texts: Does the word 'famous' imply that it's something good?

texts: There are the words 'famous' and 'infamous'. The latter clearly suggests that what is being described is morally bad. What about the former? Is it neutral or does it implicate that it's necessarily good? For example, I suspect that saying 'the famous concentration camp Buchenwald' would be disturbing for some people. Putting this example aside, there are instances where you just want to point out that many people have heard about something while avoiding giving your personal moral assessment of it.


texts:
As noted in a comment discussion to Is “spaced by 1 meter” correct English:

  A: "[if] you are measuring in SI units and not using the size of your gas or electric meter as a unit of length, then the word is METRE [rather than METER]."
  B: "Metre vs meter is British English vs American English"
  C: "I don't see any evidence that metre is the "international standard""

The suggestion above, is that "Meter" is simply the AmE spelling and "Metre" is the BrE spelling. However, comment A and C conflict - about whether there is or is not an international standard which defines the SI term.

In what contexts should the spelling "Meter" be preferred, and in which contexts should "Metre" be preferred?


texts: meaning of the "building in intensity to the cascading passion of the chorus"

texts:
Can someone please describe "building in", "cascading passion", "the Nirvana formula personified" in the following text:

  Journalist Gillian Gaar described "Heart-Shaped Box" as "the Nirvana
  formula personified, with a restrained, descending riff played through
  the verse, building in intensity to the cascading passion of the
  chorus".

The text was copied from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart-Shaped_Box#Composition_and_lyrics


texts: Barking up a tree ("barking up the wrong tree")

texts:
I don't understand expression

  barking up a wrong tree

Does it think about putting bark on tree or taking it off?
A person says

  you're barking up the wrong tree

and he means

  don't bother me

But what is it from?
Does he mean the bark is wrong kind for the tree?
Like "I am oak, take your pine bark!"
In Croation we say the wall is closed meaning you have the wrong wall, have to climb through another with window.
Is that how this means?


texts: How's this phrase about a housing bubble in the Economist 'an elegant turn of phrase' ? (2015 Jan)

texts:
Source: CBC News, by Don Pittis

It is easy to say in retrospect that the results were predictable. But it was the following line in the story that made me sit up and think of Canadian houses.
"The potency of a bubble is its plausibility, to laypeople and experts alike, right up until the moment the game is over," the Economist writer said in an elegant turn of phrase.

1. I consulted ODO's definition of turn of phrase, but what's the 'turn of phrase' here? Is the Economist writer just saying: a bubble's strength derives from the  possibility, of the existence of a bubble, until the market^ (substituting by game, but see 2.) is over.
2. What formal terms describe this use of game to imply market? Is it metonymy and/or synecodoche?


texts:
Richard isn't driving right now. Last year, Richard rode his bicycle to work every day, but he ______ the bus since the accident.

takes
has been taking
took
has taken

I (a non-native speaker) think the answer is 2 or 4. But I don't know what exactly the answer is. It looks like both 2 and 4 are possible.
I would appreciate your help. Thanks.


texts: Is the word ogle in common use and is it pejorative?

texts:
I found that one in a sentence like this:

  The last thing she needed was another man ogling her body.

So is that kind of pejorative saying, implying that man are pigs or just a different word for staring?


texts:
I wonder if the as clause in this sentence should be negated.

  She is not curious in the least, as she should be.

or

  She is not curious in the least, as she should not be.

Or are they both correct?

Edit

To be more specific: I am unsure about whether an as clause needs to be negated if the main clause is in negation. To borrow a real-life example with a slight change:

  [T]he former Heisman winner is sure of where he belongs on the field—as he should be.

This is a sentence from a sports news outlet. If the main clause were negative, should the as clause also be negated?

  [T]he former Heisman winner is not sure of where he belongs on the field—as he should (not) be.


texts: Which one is correct: "my little brother" or "my smaller brother"?

texts:
If I'm 18 and my brother is 15, is he my little brother and I'm his elder brother? Or he is my smaller brother and I'm his bigger one?

Any clarifications?


texts:
Could you please help me understand what this phrase "leg breaking" means? Does it relate to violence? Kind of threatening to break the borrower's legs?

  Some of these changes were gradual. Moe had originally been one of the
  least likable characters on the show. He owned a dank, dilapidated
  bar, the meager income of which he supplemented by running a number of
  side-line criminal schemes. The one time he did hire a waitress, he
  sexually harassed her at her interview and later had sex with her. The
  next season, when asked by Homer if he’d ever felt “unattractive”, the
  leg breaking loan shark replied with an unequivocal, “No”.

  source


texts: Great Expectations [is written vs has been written] by Charles Dickens

texts:
I had a grammar quiz at the university today.

One of the questions was:

  "Great Expectations" ____ by Charles Dickens.

  a) is written
  b) has been written
  c) was written

Undoubtedly, the c option isn't correct since the time (the publication date) isn't stated or implied.

I crossed the a option out because it is neither a general truth nor a law.
It is not a well-known fact to use present simple here.

Finally, I have chosen b. I still have doubts if a is the only right option.

It is unclear to me. Could you clarify it?
Any help would be appreciated.


texts:
1) Which answer is more natural:

A: How can I get to the airport?

B: Take the airport bus at the bus station.

or

B: Take the airport bus from the bus station.

Or they are equal?

2) And what is the meaning of the verb 'to take' here:

Take the airport bus at the bus station.?

I think 'to take' doesn't mean 'to travel by using a particular form of transport'.
  It's like  the synonym of 'to get' or 'to take a particular route, road'?


texts: Using a comma right before "too" in the end of a question

texts:
Do I always have to place a comma right before "too" in the end of a question?:

  ... and those were completely different kind of problems to solve.
  Those were called "complimentary problems". They were not to be solved
  by us immediately, however, solving them required some additional wit
  and shrewdness. So, I want to ask the moderator if he minds if I say a
  few things about those problems, too?

Will this question be understood wrongly I decide to omit the comma?


texts: In what occasion or On what occasion do you go through a holiday travel rush?

texts:
Which is correct?

In what occasion do you go through a holiday travel rush?
OR
On what occasion do you go through a holiday travel rush?


texts: "Below" and "down" preposition confusion in this context

texts:
While filling in a form on Net:

  Down / below / down below the entries you will see a submit sign.

Down usually means: towards a lower position.

And, Below usually means: at a lower position.

So I use "below" here,
But I have heard some speakers use "down" in this context.

Which of these is more appropriate to use?

Another confusion is using down \ below during election result announcement:

  National party won 20 seats, only 1 down / below since last time.

Please explain.


texts: When asking a group of people for the time, which of "Have you got the time?" and "Has any of you got the time?" is the more appropriate?

texts: Let's say you go up to a group of people in the street and want to ask them the time; which of the above two sentences is the more appropriate? (are there any better alternatives)


texts: What is the difference between 'run off' and 'run away'?

texts: Both run away and run off mean escape, but is there any difference?


texts: What does it mean to say 'turning cold calls into warm prospects'?

texts:
Also I believe that is grammatical mistake, shouldn't it be-

1 He says, after the deal concludes,

2 He said, after the deal concluded,-?


texts: Is there any difference between "to pull over" and "to park"?

texts:
These verbs have pretty much the same meaning.

To pull over - If a vehicle or driver pulls over, it stops by the side of the road.

To park - To leave a vehicle into a place where you are going to leave it for a period of time.

For example.

  Let's pull over and have a look at the map.

Can we say

  Let's park and have a look at the map.

with the same meaning?


texts: What is the meaning of the word "have" in "we have a good time" & "we are having a good time"?

texts:
In dictionary, "have" could mean

  (also have got) have something (not used in the progressive tenses): to own, hold or possess something

  He had a new car and a boat.

  have something: to experience something

  I went to a few parties and had a good time.

  I was having difficulty in staying awake.

see these sentences "we have a good time" & "we are having a good time"

What is the meaning of the word "have" in these cases?

Are they the same?

I think that "have" in "we are having a good time" means "to experience" & "have" in "we have a good time" means "to own".

If "have" in "we have a good time" meant "to experience", then we would say "we always have good times". The reason is that we don't use simple present for specific action but routine one.


texts: What is the meaning of the answer "I suppose so." to the question "You won't be here tomorrow?"?

texts:
The following is an example from Swan's Practical English Usage (515.2)

  You won't be here tomorrow?

  I don't suppose so.

I understand the answer "I don't suppose so" is the same as

  I don't suppose I will be here tomorrow.

If the answer is "I suppose so", is it the same as the following?

  I suppose I will be here tomorrow.


texts: Can I use the verb "disappear" in Present Continuous Tense?

texts: "More and more forests are disappearing because of fires." or "More and more forests disappear because of fires." which one is grammatically correct?  Our English teacher said that disappear is a stative verb. I am not sure if she is right or wrong, because she makes a lot of grammatical mistakes while teaching and I always notice it. But maybe I am the wrong one


texts:
My phone calls drop too frequently.
  My phone calls drop frequently.

The difference between above two sentences is minor (only the word "too").

Actually I am working on a project of summarizing sentences, and I have to prove that the above sentences mean the same. So, I want to ask is there any established paper/work/method to prove this?


texts:
While studying for this question, I found something else which troubles me.

The page for that word ("opposite", or for any other word), they have a link called "View the pronunciation":

Now my big curiosity is: is it possible to see / view pronunciations? In English or in any other language?

To the best of my knowledge, pronunciation is about sound waves, and view is about electromagnetic waves. Unless having some rare brain condition, one cannot see sounds and one cannot hear images.

  NOTE: I am not talking about viewing pronunciation rules, transcriptions, depictions, pages with information etc. I am strictly curious about that specific message. Also, I am not talking about "Listen to recording of pronunciation" or any other intended meanings.

Bottom line: is it some rule / exception stating that it is possible to view the pronunciation? I think it is totally incorrect but hey! it is in a dictionary, right?!


texts: Can we use first form of verb after helping verb?

texts: Can we say "my hobby is read book"? Is it correct?


texts: "We can't play tennis if it will be rainy tomorrow" or "... if it is rainy tomorrow"?

texts:
Which of these two sentences is correct? And why?

