texts: Is "have been enjoying" correct in "Since they were very young, the children have been enjoying..." ?

texts:
I am wondering whether the sentence below is right:

  Since they were very young, the children have been enjoying travelling by plane.

Have been enjoying is appropriate here? Or any other more suitable?


texts:
When someone asks me  if the public toilets is free or not. Can i use ''paid'' as is the case with sentence below?

  No , public toilets in this city are paid.

if it is wrong please show me what i should say .


texts: Should I use "compare to" or "compared to" in this case?

texts:
Which of the following is correct?
1.

The center of the small-town called Islip will develop compared to how it is in the present.

The center of small-town called Islip will develop compare to how it is in the present.


texts: What's "a redundant title"? A glorious title in name only? Any other redundant titles?

texts:
In the Roman tradition a large variety in the meaning and importance of the imperial form of monarchy developed: in intention it was always the highest office, but it could as well fall down to a redundant title for nobility that had never been near to the "Empire" they were supposed to be reigning. Also the name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see below.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor)


texts: Inversion in conditional sentence without "were"

texts:
I have a nuclear family of five. In fact, I have two sisters and unfortunately
  no brothers. If I had at least one brother, the life would be more
  enjoyable.

Can I make an inversion in the bold part? Or I can do this only if I have 'were' in my conditional sentences?

For example:

  Were I you, I would forgive him. (If I were you, I would forgive him.)


texts:
*Bend at knees* what does that mean?
(Bend at knees) what does that mean?


texts: We must use "Was able to" to express a specific ability in the past in positive sentences, mustn't we?

texts:
According to this site

  When we talk about ability, we mean two things.

  First, we mean general ability. This is something that once you have
  learned you can do any time you want, like being able to read or swim
  or speak a language, for example.

  The other kind of ability is specific ability. This mean something
  that you can or can't do in one particular situation. For example,
  being able to lift something heavy, or find somewhere you are looking
  for.

  could / couldn't (for general ability)

  I could read when I was four.

  My grandfather couldn't swim.

  was able to / couldn't (for specific ability)

  When the computer crashed yesterday, I was able to fix it.(not 'I could fix it')

  I couldn't open the window.

The above explanation means "We have to use "Was able to" to express a specific ability in the past in positive sentences"

My question is that "is it ok to use "Could" to express a specific ability in the past in positive sentences"

Is it ok to say "When the computer crashed yesterday, I could fix it."

Or we must say "When the computer crashed yesterday, I was able to fix it."


texts: Is it natural/common to say "deduct conclusion"?

texts:
This morning I sent a report regarding a software issue.

Based on the logging and screenshot, I deduct this conclusion:

some undefined error happened on the server side, which needs server dev to track
the error code crashes the client application which needs client dev to add more error handling
...

Is it natural/common to say "deduct conclusion" in this context?
Ngram Viewer seems to indicate that nobody says it that way.


texts: Is there a slang/idiom for "Get someone into trouble?"

texts: I was suggested Drop someone in it but I need a simpler phrase that is more commonly used.


texts: It’s nothing our butterfly curtains couldn’t fix

texts:
In Inside Out Animation joy says:
Hey, it’s nothing our butterfly curtains couldn’t fix. I read somewhere that an empty room is an opportunity.

What does she mean when she say:

  it’s nothing our butterfly curtains couldn’t fix.


texts: What do the abbreviations "Ms." and "Mrs" stand for?

texts:
What do the abbreviations "Ms." and "Mrs." stand for? and why do they have a capital letters?

I mean, we use to pronounce them totally different from what we write and see, and we add them a full stop, that's why it seems to be an abbreviation of some other words.


texts:
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, >International Confed. of Wizards)

Is "Order of Merlin, First Class" and "Grand Sorc." one title or two?


texts:
I would like to use the second conditional to express something is unlikely to happen.

The problem is this unlikely condition is about the future. Is it still ok to say:

  If I won the lottery next week, I would buy a new car.


texts: All I feel like this doing is kicking back with a good movie

texts:
I came across a sentence from ESLPod, episode 6 of "A day in the life of Jeff", as below,

  After a busy week, all I feel like this doing is kicking back with a
  good movie.

I guess I know the meaning of this whole sentence. It means "After a busy week, all I want to do is relax and watch a movie". I am not sure what it means by "this doing" here. Could someone explain what grammar it is?


texts: "Bring up the subject" vs "bring the subject up"

texts:
Example:

  I stared at my brown sneakers, deciding whether to bring up the
  subject.

  I stared at my brown sneakers, deciding whether to bring the subject
  up.

What's the different between the two? Are both grammatical? Which one is more common?


texts:
May I know which is correct?

  She would travel around the world if she could or can fly like a bird.


texts:
I'm composing a rather important letter and I am stuck and struggling on how to pose this question:
I thought women were necessary to the...  ~vs~
I thought that women were necessary to the....


texts:
Dictionaries say that "bundle up" means "put on warm clothing" or "dress warmly". I need to know how do the sentences below differ in meaning:

  It's very cold outside. Bundle up.
  It's very cold outside. Wear warm clothing.

To me they both are common and mean the same thing, but I guess "bundle up" is more about the quantity of the warm clothes you put on and "put on warm clothing" implies the type of clothes that you should put on (here, warm clothes).

Please let me know how would you interpret them?


texts: Two flights delay? or two flight delays?

texts: If I would like to say that one airline stated that there were two flights delay due to an engine failure, should it be “two flight delays”? or “two flights delay”?


texts:
He lives separate from her.
  He lives separately from her.

Which one is correct?
Are these sentences correct?
Please define them with meanings.


texts:
I'd like to know whether the conditional clause "should they occur" requires an auxiliary like "will" in the main clause of the following:

  In general, governments [will?] act to prevent the formation of gangs or break them up should they occur.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I always can't hear clearly about "of", especially in "of the".


texts:
What is the difference in meanings between "a recipe for bread" and "of bread"?

The second variant comes up in expressions like "a recipe of love/success/happiness", "a plain recipe of agar".


texts: Can I reapeat the same noun when using neither and nor

texts:
I would like to use neither and nor but I do not know whether I can repeat the noun or not.

This shape is neither star shape nor triangular shape.

Can I omit one of the word shape, i.e.,

This shape is neither star nor triangular shape.

If not, then could someone please help me to understand the reason?


texts: Is it “were” or “are” in: “Where are/were you when I needed you?”

texts:
Where were you when I needed you?

I used the phrase

  Where are you when I needed you?

Is the grammar correct? I don't know if it is.


texts: "Had I not had cash" or "Had I not have"

texts:
I want to know, what is the correct form grammatically.

  Had I not had cash on me, I would have been in deep trouble

or

  Had I not have cash on me, I would have been in deep trouble.

Is this a less used form & perhaps, something like the following?

  Did I not have cash on me, I would have been in deep trouble


texts: either or with more than two alternatives

texts:
How to say a phrase like this:

  Either "specifically" or "explicitly" or any other adverb is just wrong in that sentence.

"Either" is usually used with two alternatives. What is used when we have more than two alternatives?


texts: When a theater performance took its start

texts:
How to say properly in English that a theater performance took its start?

Do they say:
1) 'The play has begun.'
2) 'The play has started.'
3) 'The play has been started.'
Or if none of the three sentences above is correct, then how?


texts: I'm on a 12-hour blow -- meaning of "blow"?

texts:
Example:

  — I need you back in 4 instead of 12. I got half of Korea coming in at noon.
  — No, no, no, I'm on a 12-hour blow. Call Tedesco.

What does a 12-hour blow mean?


texts: Past Continuous vs Past Simple (limited timeframe)

texts:
A friend of mine was taking her English exam the other day (she is a chemistry student) and she had to talk about her work in a laboratory (they have to do a lab-project for 2 weeks every semester) that she had done for 2 weeks before that exam
She wanted to tell the examiner what the main goal of her laboratory work was,
so she said:

"I worked on changing the formula of..."

However, the teacher (non-native) replied that it should be:

"I was working on changing the formula of.."

saying that here we have a regular action in a limited period of time and thus we can't use simple past here, otherwise, it would suggest that "working on changing the formula" is  part of her lifestyle and doesn't fit in well with the timeframe of a 2-week lab work

Which one is more natural in this context? Are both correct? What is the difference?

Also, I thought that the past continuous always implied some interruption after the continuous action like

"I was working on changing the formula but then they stopped financing
and I never finished my laboratory project"

"working" started in the past and lasted for some time but before the 2-week timeframe expired, investors stopped financing (interruption) and she didn't finish her project

Is my understanding correct?
Is the teacher's explanation/argumentation relevant?
Do native speakers perceive "worked" as regular or singular action in this context?


texts: Why is this comma needed in the Declaration of Independence?

texts:
Regarding the comma after the earth:

  When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

As I can understand, there's no hard rules in English regarding use of punctuation marks, so one can put them simply anywhere if it makes the meaning of a sentence clearer. Yes?


texts:
In the following sentence, should I put 'as' before the adjective 'offensive'?

I hope you won't take my criticism as offensive.

I hope you won't take my criticism offensive.

I feel as if the two sentences with or without 'as' are correct, is it so?

I found a similar sentence as one mentioned above here:
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/take+as

Sam's actions were taken as constructive.

Removing 'as' won't work here. But in my sentence, it seems alright (to me at least).

Also, what is 'as' grammatically here? Since prepositions are placed before nouns or pronouns and 'offensive' is an adjective, is as still a preposition? If I consider 'take as' in the sentence, then surely it is a preposition and it becomes important to place 'as' there. But if I don't think that way, then what is 'as' here?

Will appreciate if someone helps me with it.


texts: "turning the action into a fierce full stop" meaning in the context

texts:
Harry was barely listening to her. He was turning the Snitch over and over in his hands, half expecting it to break open, to reveal the Resurrection Stone, to prove to Hermione that he was right, that the Deathly Hallows were real.

  She appealed to Ron.

  "You don't believe in this, do you?"

