texts: What's the meaning of "pull up her(or his) smile"?

texts:
Could you please tell me what the meaning of "pull up her(or his) smile" is?

  Sadie trembled for the entire ride, but she pretended to be enjoying herself, restoring her lipsticked smile every time he glanced in her direction.

  At the next rehearsal, Charles asked Sadie about a scene, and Shawn saw
  them talking. Sadie came over a few minutes later but Shawn wouldn’t
  speak to her. He turned his back and she left crying.
  “What’s that about?” I said.
  “Nothing,” he said.

  By the next rehearsal, a few days later, Shawn seemed to have forgotten
  it. Sadie approached him warily, but he smiled at her, and a few minutes
  later they were talking and laughing. Shawn asked her to cross the street
  and buy him a Snickers at the dime store. She seemed pleased that he
  would ask and hurried out the door, but when she returned a few minutes
  later and gave him the bar, he said, “What is this shit? I asked for a Milky Way.”
  “You didn’t,” she said. “You said Snickers.”
  “I want a Milky Way.”
  Sadie left again and fetched the Milky Way. She handed it to him with a
  nervous laugh, and Shawn said, “Where’s my Snickers? What, you forgot
  again?”
  “You didn’t want it!” she said, her eyes shining like glass. “I gave it to
  Charles!”
  “Go get it.”
  “I’ll buy you another.”
  “No,” Shawn said, his eyes cold. His baby teeth, which usually gave him
  an impish, playful appearance, now made him seem unpredictable, volatile.
  “I want that one. Get it, or don’t come back.”

  A tear slid down Sadie’s cheek, smearing her mascara. She paused for a
  moment to wipe it away and pull up her smile. Then she walked over to
  Charles and, laughing as if it were nothing, asked if she could have the
  Snickers. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, then watched her
  walk back to Shawn. Sadie placed the Snickers in his palm like a peace
  offering and waited, staring at the carpet. Shawn pulled her onto his lap
  and ate the bar in three bites.

Educated by Tara Westover


texts: Is there a word referring to something that motivates you?

texts: One of my pupils wanted to express that there is a song that gives him motivation to create things. He referred to the song as a "kicker". I looked the word kicker up and the OED says it refers to something unexpected but not motivating as such. What word would you use in the context?


texts:
She runs into the stairwell, loses her footing and tumbles down the stairs. She recovers, gets back on/to her feet and continues down the stairs.

Are both "on" and "to" correct here? Is there any difference between them? Are they equally natural?


texts:
Person 1: You look like a boss!

Person 2: Becase I'm a boss.

Person 3: Boss of whose?

I want to know if person 3 is using "whose" right or if "whom" is needed to make the sentence grammatical.

Note.
I know that I can say "whose boss?"
And I be correct. But I would like to know if is even possible to have a question constructed like that and if it will be correct grammatically speaking.

All answers will be appreciated. Thanks...


texts:
I know this term is used for tags, labels, emotional connections, etc., but I am not sure I can use it for a sarcastic purpose to express my negative idea about a person who follows me everywhere and imposes his/her ideas about me to me against my will like this:

  S/he attaches her/himself to me everywhere I am!

If not so what the other phrases or terms do you suggest me for this?


texts:
I never saw anyone work as hard as he did, many a time I saw him on the weekends working to his highest standards to give the best research he could give.

From the context, I understand many a time equals many times. My question is when we can use this structure. Can we, for example, say many a person in place of many people?

A link explaining this structure will be appreciated.


texts: "We don't call it a/ the city of music for nothing."

texts:
What is the exact meaning of following sentence? And in what situations is such a formation used?

  We don't call it a/ the city of music for nothing.


texts: How to respond to "talk to you tomorrow"

texts:
I wonder how to respond to the sentence "talk to you tomorrow" if we are communicating via text message.

Is it ok to respond with "See you tomorrow"?


texts: Can I say: "He always goes to cinema this year."

texts:
Can simple present tense used with a specific time?

Generally, simple present is used to express habits, repeated action, but can it used to express habits in a period time including now?

For example:

  He always goes to cinema this year.


texts:
A level quayside area to which a ship may be moored to load and unload.
(https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/wharf)

In the above sentence, What does 'level' mean?


texts:
In this short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald there is a sentence:

  It was like in the beginning fifteen years ago when they said he had "fatal facility", and he labored like a slave over every sentence so as not to be like that.

I also found this phrase in some old magazine.

I think "facility" in these cases means "inborn ability" or "fluenty at something". And it's "fatal" for some reason. But what does it mean as a whole?


texts:
She could have been talking double Dutch for all we understood of it.

Does this mean:

  We may have understand some of it, but then again, she was talking nonsense so I don't know?


texts:
When I talk about participle are there 3 different types of participle?

present participle
past participle
perfect participle

And how is the usage of these three types?

For example: I go shopping and I went shopping. Is that a present participle form?

I always thought participle (eg.) from go is gone

Thx for help :-)


texts: How to punctuate a phone call interrupted by transmission glitches?

texts:
As an example,

  'Hi, it's John. (glitch) are you? Listen, I'm having a party (glitch) week and would like you to come over.'

I would like to know in what ways (I'm sure there are more than one) these 'glitches' may be punctuated according to British standards.


texts: Usage of "appreciate your assistance/help for ~ing"

texts:
I would like to ask you all whether it is grammatically correct to use "appreciate your assistance/help for ~ing".

And I am confused with the order of "someone" and "me" in the expression of "put ~ in touch with ~" to thank someone who introduced me a new person.

I appreciate your kind assistance for putting me in touch with someone.

Or
I appreciate your kind assistance for putting someone in touch with me.

Or
are they both wrong?

Thank you very much for your help.


texts: Is "to be" a continuous form of "to do"?

texts:
In regard to the construction "be + infinitive", which is usually used for the purpose of giving an instruction, is it still acceptable to use it to express that intention in the continuous form as in the examples below?

  The boss writes that we are all to be waiting in the office for his arrival on Monday morning.

But is it still grammatical to use the continuous form in more or less passive sentences? such as:

  I was to watch/be watching the entrance gate should anyone suspicious be lurking around the area.

or

  As instructed by my teacher I am to study/to be studying right now.


texts: Describing a person who changing his opinion too frequent

texts:
Is there a proverb describing a person who changing his opinion too frequent?

Need a proverb which will have a bit negative meaning to describe a person who is inconsistent in his opinions.


texts:
What does this verse from Mike Oldfield's Foreign Affair song mean?

  a lagoon by la mere


texts:
Could you explain to me why one verb is present perfect and the other one past simple? Here is the sentence:

  This band has recently toured with X and they did a radio session with Y.

Why aren't both verbs past simple? Is it because they may tour again with X but they won't do another radio session with Y (kind of one off)? or is it because they did a radio session before touring?


texts: " 'e's put a bit of work our way" meaning

texts:
"Scan Shunpike," said Ron.

  "Like 'ell you are," said the man called Scabior. "We know Stan Shunpike, 'e's put a bit of work our way."

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"'e's put a bit of work our way" is probably He has put a bit of work our way, but I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean?

A side: is "Like 'ell you are" Like hell you are?


texts:
I hear this sentence very often, for example:

  "I am right, aren't I!"

I wonder if that is the colloquial way or it is a correct English.


texts:
After I had sent an e-mail to co-worker with a few files attached, I realized that some files were corrupted. So I am willing to send a mail again with the fixed files.
Can I use a sentence like this?

Sorry, it seems has been corrupted, I wiling to send again with normal file.


texts: Is the use of 'unless' in 'Unless the earth had a moon, there wouldn't be any tides' correct?

texts:
Unless the earth had a moon, there wouldn't be any tides.

I am confused with the use of 'unless' in this sentence.
The sentence is taken from a test question. Please explain it to me.


texts:
I was having a look on usage of name as verb here. I could understand the meaning of following correct usages.

He named his dog Shandy.
He could not name his attacker.
Name a pet animal.

I want to ask whether following usages of name as verb is grammatically correct.

USAGE 1:

Can you name me a pet animal?

If yes, which of the following describes the situation.

1. a name of any pet animal is being asked.
2. The interrogator is asking his name to be changed to a pet animal.

USAGE 2:

Sandy could not name me his attacker?

If yes, which of the following describes the situation.

1. Sandy could not tell me the name of his attacker.
2. Sandy did not accuse me as his attacker.


texts:
I have lived in London.

I lived in the past, not now.

  I have lived in London for 4 years.

I lived in the past, not now; or I lived in the past and now too.

  I have lived in London since 2015.

I lived in the past and now.

It's right?


texts:
Please clarify the meaning of "Fold" in the paragraph below.

  An industrial park in Appalachia may seem an odd place to grow a few
  million natives of the Nile. But industrial-scale fish farms are
  popping up everywhere these days. Aquaculture has expanded about
  14-fold since 1980. In 2012 its global output, from silvery salmon to
  homely sea cucumbers only a Chinese cook could love, reached more than
  70 million tons—exceeding beef production clearly for the first time
  and amounting to nearly half of all fish and shellfish consumed on
  Earth. Population growth, income growth, and seafood’s heart-healthy
  reputation are expected to drive up demand by 35 percent or more in
  just the next 20 years. With the global catch of wild fish stagnant,
  experts say virtually all of that new seafood will have to be farmed.


texts:
I understand "wish to", but what does "should wish to" mean?

Example:

  My own logic is atomic, and it is this aspect upon which I
  should wish to lay stress.
  source

I didn't find the expression by itself anywhere.
"Should" might come with "wish" in a conditional sense, but in cases as the above, it is not conditional.


texts:
I'd like to know whether the possessive 's is needed in the following:

The manager is satisfied with the quarter's results.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
I moved to this city last year.
I have been in this since one year ago.

I have been here since last year.

Would you tell me if the bold parts mean the same? and the italic part is correct?

Many thanks


texts: Putting physical and non-physical together

texts:
Is it good styling in English to place physical-thing and non-physical-thing nouns in one row?

  There are many kinds of creatures and cultural heritage in the
  sea.

Here it looks like "many kinds" is related to both "creatures" (physical) and "cultural heritage" (doesn't strike me as totally physical) and both "many kinds" are in the sea.