  A) We can't play tennis if it will be rainy tomorrow.
  B) We can't play tennis if it is rainy tomorrow.


texts:
I built a sentence but I don't really know if it's correct!

there are much more questions that answering them will reveal more information about people

Is that correctly structured? does it make sense?
Which one is correct: answering them or giving them an answer.
I'm confused! could you please help me to correct my mistakes?


texts: How to get rid of stammering while speaking

texts:
Obviously, All of you while learning it, have experienced stammering despite the fact you know English well. The same story goes here, I've been doing my best to become fluent, I know how to speak and what to, though, the thing is I still have no idea why I stammer while speaking. I've memorized songs but still no much difference.

Some say recording your own voice it'll help with both accent and hesitation, I haven't tried though. I'm looking for some solution from some guys who have been through the same and how they've dealt with that.

Some experts say, fluency comes along with repetition that's why they've built some methods based this idea called deep learning. But repeating the same stuff for a while, asking me? Uh boring out of mind. So there have to be some other ways some guys have noticed/figured out.

Me? I started to figure out while I imagine what I'm talking about it helps me a lot but still doesn't do that much good. Despite being an EFL student still I know some guys who don't stammer while speaking just after 4 years of learning.

I'm looking for a set of solutions, everyone in the same page has come across.


texts: Should I always use "neither..nor" for two?

texts:
I want to say that two people couldn't do something, can I use some other construction except "neither..nor"? The main point is not to summarise their effort and not combine the two.

Not James and not Shawn could do it.
James couldn't do it. Nor could Shawn.

Are these possible? Are there other ways?

Or is only is correct:

Neither James nor Shawn could do it.

What if we use "both" will they still be rendered individually or will they be rendered together?

Both James and Shawn couldn't do it.


texts: "Language doesn't matter, feeling does" - is this sentence correct?

texts:
It seems there is no grammatical mistake in this sentence, but I am pretty much not sure of that.

  Language doesn't matter, feeling does.

Is this sentence correct?


texts: If you complement a sum of money with an adjective, do you need to use an article?

texts:
Suppose, here's a sentence,

  Federal spending on healthcare increased by 15%, albeit to (a) still relatively small 500 billion.

Do I need to use an article because of the adjective? I noticed that sometimes, a word that usually goes with no article or a different type of article is preceded with 'a'/'an' when it's modified, for example 'a buoyant dollar' (instead of 'the dollar'). Does some sort of nominalization take place in my example?


texts:
What is the error in the from following sentence?

Many overseas students attend colleges in the Great Britain.

On many of the sites I found that the should be removed before Great Britain. But ngram shows the is used before Great Britain.


texts:
A couple bought furniture for their new house they've just moved into.

We'll lay the seats down and then stick them (furniture) through the backseat.

Can "in" be included here?

We'll lay the seats down and then stick them in through the backseat.

And can it be:

We'll lay the seats down and then put them in through the backseat.

And can it be "through the back" instead of "through the backseat"?


texts:
Oxford and Collins say that past tense can be used while reporting something that is still true at the time of reporting. But then it contradicts with the Implicature of Discontinuation rule.

R saying to S, 'I told N that my Grandfather was a good person, and asked him not to say anything more.'

(In this I have said Grandfather was, even though, he is still alive. Is it correct?)

If it is, then when I say, 'Bill was the founder of Microsoft.' This should also be correct? But some people have said to me that this sentence implies Bill is no more.

And I have found out that it is because of Implicature of Discontinuation.


texts:
Does it mean "businesses during Trump's presidency like number 4 in this link: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/base_1?

"China consumes a ton of products made by Trump's base. It is the largest market for US soybeans (62% in 2016) and airplanes (25% of Boeing passenger planes in 2016). It the second-largest market for US cotton (14% in 2016), auto (17% in 2016), and semiconductors (15% in 2016)."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-begins-section-301-investigation-2017-8


texts: Should I use "a" or "the" to designate the particular one I'm going to talk about?

texts:
In my previous posts, I wrote sentences like these:

Here is the sentence from C. S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew.
Here is the piece from a video game.

Then I quoted one or more sentences from the book or game.
I don't really know if the definite article was correct there. Those sentences aren't the only ones present in the book or game, but, on the other hand, they're particular — they're the sentences I was going to talk about.


texts: are they valid and roughly similar: "The dog bit into his leg", "The dog bit him into his leg", "The dog bit his leg"?

texts:
bite [intransitive, transitive] to use your teeth to cut into or through
  something

  Does your dog bite?

  Come here! I won't bite! (= you don't need to be afraid)

  bite into/through something She bit into a ripe juicy pear.

  bite somebody/something She was bitten by the family dog.

  Stop biting your nails!

  bite off something/sth off He bit off a large chunk of bread/He bit a
  large chunk of bread off.

Are these valid, idiomatic and roughly similar?

-The dog bit into his leg

-The dog bit him into his leg

-The dog bit his leg

Note:

  For the verb "poke", We can say "He poked me in the eye" &
  "He poked in my eye"


texts:
How to describe in two words someone who helped a teacher in some way, but was under its command? An assistant teacher, or a teacher assistant?

I'm not talking about a precise teacher (so not a proper name), but only the hierarchy position.

I know the adjective must be before the noun, but which one is considered as a noun and which one as an adjective here ?


texts: past perfect or past simple in this introduction to the "This Heat" record called Deceit

texts:
Deceit was the final "This Heat" record and developed out of the previous works as well as pushing our collective process into a wider zone. It was the result of work over the previous year or so, although several of the songs were already developed at the same time as the first album.

This is a text written for the reissue of "This Heat"'s second album called Deceit.

I wonder why it is not written "had been already developed" as the songs they are talking about had already been developed at the time of first album. So past simple means that some of the songs were not developed at the time of the first album  and were developed after just before releasing Deceit.


texts: “But, along with the street lamp, everything breathes deceit.", prepositional phrase?

texts:
“But, along with the street lamp, everything breathes deceit. It lies all the time, this Nevsky Prospect, but most of all at the time when night heaves its dense mass upon it and sets off the white and pale yellow walls of the houses, when the whole city turns into a rumbling and brilliance, myriads of carriages tumble from the bridges, postillions shout and bounce on their horses, and the devil himself lights the lamps only so as to show everything not as it really looks.” ― Nikolai Gogol, The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol.

How do you discern a grammatical role of this phrase? Along seems like a preposition. And if you discern it a preposition, maybe this phrase modifies everything. I may not get how it modifies everything.


texts: in advantage of and in favour of meaning

texts:
I lost my business in advantage of a competitor.

I want to say that a competitor will benefit from losing my business.

We should not avoid teaching music in favour of other school subjects.

I want to say that we should not prefer teaching other school classes rather than music.

Am I using these phrases correctly? I look into dictionary and either did not find the word or the usage is slightly different.


texts: Why is 'to' omitted after listen in this sentence?

texts: The text to which you will listen is a combination of extracts ....


texts:
I want to know where he is.
  I want to know where is he.

  I want to know where the hell are we.
  I want to know where the hell we are.

All these sentences are questions, but phrased as a sentence. In question, I know, in a questioning statement, "Where is he?" is correct, and "Where he is?" is not correct. But I'm not sure in the case of a statement. Is there a rule for this? Both statements are valid?

May be only one statement is valid in writing English, but both are valid in casual spoken English?


texts:
A statement found on NPR -

  "Across the pond" the Beatles had already cracked the top 10...

What's the meaning of "across the pond"? Does it mean "on the opposite side of the Atlantic" or "in every part of the Atlantic"? Or it just can be interpreted as either meaning, depending on the context?
I know a phrase called "crack it", meaning "succeed to do something". Does the word "crack" in the quote has the same meaning as the phrase?


texts: "My availability for the next two weeks (is/are) as follows"

texts:
Which is correct?

  My availability for the next two weeks are as follows

OR

  My availability for the next two weeks is as follows

I'm confused because I don't know if I should focus on the word "availability" which is singular or "two weeks" which is plural.


texts: Differences between the meaning of different sentence construction

texts:
Is there any difference between "mustn't have+p.p " and couln't have +p.p ?

1.martha couldn't have taken your notebook,she wasn't even in class.

2.martha mustn't have taken your notebook,she wasn't even in class.

Also ,is there any differences between "mustn't" and "can't" ?

1.He looks lazy. He mustn't be a policeman or That mustn't be right answer.

2.He looks lazy. He can't be a policeman or That can't be right answer.

Again, I also want to know: can i use "couldn't" in the same way in present tense in the place of 'can't' ? For example:

*It couldn't be the right answer.

So,please make me clear about mustn't have+p.p/couldn't have+p.p/mustn't/can'tand couldn't ?


texts:
I'm about to create a new business name, using Mobi as a first part of the name.

Someting like: MobiChat, MobiWork, MobiScan, MobiLease, you get the idea.

Does that sound unusual to a native English speaker's ear? How is it pronounced? I assume it rhymes with "lobby".

Thanks!


texts: English equivalent for French "assaut de courtoisie"?

texts:
On StackExchange, after we've asked a question and got an answer, or ourselves posted an answer, it frequently happens that a complementary discussion is established through comments, where we exchange precisions.
This commonly stops after a few comments have been posted from each one.

But in some occasions one comment includes kind words, really beyond a simple "Thanks", so per common courtesy habit the recipient has the feeling he can't remain without sending kind words in turn.
And sometimes this feedback itself causes the previous sender to feel the same... then we may fall in an awkward situation where it becomes as difficult to stop (because of the courtesy reflex) as to continue (because it might never stop, and anyway it's strongly discouraged by the StackExchange policy).
We can also note that this situation is more likely to happen in sections such as English language learners and other "soft skills" related ones, while for instance StackOverflow or CodeReview are rarely involved.

Just now, I felt into such a situation (in the French language section), and planned to gently express that we both had to avoid persisting so.
And that's when I realized that I didn't know how to translate the French expression that was me naturally came to mind: "Nous devons cesser de faire assaut de courtoisie".