  Harry looked up. Ron hesitated.

  "I dunno ... I mean ... bits of it sort of fit together," said Ron awkwardly. "But when you look at the whole thing ..." He took a deep breath. "I think we're supposed to get rid of Horcruxes, Harry. That's what Dumbledore told us to do. Maybe ... maybe we should forget about this Hallows business."

  "Thank you, Ron," said Hermione. "I'll take first watch."

  And she(Hermione) strode past Harry and sat down in the tent entrance, turning the action into a fierce full stop.

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I'm not exactly sure of the meaning of "turning the action into a fierce full stop". Maybe Hermione just ended up in a full stop? What's "the action" referring to? How should we understand it correctly?


texts: Which is correct "your" or "their" when combining questions?

texts:
What is one to do when they are locked out and therefore unable to access the Slack support channel, or have to email sysadmin from an address other than your work one?
I came across the above statement. I understand what they mean, but this sounds weird to me. First, they start with the word "one" and end with "your", Is this a proper usage? I'd would tend to use "their" instead of "your".
Is this because they have combined two questions?


texts: Question about exact meaning of "a premium paid" in the given context.

texts:
A Text:
Amazon parrots are native to the New World. Indeed, Christopher Columbus himself apparently gave the name “Amazon” to the green. Short winged parrots that he brought back to Europe after his first voyage here. There are 27 species of Amazon parrots. Most parrot species are bred successfully in captivity and several types of Amazons are available from breeders and pet stores here in Canada. Prices generally range, depending on the species, from $800 to $1600, with a premium paid for the breeds that are considered to be better “talkers”

What does "with a premium paid for" mean in the last sentence?
Who pays?
Whom does "he" (that somebody in the 2nd question) pay to?
And what exactly does "that somebody" pay?


texts:
Is this phrase used somehow incorrectly? Because the (Urban Dictionary) defines: "that which is very successful".
Therefore, it is wrong to use this phrase with love because it sounds like something weird. I'm right?

  Love is not only something you feel,
  it is something you do.
  Well, if you want to make it a smash hit kinda thing.

Stumbled on the Internet.


texts:
The two men have crashed down the stairs to the basement. The gun lies/sits between them on the floor.
Are both 'lies' and 'sits' OK here?


texts:
Is it "using an MD simulation" or "using a MD simulation"? MD stands for "Molecular Dynamics".

Since "M" is pronounced "EM", I thought it must be "an". I found both usages on the web through searching in Google.


texts: “I have little money” vs. “I have a little money”

texts:
What is the difference between “I have little money” and “I have a little money”?

Are they the same?


texts: Can I just say 'there's always a first' omitting 'time for everything'?

texts: I've seen just 'there's always a first' without 'time' and 'for everything'. Is it a standard usage?


texts:
I really do not understand what this question means. I'd appreciate it if you could help me find the answer.

  Few ideas are more _____ than the notion that cultures evolve in Darwin fashion;
  many academics have begun writing about cultural evolution, but few treat the underlying
  Darwinian logic with the care it deserves.

  abused
  archaic
  misused
  outdated
  divisive
  derivative

which of the options provided above fits into the blank? and why?


texts: "people who puts ... their mouth is" vs "people who put ... their mouths are"

texts:
So you'd say you’re one of those people who puts their money where their mouth is?

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theenglishwespeak/2012/06/120626_tews_77_put_your_money_where_your_mouth_is.shtml)

Why not

1 "So you'd say you’re one of those people who put their money where their mouth is";

or

2 "So you'd say you’re one of those people who put their money where their mouths are"?


texts:
I know this one is not a new one but as I have not received  any answer

Shall I say

If I was a detective, I would ask or I would be asking

Is the second one (be asking) only a form to stress politeness


texts:
The question
In my native language we have two ways of saying the food is hot. One meaning spicy and one meaning too/very warm.

I am now looking for a way to use this sentence:

  The food is ...{single word here}...

I want the meaning to be clear (the food is warm to the point where caution is recommended). If there is not a single word for this that is also fine, I could then at least start looking for better workarounds.

Thoughts so far
I always used 'hot' but that can easily be confused with spicy so I am currently using workarounds.

'Warm' can mean 'nice and warm' or 'too warm', so I am not satisfied by that either.


texts:
Let's imagine I have some boats with different prices. I am going to be selling them soon. I have gotten a person to buy one of them and he approached the boat I am selling for the highest price. Can I say something like:

I am selling it for more expensive than others

I am selling it more expensive than others

I am selling it for more expensive than all

I am selling it more expensive than all

I am selling it for a more expensive price than others

or how can it be said correctly?


texts:
"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to
  be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"
      "It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else –– something that will bring you
  back to full strength and power –– something that will mean you can
  never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at
  this very moment?"
      "The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course –– the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who ––"
      "Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?" (Harry
  Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

I guess ‘their’ does not have a plural meaning here but it is a substitute for his or her. Is this right?


texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?

1) My daily time with Sandra is something I wouldn't trade for anything.

2) My daily time with Sandra is something I won't trade for anything.

I saw the first sentence when I was reading a book but I expected the second, because I think the speaker in the second sentence is more certain about what he's saying.


texts:
I have two sentences with two same subject 'the possession and exercise' but it has two different verbs, one is singular and other is plural.

  Source: The possession and exercise of the skills of archery make one good as an archer. (plural)

  Source: ...the possession and exercise of virtue is in the best interest of the virtuous person... (singular)

It would be more helpful if anyone with different examples.


texts:
Lockdown: I warn you, Mr. Attinger of Earth, an alliance is a contract, and contracts, like humans, expire.

  Attinger: On this planet, we have a saying. "The enemy of my enemy is
  my friend."

  Lockdown: I also have a saying. "I don't care."

  -- Transformers.Age.of.Extinction.2014

This bold line sounds odd to me. Contracts can expire, but humans can expire?

I kind of think that's a typo and the line should be like humans' (contract).

What do you think?


texts:
Going through customs to leave a country can sometimes be very
  frustrating. First she was asked why she was not rolling her carryon.
  The handle got stuck when she got off the car so she had been
  forced to open the suitcase to maneuver the handle back to the
  suitcase.

Can so express a reason and used as "because". In this passage first she had been forced  to open the suit case (past perfect) and then the handle got stuck (past simple). The handle got stuck because or after she had been forced to open suitcase.

I really thought and still think that so  express(ed) always a result!

  My car is broken so I am going to the garage


texts: What’s the meaning of ‘cross one’s fingers in one’s mouth’?

texts:
I learned an idiom ‘cross one’s finger’ generally means hoping someone’s success by a crossing-fingers gesture.

By the way, I came across a little unconvinced part in the Japanese translation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

  Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.

The Japanese translation says like Hermione actually put her crossed fingers in her mouth, but I have a feeling the meaning is such that she just mumbled “Good luck, Harry.” or something in her mouth, whether her fingers are crossed in her mind or in reality (in that case anywhere out of mouth). For it is a little dubious to me that putting your fingers whether crossed or not into your mouth is an English body language.

What is Hermione really doing?


texts:
[A] Behind the flat job figures are changes in how we live now (The Age)

Can’t how in above sentence have the function of the fused [free] relative? I mean, can the how have the meaning of ‘the way that’ or ‘the way in which’? A Korean English-grammar book says the how in the next sentence has the fused relative function: [B] Do it how you can.
But I don’t find the explanation in CGEL, and it even says the relative word, how, hardly occurs in fused relatives and it is quite marginal. (CGEL,p.1076).
So I'm confused if I can use this expression: [C] ‘The important thing is how we live’, intending to say ‘The important thing is the way in which we live’ Can I or is it only meaning ‘The important thing is in what way we live’?


texts: How should an amphibian answer "Do you live in water"?

texts: As commonly known, amphibians live both in water and on land. Then how should we answer to a YES-NO question that only accepts a boolean answer such as "Does it live in water?" when we are referring to an amphibian?


texts:
I noticed the following comments under a hot meta post: Downvoting questions from new users

  I agree this is horribly bad form. I blame the Australians. – Andrew
  But @Andrew, as you yourself pointed out, there are no Australians here. – StoneyB
  @StoneyB No, actually I said I never see them. They could be all around us, waiting in the trees like downvoting drop-bears,
  whispering, "Strewth, she's a beaut isn't she!" when they see their
  next victim. – Andrew

At first, I thought these comments to be rude and offensive, yet the upvotes suggest that they are not. I guess it's a well-known joke, but searching "blame the Australians" online didn't give me any useful information.

My question is: Why are Australians blamed?


texts: Why is that "therefore" is usually followed by a comma and not "and so"?

texts:
I thought "therefore" and "and so" meant basically the same. Why, then, is "therefore" usually followed by a comma? (When it appears at the beginning of a sentence.)

  Therefore, Sunday's Super Bowl could be the last game played this
  calendar year.

And not and so?

  And so they've shown more than 10 years of strong, solid, consistent growth now.

Is there are grammatical, practical, or logical reason?


texts:
He captures snowflakes, tadpoles, hibernating frogs; he coaxes bread
  from bakers with none to sell; he regularly appears in the kitchen
  with fresh milk for the babies. He makes things too: paper boxes,
  crude biplanes, toy boats with working rudders.

-All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr-

What does the bold phrase mean? Without anything to pay for?


texts: Are these sentences characteristic of a native speaker?

texts:
I found someone online who can help me in English, and I will teach him Persian. He said to me:

  Yes, I am a native speaker of (American) English and well educated in reading and writing. I would be happy to help proofread a paper for you.

He must be a native speaker, but are these natural sentences of a native and educated speaker? for example I doubt about the structure of the bold parts.

These are other messages from him:

  I have a bachelor's degree in computer science. My job is improving online site search for The Home Depot, so I work on algorithms to understand language. I read papers, but I don't usually do research at my job, unless it is a small project to research how an algorithm performs.


texts: How to write a mathematical formula in English?

texts:
Consider:

We define a parameter N which stands for the number of antennas used in a cell phone network.

