texts: Do we have two "any pronouns"- one is plural and the other is singular?

texts:
In Oxford dictionary the definition of a pronoun is as below:

  Pronouns are used in place of a noun that has already been mentioned or that is already known, often to avoid repeating the noun.

Thus, based on the frequent pronouns, i.e., she, her, ..., I conclude that any as a pronoun cannot be both plural and singular at the same time. With this regard, which one is correct in below imaginary conversation?

  A: I need some screws.

  B: Is there any in your pocket? or Are there any in your pocket?

If I am wrong, I will be happy to know your correction(s).


texts: How to refer to a specific definite person whose gender is unknown

texts:
I think that referring to a non-specific indefinite person like everyone, anyone, someone etc. as "they" is grammatical and widely accepted as being natural at least in informal speech.
For example, the sentence "Everyone did their best" is grammatical.
However, what about referring to a specific definite person?
Let's consider the following conversation.

"My friend just got back from the shop."
"What did they get?"
"They bought furniture for their new apartment."
"Are they married?"
"Yes, they are."

Are these grammatical?
Here's another example.
A quote from the novel "A Study in Scarlet" written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1886.

"What do you think of that?" cried the detective, with the air of a showman exhibiting his show.
"This was overlooked because it was in the darkest corner of the room, and no one thought of
looking there. The murderer has written it with his or her own blood.

Let's replace "his or her" by "their".
Is the sentence "The murderer has written it with their own blood." grammatical in present-day English?


texts: I had forgotten: past perfect without time references

texts:
Let's say I'm with some people, and they show me something that once I knew. Would it be correct to say:

  Ah! I had forgotten about that!

My concern is whether the past perfect can be used or not, since there's no time reference about an action being in the past of a past action.

It sounds good to me, and I guess it could be correct because it's implied something like:

  Before you showed me (...) that!

But, if you have just showed me (I'm literally saying this right after), I don't think that using the past-simple is ok, so that would mean that the past-perfect is uncorrect.


texts:
Can I write who said it best alone. For an example-  play j Cole's song ATM and write in status like "money makes people crazy, J Cole said it best"
 Is that correct sentence?


texts:
I'm watching the TV show Friends and in the second episode heroes discuss the baby's name and here's the dialog:

 - How's about the baby's name?
 - Marlon or Minnie if it's a girl.
 - As in mouse?
 - As in my grandmother.

What do they mean by as in mouse/grandmother? They mean that the baby is named after her grandmother or mouse? I've just looked for the information about it on the Internet and found nothing.


texts: What is the word for two objects that one comes after another one

texts:
For example, suppose that in a queue two objects are next  after  to each other, what is the word to describe them

two succeeding objects?


texts: Question about meaning of "train of thought" and "the rule of thumb" in this driving related context

texts:
...
So you’re going to put your indicator on and then you’re going to start to look. You’re going to start to make sure it’s safe to make the pass. The first thing might be to check your mirrors. So you want to check your side view mirror to make sure it’s safe. Then you want to quickly turn your head. Make sure there isn’t any other car in our space of which we want to pass. And then we want to move our car into the lane and pass the vehicle on our right side.
Then the train of thought then is when do we move back into the lane that we came from? And the rule of thumb on that is that we need to see the car that we passed completely in our rear view mirror. And then at that point we know that we have enough distance to safely put our indicator to the right and move back into that lane.
So those are some rules on passing. Again, never over a solid line. Make sure you put your indicator on before, giving your indication of where you want to pass. And then make sure it’s safe to do so. You have to check your mirrors. Turn your head. And those are way you can make a nice, safe pass.

A source for this is transcript for Passing Rules for Driving.


texts:
Does it mean "a warning sign"?
"The economy slows as consumer spending, which makes up the majority of U.S. economic growth, flags."
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/19/news/economy/inflation-economy-mystery/index.html?iid=SF_LN


texts: Indefinite article with the word "gay" -- "Is he gay?" vs. "Is he a gay?"

texts:
Do we need to place the indefinite article "a" before the noun "gay" or should we rather use the adjective?

As far as I'm concerned we say, "He is gay" And not, "He is a gay"

According to the Google Ngram Viewer, the adjective is preferred.

There are also other ways to say it, "He is a gay person"

Is it offensive to say, "He is a gay"?

According to this website, which talks about terms to avoid, it is.

Also people on Quora say that "The use of the term 'a gay' is intended to be humorous or ironic"


texts: The indefinite article with the word "conversation"

texts:
Is the use of the indefinite article in the following sentence optional?

  "This makes for (an) excellent conversation."


texts:
"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"
  [Harry] "Erm ––"
  [Hermione] "A bit," said Hermione timidly.
  "A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

What does the bold part mean? From the lexical meaning of something, it seems to mean "that’s an important thing." Yet, an example on a Korean website is translated as "one consolation in sadness," and this can make sense in the context.

What does it really mean?


texts:
Lately, I have been trying to figure out the difference between these two phrasal verbs when used with commercials

  To put something IN a commercial

  To put something ON a commercial

And I still have not grasped the difference between IN and ON when used with put in these situations

Could you point out the difference?


texts:
  "Who? "        "Well –– I don' like sayin'
  the name if I can help it. No one does."        "Why
  not?"        "Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are
  still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard
  who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His
  name was..."        Hagrid gulped, but no words came
  out.        "Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.
         "Nah –– can't spell it. All right –– Voldemort.
  " Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this –– this
  wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got
  'em, too –– some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power,
  'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days,
  Harry. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Is ‘himself’ used as the object of the verb(OALD #1) or used to emphasize him (OALD #2)?


texts:
Do you know who the target audience are?
  Do you know who the targeted audience are?

Which one is correct? Are they interchangeable?

Well, i mean: can we use the passive form of a verb to specify the audience instead of using the noun, and what a difference does it imply?


texts:
Let's say you are currently wearing clothes only appropriate for indoor or should I say ''only good when your at home clothes'', and then your mother has asked you to:

  have on outdoor clothes or have on outerwear because you and your immediate family are eating out.

Is this clear?, I mean, to improve your get-up because usually indoor clothes are just shorts, tshirts, and underwear, so you have to change your clothes. What is the correct English word for it?


texts: What do you call the act of purposely spreading a disease to another person? For example, parents would try to get a child with chickenpox to transmit the disease to other healthy children. What do you call this practice? Is there a scientific term or a non-scientific term for it?


texts:
What is the meaning of the "in" in these sentences?

  1- There is no shame in wanting to be successful.

  2- There is no advantage in working at that company

  3- She realized there was no use in arguing with him.

  4- Mary is wrong in saying, 'Jack is stupid'.

Can I omit the "in" or change with another preposition?

As:

  1'- There is no shame wanting to be succesful

  2'- There is no advantage working at that company.

  3'- She realized there was no use of arguing with him.

  4'- Mary is wrong about saying, "Jack is stupid".


texts:
What do we call the element that is between the bowl and the fiddle-shaped end of the handle?

I found several names: neck, shoulder, transition, curve, bend, bolster. But which one is correct?


texts:
When a teacher sees his student play with a phone while having class, and the teacher doesn't want the student to that, can he say "Leave it please" (in meaning of not holding it in hands) instead of "Put it away please"

Reading Cambridge dictionary definitions for the word "leave" doesn't give me the confidence for using it in this meaning.


texts: What do you call tourists who visit "extreme" holiday destinations?

texts:
I'm speaking about tourists who choose to spend their vacations (holidays) in places that push their limits to the extreme; such as the Antarctic, Mount Everest, pluvial forests, jungles, etc.

They're not your average tourist who looks forward to a relaxing week sitting on the beach, and soaking up the sun. These people are seeking ‘danger’ and thrills.

I've come up with excursionist. Although Oxford Dictionary didn't provide any definition, it lists several sentence examples, sadly, none of them seem to fit.

  ‘A good many of the excursionists were conveyed to the head of the lake by the steam-yacht ‘Swift,’ which made its initial journey for the season on that day.’

What are these tourists normally called?

Idioms, and slang are also welcomed, but please say which region the latter is from.


texts: What's the grammar of "You kiss me tomorrow, I'll bite you face off!"?

texts:
"Zootopia" around 00:23:37/01:48:32

There is a YouTube clip (by the way, is "clip" an appropriate word?):

  Nick Wilde: Hey, no kiss bye-bye for daddy?
  Finnick: You kiss me tomorrow, I'll bite your face off!

Question: Is "You kiss me tomorrow" subjunctive?
Does it mean "If you kiss me tomorrow"? Then why is "if" missing?
And what does "I'll" stand for? Is it "I would"?


texts: Which one is the correct tag: 'doesn't', 'isn't, or 'hasn't'?

texts:
Ravi has been demanding a lot more marks, doesn't he?

Is this usage correct? Or do we have replace doesn't he with hasn't he or isn't it?

Kindly explain the difference between the three with suitable examples.


texts: the job carried out by the women and (the?) young girls

texts:
The job for drawing water (A) from the village well is usually (B) carried out by the women and young girls. (C)

This is an error spotting question asked in my exam. The part A is wrong (need to replace for with of) but isn't part C also wrong? Article the has been used with women but not with young girls. Don't we need to use article with both or with none?


texts:
Considering the following sentence:

  The availability of alcoholic beverages and the exposure to alcoholic beverages media
  is high in urban areas.

I would like to know if it is grammatically correct to use the pronoun “its” when “alcoholic beverages” appear for the second time:

  The availability of alcoholic beverages and the exposure to its media is high
  in urban areas.


texts:
I have come across it in the 14th episode of the 8th season of Friends. Here is the context:
Joey: Maybe you two should live together.

