouncement that "truth isn't truth".

"pithy" seems to have a positive meaning; it means a thoughtful statement. But then what is the meaning of "if utterly confused"?


texts: Is it possible to use Bare Infinitive for verb 'order' insted of using 'order to'?

texts:
I found the following sentence,

  If the number differs, the PCI bus orders the packet be re-sent.

Why the sentence above is not

  ...the PCI bus orders the packet to be re-sent.?
  or
  ...the PCI bus orders the packet re-sent.?

Is it possible for the verb 'order' to use the bare infinitive (i.e. 'be', )?

Thank you in advance.


texts: `This cup hadn't been drunk out of for...` vs `This cup wasn't being drunk out of for...`

texts:
Is sentence "This cup hadn't been drunk out of for twenty years precisely since its owner was exiled to Siberia." right?

I suppose no because it's not about up until point in past.

I think the right form is "This cup wasn't being drunk out of for twenty years precisely since its owner was exiled to Siberia."


texts: What does "Unaware of its limitations, it flies anyway" mean here?

texts:
I guess there is some irony in the sentence in bold. Can somebody explain it for me, please?

  Failure recedes and obstacles disappear in the “you can do it” spirit of the company symbol, the bumblebee—a creature that, according to mythical aerodynamics experts, should not be able to fly. Unaware of its limitations, it flies anyway. —Source


texts: What does "cocktail" mean in this context?

texts:
I tried to guess what the author means here but I couldn't still get it.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cocktail

"The combination in Denmark of stricter liquidity rules and negative rates that most economists predict will last into 2019 are proving a challenging cocktail for the country’s banks. But Danske has shown that lenders can still perform very well in such an environment. It delivered record profits in 2016 and its shares have gained about 16 percent this year, compared with the roughly 10 percent increase in European financial stocks."

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-14/danske-tells-biggest-clients-it-doesn-t-want-all-their-deposits


texts: Cloze test : parallel structure with and

texts:
67).
 I don’t understand why we cannot add noun because there is already verb “ could be “
And I just think that ‘5)you’ve been friends...’ doesn’t sound correct to me.

Thank you in advance


texts:
Move this axis down approximately 3 inches (until it is sitting on the
  shocks).

What does "sitting on the shocks" mean? Does this mean "move this axis until it hits something (maybe bottom?)"?

This sentence is from a manual on how to set up a machine. I couldn't find online version of this.


texts:
For your perusal and evaluation, I have enclosed my curriculum vitae for further information.

My main problem with this sentence is the double usage of the word for. My idea was to replace it with with, would that be better?

Just clarifying: This is at the end of paragraph in which I describe my skills and such.


texts:
What's the correct construction?

Example sentence:

  A bear! Better not (to) move or it would devour her.

Should the to be there? Why or why not?


texts: Is it correct to say 'I have been waiting for you for an hour, and I am leaving now'?

texts:
I am pretty sure this statement is wrong, and I'd better use 'have waited for you for an hour', that is I got annoyed and now I am determined to leave.
But, please dispel my doubts whether this may be true in any other context.
I am just asking because in our mother toungue we can express the idea both ways. Though 'have waited' is most likely, is it yet possible to say the above if a speaker means he is about the point of getting annoyed and to leave?


texts:
What's the difference between "try something" and "try something out"?

I read them in the following context and did not find any difference between them:

  "That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on
  the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon
  heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a
  wave."
  Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr.
  Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.
  "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try --"
  Harry tried -- but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was
  snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.
  "No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy.
  Go on, go on, try it out."
  Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting
  for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the
  spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the
  shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

My intended meanings of "try" and "try out" (by Oxford):

  try: 1.1 [with object] Use, test, or do (something new or different) in order to see if it is suitable, effective, or pleasant.

  try something out: Test someone or something new or different to assess their suitability or effectiveness.


texts: When the verb an adverb describes is far away, what should I do?

texts:
On my another post (The word "who" is pronounced /hju/, is that some kind of accent?) I said

  I carefully listened to the pronunciation of who on Cambridge Dictionary

where I put carefully between subject and main verb, which is abnormal and that's what I am worried about.

Usually, people say "listen carefully"(15 hits on ELL). But for the quoted sentence, that would be

  I listened to the pronunciation of who on Cambridge Dictionary carefully.

a bit far from "listened", the word carefully describes.

What should I do?

similar situation would be

  He answered all the questions proposed by a line of examiners correctly.


texts: How do you use the expression 'under the weight (of)'?

texts:
Did I use it correctly?

The suspect finally came clean with the interrogator under the weight of presented evidence.

If not or if it doesn't sound natural, what would you use instead of the bold text?


texts: Tenses after "when," "if," "before," "after," and "as soon as"

texts: What tenses should I use after these adverbs, Present Simple or Present Perfect? Is it possible to use the Future Simple?


texts: "He's finally joined to the gym" or "He's finally joined the gym"

texts:
Which is the correct sentence, and why?

  He's finally joined to the gym

or

  He's finally joined the gym

If it's the second one, why can't I use "to" after "joined"?


texts: Helicopter with Mary on board/onboard/aboard

texts:
The helicopter with Mary on board/onboard/aboard took off.

I have seen all three used. Are they all correct?
Examples taken from Google:
Military helicopter with 3 on board goes missing in Vietnam
Army helicopter with 8 onboard makes emergency landing
A firefighting helicopter with seven people aboard crashed Friday


texts: What is the subject of "But to start it probably helps to have an understanding of what a 404 page actually is."?

texts:
If this sentence is correct, so what is subject?

  But to start it probably helps to have an understanding of what a 404 page actually is.

I think the subject is "To start it probably".


texts: Why do we need 'the' in front of the grammar word?

texts:
the indefinite article

  the gerund

  the past participle

I've always thought that 'the' is placed when you're talking about something specific. But I see people usually say with 'the' even though you're discussing something general, such as

  In English grammar, the past participle refers to an action that was started and completed entirely in the past.

Why is that so?


texts: How to express working shifts in perfect English

texts:
Suppose we want to work in day shift for two days. How will you express it in correct English? Can I say:

  We will be working in day shift for two days (Monday and Tuesday).