After doing a research work, studies show that another parameter of the system which represents diversity order of the network, denoted by D,can be derived as below:

  D = N+1.

The researcher writes about his conclusion as:

  The diversity order of the cell phone network is limited to one plus the number of antennas.

Has the researcher written his conclusion correctly? Is it a proper written English?

If no, can you help him to improve his paper?!

Adding information due to the incisive comment from probablyme

He asked:

"Is N+1 a bound?"

The answer is yes, it expresses the upper band of the diversity order.


texts:
Can't I say "The child never smiles and laughs"?

Do I have to say, "The child never smiles or laughs"?


texts:
The Situation was, someone dated a girl and came back home and told someone else that
I'm getting back now, because she lives in Poughkeepsie.
in this sentence, what kind of meaning getting, a progressive form of get, contains
I think in this sentence, getting doesn't have the progressive meaning because in this situation, he already came back and not moved.
In this sentence, what is the meaning of ~ing


texts: Who has created this group? Who have created this group?

texts:
I'm much confused about these two sentences.
Which one is the correct one?  I heard that we can't use " Who are, who were,  who have"?  Is this okay to say?  One of my friends said.

His explanation is given below.

'Who have' is not correct. 'Who' isn't followed by are, have or were in a question wether the subject is singular or plural. In your example no matter the group is created by a person or more than one person, we would only ask who has created to find out about the subject.

Actually, we discussed this above mentioned question. After that, he shared his views which have been added by me over here.
Thanks in advance.


texts: "will be tried to be" vs. "will tried to be"

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say "will tried to be" in a sentence like: "He will [be?] tried to be contacted 3 times" or "Data will [be?] tried to be retrieved from the database"?

If yes, is there a difference between these usages, and what is the grammatical structure of a sentence with omitted "be"?


texts: Is the usage of "case in point" correct in this sentence?

texts:
In the following sentences:

  This is a highly popular style among beginners. The case in point
  here is the practice of indenting continuation lines at the same level of the first argument in a function call.

Is the use of "case in point" correct? The definitions and examples I've found seem to use this expression only to introduce actual cases or examples, and not an explanation.

Should I change the sentence to something like the following?

  The technique discussed here is the practice of indenting continuation lines at the same level of the first argument in a function call.


texts: "Affected neighboring topics" sounds wrong

texts: I found in our documentation the phrase affected neighboring topic. It looks unfamiliar to me. Is affected related topics a better way to introduce a list of issues, which are influenced by this topic?


texts:
For example:

You are writing a story (or a note) and you write a line that you like and so you tilt your head this way and that while you read it over and consider it.
Your hear a friend say something really odd or incredible and you tilt your head to show disbelief.
Your pet dog moving its head this way and that on hearing you make strange noises.

How do you describe these head movements?


texts: Why is the simple past form "did" used here? In other words, is it still clear, grammatical and idiomatic if present simple tense is used?

texts:
It sounds like the tutorial is saying (link with a time stamp corresponds the following)

  if you did like this video
  give it a thumbs up

I guess the reason that the presenter uses "did like" is to emphasize "like".

The quesiton is,

Why is the simple past form "did" an appropriate tense here?

In other words, is it still clear, grammatical and idiomatic if present simple tense is used?

  if you do like this video give it a thumbs up

or simply

  if you like this video give it a thumbs up


texts: "Now think this" is it correct to use think without its preposition here

texts:
I came across a heading of a topic where author want me to think of a scenario, so he wrote 'now think this'
Is it correct (in formal use) to use 'think' here without 'of' or 'about'?


texts: "As knows all the tiptop young fellas?"— Is it correct?

texts:
In old movie 'Lady Chatterley', the actor says "as knows all the tiptop young fellas?".

Is 'as knows all the tiptop young fellas' grammatically correct? Is it like old English or some dialects?

If not, what is the correct version?

Movie Script

  Woman: I saw you once, washing.

  Woman: I thought you were beautiful.

  Man: Me?

  Woman: your body was beautiful. I
  wanted you.

  Man: My body, beautiful? To you? As knows all the tiptop young fellas?

  Woman: I don't mean handsome.

  Man: Handsome is as handsome does.


texts:
I have read a sentence in a story.

  The four of you may be proficient, each in your own subject.

I am so confused with the usage of each in this sentence.

Is 'each ' a pronoun or an adverb or ?

Another question is: why the author used a comma before each?


texts:
What is the meaning of "his uncle by marriage in the following sentence:

  Tom was adopted by Sam, his uncle by marriage.


texts:
The sentence from my grammar book:

  When he had read the letter he burned it.

Why not just "when he read "? These are consequntive actions, aren't they?


texts: Indirect/direct objects with the verb "give": "give to you" vs. "give you"

texts:
If we start with this sentence:

  The girl gave me the information I wanted.

Then which is the right question to ask about that situation:

  What did the girl give you?

or

  What did the girl give to you?


texts: If someone say"I'm hanging out in the woods trying to find you a gig",what does he mean?

texts:
-What are you, the lost Gabor sister?

-You should be walking around with a boa and a Pomeranian.

Someone's crabby. - I'm not crabby.

-I'm hanging out in the woods trying to find you a gig.


texts: I need to rewrite this sentence while keeping the same meaning and starting with the given word(s)

texts:
Paul and Jane moved to Paris two years ago.
  It is...

If the starting words were "it has" I could have written "It has been two years since...". But the auxiliary "be" is used instead and I am not allowed to change it. I don't have a single idea what the solution might be.


texts: What should a language learner know about political correctness?

texts:
There are many impolite expressions. In the European country I come from, using the (translation) of the word gypsy is considered rude, yet as far as I know Americans say the word openly. On the other hand, while the (translations of) words blind and deaf are considered OK where I live, Americans avoid them.

Gypsy ~ Romani people
blindness ~ impaired vision
deaf ~ hard of hearing

Sometimes I am not sure if the politically correct expression is real, or if it is a joke, for example

traffic accident ~ traffic incident or traffic collision

(source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puK5CwThaq4)

Then some other are obvious jokes, like

poor ~ monetarily challenged
short ~ vertically challenged

What prompted me to ask this question is this alternative expression for an illegal immigrant which I heard yesterday for the first time.

illegal immigrant ~ unregistered inhabitant

What should a language learner know about political correctness, both regarding the vocabulary and the circumstances when it is important to speak this way?


texts: "on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall"

texts:
Classroom eleven was on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall.

  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Can anyone help me to understand the phrase "along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall"?  I had a hard time  picturing the location of Classroom eleven here.


texts: meaning of the phrase "sit off by oneself"?

texts:
Here is the context:

  If social anxiety nodes are closely connected, you will feel fearful not only of eating in public, but also of speaking in front of your co-workers at that meeting. If fear of eating in public sits off by itself and is relatively distant from any other symptoms of the disorder, then you’ll be less incapacitated overall.

Does that mean when the fear disappears...?


texts: How can i tell to my teacher that I had finished my homework? (I had done it in the past)


texts: "drinking a cup of coffee" vs "over a cup of coffee"

texts:
We can describe two things we do in one time with a participle construction like the following sentence:

  We had a chat drinking a cup of coffee.

However, we may also describe the same situation with "over" as follows:

  We had a chat over a cup of coffee.

Is there any difference between these sentences?

I know "over a cup of coffee" is a common expression which means "during [while drinking] a cup of coffee", but "drinking" and "over" are probably different in word class. I would like to understand why these sentences can describe the same situation (or not the same).

Thanks in advance.


texts: Whether or not to omit "then" and whether or not to omit "it"

texts:
What is the correct way to write? or no is right?

1) Consequently, if the algebra A is not nilsemisimple it necessarily contains a non zero nilpotent matrix N and we get the result.

2) Consequently, if the algebra A is not nilsemisimple , necessarily contains a non zero nilpotent matrix N and we get the result.

3) Consequently, if the algebra A is not nilsemisimple , then necessarily contains a non zero nilpotent matrix N and we get the result.


texts:
Doctor Alex (A) /was an educated(B) /man of letters (C)/ no error (D)

The above question was asked in my exam in which I was asked to mark the error in the given sentence from four options (A,B,C,D). I know the error, it's that educated here is superfluous with man of letters as man of letters itself means educated but I am confused whether to mark the answer as B or C as the sentence can be corrected by two ways Doctor Alex was an educated man or Doctor Alex was a man of letters. That is it can be corrected by both ways (either by correcting B part or C part of given sentence.) What answer should I mark in exam?


texts: "For one's own good" Vs "In one's best interest"

texts:
I was wondering if in the following sentence:

I know you're mad that I won't let you eat candy for dinner, sweetheart, but it's for your own good.

we can substitute the bold part for:

this is in your best interest.

Actually I know the meaning of both idioms, but both mean the same to me; however, I have my doubts whether the same goes to you as native speakers or there is another story there!
PS. in contrary cases we say:

It is not in your best interest.

Can we say instead:

It is not for your own good.

Do they make a good sense to you?
Please kindly enlighten me.


texts:
Oxford dictionary gives this example sentence about "aside from".

  A full scale search was launched and thankfully she was found unharmed, aside from suffering from the cold.

Is it reasonable to say "aside from" means a set does not include something.

and then the example sentence could be

what she was unharmed does not include suffering from the cold.


texts: What is the difference between a company, organisation, industry, firm, corporation and business?

texts:
A company is any form of business whether it is small or large.
Generally the term "company" indicates a particular kind of business
dealing in a specific product.
An organisation is the larger form and generally comprises of a
number of companies.  Simply, a company is an organization, but an
organization is not just a company.
An industry is the combination of companies in same line of
business.
Firm, corporation and business  are synonyms of "company".
An Agency is a particular kind of company, which serves as an intermediary between clients (other companies or individuals).

Is this correct?


texts:
I understand (or guess) that "hold-outs" here refers to "people who resist evidence and truth."  Am I on the right track?