Rachel: Are you asking me to move out? Do you not want me here?
Joey: Oh no-no, no-no I love living with you. It just seems that…if
you’re gonna have a roommate, y’know it might as well be the father.
Rachel: But Joey, I don’t think Ross wants me to move into his
apartment and disrupt his life like that. I mean—(Ross turns to her
with wishful eyes.)—Or he does.
Ross: No I-I-I would love to be around for you and the baby. And we-we
can just try it like on a temporary basis.
Rachel: But Ross, its you and me!
Ross: So? Sure! But it-it wouldn’t be anything romantic. And I’m-I’m
dating Mona—Damnit Mona! I was supposed to meet her like an hour ago!
What is wrong with me?!
Joey: All right now, so? What do you think?
Rachel: I don’t know. Is it crazy?
Ross: No! No it’s not. Joey, this is a smart idea.
Joey: Well, I was due.


texts:
Does the phrase "bear yourself open" mean to be more open?
In today's world, people are so closed off to each other, maybe if we bore ourselves open, we'd be happier as a collective.


texts:
“Good afternoon, Harry,” said Dumbledore.  Harry stared at him.
  Then he remembered: “Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He’s got the
  Stone! Sir, quick —”  “Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little
  behind the times,” said Dumbledore. “Quirrell does not have the
  Stone.”  “Then who does? Sir, I —”  “Harry, please relax, or
  Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out.”  Harry swallowed and
  looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was
  lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table
  piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.  “Tokens
  from your friends and admirers,” said Dumbledore, beaming. “What
  happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is
  a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible
  for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would
  amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic,
  and confiscated it.”  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

In the context, ‘a complete secret’ seems to mean ‘an incident already well-known’. But I don’t find any explanation in dictionaries. What does it mean?


texts: Are these all valid alternatives to "I'm not a picky eater"?

texts:
I'm not picky about the foods that I eat.

There are not many foods that I don't like to eat.

I don't have many foods I don't like to eat.

There are few foods I don't like to eat.

Here, I'd like to know if I can use all of them without making big difference. Last but not least, I'd like to know if #4 is natural.

I eat most of the foods that I can get a chance to eat. If I had a chance to eat something new that I haven't eaten, I would eat.


texts:
Which is correct:

1) Who do you want to come with?
2) With who do you want to come?
3) Whom do you want to come with?
4) With whom do you want to come?

I heard using "whom" is formal and "who" is informal.

It was written if we use "who" the preposition can be only at the end of the sentence:

"who...with"

But if we use "whom" the preposition can be in the both places:

With whom...
Whom with...

But at the same time I read some information that having the preposition after the questioning word is informal like:

With whom... - formal
Whom with - should be informal

But it's a confusion.

The sentence "Whom ... with" is formal because of 'whom" but not "who" and informal because of "with" after the "whom".

Please, could you explain all of it to me?


texts:
Could you explain why we use OF and FROM in the following sentences and why we can't use them vice versa?

From all those applying for the position, Mr. Jamison was the one chosen, as he was the most experienced."

Of all of those applying, Mr. Jamison was the most experienced one.


texts:
What is the difference between as and because? Which one of these sentences is correct?

He stayed home from work as he was sick?
He stayed home form work because he was sick?

Which is correct?
Are they both correct?


texts: Is it correct to say "So, you want to jump down from up here/there"?

texts: Is it correct to say "So, you want to jump down from up here/there" as shown in the picture?


texts: How do I make "live streamed at launch" logical when that launch was canceled?

texts:
In The event happened in the past. My interest is still there. "is" vs. "was" , I said

  SpaceX Demo-2 was scheduled for launch to the International Space Station on 27 May 2020. NASA live streamed at launch. I off work early to specifically watch that. When I got home, I found that the launch was canceled, which made me a little bit upset. But the whole thing is interesting.

I guess "NASA live streamed at launch" is grammatically correct but illogical, as that launch was postponed, so NASA didn't actually live stream that launch. However, NASA did live stream the preparation for over 7 hours and that cancelation.

How do I make it logical?


texts: Elevate is usually used with preposition to

texts:
The Governor administered the oath of office to the new Chief Justice,
  who had served in the Bombay High Court. Justice Tahilramani's
  appointment as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court followed the
  elevation of her predecessor, Indira Banerjee, (as a Supreme Court
  judge).

Elevate someone to something is the correct phrasing but in this extract [elevate as is used] . So I am a bit confused over its usage.


texts: Does "expected to" a polite way to say "need to"?

texts:
A Cambridge english vocabulary says

  The list covers vocabulary appropriate to the B1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and includes receptive vocabulary (words that the candidate is expected to understand but which is not the focus of a question) and productive vocabulary (words that the candidate needs to know to answer a question).

and

  Example phrases and sentences showing how words might be used are given only where words with different meanings need to be constrained. For example, heel is followed by 'I can't walk in high heels' - this shows that heel is limited to the idea of shoes: candidates are not expected to know other meanings, such as the part of the body.

it seems that the expression (expression_1)

candidates are not expected to know the meaning of "the part of the body" for this examination.

is equivalent to this expression (expression_2)

candidates does not need to know the meaning of "the part of the body" for this examination.

Is my understanding right?

How about the first paragraph?


texts: Should I say "'In' which floor are you living in /on "?

texts:
What is the better way to ask person which floor is he living in / on?

  Which floor are living in?
  Which floor are living on?
  In which floor are living in?
  In which floor are living on?


texts:
Which sentence is correct?

This new house will be bought by him next month.

or

This new house will be bought next month by him.

I'm considering if there is a difference in meaning between these two sentences.


texts: How to use verb with word "some" and "most" in a sentence?

texts:
Some of the sweets (appear/appears) to be spoilt, while most of the pudding (seem/seems) edible.

which one looks like apt verb for the sentence?


texts:
With many thanks for your kind letter, and with a request that you remember me to your old colleagues while we were in ...

With many thanks for your kind letter, and with arequest that you remind me to your old colleagues while we were in ...

1 is correct because is the original version (The New York Times), but is there some suggestion to correctly use "remind" and "remember"? Please explain in reference to the cases above.


texts: "He did many mischiefs." vs. "He made much mischief." – How are these different?

texts:
He did many mischiefs.
  He made much mischief.

What is the difference between the two sentences?

How does "mischief" differ from "mischiefs" and on what basis do we use "much" in second sentence?


texts: "Thank someone for doing something" or "will thank someone to do something"

texts:
Mary, "John won't like your interfering his business."
=Mary said that John wouldn't thank me for interfering his business (Indirect speech) (1)

= Mary said that John wouldn't thank me to interfere his business (Indirect speech) (2)

I wonder whether (2) can be used in this case or not.


texts: Is "vocabulary words" just the same as "vocabulary"? If not, what is the difference?

texts: Sometimes I see the word "vocabulary words" as in "3,000 Core Vocabulary Words" or "262 SAT Vocab Words You Must Know" for instance, but I feel that the expression is a bit redundant. Just "vocabulary or "words" sounds fine to me. Am I wrong?


texts: Can WOULD LIKE TO be used with PERFECT INFINITIVE to refer to the past?

texts:
I'd like to have visited Moscow while I was in Russia, but I didn't manage to.

Is "to have visited" OK here?


texts: Which tense can we use to explain pictures?

texts:
I would like to explain or ask about pictures in a photo album, a book, a magazine a story , a newspaper and so for.

But I don’t know which tense I can use to explain about many situations which happened in different time and aspects in those pictures.

For example:

A sentence in little red hen story. The little red hen planted some grains of wheat.

And there is the hen picture and I’d like to point to it and ask something.   What tense can I use to ask or explain about it?

Example 1.

Me: What does/did the little red hen plant?

    Or What is/was the little red hen planting?

My friend:  She plants/planted some grains of wheat.

    Or She is /was planting some grains of wheat.

Example 2.
Two men were talking at the bus stop.

Man 1: “Which bus are you waiting for?”

Man 2: “The 33.” I have been waiting 20 minutes for the bus.

What tense can I talk about the pictures of the two men in a website with my friend.

Me:  What does/did the man do?

    What is/was the man doing?

My friend: He waits/ waited for a bus.

    He is/was waiting for a bus.

Me : How long does/did he wait for a bus?

    How long has/had he been waiting for a bus?

My friend: He waits/waited 20 minutes.

    Or He has/had been waiting 20 minutes.

Could you help and explain it to me, please?


texts:
The following is from a paragraph in The Hindu.

In The Wretched of the Earth, which Fanon wrote in the context of the French occupation of Muslim Algeria, he described “the church in the colonies,” as “the white people’s Church, the foreigner’s Church. She does not call the native to God’s ways but to the ways of the white man, of the master, of the oppressor.”

What is the meaning of the bold part.
Does it mean, the natives were not according to what the god wanted them to be?


texts:
"It's very kind of you to look after the baby all day."
  "Oh, that's all right, it was nothing, I enjoy it."

In this case, could nothing be replaced by not a thing? What's the difference between nothing and not a thing in general?


texts: Do I need periods in parentheses for examples that include full sentences?

texts:
it's hard to explain so here's a madeup example:

  I like Stackexchange because it has funny questions (e.g., “What is English?”), interesting comments (e.g., "You put the 'low' in 'clown.'") and weird editor comments (e.g., "This sounds like homework.").

As you can see, the examples include complete sentences and I find it weird to put periods there, particularly the last one. Are they necessary? Thanks.


texts: Can one “refine” an equation to different form?

texts:
In my native language, we often talk about (what could be literally translated as) “modifying” or “refining” mathematical equations and expressions into a different form. Example sentences could be something like:

Refine this parametric line equation into the slope-intercept form.
Modify the integral into a simpler form.
Refine the polynomial equation to the factored form.

(All these “refinements” are implied to result in expressions which are equivalent to the original, yet simpler or having different qualities.)
I don't think I ever hear something like this in English, usually people use less direct expressions (“find the factored form“, without emphasis on the original expression) or more specific expressions (“factor the polynomial”, “substitute into the equation”). I often struggle to translate such sentences, because I often need to put emphasis on both the original expression being refined and the requested final form, but without being specific about the method.
Is any of the given sentences valid in English? Is there a natural way to say something like this?


texts: What's the reason for different positions of the indefinite article "a" in these sentences?

texts:
He is a very smart guy.