Would that be perfect English?


texts: Is it correct to say "a coil is made of many loops"?

texts:
loop 1 /luːp/ ●●○ noun [countable]
1 SHAPE OR LINE a shape like a curve or a circle made by a line
curving back towards itself, or a piece of wire, string etc that has
this shape
loop of wire/rope/string etc
A loop of wire held the gate shut.
belt loop (=a loop of material for holding a belt on trousers etc)

I am not sure if "a coil is made of many loops".
If it were, would it be correct to say "I looped the rope around the stick several times to form a coil" or "I coiled the rope around the stick into several loops"?
Also, I am quite confused about the differences between "to coil", "to wind", "to twist", and "to loop"?


texts: Is it correct? "in a small hole on one of the Baker Street sidewalks"

texts:
I want to say, Ray lived in a small hole. the hole is on a sidewalk. and the sidewalk location is Baker Street.

Is the following correct? are the prepositions (in & on) correct?

  The mouse lived in a small hole on one of the Baker Street sidewalks.

I imagine it as something like this


texts:
It's a quote from the drama Manifest

  -They've got an ECT team on site. They're canvassing the neighborhood.

  -They'll focus on the family first. Monitor the situation and report back.

There was a little boyo got missing and the police sent an ECT team to look around the neighborhood.

I checked ECT online and got the answer Electroconvulsive therapy ... Is that the meaning here? Cause I don't think it's some kind of medical team here.


texts:
For example,

How would I know her age without asking?

How can I know her age without asking?

Are these sentences both correct grammatically ? If so,  do they have same meaning? If so, which one is more common?


texts:
Is "how to" in these context(questions) correct?

How to go to {somewhere}?

How do you/I go {somewhere}?

How to get {something}?

How do you/I get {something}?

And what about "what to"

What to do in {some certain situation}?

What do you/I do in {some certain situation}?

What to do?

What do I do?

Are these correct or not.
Could help me with how to use "How to" and "What to" and the rule behind these, please.


texts: When you want to take some measures in order to prevent something from happening againg

texts:
Imagine that, in a school, the principal notices that two students have had a bad fight and one of the students beat up the other one. The school's principal is talking to the other responsible individuals of the school in an emergency meeting and wants to say we have to take some measures to prevent these types of happenings from now on. He says:

  We must act in a way so that these events will never take place again
  We must act in a way so that these events will never happen again.

I have no idea if I've phrased the above examples properly and I'm not sure if they work properly to the native speakers. For me, they do, but I need a confirmation. If they don't, I would appreciate it if you could let me know how a native speaker would phrase it.


texts: Difference in usage between "to" and "for"

texts:
Is there a difference between 2 following phrases:

What running can do for your heart.
What running can do to your heart.


texts: Meaning of "Like for Like" or "Follow for Follow"?

texts:
I just joined a Facebook group called "Tech Blogger's Community".

There are two rules for Don'ts.

  Don’t:

  Post "like for like" or "follow for follow"
  Write rude comments, only constructive feedback

What do Like for Like or Follow for Follow mean in this context?


texts: Subjects and Predicative Verbs in a clause

texts:
Can you help me in locating the subject and the predicative verb of this dependent clause?

  when you read a lot and expose yourself to different types of writing


texts: Why is "I stayed playing videogames all night" wrong?

texts:
One of the definitions of the word stay is:

to continue doing something, or to continue to be in a particular state:

  stay open/closed The shops stay open until 9 o' clock.

I was talking to someone and I said "I stayed playing videogames the whole night" and the person said I was wrong. I should've said "I played video games all night". Why is "**I stayed playing" incorrect?


texts: Helping in expressing myself: "today it was the final exam"

texts: What is the right way to say in English "Today it was the final exam"? (When I googled this sentence. I've got just 1 result. So I can guess that it's not correct. Am I right? (I'm not a native English speaker as you can understand)


texts:
I hope you all can forgive me. My behavior was completely out of line. I brought some chocolates to show that I'm sorry.
Is it natural to say "to show that I'm sorry."? And could it be said in this context? Something about it sounds wrong to me, but I might be wrong.


texts:
In Russia we receieve a salary every month, not every week or something. Usually, it's not the first day of a month when we get paid, it can be every 5th or every 25th day of a month.

So, period between the first and the last day of the month is actually called “month” in English. What about period between salaries, e.g. 25th January — 25th February? Is it “accounting month”, “paying month”, “reporting month” or something?

In case you know Russian, I mean the translation of “отчетный месяц”.


texts:
How does the usage of "have had" and "had" differ?

Here is my example from my other question:

  People who have had their belongings taken will turn into miserable people.

Here are the things I seem to have gotten from StoneyB's answers:

Have had is used for one-time occurrences, but had can be used for such occurrences as well
Have or simple present is used for something more habitual

So does that mean have had and had are interchangeable?

  People who have had their belongings taken will turn into miserable people. [= "People who had their belongings taken will turn into miserable people."]

Is this assumption correct, or do they imply different meanings?

So a sentence like "people who smoke will get sick" means that a habitual smoker will get sick, but a sentence like "people who have smoked will get sick" means that if you have smoked even once in your life, you'll get sick. Is this exact?


texts:
The Astoria Ledger, from The Goonies, titled: Fratelli's at it again

What is the meaning of (they are) at it again in that context? Back at work, out of jail or another meaning?


texts: Second conditional - "If we had any questions, would it be possible to discuss them with you in a meeting?"

texts:
Is this question right?

If we had any questions, would it be possible to discuss them with you in a meeting?

My "having questions" depends on a fact that will take place in the future.


texts:
I came across a website that says past participle can also be used to replace conditional clause. For example:

  Given the choice, most people would want to choose good health over good fortune. ( If they are given the chance....)
  Looked after carefully, this coat will keep you warm through winter. ( If you look after....)
  Washed at wrong temperature, clothes can shrink. ( If clothes is washed....)

In what conditions can we use Participles in this way to shorten the sentences to make them more formal and standard in academic writing ?

Another question,
In an example sentence from an article I can see past participle 'Born' used in the sentence. Such as: Born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 13, 1865, William butler was the son of well known Irish painter, John butler Yeats.