In French this "assaut de courtoisie" is a well established formula, but I strongly doubt it could be translated literally (even if Google, imperturbable, quietly proposes "assault courtesy", I don't trust it!)

EDIT (because I realized I didn't clarify the exact meaning of the formula in French, so it may be misinterpreted): here "assaut" doesn't carry an hostile sense like when, for instance, an army launches an attack.
It rather refers to the fencing domain, where the agressive aspect is only due to competitive spirit.
In addition, the "assaut de courtoisie" is not one-way: the expression implicitly means that each is launching his assault in turn (again like in fencng domain).


texts: How to ask about a person's academic qualification?

texts:
The literal translation of the sentence I use in my mother tongue to ask about academic qualification is "How far did you study?"

Does this sentence sound normal to English ear?
If not, please suggest a suitable sentence (For casual conversation ).


texts: What is the difference between "complice"and "accomplice"?

texts:
What is the difference between "complice" and "accomplice"?

Both means an associate person during some act or something.

But what is the difference?


texts:
Chosen not as much for his charm, or lack thereof, as for his minatory appearance, the singer's bodyguard proved to be an effective deterrent for many autograph-seekers.

What is the role of 'as' in this sentence? For me, it seems also cool not to use 'as', like

  Chosen not for his charm, or lack thereof, but for his minatory appearance,


texts: Meaning 'Unless the soul, to vice a thrall, / Desert her own original.' I cannot understand the meaning of this phrase or sentence at all. This is the English translation from Latin phrase 'Ni vitiis pejora fovens / Proprium deserat ortum.'which is found in Samuel Johnson's Rambler No. 6. Could anyone be kind enough to paraphrase this phrase as easily as possible?


texts: Can we say use the word "quite" before "like" when we say "like" to mean "similar to"?

texts:
Can we say "quite" before "like" when we say "like" to mean "similar to"?

For example, can we say sentences like these:

1) His son is quite like him.
2) He is quite like an actor."
3) Life is quite like a joke.
4) This is quite like a dream.

Note: I saw native English speakers use "quite" like that, but I just wanted to make sure here.


texts: Using a past tense "mingled" in present tense writing

texts:
The sentence is:

  "As I mingled with the crowd, I keep an eye out for my friend."

Is that grammatically correct?
I'm writing something in present tense instead of past tense for the first time, so I'm super confused.
Or is it "As I mingle with the crowd.."?


texts: 'cook dinner yourself' vs 'cook dinner by yourself'

texts:
This is the dialogue from my English textbook between a mom and her kid:

  Mom: I'm going to be home late tonight. I have to go and visit Grandma
  after work.

  Kid: What time will you be home?

  Mom: I'll be home after dinner. I'm sorry, but you'll have to cook
  dinner yourself.

Is there any difference in meaning if I replace 'cook dinner yourself' with 'cook dinner by yourself'?
(For me, 'cook dinner by yourself' means cook dinner alone, but I'm not sure if that sounds correct in the ears of native English speakers.)


texts: grow a tooth, fall a tooth, and loose a tooth

texts:
I've got a tooth grown.
I've got a tooth loosened.
I've got a tooth fallen.
Are the sentences above correct?
If no, how should I say them instead?
I'll be grateful to them, if anybody answers my question.


texts: Placement of "either" (and the verbs that follow)

texts:
Are these right? Can the word either be put in either place?

  David will either write or have written.

  David either will write or have written.

......

What about when mixing a gerund and a participle? Is this one acceptable?

  She likes either swimming or to study.

......

Are these the same thing?

  I either drunk coffee or tea.

  I drunk either coffee or tea.

..........................

Also, is this the correct way to conjugate the verb?

  Either plural or plural the verb is plural ⇒ Either trucks or cars are here.

  Either singular or plural the verb is plural ⇒ Either a truck or cars **are here*.

  Either plural or singular the verb is singular ⇒ Either trucks or a car **is here*.

  Either singular or singular the verb is singular ⇒ Either a truck or a car **is here*.

Are those assumptions correct in both  informal and formal English?

I've inquired at sites like this one and looked at some dictionaries for guidance, but I am still confused.


texts:
What is the difference between below two sentences and in which context we should use this.

  She had been treated with these medicines in 2004.   She had being treated with these medicines in 2004.

One more example is

  She said as she had earlier being treated by the Guptas, in May 2003.   She said as she had earlier been treated by the Guptas, in May 2003.

Please Explain


texts:
Consider the following sentence,

  "You can use Vim, Vi or virtually any text editor when writing C code".

Why put virtually in there? What difference does it make compared to if it wasn't there?

Note: Vim and Vi are text editors and C is a programming language.


texts:
There is such an idiom in English "take sth lying down" which means to endure something unpleasant without fighting back.

e.g.

  He insulted me publicly. You don't expect me to take that lying down, do you?

I have researched on the Internet, but I couldn't find some constructions including this idiom about some other concepta like "money", "right" etc.

For instance, I need to know if saying:

  Don't take your money lying down.

Or

  Don't take your right lying down.

considered to be natural and idiomatic?


texts: Difference between "interwoven" and "complected"?

texts:
What is the difference between interwoven and complected?

  complect
  To join by weaving or twining together; interweave.


texts:
A friend told me:
'On the site area 51, people will put their own proposals up.'
I looked up on the dictionary and the best match seems to be 'place something in a high or upright position'. Does it mean that it's an image: you put up your proposals like you would put up a poster on the wall, or is it another meaning ?


texts: What is the meaning for "bounded above"?

texts:
For the analysis to correspond usefully to the actual execution time, the time required to perform a step must be guaranteed to be bounded above by a constant
  (Source)

By looking meaning for bound I got as "sudden long step". With this meaning I cannot understand the above statement meaning.


texts: A question regarding the verb --- would like+ to-infinitive

texts:
I appreciate if someone can help me in clarifying my doubt.

I(subj) + would (modal verb)+ like(verb) + to eat (main verb (to-infinitive))+ rice (obj)

Are the classes correct?

Thanks!


texts: Why do we use *that* instead of *those* in this sentence?

texts:
Given this sentence:

  I wish I had shoes like that

Is it possible to say:

  I wish I had shoes like those

or not?

Why is the first correct?


texts: “Ascent" or "descent" in the context of ancestry?

texts:
Ascent:

  3 : a going back in time or upward in order of genealogical succession

Descent:

  1 : a : derivation from an ancestor

Which should I use to refer to someone who has a, let's say Chinese, origin:

a person of Chinese descent, or
a person of Chinese ascent ?


texts:
Thousands flock to free medical clinic, as Washington dithers on health care

  These events are staged nationwide, but the Wise clinic is among the biggest, drawing people from throughout Appalachia and casting Washington’s sterile political debates into the starkest human terms.

  Source (emphasis added)

My question: Does 'casting debate into' have the same meaning as 'casting debate in' ?

Merriam-Webster learner's Dictionary (learnersDictionary.com) explains 'cast' as

  7 : to talk about or think of (someone or something) in a particular way
  example sentence: Health care issues are often cast in economic terms


texts: What is the antonym for "economical with truth"?

texts:
He is not "economical with the truth". I need a single word that means its opposite

  He is ____ with the truth.

What word do I put in the blank? Non-Economical?


texts: shouldn't the order of sentence describing participle clause be changed here?

texts:
OP: Whistling to himself, he walked down the road. = He whistled to himself as he walked down the road.

Shouldn't it be like this?

  He walked down the road as he whistled to himself?

I saw a similar example:

  Walking down the street on Saturday, I saw Simon. = When I was walking down the street, I saw Simon.

If I follow this logic, the "as/when" should be placed before the sentence using participle clause, right? But the OP's sentence does not fit in with this logic, instead OP place it contrarily.


texts: I Thought + Present or Past Tense to be Used

texts:
I was on leave and went to the office for some reason. At the office my friend asked me:

  Why you are in the office today? I thought you are on leave.

It sounded weird to me. He used the present tense after the past tense "thought". Is it OK if we construct the sentence this way or should the sentence be like:

  Why are you in the office today? I thought you were on leave.

One more sentence in this context:

  I thought you were/are coming late today.


texts:
Does this sentence correctly use the word 'confine'?

  Would you like to confine our relationship only till Facebook or will you take it further to the next level?


texts: Compare and emphasise on the incident happened `Before`

texts:
Suppose person-1 has achieved a milestone today and person-2 achieved two years ago.

Now how can I emphasise on this time difference? Since Before is not an Adjective it doesn't have Comparative or Superlative degree.

I've some ideas like:

Person-2 has achieved this long before
Person-2 has achieved this way long before
Person-2 has achieved this way too much before

Which option would express the sense more appropriately?


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

  Grylls lived his childhood dream to climb Everest when he scaled earth's highest mountain
  in 1998, less than two years after his near-fatal Africa fall.

cambridge gives these explanations

  a set of numbers, amounts, etc., used to measure or compare the level of something

  the relation between the real size of something and its size on a map, model, or diagram

  the size or level of something, especially when this is large

None is suitable in this case.

Does "scale" mean "achieve", "plan" or some other meaning here?


texts:
What are the similarities and differences? In the example below, what would be the difference between using “provide for” and (just) “provide”?

  provide: Make available for use; supply

  provide for: Make adequate preparation for (a possible event)Source: Oxford Dictionaries, Definition of “provide”

  It turns out that there are contractual answers as
  well: creditors can provide for these possibilities in advance, not between
  themselves but by taking security interests in your assets—in other words,
  a right to take back your property directly if you run out of money.Source: p 107, The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth


texts:
What is the proper way to say that very little/short time is left for something?

For example, when there are very few days left before the exams start. I don't want to mention days, but time, in my sentence. Something like there is very little time left for the exams.


texts:
I wonder what is the correct verb with my following sentence:

  Mixture of Gaussians show a good model fit.

or

  mixture of Gaussian shows a good model fit.

I think the second one is correct, but someone told me that I should choose the first one.


texts:
Is it correct to say

  Dilbert bought the same car as me.

If it is, what are other sentences for other pronouns such as he?