He is such a smart guy.

He is so smart a guy.

Examples from the Hound of the Baskervilles Ch 1 "You interest me very much, Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked supra-orbital development.")  or Ch 2 "It chanced that this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark a passion may be known under so bright a name) the daughter of a yeoman who held lands near the Baskerville estate."

He is quite a smart guy.
Alternative:He is a quite smart guy.

He is a nice guy.
Alternative:He is nice a guy.

Why these sentences have position for the indefinite article varying?
Can the alternatives (as) suggested by me also be used?


texts:
I began recently to study English conditional sentences and now I'm trying to find information about Past Real Conditionals formation (as I understood, they are also called Zero Conditionals in other classification). There is not much info on the Web on this theme so I write here.
As I understand now, in either of the clauses - dependent(condition) clause and main(result) clause - we can use in any combinations:

verb in any past tense (i.e. Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous)
constructions of type: modal auxillary verb + infinitive of main verb, with infinitive being able to express any aspect (i.e. we can use bare infinitive and various infinitival constructions like, for example, "be being written", expressing continuous aspect in passive voice, "have been writing", expressing perfect continuous aspect in active voice, etc.)

Please, let me know if it is right, and, in particular, provide me with some examples of sentences, which don't have the most obvious variant of structure in which both dependent and main clauses have verbs in Past Simple tense. The more nontrivial examples are, the better it will be.


texts:
From Tim Minchin's GroundHog Day Musical:

  There will be mornings
  You'll be utterly defeated by your laces

  Days when every look looks condescending
  Empty smiles in empty faces
  The same old places this stunning stasis
  [...]

The only meanings both I and my dictionary know for laces are

the shoe laces you have to tie
the lace as in lace dress

However, I can't make any sense out of the verse with either of the two meanings.

The only thing I can imagine is that it's somewhat metaphorically referring to when you're so tired in the morning you can't tie your shoe laces and thus get "defeated" by them


texts: 'I was wondering if you would mind me [doing something] or [do something]'

texts:
I am confused：

  I was wondering if you would mind me opening the window.

or

  I was wondering if you would mind me open the window.

Which one is correct？


texts:
Which one of these two is grammatically correct?

1. I taught him how to drive.
 2. I taught him to drive.

If both are correct, do they mean the same?


texts:
What is the meaning of in cuts in the following sentence?

“However, I have been in a minority in the MPC. Inflation has now been above the upper band of 6% for a number of months. Notwithstanding large rate cuts to spur growth over the last year and a half, growth has steadily declined despite 250 bps in cuts since February 2019,” Mr. Ghate said.

I looked up its meaning but didn't find anything relevant.
To read the full article  Link


texts: Rs. 100 have/has been returned to your child

texts:
Rs. 100 have been returned to your child.
  Rs. 100 has been returned to your child.

Which one of the above sentences is correct and why?


texts:
The trick you set up in which you pretended to be victim will be revealed

I feel that 'in which' should be right after the trick, but where shall I put the words 'you set up'? Is this sentence grammatically right, and Could you give some advice?


texts: Name of a salon or hall in which a rock band would perform music

texts: What do we call a music salon or hall in which a rock band would perform, in English? I want words both for a place with roof and without roof (like an amphitheater) please.


texts: How do you call this sound over the phone when you are calling someone, but they don't reply?

texts:
How do you call this sound over the phone when you are calling someone, but they don't reply. Can the word beep used? For examlpe:

  I was trying to put through to Mike, but I heard only a series of beeps.


texts:
[4th and 5th last paras] Professor Hugo Cyr, of the University of Quebec in Montreal, a law clerk at the time when LeBel was appointed, ...
... says LeBel was good “at bringing people together. That allowed him to co-write very important decisions” like Dunsmuir in 2008 (that revamped the criteria for judicial review of the decisions of administrative bodies and lower courts) and the 2007 Canadian Western Banks decision on the division of powers. It signalled Ottawa doesn’t always trump the provinces, that courts would respect the legislative choices of both and advanced the idea of co-operative federalism, which LeBel developed further in other rulings and tried to “ensure that basically our federal system is not a system of two solitudes.”
1. [mass noun] The state or situation of being alone
2.  A lonely or uninhabited place

The ODO definitions don't seem to fit. How does it make sense for a federal system to be [1.] left alone? It's an independent entity already? [2.] It must be inhabited, because Members of Parliament work there?


texts:
in this sentence what does i'd say mean:

  I'd say it hit the Nixons as bad as it did me when Danielle and myself broke up.


texts: Could you explain this kind of future? "Clare wants to be a doctor when she is older."

texts:
Could you explain this kind of future, please?

  Clare wants to be a doctor when she is older

Why isn't there are any use of will or going to?


texts:
This online dictionary says run its course means "to continue (naturally) until finished".
But I can't understand the two examples it gives.

Many people believe that feminism has run its course.

It was a wonderful show, but I think this play has run its course.

In 1, What does that mean of feminism continues naturally until it ends. It is understandable literally but not semantically right to me.
Same question for 2.


texts:
Looking for One should keep his words both soft and tender on Google, I noticed that in some cases because is preceded from a comma. Can the comma always be added before because, or can it be added just in specific cases?

I am used to sentences like the following, where I have never added a comma before because.

  You speak like that because you are unsure of yourself.


texts: What does "show the blood" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I found this sentence in the Oxford Dictionary:

  A white shirt will show the blood.

What does "show the blood" mean?


texts:
Which one is better and correct answer for below question?
Can we use May have for current possibilities?

Que : Where is your boss ?

Ans 1 : He may have left for the day.

Ans 2 : He may be left for the day.


texts: What is the difference between "Of" and "Of the"?

texts:
What is the difference between

  Prince of sea

  and

  Prince of the sea

Is there a difference between these "Of" and "Of the"? Or are these words in the same meaning? And which is correct?


texts: What is the difference between smartphone cover and case?

texts:
Recently I read some blogs regarding protection of smartphones. Some blogs have mentioned smartphone covers and some have talked about cases. If we go through Apple's official site, it shows only iPhone cases and NOT iPhone covers. Here, the main title is 'iPhone covers' and they have written 'case' everywhere that makes me confused.

To my mind, covers are used to cover the entire smartphone, but have a little or no role in its protection, while cases can protect smartphones even if they don't cover them.

Smartphone cover:

Smartphone case:

My questions are:
1. My assumption regarding cover and case is right or wrong?
2. At times, people write cover for case and vice versa, so are they interchangeable words?
3. Flip cover or back cover can be said Flip case or back case?
4. Is it ok to say the smartphone cover a skin or a sleeve? Does it cover only the screen or the entire smartphone?


texts: Adjective or adverb before another adjective

texts:
I am aware that adjectives only modify nouns, while adverbs modify everything else (verbs, adjectives and other adverbs). However I'm experiencing some difficulty identifying these two expressions from each other:

  My previous good computer cost me $500.

  My previously good computer cost me $500.

I'm sorta confused on how to interpret the words previous/previously and thus, can't understand how the two sentences are different.


texts: What is the matter of "doing" in the phrase: "how are you doing"?

texts:
I used to hear people say "how are you doing?" in the meaning of "how do you feel" (and that's why people used to answer "very good" or something like it. As a non native English speaker it's difficult for me to understand it and it always interests me to know what is the relation between "doing" to the meaning of feeling.

Editing:
I checked the question that was said to be duplicate, and I didn't find any similarity to my question. I am asking about the relation of the noun "doing" to the meaning of "feel". No relation between them for my opinion.


texts:
When I said "Oh boy, that's my seat." in a low voice to a native speaker (who is not from the US or UK; we have known each other for a long time). I said 'oh boy' as an interjection. He retorted with a rather stern face: "I am not a boy."

I was embarrassed a bit. How could it be possible that a native speaker does not understand such expression. What went wrong?


texts: How to describe such a (nonsmooth) curve?

texts:
The only word I can think of is nonsmooth.

Can anyone suggest some other words?


texts:
I am wondering how would you define the situation in which a teacher has written so higgledy piggledy that it seems to be very difficult to make a relationship between the board's contents.
Example:

Or how would you define a picture that you would have a hard time to understand it.
Example:

In both cases, I used to say: "I can't understand it........

It's all over the map.
It's a jumbled mess.

But, once, here in this forum in a thread I used these two idioms and whereas a native speaker who was going to answer my question could not understand either case "a" and "b", I thought maybe there is something wrong with these idioms or maybe I am mistaken about the English equivalent for the concept in my mind. That was why I decided to ask about it here.
I was wondering whether my offered idioms work here. If not, then please let me know what idiom / expression is normally used in everyday speech to define these cases?


texts: What is the difference between "cannot" and "can not" in these examples?

texts:
Can you explain the difference between these two sentences?

  I cannot go to school.
  I can not go to school.


texts:
Is the word crazy always negative and impolite?

What is the difference between crazy, mad and stupid?

Which one can be positive?


texts: "Difference Between Times in Hours For Writing Letters"

texts:
What is the difference between '8:00 o'clock' and saying only '8' in writing letters?

When we can use the first one and when we can use the second one?


texts: What's the meaning of "Madame Onassis got nothing on you" in Rod Steward's "You wear it well" song?

texts:
I'm hearing a Rod Steward's song. Among its lyrics :

You made me feel a millionaire and you wear it well
Madame Onassis got nothing on you

What is the meaning of that last sentence ?