(Harvard Professor) Steven Pinker Retweeted
Philip E. Tetlock tweeted:
There are hold-outs but 263 years later, political psychology is edging toward Samuel Johnson’s views:
“Credulity--confidence of opinion too great for the evidence from which opinion is derived--we find to be a general weakness imputed by
every sect and party to all others”(1758)

Source: Twitter


texts: What's the word for changing your mind and not doing what you said you would?

texts:
My dad told me he would buy me a laptop, but when he saw the price in the shop he changed his mind. He said he has never said that. Because he saw that the price is too high and the laptop is too expensive.
Is there a word for this, i.e. for not doing what you agreed to?


texts: I HAVE HAD+ FOR then, SINCE(atypical present perfect usage)

texts:
Let's say you are an ESL that has been learning English for numerous months. Because of this, you haven't used your mother tongue to converse since your English learning started. One day, one of your ex-batchmates who speaks the same native language as you do chat you online. And you say:

  "Wow, this is the longest native language conversation I have had for a long time since my English review."

This is unusual sentence, I think, because I have used present perfect with ''for'' and ''since'' all in the same sentence, which I doubt if it is correct as this is my first time constructing this type of sentence.

Can I really use this particular sentence without being ungrammatical?


texts:
I am confused about when to use "both" and when to avoid it in the following sentence:

  These scientists' research aims to understand fundamental questions and (to) find clinical applications based on this understanding.
  These scientists' research aims to both understand fundamental questions and (to) find clinical applications based on this understanding.


texts: What do the stacked prepositions "away at" mean in this sentence?

texts:
My greatest privilege thrives in work that allows me to carve away
at words, changing and reshaping them until they ring true.
-- Benita Porter, The Power of Words

Does the phrase mean ‘carve away words at words’: make a good shape of words with words? Or what does it mean?


texts: What does this sentence mean? From a Film Review of Bohemian Rhapsody 3

texts:
In a movie review from Time (http://time.com/5440357/bohemian-rhapsody-freddie-mercury-queerness/ ), there is a sentence I don’t understand.

  He fluidly presented along the femme-butch spectrum, equally
  convincing in glam drag, in drag drag, and in the cartoonishly
  masculine “Castro clone” uniform (tight jeans, tank top, an imposing
  mustache, muscles) that originated in San Francisco in the early ’70s.

There are some difficult expressions for me. Here what does “along” mean? Does it mean “further” here? What is glam drag? Is it a different from just “drag?” Then what is drag drag? Why is the first drag italicized? I’m not familiar with gay culture and the sentence is difficult to understand.


texts: When your friend/s telling you that he's doing something funny or traveling etc. What is the better way to react between the folowing two? Is it "enjoy!" or "enjoy it!"?


texts:
Taj Mahal is built using marbles

I heard that Material noun is always use in singular form


texts:
I can't decide whether to use the in these sentences.

  [The] white chalk rock underground  has formed  beautiful hills and  valleys.
  [The] grassland has a lot of flowering plants.
  [The] coastline has a lot of wondeful beaches and cliffs.


texts: Is it "this type of words" or "these types of words" in following context?

texts:
I am a English learner and recently asked a question. In my description, I wrote following.

I know that there are phrasal verbs like loop up, look out, Pass away, etc. But, I want to know what this type of words are called which are made up of two complete English words: overrun, outnumbered, turnover, etc. and these group of words are single word and not hyphenated words.

Someone pointed out saying that it should be "these types of words".
Is it correct? My intense is to say, they (words) are collection of particular type and that type is only one (compound) type.
Sorry, for being inquisitive. I am just trying to improve my language skills.


texts: Is definite article necessary in "inadequate stimulation of (the) various organs in the body"

texts:
From ehealthMD's page on hypothyroidism:

  Most symptoms, such as lower heart rate, tiredness, poor memory or difficulty in thinking, even constipation, are due to inadequate stimulation of the various organs in the body due to insufficient amounts of thyroid hormone.

Is the definite article necessary here? Could we omit it? After all, these are not some specific, previously mentioned organs:

  Most symptoms, such as lower heart rate, tiredness, poor memory or difficulty in thinking, even constipation, are due to inadequate stimulation of various organs in the body due to insufficient amounts of thyroid hormone.

Or maybe the is used to indicate "the organs that are functioning poorly in hypothyroidism"?  Or is "the various organs in the body" a large generic noun phrase?

The authors of the article are native speakers of English, judging by their names and positions.


texts:
Today I saw a sentence:

She surely can do it.

What does that mean? How does it differ from:

She certainly can do it.
Surely she can do it.

This slight difference in meaning of those sentences I am not able to notice. Could you please help me? Thanks in advance!


texts:
My son wanted to change the position with me.

"I want to sleep here." He said.

  "It's Okay. Becareful not to fall out the bed. I sleep in middle. You
  sleep in outside. Mummy sleeps in inside."

(Beside my wife is a wall. So I let him know it was inside.)

I am a bit confuse the preposition for the people in the bed.

What adjective should I use?


texts: Placing an adverb between a verb and an object?

texts:
The rule: "We don’t put adverbs between the verb and the object" (Cambridge Dictionary)

But some sentences confuse me :

  1-He drew only a rabbit. (All he drew was a rabbit but he might have done other things while drawing like listening to music)

  2-He read only the end of the book. (All he read was the end of the book)

    1'-He only drew a rabbit. (All he did was drawing a rabbit)

    2'-He only read the end of the book. (All he did was reading the end of the book)

I think (1 and 1') + (2 and 2') are not the same. So are (1 and 2) grammatically correct ? That means rule is not always true ?


texts: Usage of the prepositions 'on' and 'in' before the words 'next' and 'last'

texts:
According to this article, we shouldn't use any preposition before the words 'last', 'next', 'every', 'this' when we refer the expression to some time (next Friday...) but there are some cases I have confronted with and this confused me

Question:

  Is it wrong usage of a preposition or some kind of exception?

link to the source

1) On the next two nights, they evaluated the volunteers' sleep behavior in the presence of noises like road and air traffic or a ringing telephone

2) When the watch returns to normal temperature, however, this condition will be corrected and the correct date will be displayed on the next day

3) On the next morning the groups started with the visiting program

4) They were released on the next day only after their families paid the ransom demanded by the kidnappers

link to the source

5) The Commission President has talked a lot about Robin Hood in the last couple of weeks

6) In the last week of the campaign, he made a point of disagreeing with the constitutional amendment, saying that he didn't oppose civil union

7) In the last year, Albania has carried out evaluation visits and has received such inspection and evaluation visits yearly

8) In the last two and a half hours they had not yet resumed


texts: Perhaps there is a retired plod with a 50-year-old duty roster that can give us a more definitive idea of how officers then spent their time.


texts:
I just saw a joke that made me think.

Disability regarding sight: blindness (being blind)
Disability regarding hearing: deafness (being deaf)
Disability regarding smell: ??? (being ???)

What would that be called?

As a bonus question - what would be the equivalent for all the remaining two senses?


texts: why does "square one" not take an article?

texts:
Consider the next idiom:

  Go back to square one

For me, as a non-native speaker, putting the in front of square one sounds equally good as not putting it at all. But, when I speak with native speakers, for them saying the before square one sounds as a broken English.

On the other hand, if I take an another example:

  There are a few problems. The first one is ...

My question is, what is the difference? Why in the case of idiom the should not be said, but in the second case it has to be said?


texts: Do you die "from" or die "of" cancer? Which preposition do you use?


texts: your completion of the program or the completion of your program

texts:
I am going to make up a sentence.

(ex) The advanced certificate is given to recognize the completion of my accounting program or my completion of the program.

Which phrase in bold is correct?


texts: "I never thought", "I've never thought", "I never would have thought"

texts:
Let's suppose that you face an old friend on the street accidentally for the first time after a couple of years and you are going to express your surprise out of this coincidence. Which one of the bold sentences below works naturally in this sense?

  1) Oh Tedd. What a councidence! Long time no see! What are you doing here? I never would have thought that I would see you here.

  2) Oh Tedd. What a councidence! Long time no see! What are you doing here? I've never thought that I would see you here.

  3) Oh Tedd. What a councidence! Long time no see! What are you doing here? I never thought that I would see you here.


texts: I want to ask a question about using gerund after preposition

texts:
Is this sentence right?

  "I angry at governing of the king on my country."


texts:
I like basketball.
What do you like?

2 is the question form of 1.

3.I wish English was easy?

Then, what is the question form of 3?

I don't want to get what people wish something was easy as an answer, I want to know what they wish English was like.


texts:
English not my native language.
I'm trying to understand what would be correct in British English.

If I want to use a car for some time. I can say, "I want to rent a car". But from my knowledge there may be a  misunderstanding. I can say the same words if I want to give a car to someone to use for some time and I want to receive payment.

So what would be correct and not misunderstanding?

1) I want to use a car for some time = "I want to hire a car"
2) I want to give a car to someone to use for some time = "rent out a car"

Is my understanding correct?


texts:
I'm talking to someone about our roll numbers. My roll number is 23 and her roll number is 30.

So what's the best way to describe it:

  My roll number comes first.

  My roll number comes before yours.

And if I'm telling my little sister about a number or a letter:

  C comes first. (When she asks me "What comes first C or D?"

  C comes before D.

And:

  45 comes first.

  45 comes before 46.

What's preferred?


texts: A native speaker said: "I have ever went to"

texts:
I heard a guy from Manchester, UK said —

  It was the best restaurant I have ever went to.

And Google offers 23 million pages for the query "have ever went to", and only 3 millions for "I have ever gone to".

Is this form correct? Has the grammar changed?


texts: How to describe the total number of actions by a group of people?

texts:
If Jack made 10 phones calls, we can write：
Calls made by Jack: 10

If the total phone calls made by everybody of a company is 1000, can we write:
Calls made by the whole company: 1000 ?

I feel like that the whole company is not proper here but I can't say why and don't known how to say it.


texts: Adjective American v.s adjective US: Any difference?

texts:
Is there any difference between these two adjectives when they both refer to the USA? Can they be used interchangeably?