  Dilbert bought the same car as David/he/him

I know you can say

  Dilbert bought the same car as yours

when you refer to or compare objects.


texts:
"Those reacted relatively weakly" to what? To PF4 as well? It seems to have a possibility that "reacted relatively weakly" is simply referring to a weak immune response. I am not sure.

Initial studies by Greinacher’s team, posted as a preprint, don’t support that theory either. Among more than 200 patients who had recovered from COVID-19, they found only a few with antibodies that reacted to PF4, and those reacted relatively weakly. More importantly, Greinacher says, the platelet-activating antibodies isolated from VITT patients did not react to the coronavirus spike protein. At a press conference on Friday, Greinacher called the finding “fantastic news for the vaccination program.”

Source: Science


texts: Is it right to say "a multi-vegetable salad"?

texts: I want to state a salad that has many different kinds of vegetables, so can I say "a multi-vegetable salad"? I've looked up the meaning of the prefix "multi" in Oxford learner's dictionary http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/salad and found some examples such as "multicoloured", "multi-ethnic society", "multimillionaire",... It says that "multi" can combine with nouns and adjectives but "multi-vegetable" still somehow seems funny to me. So is it right? If not, what is an appropriate word to describe this kind of salad?


texts:
The British rock band Marillion has a song called Fugazi, which is also the title of the album. This is one of their lines:

  Do you realise, this world is totally fugazi.

By context I can deduce that the word means insane.

There is also an American punk band called Fugazi.

Well, the word has no translation in Google Translate or WordRefrence. And I have not found in other languages. As used by two groups of English-speaking, I suppose it's some idiom. What does it mean? It is common?


texts: What exactly is the word "there" in an existential construction? And related questions

texts:
Consider the example below:

  "There was a cat under the table."

There have been numerous questions asked that have involved the topic of existential constructions and the word "there" that is used in them. I would like to see some grammatical rationales that will explain what that word "there" actually is -- or is not -- in an existential construction in today's standard English.

These are some of the things that I've heard, with respect to that "there" and/or the existential construction:

"There" is the grammatical subject of the clause.
"There" is a dummy pronoun.
 The subject is an external complement. (optional)
 An existential construction has no clausal object. (optional)
 There is no such thing as a passive existential construction. (optional)

What syntactical arguments can be made for or against those above statements? And how well accepted are those above statements?

Please provide some vetted grammatical sources in your answers.


texts: Is it switch weapons or switch weapon? I am not sure if we just use the plural in all cases, or there's a particular situation where you use the singular and a particular situation where you use the plural, but let's say you play a video game and you switch your pistol to a knife. Do you then say switch weapons or switch weapon?


texts:
I apparently made a mistake in this text: http://www.learnenglish.de/games/articles/articles.html, where you have to fill in "a", "an" or "the" in the blanks.

The relevant parts are:

  Looking out of {a/an/the} window I can see {a/an/the}  young man. {A/An/The} young man is crossing {a/an/the} road.

I went for "The young man is crossing a road".
The correct sentence is apparently: "The young man is crossing the road."

The rule says: "We use 'the' when we are talking about a particular thing, or we have already mentioned the thing we are talking about."

The road is mentioned for the first time in the text.

I can't grasp how this road is particular or more particular than "an office", "a car", etc with which the narrator and the young man interract.

Can you explain why it's incorrect to write "a road" in the sentence?


texts: "They" only for living things and people?

texts:
I have an easy question about the usage of expressions such as "They're so many..." (referred to an object). I've always said this, but a friend of mine, who is also an English learned, told me that I should never use similar expressions, because "They" refers only to people or living matter.

Who is right?

If I see some pictures, is it correct to say: "They're so many" or also "They're so beautiful" ?


texts: "and" with meals - eating separately or together

texts:
I have toast and jam for breakfast.

Does it mean that I eat toast and jam separately or together with spread jam on toast?

What about other examples? Does "and" mean separately or together as if combined?

  I have cereal and milk for for breakfast.

  I have fish and potatoes for dinner.

Edit: I've edited some examples and added new. I need some clarification.

What about bread and butter?

  I have bread and butter for breakfast.

or

  I have pastries and milk.

Does it mean here mixed or separate? I mean I first eat pastries, then milk or eat them together?

Can I replace "and" with "with" without a difference in meaning?


texts:
How should I deal with 'relate' in this context?

  Basque is the language which is spoken in northwestern Spain and
  southwestern France. It __________ (not/relate) to any other language
  in the world.

Lots of my Russian colleagues say that active voice should be used there, while I disagree. How can a language relate? It can or cannot be related. So, 'isn't related' is the right answer.

Am I correct?


texts: What do we call "Sad Demise [of someone]" in a newspaper? An Advertisement?

texts:
Most of the dictionaries define the word 'advertisement' as an arrangement of picture/video/audio or whatever to promote product/service/person. You see the word 'promotion' there.

Now, the newspapers don't just have advertisements, they have other things too. Here in India, it's quite common to see a spacial space for 'Sad Demise' and other announcements related to final rites and the like. If I want a newspaper to publish this, what should I say?

  Hello, I need to have ______________. It's about the first death anniversary of someone.

It should be fitting in here as well...

  Hello, I need to give ________________ about the 'sad demise' of someone.

In both the places, using the advertisement seems hurting. I'm searching for a word if it defines 'Sad demise', 'First Death Anniversary' etc. So, here, newspapers have space for what? Advertisements? No, they aren't advertisements.


texts: The use of the word 'fellow' instead of the word 'person'

texts:
Is he the same fellow who did that?

  vs

  Is he the same person who did that?

In some parts of my country, using the word fellow gives a hint of some negativity. At least, it's not a polite way to say the sentence mentioned above. There, others recommend using the word person. Is it something that if that person did good thing, we use the second sentence?

Can't we use fellow to describe a person here? Is the word fellow (other than PHD) always shows suspiciousness as in "Shh...look at him, he's the fellow who followed my daughter that day."

WordWeb defines fellow as a 'boy' or 'man'.

Please note: I'm clear about using the word fellow, which means a person who is the member of one's class or profession.


texts:
I came across a sentence like this -

  The benches were sheltered beneath the stilts of a bamboo-walled hut.

I know that stilts means poles. How benches should be sheltered beneath the poles?


texts: My friend had left school ___ the age of 14 and gone to work ___ a restro

texts:
What prepositions should I use to fill in these two blanks?

  My friend had left school _____ the age of 14 and gone to work _____ a retro.

options:

a) under/in
b) at/in
c) under/around
d) on/in
e) about/in

My approach:

I am confused between a) and b)

I think both can be true.

Can anyone guide me how to approach the problem?


texts:
Today in English lesson, the teacher wrote this example on the board:

  "I wish I hadn't left a valuable things in a car."

I told him we shouldn't use 'a' before a plural noun but he didn't listen and claimed that the sentence is correct....I still can't understand why, and I even think it should be 'the car', not 'a car'.


texts: The use of the word "except" with "to" + a verb

texts:
I read in one grammar book that after except we have to use a bare infinitive. For example:

  She had nothing to do except spend money.

But in this dictionary they provide an example with a verb and to. Here it goes:

  He wouldn’t talk about work, except to say that he was busy.

I am really confused. Does that mean that the author of the book is wrong or the dicionary is wrong.


texts: "It's time something was / were done about the problem."

texts:
It's time something was done about the problem.

It is a sentence from Murphy's "Grammar". Using was confused me, for me it should be were. It looks like this clause is in subjunctive mood—something that is unreal / imaginary, and in that case you always use were for any object.

Unless, of course, it is not the subjunctive mood, what would knock me down.


texts: What is the differense between "aired" and "realized" in this context?

texts:
What is the difference in meaning of the following sentences?

  The show was aired last year.

  The show was realized last year.


texts:
People who are fortunate enough to own a house in the city are very few.

The English quiz here  suggests to remove enough saying it is unnecessary. Is it correct ? I have seen enough used in context of sufficient e.g. He is tall enough to be selected in military. But don't know why it's unnecessary in the above given sentence.


texts: Can one ask "he went where" instead of "where did he go"?

texts: I'm not sure but it's quite obvious that I've heard and read of such questions occasionally. Is this acceptable in terms of grammatical writing?


texts:
Do I say

  His classmates hasn’t been interviewed?”

Or haven’t or hadn’t? It is pretty confusing to me, especially the past perfect, present participle


texts: Articles in set expressions + adjectives

texts:
I would like to know if there is any specific rule on how articles work in set expressions, when adjectives are added.

For instance, 'set the pace' - will the definite article remain if I add an adjective, let us say, 'proper'. Is it still 'set the proper pace' or 'set a proper pace'?

The same for the indefinite article - 'as a result'. In a sentence, where adjective 'good' is added - will it become 'as a good result' or 'as the good result'?


texts:
Every morning at the daily standup, our manager would ask everyone this question.
Everyone would reply "I'm fine.", "I'm good." ...

Can I reply something difference?

For example, today, I got a cough. Can I say, "not very good, I got a cough."


texts:
Why do we use "have" with singulars, I mean we have read the formula that we use "has" with singulars and "have" with plurals, but in some sentences I read "have" with singulars. For example,

Does she have a car?
She does not have a van?

Why we are using "have" here?


texts:
Then they come slidderin' past Fairlight in a great smoky pat
  vambrished with red gun-fire, and our ships flyin' forth and duckin'
  in again. The smoke-pat sliddered over to the French shore, so I
  knowed Frankie was edgin' the Spanishers toward they Dutch sands where
  he was master. I says to my Aunt, "The smoke's thinnin' out. I lay
  Frankie's just about
  scrapin' his hold for a few last rounds shot. 'Tis time for me to go."

This is from "Simple Simon" in "Rewards and Fairies" by Kipling.
http://www.telelib.com/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/prose/RewardsFaries/simplesimon.html

I do not understand the meaning of this.

scrapin' his hold for a few last rounds shot

I am so glad if somebody kindly teach me.


texts: What do you think about the position of adverb in this sentence?

texts:
there is no evidence that scholars tried to document precisely the toilet habits of our predecessors.

