texts: Shall I use "not to", "not", or "don't"?

texts:
What to use in the following sentence?

  You need to believe in yourself and not to/not/don't give up after the
  first failure.

It seems to me that the correct option is the first one, but I can't explain why and am not even sure if it really should be not to.


texts:
Meaning of the word ground is reason.

But in the following sentence

  Despite governments bringing in legislation towards this end, they
  have been struck down on the grounds that the additional quota
  would take the quantum of reservation above the 50% limit set by the
  Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney judgment.

Ground is only one, but we are using word grounds. According to me it must be formed this way

  They have been struck down on the ground that...........


texts:
Can one say

This is a jacket which is to wear in cold weather.
This is a jacket which is to be worn in cold weather.
This is a jacket which is for wearing in cold weather.
This is a jacket to wear in cold weather.
This is a jacket to be worn in cold weather.
This is a jacket for wearing in cold weather.

?

Do (2) and (5) carry the idea of obligation? (The jacket has to be worn in cold weather.)

Many thanks.


texts: Can I use these sentences interchangeably?

texts:
Usually happy and sometimes sad people tend to be friendly.
Happy and sad people tend to be friendly. (Does it only mean people who are happy and sad at the same time, not who are usually happy and sometimes sad? I want this sentence but I wish it wouldn't mean 'at the same time')

I mean people who are usually happy but who are sometimes sad tend to be friendly (because some sadness makes people sympathetic so friendly).
I think people use sentence 2 like 'people happy and sad at the same time tend to be friendly' but can sentence 2 be technically used as sentence 1?


texts:
"I traveled in (at) the Philippines."

I have seen many sentences that use "in" and "at" with this kind of sentence. I want to know what's the difference between the two? When to use it?

Thank you very, very much! I'm a beginner, please bear with me.


texts:
I want to say,

  Whether it has the high-level privilege or doesn't, this application
  can work properly.

or maybe it should be

  Whenever it has the high-level privilege or doesn't, this application
  can work properly.

?


texts:
I am having a correspondence with an online shop and we are discussing shipment of a batch of goods to them. My English isn't perfect, so before asking them what they mean (and appear stupid) I'd like to ask here first.

  we'd be happy to purchase a batch or a case depending on our cost. Could you please provide a quote including shipping for one case (around 12 games or so, we are flexible with that if a case is smaller or larger) to post code .....

Do they mean they want me to send them a parcel and provide a confirmation of the fact of sending?

UPDATE: are they referring to the most current price of sending a case to their postal zone?


texts: If you don’t eat for a long time, you ........ hungry

texts:
Which one is it?
1- would become
2- become
3- will become
I got this question in a homework and I didn’t know which one to choose, but I think the correct answer would be “will become”. Can anyone help me with that?


texts: Adjective to describe things that don't have any potential in them for initiating any kind of activity

texts:
There are living things in this world: humans, animals, trees. One their prominent characteristic is that they all can move in some way on their own.

There are lifeless things that yet can still show some movement or some sort of activeness: robots, cars, waterfalls, lightning, rain, wind, tornadoes, etc.

And there are also things that don't usually show any movement or activity: stones, rocks, tables, pens, a sheet of paper, a glass, a cup, etc.

What adjective should I use to describe the things in the third group? That is, the things that don't have any potential in them for initiating any kind of activity?

Inactive, idle, passive, or anything else?


texts: Using the suitable tense in a context with the word "whether"

texts:
I'm confused a little bit about what tense to use in the following context:
1-Learning this skill will benefit you whether you will travel or not.
2-Learning this skill benefits you whether you travel or not.
3-Learning this skill will benefit you whether you traveled or not.


texts: “What do you mean by ___? " Is this ambiguous or rude?

texts:
Is asking someone “What do you mean by ___?" a rude way to ask the meaning of something you don't understand?

For example, when I chat with my American friends, and there is a word I don't know the meaning. What should I say?

How could I ask the meaning of the word?


texts: What's the meaning of 'discharged by an assignment' - 1932 US?

texts:
Source: Powell v Alabama (1932)

  5. In a capital case, where the defendant is unable to employ counsel and is incapable of making his own defense adequately because of ignorance, feeble-mindedness, illiteracy or the like, it is the duty of the court, whether requested or not, to assign counsel for him as a necessary requisite of due process of law, and that duty is not discharged by an assignment at such a time and under such circumstances as to preclude the giving of effective aid in the preparation and trial of the case. P. 71.

What does Mr Justice Sutherland  mean by assignment? Why not just write the following? Does it differ?

  ... that duty is not discharged by  preclude[ing] the giving of effective aid in the preparation and trial of the case.


texts: Which School were you in? - and similar wordings of that question

texts:
Please read the following sentence

He is in Mclean High school.
He was in McLean High School.

If we convert them into questions then

Is he in Mclean High School?
Was he in McLean High School?

Same question adding the question word 'which'

Which school is he in?
Which school was he in?

But I suppose that's not the way native Americans ask these questions but they ask like

Which school does he go to?
Which school did he go to?

What is the difference in 'which' questions and is it ok to ask someone 'Which school were you in?'


texts: "all the way (through)" and "to the end"

texts:
I haven't watched the movie all the way through.

  I haven't watched the movie all the way.

  I haven't watched the movie all the way to the end.

  I haven't watched the movie to the end.

Do all these sentences mean the same thing that the speaker hasn't finished watching the movie? Is the through redundant, would the sentence mean the same without it?


texts: How to ask for someone to call when lunch is over

texts:
I want my friend to call me once he is finished his lunch. What is the most correct way?

  Please tell me once eat lunch.
  Please tell me once ate lunch.
  Please tell me once have eaten lunch


texts: "Where there was food?" Vs. "Where was there food?"

texts:
What is the correct interrogative structure of existential clause in present and past tense?

  Choice 1 (A): "was there food?"

  Choice 2 (A):  "there was food?"

Another example just with additional question word:

  Choice 1 (B) "Where was there food?"

  Choice 2 (B) "Where there was food?"


texts:
I'm French and the TH sound has always been hard for me. I can easily pronounce it when the TH sound is isolated but I experience difficulties when two TH sounds are very close.
Eg:

  I thought that it would be easier than this.

Question:

Should I pronounce the second TH sound or I can just pronounce "than dis"

If not, is they any tip or exercise to train my tongue to do this quick back and forth movement?


texts:
Is it ok to say

Put things in disorder

meaning making a mess of things?
Or does it sound weird?
I'm asking because apparently the phrase 'put things in order' exists and is totally fine.
How about the opposite?


texts: Can I say "constitute/contribute the largest group"?

texts:
Actually I was practicing for my English writing test, and I'm not sure whether such usage is correct. Any help will be appreciated.

As described in the second figure, married couples constituted the most dominant group in terms of adult marital status in both 1970 and 2000, though the corresponding percentage dropped from 70% to under 60%. People who never married contributed the second largest group in both years, which accounted for roughly 15% then 20% of the total population of adult Americans.


texts:
I'd like to know how to make sentences using "downtime".  I came across this word for the first time today and when I looked up in the dictionary, the meaning is almost the same as "free time" or "spare time".  Am I correct?   Then is it all right if I say the followings?  In my downtime I like to go cycling.  I need some downtime next week.   I also like to know if I can use this word interchangeably with free time or spare time.
Is this word very common in daily conversation?


texts: Using present participle to start a clause in a sentence

texts:
I wrote :

  In our approach, we rely mainly on the page content and simulate the way a human user scans a web page for specific data.

Then I thought I may can write it as:

  In our approach, we rely mainly on the page content, simulating the way a human user scans a web page for specific data.

I don't know if the second sentence is correct and conveys my meaning or not?! I even am not sure about its structure, but as I read similar sentences I feel it could be correct. Is it correct? What is the structure of such clauses? When can I use them?


texts: What is the difference between specialization and specialisation?

texts:
What is the difference between specialization  and specialisation ? where am i use

specialization   and specialisation  what does meaning of both.?


texts: How to write with respect about saying that original work is done by someone else?

texts:
I used a Mirza Ghalib Urdu poetry to create almost similar poetry (the pink image contains the poetry I created in Hinglish language. It's just a rough illustration to represent the poetry I created.) of 2 lines which emphasizes that I'm failing continuously at getting job because of hard time. (In case of actual poetry, it as about failure of love. I replaced love with job stuff).