Does it sound okay in English?


texts: What is the function of the word "record" in this sentence?

texts:
"It is clear that the most incidents and injuries took place on demand-response vehicles. By contrast, commuter rail services recorded by far the lowest figures".

What is the function of the word "record" in the last sentence ? Is it transitive or intransitive or participle? That form looks odd.


texts:
I just had a discussion whether it is correct to say:

  This issue should be fixed now as well.

I had the impression that as well always goes at the end of the sentence but the person I was talking to argued that statements regarding the time must be the very last item in the sentence.

Is this sentence correct? If not, why?


texts: "This man is called also "the bird" or "This man is also called "the bird"?

texts:
Are the two following sentences are alike or just one of them is correct?
Context: I'm trying to say that this man in addition to his real name (Josh for example), he is called in addition by us "the bird" because he has voice like bird.

  1) "This man is called also "the bird"

  2) "This man is also called "the bird"


texts: From what hour can "good afternoon" be said?

texts: From what hour can "good afternoon" be said, is it acceptable to say it from around 12:00 o'clock?


texts:
What is the meaning of will be + infinitive "-ing" continuous verb form?

For example: I will be buying it.

When do we use this structure?


texts: Should I say either 'I am born on Tuesday' or 'I am born on a Tuesday'? Which one is correct?


texts: What is the correct usage of "If I were you"?

texts:
Suppose I am talking to a friend and want to point out that he needs to wash his face before attending an interview. Which of these would be correct?

  If I were you, I would wash your face before attending an interview.

or

  If I were you, I would wash my face before attending an interview.

The second one "feels" correct, but I am not actually washing my face so it feels a bit odd to say.


texts: Does ‘understood’ take ‘something’ as its direct object in this sentence?

texts:
She was not, I was told, in the hospital portion of the house with the
  fever patients; for her complaint was consumption, not typhus: and by
  consumption I, in my ignorance, understood something mild, which
  time and care would be sure to alleviate. (Jane Eyre)

Does ‘understood’ take ‘something’ as its direct object, or is its object – it (consumption) – dropped? (If the former is right, what's the meaning of understood, then?)


texts:
I'm a learning English language as a hobby and I hope you will provide me your valuable time to answer my question.
I'm confuse over proper to-be verb in following sentence.

The Eagles ___ [is, are] my favorite rock band.

I mused and wrote is as answer, but my Sir later told me that it should be are. "Eagles" is a name of the band and it should be singular, isn't it?
For example,
Tim is hungry.
Can you please explain me, why it is are and not is?
P.S. Band do contain many members, but it is a single band. That was the reasoning while answering.


texts:
Some verbs follow the adverb "never" must not take the form of present tense, and others don't have to.

I mean:
"It never exists" sounds strange, yet
"It never existed" is natural
But
"It never ceases to amaze me" is also natural

What is the difference of these two verbs?
Is verb "cease" special? Or is there any other rules?


texts: When you are free vs when you become free?

texts: I am texting a friend who might be busy. So I text him  ' leave a message when you are free'? Is that correct?


texts:
Let's say you came across 2 ambulances and a firetruck going to a big car accident on a freeway. And then you told it to your co-worker.

  "There was a car accident on the freeway. I saw 2 ambulances and a firetruck driving by."

What does the "driving by" mean?

I interpret this as the two ambulances and the fire truck on the way to the scene while the speaker is moving away (detouring) from the car accident. However, there may be other options for this that is why I am asking this such as, the rescue mobiles are on the same direction with the speaker towards the car accident area or they(ambulances) going on and off, etc.


texts:
Here's an introduction:

I love the word precious. It's a wonderful word when you say it to your wife but I wanted to say that she is not simply precious but there just doesn't exist a price to pay for her. Since she can't be sold she is the most precious one.

So, it was awkward when my wife who knows English a lot worse than I do got angry to hear this, "Honey, you're priceless!"

I may have said it without the ! emotion but I intended to say that she is 'precious' and not 'free'.

So the question is: can "priceless" ever mean "free of charge"?


texts: what does "pillbox" mean in this line "way to be a pillbox"

texts:
What does pillbox mean in this line taken from a TV series called Manifest?

  -- Way to be a pillbox.

  -- Wait, where do I know that from?

  -- That was Evie's favorite insult.

  -- No, no, no.

  -- Her favorite insult was bitch-monkey.

  -- Bitch-monkey.


texts: meaning of "pared bone" in ""Her singing voice [...] a bright soprano, clean and pure as pared bone"

texts:
I'm reading The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett and the following sentence is describing one of the characters' voice:

  "Her singing voice - she was training at the conservatoire in Vienna when she fell pregnant with Eva - is a good octave higher: a bright soprano, clean and pure as pared bone."

I looked up the dictionary and it says "to pare" can mean "to remove", "to reduce", or "to peel". But I still don't understand what a "pared bone" is. Is it a sharpened, polished bone? Or a very thin piece of bone? And therefore I can hardly imagine what kind of voice is like a "pared bone". Can anybody explain the idea for me?


texts: Is it correct to use the word time with the word adaptation`?

texts:
There is an existing idea, lets called it A1. This idea only work on a specific way. This leads to two main limitations. Therefore, I adapted this idea to fix its first limitation. Lets called this new idea A2. For the second limitation, I have also adapted the old idea A1 to fix its second limitation. Let's called the second adaptation A3. Hence, I have established two versions of the old idea A1. Each adaptation overcomes only one limitation of A1, so they are different.
So what I tried to say is, I have derived two different versions of A1.

My question is, is it correct to say the following:

  The existing idea A has been adatped two different times.

Is my setence clear and correct?

Any help, please?


texts: Should we use "whether" or "if" in indirect speech?

texts:
Ex:

My brother asked me if I wanted a pizza or a sandwich.
My brother asked me whether I wanted a pizza or a sandwhich.


texts: What does "They'll run overseas'?" mean?

texts:
'Aren't you English?' said Dan. 'We heard you singing just now.' 'Aha!
  That was the Sussex side o' me. Dad he married a French girl out o'
  Boulogne, and French she stayed till her dyin' day. She was an
  Aurette, of course. We Lees mostly marry Aurettes. Haven't you ever
  come across the saying:

  'Aurettes and Lees,
  Like as two peas.
  What they can't smuggle,
  They'll run overseas'?

  'Then, are you a smuggler?' Una cried; and, 'Have you smuggled
  much?' said Dan. Mr Lee nodded solemnly.

This is from "Rewards and Fairies" "Brother Square-Toes" by Kipling.
http://pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/digi300.pdf

What do the lines below mean?
What they can't smuggle,
They'll run overseas'?

Does they mean like this?
What they can't smuggle will go(fly) over the seas?

I am glad if some one kindly teach me.


texts:
Sentences:

  1) Whose dog bites his owner OR Whose dog does bite his owner

  2) Whose dog bites OR Whose dog does bite

Question:

  Should I involve auxiliary verb 'does'?


texts:
The basic rule I am taught with the superlative degree is to compare two or more things and if a noun takes the superlative degree, that's the highest among its similar kinds of things.

  Superlative (in grammar): Of, relating to, or being the extreme degree of comparison of an adjective or adverb, as in best or brightest.

A basic example:

  In my school, Tom is a tall boy, Dick is taller, and Harry is the tallest. Undoubtedly Harry is the tallest in the school.

Similarly,

  Taipei Tower is tall, CN Tower is taller and Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.

Now the question:

How there can be one of the -est in any case? If there is something more than one, it doesn't take superlative. The CN Tower and Burj are certainly not two tallest buildings in any case, are they?

  Consider 500 pupils in that schools. May I say Tom is one of the tallest boys?
  Considering 10 tall buildings in the world, may I say WFC is one of the tallest buildings?

There should be The List of Top Tall (and not Tallest) Buildings in the World. Because if it's tallest, it's ONE. Can it be more than one?

Note: This is a general question and goes the same with one of my best friends; one of the biggest industries in this state; one of the fastest cars and so on!


texts: Does inversion change the meaning of the sentence: "As she did..., she could"

texts:
She could not go to the party as she did not have an invitation.
As she did not have an invitation, she could not go to the party.

What is the difference between them?


texts:
My grandmother makes noise like "sssshhhh" in very cold weather.

which word can I describe this activity/sound?

Thanks,


texts:
I have a problem when I write this sentence:

"However, considering the fact many language courses failed their students, we feel motivated to research further."

I want to add examples to make this sentence clearer but these examples are quite long. Like:

English was the worst performed subject in the recent exam.
Many students remember nothing after an eight-week course.

How should I insert these 2 examples? (like "....failed their students, [example 1] [example 2], we feel motivated to....")


texts:
What is 'use' here a noun or a verb and its meaning deriving from that?

  However, a proposal to change rules on land use threatens the city’s
  quality of life, tourism economy and views of the Chesapeake, the
  National Trust says.


texts: 'Considered as refugee' or 'considered a refugee'

texts:
I was recently marked down for the following sentence in an essay:

  While the majority of boat arrivals meet the requirements under the United Nations Refugee Convention to be considered a genuine refugee, it should be noted that not everyone is fleeing persecution.

The person who marked the paper corrected the first part of the sentence and marked me down, stating that it should say:

  While the majority of boat arrivals meet the requirements under the United Nations Refugee Convention to be considered as genuine refugee...

So my question is, which is correct?


texts: How is this ornithologists' activity called in English?

texts: How is this action or activity called in English when ornithologist attach special small light metal things to birds' paws (I don't know what those things are called in English) in order to keep track of them and study the birds' behavior (like their preferred habitats, migratory patterns, etc.)


texts: What are some common expressions with brick Lego when talking to a child, e.g, "to put a pyramid together", "to take the pyramid apart"?

texts:
What are some common expressions with brick Lego when talking to a child?

For example,

Can we say "to put a pyramid together", "to take the pyramid apart", and "to build / make a pyramid with bricks"?

In the dictionary

  brick [countable] British English a small square block of wood, plastic etc used as a toy


texts: I would like to know what means ‘latent rule’, I think it is a juridical term, but I could find anything related to this, neither on the internet nor on dictionaries.


texts: Difference between "underlying" and "underneath"

texts:
I'm having a hard time figuring out the difference between underlying and underneath...