How it's used here 'born' to replace the sentence passive voice 'was born'?


texts: How to relate "the reason for" to a sentence?

texts:
I wrote:

  The reason for the selection of 350 K was that we were interested in studying the general behavior of species present in the system and gaining a better understanding of the system's dynamics.

Sometimes, I want to mention the reason of something which could be a long sentence. I'm not sure how I should start such a sentence and how I should add my long sentence after the "reason for". For example, I've most heard "The reason for this selection was providing more ..." where the reason sentence starts with a gerund. I want to know if my sentence above where I used "was that we were..." is idiomatic or I can rephrase it with a better structure?


texts: An interpretation of "be to + infinitive" in Bertrand Russell's "The Conquest of Happiness"

texts:
I'm having trouble interpreting the following sentence from Bertrand Russell's "The Conquest of Happiness" (Chapter 1):

To prevent the perpetuation of poverty is necessary if the benefits of machine production are to accrue in any degree to those most in need of them; but what is the use of making everybody rich if the rich themselves are miserable?

I have no problem with the latter part after the semicolon and the main point is the former part before the semicolon. I couldn't understand the translations of the former part into my own language (Japanese). I hope my problem is not because of my lack of Japanese skill.
The main problem I have is probably on expressions "are to" and "if" in connection with "necessary" as I made them bold in the above quotation. I understood Russell's sentence above as follows:

From the moral point of view, poverty should be removed from our society. At the same time, removing every poverty is difficult for practical reasons, e.g. our resources are limited. However, if the benefits of machine production are possible or will be possible soon to be shared by many people (which solves the resource problem), then we should stop poverty continuing to exist (by sharing the benefits of machine production).

So my main question is whether this interpretation is correct or not. However, this main question is too unfocused, so I would like to ask the following more concrete questions:
Q1. There are several ways to interpret "be to + infinitive" such as talk about future, orders, formal instructions, official rearrangements, etc. What is the meaning of the "are to" in the above sentence of Russell? Does this "are to" mean possibility?
Q2. Which one below is the role of "if" in Russell's sentence?

This "if" gives a condition to make "To prevent the perpetuation of poverty" possible.
This "if" gives a reason to make "To prevent the perpetuation of poverty" necessary.
Others.


texts: for the comparison - basic or comparative adjective?

texts:
Suppose, If I am comparing two segments and then I want to compare their areas and need to find smaller one.

  The segment having a smaller area can then be chosen as a vehicle.

  The segment having a small area can then be chosen as a vehicle.

What would be correct? I know I should use a comparative adjective, but in this case I am confused.


texts: Catchphrases; Is it similar with colloquial expressions?

texts:
Are Catchphrases only made by a certain group in a certain area? Do people live in Southern America have different catchphrases with those live in Northern America?
May I count dunno and wazz up as catchphrases?


texts: Which is right to say: "i went home early last Friday'' or ''i came home early last Friday''?

texts:
Which is right to say when you are already home and on phone with someone?

  "I went home early last Friday''

or

  ''I came home early last Friday''


texts: Turn s something around on someone...... Is it like "turning something back on someone"?

texts:
I'm off the clock, Mr. Stock," I told him, leaning back on my chair so it balanced on two legs.

  "So? Don't you respect the place you work? Is that the kind of person you want to be?" he snapped.

  "How did he turn that around on me?" I wondered.

What does it exactly mean here? Is it something like directing the conversation towards a person?

And is it synonymous to "turn something back on someone"? (Though I guess this is used to when the answerer doesn't answer the question but flips the question back around on the questioner.)


texts: An indefinite article in the subtitle of the paper

texts:
I can find paper titles like
"(Main Title): A Case Study for California"
but also
"(Main Title): Case Study for California".
Which form of the subtitle above (with or without the indefinite article) is more appropriate. Is there any difference?


texts: What does “strapped to” mean in this sentence?

texts:
What does “strapped to” mean in the following sentence?

  This is faster than a cheetah strapped to a race car.

In the dictionary, strapped means short on money, but I could not find any relevant explanation in this context.


texts: What difference does this much make here?

texts:
You are as like him as I am like Sarah.

You are as much like him as I am like Sarah.

What is the difference in meaning?


texts: what is wrong in the sentence "i was not born for being free"?

texts:
When I'm saying the sentence

  I was not born for being free.

Can I use 'didnt' in place of "was not"?

  I did not born for being free.


texts:
I've got a piece of text:

  Mr Rigby pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was fined £1,080 and
  ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £108 and costs of £85. In
  addition to (ban/being banned) for 12 months, he was ordered to take
  an extended driving test.

Is it correct to use "ban" instead of "being banned"?


texts:
How can I complete this sentence? Which is the right verb?

I am out of the office because I'm...

-having a business trip in Venice.

-taking a business trip in Venice.

-.... .

Thank you.


texts:
Person 2 - It's late. Our meeting is at 12:20.  Person 1 - We can take
a taxi.  Person 2 - ok Person 2 - Did you like my shirt? Person 1 -
Yeah, it's exactly the same as other one. Person 2 - Same! It's
completely different! Typical man

Can you please explain the meaning of "Typical man" here?


texts: Spectators or bystanders at a public event are "in the ___"?

texts:
I do not know if it is correct or wrong to use in this sentence. I want to refer to large amount of people as viewers.

  If you were living in the middle ages, I am sure you would be the one "in the public" who threw stones at the hanging or burned bodies.


texts: What is the grammatical difference between "think" and "support"

texts:
A friend of mine is learning English. Today, while studying, we ran into a situation that I (as a native English speaker) don't know how to explain.

To think and to support are both transitive verbs. So, why do they seem to take very different objects? What's the exact grammatical term for this difference?

Wrong usages highlighted by *.

  *I think her.
  I support her.
  I think about it.
  *I support about it.
  *I think running for president.
  I support running for president.

Does think actually take a direct object? Or is there something else going on?


texts: "Windows are made of glass." Is this the Present Simple?

texts:
So, basically I was studying (am studying) about deeper understanding (in more specified manner) of English tenses and the problem occurred right at the beginning of it.

I have read somewhere that Present Simple or Simple Present is used when we talk about facts and generalizations (among others). Everything was perfectly fine until I have found this example: "Windows are made of glass".