Now, I don't want to disrespect Mirza Ghalib at all. So with the design I want to share (the 2nd line in caption in the image below in black text) that it is totally inspired from his poetry and doesn't mean to disrespect him.

Also, the text you would suggest here has come to after a caption, in following way:

Summary: I don't need writing for a poetry. I need a better sentence (pointed by yellow arrow) to show some respect to Mirza Ghalib and admit that my design is inspired from his poetry.

How should I write that?


texts:
I came up with this structure "to play a bit here a bit there"

I am not sure if it is what native speakers often say.

Also, Is it natural to say "please play with your Lego in one place, don't play a bit here a bit there as you may lose your bricks"?


texts: Your bread will be buttered on both sides

texts:
Imagine a person who's been looking for a better hierarchical position in the organization where he works in order to obtain more salary! The day comes and he achieves his favorite position! His colleague (his close friend) comes to him and says:

  Congratulations! I heard the news and happy for you bro! Your bread is/will be buttered on both sides. (he says humorously, with a smile)

Does the bold sentence above work here or it sounds odd to you?


texts: Is it a restrictive or non-restrictive clause?

texts:
I wrote this sentence

  In this paper, we aim to present an approach and a system to construct wrappers which are independent of the HTML structure of the page.

I know the difference of "which" and "that" as that is restrictive but which is not. However, in articles as I searched in Google I saw both usage.

Then I am confused if it is a restrictive or non-restrictive here, as I heard to avoid using which for restrictive clauses, and they may need a "the" article before the noun!?


texts: "mostly negative economic impact" vs "negative economic impact for the most part"

texts:
I wanna discuss the difference between the following two sentences:

The policy will have mostly negative economic impacts.

The policy will have negative economic impacts for the most part.

Would you please help comment on my following interpretation?
In 1., "mostly" modifies negative. So the policy's other impacts, eg political or environmental, are unaddressed.
In 2., "for the most part" modifies either economic impact or the whole sentence; either way, the sentence basically means the negative economic impact outweighs other impacts.


texts: Idiom to express "solution to any kind of problems"?

texts:
I want to know if there exists an idiom that conveys the meaning of one solution fitting all problems in all scenarios?

What swim into my mind are two phrases: 1) silver bullet, 2) one size fits all. For the former, I thought it is more of the complexity of the problem than the scope of problems; while for the later I thought it is better but concentrates more on size. In the Chinese world the phrase would be "放之四海而皆准" meaning that a rule or solution can apply to any situation worldwide.

Any more native expressions for that?


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

texts:
I've heard/read/seen both "look at" and "look to" (and "look up at" and "look up to").

Is there a difference between the two? When should I use one over the other?


texts:
I searched for Right back at you meaning and saw that it means you too, and used in fun, sporty, easy- going manner, when someone compliments you.

I saw an example given :

  A: Nice car!
   B: Right back at you.

I do not understand this. In this context how can you say you too to the person A ? Wouldn't it mean that, you are saying "person A is also a car" ?

Any help please ?


texts: “This problem hasn't been paid any attention” or "hasn't been paid any attention to"

texts:
Given the active voice is

  We haven't paid any attention to that problem.

Should the passive construction be

  That problem hasn't been paid any attention.

  That problem hasn't been paid any attention to.

A search in Google Books has many hits on both sides, many of which authored by apparently non-native speakers. Be that as it may, there are also a lot of native speakers that use either one, e.g.:

  The American president, Jones said, wanted Karzai to understand "that in his second term, there are certain things that have not been paid attention to, almost since Day One." (book by Lloyd Gardner)

  These "group" differences are a critically important part of learning and have not been paid enough attention in thinking about pedagogy. (book)


texts: What do Americans call a comfortable, quiet, warm and usually small house / apartment?

texts:
What would the American speakers call a house / apartment that gives a feeling of comfort, silence (with a positive effect / quiet), warmth and usually small?

I have found three adjectives: "secluded", "cozy", "snug"

You entered to my house / apartment for the first time and say:

  Nice. What a ........ house / apartment you have. (with a pleasure and a smile on lips)

But according to the dictionary explanations, what we have as an adjective can be expressed by a combination of these three adjectives.

I was wondering if you could let me know if there is a better adjective including all my definitions in English at all? If nit how can I combine these three words in a proper way?


texts:
The road slopes down through the foothills on the south side of the
  Lubéron before joining up with the amateur Grand Prix that takes place
  every day on the RN7, the Nationale Sept that has eliminated more
  motorists over the years than is comfortable to think about as one
  waits for a gap in the traffic.

( A Year In Provence - Mayle Peter)

What is the subject of "is comfortable"?

Thank you.


texts:
I think of the word "bread" .

  I find the phrase "advancing forward" fabulous.

In these I couldn’t understand why “bread” and “advancing forward”  is used after “phrase” and “word”. But as far as I have searched on the internet , we should say ;

  Buy one get one free offer

Instead of

  The offer ”buy one get one free”.

Why we should use this phrase before offer. Doesn’t it have the same structure as the phrases above?


texts: What is the difference between “tedious” and “bored”? Are they identical or are there nuances?

texts:
As I compile my vocabulary list, I pass by a lot of words that seem identical. For example, “tedious” and “bored”. I've researched the two words:

bored: feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one's current activity
tedious: too long, slow, or dull: tiresome or monotonous.

Does that imply that tedious is doing something that I like (but the process is slow so I say it's a tedious task), but bored is when I do something that I don't like or have no interest in, for example doing homework for school?
Are these words identical or do they have subtle nuances? If there are differences, then when should I use each word?


texts:
I asked a person to guess my nationality from my accent. And after a few attempts he figured it out. Then I said:
"What was it that that gave it/me away?"
I'm not sure if I should use 'it' or 'me' here and what difference they make.
Can I also say- "What gave it/me away."


texts:
I read this sentence in an article, Is that means Loum is the Chinese merchant or you can identify Loum's identity by the Chinese merchant?

Here's the sentence,

  It is this fact which most strongly supports an identification of Loum with the Chinese merchant


texts: What does the phrase "move back up" mean here?

texts:
Please help me figure out the meaning of the phrase "move back up" in the following text from the description of the game aiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat:

If you are stuck on one particularly tricky section, lower the
difficulty level to try it with fewer notes. Once you master that,
move back up.

Here is a description of the game from a different source (Apple App Store) :

Sync to the rhythm and drum away to those notes!
The traditional Japanese drumming rhythm game, Taiko no Tatsujin,
comes to Apple Arcade.
Sync to the rhythm and drum away to those notes!


texts:
I was reading this question Future pluperfect and was really interested in how real is the Future Pluperfect tense.

I found this information:

This is from "The Future Pluperfect: Double Tenses in American English Auxiliaries" by Carole E. Chaski. American Speech. Vol. 70, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 3-20

The interesting part is the sentence:

John will had run the race by the time we arrive.

Is this information true? can we indeed use the Future Pluperfect tense the way it's used here?


texts: Shall I omit the second to in this sentence?

texts:
I am learning how to write complex sentences.
(I am writing an email to a friend who can not stop laughing for some reason)

  There are no reasons for you to keep laughing or to suspect that I did
  that funny things on purpose.

Shall I omit the second preposition, to in the above sentence?
If yes, what is this kind of grammar called?


texts: What's the meaning of "take out" in this context?

texts:
It seems he is talking about a third book and about the poem that he put in that,am I right?

INTERVIEWER

I was struck on reading Land of Unlikeness by the difference between the poems you rejected for Lord Weary’s Castle and the few poems and passages that you took over into the new book.

LOWELL

I think I took almost a third, but almost all of what I took was rewritten. But I wonder what struck you?

INTERVIEWER

One thing was that almost all the rejected poems seemed to me to be those that Tate, who in his introduction spoke about two kinds of poetry in the book, said were the more strictly religious and strictly symbolic poems, as against the poems he said were perhaps more powerful because more experienced or relying more on your sense of history. What you took seemed really superior to what you left behind.

LOWELL

Yes, I took out several that were paraphrases of early Christian poems, and I rejected one rather dry abstraction, then whatever seemed to me to have a messy violence. All the poems have religious imagery, I think, but the ones I took were more concrete. That’s what the book was moving toward: less symbolic imagery. And as I say, I tried to take some of the less fierce poems. There seemed to be too much twisting and disgust in the first book.


texts:
What should I say when talking about a payment plan I have with my mobile carrier?
Should I call it Phone lease? or Phone leasing?

what is the difference between these two words if there's any?


texts: clean water with any coloring could be viewed as cloudy, is my understanding right?

texts:
This video is showing some cloudy water.

cambridge explains cloudy as "not transparent".