For instance, The Free Dictionary definition for both wasn't helpful:

  Lying under or beneath something

and

  In or to a place beneath; below

Also, I couldn't find any particular difference Google searching for "it uses * underlying" and "it uses * underneath".


texts: "Once, twice, thrice,...", what comes next?

texts:
How would you complete the following sequence, until point 10?

Once
Twice
Thrice
(...)

Any help would be appreciated.


texts: A person that you share the neighborhood with

texts:
Is there a single word or common expression like homie, roomie, fellow citizen for someone who lives in your neighborhood? I think neighbor can be used just for those that live just next to you or next door while neighborhood could be quite big. Am I right? Is so, what's the word?

Edit: The reason I'm asking this is that in my native language we have a word that the rough translation of it is "same-neighbourhoodie (person)". I know it's awkward in English :). He might live a block away for example. We call people who live next door something else that I always thought it's neighbor.

Thanks


texts:
I was wondering if all of the below are correct:

That is the hat of that man.
That is that man's hat.
That hat is that of that man.
That hat is the hat of that man.

And same with the word "those":

Those are the books of those girls.
Those are those girls' books.
Those books are those of those girls.
Those books are the books of those girls.

Can we say: That car is that that hit me yesterday?


texts:
A: Do you want to clap your hands?
B: No, shake.
A: you want to shake your hands? How about wiggle your fingers?

I think you use the gerund form after how about, but in a conversation like above, would the base form work ok, or it should always the ing form?


texts:
Can I say

  “ How many meter timbers do you need to build a cabin ?”

İnstead of

  “how tall should timbers you need to build a cabin be ? “

I don’t have any context for this but I wonder If “ how many meter timbers” is correct or not . Most of native speakers say it is wrong but I couldn’t understand why we can’t say “how many meter timbers “while we can say “five meter timbers”? Is it totally ungrammatical or grammatically correct even it is weird?


texts: Deviation from the dictionary meaning of "fall about" and unreasonable plural form of water

texts:
So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. (From O Henry's The Gift of the Magi)

The phrasal verb "fell about" means "to laugh without being able to stop," according to the Cambridge dictionary, which evidently doesn't fit in the meaning in this context. I suppose a phrase like "fell around" would be more befitting.
Moreover, why is water plural here? Though water can be countable when it means "a cup of water," such as “I am thirsty, three waters please.” In this case, however, I don't see which definition of water make it plural here.


texts: "that's exactly what I mean" vs. "that's exactly what I meant"

texts:
Arthur and Doug are practicing speaking in an English classroom.

Arthur: I intent to get up early.

Doug: Getting up early is a good habit. Early birds catch worms.

Arthur: I guess it's "the early bird catches the worm".

Doug: "that's exactly what I mean"

Should Doug says it this way?

"that's exactly what I meant"

I guess both are correct and the former is more clear because the latter seems to suggest that Arthur understands correctly what Doug said, though Doug changed his mind after Arthur's response.
Is my understanding correct?


texts:
I've got a question related to reported speech.

How should the sentence "I didn't meet her yesterday" look in reported speech while reporting it next day? For example, I said in the morning "I didn't meet her yesterday." and later in the day I'm repeating it.

Should I say:

  I said I didn't meet her yesterday.

or

  I said I hadn't met her yesterday.


texts: A place refers to some place in general right? E.g "I went to a place that had lots of cars in there." What confuses is me the use of "some place" and "some places".  If I say "I took a photo of some place" meaning of some random unknown place but I don't remember its name. Is my sentence correct here


texts:
what is the difference between "like" and "as"?

Do people use these in similar situations?

Thanks!


texts:
a. They were kidnapped to be exploited as slaves.
b. They were kidnapped to toil as slaves.
Which of the above sentences are grammatically correct?
I think (b) is incorrect, but I am not sure.


texts: If by any chance enemy sensors do pick it up, it wouldn’t be mistaken for a preemptive nuclear strike

texts:
The secret Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) successfully completes its
  first test flight... Source

  The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic
  Command has successfully completed the first test flights of its new
  Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW).

  Launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, the
  AHW flew around 2,400 miles to its impact location at the Reagan Test
  Site, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll.

  The AHW did not carry any ordnance on its first flight; instead the
  vehicle was equipped with an array of sensors to analyze aerodynamics;
  navigation, guidance, and thermal protection technologies.

  The AHW is uses a three-stage booster system, developed by Sandia
  National Laboratories, to launch itself at speeds up to 768 mph [sic],
  approx. mach 5

  Unlike conventional nukes, the AHW is designed to fly a non-ballistic
  glide trajectory within the earth’s atmosphere. This provides two
  major benefits; it evades enemy detection, and if by any chance enemy
  sensors do pick it up, it wouldn’t be mistaken for a preemptive
  nuclear strike.

  The AHW was developed as part of the Conventional Prompt Global Strike
  (CPGS) program; a project managed and executed by the U.S. Army Space
  and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command program
  office in Huntsville, Ala.

Seems to me that the bold sentence is non-standard. I'd write it this way:

  If by any chance enemy sensors did pick it up, it wouldn’t be mistaken
  for a preemptive nuclear strike.
  or
  If by any chance enemy sensors
  do pick it up, it will not be mistaken for a preemptive nuclear
  strike.

Any connotation implied in the original sentence?


texts: Teacher salaries VS Teachers' salary : What is the difference?

texts:
When I am reading this secretly ongoing controvertial issue in NC,

A U.S representative in, as in the quote,

  U.S. Rep. David Price, D-North Carolina, also chastised the Legislature for prioritizing passing the bill over other issues.

  "The #NCGA won't hold a special session to raise teacher salaries, but they will come back to legislate discrimination? Enough is enough," he tweeted Wednesday.

I am just subtly perplexed what is the difference when this democratic representative said, "teacher salaries".

To me, personally, "teachers' salary" sounds more accurate to me.

Am I wrong here?


texts: Subject Verb Agreement: Using expressions of Quantity

texts:
Here's the problem:

Two foxes of the tale _____ unusual.

I have to fill "is" or "are" in the blank. Since I saw "two foxes" on that sentence, I certainly chose "are". But then I checked the key answer and it was "is". How come?
Please explain this which one is correct and why?


texts: 53. Isn't there a discount for ordering in bulk? (A) Yes, but very few. (B) No, none whatsoever. (C) No, it isn't

texts:
Isn't there a discount for ordering in bulk?

  (A) Yes, but very few.
  (B) No, none whatsoever.
  (C) No, it isn't.

This question appears in my test, and I'm confused with the answer because I thought the right answer is c but then it is wrong. Why it is wrong?


texts:
When a host says to one contestant that they are no longer part of the show, what verb do you use?

Obviously, you can't say 'fire' because it's not that they are the host's employee. The same goes for 'sack'. 'Give the boot'? Maybe. But what is a neutral way to say that? 'Exclude'? No. 'Expel'? I don't think so. I can't figure it out myself, please assist.


texts: What is the appropriate preposition for a testimonial?

texts:
Do we say:

  Can you please write up a testimonial about me on LinkedIn?

or

  Can you please write up a testimonial of me in LinkedIn?


texts:
Here's from the movie The Enemy Below(1957).
You can watch it on youtube.
46:11

Echo faded. I've lost contact.
Lewis can't find him, sir.
Secure underwater search.
Reduce speed to two-thirds.
Secure underwater search.
Reduce speed to two-thirds.

What does "Secure underwater search" mean?
It is clear what "underwater search" means, but I'm not sure what the "secure" means.


texts: "Not" disappearing when converting a sentence to indirect speech

texts:
I am totally confused by what the indirect narration of the following is:

  "Are some ministers not destroying the futures of the students?", remarked the student leader.

My book says: The student leader remarked that some ministers were destroying the futures of the students.

How did the "not" just disappear? :(


texts:
Can I use only "that supposed to be" as a complete answer?
What does this mean?

I want to replace it with the line: this is what going to happen/ this was expected/ nothing surprising/ it's ususal


texts: What's meaning of the phrase "to be required"?

texts:
What's meaning of the phrase "to be required" and why it is? I saw some translate it to active voice and I felt so confused. For example, the sentence

They don't seem to be required at all.

is translated into

They don't need something at all.


texts: "When do I?" vs. "At what time should I?"

texts:
When do I have to come to the office tomorrow?

or

  At what time should I come to the office tomorrow?

Are both of them correct? If so, do both of them mean the same? Which one can be used in a formal conversation?


texts:
If it is public knowledge that anyone can purchase followers and likes, then why does an "influencer" hold weight?

I wonder if "it" derives its meaning from "that anyone can purchase followers and likes",

If that's correct,would it be wrong to rephrase the sentence into :

  If that anyone can purchase followers and likes, then why does an "influencer" hold weight?


texts:
In my language, we have only three tenses. Thus, it is super difficult for me to catch the point of usage of all twelve in English :)

Anyway, I decided to challenge myself and practice it by trying. Can I kindly ask you if past tense is correct in a sentence:

  "Let me alone!" screamed Mendric when a circle of the seven characters
  surrounding him becoming smaller and smaller. "I did nothing to
  you!".

(Mendric is a name).

I am trying to express a fact that Mendric was screaming while the people were coming closer and closer.


texts: I'm confused with using the/a/an, examples

texts:
It's been always confusing for me to use articles.
I don't want to go into details, but only with general use of articles.
So, general rule, as far as I know is that we use "a/an" when we mention something for the first time. When we mention it again, we should use "the".

In this example dialogue:

  A: Is there a lot of space in your flat?
  B: Yes, on a wall in the living room.

Why there is "in the living room" and not "in a living room"?
He mentions the living room for the first time, so why isn't used "a living room"?

Second general rule is that we use "the" when we talk about something specific. So:

Second example:

  Well, there isn't another shop around here, but there is a nice shop with paintings near my place.

Why in this example there is use "a nice shop" instead of "the nice shop"? He mentioned "shop" twice, and he even said it more specific for the second time. According to the rule, when we say something more specific, we should use "the".

Another example:

  A: Hey Fred, are there any nice paintings in this furniture shop?
  B: Well, there are two. There is a modern painting over there and an old painting of a horse over there.