Isn't "are"+"2. or 3.column of irregular verbs" used in some Past Tense (I don't know exactly which)? I'm a bit confused with this. Please reply :D


texts:
He left the unfinished work.

He left the work unfinished.

Other examples can be(in present participle)

He left the crying child.

He left the child crying.

What is the difference between 1 and 2 and between 3 and 4?
Participles can be both pre- modifiers and post-modifiers. But do they change the meaning when they come in different position.
What I think the difference is where the speaker want to emphasize. In the first and third sentence his emphasis is on 'Work' and 'Child' and in the second and fourth his emphasis is on 'Unfinished' and 'Crying'.


texts:
In Desperate Housewives Season 1 Episode 1, Julie (the daughter) told Susan (the mother) to ask Mike out. Susan said she didn't know if she's ready to start dating.

  SUSAN: I don't wanna talk to you about my love life anymore, it weirds me out.

  JULIE: I wouldn't have said anything. it's just...

  SUSAN: What?

  JULIE: I heard Dad's girlfriend asking if you'd dated anyone since the divorce, and Dad said he doubted it. And then both laughed!

What does the bold part mean? Is it part of 3rd conditional?


texts: Is this past tense, in fact, a past perfect

texts:
As they turned by the cross roads he thought what an appalling
  experience he had been through, and he must tell some one –– Mrs.
  Ramsay of course, for it took his breath away to think what he had
  been and done. It had been [1] far and away the worst moment of
  his life when he asked [2] Minta to marry him. He would go
  straight to Mrs. Ramsay, because he felt somehow that she was the
  person who had made him do it. (Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse)

When [1] is past perfect, why is [2] past simple? Does [2] share ‘had’ with [1]?


texts:
Good afternoon.
I once writing an exercise I found an interesting example.

I will send you the paper after I finish it.
I will send you the paper after I have finished it.

I have learnt that we usually use Present Simple in subordinate clauses as in the first statement. But than I found another example. So is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences or both of them are interchangeble? Please, explain it to me.


texts: what does "keep this up" mean in this context

texts:
I'm reading this article.

In the last part, the writer uses 'keep this up'

  I look forward to keeping this up.
  I’d love to keep this up.

What does 'keep this up' mean in this article?


texts: Is this definition of "preshipped" incorrect?

texts:
Looking at the number of tweets and followers, I had subscribed to a twitter account of 'Vocabulary Builder'. It tweets about the words and I try to learn from it.

The word it posted today is...

  Preshipped (noun) - Large vessel for navigating in water

Though the word does not seem to be popular, Collin's definition is all different for that word (And I agree with this) -

  preshipped (adjective) - relating to items sent ahead of time

Kindly clarify this to me.


texts:
Declines Vs Declineth

Somewhere I read that "decline" is just third person , but "declineth" is indicative .

Could you help me explain the difference of indicative with some examples so that I elicit the point.


texts: Third Conditional with Couldn't have done

texts:
I'm digging in past possibilities something like (could have done, might have done)
And i found out that when we use could have done, might have done there is an if-clause, explicit or implicit.
And i wonder am i understating this knowledge right?
For example :

a: I was sitting at the back of the theatre and could hear very well
b: Wow, (if i had set at the back) i couldn't have heard

If we hadn't had a good holiday it could have been better - which means, We had a really good holiday. It couldn't have been better

Sarah hasn't contacted me. She couldn't have got my message - which means, if Sarah had got message, she would have contacted him but she couldn't have got message because she was in London


texts: I didn’t get the meaning of the question “why did anyone think otherwise”?

texts:
In brief, global secularisation is not inevitable and, when it does happen, it is not caused by science. Further, when the attempt is made to use science to advance secularism, the results can damage science. The thesis that ‘science causes secularisation’ simply fails the empirical test, and enlisting science as an instrument of secularisation turns out to be poor strategy. The science and secularism pairing is so awkward that it raises the question: why did anyone think otherwise?

  (Source: https://aeon.co/ideas/why-religion-is-not-going-away-and-science-will-not-destroy-it)

What does "why did anyone think otherwise?" mean here?


texts:
Can the word "humor" be used  in the sense of "to entertain"? Dictionaries use the word " to please" as synonym.

For example:

Does the first following sentence have the same meaning the second one?

  I like to watch movies that humor me.

  I like to watch movies that entertain me/ make me laugh.


texts: “help somebody do something” vs “help do something”

texts:
Is there a difference between saying “she helped her bake” and “she helped bake”?
I tend to overthink sentences so bear with me if I sound stupid, but to me the latter sounds like she helped by baking as in she did the action by herself and that was helpful, but I don’t know if that’s how it really works.


texts:
That's what make/makes the beautiful rainbow.

When we use "That's" which goes more appropriate with verb?
In this case, "That's" with "make" or "makes"?
And why?


texts: Listening comprehension: a fighter anime

texts:
&
Hello, friends! (Not "fiends," mind you.)
I'm struggling to understand the first 30 seconds of this anime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IGBVXLfmm8&t=10s

Could anyone please listen to its first portion and correct
my dictation attempt shown below? Thank you very much for your time.

My attempt (from the 10-second to the 40-second point)

Hey! Fei Long!
Uh, man, what's this?
Nothing. Looks like fun, that's all!
Fun?
Yeah! The dragons forced a schmuck into the ring. He was dumb enough to shoot off his big mouth, you know.
Hey, I didn't say anything.
Fighters don't take smart-ass remarks selectively(???) around here, chicken!
You can pack up your words, can't you?
Ahh, that's interesting!
Maybe showbiz turned into big stuff.
But this stuff brings you back, doesn't it, huh?
Keep your eye on the new guy. He looks good!


texts: How to use "accountable" and "charged" without a human subject?

texts:
I'm doing some translation and I'm doubting between three choices in the translation:
subject: "these actions"

in the event of them being charged to Performance Department
in the event of them being accountable to Performance Department
in the event of them being accountable on Performance Department

meaning that the Performance Department will be responsible for the previously mentioned actions. All googled examples I found are always with some human being responsible for something but I don't know if I can use this structure for giving this passive structure. Or maybe I should use "charged" as alternative.
Thanks in advance


texts:
He is in danger.Tie this ribbon to his this hand for his safety.