According to which, I guess clean water with any coloring could be viewed as cloudy, adding something like mud could also be viewed as cloudy, is my understanding right?


texts:
I thought about how if Mike had been along, we wouldn't have talked about a lot of those things,
  You can't help thinking about how if you could get him off the phone, you might be able to work some sales deals with him
  I think this is a good thing. I know it isn't always. I am pleased that my widowed mother, who can hardly walk now, has the Mets during the season. But I know how bereft she is when the season ends. For Doris baseball was good. For my mother it is both good and bad. For me it is a diversion. But sometimes I think about how if something really horrible happened to me, it might have to become my life.

Here, what do you mean by how here?

Is how the same as the fact that?


texts:
I was writing an answer on StackOverflow and came up with this sentence

  The more buckets are allocated, the less the load factor gets. (x ?)

It sounds a bit off to me because of "the more buckets". Bucket is a countable noun, and I'm not sure if "the more" can precede it.

Apparently, I wanted to go with the "the more...the less" phrase. Specifically, I wanted to emphasise "buckets being allocated" rather than "a number of buckets specified".

I am not sure about this either...

  The greater buckets are allocated, the less the load factor gets. (x)

  The greater the number of buckets is, the less the load factor gets. (v ?)

  The more the number of buckets is, the less the load factor gets. (x)

Please, correct me.


texts: Online classes are/is not a good medium of education

texts:
Online classes are not a good medium of education.
Online classes is not a good medium of education.

Given that this is the only context available. I don't know why but I think #2 is correct in this case, since we are probably talking about the concept of “online classes”, but I am not sure since it could also be #1 because of the fact that it has a plural noun, i.e., “online classes”. Which sentence is correct? Also if #2 is correct, should we put online classes in inverted commas?


texts: Water glasses and coffee cups: Do they "turn over" or "flip over"?

texts:
If I hit a glass so it "turns over", can I then say I accidentally flipped it over?

I managed to spill coffee all over me today. I see that dictionaries suggest "flip over", but just wanted to get it confirmed. And what about "turn over"?


texts: The definite article before a nount and the word "of" in context

texts:
Tell me please which of the following sentences is correct.
1 "Advocates of responsible journalism tend to do their work properly."
2 "The advocates of responsible journalism tend to do their work properly."
Although those sentences is not about some specific journalists, they are about journalists in general, I thing that "the" is needed because "responsible journalism" describes which advocates. Tell me please if I am wrong.


texts: When can I use present continuous for think?


texts: Why is "president-elect" grammatically correct? Shouldn't it be "president-elected" or "elected president"?


texts:
It's "Those who work at university are smart." or "Those who work at universities smart"?

There are many different universities for the mentioned people, but I just want to regard them as a whole/categorizing them in "university" category, it should be singular or plural in this case?

If both can be used grammatically please tell me the difference between meaning.


texts: Which one is correct: "in my previous job" or "at my previous job"?

texts:
Could you tell me which one is correct: in my previous job or at my previous job? For example:

At my previous job, I taught adults and children.
In my previous job, I taught adults and children.

I was reading a book in which the author, native speaker of English, used at my previous job. I have never seen at my previous job being used. So I asked a friend of mine, who is also a native speaker of English. She told me that at my previous job sounds wrong to her. That made me wonder which one is standard English. If both are fine, is there a nuance of meaning between them?


texts:
Here is the original sentence:

  The publisher's alterations to a book are difficult for a writer, as
  is the book creation as the book grows.

Could anyone help explain how the second clause is relevant to the first one? Also point out what kind of grammar it shows. It seems like a comparison between the book creation and the alterations to books. My attempt to paraphrase:

  When the book grows, the publisher's alterations to a book are as
  difficult as the book creation is for a writer.


texts:
In the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary there is an example:

  The Director is currently having talks in the US.

Based on this example can I write:

  Currently, I am having two common projects with Mr "A" and Mr "B".


texts: "Mentioned by commenters" or "mentioned by THE commenters"?

texts:
I have a question about the definite article "the". Suppose I posted a question and some commenters commented on it. Now someone else wrote an answer to my question and wants to write something mentioned by the commenters on my question. What would the answerer write?
a) Mentioned by commenters?
or
b) Mentioned by THE commenters?
b) sounds unnatural to me but also seems correct to me. a) sounds correct but without "the", it may be incorrect. Which one would the answerer write?
Thanks for your help!


texts: Use of "before" as a clause at the end of a question using the past simple?

texts:
In the question:

Did you teach your grandma something before?

Can the "before" clause be placed there or is the question incomplete?


texts: "Of all the stupid things to do!" - elliptical?

texts:
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary's article for "all" contains the following example for the section "of all the..."

  I've locked myself out. Of all the stupid things to do!

According to the article, the meaning of the expression "of all the..." is "to express anger".

I understand that the second sentence of the two cited above, since beginning with "of all the...", has the purpose to express anger about having locked theirselves out. But how the rest of this sentence ("stupid things to do") is connected to its beginning and to the first sentence? Is that a kind of an elliptical remark?


texts: the best one for learning on -- I'm exactly not sure what "learning on" means here

texts:
Source: Getting Started with Arduino, 3rd Edition by Massimo Banzi and Michael Shiloh (2015)

Example:

  There are many versions of this board; the one we’ll use throughout this book is the Arduino Uno, which is the simplest one to use and the best one for learning on.

to learn on, I would reckon, typically means to continue learning something, but from the context of this passage and the fact that it has only been a few pages of the book since I started reading it, it doesn't really sound like what they mean is that the Arduino microcontroller board is the best one for continuing your learning process.


texts: Is there a list of words that are known by all english speakers?

texts:
Sometimes one finds a word he doesn't know .. but is there a list of words which could be memorized over several months maybe a list of words .. I don't need a short one or one with easy vocabs or repeated vocabs .. but also I don't want a huge list which has words which are not known by speakers ..

I think it's not 3000 words of oxford or else because lots of them are already known and there are words outside this list which are used also in language .. what do you suggest?


texts: What is the meaning of the Michael words: "What did you stuff for her? Mr. Johnson?"

texts:
In The Lost Boys, Grandpa leaving the house & Michael say this words to him:

  Grandpa: Just going to drop by some of my handiwork to the Widow
  Johnson.

  Michael: What did you stuff for her? Mr. Johnson?

  Grandpa: Yeah, well, I'll see you two guys later.

  Sam: That wasn't funny, Mike.


texts: "Man dies after hit by truck" - or "Man dies after BEING hit by truck" - the difference?

texts:
What is the use of being in below sentence?

  Man dies after being hit by truck.

  Man dies after hit by truck.


texts: A formal term for a list of events that have transpired

texts:
I'm trying to pick a good name for a concept. We have previously completed actions (e.g., file uploads or admissions approved) and those constitute a list that historically speaking is "what's been up", so to speak.

At the moment, we're using a Swedish term for it and translating that, gives me history. However, in the original language, there are two different terms: historia and historik with slightly different connotation as to how extensive the details presented are.

The former will provide more complete descriptions and connotations, whereas the latter settles merely for a list of events. It's the second one that I'm going for.

Is the term history the only I have to go on or is there a better, formal one?


texts: "I am slipped down by a skateboard." Is is correct?

texts:
I am slipped down by a skateboard.

Or

Skateboard slips me down.

Are both of these correct?
If these are wrong, how to make it correct?


texts: The preposition "to" after the verb "write"

texts:
Raymond Murphy says to use the preposition "to" after the verb "write" (write a letter to somebody), but the famous song contains following words:

I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter.

How can you explain that? Thank you in advance.


texts: "to build" or "to be built" or "to have built"

texts:
In an English textbook, I found the following sentence.

a. "The Swiss tunnel took 17 years to build."

(The full article follows.)
"A tunnel" is supposed to be built, so I think

b. The Swiss tunnel took 17 years "to be built".

According to a native speaker, "a." is much better.
Is "build" an intransitive verb in sentence a.?