That Madame Onassis can't compare to her ?


texts: What is **"put up a batch,"** and "to be right up to the mark"?

texts:
What is "put up a batch," and "to be right up to the mark" in the text below?:

  News of his miracles got around by word of mouth among the poorer classes of town — he was not able to reach the better people (the "tony folks)", he called them) — but there was never a big enough sale to give Doc a steady income. For one thing, people thought there was more magic in Doc's touch than in his liniment, and, for another, the ingredients of Blackhawk cost so much that his profits were not very great. I know, because I used to go to the wholesale chemical company once in a while for him and buy his supplies. Everything that went into the liniment was standard and expensive (and well-known, not secret). A man at the company told me he didn't see how Doc could make much money on it at thirty-five cents a bottle. But even when he was very low in funds Doc never cut out any of the ingredients or substituted cheaper ones. Mrs. Willoughby had suggested it to him once, she told me, when she was helping him "put up a batch," and he had got mad. "He puts a heap of store by that liniment being right up to the mark," she said. Doc added to his small earnings, I discovered, by money he made gambling.


texts: When I am describing a chart like a bar chart, what else expressions can I use instead of "The chart shows that" to avoid using "shows" too many times? Maybe like "it reveals..." or "it indicates..."


texts: Informal spoken English: I shall wait you in the garden, five o'clock

texts: Is the sentence in the title, "I shall wait you in the garden, five o'clock," grammatical, even though it might be archaic?


texts: Do I write a value *to* or *for* a field?

texts:
Which construction is better, "for" or "to"?

  Writes null value FOR not valid fields.

or

  Writes null value TO not valid fields.

The field in question is a column in a database.


texts: what does ''would have seen'' mean,what grammar is it?

texts:
This is a text about elderly people. Two persons wear makeup to look like old people and to understand what it's like to be old. after this experiment one of them said this.

  They were talking about real things and I felt unqualified. I didn't
  have that life experience. They had been through so much. It made me
  realize how ignorant I was. It was as if I was seeing the young people
  inside them.Before I would have just seen the wrinkles.

I can't understand the meaning and what grammar this is?


texts: What does this mean? "...which move through an otherwise empty space."

texts:
This notion of continuity in existence became more concrete a century later in the work of Leucippus and Democritus, who advanced the theory that all matter is composed of eternal, indivisible atoms which move through an otherwise empty space.

The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins by Alan Guth

I don't get this part: "which move through an otherwise empty space."


texts:
Which of the following is correct/appropriate ?

  James went to Paris on an invitation from Eva.

  James went to Paris at an invitation from Eva.

I feel they are both acceptable, but their meanings differ slightly. Is that so?

Note: the sentence that prompted my question is one from a Wikipedia article:

  Joyce went to Paris in 1920 at an invitation from Ezra Pound...


texts: The use of "being" instead of "is," "are" or "am"

texts:
I have come across a sentence where "being" was used instead of "are". Here it goes:

  what they say is that the compelling government interest was to ensure diversity in university admissions. This is true in general and as long as we can imagine there being universities the state has an interest in seeing that their classes represent diverse viewpoints.

Is that correct to use "being" instead of the "be" verb forms?


texts:
I have just heard that he has/released a new ep called "bla bla bla"

I think past simple fits better here because first, the release happens, of course ,before I have heard the news of it and it is a single action we are
 only talking of the new one. Am I right?


texts: "make" and "do" - how to make sure you take the right one?

texts:
I learned the simplified rule that make is used when I create something and do when I, well, do tasks. There's another question here about make versus do and its answer seconds that.

On the other hand, in any dictionary you also find a definition that basically states that do can be used in the sense of make:

  to produce or make something

So, I'm looking for some more thorough explanation on when to choose make and when do. The simplified view at the matter will make me make the right choice most often but not always.

Just a few examples:

  You make a speech and you make jokes but you do small talk.
  You make the bed and you make the table but you do the flowers, do the dishes and do your homework.

How can I decide which word to use. Let's say I'd like to figure out if I make or do a copy of something.
Make a copy has certainly more hits, but in my book this is like doing homework. When I do my homework, I just write some words on a paper. When I copy my homework, I make sure the same is written on another paper. In both cases I do something but also in both cases I create something (not physically).

So, what are the clues that help me find the right word (in general, not only restricted to the previous example)?


texts: What does "up through" mean in this sentence?

texts:
"educational robotics for students up through age 19"

Does this mean from age 1-19?
Does this mean 19 and onwards?
Does this mean only for 19 year olds?

Something similar posted elsewhere but it wasn't much help for me.


texts: "Even simpler is the utility egrep" -- how do you understand it?

texts:
From the book Mastering Regular Expressions, 3rd Edition:

  Finding text is one of the simplest uses of regular expressions—many text editors and word processors allow you to search a document using a regular-expression pattern. Even simpler is the utility egrep.

How do you understand the last sentence? Does it mean that this program makes it even easier to find text?


texts: The verb used to mean the action of blowing air with your mouth because you are bored, annoyed etc?

texts: What is the verb used to mean the action of blowing air with your mouth because you are bored,annoyed etc? I couldn't find it on the internet. I need you guys' help. We call that sound made, "Üfff...," in my language. It sounds like "ffff." I don't think it is exactly a "sigh."


texts:
The example I gave in my comment below is a different one but this is what I was trying to do actually.
I was writing down this narrative that happened many years ago, like 10 years or so. I am saying about a particular day from 10 years back.

I wrote like this :

When I was a kid, I had many toys, but the toy train was my favourite.
That year too I demanded another toy train for my birthday present as few days back the previous toy train had got broken. So my father bought this new one. I was very happy. But on this very fateful day, I broke the new one too.

This is where  I am getting confused.
I want to say that the toy was broken accidentally just few days before that fateful day. I didn't break it intentionally or consciously.

I feel like if I use 'The toy was broken',  then the reader would think that somebody broke the toy because of some reason, which is not the case.

Same I feel with 'The toy had been broken'

It sounds odd to me if I say 'The toy got broken' or 'The toy had got broken'

So I am really confused about what to use here.
Hope I explained properly this time.


texts:
I have the following sentence:

  Then by selecting the two anchors from the list of anchors and selecting the “Common Ancestor” option, the context (is or will be ?) created.

I don't know if I should "is" or "will be", as it shown in the sentence.


texts: Filling blank in "It became ______ that I was not welcome"

texts:
It became ______ that I was not welcome

There were four words: clear, clearly, certainly, certainty.

I thought that it was "clearly"; I don't know if it was wrong.


texts: is it correct to say: "global warming is under way"

texts: dealing with global warming, can I put out that "the global warming/ or global warming is under way?" Thanks for your answer.


texts: A word for newbie or fresher sounds similar to abrecrombie

texts: While watching season 1 or 2 of Arrow I heard the word. I can not search the word as I do not recall or can not spell exactly. What I know is pronunciation of that word has resembled abrecrombie and word mean something to call a new guy or newbie or fresher.


texts: Is the SVOMPT word order necessary in creating a sentence?

texts:
I learned the English word order SVOMPT (Subject, Verb, Objects, Manner, Place, Time) rule at school. Although it was a quite straightforward rule when I was studying, now (under more influence from Slavic languages) I find myself not obeying it sometimes.

So far, I haven't noticed that others do not understand what I say, but that could be because most of the people I speak English with are also from the Slavic language group.

We usually put the most important part (the one we want to emphasise) at the end in Slavic languages. Also, the word order is quite relaxed in general. How about English?

Is a sentence where one does not apply the SVOMPT rule easily understandable for an English native speaker?

I found this page on A guide to learn English which deals with direct and indirect objects. Is word order switching also common in other cases?


texts:
What is the difference between:

Look, you shouldn't ...
Listen, ...

Is it true that the first one is more about your opinion, but the second one - about some news/information?


texts: How do you quantify the flesh of "fish" that is used as food

texts:
I think we can say:

  I see two fish in the water.

Since it is a countable noun when it refers to:

  An animal that lives in water, and uses its fins and tail to swim

But both Lexico and ldoceonline.com say it becomes an uncountable noun when the intended meaning of fish is:

  The flesh of fish as food

Therefore, I think saying this would make no sense:

  Can I have two fish for dinner?

So how do we quantify the fish used as food in English?


texts:
He reached his destination, walking 3 miles (while) listening to music.

  Walking 3 miles (while) listening to music, he reached his destination.

  Having walked 3 miles (while) listening to music, he reached his destination.

Do the above three sentences mean the same?
And here, his walking and listening to music are happening at the same time.
Are all of them grammatically correct?


texts:
I had an English test at my school and there was an English composition question.
And the answer was "Kate doesn't earn as much as her husband", but I answered as
"Kate isn't paid as much as her husband".Though I think it's correct, my teacher said "earn" is different from "be paid". What do you think? Are they the same or different? Could you explain how.


texts: "What does "I believe will soon be on the forefront of modern marketing tactics" mean?

texts:
I found that sentence when I googling.
"Your company offers several marketing packages that I believe will soon be on the forefront of modern marketing tactics."

Now I'm trying to understand in especially,

  "I believe will soon be".

I understand that sentence like this " I believe  I will soon be ~" am I right to understand?

I want to know some usage of that phrase and how to remove "I" in grammatically.

How can I understand the meaning and grammar?


texts:
I have puns that I don't get it and actually need them for translating an essay. Can anyone help me, please?

“Have you heard about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.”

and

“Did you hear about the par-a-dox? . . . Doctor Shapiro and Doctor Miller.”


texts:
Is it correct to use the verb fly on its own meaning traveling by plane as a passenger. For example:

  When did you last fly?


texts:
What's the positive equivalent when you want to talk about people who don't observe others' rights. For example someone jumping a queue.

  I hate selfish people who don't care about others and don't observe their
  rights

Maybe there are mistakes it the original statement too. In general what are the correct verbs to speak about people's rights, both positive and negative. I'm more interested in the informally spoken.


texts:
Is this a correct statement?

  As the parameter increases, the distribution turns from right-skewed into left-skewed.

Or should I use

  As the parameter increases, the distribution changes from right-skewed to left-skewed.