Is it correct?


texts:
In the Good Will Hunting movie there is a quote of a professor towards his students while writing a math problem on the blackboard:

  "So please finish Percival for next time. "

You can watch it here:

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c6f097d7-aad4-4f6b-9631-77fc6ee609ea

I've searched it already. But the question is. Why should a math problem resemble a knight of the Round Table in the King Arthur legend? What's the background of this?

What's the meaning of the word Percival?


texts: What is the difference between "five days' work" and "five days' worth of work"?

texts:
What is the difference between these two constructions:

a) I've done five days' worth of work.
b) I've done five days' work.

Example (a): I've done five days' worth of work in only two days!
Example (b): Great! Thanks to you, my five days' work goes down the drain!
Do they mean the following:
a) I have done as much work as I normally do within five days' time.
b) The amount of work that I have done within five days.


texts: How do you pronounce 2'' x 9/2" x 8' (board)?

texts:
I called Home Depot to reserve some wood. This is my exact requirement: 2" x 9/2" x 8ft.

I told them over the phone many times

  "I am calling to make sure if you have four 2 inch times 9 inch divided by 2 inch times 8 feet board."

and yet they don't seem to understand, and they want me to go there and talk to them. What am I doing wrong?

How am I supposed to pronounce this so it is easy for the workers to understand?


texts:
"The dynamic development of motivation and self-efficacy in University EFL learners"

What confuses me is the prepositional phrase "in University EFL learners",

does if modify "the dynamic development" or it modifies " motivation and self-efficacy", or it can be interpreted in two ways?

I was taught that prepositional phrases normally modifies the noun in front of it, does the rule apply to this context?

Thanks for your help!


texts: Can I use realize with "just" in the present tense?

texts:
Example:

  I just realize why you hate me


texts:
How to say a sentence down in without using "know how to"?

I know how to play chess but I can't play it with you because I have to go

I want to combine two things:

1) Know how to

2) Have such a possibility

But I doubt next thing will work out:

I can play chess but I am not able to play it

Or conversely

I am able to play chess but I can't play it

The problem is, as I see, "be able to" and "can" can be understood either way. This case their combining isn't good. Otherwise it may sound like

I know how to play chess but I don't know how to play chess

or

I have a posibility to play chess but I don't have a possibility to play chess

Of course, I can try to say

I know how to play chess but I can't\ am not able to play it

But it looks like some hack or something. Is there a way to combine these meanigns in one sentence without any cheat-like phrases like above?


texts: Compound Words Vs Words with preposition "of"?

texts:
Why we can say:

TV reporter

but we can't say:

reporter of TV

This complex word is wrong in terms of lexis, meaning, or it's just ungrammatical?


texts:
"The exercise of restraint may well be difficult."
I can understand the sentence if drop "well".
does that mean the exercise of restraint may be difficult as well?(It is a sentence from a dictionary, so I don't have the context."


texts: Expressing agreement without making the receiver feel uncomfortable?

texts:
Is there a way to express agreement without making the recipient feel the speaker is condescending to him? I noticed such a problem because I found some seniors, like uncles, would consider the younger saying "I agree" as impolite, albeit rarely true.

To prevent myself from being thus considered, is there a safe phrase that simply means "I agree" but in the disguise of "politeness"?


texts:
"I've decided to call him [= little dragon] Norbert," said Hagrid,
  looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch.
  Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?"
      "He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.
      "Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at
  any moment." Hagrid bit his lip.
      "I –– I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."
      Harry suddenly turned to Ron.
      “Charlie,” he said.
      "You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"
      "No –– Charlie –– your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him
  and then put him back in the wild!"  (Harry Potter and the
  Sorcerer's Stone)

Being the referent of ‘it’ is ‘marbles’, I’m wondering why it is not ‘them.’


texts:
In the movie Game Night (2018), Ryan says about Max's brother, Brooks:

  Ryan: He's like the Mark Wahlberg to Max's Donnie.

  Annie (says to Max): Well...Which is a huge compliment because Donnie
  was fucking great in The Sixth Sense, wasn't he?

What is the meaning of "to Max's Donnie"?

I didn't understand the comparison, I know Mark Wahlberg is good looking actor and Sixth Sense is movie.


texts:
I have been told by a (male) person A to give his regards to a (male) person B. I don't know them too well, but I have met them both semi-privately (person A is a coworker of a friend of mine and we have spent a day hiking; person B is an ex-coworker of mine and we had lunch together every now and then), so there is no need to be too formal. They know each other as (ex-)colleagues as well.

How do I do that?

Here are some thoughts of mine; please comment on their correctness, commonness and level of formality/informality. Please also give suggestions.

"Hello B, ...

"... best regards from A!"
"... I am supposed to send A's regards to you!"
"... hello from A!"
"... I met A recently and he told me to say hi to you from him!"


texts:
1-I will tell him I will go to the cinema.

Here, the event "going cinema" is later than telling. We use future "will" here.

  2-I will call you before I arrive.

Although arriving is later than calling, in contrast to the first sentence, we use present simple here. What is the reason of it?


texts: How to distinguish "more and more" and "further"

texts:
Could you think of a sentence or situation where we could use the following interchangeably?

more and more
further


texts:
Is "you're gonna" or "you gonna" more common in colloquial English?

Examples:

  "You/You're gonna sleep?"

  "You/You're gonna ruin the mood."

  You/You're gonna try to convince me to come back.

Google Books shows both usages (you're gonna has more results). However, you gonna sounds more natural to me. But I'm not sure because I'm not a native speaker of English.


texts:
There are three different versions of lyrics for the Mermaid song "Part of your world"

I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty. I've got whozits and whatzits galore. You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal. I want more.
I've got gadgets and gizmos of plenty. I've got whose-its and whats-its galore. You want thingamabobs? I got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. I want more.
I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. I've got whosits and whatsits galore. You want thingamabobs? I got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. I want more.

The question is, which is correct and is it right to say so?

Notice the other bold words, they seem really strange to me.


texts: Dispute around the word "snatch" in movie TED

texts:
Below is an extract from the movie TED, between sophisticated Lori and trailer trash Tami-Lynn:

  Lori : Ted's very handsome, so I'm always interested in meeting the lady that can snatch him up.