In Switzerland, a train has made the first trip using the world’s longest railway tunnel. The tunnel goes through the Alps.
It connects Zurich and Lugano.
The train left Zurich on December 11, carrying about 500 passengers. It passed through the 57.1-kilometer-long Gotthard Base Tunnel.
“This is a historic moment,” a male passenger said. “I really wanted to be part of it.”
At the end of the two-hour ride, the train reached Lugano.
Passengers were welcomed by crowds and musicians at a train platform.


texts:
The misfortunes of oil have been hard on the Canadian currency,
  which has followed oil prices lower. Canada's economy is dependent on oil and economists believe falling prices will slow 2015
  growth.(Canadian dollar plunges to 5-year low as oil dips below $60 -
  CBC news Dec. 11 2014)

Does the bold part mean "which came after oil prices lower"?
If so, why "oil prices lower" instead of "lower oil prices"?  Thank you.


texts:
I was searching around i could not find anything. I heard it in a song, maybe it's a metaphor or idiom. I don't know. The song's from Kanye West & The-Dream. The-Dream is sayin'

  No one wants to fall out of heaven

The song is also called like that

Maybe do you know what that means?


texts: Should I use "a X time", "the X time", "for a X time", or "for the X time"?

texts:
Example sentence:

  He apologized (for) a/the third time, and I held back my complains
  (for) a/the tenth.

What's the correct construction? And why?


texts: "She very wants to do it" instead of "She wants to do it very much"

texts:
Is the sentence

  "She very wants to do it."

could be correct in a meaning of:

  She wants to do it very much.

?

I mean to ask if it is a grammatical sentence at all.


texts: the tag of "LANGUAGE" in the Cambridge Dictionary

texts:
There are two different meanings of "complement" on the Cambridge Dictionary.

to make something else seem better or more attractive when combining with it

and

a part of a clause that usually follows the verb in English and adds more information about the subject or object

with the latter, the dictionary tags it as "LANGUAGE"

I guess the tag means the word "complement" serves as a English grammar term with that meaning.
By "term", I mean

a word or expression used in relation to a particular subject, often to describe something official or technical

From the Cambridge Dictionary

In this context, the "particular subject" is English grammar.
In contrast, the first meaning does not serves as a term. Could I call it "plain English"?
Similarly, "antonym" is an English grammar term while "opposite" is not.
Is my understanding correct?
If that is what it means, why the dictionary doesn't give "synonym" that tag? If "synonym" is just plain English, what is the corresponding English grammar term?


texts: What does "a proxy" mean in the context of this statistical joke?

texts:
“Let us remember the unfortunate econometrician who, in one of the major functions of his system, had to use a proxy for risk and a dummy for sex.”

I understand why the second part is funny (a dummy for sex can be understood as a sex doll), but I do not get the first part. I found that a proxy can mean either

the authority to represent someone else, especially in voting; or
a figure that can be used to represent the value of something in a calculation

It was the second meaning that the econometrician had in mind. But how does the first meaning fit in with risk? Or is there another meaning that makes a proxy for risk funny?


texts:
Couldn't you explain the meaning of the following simple sentence (the standalone sentence, provided as an example from PEU)

  They're widening the road here

What confused me was that the phrase they're widening means to become wider. The first thought that popped into my head was that the road was getting wider there, but the road is a singular count noun.


texts: Can I use ‘because of’ in the place 'out of'?

texts:
Source: http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/out

[reason] because of a particular feeling that you have

  -They obeyed him out of fear rather than respect.
  -Just out of curiosity, why did you take that job?
  -I asked out of curiosity.
  -She did it out of spite.

Can I use ‘because of’ here in the place 'out of' ?


texts: Which one is correct in present perfect?

texts:
I have confusion about the following sentences.

I have never seen these flowers before (what have they been called).

I have never seen these flowers before (what are they called).

I have never seen these flowers before (what are they being called).


texts:
There will be Jay, Jenny and I/me/myself at dinner.

Which is the most formal here?


texts:
Is it right to say 'You destiny is in your hand'?
Or it's better to say 'Your destiny is in your hands?


texts:
Which is/are correct. Are they mean the same?

  The senior doctor attended to the patient very quietly.

  The senior doctor attended upon the patient very quietly.


texts: Is "There's a parcel come for you" grammatical?

texts:
This is a sentence from a text book:

  There's a parcel come for you.

I think it should be

  There's a parcel has come for you.

Am I wrong?

EDIT 20 OCT

I know in some cases be-perfect is still used today, for example:

  I'm finished.

My first example will be grammatical,
if be-perfect is permissible as Victor Bazarov suggested.

But, does it sound natural for native speakers?

EDIT 21 OCT

I've tried a google book search using "There's a parcel come for you". I got five hits. One of them, a playscript from Classworks Fiction and Poetry Year 4
 By Eileen Jones published in 2004, seems to be in a modern situation.

  [Pause: Music]
  LILY ROSE:[calling] Kate! Kate Ruggles! Kate! Mum wants you.
  KATE: Com - ing, Lily Rose.
  MUM: There's - a - parcel - come - for - you - wherever - have - you - been -to?
  KATE: A parcel... for me?
  LILY ROSE: Oh open it - go on - do - quick!

Maulik V and Kaz pointed out that "that (or which)" cannot be omitted in "There's a parcel (that) has come for you". It is mentioned in CGEL:

    i It was my father [_did most of the talking]. [it-cleft]
    ii There's someone at the door [_wants to talk to you]. [existential]

  The status of [i-ii], where the relative clause functions within an it-cleft and existential construction respectively, is less certain: they fall at the
  boundary between very informal and non-standard.

But in A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language Longman 1985:

    There's something (that) keeps upsetting him. [ 1 ]

  It is interesting that the relative pronoun that in the 'annex' clause of [I] can be omitted (especially in informal usage) even when it is subject of the
  relative clause; something not permissible according to the normal rule for
  relative clause formation.


texts: Understanding “Putin’s fiercest critics worry he's pushing to take over territory”

texts:
Putin's fiercest¹ critics worry he's pushing² to take over³ territory⁴Source: CNN World – What is Putin's endgame in Ukraine? – Story Highlights

Does the word “fiercest” mean most serious?
What does the word “pushing” mean?
What place is the word “territory” referring to? Ukraine?
What does “take over” mean?


texts: The word "go" with different kinds of "sounds"

texts:
I heard the sentence from someone:

  When we prickle a balloon with a needle it goes bang!

Is the sentence valid?

Can I say:

  It goes swish.

as well?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is "Do you like travel deep into the universe?" correct in English? Should it be "Do you like travelling deep into the universe?"


texts:
A cab driver drops a customer off at a house where there's a party.
Cab driver: Hey, I was wondering, you need a ride home later? 'Cause if you do, I could just wait for you out here.
Is my use of "I was wondering" completely natural?


texts: What is the difference between sheet and spreadsheet?

texts:
As an English learner, I sometimes got confused the difference between spreadsheet and sheet.
Though I know what they mean, it seems that they both are referring to data in a table.
If I Google these words, most of the results are about how to use the software or features of the software.
However, I would really like to know what is the difference and why the word "spread" is used in the word.
Thanks


texts: How to caution your opinion or judgement may sound biased in an idiomatic way?

texts:
I was talking with my friend about my brother. My friend was a bit critical of my brother because of something he did. "My brother is one of the finest people", I told my friend. How can I introduce that sentence in an idiomatic way with another sentence suggesting my judgement or testimony my not be taken seriously and may sound biased because of the blood relationship with my brother?
Something along the lines of:
Look, my judgement may sound biased but he is one of the finest people.


texts: Expressing mixed feeling of both scared and sad

texts:
Sometime when I shout at my kids, they get scared and also they get sad. How do express this mixed feeling in writing? I wrote as below where Tommy refers my son. Is that the correct way?

  Tommy, scared, looked at me sadly.


texts: "across" or "through" when you still inside somewhere?

texts:
He walked through the room. (He enters, walks through and exits
  + we know he was out of the room at the start)

  He walked across the room.   (He walks from one side of the room
  to the other side, but still inside, doesn't go out of the room + we
  don't know if he was inside the room at the start?)

As far as I know, if you say "go or walk etc." "through something" that means you were outside that thing(at the start) then yo go inside that thing then exist.

Then I saw I sentences like this:

  Walking through the city after dark is not a good idea, you might get mugged.