Person B says about specific paintings, why does he use "a modern painting" and "an old painting of a horse", he even points where are they using "over there". Shouldn't he use "the"?


texts: "one or more child" or "one or more children"

texts:
Which one of the following sentences is correct?

one or more child

Or

one or more children


texts: Finding fault (with / in) (someone / something)

texts:
Which one of the following prepositions in my self-made sentences sounds more natural to you:
Group 1

  - 1 - He is really a bad-tempered man. He got used to finding fault with everything.

  - 2 - He is really a bad-tempered man. He got used to finding fault in everything.

Group 2

  - 1 - Why are you finding fault with everybody this much / so much.

  - 2 -  Why are you finding fault in everybody this much / so much.

For me, both sentences work properly in both groups.


texts: Are words like ain't and gonna considered informal?

texts:
I suppose, the title suffice as my question, however I'd like to add here that, even if so they are considered informal;

Why is that? and who determines whether a word is formal or informal?


texts:
The email me thanking the recipient for offering me a work experience placement. I would like to ask for the recipient of my email to tell me more details about the placement closer to the time . However I don't know how to phrase it. Please help.

I was thinking something along the lines of "please keep me informed" but it doesn't feel right.


texts: introduction to vs introduction into (which is correct?)

texts:
I would like to know the difference between "introduction to" vs "introduction into". I feel the former is the right choice in the following sentence,

  This chapter provides an introduction to Maps.

which is correct? Basically, I'm asking this because my supervisor replaces my "to" to "into". I didn't ask him why and at the same time I'm not able to understand the difference.


texts: What difference does adding 'Do' to a sentence make?

texts:
"Take part in this."

"Do take part in this."

What is difference between two sentences ?

What is need of adding do ?


texts: Sentence construction and use of gerund and past participle

texts:
After he had dried his face, and not knowing what else to do, dried it
  again, the boy turned around, wondering what next.

In the above sentence why  do the writer use gerund (knowing and wondering) is used instead of (known and wondered)?


texts: idiom or expression for a spiteful/vengeful person

texts: I am looking for an idiom or expression to describe a spiteful and vindictive person; a type of person who tends to hold a grudge against their offenders for a long time, being unable to forget past offenses.


texts:
From Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques

  Sister Sage chuckled and shook her head. 'Cowslips! Look at those two
  young uns, would you! It makes you feel good to be alive on a
  summertide.' With that, she hopped off after them, capering madly
  despite her long seasons.

What does the 'season' mean here?


texts: Leave the door open vs Leave the door opened

texts:
Is there any subtle difference between:

We need to carry in some stuff so open the door and leave it open.
We need to carry in some stuff so open the door and leave it opened.

I mean "leave it like that (in that state)".


texts: "Version of the items" or "versions of the items"?

texts:
Example sentence:

  I navigated through the shelves, matching their numbers with the ones
  in my information tags, which would lead me to the flattened
  version(s) of the furnishings I fell in love with.

Do I need the s? Why or why not?

Note: I only found one instance of the first: "a digitally flattened version of the hummed sentences." Source. Not sure if it's correct, though.


texts:
"Another compelling reason to not ban mobile phones is that they are
  necessary for our daily life."

I would like to ask whether the given sentence is correct in terms of grammar, especially, the "to not" part seems peculiar to me; and could I use "Another reason to not ban..." instead?


texts: How to ask the question in conditional sentences?

texts:
I don't understand how ask a question when using a conditional sentence.

My options for 4 conditional type are the following:

Are Chinese people love tradition if China is not communist country?
Will Chinese people love tradition if China is not communist country?
Would Chinese people love tradition if China were not communist country?
Would have Chinese people loved tradition if China had been not communist country?

Please correct me.

I changed 3 sentences to "Would China communist country if Chinese people were not love tradition."


texts:
From the Dark Knight movie (2008):

A criminal called Joker comes to the Mob Bosses he's stolen from earlier. They're obviously mad at him and he adds more fuel to the fire saying that they're gonna lose all their money if the Batman doesn't die.

  If we don't deal with this now, soon little Gambol here won't be
  able to get a nickel for his grandma

After that Gambol flies into a tantrum and tries to kill the Joker.

I wondered if "a nickel" meant 5 cents or could it mean something like "a bag of drugs".
There's no other context I can give. We don't know if Gambol's grandmother is junky or if he's been giving her 5 cents per day.
I' wondering if it's possible to say exact definition of "a nickel" in the context.


texts: Weather will (go bad/deteriorate/spoil or...)

texts:
Please suppose you're going to take a travel in your car for a long distance tomorrow and you are worried if you will have a bad weather tomorrow. (Today you're having a nice weather). I was wondering which choice sounds natural or more natural in my following sentence in and in this sense:

  I hope the weather will not................tomorrow.

a) deteriorate
b) go bad
c) spoil

If there is a better choice, please let me know.

Thank you.


texts: Why do people use phrases like "scan to" and "scan into"?

texts:
Source

  Scan anything into a PDF using your mobile device.

  Adobe Scan app, scan documents to PDF.

  Scan to PDF, convert JPEG or TIFF to PDF.

Why one should say phrases like scan into PDF and scan to PDF instead of the scan anything and make it into a PDF. Is it the correct phrase?

Are phrases like these are common in English? What are these called as?


texts: What is the difference between "introduced", "had introduced" and "have introduced"?

texts:
Although Immanuel Kant, one of the greatest thinkers in the history of philosophy, --- many pieces of technical terminology to articulate the themes of his critical philosophy, perhaps none --- more pervasive than a priori.

This is a fill-in-the-blanks multiple-choice test. I was in between two answer choices:

B)introduced/is

C)had introduced/had been

I chose C as the answer which is wrong (The correct answer is B). Obviously, I'm having a little difficulty discerning between "introduced", "had introduced" and "have introduced". What are the differences between these?


texts:
Considering the previous situation, the experimental results are
  given in table 1.

Is it wrong to use passive voice in the second part of this structure (the experimental results are given in table 1.)? I know that the subject in the second part should be available, but I can't find any other way to express this sentence


texts: "me and the other" or "I and the other"?

texts:
this post says

  I'm asking the same question as the linked one, I simply don't have enough reputation to comment yet, but hopefully, this one will more clearly explain what me and the other asker both mean

In this case, would "I" be better? or any other better expression?


texts:
I am pretty sure that I have heard the word negotiations being pronounced in one TV show in two different ways:

Nego(sh)iations
Nego(s)iations

What's the deal here?  Just different accents?


texts: Difference between "center" and "middle"

texts:
What is the difference between center and middle?Which sentence is correct:

  The book in the center of the table.

Or

  The book is in the middle of the table.


texts: We developed a procedure that employed / employs different elements

texts:
Let's imagine an engineer saying:

  With the unit's design in mind, we developed a detailed rigging procedure that employed both fixed and buoyant rigging elements to distribute the load.

would this sentence be equal in meaning to

  With the unit's design in mind, we developed a detailed rigging procedure that employs both fixed and buoyant rigging elements to distribute the load.

and which would be preferable, if they're not fully equivalent?


texts: What does "I'm so sorry for you to hear that" mean?

texts:
Suppose you witnessed someone hearing something unpleasant, and you want to express sympathy for them.

Can we say

  "I'm so sorry for you to hear that"

?

It it grammatical and natural?

I guess we could also say:

  I'm so sorry that you heard that (it occurred just a while ago that you heard that)

Or

  I'm so sorry that you have to hear that. (Does this mean something different?)


texts:
Putting on my detective's hat, I proceeded to ask him some questions.

What does "putting my detective's hat" mean?

Can it be paraphrased as "when I put on my detective's hat"?

Am I a real detective or do I pretend to be a detective?


texts: What do you call the act of searching a list of words related to another word?

texts:
What do you call the act of searching a list of words (not just synonyms) related to another word?

For example searching every word related to medicine, which includes all illnesses, equipment, professions, all biological terms used and more.

I think for this one there are several words. I don't mind if the word implies more than just finding and listing them (mapping and categorizing could be implied).


texts: "We have eaten breakfast together every morning since our honeymoon."

texts:
We have eaten breakfast together every morning since our honeymoon. (I don't understand it.)

  We have been eating breakfast together every morning since our honeymoon. (I understand it.)

Is there a difference in meaning between them?

For me the second sentence looks much better. I could understand the first sentence if it were "We have eaten every breakfast together since our honeymoon." This way it would sound like "We have gained every score in this game since the beginning."

What prevents me from understanding the first one is that to eat something every morning is a habitual action and it calls for Present Simple:

  We eat breakfast together every morning since our honeymoon.

By the way, is this sentence correct?


texts: Is "therefore" in the right place in this sentence?

texts:
I wrote a sentence, and I am confused about the word 'therefore', if 'therefore' in a right place. If this sentence has another error, please point out. Thank you.
Here is the sentence:

Some people have talent skills, these people therefore learn some things far faster than others.


texts:
So, in the following extract, students are supposed to fill the correct form of the word (given in the parenthesis) in the blank beside it. The first one (0) has been given as am convinced. Here's the passage:

From ICSE board paper Page 5 Question 4,

  I (0) ____ (convince) that my father (1) ____ (remember) by all those who value integrity. He (2) ____ (be) a man of learning and also saw to it that he (3) ____ (teach) his pupils with passion and patience. He, at times (4) ____ (use) to lose his temper, but that was because he always (5) ____ (want) his pupils to learn and learn well. As a person, he was honest and simple. His greatness (6) ___ (lie) in the fact that he (7) ____ (have) a pure heart, devoid of malice. Such a man is always valued and (8) ____ (be) very rare to find.

Here are my answers:

is remembered
was
taught
used
wanted
lies
had
is

Problem: All my answers except point 6 were marked correct.  So the passage reads:

  I am convinced that my father is remembered by all those who value integrity. He was a man of learning and also saw to it that he taught his pupils with passion and patience. He, at times used to lose his temper, but that was because he always wanted his pupils to learn and learn well. As a person, he was honest and simple. His greatness (6) ___ (lie) in the fact that he had a pure heart, devoid of malice. Such a man is always valued and is very rare to find.