  Tami-Lynn: Did you just call me a whore?

  Lori: What?

  Tami-Lynn: You just worry about your own snatch!

Is there a play-on-words here?
to snatch means "to catch quickly".
Did Tami-Lynn mishear the word for another one? If yes, which one?
Or there is no pun, and she is simply overreacting?


texts: "I am embarrassed about playing Pokemon at my age" VS "I am embarrassed by playing Pokemon at my age"

texts:
Are these two sentences interchangeable?

"I am embarrassed about playing Pokemon at my age"
"I am embarrassed by playing Pokemon at my age"

I know that either "by" or "about" can be used after "embarrassed", but when I use "embarrassed by" before a gerund, it sounds like it might be wrong to me. So, I am sure we can say "I am embarrassed about playing Pokemon at my age", but how about the version with "by"?

Context: I am a Pokemon player and it makes me embarrassed because of my age.


texts: Could we use these raise and rise interchangeably in some contexts?

texts:
Could we use rise and raise with the similar meaning, considering the following patterns?
 Dictionary says" both of them could mean increase in amount and number"

From Oxford Dictionary: Gas rose in price

My own example: Gas has been raised


texts:
I wonder how these two verbs differ in meaning?
I know that You spare time for your loved ones, but You spend time with your loved ones.
However, it is difficult to distinguish between them in an example like the following one:

I need to have a word with you please. Could you ......... a few minutes?
a. spare
b. spend

I have encountered "spare" in above sentence many times, but I need to know the logic behind that! Why "spend" does not work here, while semantically and based on dictionary definitions it should work?
Please do me a favor and explain that to me.


texts: "be happier than someone" or "be happier as somone"?

texts:
Tell me please if there is any difference in meaning between the following sentences.

  He loves his job, so he is happier than you are.
  He loves his job, so he is happier as you are.


texts:
I want to say "Fixing some things that [x] not included in the last commit"

This is a comment I want to say about a piece of code I wrote (software development) but i'm not sure if [x] should be "was" or "were".

I know that:

I was
You were
He was
She was
It was
We were
They were

But what if I need to say something in past tense about "that things" like in this sentence?


texts: Why does the name of this book have ‘a’ in it?

texts:
Hermione whispered, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

I think the name of the book would be better with ‘the’ instead of ‘a’, because the book is about the history of the specific school, Hogwarts. Now, why does the name have ‘a’?


texts: Deducting an advance from an expense: what (verb) happens to the expense?

texts:
In a company, someone receives an advance payment for expenses he has to make, let's say $200 for hotel costs when traveling on a business trip.
During the trip he pays a larger amount ($300) for his hotel.
Now he comes back at work, with the $300 hotel bill, and he submits his expenses, stating that he still wants to receive $100.

If I phrase that in one direction, I would say: He deducts the advance from his expense.

But what is the verb to use in the other direction? What does he do with his expense when (at the moment) he deducts/subtracts the advance from it (in the books)? What verb do I fill in when he uses a computer program to calculate his final expenses (the $100):

The expense is .... with/from/to the advance.

In my language, Dutch, we would say verrekenen, i.e. something like 'recalculate'.

This question talks about the nouns advance and balance. Can balance be used for the verb too?


texts:
I've noticed this is a typical reply on social media platforms. I always thought this is a standard polite response until I encountered this entry on Urban Dictionary:

  thanks for reaching out
  The most obnoxious possible reply to someone who has contacted you, often used in professional settings.
  Hi John, thanks for reaching out. I'm quite busy right now on many important projects. Why don't you reach out to me again at this time next year and see if I have a couple of free minutes then. Or, better yet, how about never? Does never work for you?

Is it true? What does it really mean? Is the Urban Dictionary definition a joke?


texts:
The company started moderating the character names of the video game
as kids started using slurs when choosing their characters' names.

Is "moderating character names" grammatical? Is it idiomatic? What's a better way of saying this?


texts: "X and me/I having dinner" in captions/headlines/sentence fragments

texts:
This is different from some other questions since this is about the usage of "X and me/I" in captions/headlines when it is followed by a gerund (verb+(-ing)) instead of in regular sentences.
This makes the sentence a sentence fragment instead of a regular sentence in which it would be perfectly clear whether to use 'me' or 'I' ('me' - object; 'I' - subject).
These sentence fragments contain ellipses and so it is not apparent whether 'me/I' is an object or a subject.
Consider:

Patton and I having a last-minute brawl before the show.

So it is clearly a sentence fragment (a caption), and it is not apparent whether we should use 'I/me' as a subject or an object.
Here's what the user Quiveria said in the comments of this blog:

As-is, the sentence is a fragment. Either it is missing a subject or an auxiliary verb. Two ways in which the sentence could be completed are:
1: “This is a picture of Patton and me having a last minute brawl before the show.”
2: “Patton and I are having a last minute brawl before the show.”
Either way, this is Schrödinger’s Cat. Both me and I could be correct until someone confirms what the person who created the sentence [OP] originally meant to say. You could argue that, as a caption, the first one (1) /should/ be what OP meant, but that doesn’t change the reality of what OP actually meant to say. The question is the mechanics of the sentence as OP meant it, not which sentence OP should have used to fit the classical style of proper photo-captioning.

Is he correct?
Is using 'me' in these cases really the "the classical style of proper photo-captioning"?
I've seen this somewhat answered here and the answerer suggests it's a matter of style and that 'me' seems better, but doesn't, unlike Quiveria, call using me "the classical style of proper photo-captioning".
Edit: I've decided to post it to EL&U.SE as well.


texts: The computer does not [receives/receive] its updates

texts:
Should I use s in receive when I use does before it?

  the computer does not receives/receive its updates


texts: Phrase for "what's up" but using numerical code

texts:
Some time ago I've heard phrase

  What's the 599?

Where "599" is some three-digit number I don't remember, which one and why it is used. Maybe it was 322.

The meaning of the phrase is "How it is going" or "what's the situation".


texts:
Four months, two weeks, and five days into the mission, we received Nephthy's final message. (Nephthy = A space colony ship) Panicked voices broken by static. An alien message impossible to decipher. Then nothing. Our first generation of warships would lead the rescue operation. When we arrived, we soon located the remains of Nephthys floating in the darkness.