I have questions :

1- Is it correct to use "through" if you are still inside that thing? Although you are still inside the city, he used "through" in the example above.

2- When we use "go,walk through etc.", do I imply you have to go all the way to the end and exit? I mean does "walk through the city" mean start walking at one side of the city to the other side of it then exit ?


texts:
What (preferably single-word) verb could I use instead of making their way in sentence below?

  Vehicles making their way through the streets

If I was talking about people, I could say "People walking down the streets" instead of making their way, but that wouldn't work for cars and other vehicles.

Does "Vehicles moving through streets" sounds good?

Thanks!


texts: Is there any phrase or idiom meaning "I wish you were there too" or "it was good if you were there also"?

texts:
In Persian we have an idiom literally meaning "I wish you were there too"  or "it was good if you were there also".

For example, if you had been in party and a friend had not been there you may say to him/her "I wish you were there too".
Is there any idiom or expression in English with the same meaning?

The gloss of the expression is:

  Your place was empty.


texts:
I was watching an English Movie in which children were searching for jobs, their parent asked one of them:

  How's the job hunt coming ?

Is this sentence correct? Is this same as "how's the job hunt going on?"?
Which sentence is the most appropriate?


texts:
I couldn’t find my glasses’s  box which  was given by my father.

In this sentence “which “ modifed “box”  . We understand that box was given by my father.

  I couldn’t find box of my glasses which  was given by my father.

And in this sentence which modified ”glasses.

I know these sentences have different meaning . But I wonder if second sentence can be understood in two different way.I mean can it mean either glasses or box may have given by my father ?


texts:
I wrote

  In particular, we employ textual delimiters and semantic cues within the content to identify data regions and build the content structure.

or

  In particular, we employ textual delimiters and semantic cues within the content to identify data regions , thus building the content structure.

building the content structure is a consequence of the previous clause.
Actually, we identify data regions, the structure of these regions makes the content structure.

the cause is not so direct that I can use "thus" or "to", yet not so shallow that I use "and".

how can I show that with some structure or words?

To get the context, the whole abstract so far is

  In this paper, we present an approach and a system, called ABDES, for constructing web wrappers to extract data records from a web page. In our approach, we simulate the way a human user scans a web page for specific data. In particular, we rely on textual delimiters and identifiable constants or patterns within the page content to recognize data regions. Based on the extracted data, the content structure is built and mapped onto a hierarchical XML structure as output. The system provides robust and maintainable wrappers that are not tailored to the HTML structure of the page. As a result, they can be adapted to gather and integrate information from various websites. We offer a polynomial-time algorithm to implement the proposed technique.


texts:
In August 2018, Hersh said “the story of novichok poisoning has not held up very well. He [Skripal] was most likely talking to British intelligence services about Russian organised crime”. He said the contamination of other victims was “suggestive ... of organised crime elements rather than state-sponsored actions – though this files (sic) in the face of the UK government's position.”

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Hersh

Can you help me with understanding the passage in bold of the above text? Does it mean that this (the opinion that the death of Skripal was not a political murder) contradicts the position that holds the UK government?


texts:
I'd like to know if the following sentence is correct:

  I took care of where you will sleep.

On one hand, the part of where sounds strange to me, but on the other hand, I can't think of a grammar rule that would forbid that.

Is it correct to say that? Wht? Why not?


texts: What is the meaning of "they finished what was left of their kiwi salad"?

texts:
What is the meaning of "they finished what was left of their kiwi salad"
in the following sentence?

  Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry took off their shoes and put their feet
  in the water. They filled their cups with apple tea. They chewed their
  tomato sandwiches. And they finished what was left of their kiwi
  salad.

Does it mean "When they finished eating, they left their kiwi salad"?

What does "what" in the sentence mean?


texts: Meaning of the phrasal verb "set up" in context

texts:
It's from the 17th episode of the 10th season  of Friends. Here is the context:
Rachel: Hi! So I just dropped Emma off at my mom's.
Ross: Okay.
Joey: Oh, you're not taking her with you tonight?
Rachel: No, we decided that I would go ahead and set up first, and then my mom would bring Emma to Paris on Sunday.
I have checked a few dictionaries, but no defenition provided by them, it seems, doesn't fit.


texts: What verb should I use for somebody who thinks that what given as proof doesn't prove what it should?

texts:
I am looking for the equivalent of the Italian contestare; in particular, I am looking for a verb to use for a proof, which for me is not a proof at all, and that I would use in a sentence similar to the following one:

  She told me something I could not […].

Google Translate gave me the following possible translations:

Challenge (sfidare, contestare, provocare)
Dispute (contestare, disputare, discutere)
Contest (contestare, impugnare, contendere, disputare)
Deny (negare, rifiutare, rinnegare, smentire, contestare, licenziare)

Contest seems to the right word when it is used to mean "to formally oppose a decision or statement because you think it is wrong." Contestare is generally a word used in formal context, even if it could be used outside the court.
Dispute seems the right word when it is used to mean "to question whether something is true and valid."
Challenge could be the right word ("to question whether something is true and valid"), but looking at the example given from the OALD, I doubt it applies to my case.

  The story was completely untrue and was successfully challenged in court.

Deny (when it means "to say that something is not true") doesn't seem to be the right word, as it is more a matter of questioning that what said is true, rather than saying it is not true.

Which verb should I use?


texts:
What's the real difference between "in front of" and "at the front of"?

Can I say "At the front of the house"?


texts:
I went through this question but I have context defined.
The context:
She's dear to me and I don't want to leave any stone unturned wishing her success in her exams.
The nuance as I understand it:
While 'Best of Luck' still suggests (selected answer) her making some efforts to make the best of her luck, my wish of all the best conveys the message of whatever happens, it should be the best. This should be beyond her efforts and purely luck.
Example
For instance, out of 10 chapters from the syllabus, she made great efforts and she's through with 9 of them as while getting on the tenth, she fell sick.
The result

My wish best of luck (she has to do efforts to make the best of her whatever luck) applied and the majority of the questions came from Chapter 10!
My wish all the best worked and majority of the questions came from Chapter 1-9.

Am I right? Which greeting conveys that even though your efforts don't come in use, let the luck play its role and offers you the best.


texts: Two sentences from Boston Legal that confuse me

texts:
You've had five marriages dissolve

Grammatically, should this sentence be "You've had five marriages dissolved?" Just like the structure "I got my hair done"

  Well, here's a flash for you. We're all desperate to be relevant.

In this sentence, what's the meaning of "to be relevant"?


texts:
Which of the following sentence is grammatically (more) correct?

  It's not your problem but your friend's.

  It's not your problem but your friend's instead.


texts:
What does "caned" mean in football (soccer) context?
60 min GOAL! Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City (Balotelli)
Outstanding work from City! Silva looks to be pinned down in the area, but releases James Milner with a sumptuous back-heel. Milner whips the ball across the face of goal, and Balotelli has the simplest of finishes at the back post! This is getting slightly surreal, no? United are getting caned. Not by Chelsea, not by Liverpool, not by Arsenal, but by Manchester City. The team of Richard Edghill and Ian Brightwell. Baffling.


texts:
According to these two links link1 link2, we should use bare infinitive after  “But, than, except”
But I have read the below sentence somewhere

She had no choice except to wait for the next train.

So is this sentence wrong?


texts:
what is the difference between these  sentences, are they correct?

once it has been shipped, I will let you know how much I paid for the postage.

once it is shipped, I will let you know how much I paid for the postage.


texts: In my absence in/over..? How to specify the period correctly

texts:
I would like to know whether the following is correct or should be improved:

  John will stand in for me in my absence over the next week and half.

I am especially unsure about the preposition (over).


texts:
I am not quite sure about which prepositions I may use with the verb "warp."
Are the following sentences correct?

Please wrap the food in tinfoil.
Please wrap the food up in tinfoil.
Please wrap up the food in tinfoil.
Please wrap the tinfoil around the food.
I don't know why but the chair is wrapped (up) with tinfoil.
I wrap it with tinfoil.

I think the first ones are correct but I am not so sure about the last two sentences.
Could you perhaps also explain if there is any difference between to wrap and to wrap up?


texts: Identify piece of grammar: "Included in this section is a description of a typical system"

texts:
Here are some phrases:

Included in this section is a description of a typical system.
Acting upon a body are few forces which cannot be neglected.
Connected with this phenomenon are also some other changes.
Important as this work is, it does not cover the problem on the whole.