Question: Is my teacher correct when she says that the point 6 should be "lay" not "lies"? In my opinion, even though the man is dead, his greatness is present (and that's the reason why he is remembered (point 1)). And since 'greatness' is present, the verb lie should be written as lies in point 6.

What's the correct answer for point 6 and why?

UPDATE: (to answers by VarunKN and miqdadamirali) While it is true that the sentence and most of the passage are in past tense, but the fact is that verbs must agree with their subject, and so that the verb lie should agree with its subject greatness. So, since greatness is still present and exists, therefore the verb should be written as lies

UPDATE 2: Thank you all! I am finally convinced that the verb should be lay. Here are some points to note:

You used 'had' as you answer for (7). Now since that is in the past, you should've used 'lay' to maintain the tense of the sentence. And to start with, the sentence is already in the past tense with the inclusion of 'was'. (Varun KN)
His greatness lay in things that only held while he was alive. He is no longer alive and therefore no longer great. That is to say that he is no longer honest and simple with a pure heart devoid of malice, so he is no longer great. (Brythan)
Another point: even in cases where someone is still great, it is controvertible that he was great while alive. So lay is always correct. In some circumstances, he may still be great. In this case, the context is to talk about his characteristics while alive. His greatness in life is clearly past tense. (Brythan)
It is exceptionally hard to write a passage in which every blank or every choice will have one correct answer. (Go Ducks)


texts: Is it natural to say "I want to swim to the edge of the pool"?

texts:
You are swimming in the middle of the pool and suddenly you feel tired. And you want to move to the edge of the pool to take a rest.
It seems that native speakers suggest "I want to get out of the pool".
But I don't want to get out of the pool. I want to move to the edge of the pool (because it's safer)  to take a rest.
Is it ok to say "I want to swim ashore" or "I want to swim to the edge of the pool" in this situation?


texts: Is there a verb for accepting a hitchhiker into your car?

texts:
The verb hitchhike mean to solicit or get (a free ride) along a road, but what about the opposite, which is accepting them into a car? Is there a verb for it?

For example:

  Jeremy ____ hitchhikers into his car.


texts: paraphrase "tunnels beneath glacially formed sandy ridges"

texts:
Prairie potholes were formed during the most recent Ice Age, when streams flowed in tunnels beneath glacially formed sandy ridges.

I am confused by "tunnels beneath glacially formed sandy ridges". Which formed which?


texts: What are the meanings of "enclose" and can it be used instead of "shut" here?

texts:
Can "enclose" be used instead of "shut" in this sentence?

  The boy did not obey his parents, so, they decided to enclose him in the house for two days.


texts: Which of the two sentences is grammatically correct? Why?

texts:
Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? Are both OK?

  The butler relayed to them Eugene’s instruction to use as little seasoning as possible.
  The butler relayed to them Eugene’s instruction that they should use as little seasoning as possible.


texts:
What's up with that phrase "such a lot of friends", "such a lot of money" etc
First of all, I've never heard it before, not in 30 years. Second of all, why isn't it "so a lot of friends" (sounds strange to me too, but makes more sense), since just like "much" (so much money), "a lot" is an adverb.. Please help me understand it.


texts:
European travellers mention the commodious and well-built houses in
which the wealthy merchants of Agra and Delhi lived. But the ordinary sorts
lived in houses above their shops. The French traveller, Bernier, says that the
merchants tried to look poor because they were afraid that they would be
used like ‘fill'd sponges’, i.e., squeezed of their wealth. This does not appear to
be fully correct. Emperors from the time of Sher Shah passed many laws for
protecting the property of the merchants.
The laws of Sher Shah are well
known.
Jahangir's ordinances included a provision that

if anyone, whether unbeliever or Musalman should die, his property and effects should be left for his heirs, and no one should interfere with them. If he should have no heirs, they should appoint inspectors and separate guardians to guard the property, so that its value might be expended in a lawful expenditure, such as the building of mosques and sarais, repair of broken bridges and the digging of
tanks and wells.

However, local officials could always abuse their power to
harass traders.

who is 'they' here = emperor or trader himself?
OR there is any misuse of 'they' here?


texts: What does this "electric" mean and function here?

texts:
In movie Sin City the actor says

  The wind rises, electric. She's soft and warm and almost weightless. Her perfume is a sweet promise that brings tears to my eyes.

I don't see what electric means here. Does it modify the wind ? Is this an appositive usage here?


texts: Could the word "interesting" have negative meaning?

texts:
Example:

  Joe's presentation about the techniques of sharing code between the web and native version of an app was interesting.

Can the word "interesting" have a negative meaning in this context?

When I read this sentence I could think of two meaning, one is where the presentation was a good one, and I was interested in the topic, so I have found the presentation interesting.

The other  would mean something like the talk was confusing and I couldn't understand it so the presentation was "interesting...".

If it can have a negative meaning then is there any synonym what only have a positive meaning?


texts:
Is the following correct:

  There's a sofa, two armchairs, a TV and a big cage for our parrots.

Or should we change it to:

  There's a sofa, there are two armchairs, there's a TV and a big cage
  for our parrots.


texts:
"For never yet has lover lived, but longed to wive, like them that are
no more alive"

Is "Never yet" grammatical correct? Does it mean "Not Yet"?
Source : final stanza of Baile and Aillinn, William Butler Yeats.


texts:
Can anyone explain the meaning of "Is it now" to me? I googled this phrase, but I couldn't find the answer out...I heard this from a TV show:

  Maggie: Mail's here, telephone bill, letter from your mother, "Simone's of Siyasi Sexy Sleepwear"
  Jason: Mmmm. Wonder how we got this.
  Maggie: Mmm. I don't know. Could it be because it's addressed to a Doctor Jason Seaver?
  Jason: Is it now. You know I've been getting this darn junk mail ever since I sent away for "Slim Whitman's Greatest Hits".

Source: Growing Pains script


texts: "he told them, but he forgot to…" vs. "he had told them, but he forgot to…"

texts:
Should I use past simple or past perfect? (Cloze test)

He ____ all students to do it, but he forgot to do so.

had told
told

My friends answered 2. because they think that it is parallel structure but I think it should be “had told” because the guy has to tell the others before forget it.. am I correct?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
I don't understand the way articles are presented in this case. Could you please tell me why there is "the" before the first "feedstock", and no article before the second one? (I cant provide the full text unfortunately.)

That may be present in the feedstock, _ feedstock for the production of..., and intermediate products... .

It is the first and the last time "feedstock" is appeared in the text.
This is a paragraph about microorganisms at the production.
The text is a guidance for pharmaceutical production.
Thank you so much for the answers!!!


texts:
I often get confused between 'This' and 'It' during sentence making, and because of that I face difficulties in sentence making. Few examples are given below-

It is the world's top choral events.
Have you seen it before?
It is enough.
It is impossible.
It is a boy

My confusion is here we can also use 'This' as well-

This is the world's top choral events.
Have you seen this before?
This is enough.
This is impossible.
This is a boy

Please give me some tips or tell me the proper use of 'this' and 'it'. Its very confusing.

Thank you


texts: How do I instruct my daughter to take out the books as per her school's time-table?

texts:
The scene is I'm instructing my 8-yr-old daughter to take out the text-books and notebooks as per her time table for any day.

It's clear that I can say -

  Rhyme, take out the books as per your time-table.

But then, is there any shorter way? Take out your time-table? or Put your subjects for tomorrow sounds improper.


texts:
I'd like to add an English definition for "seeded bread" on one of my Anki flashcards. I've looked on the sites of the major monolingual dictionaries, but couldn't find anything. I'm not quite sure if the simple definition I had in mind would suffice.

The bread I had in mind is the one seen here:


texts:
Is it appropriate to use the expression "gain employment" in the context of a business school admission essay?

  I am confident that my MBA from my previous school will help me to gain employment in this position.

The reason for my question is that I am not sure if "gain employment" is a good enough expression for an essay to business school.


texts:
The remaining students are chosen among those who were unable to enter any of the schools they applied to.

I am sure this sentence is flawless.

  The remaining students are chosen among who were unable to enter any of the schools they applied to.

In this sentence, is it allowed to leave out the word'those'?

Because I assume that the word 'who' could be applied as an interrogative (like 'what', which can act as a subject) as well as a relative.


texts:
I always get confused about how to build sentences like these:

What is their function?
What is their functions?
What are their functions?
What are their function?

I think the last one sounds weird. Which one is correct, and why?


texts:
Say a user selects an event in a calendar which is scheduled weekly. I want to give him the option to edit or delete the event only at the selected date, or edit all the events scheduled weekly.
What is the correct way to label the options?
(1)

Edit only 24th July
Edit all occurrences

(2)

Edit only 24th July
Edit all recurrences


texts:
now unfolding themselves into limbless monsters of pain.

I guess this may contain a verb, unfolding and a subject, themselves so maybe I may not discern it a phrase. So I guess I may mostly discern it a non-finite subclause (dependent clause[?])? I maybe thought a dependent clause contains a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun placed in a first word placement. unfolding may seem like a participle. This may somewhat seem like a participle phrase. And I think it contains a verb and subject so maybe not? now may seem an adverbial complement to unfolding and may get me somewhat.

  Now unfolding into limbless monsters of pain, his thoughts came (hastily[?] (not sure if came gets discerned transitive).

This may seem like maybe a participle phrase, no subject themselves?

  Unfolding into limbless monsters of pain, his thoughts vexed him.

I think this may mostly seem a participle phrase, (no adverbial complement now that may get me), no subject.


texts: The ambiguity of 'Noun + Photographer' while addressing the photographer

texts:
We use nouns + photographer to mean that the photographer masters the photography in that noun.

Say -

  Wildlife photographer (the photographer masters wildlife photography)

But then, when I try this with other examples, it creates ambiguity.

  Baby photographer (ambiguous - a photographer is a baby?)

Or..

  Nude photographer (the photographer is nude?)

How to convey this clearly that the former one is a photographer master in taking babies' photos and the latter in nudes.


texts: Can a past participle be used as a post-modifier?

texts:
The slum dwellers are often seen
   quarreling with each other which seriously
   affects the psychology of the children belonged to those families.