Could anyone be nice and find an exact entry from any dictionary for the usage of that would in the paragraph? Because I saw a post on the other site a few years ago that OP asked the same question as in my title. But all the comments of that post said that the usage of would was past habitual actions. But OP kept asking that over and over that, to him, it did not seem to be the case, and to me, a non-native, I felt the same way. But he didn't get any good answer. Here, I'm asking the same again. In many dictionaries, the usages of would that are related with past tense are usually these three types: (1) past habit, (2) past volition, (3) past prediction. But, if you see my example, (3) can't be right because they actually sent the rescue team. (2) didn't feel right either because, I don't know but, the tone of voice(?) doesn't seem to fit with the situation. They are just saying the fact that they sent them, not the attitude of them, right? Lastly, (1) shouldn't be the case either because they didn't dispatch rescuers over and over. They did once. The problem is that I got nothing left to match. Please help. Just what is the difference between these below?

  Our first generation of warships would lead the rescue operation.

  Our first generation of warships led the rescue operation.

If you put a link for the entry of any dictionary with your explanation, then it would be the most grateful.


texts:
Hi i am new to english language.
Here in sentence
'Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, said his former wife had “cured” him of homosexuality.
Afger " said " new Claus starts with "his former ..". Can we start a claus without conjunction ?


texts: The killing of civilians / the killings of civilians; the death of a million / the deaths of a million

texts:
Consider these examples:

(A) the killing of civilians.
(B) the killings of civilians.
(C) the death of a million.
(D) the deaths of a million.

Is the 'killing' in (A) a gerund? And is 'killing(s)' in (B) a noun?
Is 'death' in (C) an uncountable noun? Or, do 'a million (people)' constitute a single entity so that they can be considered as singular?
I would like to know the grammatical reasoning behind these expressions.


texts:
I'm studying English. I'm trying to transcribe this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybolCCA96zM.
For now I think that the reporter in the video says this:

  "We talk about kiss cam fight right here. Look at this one: Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls. Can be better without cell phone discuss with smooch her girlfriend?"

Could someone please help me with the transcription?


texts: Which is correct "When do you start for London?" or "When does you start for London?"

texts: Its quite confusing to me whether to use singular or plural verb in the above sentence. Will that be depending on the Subject "you" based on if it is singular or plural? Can anybody enlighten me?


texts:
I would like to write a sentence where I need to use ‘a' two times. I would like to know if my sentence is correct or not. In addition, based on a comment by @J.R., how could I use and/or with a past sentence?

  Reference A used a sequential method and/or a joint method to determine the right model.
  \


texts:
He just wants to inform.

  I am just informing.

  She sometimes informs wrongly.

"Inform" is a transitive verb. (Source) But in the above sentences "inform" is used as an intransitive verb. Is such usages idiomatic?


texts:
Our car broke down in the midway and we had to walk for the rest of the trip.

Vs

  Our car broke down in the middle and we had to walk through the rest of the trip.

Which one of the above sentence is more correct grammatically ?


texts: Bigger than any other city in/of the world

texts:
Shangai is bigger than any other city 'in' the world

. Can we also say it like

  bigger than any other city of the world?

Are they both correct?


texts: Facts in reported speech – to backshift or not

texts:
Are these two sentences grammatically correct?

Mona told me that London was the biggest city in England.
He wanted to know where Manchester was.

I found these two sentences by chance in an exercise book published by Egypt's  Ministry of Education.
Both sentences talk about a fact, and Is it unreasonable to change the verb tense in reported speech to past simple when what the sentences talks about is still true? (As my teacher and the books say.)
Or is it right when we talk about facts to change the tense or is the tense change optional and  both are correct?


texts: Two questions about double negation expressions

texts:
Double negation expressions like the below ones are confusing to me, but in reality similar sentences are ubiquitous.

I don't dislike the police.

It's not uncommon for parents to know the gender of a baby before
they enter the delivery room

nobody who does not rise early will ever do any good

Here's my questions.

Does it sound strange when you hear I don't hate ... instead of I don't dislike ..., It's not rare instead of It's not uncommon, and nobody who rises late ... instead of nobody who does not rise early...? Do they make difference?

Is there any case that the two negative elements in a double negation sentence cancel out each other and turn out to be a pure positive meaning?  e.g.  I don't disagree with that. → I agree with that.


texts:
“There’s something I need to say,” Riley says at last, her voice
  serious...

  Here it comes, Gwen thinks.

Could you please tell me what the meaning of "Here it comes" is?

The fuller text:

  Maybe it’s time to try. Maybe it’s time to let go of the baggage, the
  guilt, and try to live her life, she thinks. Maybe last night is a new
  beginning for her. She feels a surging warmth and happiness inside
  about David that she can’t help, even though Dana is dead. She’d
  wanted so much to go to him just now. But it would have been
  completely inappropriate. They’d managed a warm glance at one another,
  but that was it. There was time. They would be together again. Riley
  won’t like it that she was with David last night. Gwen knows that, but
  Riley is her friend, not her keeper. Riley should be happy for her
  that she’s met someone. Gwen was always happy for Riley when she met
  someone, and Gwen usually didn’t have anyone special herself. She’s
  sorry it had to happen when they were supposed to be spending time
  together this weekend, but you must take good things when and where
  you find them. They are rare enough. Dana’s dreadful accident has
  brought this home to her. Riley should understand that. It’s not like
  she planned it this way. They reach the room and Riley closes the door
  behind her. Gwen looks up at her warily, waiting for her to say
  something. When she doesn’t, Gwen reaches for some clothes from her
  overnight bag. She would like a shower, but that seems out of the
  question. The water will be freezing. “There’s something I need to
  say,” Riley says at last, her voice serious, as she pulls a top on
  over her head and flips her long hair over her shoulders. Here it
  comes, Gwen thinks. “That attorney, David Paley.” “What about him?”
  Gwen’s voice comes out more sharply than she intended. “Did you sleep
  with him?” “Actually, yes, I did.”