In the sentence above, I found the word "precisely" weird because of its position. Is it okay or do I have to move it to the end?


texts: conditional vs subjunctive: "it would mean they (were / would be)"

texts:
I have a hard time convincing someone that the correct verb to use in the following sentence is the conditional "would be" rather than the subjunctive "were":

One interviewee  expressed hope that this would happen, as it would mean markets  were  better informed and serving disaster risk reduction.


texts: Joined In crushing the rebels / joined into crushing the rebels

texts:
The commoners joined the king's army at crushing the rebels.

Which is the best preposition to replace the bold part in the above sentence?

I had four options to choose from which I managed to rule out two, but I am confused between these two options:

A) in

B) into

We use into when we want to manifest motion e.g. I saw a snake going into the room and use in when there is no need to manifest motion e.g. The cat was sitting in the room. But which preposition fits in the above sentence? Going by the explanation which I gave, option A > option B, but my book has option B as its answer. I suspect it's an error in printing.


texts:
I wanted to tell someone that it's been a while since our cat travelled with us and that's why she's scared. What is the correct way of saying that?

Our cat didn't drive with us in a while? Or should I use hasn't?


texts: What would be the most idiomatic way of telling $10 discount when spending $98?Thanks

texts:
$10 discount when spending $98

$30 discount when spending $198

Is that natural or idiomatic? or Is there a better way of telling this?
How about"  SAVE 10$ for OVER 98$ "?

Could anyone please help? Thanks.


texts: the difference between when, where, and which

texts:
I am confused as to why the "where" in the sentence

  One domain where this is of considerable significance is music's potentially damaging effects on the ability to drive safely.

cannot be a "which". Same goes for the sentence

  It had long been something of a mystery where, and  on what, the northern fur seals of the eastern Pacific feed during the winter, which they spend off the coast of North America from California to Alaska.

Why can't the "which" in the sentence be a "when"?


texts: "How someone/something changed" vs. "what change about someone/something"

texts:
Could you tell me if there is any difference in meaning between how someone/something changed and what changed about someone/something? For example:

I can see Mike has changed. I can't see how he changed, though.
I can see Mike has changed. I can't see what changed about, though.


texts:
Just curious if "what is more" is basically the same as "furthermore". It seems to be an expression that creates emphasis, right? How about the following sentence:

  I am a great admirer of her films; what's more I've seen each one several times.


texts: Jamie Dimon said in interview at Stanford “ We bank 50 million people on out households and soon we are going to have online investing and robo investing” I am nkt sure if we bank 50 million households means that they lend money to 50 million households?


texts: which verb is commen and which one is formal to use "move, displace, relocate, shift, etc."

texts:
If one wants to leave a place permanently (house, working place, office) and go to another place, which verb can we use "(move, displace, relocate, shift, etc.) (to/ from)"?
I mean "(move to/ from), (displace to/ from), ...."
which verb is 1-formal, 2- common or informal and 3- slang?


texts:
In Tom Dee's 'Greenery', I came across the following passage:

The record began ordinarily with recordings of hungarian birds. Between them a slow and deliberate announcer’s voice gave their scientific names:
Alauda arvensis, Oriolus oriolus, Luscinia megarhynchos, Parus major, skylark, golden oriole, nightingale, great tit.The birds sang. It was spring where they were.Then, after the great tit as we know it and think it knows itself, came a great tit slowed down, then slower still, then even slower. Deeper and deeper the sounds came, heavier and heavier. And with them, and József’s cloudy wine, and the fug from his tiled stove, I was all but taken under.

I wonder if "taken under" here means something in the vicinity of "strongly moved" or something else completely?


texts: Confused about what "Sometimes choices make you" means

texts:
I heard this on TV:

  Sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you.

I understand the first part, but what does

  "sometimes choices make you"

mean?

From what I understand, a choice is when you can decide between two or more things. You get to pick which thing you want, which route to go, etc.

It was your parent's choice to have intimate time and you ended up getting created as a result of that choice.

Are there any other examples or metaphors that could be inferred from that phrase?


texts: What does "losing your shirt" means in this sentence?

texts:
I was reading a book named "The personal MBA" and I encountered the following sentence-

  “If the idea is promising, you’re in a great position to make it happen. If your assumptions don’t hold true, you’re able to cut your losses without losing your shirt or your dignity.”

Does it mean to go bankrupt?


texts:
This is a post from Google blog:

  At our Mountain View headquarters, we have some fields that we need to mow occasionally to clear weeds and brush to reduce fire hazard. This spring we decided to take a low-carbon approach: Instead of using noisy mowers that run on gasoline and pollute the air, we've rented some goats from California Grazing to do the job for us (we're not "kidding").

What are brushes mentioned above? I've looked it up in several dictionaries, but couldn't find a definition that makes sense to the context.


texts:
The sentence :

  A dog has no trouble knowing where to scratch itself to kill a flea.

I think below sentences are more familiar to my mind where a preposition comes after the trouble.

  A dog has no trouble with/in/of knowing where to scratch itself to kill a flea.

However, It seems the first sentence is a reduced relative clause. It means we can rewrite the sentence as below:

  A dog has no trouble ( that it is knowing ) where to scratch itself to kill a flea.

Under this considerations, my question is why the author preferred to use or choose reduced relative clause rather to use a preposition? If these scenarios convey different meanings in a Native person (or a person expert in English )? The sentence has been driven from an academic text. Can we say using relative clauses are more preferable in academic or formal English ?


texts: The suitable reletiviser in this sentence

texts:
I wrote:

  It’s supposed that the immediate ancestor of any two handle nodes, one of which is the current node, is one or few levels up in the DOM-tree.

But I feel there is a pause and fragment for the relative clause. Could I write it as:

  It’s supposed that the immediate ancestor of any two handle nodes, of which one is the current node, is one or few levels up in the DOM-tree.
  It’s supposed that the immediate ancestor of any two handle nodes, from which one is the current node, is one or few levels up in the DOM-tree.
  It’s supposed that the immediate ancestor of any two handle node where  one of them is the current node, is one or few levels up in the DOM-tree.

Are they all correct? which are better?


texts:
What is the difference between arrogance and arrogancy? Do they mean the same thing?
which one sounds more correct and natural in the given examples:

Your arrogance is going to end you up nowhere.
vs
Your arrogancy is going to end you up nowhere.


texts:
I've heard this over the radio. A Christian woman said Jesus was "working on her mind" as she "learned the art of apologizing" after having children. The last word she said was "[...] served with a side of humble pie."

I know that "eat humble pie" means to aplogize and face humiliation, but is that whole phrase "served ... pie" an idiom?

I don't remember what goes in the square brakets around the triple dots; what will that be?


texts:
Sentence:

  A arises from xxx, as distinct from B which is associated with xxx.

My further question is:

What are the differences between ", which" and "which"?

Thanks!


texts: Can the word "advantage" be used as an adjective?

texts:
I read an article in "The Hindu" which was titled as:

  Advantage Australia as India battles self-doubt

I think there should be "advantaged" instead of "advantage".


texts: Difference between "continue to" and "are continuing to"

texts:
Please tell me is there any fundamental difference between the two sentences:

Even today, people continue to use cheques.

Even today, people are continuing to use cheques.

I mean is there a difference as in time period (i.e when the action starts and when it ends). Or are the two sentence just the same and interchangeable?


texts:
I think for a pronunciation symbol, cars is /kɑːrz/ and says is /seɪz/.

But whenever I listen these words I feel like there are a little “d” sound, Cars /kɑːrdz/ and Says/seɪdz/.

For me, cars sound like cards and says sounds like saids.

Am I wrong?


texts: Ask your teacher [about] what she is going to put in the test - Is "about" required?

texts:
I am really confused whether a preposition is needed before a question word and I want to know which one is correct:

  "Ask your teacher about what she is going to put in the test"

or

  "Ask your teacher what she is going to put in the test"?


texts: "...what you've put together here" : What does it mean?

texts:
What does this sentence mean?

  They would likely be interested in what you've put together here!

When I should use this?


texts: How to explain the difference between "There's a table" and "It is a table"?

texts: What is the difference between 'There's a table' and 'It is a table'?


texts:
There is a question that says:
Find the mistake:

  Despite being important, he forgot the laptop at home.

  The answer says: Despite its importance... or Despite the
  laptop importance...

I do  not know if this answer is correct or why ? I think the sentence is ok.

Edit: why does not the sentence sound like : Despite being poor, he was happy?


texts: What is wrong with year's and year here?

texts:
I wrote this sentence:

  In India, many aspirants take a year break to crack competitive exams so that they can study in a premier institute.

My teacher corrected it to:

  In India, many aspirants take a year's break to crack competitive exams so that they can study in a premier institute.

Why do we need year's over there? I understand possessive noun but I am a bit confused here. Why year's is required here? When I am writing a year break, it means 1 year break. What does a year's break mean here? Also, why is it required here?


texts: What does "such an introduction" refer to?

texts:
Within the United States, they are commonly taken from one area to another, both legally and illegally, to restock hunting areas and, presumably, because people simply want them to be part of their local fauna. Their appearance and subsequent flourishing in Utah's Great Salt Lake valley within the last 40 years appears to be from such an introduction. (From TOEFL)

Why does "such an introduction" refer to "and, presumably, because people simply want them to be part of their local fauna"?
This seems confusing, as the preceding context mentions a series of reasons for the introduction.


texts: "to find" or "finding" after the verb "help"

texts:
I want to say this sentence:

  Could you help me to find a financial support please?

Would it be more correct to say to find or to say finding? Is there a general rule to determine whether to verb or verb+ing is more correct? Is there a better way to construct that sentence?


texts: Smell bright and taste bright is grammatically correct, but why are they not used but look bright is used?


texts: Is there a word for inserting a random line from a different language during a conversation?

texts:
I think there might not be a word specifically for this, but there may be a more general word that covers all case where you switch from one language to another during a conversation or in writing. I suspect that it is the case, because you encounter it in writing and in countries where people use more than one language.