One can suggest some better alternatives, if possible.


texts: The meaning of "traveling grate" and "pallet car"

texts:
I am writing about an equipment which I just know its English name but not much its meaning (word by word), and I am trying to translate it

the word is Traveling grate (e.g by this company) in the page they call it as a process,

  Our traveling grate process is the leading technology for producing pellets suitable for blast furnace and direct reduction.

while here they say

  After surface ignition on the sintering machine’s travelling grate, air is induced through the ignited layer and the process continues in the vertical direction of the material bed.

Then I don't know its an equipment or a name for a process

There is also an equipment named Pallet Cars

I think I can guess their meaning but I am not sure about them (for example why Pallet, why Car! or why Grate, why Traveling).

Grate has many meaning, I guess grate here means a fireplace which is moving
(However it also means a frame of metal bars and the equipment also consists of parallel grate bars)

The technology provide a chain (train or maybe it is called traveling grate) of Pallet Cars to move materials in sintering machine! they are like a pallet moving on rail (maybe because they have four wheel, they named it car), actually pallet has plates which grate bars are on it.

The following is an image of a pallet car consist of 4 plates consisting of parallel grate bars.


texts: Is "that" in - "all the information that you want" - wrong?

texts:
I was spotting errors on a site But this one problem confuses me

  You can get all the information that you want in this book.

The error was show to be "that."

So, the correct sentence was this:

  You can get all the information you want in this book.

Was "that" wrongly used there?


texts:
I'm a maths student in Germany and I am currently writing my thesis in English. Now I want to say the following:

  Let A and B denote the first and the last point respectively in the sequence S such that A and B belong to C

So A is the first point and B is the last point ...

I am really not sure about where I should put the word respectively. Also I'm unsure about where I should put commas.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Is this the right sentence?

Make it good for yourself.

"Yourself" is a reflexive pronoun; thus, it should be used only when there is a subject whose object is this pronoun. Like we can say:
Look at yourself.
The person who is seeing is seeing himslef.
so should this be:
Make it good for yourself.
OR
Make it good for you.
Make it common to you.
OR
Make it common among yourselves.


texts:
I know news doesn't have a plural, but what is correct in the following example:

We must recognize real news from fake one.

or

We must recognize real news from fake ones.

Thank you in advance


texts: Whoever/Whatever... + Relative pronoun + Clause?

texts:
From time to time, I see this type of sentence:

Whatever/However/Whoever... + Clause
Whoever wrote this should win a prize.

But aren't we supposed to put the relative pronoun that (or other relative pronoun) here?

Whatever/However/Whoever... + that + clause
Whoever that wrote this should win a prize.

I think that I hear both types of sentences, too, but I don't know whether:

Only one of which is correct

or

Both are correct, but there's a rule for their usage.

I'll put some sentences here bellow as examples:

Choose whatever type of chocolate you'd like.

Choose whatever type of chocolate that you'd like

Tell me whichever time suits you best to speak of this issue.
Tell me whichever time that suits you best to speak of this issue.

Give this gift to whomever worked hardest in your point of view.
Give this gift to whomever that/who worked the hardest in your point of view


texts:
Ole Thorstensen’s tales reveal the ruminative side of a physical and demanding line of work.

The above sentence is from The Economist. It looks to be written in the present simple tense. Among the uses of present simple which situation is showing this sentence?


texts: "Most subjects + predicate" vs. "Subjects + mostly predicate"

texts:
Below the first sentence is from one LSAT. My confusion is how 1. differs from 2., which I made for comparison.

Works of art in the Renaissance were mostly commissioned by patrons.

Most works of art in the Renaissance were commissioned by patrons.

I am wondering whether "1." means the same as "2."
Could someone explain the difference, if any?

P.S.
Please see another sentence below, also from an LSAT, with similar construction as 1. above.

New species primarily threatens disturbed areas.

Considering the action verb and the difference between "primarily" and "mostly", so this sentence only means:
All New species primarily but not entirely threatens disturbed areas.
Is my interpretation correct? Any comments or help would be really appreciated.
Leon


texts:
How would you say it when I want to ask someone the progress of something?

Is "How is it going on with your assignment?" correct?


texts: Don't understand the meaning of 'killer' here

texts:
What is a "killer start-up"? Does the word "killer" have the direct meaning in this case like startup is intended to kill somebody for money?

  Voice to text is cool and does have a place, but more often than not speaking messages aloud is inappropriate or undesirable (you don't want everyone to hear about the killer new start-up you're investing in, lol.)


texts: What is the meaning of "to work part time and summers"?

texts:
I want to know the exact meaning of "to work part time and summers".
Does this mean someone works part time through the year and works full time in summer? Or does this mean he works part-time only in summer?


texts: suppose after a long time my friend has come to my house. Can I welcome him saying 'Hey bro, what's up? I have been waiting for your visit for a long time. Nice to see you again.'? Should I use 'have been waiting' or 'was waiting' in the sentence?


texts: Decomposition of "Some of the pain patients may become hooked"

texts:
Some of the pain patients may become hooked. Or their meds may find
  their way to friends or relatives who take them recreationally. Or a
  prescription opioid user may transition to heroin. “Heroin is just
  another opioid drug, so the brain doesn’t distinguish whether it comes
  from a pharmacy or from a street drug dealer.

In the first sentence is "pain" used as an adjective? Can you grammatically explain the sentence?


texts:
She's off the telephone.
Is this sentence "Past Simple tense" or "Present Perfect tense"?
Thank you


texts:
Is "as being" in these sentences necessary?

  To regard the bible (as being) literally true.
  To take the bible (as being) literally true.

And if they are not necessary, should one at least keep the "as" as in:

  To regard the bible as literally true.

or can one also leave that "as" out?


texts:
"We know it to be a drug"

Here, what does it mean by "to be" in this sentence? I know that it is a active infinitive sentence. But my question is what is the full form of "to be" here? If you say the full form of "to be" in this sentence is "is" then if I replace "to be" by "is", it will make no sense like:

  "We know it is a drug"


texts: what is the meaning of "to be" in this sentence?

texts:
John considers this conflict of interest to be the main hindrance towards establishing good governance.

I want to know why to be has been used here.


texts:
Is there an exact word to describe "Sudden, loud crying / sobbing, with hiccups and gasping for air"?
 (To describe someone who woke up crying from a bad dream)


texts:
What occurs to you when think about "country village"? This is meant for finding out the difference bewteen Eastern and Western.

Thanks in advance！


texts: The use of the definite article with the word "language"

texts:
Can someone please affirm or deny the validity of the use of the definite article in a phrase like "in the original Greek?"
I often encounter phrases like "'some word' in the original Hebrew/Latin/Greek means 'this or that.'" I know that the definite article should only be used if the word "language" follows the name of the language, but it's not the case. All examples where I've seen such phrases were written by native American English speakers.


texts: What is the join between the neck and the chin called, is it called "the crook of the head"?

texts: What is the join between the neck and the chin called as shown in the picture, is it called "the crook of the head"?


texts:
A post says

  The profession of reality is moving into the 21st century, and as you can imagine home listings are flooding the internet. If you have ever looked at buying a home, renting an apartment, or just wanted to see what the most expensive home in town is (we have all been there), then chances are you have been to Zillow, Realtor.com, Readfin, or Homesnap.

I understand the meaning of profession

  any type of work that needs special training or a particular skill, often one that is respected because it involves a high level of education

I also understand the meaning of reality

  the state of things as they are, rather than as they are imagined to be

I don't understand the meaning of "profession of reality". I googled it, got only 3 hits, but none gives any explanation.

Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Is it correct to say that, using "most of all" or we have some better choices to ask such question?

What do you like most of all in school/at work...?


texts: Pronunciation of: I got a text from Ashley

texts:
When we pronounce the phrase: I got a text from Ashley we usually stress the content words (as long as we don't want to make a contrast of course):

  I GOT a TEXT from ASHley.

So as long as there's no special emphasis or contrast I think the preposition from can be reduced and pronounced with a schwa sound. It doesn't need to be stressed. Am I right?

Any suggestion is appreciated. Thank you!


texts: Where should I put the word "would" (for repeated past actions) in a sentence with more clauses?

texts:
I'd like to know where the word "would" should be used in a sentence with more clauses, like the following.
Among the examples, I'd choose the first one, as "I" is the main subject who performs the action on which the sentence focuses.

  1) When my friends invited me to parties, I would always reply with a
  no.

  2) When my friends would invite me to parties, I would always
  reply with a no.

  3) When my friends would invite me to parties, I always replied with
  a no.


texts:
Let's say you're making a statement about some haters in your life. And you say:(making a statement that is still happening now)

  When you have achieved success simply because you made a stand and be yourself, some people would hate you due to envy, perhaps. Haters who instantly hate/hated you as they felt bad about themselves that they cannot reach your level now.

Do I have to say hated you?(I think this is the correct tense) but it still happening, or should I use just hate?


texts:
What are the best words to replace albeit in this sentence?
"I say albeit regretfully"
Does "however" or "although" suits it well? Or are there better words?


texts: Difference between 'not a' and 'not any'

texts:
are both not a and not any sound natural in the following examples?

Yesterday was mothers' day but I did not post any photos with my mother on social media. I think importance of my mother to my life cannot be described by just clicking pictures or posting them on social sites on mother's day.
Yesterday was mothers' day but I did not post a photo with my mother on social media. I think importance of my mother to my life cannot be described by just clicking a picture or posting it on social sites on mother's day.
Yesterday I visted a tiger reserve for the first time. After searching for hours I could not find a tiger.
Yesterday I visted a tiger reserve for the first time. After searching for hours I could not find any tigers.


texts: What is the meaning of "he's nice, if rather patronizing"?

texts:
I tried to search for the meaning of "patronizing" in WordWeb Pro. There is an example in the dictionary:

  he's nice, if rather patronizing.

Now the "if rather" portion is confusing me. In my mother tongue (Bengali), it is not making any sense. So somebody please explain me the meaning.


texts: What is the difference between "to look carefully at something" and "to look at something carefully"?

texts:
What is the difference (if any) between the following?