  American currency/beauty/economy/flag/culture/way of life, etc.

  US currency/beauty/economy/flag/culture/way of life, etc.


texts: She looks out the window to see/and sees a car park outside

texts:
She looks out the window to see a car park outside.

She looks out the window and sees a car park outside.

Is there any difference between these?


texts:
For whatever reason, I had in mind that the common verb used to describe a rainbow's "state" is bent, as in "a rainbow bent over the landscape".
However, I just Googled "rainbow bent over", and there are really a small amount of results. Googling "rainbow * over" didn't help me understand what's the common verb, as well.
What's the common verb to describe a rainbow? perhaps it's "arch? maybe "stretch"? something else?


texts:
I always liked a certain type of songs, and I can't find anything about the name for these kinds of songs; here's a link of the kind of song I mean.

I mean, there is country music, rock music, and barbershop quartets; what category does this this song belong in?

Thanks
(I'm not English, so if the question isn't clear feel free to ask for clarifications)


texts: Is “ing” needed here? “I felt busy than work(ing) from home”

texts:
May I know which sentences is correct?

I am working from home but with my kids at home, I felt busy than working from office.

I am working from home but with my kids at home, I felt busy than work from office.


texts:
oh my gosh.

I've heard some people say "oh my gosh" instead of "Oh my God."

Do these two mean the same thing?
I searched the web and found an explanation, but I don't know if it is an valid answer or no:

The explanation is:

"The difference is that some people see oh my gosh as far more polite than oh my god. The reason for this is that many religious people believe that you shouldn’t use god’s name in vain which means you shouldn’t associate god’s name with something bad." 1


texts: The parts of the skeleton system or the parts of skeleton system?

texts:
When I'm talking generally about the skeleton, not about a specific skeleton, do I need to add the article "the" in following context?

This is a title in presentation which I'm writing about the skeleton system.

  "The parts of (the?) skeleton system"


texts:
If I had that book, I would give it to you.

I don't have the book, but if I did have it, I would give it to you.

  If I had had that book, I would have given it to you.

I didn't have the book, but if I had the book, I would've given it to you.

Are both the interpretations correct?


texts: Is "too" or "also" better here, and where in the sentence should they be placed?

texts:
"What are you doing here (in a bar)? Is something wrong?"

"No. No, I’m just having a drink."

"You’ve had at least five since I got here. It looks pretty serious. And actually I saw you here last week too. So are you sure something's not wrong?"

Question: Is the sentence in bold natural? Or would any of the sentences below be better to use?

And actually I also saw you here last week.

And actually I saw you here last week also.

Plus I saw you here last week too.


texts: Which activities are appropriate for which age groups?

texts:
When preparing for an ESL lesson various activities are included in various stages of a lesson plan. For instance, milling, drilling, info Gap, Gap filling, and so on.

How do I know which activities are appropriate for, say, 7th grade students, and which activities are appropriate, say, for 1st grade students, and which activities are appropriate for say adults?


texts: "Go to the restaurant" or "go to restaurants" in context

texts:
Let's say I want to know if someone eats at retaurants in general, do I have to say the restaurant or restaurants. For example:

  Do you go to restaurants?

  Do you go to the restaurant?

By the last sentence I don't mean any specific restaurant, by that I mean restaurants in geneneral as opposed to eating at home or cafes.


texts: What does the last phrase 'when a sphere' mean?

texts:
link to the book At the Mountains of Madness

I encountered this sentence and can only guess what it means, but I want to know for sure

  They were normally shapeless entities composed of a viscous jelly which looked like an agglutination of bubbles; and each averaged about fifteen feet in diameter when a sphere. They had, however, a constantly shifting shape and volume; throwing out temporary developments or forming apparent organs of sight, hearing, and speech in imitation of their masters, either spontaneously or according to suggestion.

Question

Does the phrase 'when a sphere' - when you deal with a sphere mean? If not - I appreciate the right answer then


texts:
I want to describe a scene where someone has jumped out of the glass window, the windows is broken and threads of his cloths are "stuck" to broken window glasses.

What would be the correct verb for describing the threads that are left with window?

Should I say:

  His cloth threads were stuck to broken glass?

Or there are better verbs and phrases?


texts:
[When Harry blurted out the name ‘Voldemort’ which wizards are afraid of voicing, Ron gasped and said]
  "You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people [...]"
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

What does "I'd" mean? If it is "I would," the part following "of all people" should be "you would be the last to say the name, for you lost your parents because of him."  If it is "I should," the next part should be "you have the courage to say the name, then why do I have to gasp?"


texts:
I'm currently writing a blog and am having a question on what word should be used in here.

  Department of Secrecy _______ Lower Leveled Species

Should the blank be filled with (from/against/or any other word).
The context is that the department in point is safeguarding its secrets from lower leveled species.


texts:
Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social concepts like liberty and property.

This is from one multiple choice, and I made it wrongly by choosing conceptions.

What's the difference in the common meaning of concept and conception?

If this is not one multiple choice, can I use conceptions?

One common meaning:

  {{concept,Noun}->an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances}
  {conception,Noun,Idea}->an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances


texts:
I will do play the football.

Does this sentence above make sense? Then, what is the difference between

I will play the football.

... and:

I will do play the football.


texts:
My friend and I are arguing about which word is best to be used in a sentence that he wrote to me, it read,

  "I just wanted you to realize the progress that is taking place."

The saturation also matters because, he lives half way across the US and it's not like we talk 24/7, more along the lines of every once in a while, so it's not like I would know what happens in his day-to-day life. Therefore, I believe 'inform' would better suit the context in which the situation resides. Then reading,

  "I just wanted to inform you of the progress  that is taking place."

Personally, I believe using ' to realize' means that I would have already known about the situation and maybe was oblivious to it, which again is not the case. The case is that I didn't know about it and he was then informing me of it.
What do you guys think?


texts:
A user has

  Pet peeves include unreadable code (from poor formatting) and in-line styles.

in their description. Thanks to WordReference, I know that a pet peeve is "a particular and often continual annoyance".

But who do the pet peeve annoy? In my case, is the user annoyed by in-line style, or does the user annoy someone else by using in-line style?


texts: What is this Tom Pam Britanny in this context?

texts: What is this in Google slides page? I tried checking the meaning of Tom, Pam, etc using Google but the meanings could not be understood, is it idiomatic?


texts: If I make the statement, "what a joke" do I have to put a question mark at the end of the sentence because it starts with "what"


texts: A question about using the "v-ing" verbs

texts:
To native speakers, normally do you use adverbs to modify these v-ing worlds especially when they are the objects of the verbs?

Like:

  I regret swimming hurriedly

Not

  I regret hurried swimming.

Right? And what about these two sentences:

  I regret stamp-collecting

or

  I regret collecting stamps

Besides, when using these words, it still retains the verbal characteristics right? Like:

  The house needs a careful cleaning.

has the same meaning with

  The house needs carefully cleaning.

or

  The house needs to be cleaned carefully.

(SOMETHING like passive voice)


texts:
According to Cambridge Dictionary

  We use the pattern have + object + infinitive without to when we talk
  about instructing someone to do something. We use it to
  emphasise who performed the action.

My question is can the object be something instead of someone? For example

  I have GCC compile my C programs.


texts: What plural-only nouns does English have?

texts:
Some nouns, like "clothes," exist in the plural only.
Is there a list of such nouns, or a rule or pattern that describes the set, and can be used to figure out if a singular form of a plural noun does or does not exist?


texts: Is it correct to say to a child "let go of the chair" when he is holding on to the chair?

texts:
In the dictionary

let somebody/something go | let go (of somebody/something): to stop holding somebody/something
Don't let the rope go.
Don't let go of the rope.
Let go! You're hurting me!

I think we often say "let go of a thing" when that thing is leaving us or moving away from us or trying to escape us.
For example, 2 children are fighting over a car, and they are pulling the car towards themselves. And you say, "let go of the car" (the car is moving away from you).
Now, your son is holding tight onto a chair. The chair stands still, it won't move away from the boy.
Can we say "let go of the chair" when the chair stands still and won't move away from the boy?


texts: What does the highlighted part in the phrase mean?

texts:
"Reason is negative and dialectical because it resolves determinations of understanding into nothing"

What does reason is negative mean here? That it is undesireable? Or lacks any characteristics that would make it absolute, or desirable?

I posted this question a while ago, asking for the meaning of the whole phrase and was asked to take it to philosophy stackexchange, which I did. But this time i just want to know what reason is negative means, which probably has as much to do with language as philosophy.

And if you could explain what the whole phrase to me, that would just mean a whole lot to me.


texts: Uncertainty on using a plural or not in "on your home and work computer"

texts:
I have a simple question. I am editing a text which says:

  Sign in... on your home and work computer, your phone...

My confusion relates to the italicised. The writer is referring to more than one kind of computer, home and work. It should say "on your home and work computers," right?

Saying "on your home and work computer," to me, suggests it is the same computer.

Or, to avoid this issue, should I re-write it to say: "on your home and your work computer."

Thanks.


texts: A phrase understood as a request to step aside to not block out the view/panorama you are looking at

texts:
What may be the phrase, playful or polite, that when heard by the one it is addressed to, tells him/her that they are blocking out the sight you are looking at?

For example, in Russian, it is a question which may be translated into English as "Are you made of glass?" What are the most popular/common English colloquial or slang equivalents of it? I don't think there may be too many of them.


texts:
I get confused sometimes because I read both phrases(proposed her or proposed to her). So, please let me know, which one is correct?

  I proposed to her.

vs.

  I proposed her.


texts:
My hope is that enabling more scholars from the periphery to publish in scholarly journals will improve (and radicalize) scholarship for the better.
   [source]

Radicalize typically has negative connotations. In the above case, however, the word seems to have been used positively.  What does it mean here?


texts:
What is the correct usage of these two words in terms of a sentence that references conditional future situations. Eg:

1.

  a. If you do not leave tonight we can go out for ice cream.

or

  b. If you will not leave tonight we can go out for ice cream.