An Unwanted Guest By Shari Lopena


texts: Is it correct to say: "we are not allowed pets in the flat"?

texts:
In BBC's The Flatmates program, a dialogue goes like:

  We are not allowed pets in the flat.

Is it appropriate to drop "to keep" after "allowed"?


texts: 'coins of different sizes' or 'coins in different sizes'?

texts:
The original text is

  they invented coins of different sizes

Is it OK if I say this instead?

  they invented coins in different sizes


texts:
What is the exact rule regarding the plural/singular 'year'?

Which one is correct and why:

A five-year degree
A five-years degree

As in a degree that takes five years to complete, of course.

Furthermore do you capitalize any word, and is it proper form to use numerals (5-year(s))?


texts: Difference between "had to be, and "had to have been"?

texts:
I have come across the grammar structure had to have been in Crash Course US history. It is at around 1 minute and 51 second. Here it is in the sentence:

  But for that slogan to make sense, there had to have been some way in which war was avoided.

What if the host had said ...there had to be some way..., would have this sentence meant the same? I struggle to see the difference, so help please me to see it, if there is any.


texts: which article should I use: 'a' and 'the?

texts:
We use the algorithm with which we calculate the dimension of the structure.

We use an algorithm with which we calculate the dimension of the structure.

When I introduce the algorithm for the first time, which sentence among the two above is grammatically correct? I am confused because I find the sentences that use "the" even when an item is introduced for the first time. For example, the sun has "the" because it is one and only. An algorithm is also unique in terms of its content. Should I use "the" in this case, or do they not have any difference in the first place?


texts:
Does the word dynamics take a verb in singular or plural form? In Google search, it looks like both are equally used. For example, which one is more appropriate?

Population dynamics is influenced by a number of factors.
Population dynamics are influenced by a number of factors.

If both are ok, are there any differences in their interpretations?*


texts:
The following sentence is taken from a school textbook. I don't understand the use of'that is' in this sentence. Does it need a  comma after 'that is'?

This means that as human beings, we wish to be better,that is we wish to get more, earn more, rise higher in rank, and so on.


texts: How to describe "A specific food attracts me and makes me feel hungry"?

texts:
How to describe "A specific food attracts me and makes me feel hungry" ?
As far as I know, appetite may fit this circumstance. However, I do not know how to use it. I may say "I have a strong appetite today.", but I do not know how to describe "A specific food makes me to have a strong appetite now". Verbs, phrases, or adjectives are all welcome.

Thank you very much!!


texts: Is a second 'is' in a compound sentence redundant?

texts:
Is it correct is say:

  This file is part of X and is distributed...

or this:

  This file is part of X and distributed...

What's the rule here?


texts: Is "stands and strides toward..." a contradiction?

texts:
(Tom is hiding behind a table flipped on its side. He's got a gun. He's hiding from a man who's shooting at him.) Then -
Suddenly Tom stands and strides toward the gunman, firing his gun at him.
Is "stands and strides toward..." contradictive?


texts:
If we say:

  It's a book of my mother's

How could this sentence be identified? Wrong, archaic, formal or something else?


texts:
What are the similarities and differences between these definitions, besides the existence of an object?

  1.2. pretend [with object] =  Give the appearance of feeling or possessing (an emotion or quality); simulate
  2. pretend to [no object] = Lay claim to (a quality or title)

p 23, Select Speeches, Volume 1, By Daniel O'Connell:

  Yes, restore to Irishmen their country, and you may well defy the in-vader's force ; give back Ireland to her hardy and brave popula-tion, and you have nothing to dread from foreign power. It is useless to detain the meeting, longer, in detailing the miseries that the Union has produced, or in pointing out the necessity that exists for its Repeal. I have never met any man who did not deplore this fatal measure, which has despoiled his country; nor do I believe that there is a single individual in the island, who could be found even to pretend approbation of that measure. I would be glad to see the face of the man, or rather of the beast, who could dare to say he thought the Union wise or good — for the being who could say so, must be devoid of all the feelings that distinguish humanity.

Why not: pretend TO approbation?

Examples of 'pretend TO rectitude' can be found here. But why is TO necessary in these cases?


texts: What does "go" mean in "the average person that goes and exercises"?

texts:
What does the average person that goes mean in the following quote from CNN News?

  Asked about Trump's health, Bornstein told NBC: "I don't think he's in any better or worse (shape) than the average person that goes and exercises every single day," he said. "Doesn't smoke, doesn't drink -- and that's simply the best advantage you can have to live -- and he's got a good family history."


texts:
I found an article in my country about Youtube's inappropriate method to make money, and the narrator "seems to be" saying ( Excuse me if I heard incorrectly and in case if you can not listen to ( due to a border problem. ))

  "This is the first story I've read this morning, I know it's quite devastating. I think it sort of, reinforces the idea that we've all suspected, which is that these companies found a formula, --- a sort of, to get eyeballs, make money, the formula sort of came with a pretty significant baggage."

I think the word "eyeballs" falls under the definition of this page,

  (Marketing) marketing slang (plural) viewers of a television program or website, esp seen as potential customers, advertisers, etc: The site's goal was to get more eyeballs for advertisers.

Am I wrong or correct?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
Shall we use the auxiliary verb again after and as in the following case?

The data has been collected and has been proved to be significant.

or

The data has been collected and proved to be significant.


texts:
The original:

  The more Frenchmen killed in North Africa, the less popular the
  government at home would be, so if foreign cannon fodder was available
  so much the better.

Is it equivalent to?

  The more Frenchmen killed in North Africa, the less popular the
  government at home would be, so if foreign cannon fodder was so much
  available the better.


texts: What does "he'd never meant any of it" mean in this context?

texts:
"I have heard Dad talking about him," said George. "He(Lucius Malfoy) was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."

  "And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."

I have no idea what "he'd never meant any of it" means in this context? Is it an idiom? But I can't find it anywhere. Maybe, I don't know what "meant any of it" refers to.

-- Excerpted from Harry Potter.


texts: Why isn't the "a" article added before the phrase "slightly different terminology"?

texts:
I would like to know why the "a" article hasn't been added before the phrase "slightly different terminology" in this paragraph:

So, you can create exactly the Employee — Manager example, but you use slightly different terminology.

are adding it is correct as well as not or what the hack?