  'to look carefully at something'
  'to look at something carefully'

I am trying to understand which place the word 'carefully' should be used in. It seems as though you can have it in different positions in a sentence but the meaning  alters. I am not sure I do get the difference.

I have come across the following sentence in one of the tests for level A2 (Focus Level 2 by Pearson):

  'I was looking carefully at it (=a mobile phone) to see who it belonged to.'

It makes me wonder whether I can move 'carefully' to a different position in the sentence and whether the meaning will be changed.


texts:
What word should pair with paucity when paucity is being decreased?

For example, if there is a paucity of food and new supply has arrived, would it be a correct usage to say

  "New supply has decreased the paucity of food".

"Reduce" as an alternative to "decrease" has crossed my mind. Google didn't help much.


texts:
I am reading a text where several sentences start with "Of note". For example:

  Of note, these associations were generally quite strong.

I know of the idiom "of note" (M-W: "important and deserving to be noticed or remembered") but is it OK to start a sentence like this?

My first instinct would be to replace "of note" in these sentences with something like "importantly" or "it is notable that" or even "it is of note that" -- but what would a native speaker say?


texts: it's all muscle and no fluff -- what does that really mean?

texts:
Example with a context:

  You're beyond the basics, so dive right in and customize, automate and extend Access—using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This supremely organized reference is packed with hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips and workarounds. It's all muscle and no fluff. Discover how the experts use VBA to exploit the power of Access and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery.

What do they really mean by that?


texts: Are "mist" and "missed" really pronounced exactly the same in English?

texts:
Refer the section called "Pronunciation Features" in this page. In that section, you can find this sentence "Interestingly, mist and missed are pronounced exactly the same in English". Really? I don't pronounce both of them the same way.

Mist - I pronounce this as "mĭst"
Missed - I pronounce this as "mĭsd"

Am I wrong? Should I pronounce both of them exactly the same?


texts: How to ask how long will something continue in future?

texts:
What is the appropriate way of asking question about how long an event will continue in future?

I want to ask, eg:

How many more days will the product be in stock? (incorrect?)
How long will the product last in stock ? (incorrect? )
How many more days will this notice be kept on display? (incorrect? )

etc.

Please tell me the correct and natural way of asking these questions.


texts: What does it mean to be saddled with debt?

texts:
I was reading this article talking about costs of marriage in Egypt when I read thise sentence in the end of the article:

  but try being happy in the aftermath when you’re saddled with debt.

I used cambridge online dictionary to figure out the meaning but no get no meaning. All I get is that "saddle" means that thing we put on the horse in order to make us feeling ease when we are riding the horse (or the action of doing so)

But What does this expression mean?


texts: ‘Pleaded’ is pronounced [pli:did]; what’s the pronunciation for loathed: [loʊðid/loʊðəd] or [loʊðd]?


texts: I hope we don't make the same mistake as we've already made. - I'd like to know if I can use "same as" like this

texts:
Our company is scheduled to release the new product soon. But the release of the new product has been delayed because of some technical issues. In this situation, can I say like this?

  I hope we don't make the same mistake as we've already made.

as we've already made is kind of redundant, but I'd like to know it is grammatically right.


texts:
The hockey match between india and pakistan was much exciting.

Here, i think there should be  very at the place of  much. If both are correct then what the difference in the meaning. Please explain.


texts: Most polite, not too formal way to remind one's elder of something?

texts:
I am aware of a polite way to remind my elder, say my advisor, of something important, i.e. "Please be noted ...".

But I am wondering if there is any other way for notifying that is equally polite as "please be noted ..." but not too formal? (I am not sure of whether or not "please be noted ..." is too formal.)


texts:
Is infinitival "to" a preposition?

I have a sentence which is ending with an infinitival "to". It seems to me that to end up a sentence with an infinitival "TO" is not as bad as with what I call a prepositional "TO". Isn't it?

Compare:

  I was lied to.

and

  I did that because they want me to.


texts:
I have confusion in a sentence.

If restaurants sell pizza, their sales will double.

or, If restaurants sell pizza, their sales will be doubled.

Will / will be which one is correct and why?
their sales why we use verb(sale)+s? Although the subject is restaurants which is clearly a plural form of restaurant.

Thank you.


texts: Constituency tests -- is a phrase like this a constituent?

texts:
When we have a sentence with a strange syntactic position, how do we know if a phrase is a constituent?

For example,

  "The two shortest of the books"

Is [of the books] a constituent?

I tried the constituency tests but it passes some and doesn't pass others.


texts: Is it "words in a song," "words to a song," or "words of a song"?

texts:
In

  "I know the words in/of/to that song,"

do all three prepositions work equally fine?

Which is the most common?


texts:
Why not "the U.S. is back as global climate leader"?  "The world" is itself global, yet the U.S. is a country used to be the world leader.
Is "the world" used correctly here? Should it be "the U.S."?

Will the World Trust Joe Biden to Lead on Climate?
Joe Biden says the world is back as global climate leader, but restoring the U.S. as a central player is easier said than done

Source: Time


texts: I have a question about the use of name?

texts:
Must the first letter of people name capitalized on any occasion?
Michael Scofield, is a person name. Why I hear sometimes people call him Michael while sometimes call him Scofield?


texts:
In The Old Guard (2020), immortal Andy speaks to herself:

Andy: I've been here before...over and over again, and each time the
same question. Is this it? Will this time be the one? And each time
the same answer. And I'm just so tired of it.

What does "be the one" mean?


texts:
So I have difficulties to pronounce “at all” in English, and I was wondering if “whatsoever” meant the same thing, and if it could be used in a conversation.

He had no idea whatsoever.
He had no idea at all.

It’s not true whatsoever.
It’s not true at all.


texts:
Could you please explain what "these goals informed the reaction to suggestion" mean ?

I think the pattern is that something informs something to something but I couldnt find out its meaning.

  Furthermore, in the lives of the impoverished masses, stability was of
  the utmost importance. Maintenance of one's job, one's family life,
  one's quality of living were the utmost goals of the commoner, and
  these goals informed the reaction to suggestion that the principles upon which everyday life was thought to be based were no
  longer valid. In the face of this threatened instability and change,
  common Europeans often turned to the Church for guidance, for the
  Church had been the most stable feature of the previous millennium,
  defining the phenomena of the often hard to understand natural world,
  and in essence telling the common churchgoer what to believe.

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/scientificrevolution/section10.rhtml


texts:
I'm wondering whether the boldfaced forms in the follownig should have been changed into the past tense, e.g., "were," "could," and "was."

M: How was your stay at the hotel?

W: Excellent. The pool was wonderful. And the room was clean.

M: Sounds great. Did you go anywhere else?

W: No. We just stayed there all day. There are several good coffee shops in it. We can even have meals there. It is great, right?


texts: The expression "your right" when used to respond to an apology

texts:
Here in Australia, people say something like 'you're right' or 'your right' or 'you right', sometimes followed by 'mate' to respond to an apology.

Below is an example circumstance:

Ouch!
Oops, sorry I stepped on your foot.
Your right mate

I tried doing some research, but couldn't find any examples.
What does it actually mean?

Many thanks.


texts: How to understand the word 'care' in the sentence?

texts:
Still, auditors did not mince words about the general state of care
  during their review, which concluded near the end of the last school
  year.

I think the sentence can be resolved into two parts:

auditors did not mince words about something during their review.
something which concluded near the end of the last school year.

So the general state of care means the conclusion of review? or the general state of concern? How to explain the word care?


texts: How do I say that an investment program is set to last until 2025?

texts:
I have a sentence in Russian:

  Компания в рамках инвестиционной программы до 2025 года продолжает дальнейшее наращивание мощностей и объемов производства.

My translation:

  The company is proceeding with expansion of its production capacity and output in line with its investment program which is set to last until 2025.

In Russian, the phrase goes: "its investment program until 2025" - the phrase is short and clear - the program foresees steps to be taken until 2025.

In English, I have to write "which is set to last until", which is a mouthful. Can I simply say "investment program until 2025" to make it shorter? Is there some other way to make this phrase short?


texts: A question regarding "That’s the last time I leave you in charge"

texts:
That’s the last time I leave you in charge.

In the sentence, is "I leave you in charge" an adjective clause (relative clause) modifying "the last time"?


texts: In this sentence, who are sitting on the bench?

texts:
Consider:

  She spoke with him sitting on a bench.

I think it is likely to mean she is sitting on the bench or he is sitting on the bench.

So, I wonder if there is a way to eliminate this ambiguity.


texts: Redundancy : I used to visit her and I(?) always wondered why she had those dreadful pictures on the wall

texts:
I used to visit her and I always wondered why she had those dreadful pictures on the wall.

If I remove the second I from the sentence, will it be grammatically correct ? I.e.

  I used to visit her and always wondered why she had those dreadful pictures on the wall.

Is this grammatically correct and good for formal usage ?


texts:
Is "shake a cloth out" used in AmE? Like:

He shook out his clothes.
He shook out the rug.


texts: What does a little walking around money mean?

texts:
The following dialog is selected from The Italian Job:

Where'd you say you got these?
I didn't.
A little walking around money.
I guess I'm not walking as far as I thought.

I was wondering what the bolded phrase means.
I might think it doesn't imply street money or pocket money here. Sort of black money or what, in this context.


texts: Is "nobody could survive on its own" grammatically correct?

texts:
Is

Nobody could survive on its own

grammatically correct, or is it

Nobody could survive on his own


texts: Increase the speed of the motorbike by mistake(by throttling it more than you should)

texts: If someone just learnt to ride a bike and is not very good at controlling the speed. That person (by accident) increases the speed by twisting the throttle  towards him/her more than (s)he should. So what will be a natural way to express this "throttling the throttle and , increasing the speed that may make you fall down due to a sudden increase in speed"? So  how can it be expressed? The person "accelerated more than (s)he should, because that person couldn't control the speed (how my should the throttle be throttled)


texts: My friend and I were talking about the cold weather in my city, and she said 'flowers and blossoming trees put me up with it'. I know 'put up with' means 'endure without resentment',e.g. They put up with the bad weather. However, can we say 'The bad weather put me up with it'? I didn't find such usage in Longman or OED.


texts:
The Windows phones still clinging to life are not Microsoft's.