2.

  a. If he does not leave tonight we can go out for ice cream.

or

  b. If he will not leave tonight we can go out for ice cream.

1a and 2a sound more correct/feels more natural to me, but is one more acceptable/correct than the other?


texts: How do I understand Subject-Verb inversion?

texts:
I know Subject-Verb inversion is the format to form a question.

When we start a question with 'What',

  What it means? -improper  What does it mean? -proper

But then, if we start the question with 'Who', where is the subject? Is 'Who' subject?

  Who lives there? -looks much better than  Who does live there?

I would appreciate Native speakers' help in understanding Subject-Verb inversion.


texts: "I have done something so that there was" or "I have done something so that there was"?

texts:
Could you tell me which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

I have cropped the picture so that there is all your body in it.
I have cropped the picture so that there was all your body in it.


texts: Do both the sentences mean the same thing?

texts:
Your judgement is as clouded as John's was when he did that stupid thing.
  Your judgement is as clouded as how clouded John's judgement was when he did that stupid thing.

Do both these sentences mean the same thing?
Are they grammatically correct?


texts: How to describe an object used to protect from evil eye?

texts: a pendant , a doll or a lemon n chilly are hanged by people at the entrance of their home , shop or at the front of their vehivle .Can we call such objects as emulet or talisman?  Languages also go hand in hand with the culture.Im not sure if such usages are in practice among the native speakers of English.


texts:
I found a bio of a professor and it has a sentence as below

  Not totally satisfied with the extend and nature of understanding of biological phenomena I could reach via pure experimental approaches, I moved on and turned to ...

I'm not sure what the 'extend' here means, which is a noun. I checked in the Webster dictionary and it does not have a noun form of this word.

For your reference, here is the bio. I hope I don't infringe privacy putting the link here.


texts:
Facebook has made a difference in the English language: "Like" now could be an action verb besides(apart from) being a verb expressing a state of mind.

If you got what I'm trying to say, then is it the best way to put the sentence after the colon? It took me some effort for me at first to construct this sentence, and it looked strange to me in the beginning. Now it still does.


texts:
You can see on google books that Defoe's Robinson Crusoe has these two sentences depending on the issue of the book. Which one is correct in your opinion?

1 And it is scarce credible what inexpressible labor everything was
done with, especially the bringing piles out of the woods , and
driving them into the ground; for I made them much bigger than I
need to have done.
2 And it is scarce credible what inexpressible labor everything was
done with, especially the bringing piles out of the woods , and
driving them into the ground; for I made them much bigger than I
needed to have done.


texts: Is 'where' interpreted once or twice in 'Where do you think he went afterwards?'?

texts:
Where do you think he went afterwards?
  (The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith)
  CGEL's anaylis: Where (i) [do you think [he went __(i) afterwards?]]  (* (i) -> co-indexed)

The sequence of above sentence is quite strange for alien’s eye. CGEL says it is consisted of an open interrogative and a content clause (he went Ø afterwards); ‘where’ is a prenuclear antecedent. And the content clause is embedded in the interrogative (p.p.1082-5). My questions here is, is this word, ‘where,’ interpreted twice? I mean, does ‘where’ have its semantic role in both ‘where do you think’ and ‘he went Ø afterwards’? Or just once?


texts: Could "if at all possible" be used as a concessive clause?

texts:
Can I use "if at all possible" like as follows?

  If at all possible, you shouldn't do that.

meaning "Even if you can do that, you shouldn't".


texts:
I'm only asking for "though" as an adverb. There were already asked questions about this :

Why people says 'tho' at the end of the sentence?

Could you clarify when to use "Though" at the end of a sentence?

but I'm not convinced by the description people gave.

In fact, I sometimes hear though in situations where there is no contradiction or opposition... likes in memes or in this video :

https://youtu.be/HVk7koqlu1U?t=62

Can you please tell me the meaning of though in such context ?

Thank you and sorry if what has been written in other questions implies an answer for my question, it's just that for now, I'm not convinced...


texts: Why isn't "earth" and "heaven" capitalized in most texts?

texts:
And I'm talking about planet earth and the biblical heaven. Examples:

  Her soul couldn't go to heaven.

  When the Bible talks about Noah, can we construe that Noah was the
  only man on earth at that time?

Why is this?


texts: How are words ending "-ology", "-onomy", "-ography" pronounced?

texts:
My English teacher often corrects me on the correct pronunciation of these suffixes. She says these should be pronounced with the stress on the first O.

I have heard many educated folks pronounce it with no stress at all.

I have also heard that the vowel O should be pronounced as "au" rather than "o".

What is the actual pronunciation of these suffixes, both in British and American English?


texts:
I am wondering which is grammatically correct out of 'If there were more time' and 'If there was more time' or, if both are correct, whether one is preferred?

I believe it ought to be 'were' as the clause is in the subjunctive mood, however 'was' sounds significantly more correct to me (as a native English speaker from England). So which is it?

Searching an exact match in Google for each gives 4 million results for 'were' and 10 million results for 'was', though Google searches are not the basis for proper grammar.

While other questions cover 'If there were' vs 'If there was', this example seems to be a special case for me and I am interested in the choice specifically in the construction relating to 'time'.


texts: Difference between "deem" / "deem it" and "love" / "love it"?

texts:
Why do we put pronoun it there?

We deem that she is honest.
We deem it that she is honest.

I love that he is honest.
I love it that he is honest.


texts: How could it had happened vs How could it have happened

texts:
What is the difference between

  How could it had happened

and

  How could it have happened

It would be better if anyone can show its usage in some kind of situation.


texts:
My friend told me that he had 5 weeks off from work. And I said "5 weeks in one go?" which I meant to ask that if it was without any break. How would a native say that? Is it ok to say "in one go" in this context or what could be the alternatives ?

Thanks


texts:
Suppose you have to make up sentences using a certain grammar structure on a test. I want to talk about someone else's answers on specific questions. Is it...
On question 1
In question 2
You repeated the example as a sentence on question 1.
On questions 2 and 3 you used the wrong verb tense.
Or should I reword it completely?
Thanks for answering


texts:
Can you help me figure out what does "I'll be down first thing tomorrow" mean exactly in this context?
And I also wonder if somebody uses that expression, and if so how frequently is it used? Because I have checked it on NGram and it didn't show me anything.

  A: Can you change me my credit card from a college to a normal account?

  B: Of course, but you will have to come to the bank to do that.

  A: Alright, I'll be down first thing tomorrow.


texts:
The tenses are divided into 12 main categories depending on their time frame i.e. Present, Past and Future.
I want to know then under which time frame these sentences can be categorised.

It could not have snowed on 25th of September.

It would have been a disaster without your help.

It should have outperformed the other tests.

Under which type we can keep these sentences? There can be many other variations but basically I want to know how we can know their time frame?


texts: Give this statement "I go to school" --> how to form a question: "where do you go?" or "where do you go to?"

texts:
Give this statement "I go to school", then how to form a question: "where do you go?" or "where do you go to?"

I am not sure if we should leave the preposition "to" in the question.

Googling "where do you go?" or "where do you go to?", both return the results, so I think they could be used interchangeably. But I am so not sure!


texts: Preposition confusion - or, in, at, or for?

texts:
A lot of debate going on the Facebook post for this.

To me, it was certainly 'in'. But I may consider 'at' as well. I'm confused!

Why 'in'? Because you do degrees 'in' some subject/topic.
Why 'at'? Because then you consider 'specializing....' as another clause supporting the 'law degree'. So, you specialize 'at' something!


texts: Is it common to say "..., you forget?" instead of "..., did you forget?"

texts:
Example sentence:

  It's your fault, (did) you forget?

A native English speaker said I should add the "did." But I think "you forget" is okay in casual speech. However, I'm not very sure.


texts:
I have read an article, and encountered a sentence like this "..., we shall be sure to conquer and overcome every difficulty we meet with.".Then I have a question about the use of the preposition "with" at the end of the sentence. Can we just say "overcome every difficulty we meet"? It seems that the verb "meet" can be transitive. And why we use "overcome every difficulty we meet with"? What is the difference?
Thanks for you kind answer!


texts: Should chocolate, or wine, be described as *sensual* because it is a physical pleasure, or *sensuous* to show that it's not a sexual pleasure?

texts:
Should chocolate, or wine, be described as sensual because it is a physical pleasure, or sensuous to show that it's not a sexual pleasure?

I ask because, after reading their definitions it seems that these two words work much the same semantic territory.


texts:
Sentence: Only if we go out there and clean it up this amount of plastic is going to go down.
Is this grammatically correct? I heard that when "Only if" is used, we invert the subject and auxiliary.
So will it be?: Only if we go out there and clean it up is this amount of plastic going to go down.

Here is a link to a video clip of the sentence (around 37-38 seconds into the clip): Could this giant floating pipe clean up 90% of ocean plastic? (CNN)


texts:
Would you please explain, what's the difference between these words (if there's any)? Eg. in the sentence:

  Probiotics promote the body's natural defenses.

  Probiotics promote the immune system.

Which one is better / more common?

Thank you


texts:
Could you please let me know how can I reject payment related offer from my client. Here is the scenario

My client is coming from the UK to meet me and other business related activities. He told me that he will pay for hotel and other local travelling bills. But I don't like it as I want to pay for his accommodation as we treat him as a guest.

How can I explain it in a polite way?


texts: What laptop have you got? - Why is there no article in front of "laptop"?

texts: Laptop is a countable noun and I understand it is a general meaning here. I know it's correct to say it like this and it feels natural. But why is it so exactly? Why is there zero article?


texts: Do we need a definite article in "the water" here?

texts:
A citation from the movie The Town:

  And one of the guys told me that... to walk until I felt the water on
  my toes. It was the longest walk in my life. I kept thinking I'd step
  off a cliff. And then I felt the water.