I doubt about its use as a post modifier, if any objection please say.


texts: Which one is right - "he did leave" or "he did leaves"?

texts: Could we said: "he did leave the house"  or "he did leaves the house"?


texts: What on earth does 'a blowtorch in the mountains' mean? There's no other meaning for that in dictionaries except "a tool to produce flame"

texts: My guess is that it refers to crown fires. Like, fires that are caught by upper levels of vegetation. Am I right?


texts: How to decide what is referred in the subordinate clause?

texts:
I've seen a sentence like this.

  I have never wanted to die and I will not do that in the future.

My spontaneous reaction was to comment oh, boy, you've got an disappointment heading your way in a few years, since I interpreted it as a cocky joke. Then it hit me that the guy might mean that he won't wish to die and not that he won't die.

I'm curious if it's only me or if that sentence contains misleading referral. Or possibly, if it's a grammatical ambiguity in the expression.


texts: I am looking for a term to describe people who leave their home and stay in another place for some time and go back after some time

texts:
A rich woman has a very big house in Bordeaux, but she does not always
  live in Bordeaux. Instead she usally goes to Marseille in January
  and stays there until October. Then she goes back to Bordeaux in
  mid October for a few days before she heads for Marseille again.

She is not a business woman, so I hope you can help me find some words to describe her.


texts:
I'm often confused between this two terms participle clause and participle phrase used in English grammar.I've read through some websites about them but got further confused.To be honest,I don't understand some other English grammatica terms such as adverbial clause,verbals etc even after reading through many websites.However,Now,As I'm learning about participle,I want to understand these terms.Do the following sentences contain participle clause:

1.Entering the room, he caught us sleeping.

2.Opening the envelope, I found two concert tickets.

If they don't contain participle clause why these http://www.grammarbank.com/participle-clauses.html http://www.grammaring.com/participle-clauses websites are describing them as participle clause?

could you please make me understand about both participle clause and participle phrase?


texts:
How would one pronounce the following words?

Poie
Poc
Poce

These are not real words.


texts: If you indicate that the name of the school is not certain yet, would you say "tentative name" or "temporary name" next to the school name?

texts: I mean if you write the temporary name and put the "tentative" part in the brackets


texts: Police searched the house [preposition/ prepositional phrase] the murder case. Fill the blank

texts:
If police carry out some investigative activities (for example, interrogation) as part of an investigation of some particular case, how can denote the connection between the former and the latter (with what preposition or phrase)? I already used 'as part of' but I wonder if I can do it otherwise, for example with a single preposition. For instance,

  Police conducted a search in the suspect's apartment [in/on/for/ in connection with...] the murder case.


texts: Can I mix present and past simple tenses in one sentence?

texts:
Is it appropriate in my example to mix past and present tenses?

While the vast majority of people are still convinced that having breakfast is crucial to remain healthy, some recent studies have shown that this belief is based on poor scientific reasoning. One of the earliest food manufacturers, Will Kellogg put efforts to spread the idea that as long as the first meal of your day is the essential one, cereals produced by his company were the best choice to have for breakfast. His attempts were so efficient many customers to this day take the first sentence he promoted as an incontrovertible truth.

I explain my choice of tenses this way: since "the first meal of your day is" is considered as a general truth it then must be in present simple, and in the case of "cereals were the best " it's past simple because it is evidence from the past only and not valid today (or may be it would be better to put this in past perfect as it's somehow similar to reported speech?).
I feel a bit confused and so ask for help. I searched for any grammar rule for such case, but the only relevant instruction was to mix tenses "as long as it's appropriate for the context". Still not very sure is it valid in my example? My be there are more generalized rules?


texts: What is the negative form of "as well as"?

texts:
I want to form such a sentence:
You can not do this as well as you should not do that...
should I use "just as"?

is there a better and more elegant use like the one if there is any with neither?

thanks


texts: Is "Poor them, who hate chocolates" grammatical?

texts:
Poor them, who hate chocolates. – V.V.

This message was posted a bit ago on Language Overflow, and proved to be more interesting than usual. I wonder if it's grammatical, strictly speaking.

The "[P]oor them" part is grammatical, since the objective sense is used in these exclamatory constructions. My main issue was with the apposition (i.e. the "who hate chocolates" part).

Is the sentence grammatical? Is the who-clause an appositive?


texts:
What is meant by the center of the universe?

I read this sentence:

  She thinks she is the center of the universe.

But I couldn't figure out the meaning.


texts:
I have a hard time understanding word 'embrace'. I checked many different definitions however the basic one means as far as I know to welcome somebody with a hug. So if you are hugging someone it means you are embracing him.

However what does it mean to:

1) embrace yourself

2) embrace the challenge

From my understanding it means

1) Understand yourself

2) Welcome the challenge and take it cheerfully?

Am I right? What other synonyms would you use to replace the embrace words in my examples?

BTW can embrace be used as a colloquial word?

Thanks!


texts: Which is correct; "Be not late for school", or "Don't be late for school"

texts: We are taught when you negate a verb, you use "do not", "does not" or "did not" for general verbs, but you only have to add "not" after the verb in the case of Be-verb. If this rule should be applied in all cases, I think "Be not.." is the only correct writing. Please advise me.


texts: What does "they" refer to in this sentence?

texts:
The following paragraph is from a book called "Conjectures and Refutations" by Karl Popper:

  "THE ESSAYS and lectures of which this book is composed are variations upon one very simple theme--the thesis that we can learn from our mistakes. They develop a theory of knowledge and of its growth. It is a theory of reason that assigns to rational argument the modest yet important role of criticizing our often mistaken attempts to solve our problems. And it is a theory of experience that assigns to our observations the equally modest and almost equally important role of tests which may help us in the discovery of our mistakes. Though it stresses our fallibility it does not resign itself to skepticism for it also stresses the fact that that knowledge can grow, and that science can progress-- just because we can learn from our mistakes."

My question is, does the pronoun "They" in "They develop a theory of knowledge and of its growth." refer to "mistakes" in "we can learn from our mistakes" or "THE ESSAYS and lectures"?


texts: Use of hyphen in "Synthetic free-fiber insulation"?

texts:
On a jacket care label I found this sentence:

"Synthetic free-fiber insulation"

Is this correct use of hyphen? (given that it should mean that the fiber in the insulation is free from synthetic)
If so, would there be any ambiguity in the sentence without the hyphen? And wouldn't it make more sense to write "Synthetic-free fiber insulation"?
My initial reaction when I read this was that the insulation in my jacket was made of synthetic "free-fiber". (Admittedly, that's not a thing.)


texts:
He squeezed it out of its inflated form by squeezing the balloon too hard.

Is this idiomatic? I couldn't find any similar sentence, so I have no idea if this is a good usage, or if there's a better way of saying it.


texts: WHY to say "a secret prayer" to zip the dress and what does it mean in this sentence?

texts:
I am not sure if I get this right : "a secret prayer" means "she is a little fat so that she prays the zip could go up"?? (a little fat is a fact based in the novel). And I neither get the meaning of "a frugal generation" in the sentence, does it mean she does not have enough money when she made the dress?

Why is it a "result" dress??, the author put the " " on the word "result" to emphasize , but I have no idea at all what it looks like??

Here is the sentence:

  ……and instead put on my fourth option, a vintage dress in dark-red satin. It was made for a more frugal generation and I always had to say
  a secret prayer that the zip would make it up past my waist, but it gave me the outline of a 1950s starlet, and it was a ‘results’
  dress, one of those outfits you couldn’t help but feel good in.

The context is :

The girl is going to a concert and she is trying on the fourth dress, and actually it turns out great on her later as the viewers approve her choice.


texts: Grammar concerning ending a word with "v"

texts:
This may sound ridiculous but who can explain the origin of the rule about not ending a word with "v"?

To me it still sounds awkward even after so many years of study.

Why cannot we end a word with "v"? Why even a closed syllable word should have an "e" at the end?

I mean take the word "love" and it actually should read "lowv" whereas it reads as "luv".


texts:
Why is this sentence correct?

"Nine dogs are caught and one cat has escaped"

I immediately notice that the auxiliary verb "are" was before caught which is in its past-participle form so I assume that it should be were instead of are.


texts: Is this sentence correct ? "I have got my car working."

texts:
Is this sentence correct.And if it is correct, what does it mean?
I have got my car working.
I know that the causative form is : have - object - past participle


texts: "English proficiency" vs "proficiency in the English language"

texts:
What is the difference between these sentences?

Reading will improve people's English proficiency.

AND

Reading will improve people's proficiency in the English language.


texts:
Because of heavy snow, my car should have gotten stuck.

What does this sentence mean?
When I looked for should have pp, I found this:

  Should have + past participle
  1: Should have + past participle can mean something that would have been a good idea, but that you didn't do it. It's like giving advice about the past when you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn't do when you're talking about yourself.

  We can also use should have + past participle to talk about something that, if everything is normal and okay, we think has already happened. But we're not certain that everything is fine, so we use 'should have' and not the present perfect or past simple. It's often used with 'by now'. Should Have PP

But I am still not sure what the sentence means.
Please help me.


texts:
ESN platforms can be developed internally or provided by a software vendor. They can be installed behind a firewall or offered as cloud-based technology. Vendor-supplied platforms can be standalone or integrated to work with other enterprise software applications such as human resources information systems, contact management databases, talent management systems and learning management systems. There are also ESN platforms that come as an out-of-the-box feature set within some learning management systems.

In the last line, does "within some learning management systems" mean that that platform has some learning management systems or they can integrate to them?


texts: Will shorten a sentence with object complement confuse readers with adverbials?

texts:
The sentence,

The teacher punished the student who bullied the new boy

What if I shorten it to

The teacher punished the student bullying the new boy.

Now, will readers confuse that whether 'bullying the new boy' is describing the teacher or the student? In fact, I am confused as well. Is this object complement or adverbials?


texts:
I am having difficulty describing this:

  "If you see a single number (9) then you need to buy only one,
  but if you see two ranged numbers(9-10), then you have to purchase
  the items according to what it says."

What is the correct word choice for this?
Should it be "two different numbers showing it has a range" or something?


texts: Which is grammatically correct, "my name is John" or "the name is John"?

texts:
My name is John.
  The name is John.