Does "clinging to life" mean "existing" here?


texts:
I often see this phrase in movies and shows

  I am trying to watch TV and it won't work.
  The jar won't open; it is stuck.
  The alarm won't go off (even though I am setting it up correctly).

My question is, do these expressions have the same meaning?

  I am trying to watch TV and is not working.
  The jar is not opening; it is stuck.
  The alarm is not going off (even though I am setting it up correctly).

Which one is more correct to use?


texts: present perfect can be replaced with past

texts:
I was watching a film in which appears a conversation like this.
two persons were talking in front of the king then after the conversation finished the king says: "must go to bed, I'm tired but I'm glad we've have had this conversation" why he says we have had this conversation. shouldn't he say we had this conversation?
which usage of present perfect is this?


texts: Pick odd one out from "man, drone, bison, bull"

texts:
Part 1

Pick out the word in each of the following that is different (Odd One Out)

Man, drone, bison, bull

The answer is - bison.

PS - I just want to know the reason or the logic used here to pick 'bison' the odd one out.

Meanings:

Man : a human being of either sex; a person.
drone : a continuous low humming sound; a continuous musical note of low pitch.
bison : a humpbacked shaggy-haired wild ox native to North America and Europe.
bull : an uncastrated male bovine animal; push or move powerfully or violently.


texts: Can anyone help me understand this simple sentence?

texts:
I cant not get the meaning of this sentence (the one in bold). Can you please help? Thank you!
The shipping industry is taking steps to reduce its environmental impact and the international maritime organization is committed to at least halving carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.
Shipping is hard to regulate however, given how mobile ship registration and oversight can be.


texts: Sentence structure of negative interrogative sentences

texts:
I was reading Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", when I came across a line whose structure I cannot understand. The line is "Is not he a charming man?".

Shouldn't it be "Is he not a charming man?"?

I'm confused as to what is the difference between the two of them. I would really appreciate if someone could explain the difference between the two sentence structures.


texts: What is the subject of the sentence "Inside were mounds of gold coins"?

texts:
I was wondering what the subject of the following sentence is:

  Inside were mounds of gold coins.

Is it "inside," or "inside is an adverb here? Has the sentence had a "there" before "were" that has been omitted by some rule?


texts: Two questions I am asking about that one is what is the subject of the sentence, another is why is a comma between flytrap and drop

texts:
To feed the Venus flytrap***,*** drop a couple of live ants or small insects into the container from time to time.
Is the "to feed the Venus flytrap" the subject of this sentence?
Why put a comma behind the flytrap?
Can I rewrite the sentence as like, to feed the Venus flytrap is to drop a couple of live ants or small insects into the container from time to time?


texts: How to point out that something is written as intended and not an error?

texts:
I'm typing out some information on patients that I've examined for research purposes, e.g.

  John Doe. Height: 192,3 cm. Weight: 89,2 kg.

Now, imagine I came across a particularly rotund John Doe whose weight happens to exactly match his height - what a coincidence! I'll write

  John Doe. Height: 170,2 cm. Weight: 170,2 kg.

... but anyone who reads that might be tempted to think I've made a mistake and written his height twice, forgetting his weight. How should I point out that it is in fact "written as intended"?

[sic] doesn't feel right, seeing as I'm not quoting anyone.

[written as intended] is a bit long-winded.

[!] feels a bit informal.

Are there any other possibilities that I'm unaware of? Preferably formal.


texts:
What is the appropriate (polite) way to ask someone to call me? Could I say:

  Please give me a phone call when available.

or

  Please contact me when you have a chance.


texts: When and why do we use the word "both" in the phrase "to make (both) ends meet"

texts: When and why do we use the word "both" in the phrase "to make ends meet" and is this phrase(to make ends meet) common in spoken English


texts: How to use a conditional for denying this claim?

texts:
Suppose someone says that they were not prepared enough to get into a university, but the university (say Harvard for example) still accepted them. How to deny this claim by using conditionals? Something like this:

  You are being overly modest. If you weren't prepared for Harvard, you wouldn't be able to take away anything from the class on nuclear physics and other advanced classes.

(If it matters, consider 2 contexts. Context A: that person has already taken nuclear physics. Context B: the person is taking nuclear physics now.)

First of all, what's the correct conditional structure? Is the above correct, or should it be "I you hadn't been prepared,..." and/or "you wouldn't have been able to..."?

Second, is the expression "take away" (knowledge, in this case) used properly? (I'm not talking about just passing a class, but rather about "taking away" something useful from there.)

And are there other mistakes in the above "denial"?


texts:
I'm trying to write a subtitle for my report but my English vocabulary is letting me down. Could you please help?

I'm trying to let the below sentence mean something like, "Here's my list of suggestions with a guide to increase the workflow in the department".

Explanatory suggestive guide for an enhanced workflow within the department.

Your suggestions and answers are appreciated.

Thanks!


texts:
Is there any article needed for risk and farming business in the following sentence?

  (A) Risk is an important aspect of (the) farming business.


texts:
As a non-native speaker, when I read the books about grammar,I observe that...

  We usually use everything for a positive sentence and anything for a negative or interrogative sentence.

But I often see sentences in some magazines and articles, like "We'll do almost anything for our beloved animals."

What's the difference between them and is it changing the meaning in sentence?


texts: Of vs. for in a given context with reasons

texts:
Which of these is correct when replying to an e-mail requesting specific details:

  Please find enclosed the required details of XXX team

or

  Please find enclosed the required details for XXX team

(The XXX is the name of the team working on a specific project)

The second sounds right to me, though I cannot place why. I would like to know which is right and why.


texts: "He gives a present for me." is this sentence possible? (particularly, in grammar)

texts:
A. He gives a present to me.
B. He gives a present for me.

I know 'A' is correct. but I wonder 'B' is wrong? particularly in grammar.
In our country(non native english) everybody says 'B' is wrong.
so, do you(native speaker) think 'B' is really strange?


texts:
The deputies submitted a request that a vote should be taken.

Is it possible to determine from the above sentence whether a noticed vote occured or not? I'm just guessing without any support that this sentence is related to the future (the fact of a voting) and that the one that tells the event happened would have this form: The deputies submitted that a vote should have been taken. Am I right or is it a nonsense and the sentence does not indicate the potential past or future of a vote?


texts: Pine, spruce and fir in informal spoken English

texts: Do native English speakers distinguish pines, spruces and firs in informal spoken English? Can it be that for most people they are just pine trees and people rarely use "spruce" or "fir" in their everyday vocabulary?


texts: A word that expresses that something is correlated with X and negatively correlated with its opposite

texts:
I can't think of any concise way of saying this. When you say A happens progressively as you do X, it doesn't mean that the opposite of A happens when you do the opposite of X. Is there a way to say this properly?

For example:

  The health bar of the enemy progressively shrink as you shoot the
  enemy, and progressively replenishes itself when he gets healed my a
  teammate.


texts:
Example:

  The Internet's bandwidth is growing at rates unimagined only a few years ago. The move toward cable and DSL as the connections of choice to the Net means that the Internet is losing a reputation for jerky, small video and tin-can audio. The tricks used today to overcome the narrow bandwidth of traditional modems, described in this chapter, will soon be only of historical interest. If your home doesn't yet have multiple PCs, it probably will eventually, and at least one of them is destined to become your television, radio, stereo, and telephone-it'll blend into one universal source of information and communication.

How do you understand that?


texts: What is the meaning of "vote" in the expression "vote of thanks"?

texts:
According to Collins dictionaries "vote of thanks" means:

A vote of thanks is an official speech in which the speaker formally thanks a person for doing something

A vote means a choice of somebody in a poll.
So, which context has it been used here?


texts: confused the verb "leave", is it a permanent or temporary going away?

texts:
In dictionary

  leave: [intransitive, transitive] to go away from a place or a person
  My baby gets upset when I leave the room.  Before leaving the train,
  make sure you have all your belongings with you.  Leave the motorway
  at Junction 7.

  -leave at  The plane leaves at 12.30.

  -leave for  I tried calling him, but he’d already left for work.

  -leave (something/somebody) soon/now/later etc  If he left immediately, he’d catch the 7.30 train.

  -leave (something/somebody) to do something  Frances left work early to meet her mother.

  -leave somebody doing something  Never leave children playing near water unattended.

  -leave somebody to something  I’ll leave you to it (=go away and let you continue with what you are doing).  My youngest boy has not left
  my side (=has stayed near me) since his daddy was killed.

  -leave somebody in peace (=go away from someone so that they can think, work etc alone)  Just a few more questions, then we’ll leave
  you in peace.

but,

  leave: [intransitive, transitive] if you leave your job, home, school
  etc, you permanently stop doing that job, living at home etc  Over the
  past two years, 20 staffers have left.

  -leave home/school/college etc  How old were you when you left home (=your parents’ home)?  My daughter got a job after she left school.
  The lawsuit will be postponed until the president leaves office.

  -leave a job/country/Spain etc  Many missionaries were forced to leave the country.  It seems that Tony has left the band for good
  (=permanently).

  -leave (somebody/something) to do something  Laura left her native England to live in France.

So, "to leave work" means to "to stop working there (the company that you are working for) permanently" or "just to leave there temporarily & come back to work tomorrow morning"?

"to leave school" means "to stop attending at a school because you graduated" or "to leave school temporarily & come back to school tomorrow morning"?

So, is it wrong to say "I go to work at 7am and leave work at 7pm"?