For example:

  "I am aware that ce n'est pas vraie, but I would still caution
  prudence." said Roberto to his friend Mathieu.


texts: Do I understand the tense forms correctly?

texts:
I made the following sentences up by myself and I would like to know if they are grammatically correct.

Past Continuous:

  “I was searching for a job in the newspaper when I got a phone call.”

or can I say:

  “I was searching for a job when I finally got a job offered by my
  previous employer.”

Past Perfect Continuous:

  “I had been searching for a job for two months when I finally got a
  job offered by my previous employer.”

Past Perfect:

  “I had searched for a new job before I got fired.”

Does it mean that I started to search for a job before I got fired and finished before I got fired?

Present Perfect:

  “I have searched for a new job for two months.”

This means I started to search two months ago and do no longer search for a job right?

Present Perfect Continuous:

  “I have been searching  for a new job for two months.”

This means I started to search two months ago but I still search for a job right?


texts:
Do we have any term or phrase for the situation wherein a protagonist becomes an antagonist for rest of the characters in a drama but still remains a hero for the audiences?

For example in The Count of Monte Cristo, Dantès is the protagonist, but after Albert's father had been disgraced by him, he became Albert's villain.


texts:
can I use "resume" as a verb to mean not only "to continue" but also "to summarise"  ?

Thanks


texts: "the legs of the table" vs "the table's legs"

texts:
I got this quiz:

  The carpenter repaired __ .

  (A) the table's legs

  (B) table's legs

  (C) legs of the table

  (D) the legs of the table

...which says the right answer is D. But I think A is also acceptable.

What do you think? Thanks.

Related but not a duplicate: Which is correct, “The carpenter repaired the legs of the tables” or “The carpenter repaired legs of the tables”

If I add an option E: the table legs, is E also acceptable?


texts:
I don't understand the following question:

  And can you tell me where you’re from?

Why is "where you are from" used instead of "where are you from"?


texts: Difference between it is like Delifrance and it is Delifrance-like food store

texts:
Jane was bored with the food in our workplace's carteen.
She wanted me to recommend her some better places to dine out.
I told her that "ABC food store is well-known for Tempura and milk bread..."To give her some idea what else ABC food store sells, I said,
(1).  ABC food store is like Delifrance.

Now I am home, and I am wondering whether there are any differences in meaning in the following sentences:

(1). ABC food store is like Delifrance.
(2). ABC food store is Delifrance-like.

Thank you.


texts: Usage of ellipsis as a pause or break in the sentence

texts:
Are the ellipsis used like em-dashes or pauses in these examples? They are not omitting information but rather feel like unneccessary breaks in the sentence where commas should be used.

I ask because I'd use the ellipis only for missing information, and not breaks in the sentence. But clearly they are used as pauses here. Any right or wrong in this and how does this usage differ from an em-dash if at all.

  This felt ... like a fan film that managed to get everybody back that was in the original

  [It] isn't a perfect movie ... but it's a far more faithful and respectful version of the original.

  I'm not the same horror fan I was before because death is a lot more real today... but believe me... I like good horor... and it delivered.

  Forty years after the original ... we finally get a good sequel in this franchise.


texts: Is it correct to say "testing passed / failed"?

texts: In software development, after I perform a number of tests on a program, is it grammatically correct to say "testing passed" (or failed)? It is probably correct to say "testing is completed", but it doesn't tell anything about the outcome.


texts: Difference between these 2 reduced clauses

texts:
Is there any meaningful difference between these sentences? Are they replaceable in all situations?

  A man who narrated brutal videos has come out of the shadows after being captured by an American-backed militia.

VS

  A man who narrated brutal videos has come out of the shadows after captured by an American-backed militia.


texts:
A person was humorously saying:

  Go straight ahead and you'll see a big hotel, there you'll find a nice concrete road on the left....(pause).... don't take the road but rather take the narrow street on the right.

Is but rather the same as rather than?

Is the use of but rather valid in this context?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there another way to say "reward your dog"?

texts: I can think of a few options, but to me they all sound awkward. It's hard to say if it's idiomatic, because I don't have enough experience to know it. Those options are "tell him he's a good boy", "pat the dog", "give the dog a sweet", but all of them are a bit awkward sounding. Is there any better option?


texts: What does it mean "to reshuffle a cabinet"?

texts: Does "reshuffle a cabinet" mean reappoint ministers/ heads of the departments to new positions without bringing in new people? Or could it mean, more broadly, to change the heads of ministries/departments, possibly with the introduction of new people?


texts: Does "car wash" refer to the location or the action

texts:
My friend drove his car through a car wash.

In this case, it's hard, especially if you're a non-native speaker, to know if car wash refers to the action or the place where the action is performed. What do you think about this? I am really confused.


texts:
What is the state of these two questions regarding grammatical correctness and being a "subject question" :

"Who does the housework in your family?"
"Who in your family does the housework?"

Simply, I want to know what is the case here? For example:

They're both correct and they're are both subject questions.
or:
1 is grammatically wrong, but 2 is correct and it's a subject question.
or:
...(other cases)


texts:
I have the following sentence in my math work:

  We were able to show when g(a,b)=1 for the case b|a
   because the distribution of rational numbers in the p-adic places is predictable.

I was told that usage of "when" is not really correct in this context because "when" is reserved strictly to time phrases. I know I can rewrite it as the following:

  We were able to show for which a,b such that b|a we have that g(a,b)=1,
   because the distribution of rational numbers in the p-adic places is predictable.

However, the sentence appears to me to be much less clear than the original one, moreover it is longer, and I would have to change this way several sentences.

So the question: Is the original sentence incorrect? If so, can I make a small change to correct it?


texts:
hurt [transitive, intransitive] hurt (somebody/something/yourself) to
  cause physical pain to somebody/yourself; to injure somebody/yourself

  He hurt his back playing squash.

  Did you hurt yourself?

  Stop it. You're hurting me.

  My back is really hurting me today.

  Strong light hurts my eyes.

  My shoes hurt—they're too tight.

  hurt [intransitive] to feel painful

  My feet hurt.

  Ouch! That hurt!

  It hurts when I bend my knee.

  hurt (adj) injured physically

  None of the passengers were badly hurt.

so, when we say "I hurt my back" we may mean "I caused it" (maybe, I bumped my back on the edge of the table)

when we say "my back hurts" we don't know if I caused it or it is just my illness that caused my back hurt from the inside.

what about "I hurt on my back" or "I am hurt on my back"?

What are the differences between "I hurt my back", "my back hurts", "my back hurts me", "I hurt on my back", "I am hurt on my back"?


texts:
If I say: You are not Julie, what is the correct contraction?

You're not Julie
You aren't Julie


texts:
In the book I'm reading there's this sentence:

  The mother stood on the sidelines [of a soccer field] and watched her lanky son grapevine across the field with the other boys

I don't understand the meaning of grapevine here. It seems to be a verb... The boy is playing soccer or entering the field.


texts: Is "My first cell phone 'was' just a phone." correct? "was or is?"

texts:
"My first cell phone 'was' just a phone..(old phone, I am now not using it anymore.)

It was quite bulky and heavy.(old phone, I am now not using it anymore.)

I am now using smartphone now.

I think, first cell phone is still just a phone and bulky and heavy.

So I think, my first cell phone is just a phone and it is quite bulky and heavy.


texts: A comparison between 'utilize', 'use' and 'waste'

texts:
Please imagine someone uses his energy doing some useless and mainly worthless things and you are going to advise him and as a friend give him a warning that what he is doing is wasting his time. I was wondering if someone could let me know which one of the following choices sounds more idiomatic in the self-made sentence below and finally tell me if my sentence is natural at all or I have to rephrase it:

  Don’t.............your energy for worthless things.

  a) utilize

  b) waste

  c) use

For me, depending on the context, both 'b' and 'c' sound idiomatic.


texts: Grammaticality - 'why should we make us merry'? (1892 UK)

texts:
Source: Act 1, Scene 3, The Foresters, by Alfred Tennyson

“...if this life of ours
Be a good glad thing, why should we make us merry
Because a year of it is gone? but Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...”

1. Does the above mean: why should we make ourselves merry on a birthday because one year has lapsed? If so, why was the objective pronoun us used, and not the reflexive emphatic ourselves?

2. Why write ' we make us merry '?  Why not just:   3. 'we become merry '?


texts: Is "Do you miss me?" an interrogative sentence semantically?

texts:
Do you miss me?

Could you please tell me if it is an interrogative sentence semantically or a declarative one?

The fuller text is:

  She sits down on the bed in the gloomy room and pulls her husband’s
  cell out of her pocket and looks at it.   [...] Then she looks at the
  texts. She starts from the top of the list, ignoring names of people
  she knows, but then she sees a woman’s name she doesn’t recognize. She
  clicks on it and opens the text [...]

  Idk. I have to go away this weekend with the nag.

  When will I see you again?

  [...] She fights tears and continues reading.

  >  I miss you terribly!

  > Do you miss me?


texts: The present perfect with "once": "I'll do it once I have (had) a chance"

texts:
I have read some sentences including ''once'' , ''will'' and ''perfect tense''

  I will comment on this once I have had a chance to print it out on Monday
  I will comment further on this once I have had a chance to fully digest it myself
  The date of commencement will be confirmed once people have indicated an interest in taking part

As you see, first part of the sentence includes ''will'' ( future tense), second part is present perfect tense.
Is the second part of the sentence not supposed to be present tense?

  I will comment on this once I have a chance to print it out on Monday
  I will comment further on this once I have a chance to fully digest it myself
  The date of commencement will be confirmed once people indicate an interest in taking part

why perfect tense?


texts: When and how should I use articles with names of people?

texts: I used to think that you must always use an article with a person's name if it's preceded with a modifier: the definite article if the quality is permanent or typical ('The conscientious Mike was the go-to guy in the company'), an indefinite article if it's temporary ('Don't mess with an angry Liz'). However, I recently came across a sentence on the BBC where a modified name doesn't go with an article (I'm sorry, I don't want to look for the link, I forgot what article it was). When and how should I use articles with modified names of people?


texts:
We can say

  The hospital is to the left side of the restaurant

Can we say

  The hospital is at the left side of the restaurant

?


texts: What does "it is" refer to in "... close to the time IT IS when you say it"?

texts:
https://www.quora.com/Which-is-grammatically-correct-to-say-around-this-time-or-this-time-around/answer/Rebecca-Logue-3

  They mean two totally different things so whether they are grammatically correct is dependent upon what you want them to mean. 1. Around this time--something happened in the past and is being repeated at very close to the time it is when you say it.