Why is it the water and not just water? Any water feel alike. They could have gone with just water. There is no possibility that you feel some water on your toes and say: "No, it is not that water I was told about, I should keep going until I feel the water."


texts:
Which of these sentences is correct?

Don't you ever call me "honey". Nor "sweetheart", nor "my dear".

Don't you ever call me "honey". Or "sweetheart", or "my dear".

Don't you ever call me "honey", nor "sweetheart", nor "my dear".

Don't you ever call me "honey", or "sweetheart", or "my dear".


texts:
Here is a note from a video game:

  Go through the fields.
  Turn east for half a mile.
  It's just past the big rock on the right.

I am not sure about the meaning of the second line. The official Russian translation sounds like Go half a mile and turn east, but shouldn't it be Turn east and go half a mile, with turning east being the first action and going half a mile (eastward) the second one? The preposition for seems to me the purpose of the turning, which is to go half a mile.


texts: My friend said to me, "Please send me the pictures of myself that you clicked yesterday" . Is the use of 'myself ' correct here?

texts: I took pictures of my friend the previous day. The next day she said the above sentence. Shouldn't she have said, "Please send me the pictures of me that you clicked yesterday" ?


texts: "[Do you know that] Kristina has found a job 'at last'/'finally'/'eventually'/'in the end'[?]"

texts:
Kristina has found a job at last.

Kristina has found a job finally.

Kristina has found a job eventually.

Kristina has found a job in the end.

Apart the word order, on which I have doubts - especially in 2 and 3 cases -, which of the sentences above, if there is any,  sounds more natural in English language.
Also, which is better if I have to pose the sentences in interrogative form and, so, I have to start with:

Do you know that Kristina ...?


texts: Why is "crime story" more correct than "criminal story"?

texts:
Criminal is an adjective and story is a noun. Why is "crime story" used instead of "criminal story"? While both crime and story are nouns. What's this latter combination?

Is "criminal story" even correct?


texts:
Trouble is now closer than earlier.

Is this sentence grammatically correct? What is the right way to say this?


texts:
Can anyone please explain the difference between these two sentences

1) I've not slept in three days.
2) I've not slept for three days.

I hear people using the both sentences. I'm just curious if there's a difference between them or not.


texts: How do I simplify the sentence "I insisted that Mandela had a strong personality"?

texts:
I have to make the following sentence-simple :

  I insisted that Mandela had a strong personality.

I think it'll be right-

  I insisted on Mandela's having a strong personality.

or,

  I insisted on having a strong personality of Mandela.

which one is correct or sounds better?any more suggestion?


texts:
I googled the meaning of "I would argue that" and one site said:
a phrase used to introduce an argument:

  I would argue that Ferguson's courts prevented the justice system.

I also found these:

  However, I would argue that these benefits are outweighed by the drawbacks.

  In fact, I would argue that it goes against the values of a free and fair society to force a group of people to do something against their will.

In the first example , the tense after "I would argue that" was past but in the latter two , the tenses were present.

What is the difference between "I would argue that" and "I argue that"?

Can we bring any tense after "I would argue that"?


texts: what is someone ''who mentions and repeats their help to us again and again'' called?

texts:
In my language there is an adjective and a verb for somebody who mentions their help repeatedly and every time they see you. This word is used to show disapproval. The dictionary translations are ''throw it in someone's face'' and ''cast in someone's teeth'' which, when I check in a monolingual dictionary, don't make sense.

For example:

I was the one who introduced you to that company.
Remember the time I take your children to school when you didn't have time
If it wasn't for me, they'd never accepted you.

in addition, this person doesn't necessarily need a favor back. just wants to say if it wasn't for him you weren't able to do that and you have to thank them over and over. they just crave being thanked constantly.and you can't argue or fight with them because once you start they bring that issue up and blame you for being ungrateful.

I was wondering if there was a word in English that means the same.


texts: What is the meaning of "bird" in the poem title "A Hand in the Bird"?

texts:
I came across this poem titled "A hand in the bird" by Roald Dahl. What is the exact meaning of "bird" here?
A likely interpretation from Wiktionary is

  (Britain, US, slang) A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.

Okay. So the meaning is "A hand inside the pretty woman"? O_O
But isn't this too graphic a title for a poem placed in a children poetry section? Maybe I'm not getting something.. there is nothing in the poem about the vicar actually getting his hand inside. That would have moved the poem from any children's section of any website, I guess.


texts: Why "get" is followed by past participle in "get started" and "get lost"

texts: In get started and get lost, why is get followed by the past participle? I don't understand it. Is the past participle an adjective?


texts: Indirect Speech question? She said, "Let's have a beer today."

texts:
What about this answer?
She suggested to have/had a beer that day.
I'm confused between have and had. Please explain?


texts:
I am currently in the process of translating some transcripts in English. In France, teaching is organized around UE, standing for "Unité d'Enseignements". In English, that would simply stands for Teaching Unit. However, I wonder if the term TU appears commonly on English academic transcripts ?

Example: TU1.04 Social media and communication

Edit: a UE stands almost literally for Teaching Unit (or TU). It's a block of courses, and you have lot of them, e.g. TU1.01 European politics TU1.02 USA politics TU1.05 Politics and economy.


texts:
I brought a gift from Mumbai and i brought it for you.
Can I write the above sentence in short  like. I brought a gift from Mumbai for you.


texts:
They met one day while John's father was reading a book in the library and his mother sat down beside him.

Why it is not was sitting? Is it because of the while conjunction. Have both actions the same duration as normally past continuous indicates that the action is longer than  with past simple.Or maybe two "verb+ing"s do not sound nice.


texts: is it "What are you up today?" or "what are you up to today?"

texts:
I have always been asked this question but I want to be sure of the correct form. And does the correct form of this question  mean "what are your plans for today?" Or "what will you do today?".

Thank you for any help


texts:
The noun-phrase "Green pepper" has two words, but I need it considered as one word

In this case, Consider it as a word Is the proper expression?


texts: Is there any difference between "another two" and "two other"?

texts:
I want to see the difference between "another" and "other" in this context. I know that another may mean "additional" or "of a different kind". What about "other" in this case? What does it mean?

1 Give me another two shirts.

2 Give me two other shirts.


texts: Is "singular noun + and + singular noun" singular or plural?

texts:
When I type "[singular noun] and [singular noun]" in Word 2010, I find some interesting things.

  Bread and butter is essential. (the auto-correction warns me of subject-verb disagreement.)
  Bread and butter are essential. (OK)
  A knife and fork is on the table. (OK)
  A knife and fork are on the table. (OK)
  The needle and thread is new. (OK)
  The needle and thread are new. (OK)
  Cost and revenue is directly linked. (OK)
  Cost and revenue are directly linked. (OK)

I wonder how a native speaker would consider this phenomenon.


texts:
I've always seen the "Who is back?" question with the singular verb "are", even when the question is rhetorical and the answer is clearly a plural noun but I recently came up against "Who are back?". My first thought was that it's an error but maybe I'm wrong. Can it be considered grammatically correct when the "implied subject" is undoubtedly plural?

Edit: The question I encountered is actually "Guess who are back?". Is it correct if it clearly refers to a plural subject? Besides the grammatical correctness I'm also interested in how native speakers would ask the question (in case of a plural subject).


texts: Which is correct? Is there a difference in meaning?


texts: What does "it was all publicity" mean in this context?

texts:
“He was pleased,” said Fred.

  “Didn't you hear him as we were leaving?

  He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to
  work the fight into his report — said it was all publicity.”

I'm not sure what the word publicity truly mean in this context. I got a list(see below) from the dictionary, but I don't know which one is fit for the context.

What does the whole sentence (it was all publicity) convey?

  publicity (pʌˈblɪsɪtɪ)  n

  (Marketing)

  a. the technique or process of attracting public attention to
  people, products, etc, as by the use of the mass media

  b. (as modifier): a publicity agent.
  (Marketing) public interest resulting from information supplied by such a technique or process
  (Marketing) information used to draw public attention to people, products, etc
  the state of being public


texts:
Here's a context.

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

Here, what if I add 'with' right after matter?

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

I think this is more comfortable to use.


texts:
Which one of the following is correct?

(1) I am cooking lunch.
(2) I have been cooking lunch.

Besides, if aforementioned are correct, I want to know the difference between I am cooking and I have been cooking. My key concern is about cooking lunch.


texts:
Can I say "I sent her a message about"? I'm asking it because I saw on Google there are only 7000 results.

I have two questions about this issue:

Should it not be very common sentence, or maybe there is another way -more common- to express this idea?
Is it correct to say "I sent her message about" without inserting something after the word "about"?


texts: Do we say "untie the rubber band off the neck of the balloon" or "untie the rubber band from around the neck of the balloon"?

texts:
Which of the following pairs are correct (see the above picture)
"put the rubber band on the neck of the balloon" vs "take the rubber band off the neck of the balloon"
"tie the rubber band to the neck of the balloon" vs "untie the rubber band from the neck of the balloon"
"tie the rubber band on to the neck of the balloon" vs "untie the rubber band off from the neck of the balloon"
"wrap the rubber band on the neck of the balloon" vs "unwrap the rubber band off the neck of the balloon"
"wrap the rubber band around the neck of the balloon" vs "unwrap the rubber band from around the neck of the balloon"


texts:
How is the verb, "hate on", used differently from "hate"? More specifically,

How formal is it?
How polite is it?
Who would you say it to?
In what contexts are "hate on" preferred over "hate"?
In what cases are "is/are/am hating on" to just "hate on," preferred?


texts:
What's the difference in using practise instead of practice and advise instead of advice?

I always get confused when using them in sentences or essays..


texts: "(The) blocking of voltage-gated channels" - is 'the' okay here?

texts:
From a drug description:

  (The) blocking of voltage-gated cross-membrane channels is the supposed mechanism of action of the drug.

I used the in this construction, and an editor crossed out the definite article. Granted, the whole sentence is a bit unwieldy, but is "the" out of place here, or can it stay?