What about "I go to work at 7am and leave for work at 7pm"?


texts: "So is" in "So is finding this international project quite daunting"?

texts:
I've found this sentence structure while reading this part of the text, and I wonder: what is it used for and when is used?

Judy really enjoys working with you and the team and finds the project very interesting, but I think she's feeling a bit lost and struggling to see the big picture. It seems that she's been given a fair amount of autonomy to carry out the tasks that you've given her, and of course this level of delegation is not uncommon in your branch. But I believe in her Tokyo office, she is used to a bit more managerial direction and guidance and so is finding this international project quite daunting.

Source: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/advanced-c1/managing-a-problem


texts: "she was already foresworn" - meaning in a snippet from a book

texts:
In a story by A. Blackwood, I struggle with the meaning of the word "foresworn":

It was love, perhaps, that carried and interpreted thus the
instantaneous wireless message—the love that lay undelivered in my
heart, as in her own, and, since she was foresworn already, lay
unrecognized.

From the context, I would expect it to be something like "promised to someone else", but no dictionary I consulted offered a meaning like that.


texts: Is this sentence about programming practice correct?

texts:
I'm writing a company guide about the programming interface that is created. English is not my native language and I am having difficulties creating a statement.

  It is strongly advised to use the UoM as good practice method when working with Autodesk Inventor value conversion operations and more.

UoM is short for Units of Measure, defined earlier in the guide.

I'm getting the feeling that the section about using UoM as "good practice" is not read easy but forced.


texts:
The book "Freakonomics", Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, 2005, page 186, the link (the original is with "would"):

  So how does it matter if you have a very white name or a very black name? Over the years, a series of “audit studies” have tried to measure how people perceive different names. In a typical audit study, a researcher used to / would send two identical (and fake) résumés, one with a traditionally white name and the other with an immigrant or minority-sounding name, to potential employers. The “white” résumés have always gleaned more job interviews.

I was told that "used to" sounds bad here or even, for some, doesn't work at all. But I have never understood why it is so. Could you elucidate in detail what "would" means here and why we shouldn't use "used to" instead? Thanks!


texts: difference between "English group of students" and "students' English Group"

texts:
A group of students in my college is starting an English group and they are suggesting the following names:
"English department of students"
"English group of students"
"English association of students"
I just feel these names sound a bit unneutral so I wanted to ask isn't "students' English group" a better alternative and if the answer is yes then why?


texts: difference between By and Through- "Through the use of" vs "By the use of"

texts:
Through the use of scientific method it has been demonstrated that unsanitary conditions cause the spread of diseases.

Why the writer could not use By instead of Through?


texts: Expressing the relationship between two dates

texts:
We have to model the following situation: a user can define a data item (similar to a task) that has a start date and an end date.

We need to be able to validate the data entered by the user.

There are two situations where we'd like a confirmation we've properly used the English language:

start date is less than or equal with end date
start date is more than the end date

Have we properly used less and more?


texts: Use of comma in a sentence where there are mutiple nouns and verbs

texts:
I find it interesting to add comma into this sentence, but I do not know how to make it right.
The first one: Shely likes to eat cakes, apples, and wear red skirts, green hats, and white jeans.
The second one: Shely likes to eat cakes and apples and wear red skirts, green hats, and white jeans.
So, which would you think it more appropriate?


texts: Polite way to explain not answering a call

texts:
I was in meeting with my mobile in silent mode, so I couldn't answer a call.

What would be the perfect sentence to say this to the caller?


texts: What would you call the person tending to the children in a preschool?

texts: Here, that person is always a lady whose job involves taking care of the kids, for example,  when they need to go to the bathroom. She may be assigned other duties as well, such as keeping the preschool's bathrooms clean. I know words like babysitter, childminder, nurse and nanny, but I don't know if any of them would work for this specific situation.


texts:
I recently added a short catch phrase to my SE profile which goes like this:

  Start out your fastest, and slowly but surely, go faster

Question Summary:

Is this sentence grammatically correct?
Is the meaning of this sentence clear?

Background

In the Israeli cult movie, Operation Grandma, there is an epic scene where one of the main characters, who is a praised swimmer in his Kibbutz, is asked for tips on how one can improve his swimming skills, in the context of a swimming race. As an answer he says:

  אתה מתחיל הכי מהר שלך, ולאט לאט אתה מגביר

This is the sentence I'm trying to translate. Basically, this is a ridiculous answer that means: For one to improve his swimming results, he must start swimming as fast as he can, and then swim faster.

I was wondering whether or not my translation is grammatically correct, but also if it captures the meaning.


texts: What does "I saw him wash the car" mean?

texts:
What does this sentence mean?

  I saw him wash the car

Does it mean "I saw him when he was washing the car"?


texts: 20 years on, they have done OR did it again?

texts:
I am not sure that I heard the CNN reporter (American Speaker) well when he was talking about the winner of the world cup 2018, He said: 20 years on, they have done it again. Isn't it more appropriate to use the simple past here, "20 years on, they did it again" because we know when France won the first and the second Worldcups?

Thank you in advance.


texts: Correct use of the "in" and "on" preposition

texts:
Consider the two sentence :

The library is in the north side of the quad.
The library is on the north side of the quad.

The number 1. above is incorrect as I ran an automated grammar check.
Here there are two preposition involved - in and on
But what's the reason for it ?


texts: Please help! Don’t know what this word is

texts:
please help!
I need some advise
How would I say 2 000 000 000 000 000?
If you do know please say


texts:
There are so many types of noun clauses: wh-clauses, that-clauses, etc.

In most cases, when they are subjects, they are followed by a verb in the singular form.

But are plural verbs used when they are implying multiple things?

Examples:

  Where I went is/are China, Japan and Korea.
  What I look for is/are books, shoes and vegetables.
  Where I went includes/include China, Japan and Korea.
  When I want to go to work is/are Monday, Wednesday and Friday.


texts:
In the following sentence:

  Unless your work is pro-bono, you should make sure that your customers keep you in shoe leather.

What does "keeping someone in shoe leather" mean?


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct "There are only 3 students signed for this course."?

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Or it should be " There are only 3 students who signed up for this course." ?
What about " There are some people talking in the room."
What topic of grammar should I read to understand this?


texts: "You are billed for the first 5 minutes and per second after."

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This appears in one promotional mailing list. It is from a telco service provider.

You are billed for the first 5 minutes and per second after.

After reading the entire content, I understand it means we will be billed for the first five minutes regardless if we end the call in less than 5 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, we will be billed by per second.
Without any additional context, does the above sentence convey the message correctly?


texts:
Sometimes I find myself starting or ending emails with a "thank you" note to appreciate the person on the other side making available in case I need some help. His email may end with something like "Should you need any help, please don't hesitate to contact me".

In my native language we usually write "thank you for your availability". This translation sounds a bit weird to me, and I generally opt for something like "thank you for being so helpful", but the meaning is slightly different because it implies that the person has already helped me in some tangible way.

Is there a sentence commonly used in English to say "thank you for making you available to help should I need it"?


texts: "was" or "were"? -- "Several thousand pounds' worth of jewellery ____ discovered in his pocket."

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Which one is the correct version of "was" here: singular or plural?

Can were be replaced with was in the following sentence?

  Several thousand pounds' worth of jewellery were discovered in his pocket.


texts: The plan fell ____ for the want of support. Fill in the blank

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Can you tell more about the words used after fell. For example. In the sentence

  The plan fell __ for the want of support.

What do we use?


texts: Do I have to use the perfect infitnitive

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I was taught, that if we had some action which can hhapen before some moment in the future, I had to use Perfect. For example:

  I will have done it by the morning.

Some days ago I had to say a sentence like this:

  I will want to (come) by the beginning of the meeting.

And I was stuck because I thought the action "to come" had to be with pefect because it could happen before some moment in the future. It would look like this:

  I will want to have come by the beginning of the meeting.

But then I thought it would mean something different because the sentence

  I want to have come by the evening = I want so I would have come by
  the evening

mean that I want something what could have happened in the past but not later the wanting moment, not later than now, not in the future.

The sentence

  I wanted to have come

means the same(as I know). I wanted something what could have happened even before the wanting moment, not later than it, not in the future but only in the past.

And If I say:

  I will want to have come by the beginning of the meeting

it may mean that I will want something what didn't happen in the past happen in this past. But my sense is the action "to come by the beginning..." is not earlier than the wanting moment, it's in the future.

If I can say for this so:

  I will want to come by the evening

meaning that the "come" action is in the future for 'will want", then it's perfect.

If I can say:

  I will want to have come by the evening

meaning that the "come" action is in the past for "will want", then it's clear.

If to ask shortly, we have two sentences:

  I want to come by the evening

  I want to have come by the evening

Are they correct and what do they mean?


texts: Meaning of "ascertainment" in a medical article

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SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth is a multicenter study that conducts population-based ascertainment of youth with clinically diagnosed, non-gestational diabetes who are <20 at the time of diagnosis.

Cases are ascertained from geographically defined populations in Ohio, Colorado, South Carolina and Washington, Indian Health Service beneficiaries from four American Indian populations, and enrollees in several health plans in California and Hawaii.

I know what ascertain means, but I can't understand the meaning of the word "ascertainment" in this context. Can you please help me put this phrase in other words for clear understanding.


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But some care is needed in using Descartes' argument. 'I think,
  therefore I am' says rather more than is strictly certain. It might
  seem as though we were quite sure of being the same person today as we
  were yesterday, and this is no doubt true in some sense.

[Problems of Philosophy - Bertrand Russell, Chapter II]

What does "says rather more than" mean? I don't understand that expression. Could you explain it to me?


texts:
The Last Supper portyays the apostles' shock upon hearing Jesus's Jesus's prediction of his betrayal.  It can be seen in the Covent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Millan. At a whopping 180×360 inches,  it is so huge that only a church wall could accommodate it.

Here, could indicates present or past possibility?