Which of the above sentences is grammatically correct? If both are, which is preferable and why?


texts: "would have" vs. "had" vs. "should" vs. "has" etc

texts:
Please consider the following line:

  What can we do? We need an alternative. It  * * *  incorporate X and *
  * * offer Y.

Which of the following verbs and forms is correct?

has to
needs to
must
had to
should
would have to

Which is best? Note that this is a scientific text.

How do they differ in meaning? The intention is that 'the alternative' does not yet exist and will be hard to find, so it looks conditional-ish to me. I have the feeling that 6. is the best, but it is so verbose. Does another form express the same?


texts: Where do I put the period when I abbreviate someone's name?

texts:
If I was shortening someone's last name to only the first letter, but not doing it for the first name, would I put the dot after the last name or between the first name and the last name?

For example, is it John.C or John C.?


texts:
If someone thinks that a particular actor is suitable for a particular role, then what will be a natural way to say that:

  She's fit for that role.

  She'll fit in that role

Or should it be:

  She's suitable for that role.

Or

  She suits that role.


texts: Is "I'm going to be 17 years old after 3 days." correct?

texts:
a. I'm going to be 17 years old after 3 days.
b. I'll be 17 years old after 3 days.
c. I'm going to be 17 years old in 3 days.
d. I'll be 17 years old in 3 days.

Which sentence is correct? and why?


texts:
It is a scientific paper. My sentence is

  Wood's theorem is a reflection/embodiment of this principle

What I mean is that, we have a very general principle, and there are many theorems in accord with this principle.

I need a noun or a verb to express the fact that the theorem is just a particular or a concrete realization of that principle.

It seems that the word 'reflection' is not so common in English for this purpose?


texts:
I have run out of gas.
I am run out of gas.
My gas is over.
My gas is finished.

Which of these (if any) is a normal way to tell someone I have no more gas?


texts:
It is often said (as here and here) that 'were to V' in if-clauses represents an unlikely future in a hypothetical world, and must be accompanied by a hypothetical main clause having 'would', 'could', etc. But using 'if we were to V' along with a main clause representing a real situation is dime a dozen.

Here are just a few examples found at Google News with the search word 'if we were to':

  (1) If we travel anywhere through space at significant fractions of the speed of light (almost certainly a requirement for interstellar travel), then impacting interstellar dust or larger objects like space debris or micrometeoroids could be disastrous. Even in the short trips we made during the space shuttle program, more than 100 shuttle windows were replaced after being chipped or cracked by space debris. Traveling to Proxima Centauri would be over a 100 million times the distance, and we'd almost certainly run into something.

  Fortunately, actual asteroid collisions would be fairly rare. If we were to encounter any large obstacles, the same Project Daedalus that conceived of a fusion-powered spacecraft proposed using drones to eject small particles that would sweep those obstacles away. It's also been suggested that magnetic superconductors could divert the smaller dust particles away from a hypothetical spacecraft.

(Source)
Here, the verb proposed is in the past tense simply to refer to a past time, not a hypothetical situation.

And the following examples employ present-tense main clauses:

  (2) The issue of immigration is tied to another ambition for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: passing a large-scale infrastructure bill. It’s no secret that the nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. Last year, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the United States a D+ for the state of its drinking water, bridges, railways, and power lines, among other physical social structures.

  “Today, if we were to go out and start an infrastructure project, we don’t have the people to do the work!” said Donohue.

(Source)

  (3) But it sure won’t look good. The White House has already begun working to counter bad public perception.

  “And so what we’ll say, if we were to see that negative number: ‘Well sure, it was negative, but if you adjust for the furlough, it looks like another plus-200 month or something like that,'” Council of Economic Advisers chairman Kevin Hassett told reporters last week at the White House.

(Source)

This is what Steph Curry said about Raptors.

  (4) “It’s 0-0 from here,” Curry said. “The sweep doesn’t mean nothing in terms of when the lights are the brightest on the biggest stage in the playoffs. Everything’s different. We’ll remember how tonight was. It’s a tough vibe, but they don’t get any extra points if we were to face them in the Finals.”

(Source)

In case Steph Curry's English is not good enough, here's what Tiffany Li, resident fellow with Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, says:

  (5) “We’re trying to make this distinction–are we living in a simulation, or are we not?” he says. “Maybe there is no difference.”

  Li concurs.

  “Even if we were to someday find out we’re living in the Matrix, there is literally nothing to suggest that there’s a way out of that,” she says. “There’s nowhere to escape to. It doesn’t make sense.”

(Source) FYI, Li's profile is here. Her education is:

  She has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Global Law Scholar, and a B.A. in English from University of California Los Angeles, where she was a Norma J. Ehrlich Alumni Scholar. She has also studied at Oxford University (England) and Fudan University (China).

QUESTION: Can you use 'were to' in if-clauses to freely represent a real situation?


texts:
I'd like you to help me with this simple question. I want to know if the question is correct, I do also would like to know what tense is used in it.

Thanks for helping me.


texts: Are they the same "She is drying her hair off" and "She is drying her hair up"?

texts:
dry 4 PLATES/DISHES ETC British English to rub plates, dishes etc dry
  with a cloth after they have been washed
  dry something ↔ up

  I’ll just dry up these mugs and we can have a coffee.

  dry off | dry somebody/something  off to become dry or make something
  dry

  We went swimming and then lay in the sun to dry off.

  We dried our boots off by the fire.

It seems that British people use "dry something ↔ up" to talk about drying plates or dishes, but the above dictionary doesn't limit it to plates or dishes, it could be "hair" or "car", etc.

I am not sure if British people say "She is drying her hair up"

While "dry something / somebody off" can be used by both British & American people, right?

So, we can say "She is drying the dishes / the car / her hair off" right?


texts: Is there a word to describe or to refer to a child who talks sweetly?

texts:
Nobody can deny how sweet and cute some young children talk; they make you laugh by the way they put words together and it's mainly because of the thought behind it or minor grammatical mistakes. When you're delighted by a child making some funny statements, what words would you use to describe or to refer to them?

  A: Yes. Mosquito want to eat me and I chase him and I tell don't come here.

  B: Aren't you a little [the word].

I'm open to adjectives too and it doesn't need to be the words to address a child himself/herself.


texts: How to understand "Minnie invited Mickey next door."

texts:
Minnie invited Mickey next door.

I saw this sentence from a children's book. It's a simple one. But I'm confused by the meaning. In my opinion, it can be understood as:

Minnie invited Mickey, who lives next door, to her house.
Minnie invited Mickey to her home, which is the next door.

So, what would be the correct way to understand the sentence?


texts:
Let us consider the sentence

We will study certain lattice, or discrete, particle systems.

Let me explain what I am trying to say here. For my potential reader the expressions "lattice particle systems" and "discrete particle systems" are synonymous, and sometimes they have equivalent meanings. In this sentence I aim to establish a convention that those expressions mean exactly the same thing in the following text. (I would like to have two options because I am going to refer to such particle systems multiple times).

Have I chosen a legitimate way to do so?


texts: What does the expression 'your words have BRANDED my mind' mean?

texts:
The line from lyrics:

  Your words have branded my mind

Question:

  What does the expression mean and especially meaning of the word BRAND in this context

My guesses by context:

  his mind became possessed with her words


texts:
"If I hadn't called you, you would have gotten angry."
"If i didn't call you, you would have gotten angry."
Do these both convey the same ideas? I believe the first one is correct and the second one perhaps, doesn't quite meet grammatical standards as "If I didn't" best fits a sentence like this...
If I didn't call you, you would get angry.
I just some opinions on the matter.


texts: Is it grammatical to say "this food is comfortable"?

texts:
"the food is comfortable"

The person who said it meant "the food made me feel comfortable". My initial instinct was that "this food is comfortable" is incorrect.  However, since "this couch is comfortable" is acceptable in everyday usage, then why can't "food" be used in the same way?

I tried to think of other nouns which feel wrong in that context, e.g. "this atom is comfortable", or "this abstraction is comfortable", and they all feel like incorrect sentences to me.  So it seems like maybe some nouns can be used in this way, but not others?

For the record, we can say "the cat is comfortable", so this question is about inanimate objects.


texts: "How many language do you speak?" OR "How many language you speak?"

texts:
How many language do you speak?

OR

  How many language you speak?

Which one is correct?  What is the difference?

I have found another example:

  How much food are you going to take with yourselves?

OR

  How much food you are going to take with yourselves?`


texts: How to name properly a question containing two options?

texts:
Can I call a question like

  Do you want a red or blue eraser?

an 'alternative question' or should I call it a 'question with two alternatives'?


texts: How can I avoid using a dash in “which is a better source-“?

texts:
The original sentence:

  Which is a better source of news—newspaper or TV?

I changed it to:

  Which is a better source of news between newspaper and TV?

Is that correct? Anyway, I want to change it into a complete sentence without dash. Can anyone help?


texts:
In these two sentences "tired" is always adjective:
I was tired.
I have been tired.
In these two sentences "told" is always part of the passive, perfect participle:
I was told.
I have been told.
How to know when is passive, when is an adjective?


texts:
I would appreciate if you explain why "a" has been added before "very"in the following sentence:

  I hope you have a very nice evening.

Is this sentence still correct without "a" before very?

  I hope you have very nice evening.


texts: which one is correct? "My test is the next day" or "My test is on the next day"?

texts:
I want to know that whether both the sentences are same or means different?

My test is the next day.

or

My test is on the next day.


texts:
The article a becomes to an when the following noun starts with a vowel.

  Not a adventure but an adventure.

But how is it, when there's an adjective before the noun?

  Not a thrilling adventure or not an thrilling Adventure?

And how is it, when the adjective starts with a vowel but the noun does not?

  Not a exciting tournament or not an exciting tournament?


texts: Is there any way other than cramming to guess meaning of a phrasal verb?

texts:
The meanings of some phrasal verbs can be guessed sometimes; like go after, give back, find out, etc.

Some sentences:

  1) Go after her quickly.

  2) Give my wallet back.

  3) Find out what I have lost.

The reason being (how I understand) from the context, it is clearly understandable what might these phrasal verbs mean. Sometimes they are same with the meaning of the verb itself, just a little addition/subtraction of the meaning, but the theme remains almost constant.