I used it because it has the "of-phrase", and it somehow looked like a nice choice to leave "the" there. It seemed to me that the sentence would work either with or without the article.

Maybe with "the" the sentence would indicate some specific blocking of specific channels, and would not work as a generic phrase?


texts: When I was participating in a competition, a rule said no hockey moms and soccer dads are allowed. What does it mean?


texts: When should "like" be used rather than "as" in a comparison?

texts:
In Italian, "spies like us" becomes spie come noi, and "do as you like" becomes fai come preferisci.
In both the sentences, the translation of like, and as is come. This causes some problems to the Italian native speakers, who tend to use the English like instead of the correct word.

In which cases is it correct to use like?

I am not referring to like used as verb, but to like used as preposition/conjunction. For example, is it correct to use like in the following sentences? I am interested in a general answer, not an answer limited to the following examples.

Do like we do.
Like you wish.
She is tall like your sister.
She did like you said.


texts:
Is there a word for hair on the legs or hands?

Can we say legs hair or hands hair, or do we use another word?


texts: I have two questions. Q1. Conditional Q2. verb agreement

texts:
I would like to know which one of the below two sentences are right:

  If I am in Russia, I will get in touch with you

or

  If I will be in Russia, I will get in touch with you.

  The three best things about the NGO was the team, agenda, and the funding.

or

  The three best things about the NGO were the team, agenda, and the funding.

In the first question, the first answer seems more fitting to me.
Second sentence, should we use were or was because NGO is considered singular and the latter part of the sentence is plural as it refers three things.
I would also like to know the explanation.


texts: The usage of "too" in negative sentences

texts:
A) He is lazy. He also doesn't study/He doesn't study too.
  B) He is lazy. He doesn't study either.

According to Swan Practical English Usage (47) which says that after an affirmative sentence which is followed by a negative statement we must use also/too/as well, sentence A is correct but in my own point of view and according to EnglishPage.com sentence B is correct.

There is also another question in English Language and Usage community
Can “too” be used with negative verb? which made me more confused.

Would you please tell me which one of these two sentences is correct? Can they be both correct with different meanings?


texts: the usage of a comparative form "at a position...than at a position "

texts:
I am trying to describe the color of the portion A in the picture shown above.
My examples are as follows:

  In the bar, the color of the portion A is darker at a position
  closer to the center than at a position closer to the right end.
  In the bar, the color of the portion A is darker as the portion A is
  closer to the center of the bar than to the right end of the bar.

I am unsure whether my examples are correct because when I googled the expression "at a position...than at a position", I found only a few results.  Could you advise me on my examples?


texts:
"With" is a preposition which can be followed with present participle or past participle like:

1) He sat there with his eyes closed.

2) He fell asleep with the lamp burning.

But can I say "He goes to sleep with the task having been finished." to imply a sense of present perfect? Is it correct in grammar? If not, how English native speaker uses adverbial to indicate the sense of present perfect?


texts: Does the phrase 'at the best' mean 'at best' or the phrase 'at the best' is wrong?

texts:
In Greek dictionaries of English language I have found that the phrases 'at best' and 'at the best' have the same meaning.

In Longman dictionary and other dictionaries published in the UK or America I have found only the phrase 'at best'.

Do the phrases 'at best' and 'at the best' have the same meaning or is the phrase 'at the best' wrong?


texts: Well , I know what does "Call it a night" mean, but I wanted to know if I could say "call it a day". E.g I'm working on a project in my office. And suddenly my parents call me up, can I say "let's call it a day " here?


texts: Can "watermelon" and "brain" be used to refer to one's head metaphorically?

texts:
There's a joke, written in my native language, where a blind man in a grocery store starts tapping (or patting) on a child's head, asking about the price of this watermelon, thinking it is an actual watermelon fruit.

If it was in real life, someone might correct him by saying something like: "Excuse me, sir. This is not a watermelon but a human's head."

Another scenario where two sisters want to mimic that joke by using their little brother's head. Their father happened to pass by, not knowing of what was all that about, he came to the conclusion that they are mocking their brother's (big) head by declaring its emptiness (since the watermelon is big and 90% water).

1- Is it possible in English for coming to such an understanding/conclusion?

2- If the answer is "yes", then can he possibly say:

  This is not a watermelon, but a brain.

With conveying (by "brain") the opposite indication of the watermelon?

I found an idiom which is similar to the watermelon assumed-meaning / figurative-usage: "melon's head". But the joke is not in that way for the idiom to fit in and be a suitable alternative.


texts: Difference between present continuous and future progressive

texts:
Is it possible to write:

I am visiting my mother tomorrow. (fixed plan present continuous)

I will be visiting my mother tomorrow.

Are these sentences interchangeable or is there a difference? I know that future progressive emphasizes the duration of the action that will be ongoing at the time of speaking.


texts: “And” in negative sentences with “haven’t got”/ “hasn’t got”

texts:
Are these sentences correct?

I haven’t got freckles and glasses.
She hasn’t got straight, blond hair and freckles.
He hasn’t got glasses and freckles.

Can I use and with negative sentences with haven’t got or hasn’t got?

Is it correct? Or should I use or?


texts:
I'm a bit confused when I use the contracted form of present perfect.

Do you write like this?

  My house's just been built.

Or you write like this:

  My house has just been built.

Which one is correct? Are there any rules for this?


texts:
I am wondering whether I have to use hyphens in this case? I haven't used them before in the text this sentence is included in, but they seem necessary here. or maybe I could just avoid them?
.Furthermore, this master is crucial to enhance her capacity in researching and developing underground-water-related projects, which are necessary to assist in meeting the urgent demand of water for zones with scarcity.
.Furthermore, this master is crucial to enhance her capacity in researching and developing underground water related projects, which are necessary to assist in meeting the urgent demand of water for zones with scarcity.


texts: How do you turn the word "faith" or "belief" into an adjective?

texts:
Behavior: behavioral.
Devotion: devotional.
Shakespeare: Shakesperean.

Faith?

Belief?


texts:
I have referred this question but I am not clear still.

Is this sentence grammatically correct, Can we use And But together for example

  The mausoleum will not only be the first remarkable example of Mughal
  architecture in the country and but will also become a prime
  archetype to upcoming projects of the dynasts, including the Taj
  Mahal. (source)


texts: Active/passive voice : Let the poor (not be insulted or be not insulted?)

texts:
Do not insult the poor.

The above sentence was asked in my exam for voice conversion. I had four options, managed to rule out two of them but confused between these two.

A) Let the poor not be insulted.

B) Let the poor be not insulted.

I tried to find answer to my problem but couldn't find concrete answer. I guess both are same in meaning with just a subtle difference in construction but since its a MCQ question I need to choose one answer, which one should I choose ? Which construction is the better one ? The solution has A as answer but doesn't explain why.


texts:
We found ourselves in a thick white metal cage that opened into the
  Medical Records room—an empty, warehouse-sized room with no staff, no
  patients, no chairs, no visitors, and no medical records. Its windows
  were bolted shut and covered with wire and dirt, its gray carpet
  bunched in ripples from decades of foot traffic. A waist-high
  cinder-block wall ran the length of the room, separating the waiting
  area from the area marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY, where several
  rows of tall metal shelves stood empty.

— The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Does this mean the carpet is folded in a wavy shape? I can't visualize it.


texts: Is "should never run" more appropriate than "should never be able to run"?

texts:
There seems to be some errors in this post. I am trying to fix some.

  It may be a pain to see compile errors, but trust me, getting error here is good for you. You did something stupid you tried to compare string with int and decide which one is equal. This does not make any sense to the computer most of the time (nor does it make sense to human), so you should never be able to run program like this. Computer says “No!” and you have to cope with that.

Consider this part "should never be able to run program like this".

Per Oxford dictionary "able to" means "competent to", "capable of".

I guess this expression
"You could be able to run program like this but you shout never do" is more appropriate and clear than the original one, is it?


texts: Are "It is rainy now" and "it is raining now" the same? Also what is the verb equivalent to the adjective "sunny"?

texts:
This is a little bit confusing.

  rainy (adj): having or bringing a lot of rain

  a rainy day

  the rainy season

  the rainiest place in Britain

Ad other dictionary

  rain‧y /ˈreɪni/ ●●● S3 adjective

  1 a rainy period of time is one when it rains a lot SYN wet

  a cold rainy day in October

  I hate rainy weather.

  the rainy season

  rain [intransitive] when it rains, water falls from the sky in drops

  Is it raining?

  It had been raining hard all night.

  It hardly rained at all last summer.

  It started to rain.

So, it seems like "it is rainy now" means "it is raining a lot now".

Ok, let say, we look out through the window, and the rain is falling from the sky, and the rain is light not too heavy or a lot. In this situation, do we say

"It is rainy now" or "it is raining now"?

And in the case that the rain is falling heavily or a lot outside. do we say

"It is rainy now" or "it is raining a lot now"?

Also, we have the adjective "sunny" but we have no verb equivalent to it.

  sun‧ny /ˈsʌni/ ●●● S3 adjective

  1 having a lot of light from the sun SYN bright

  a warm sunny day

  a sunny morning

  a nice sunny room

  I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.

  sunny periods/spells/intervals (=periods when it is sunny)

  Tuesday will be dry with sunny spells.

Ok, let say, we look out through the window, and it has some light from the sun but not a lot. In that situation, do we say

"it is sunny now" or "it has sun light now"?

In the case that it has a lot of sun light outside. Do we say

"it is sunny now" or "it has a lot of sun light now"?

Finally, Are “It is rainy now” and “it is raining now” the same? Also what is the verb equivalent to the adjective “sunny”?

Note: Some says

  "It's raining now" is more common, but both "It's raining now" & "It's
  rainy now" are common and often used.

  "It's rainy outside now." works, but "It's raining outside now."
  works, too.

  Although, most agree that "rainy" often stands before nouns such
  as a rainy day, a rainy season, etc