What does "it is" refer to in this sentence? Would it be grammatically incorrect to structure this sentence like:

  .....and is being repeated at very close to the time when you say it.

Would it change the meaning of the sentence to omit the it is part?


texts:
I am wondering if you can use the verbal phrase "scoop up" without clarifying what you are scooping up and just mentioning from what container you are scooping up.

For example:

  She scooped up an ice cream box.

I don't want to say "from an ice cream box" or "scooped up ice cream from an ice cream box". Is the above sentence valid, and why?


texts: How to report a question, both directly and indirectly

texts:
So, I'm walking down the street with a friend, who learns that my brother-in-law is a barber, and I go there to get my hair cut. My friend says,

  So, do you pay for those haircuts, or does he do it for free?

I think I understand how this works, but I want confirmation. If I describe this conversation using direct speech, I would write:

  He asked me, "Do you pay for those haircuts?"

but indirectly, I would write:

  She asked me if I paid for my haircuts.

(Assuming I did this correctly, I noticed two things changed: the word do changed to if, and the tense of the verb pay changed from present to past).

Here is my question: Would it be right or wrong if I tried to rewrite it something like this?

  She asked me did you pay for them.

That sounds wrong to me, especially without any quotation marks, but I want to make sure I'm understanding how the English changes between direct and indirect speech, particularly when the reported speech was originally a question.


texts: What do you think of the sentence "Hey there, early bird!"?

texts:
English is my second language and the phrase hey there, early bird! doesn't feel alright (I think that it is wrong).
The text below is just for context.

Hey there, early bird!
examplewebsite.com is fully operational. We are a new website that is in the process of creating high-quality articles to populate these pages. Because of that fact (that we focus on high-quality articles) it might take some time before this page is fully populated. You can enjoy the articles that are already published.
Thank you for being here with us at this early stage of our existence.


texts:
Whoever built the house, he builded better than he knew; or else
  Orion in the zenith flashed down his Damocles' sword to him some
  starry night, and said, "Build there." For how, otherwise, could it
  have entered the builder's mind, that, upon the clearing being made,
  such a purple prospect would be his?—nothing less than Greylock, with
  all his hills about him, like Charlemagne among his peers.

This is from Herman Melville's The Piazza and I encountered the above sentence. The past form of build is built, and not builded. Is there any reason why he used "builded"?


texts: Why is "it's nice to hearing from you" wrong?

texts:
why don't we say:

  it is nice to hearing from you

is it because nice does not come from a verb, like confessed to, opposed to, close to, in the expression such as I am opposed to drinking, or I am confessed to lying and I am close to having none


texts: The lyric of a song, "wayfaring stranger"

texts:
I am Korean. I like a song, "Wayfaring Stranger" sung by Emmylou Harris.  Then I can't understand one line of the lyrics:

  Where Gods redeemed their vigils keep

What does it mean? What does "their vigils" mean? What does "their vigils keep?  Will you make me grammatically understand it?

The lyrics are ...

  I am a poor wayfaring stranger
  While traveling thru this world of woe
  Yet there’s no sickness, toil or danger
  In that bright world to which I go

  I’m going there to see my father
  I’m going there no more to roam
  I’m only going over Jordan
  I’m only going over home

  I know dark clouds will hang around me
  I know my way is rough and steep
  Yet beauteous fields lie just before me
  Where Gods redeemed their vigils keep

  I’m going there to see my mother
  She said she’d meet me when I come
  I’m only going over Jordan
  I’m only going over home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZkg5_YSWc


texts: "What all three famous men here were doing..." -- why is there no article if the men have been mentioned before?

texts:
Here is a chunk from a video on EngVid (the whole piece starts at 0:21; the phrase in question is at 1:06):

  You might have heard of this expression by Julius Caesar...

  Similarly, modern times, Obama, in his inauguration speech said...

  There's another example by Ben Franklin. Some people also say this is a Chinese proverb...

  Now, what all three famous men here were doing was using what you're going to learn how to use by the end of this lesson, which is the "Magic of Three".

The three men have already been mentioned, but why is she not using the definite article when referring to them? She is even stressing this part, the word all.


texts: How do you say at the middle of a month when giving instructions or explanations?

texts:
In my first language, we have a preposition which simply means "at the middle of" and we use that when talking about months. Is it grammatically or idiomatically correct to say

  Unfortunately, the next available visit-time is amidst the June.
  Unfortunately, there is no available visit-time until the midst of June.
  Unfortunately, the next available visit-time is at the middle of June.

Personally, I think they sound odd because as I checked the usage of midst, it is usually used to describe something located among the other things, for example, amidst the derbies. I think this paraphrase also holds for the midst (of) and middle

So, in similar context, how do you say at the middle of a month in English?


texts: “I just see” or “I just saw”? (Or neither?)

texts:
What’s the big difference between these two?

The context is that I saw something, let say a minute ago.

I don’t know if the combination of “just” and “saw” works, because “just” means that the thing I saw was seen a minute ago and “saw” means that the action is completely finished.

If, in this context, “just saw” is good, then in which context can we use “just see”?


texts: Though I could noticed or I could noticed though

texts:
I am trying to express that I noticed the presence of some files on a phone. Which sentence would be correct:

  I could noticed though, on the phone, some files and icons apparently leftovers of the installation in Device storage as:

or

  Though, I could noticed on the phone, some files and icons apparently leftovers of the installation in Device storage as:


texts:
Being too American, or American at all, is pretty much the worst thing
  a Brit can be. “American” is synonymous with pushiness, tactlessness,
  and puppy-dog earnestness.

  The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

What is the meaning of 'puppy-dog earnestness'?


texts: What does “his healthy home already healthy” mean in this context?

texts:
Nothing would make a weary traveler’s heart beat a little faster than the luxury of arriving at his healthy home already healthy, especially with that built-in juicing station, and a 78-bottle dual-zone wine cooler, on tap for ready rehydration in the germ-free kitchen.

This sentence is from Health-Centric Homes, for a Price

Why use two "healthy" to describe his home? or the latter "healthy" is used to describe something else? I am confused.


texts: What is the meaning of "perhaps not surprisingly"?

texts:
Perhaps is used when one does not wish to be too definite or assertive in the expression of an opinion.

  "perhaps not surprisingly, he was cautious about committing himself"

But, what is the meaning of the phrase perhaps not surprisingly in the above sentence? I hope you will give another usage example.


texts:
She got married at 25 when she was at her most beautiful.
  The meteorological data for the period 2000–2017, when data
  are at their most reliable, were used in this study.

Are these grammatically correct sentences? I feel like the clauses read awkwardly and not grammatically correct. I know it can be 'at + noun'? not sure if there is construction as 'at + adj' ? or maybe the adjs are used as nouns?

The second sentence was written by my English-speaking supervisor, and I imitated and wrote the first sentence but I just read them very awkwardly, so I post it here to ask.


texts: "Wine is a mocker, strong drinkg is raging" - what does the latter part mean?

texts:
In a story from C.A. Smith, there is a following sentence in the very beginning:

I thank you, friend, but I am no drinker of wine, not even if it be
the rarest Canary or the oldest Amontillado. Wine is a mocker, strong
drink is raging ...

What does the "strong drink is raging" part mean? The literary translation does not make sense to me, or could anyone suggest another way of saying that so it will be more clear to me?


texts: What is the meaning of "two young men who are riffs on gangsters-films archetypes"

texts:
Does the expression "riffs on" mean that the two men are clichés of gangsters films in the sentence "At the heart of the film are two young men who are riffs on gangsters-films archetypes"?

Thanks,


texts: what IS the COLOUR OF vs. what COLOUR IS?

texts:
I have a beginner's question:

A friend of mine has a shirt. I would like to ask about its colour. What is the correct way to do that?

What is the colour of your shirt?
What colour is your shirt?

If both variants are possible, could you please explain the differences. Thank you.


texts:
"What Wark avoids, in this discussion at least, is choosing technologies which are marked by considerable historical separation"

could you paraphrase marked by so I can get it


texts:
What is the meaning of the phrase below?

  The battle was not of long duration. The terms were too equal to leave the issue long in doubt.

Can you explain the meaning of "The terms were too equal" in this context?

Source: Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison, 1865, p. 252. The book is about the American Civil War.


texts:
Source

  A word to the wise: Whomever is even more of a vogue word than whom. Many use it indiscriminately to sound cultured, figuring that no one will know any better.

What the of a has been placed there and what if I remove it will have effect on it?
Also, explain the absolute phrase meaning in the bold part.


texts: meaning of "thanks for the frogs and rats and elephants"

texts:
While reading a research article I came across a phrase in the acknowledgement section of the article. The author says, "I thank **** for the helpful discussions and especially for the frogs and rats and elephants".

What is meant here by this phrase? I guess "thanks for many other things" but any elaboration will be helpful.


texts: What is the meaning of "I just don't trust you to make it out of here alone."?

texts:
In [the] English Fantasy Movie The Great Wall, William & Tovar going back to home town from China Dynasty after defeating the beasts. But William last sees the dynasty. Then Tovar asks him like this:

  Tovar: Are you sure you don't want to go back?

  William: Of course I do. I just don't trust you to make it out of here
  alone.


texts: What is the meaning of "knock into it" in this context?

texts:
This is the context:

  Paulson: Well, sort of the idea that somehow through the act of observation, we’re creating reality?
  Blockquote

  Albert: Or yeah, or something like that. It’s true that you can only become sensually aware of stuff if, in
  one way or another, you knock into it. You might think that with enough work the knocking can be made
  as gentle as you would like, and it turns out to be a surprise, but something that’s true, that there are all kinds of circumstances in which the knocking can’t be made as gentle as you like. That’s a fact about the
  way the world is, but it is, as it were, a thoroughly understandable, mechanical fact about the way the world
  is. It was often interpreted to be something much more than that.