Again some phrasal verbs do not really mean what we guess it could be from the context; For example, put up with, bring up, chip in, etc.

Some sentences:

  1) I can not put up with you.

  2) She brought him up.

  3) If everybody chips in I can complete the work by tomorrow .

It is hard to guess meanings of these phrasal verbs even from the contexts and usages. So in these cases how can we guess the meanings of those?


texts: Can I say "I speak Chinese as well as Spanish"?

texts:
I speak Chinese as well as Spanish.

I want to say that my Chinese and Spanish are equally strong. So please help me out with this. I think it's weird to say speak "as well as". I don't know if there are other better expressions.


texts: Hyphen VS Apostrophe in temporal expressions

texts:
I know that it is "six years' experience", and I know that it is "six-minute video".
my question is, can I replace the previous structures with "six-year experience" and " six minutes' video" .


texts:
It is the calculus, rather than the consent, in James
  Buchanan and Gordon Tullock’s "Calculus of Consent" that suggests
  the decision rules they propose should be adopted.

  Moral Foundations of Politics by Ian Shapiro

I want to understand this sentence and i have two versions. The problematic word is "suggest".

  (1) In James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock’s "Calculus of Consent",
  calculus, rather than the consent suggests the decision rules which
  they propose that these rules should be adopted.

  (2) In James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock’s "Calculus of Consent",
  calculus, rather than the consent suggests that the decision rules
  which these man propose should be adopted.


texts: Can I use a relative pronoun in this sentence?

texts:
We have to account for every penny we spend on business trips

"We spend on business trips" is a noun phrase complement of "penny" so can I use relative pronoun to rewrite the sentence as follows:

  We have to account for every penny which we spend on business trips


texts:
What do you normally call someone who is interested in environment and tries to avoid others from inflicting damage to it?

I know two options, but I have no idea if one of them has some extra qualities except those I mentioned or they are interchangeable!

  "Environmentalist"  2. "Eco-warrior"

To me, they both mean the same and can be used interchangeably, though the latter seems to be a bit stilted and more serious.


texts: Are lakes and rivers included in "terrestrial habitats" or should I use another word

texts:
I would like to talk about everything that does not live in a sea or in an ocean. The first adjective that came to my mind was "terrestrial". However, I was told that "terrestrial" can be understood as the opposite of "aquatic" or "limnic", and I would like to include lakes and rivers.

Is there a less ambiguous word ? I've searched on the Web and I've found other candidates, like "continental" and "mainland", but those seem to exclude islands from the definition (and I would like to include the islands).

Note that it is unimportant if lagoons and estuaries are included or not.

EDIT : I need to find a title for a project related to biodiversity. I need to distinguish from a marine biodiversity project, but it can overlap on coastal areas.


texts: Is there a phrasal verb that describes going around, engaging in pointless chores just to kill some time because you don't know what to do?

texts: Not "to procrastinate", maybe a verb that emphasizes more on the movement characteristic of the action


texts: What does "This isn't just true in logic" mean?

texts:
I am confused what the sentence "This isn't just true in logic." mean?
I can think of two possible meanings of the aforementioned sentence:

This is not true in logic -- there is no chance that this could be true in logic.
This is true in logic -- this is not only true in logic, but also true in some other fields.

And unfortunately, due to lack of context, I could not figure out what the intended meaning was. What is the correct meaning one would extract out of this sentence?


texts: What's the correct usage of "something of something" and "something's something"? 'S and OF

texts:
First of all, I don't know how to correctly call this. Possessive case? Educate me, please. Lol.

I've been confused a long time when using 's and of in different cases when I try to point out the belonging or possession of something. I'm writing or talking and I pause when I have to say that something belongs to someone, and it's pretty annoying stumble always with the same stone. Could you help me to clarify my ideas?

Yes, I've looked at some books and sites, but I'm still doubtful.

Here I'm adding some examples. They're not too numerous though. Some of them are pretty simple, but yet they're pretty confusing for me since I really don't know what's the best way to express my idea.

The house of Mary.
Mary's house.

I know these sentences are both correct. What I'm wondering is what should I consider to choose one option above the other one.

Now something more complicated:

Iron Age
Age of Iron
Iron's Age

By the way, my native language is Spanish.


texts: Third-person pronouns for inanimate objects in the next sentence

texts:
What pronoun to put for inanimate objects in a new sentence (he/she/they) or (it)?
For example:

A rainbow appeared in the sky. She was very beautiful.

or:

A rainbow appeared in the sky. It was very beautiful.

Or are both possible? Thanks in advance!


texts: "The sum and substance of this poem { is / are} ..." -- what is the rule?

texts:
There have been a question, find the error in the following sentence,

  The sum and substance of this poem is as follows.

I think the problem is the is in is as follows, because sum and substance are two things. But somebody told me that when we say something like A and B, the whole phrase acts as a singular thing and we should say A and B is. But this sounds odd.


texts: What do you call a book full of aphorisms?

texts: Most of Nietszche's books are anthologies or compilations of aphorisms. Is there a particular name for such books? I don't think there's any word for it, but I just wanted to make sure.


texts:
It is unacceptable to submit an essay from a previous course.

I am having a hard time finding the verb and the subject of this sentence. I searched online. From what I understood the answer should be "essay" "submit" but not sure.


texts: Understanding the sentence in which a conjunction is omitted

texts:
The paintings were discussed as an index of the democracy of a society
  that chose to represent its class, action, and occupations exactly as they were, wide-ranging realism was seen as the great
  accomplishment of Dutch art. link

Would you please explain it that why any conjunction is not written between these sentences?


texts:
This word appear in the comment of a video of Bach in YouTube:

  A: Which minute is the drop?
  B: When he and Mozart have the rap battle

Clearly this is a joke, but I don't understand the meaning of the drop. I have looked up in Oxford Dictionary, but all the meaning only point to the drop of liquid, or the action of dropping. I have also looked at the Urban Dictionary, but the meaning of the noun of drop is an expensive car, which doesn't make sense to me.


texts:
It was always part of McLaren's master plan that the Pistols were more than merely a band. In the tradition of situanism however McLaren had intended the film to be a very extreme affair and indeed had begun filming using Russ Meyer, the director of such films as Beyond The Valley of the Dolls (1970). McLaren's choice of Meyer as a suitable director for the Sex Pistol's film is telling. McLaren saw him as '... not being a liberal'. He was a Vietnam veteran who produced sordid and exploitative films and the script McLaren and Meyer came up with reflected this.

I think the use of both past perfect is to emphasize the changement
"he had done , thought that before he changed his minds" but what I don't understand is why past simple for came up: is it because he has already had emphasize the changement so he does not need to underline it a new time.Because for me the script they had come up with was before McLaren changed his minds.Or may be it is just after finishing the script(having already filmed some scenes)  that he changed his minds.


texts: Is 'addressed' a right word in the context courier/delivery?

texts:
Let's say I see a courier/package lying around and want to know who it belongs to, can I ask like this

  Who is this courier/package addressed to?

Here I specifically want to find out whose name is written on the address label of the box. Will this expression convey what I intend to ask?


texts: Does omitting "in" from "take a rest in" make a material difference?

texts:
Do these two sentences make sense?

  We looked for a cafe to take a rest in.
  We looked for a cafe to take a rest.

If so, what is the difference between the two?


texts:
Is use of "except" in the following sentences correct grammatically and conceptually? Is the following sentences correct grammatically?If it is not , kindly suggest ways to make it clearer.

  As discussed previously, there are another kind of losses in Wells
  turbine except loss due to blade profile. These losses are secondary
  flows and Fig. 11 highlights the main secondary flow structures in
  Wells turbine such as tip leakage vortex and horse-shoe vortices near
  the hub (endwall boundary layer flow).


texts: What's the difference between "center" and "centre"?

texts: Which one is correct: examination center or examination centre? What is the difference between center and centre?  Is the difference only in spelling?  What is the usage difference?


texts: What is 'little despite diminishing returns'?

texts:
I read a blog where I stuck here:

  Having started his career by levelling allegations against all politicians, Kejriwal has changed little despite diminishing returns on this tactic.

I can't understand the meaning of the last portion of this sentence. To my mind, the writer wants to say that Kejriwal has changed his tactic, but then what is the meaning of 'little despite diminishing returns'? Is the above portion grammatical? What is the exact meaning of it?


texts:
He was endeavouring to pierce the darkness with his ferret eyes, when the chimes of a neighboring church struck the four quarters.

1.How did he know that the church struck four quarter?
2.I think it is 4.15 AM.Is that right?


texts: restrictive sentence elements versus writing style

texts:
I went to see Woody Allen's latest movie, ''Midnight in Paris,'' with my oldest friend, Jessie.
You need a comma after ''movie'' because this and only this is Mr. Allen's newest movie in theaters, and before ''Jessie'' because she and only she is the writer's oldest friend.
Source:
https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9E06E6D9163EF934A15756C0A9649D8B63.html
How does the above differ from this example:
a) Anne Hathaway plays her bright but dowdy new assistant Andy.
b) Anne Hathaway plays her bright but dowdy new assistant, Andy.
Would this be a stylistic choice without the comma before Andy? or suggest there is more than one new assistant going by the resources style/rule?
The resource uses the words oldest & latest which makes it very easy to determine correct comma placement.


texts: Using of the "from" preposition in the context

texts:
Here is a definition of the word "blush":

  blush - develop a pink tinge in the face from embarrassment or shame.

If I understand right "from" is a preposition that signifies the reason of the process and we can substitute it with "because of" as an example.

Well, if it so, can I say the next... Would it be right?

  I bought a new phone from I lost my old.

  I've stayed at home from the rain

  I have good marks at school from my passionating of studying

It's so unnatural, Is it right?


texts: What does "cracking" mean in this sentence?

texts:
It's an example sentence in Oxford Dictionary:

  His sangfroid showed signs of cracking.

The confusing point in the sentence is the word "cracking".

I think cracking here probably means "falling apart mentally". The speaker is actually saying something like "he looked calm but in fact he was on the verge of freaking out", but I am not very sure about it.

Is my understanding right?