My first question is it English at all? Are these valid English sentences? The sentences look so alien to me.

If yes, what piece of grammar is it? Is it some kind of inversion? When and how do I use it (in everyday life)?


texts:
Source

  Seeman comes from a lower middle-class family, is in touch with grassroots workers, travels, with them, eats and stays with them too.

This is from an article in a newspaper. I wondered if there's really any need to put it after travels.


texts:
Can you suggest similar expressions to "what's happening"?

The first that came up to me are:

  What's going on?
  What's up?

I am learning English, I am in a small country in Europe. I am looking for other ways to say it :

Uncommon ways
Funny and/or playing with words or double meanings
Used in the past
Very new, used in streets or only for very young people
Common in a zone. For instance, only used in Bonton area
...


texts: "I didn't start yet" vs. "I haven't started yet"

texts:
I was recently having a conversation with a non-native English speaker, and found his use of the phrase "I didn't start yet" wrong somehow. I corrected it to "I haven't started yet", but I don't fully understand why this is the case, or even if I'm correct in suggesting this change.

For context, the exchange went something like:

  Me: "Just send me where you're up to in your assignment."

  Him: "I didn't start yet."

  Me: "That sounds wrong. I think you mean 'I haven't started yet'."

Hope the answer helps anyone else learning the insanity of English.


texts: Intimidate - Always to threaten and fill with fear?

texts:
I work in the IT field (software development). Whenever we get some task to do I hear my supervisors saying,

  I will intimidate him regarding this (to do some task).

When I searched I found that the meaning of intimidate contains some threatening voice or fear in it. But I am sure that my supervisors didn't say it in that sense.

So is what they said above a correct usage? And does the word intimidate has a 'soft' meaning like inform (which I couldn't find) which would be more suitable here?


texts: "There is something on the wall" or "on the wall there is something"

texts:
Is there any problem with saying what title suggests?

"On one of the walls there are three spots" or "There are three spots on one of the walls". Both are grammatical, I suppose, but is there anything wrong with the former? Stylistically wrong or otherwise. I would go for the latter at any rate, but may be that's just how I have been taught to do. Am I not getting some fine differences?


texts: What does this phrase mean: "Only Unreasonable Restraint of Trade Forbidden"?

texts:
Does "Only Unreasonable Restraint of Trade Forbidden" refer to "Only Unreasonable Restraint of Trade Is Forbidden"?
Would you like to rewrite the phrase in more words so that I can understand it clearly?

Standard Oil Company Must Dissolve in 6 Months; Only Unreasonable Restraint of Trade Forbidden
And of Such Unreasonable Restraint the Supreme Court Finds the Standard Guilty

Source: NYTimes Archive


texts:
to ride in a limousine
to ride a limousine

I'm wondering if the above phrases make sense grammarly?


texts: Using "They are" vs. Using "He is" multiple times

texts:
Q : Who are they?

Which answer is correct in grammar?

  A1: They are Roy, Ryo, And Ory.
  A2: He is Roy, he is Ryo, and he is Ory.


texts: How to choose from 'There is no chair / There isn't a chair / There are no chairs / There aren't any chairs'?

texts:
This question might seem a bit of a cliche. I looked for duplicates and found two but the answers were not convincing. I even went through other forums to find similar questions; interestingly the respondents weren't sure at all or gave irrelevant answers. So, I'm going to be clear as much as possible and keep things to the point to get the point I'm looking for.

I know all about singular/plural countable or uncountable thing about these structures and possible grammatical sentences out of them. My question is probably about the register, being more common, expectation, emphasis, or something like that.

Where do native speakers tend to say each of these statements and why?

  There is no chair here.

  There isn't a chair here.

  There are no chairs here.

  There aren't any chairs here.

I think there must be something that determines which structure to be used or preferred to the other one. What is that?!

If someone asks me "Why did you say, 'there aren't any chairs here' and not 'there is no chair here'" what should I say?! Why would I choose singular form over plural form?!

Actually a junior language learner asked me that and I wasn't sure how to answer!


texts: The balance is tilted / has been tilted / is tilting?

texts:
Given a picture like this:
http://www.mediate.com/mpdimages/ACF3301.jpg

what's the most appropriate expression to describe it?

The balance is tilted.
The balance tilts.
The balance has been tilted.
The balance is tilting.

What I want to say is the balance is not level (now).


texts: Took the liberty of vs Took the liberty for

texts:
I'm not sure which sentence to use:

I've took the liberty of doing it. vs
I've took the liberty to do it.

The complete context would be:

  Last month we discussed adding a paragraph about worms in the
  third chapter. I've took the liberty ________.

Thank you.


texts:
Can verb, infinitive, and gerund be used together? Especially in this sentence:

  That book has helped me to overcome my struggling.

Helped + To overcome + Struggling


texts: Can we use "help someone make" before some description of them?

texts:
a. These feats have helped her make the most successful woman in American ski racing history.

b. These feats have helped make her the most successful woman in American ski racing history.

Is the sentence (a) grammatically wrong? Then, why?


texts:
Are 'I can tell you/ I'm telling you/ I tell you' interchangeable and used to emphasize that you're telling the truth? For example:

I can tell you that he's lying.
I'm telling you, he's really good at this game.
You'll lose against him. I tell you.


texts: Is it correct to use the word "free" in the sense if not being busy?

texts:
Is the use of the verb free correct in the following sentence?

  I am free on Monday, so we could go out.


texts: What's the correct phrase ? " receiving gold medal in math subject or gold medal for math subject?"

texts:
Which is correct?

  he receives gold in math

Or

  he receives gold for math


texts:
"His affection for the melting pot expressed, too, the personal delight he took in crossing social boundaries and meeting diverse groups of people”

This is a quote from "Duties Of American Citizenship" by Theodore Roosevelt.

I kind of don't get it. I have tried searching it up but it still makes no sense at all. Can Someone explain it to me please...


texts:
Population:

male is 100
female is 90

  The population of males is higher than their "gender counterpart"

Or

  The population of males is higher than their "female counterpart"

Let's say you are trying your best to find the synonym of "female", so you used the bold words above.
Which of the two is the correct English words that is equivalent to the word female?


texts:
Can you sweep up only objects or places too?
And what about sweep out- what's the difference between sweep out and sweep up?

Somebody's going to have to sweep up (/out?) all these shards here
Somebody's going to have to sweep up (/out) this room- there are shards all over the place.

And can sweep up be used only to mean "sweep" without mentioning the place or object? What about sweep out?

Example: I was sweeping up (out?)  yesterday and found that gold ring I told you about.


texts: How to explain non-continous verbs to beginners?

texts:
I am strongly opposing an approach, when person learning language should rote learn anything. Trying to understand sense and structure of a language seems more appropriate.

I am trying to explain non-continuous verbs, but it appeared very hard to do on practice. E.g.:

You can't say "wanting", because you either "want" or "don't want".
You can't have started "wanting" five minutes ago and
    expect to finish "wanting" in five minutes.
Same explanation applies to other non-continuous verbs.

Still it's not very clear for beginners. How to explain subject in a clearer way?


texts:
The source of this dialog can be found here.

  MARK:
  And this trip. I didn't know there were tornadoes.
  SARAH:
  It's OK. It's not your fault.
  MARK:
  I had it all figured out. I messed it up. I thought that I just—

According what I have found in the dictionaries. "I had it all figured out" means "I had understood all of it" but I am not sure. I guess the meaning of that sentence might be something else. Am I right or not?


texts:
He was grinning at her, one hand wheeling as the other pushed him up
  to a sitting position and then steadying his legs as he got to his
  feet.

He is on the floor, fallen, and he is trying to reach her. He was chasing her when he fell, and she fell too. What does it mean when it says one of his hands was wheeling?


texts: Which word best describes 'Al Bore'? - Test 2, Q41, p 125, by Mark Shepherd

texts:
In America, politics is often thought to be more based on personalities than
policies and party unity. This was probably more true in the 2000 campaign when the
Republican Party played on Al Gore’s surname, tagging him ‘Al Bore’. Likewise, the
Democrats retaliated by digging up political dirt on George W. Bush’s past business
life playing on the fact of whether a man with Bush’s alleged background in business
and earlier lifestyle problems could make a trusted national leader.