  Source: The origins of the universe: why is there something rather than nothing? (in the Annals of The New York Academy Of Sciences)

Can anyone explains the bold part and specifically, the "knock into it" part?


texts: Alternative expressions for "there's a possibility of something"

texts:
I usually say "there is a possibility of ..." to describe something that can still happen anytime later, but I don't think this is the only way to describe it.

The problem is that, while searching for synonyms of an individual word is fairly easy, finding alternative expression is quite tricky solely using a search engine. Could anyone suggest me some alternative ways?


texts: what does the sentence "to be integrated into the urban skyline..." in this context mean?

texts:
the writer talks about stadium :

the text

"It is likely to be one of the largest and most prominent buildings in the local area, if not the entire town or city. It will need to be integrated into the urban skyline and, more directly, within the “street-scape” of the immediate neighbourhood".

words like urban and skyline i know what they mean.. but combining them together confuses me

also, streetscape what does it mean ?

finally, immediate neighbourhood? what is that

it would be help if you tell me what the writer is trying to say after "to be integrated into.."


texts:
1)There is no rule in the life that everyone must be rich.

  2)There is no rule in the life like everyone must be rich.

  3) It means that he will never participate in the elections .

  4)It means like he will participate in the elections .

That is used in first sentences which I found on the internet . If I use ''like'' instead of that in these sentences would it be grammatically correct. I mean can ''like '' be used in this way? I think it means  ; there is such an idea but I am not sure if it is in this way or not .I thought if we can use it like '' say something like '' then we can use as is the case with sentences above . I think when we use “like” we are talk about unclear situation.


texts: even as a reference to it is also -- where did the subject go?

texts:
Source: You Don't Know JS: Up & Going  by Kyle Simpson (2014)

Example:

  The first function expression assigned to the foo variable is called
  anonymous because it has no name.
  The second function expression is named (bar), even as a reference
  to it is also assigned to the x variable. Named function expressions are
  generally more preferable, though anonymous function expressions
  are still extremely common.

is also assigned to the x variable is obviously the predicate (the verb and other stuff that goes along with it) part of the clause. But what I'm having a real hard time doing here is locating the subject of that clause. even as a reference to it is probably an adverbial construct or something of that nature that tells us how the subject is assigned (to clarify: how bad is it? it is very bad - "very" is an adverb that describes how bad whatever we're talking about is) which is missing (or appears to be missing because I most definitely can't see it).


texts:
It's in your hands for that statement not to be true.

Are there any syntax errors with it? Can it be improved?


texts: When is "labor" countable and what does "labors" mean exactly?

texts:
I saw a line in the English subtitles of a non-English show:

  Stop playing. Go all out to fight me, or you will end up using up all of your labors.

I first went and made sure the subtitles were produced by an American company and supposedly by native speakers of American English. The exact meaning of labors here appears to be energy or power. Although the meaning of the sentence is apparent, I am having a hard time having this usage corroborated by dictionaries. I have checked M-W, Oxford Online, Macmillan, Cambridge, and Google Dictionaries for the plural usage of labor. Weirdly enough, many dictionaries don't have entries for a countable/plural noun usage of labor.

There is only one entry in Macmillan that includes labors, however, it also specifies that this usage is uncountable:

  labor or labors [UNCOUNTABLE] FORMAL work that involves effort, especially physical effort

If Macmillan is correct, then should I say:

  Hercules' labors is (or are) depicted in detail in the book.

Merriam Webster, on the other hand, doesn't have an entry for the plural labors, but there is one in Merriam Webster Kids Dictionary (lol) that defines labor as a task. However, these definitions (task and work, which are basically the same) don't match the usage at issue, which most likely means energy or power. Is the usage in my original question correct? Also is labors uncountable?


texts:
I want to write something about the smart city.

  smart city uses digital technologies or information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance quality and performance of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens.

can I use designation in this context when I talk about smart city:

Nowadays general population compete to achieve the designation of smart cities for its urban crowd?


texts: "I wish you would be here" unacceptable in every context?

texts:
I was thinking about a situation when my friend is unwilling to stay with me, apparently he is just trying to come up with an excuse for not showing up the next day. I am nearly sure he is not going to show up, and I am a bit irritated by that fact.

Could I say "I wish you would be here tomorrow"?


texts: The concise way to imply that 'our group has five people' in the subject position of a sentence

texts:
If I would like to convey that 'our group has five people' without describing it in a separate sentence, but rather implying it in the subject position of a sentence. How can I express the sentence?

For example, will the usage such as 'Our five-membered group does something..' work?


texts: Is there an umbrella term for sanitary plastic equipment such as hair salon aprons, gloves, etc?

texts:
So, I'm looking for a general term/phrase to refer to sanitary plastic equipment. Suppose there's a manufacturer which produces plastic products such as hair salon aprons, gloves, masks, and so on, what would one say they produce?

  sanitary plastic ware?
  sanitary plastic equipment?
  hygienic plastic equipment?
  hygiene work wear?

Honestly I would share the result of my research with you guys here, but I've been looking up definitions for an hour now and I haven't been able to reach a conclusive result. Hence, My question here.


texts: What's the difference between "no" and "not"?

texts:
Helen is not beautiful, and her sister is not, either.
  =Helen is _____ beautiful than her sister.
  (A) no more
  (B) not more

The answer is (A).
Why can't choose "not more"?


texts: Is "to be confused about A with B" correct grammatically?

texts:
I know we can use confuse A with B to mean to mistake A for B, but I would like to use the passive voice.

Is the following sentence correct grammatically (and/or idiomatic)?

  I was confused about the concept with another one.


texts: How does a native speaker choose one word over its synonym(s)?

texts:
In a recent speech, Senator Ted Cruz said:

  ... And under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Would it have also been correct to use synonyms such as obtain, secure,attain, reach, gain, etc.? As an English learner, I don't see any differences. So, I often have a problem making a selection from among a group of synonyms and wonder if there is a convention that native speakers use to choose the best word over its synonyms. Given multiple options for a suitable word (i.e. synonyms), what selection process (if any) do native speakers follow to select one word in particular?


texts:
May I request to clarify the time references for the following subordinate clauses of the sentence :

  "He will come to know what I need" or "What I need will be known to him"
  "He will come to know that I need something" or "That I need something will be known to him"

The contexts in both the above are that "I need something in the present (now) which will be known to him in future.

What will be the time reference of subordinate clauses "what I need/that I need something"? My instinct tells me present time even though the main clause is in future. Or will these be 'Present in the future time' examples.


texts: Meaning of this quote from the book The Great Gatsby?

texts:
Here's a famous quote from the book that says:

  So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Could someone please explain it in easy words? Here's the full context:

  Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—
  So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.


texts: Locating the main verb of a subordinate that-clause

texts:
In this CNN report starting at 2:58, a British reporter says:

  Trump is so deeply unpopular that her sort of gilded way of smiling in his presence, never really causing a standoff, and managing to perhaps keep the whole thing afloat. The special relationship is vital to so many Britons here frankly.

If the above transcript is correct, what is the main verb of the that-clause?

  ...that her sort of gilded way of smiling in his presence, never really causing a standoff, and managing to perhaps keep the whole thing afloat.

If there's anything wrong with the transcript, please let me know.

EDIT

I don't understand what @JeremyC means "there is no verb in the that clause". There ARE at least four verbs in the that-clause: smiling, causing, managing, and keep.

The question is whether any one of these verbs is acting as a main verb. Clearly, smiling is not, because the VP smiling in his presence is a complement of the preposition of. Neither is keep, because the VP to perhaps keep the whole thing afloat is a complement of the verb managing.

Then, the question boils down to whether the verbs causing and managing are acting as the main verbs of the that-clause, or whether the two verbs are also complements of the preposition of as well.

So, which is it going to be?


texts: "to bump your head ON something" vs. "to bump your head AGAINST something"

texts: Can anyone help me to understand the difference between "to bump your head on something" and "to bump your head against something". Is there any substantial difference or are they both used interchangeably? Thanks for your help.


texts: Help parse "could I help it that"-clause

texts:
“I was not eavesdropping,” Emma insisted. “I was tying my bootlace.”

  The lace had come undone as she left the home of Miss Bates,
  a middle-aged spinster who lived with her elderly mother in reduced circumstances
  on the upper floor of a modest house.
  Emma had visited their rooms many times (though perhaps not so often
  as she ought). Never before, however, had the humble apartment felt so
  small. The Eltons had called so shortly after Emma’s own arrival that
  it was some time before she could with propriety effect an escape.
  “I paused at the base of the stairs to fix the lace. Could I help it
  that the Eltons emerged from the apartment and began their discussion
  on the landing before I had done?”

  Mr. Knightley’s expression
  suggested that she might have secured the half-boot more rapidly had
  she wanted to. Sixteen years her senior, he had known Emma her whole
  life, and was as well acquainted with her foibles as he was with her
  charms. His dark eyes narrowed in doubt, and for a moment she dreaded
  an admonition delivered in his usual forthright manner.

  -- The Intrigue at Highbury, or, Emma's Match: a Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Bebris, Carrie. 2010
  Source: Amazon, Google

I happened to read this excerpt in COCA and found the bold sentence very peculiar.

I think it here is used as a preparatory object representing the following that-clause. But I've never run across it being used with the verb help before.

What does the bold sentence mean? Is this use common?


texts:
My supplier sent  my raw material 250 kg short of the full amount .

Is use of '' short '' correct in this sentence ? Can I use this in this way? What I want to say is that My order which was raw material was sent by my supplier. But it was 250 kg less than total amount.


texts:
The new employee was ____ a failure.

a. considered

b. decided

c. established

d. believed

I think only possible options are considered and believed and I think the answer is considered. Because this word is mostly used in these contexts and if I use believed it sounds like there is prejudice against the new employee even before he did his job.

So, am I missing something?