41 Which word best describes the Republican Party’s characterisation of Al Gore
in the 2000 election campaign?
(a) Threat
(b) Untruth
(c) Compliment
(d) Caricature
(e) Likeness

(a) INCORRECT. The nature of the description, and the way in which it was used,
does not appear threatening.
(b) INCORRECT. The implication is that the image portrayed was an exaggeration,
not a complete untruth.
(d) CORRECT. A caricature is a depiction of someone that makes part of their
character or appearance more noticeable than it really is, usually to make them
look silly.
(e) INCORRECT. Whilst there may be elements of truth in the caricature, the
description in itself is very limited and cannot be said to provide a good overall
likeness.

  I accept (d) as a possible answer, but why are (a) and (b) wrong?
  (a): If I call someone boring, then I'm threatening his image?
  (b): How does the passage alone confirm this as an exaggeration, and not an untruth?

Source: p 125, Mastering the National Admissions Test for Law, Mark Shepherd


texts: A comparison between Grade, Mark, Score and Point

texts:
Let's suppose a teacher wants to punish a student and wants to decrease his / her achieved points on a test paper; he would say something to the student; I would like to know which one of the following self-made examples may work here:

  I have to take two marks of you.
  I have to take two grades of you.
  I have to take two scores of you.
  I have to take two points of you.

For me all the first three mean the same and though the last one is not the same, but works here either. I need to get your feedback.


texts:
I swim every day/Monday.

But could I say:

  I swim each day/Monday.

PS: I know there are already questions like this, but please, try to understand my question before marking it duplicate without asking me if the other one replies to my question. I already read the other page, but I ask here if I can use it IN THE PRECISE EXAMPLES I HAVE GIVEN.

(forced to emphasize a lot, because very often people here read only half of the question, and mark it as duplicate)


texts: except drink / to drink / drinking - difference

texts:
She had nothing to eat except drink water
  She had nothing to eat except to drink water?
  She had nothing to eat except drinking water

Are all the above sentences grammatical? IF So, What is the difference between those sentences?


texts: The Meaning of "to fall into the same essence"

texts:
Can I be told what is meant by this sentence in some other way?

X falls into the same essence that is at the heart of Y. (Source)

( What is meant by "to fall into the same essence" and "the essence that's at the heart of something" )

[[ The paragraph which the sentence is located in the main text: (it's technical though)

Physical protection of any facility maintains the same fundamental requirements: You perform a threat analysis of your site, then you design a system that involves equipment and procedures, and finally you test it for adaptation. The system itself typically has a number of elements that fall into the same essence that is at the heart of protection: deter–detect–delay–respond. ]]


texts: meaning of "I won't let you down" in songs

texts:
I want to know the meaning and also the feeling that is transmitted by the sentence "I won't let you down" in songs.
thank you in anticipation


texts:
The following text comes from the Wiki page for Yukio Mishima where both marital alliance and marriage(to marry) are mentioned in the same sentence.

  After briefly considering a marital alliance with Michiko Shōda (who later married Crown Prince Akihito and is now Empress Michiko[13]), Mishima married Yoko Sugiyama on June 11, 1958.

On searching for marital alliance the definition is given as marriage.

Why not use

  After briefly considering marriage with
  After briefly considering getting married to

Is the term marital alliance being used in deference to the Empress or is there something else going on that is only implied?


texts: Is there any difference between "be hit with a ball" and "be hit by a ball"?

texts:
Is there any difference between be hit with a ball and be hit by a ball? For example:

  One of the players was badly hit with a ball.

  One of the players was badly hit by a ball.


texts: Is correct to say "You press it on to a pad of ink" or should "onto" be always the right choice?

texts:
I just came across this two sentences: You press it onto an pad of ink./You press it on to an ink pad.
Collins Cobuild. COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary KINDLE-ONLY EDITION (Posición en Kindle173077). HarperCollins Publishers. Edición de Kindle.
The thing is, if the separate use of "on and "to" changes the meaning of the sentence in contrast as when you use the preposition "onto". I think it just means the same. I am very


texts: Usage of "call" when arranging a phone call

texts:
Imagine I'm one the phone with somebody and want to postpone the call. I know i can say

  I'll call you tomorrow

or

  Call me tomorrow

But what if I don't want to specify who is calling who? Can I use "call" too? Like

  Let's call tomorrow

What would be the common term to express something like this?


texts: "Duress" in the (archaic) sense of "Forcible restraint or imprisonment."

texts:
I'm currently trying to figure out the exact meaning of the word duress in the sense forcible restraint or imprisonment. The Oxford Dictionary tells me that this meaning of the word is archaic.
I've been searching for examples on Google Books for a while and have found, among others, this sentence:

  It is not always necessary that a person be actually confined within
  the silent walls of a jail or prison to be under duress, restraint, or
  imprisonment.

Context

My question is: what is the special meaning here that sets duress apart from restraint and especially imprisonment so it is listed here together with the two other words?


texts:
I have been wondering that if a wh-word (what, who, which, whom and etc) comes first in a sentence, would it make the sentence a noun clause as well as an interrogative sentence?

Example: When did he go to school?

Is all the sentence above after the wh word "When" considered a noun clause?


texts:
Recently I came across the following sentence,

My birthday party was a trivia themed party.

I tried to find what it means by a trivia themed party, but couldn’t get what it is. Can someone help?


texts: What do you call people filmed in a documentary?

texts:
If I'm watching a documentary about real people, can I say
"The main character of this documentary is a very determined person..."
Can I apply word "character" to real people, or it's only about made-up/fabulous characters from films/novels/fairy tales etc?


texts: Difference between 'appears to be' and 'proves to be' or 'turns out to be'

texts: Is there a difference between 'appears to be' and 'proves to be'? Can I say, when describing the result of a long calculation, that the result appears/proves to be zero? I am certain that the result is zero and 'appears' seems to be inappropriate here because it bears the sense of uncertainty, meaning 'looks like', whereas  'proves' just states the fact. I also believe that 'proves to be' is just a more elevated version of 'turns out to be'. But I rarely find 'proves to be' in textbooks or research papers.


texts:
The fear of death is very puzzling, in a way that regret about the end
  of life is not. It's easy to understand that we might want to have
  more life, more of the things it contains, so that we see death as a
  negative evil. But how can the prospect of your own nonexistence be
  alarming in a positive way?

Thomas Nagel , What does it all mean?

I find the expression "in a way that regret about the end of life is not" very difficult to understand. So could you explain this to me?

I tried to rewrite it like this:

  "The fear of death is very difficult to understand, unlike the regret
  for the end of life"

.

Is my understanding correct?

Thanks


texts: "are not clear on what damage and casualties they're dealing with"

texts:
The recovery effort has begun but authorities are still not clear on just what damage and casu-alties they're dealing with. (ABC.net.au)

  — used to refer to an amount that someone has, uses, etc. ▪ She gave what money she had [=she gave all the money she had] to the homeless man. ▪ Give what excuses you will—it makes no difference. [=no excuses that you may give will make any difference] ▪ He soon gambled away what(little) money he had left. ▪ We spent what (little) time remained chatting.

  Merriam-Webster Learner's “what, adjective #3”

From the dictionary, I guess the OP means but authorities are still not clear on just as much damage and casualties as they’re dealing with. Is this right?


texts: Scrubbed on the paper vs scrubbed at the paper

texts: I was reading a novel. And in the novel I read a sentence where the writer wrote scrubbed at the paper but as per my opinion it should have been scrubbed on the paper. Because the preposition at shows a location. So, if the writer wanted to show the location then it sounds fine. But if the writer wanted to tell that something he scrubbed and he did on a piece of  paper then I think the preposition on should have been used instead at.


texts: Meaning of expression: You may be 'something' but

texts:
What is the meaning of the expression:

  You may be something but...

For example:

  1) You know what, Brian? You may be a dog but you're a pretty cool cat.

  2) The lion may be the king of jungle, but the wolf never performs in the circus.

  3) He may be poor, but he appears to be rich

Does may be with but work here as despite the fact? (but even if it does it only works for 1 & 3.)

  1) Despite the fact that you're a dog, you're a pretty cool cat

  3) Despite the fact that he's poor, he still looks rich

What could this expression possibly mean?


texts:
(1) CONTEXT: I changed my plan.
Could I use my previous plan to indicate what the plan was before change?
Could I use my new/changed/current plan to indicate what the plan is after change?
If the two questions are OK, could I say "my new/changed/current plan is more suitable for company developing than my previous plan was"?

(2) CONTEXT: The caterpillar changed to a butterfly.
Could I use the previous caterpillar to indicate what the form of the animal was before change?
Could I use the current butterfly to indicate what the form of the animal is after change?
If the two questions are OK, could I say "the current caterpillar is more beautiful than the previous caterpillar was"?
If the two questions are not good, what is the differnce between the "plan" example and the "caterpillar" example?
Thank you!


texts: What does "make a big scene out of his misery" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I have a sentence:

  Rejection in real life is very far from the way it is commonly portrayed in movies, where women often make fun of the unattractive male who shows his interest in them and make a big scene out of his misery.

Do you understand the expression "make a big scene out of his misery"?
Does it mean "through a big scene, he escaped from his misery and make women love him"?


texts: "I have not been seeing her very often lately"

texts:
I have not met her very often lately (that means that I only have seen her once or twice)

BUT if I have seen may be 5 or 6 times can I use

I have not been seeing her very often lately


texts: "inclusive or" can mean one element, any two elements, or more in a list?

texts:
Question:
Can we say that "inclusive or" can mean one element or any two elements or even more (like 3 or 4 elements if the list is long) in a list?
Does it depend on the context?
Example:
1.
Can this mean I can have one, any two, or all of them?

You can have a tomato, a durian, or a banana.

Can this mean I can just do one of them, any two, or all?

If you liked this video, please thumb up, like, or share the video.


texts: Bullet list - verb or subject after a hyphenation

texts:
I always wonder how to write bullet lists with a hyphenation.

  The “Actions” menu contains the following options:

  Add role – it creates new role
  Add role – creates new role

Can I start with a verb or do I need to add a subject? In the latter case it becomes flood with too much "it".


texts: What is the meaning of this phrase? (to organize relief at such short notice)

texts:
It is next to impossible to organize relief at such short notice. We
need some more time to make it work

At first I thought that I can't quite right understand the word usage (it was a task to insert the right word, "notice"), but then it occurred to me that maybe I'm missing the general meaning.
I looked up http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ and found only these definitions of the most confusing word:

NOTICE:

The act of noting or observing; perception or attention: That detail escaped my notice.
Respectful attention or consideration: grateful for the teacher's notice.
A written or printed announcement: a notice of sale.
a. A formal announcement, notification, or warning, especially an announcement of one's intention to withdraw from an agreement or leave
a job: gave my employer two weeks' notice; raised the price without
notice. b. The condition of being formally warned or notified: put us
on notice for chronic lateness.
A printed critical review, as of a play or book.

but none of them fit in right, as I think


texts:
I know there is an idiomatic expression in English for something to "stand the test of time" (by the way, would it be possible for something to "stand to the test" or stand other types of test?). But I'm pretty sure I've heard many times people saying that a certain something (e.g., a book) "stood time" (= "stood the test of time").

Is the phrase "this movie stood time" correct in this sense? Or is it bad English?

Thanks!


texts: Is there any difference between 'get away' and 'run away' in this context?

texts:
For these expressions

The whole movie was about him getting away from cops.
The whole movie was about him running away from cops.

Both run away and get away mean escape, but does get away fit in this context?


texts: Why there are no definite articles in the other two phrases?

texts:
The definite articles in brackets are added by me, not from the original article. I wonder why there are no definite articles, like the other two in bold in the same sentence, at here? The four phrases are all looked the same to me.

Thanks!

  Vitamin D contributes to the regulation of the immune system through
  multiple mechanisms, including (the) regulation of the activation and
  differentiation of CD4 lymphocytes, the suppression of differentiation
  of monocytes into dendritic cells, the reduction of cytokine
  production, and (the) stimulation of natural killer T cells (38).

source:Immunopathogenesis in Myasthenia Gravis and Neuromyelitis Optica.


texts:
I can say:

  By that time, I will have taken ten tests.

I want to know, can I in Present Perfect substitute will with be going to?

  By that time, I am going to have taken ten tests.


texts:
Check the following sentence

I hope this email finds you well

Isn't it expressing a desire and therefore find should be in the subjunctive mood and therefore drop the third person "s"?
I translated it  from Spanish, my native language, where the verb find is in the subjunctive mood.


texts:
I want to use ‘as’ in the sense of ‘in a way of.’
Does ‘he cut an apple with a toy as a knife’ make sense for me to express that a toy with which he cut an apple was used as a knife?


texts: Meaning of "with stock from County Armagh; the garden, kept small, was created bit by bit."

texts:
A soldier of fortune had established their modest
dynasty, lying low there for reasons that were not known. Some time in the
early eighteenth century the family had moved east, respectable and wellto-
do by then, one son or another of each generation continuing the
family’s army connection. The land at Lahardane was purchased; the
building of the house began. The long, straight avenue was made, lines of
chestnut trees planted along it on either side, the woodlands of the glen
laid out. Later generations planted the orchard, with stock from County
Armagh; the garden, kept small, was created bit by bit.

Does "stock" mean: a supply that is good for planting and the whole sentence mean: the orchard that was becoming small again was created gradually by the supply that came from County Armagh?
Source: The Story of Lucy Tale by William Trevor.


texts: What is the meaning of "in" and "on" when they are used together?

texts:
I have never seen the prepositions in and on used together in any sentence. I cannot imagine what in out would mean in a sentence. However, I recently have seen this kind of usage, and I had difficulties to understand the meaning.

  The man Jack sniffed the air. He ignored the scents that had come into the room with him, dismissed the scents that he could safely ignore, honed in on the smell of the thing he had come to find. He could smell the Child.

Can in on or on in be combined? If the answer is yes, how does the meaning change?


texts: Is the phrase, "just like any other day," non-restrictive?

texts: Would the sentence, "A car drove by, just like any other day," would a comma go before "just"? If so, why? Is it non-restrictive? Is there a good way to know if something is non-restrictive rather than restrictive?


texts: I have been told that I should use "Best regards" in emails. However, I also see many native English speakers using "Best Regards". I'm confused which is correct.


texts:
I was wondering how to say I miss you so much in an exaggerated way?
I know the following structures:

a. I miss you to pieces.
b. I miss you to the moon and back.  (I have my doubts whether this construction can be used for "missing")
c. I miss you to death.

Finally, I wonder if there are some other similar structures especially in AmE.


texts: present continous or present perfect continous?

texts:
Should I write 'I have been reading a book now' or 'I am reading a book now'?
I started to read one week ago and I haven't ended yet.
Thanks for help


texts: "I am the chair of the Economics Department" or "I am chair of the Economics Department"?

texts:
While I know in certain contexts a title should not be preceded by the definite article, e.g. "He was elected president," I find myself in doubt whether to use the definite article in such a sentence:

  My name is John Doe. I am (the) chair of the Economics Department.

My intuition tells me both are correct. And as far as I have searched on Google, it seems both are used. Is that the case? Any difference in meaning? What about this sentence:

  As (the) chair of the Economics Department, I wish to congratulate Jane Doe.


texts:
Should I use singular or plural after one or more?
Example:

  One or more [signal/signals]


texts: What is meant by the expression: "Save the day"

texts: What is meant by the expression "Save the day"? Does It mean to take advantage of the day? Could you provide some examples?


texts: Courses that fit in my ... study plan/ curriculum?

texts:
There is a sentence from my motivational letter:

As a student of geomatics which is a highly specialized field I have been struggling to find a university that would offer courses I’d like to take.

I want to stress that this university I am applying to offers courses that are very similar to courses that I would be taking at my home university. So instead of:

courses I’d like to take

I want to say something about the courses fitting my study plan. Now my question:

Would a native speaker say "study plan"? If not, how would you call it? I thought the right word would be curriculum but I when I google it nobody seems to use it in this way.


texts: When should I use 's or of for possession?

texts:
I've learned in school that I should use 's only for people when it means possession. But after a while, I realized that is not true.

When should I use 's or of when the meaning is possession?


texts: What's the meaning of the expression "unstick folks", in this context? A guy, who "prides himself on being able to unstick folks", is helping another person with a computer trouble.


texts: "Because of limited funding, there are few slots available to the department this year." What does slot mean in this sentence? Does it mean that few student can get fundings from the department?


texts: Can you put any word or phrase after a question tag?

texts:
I recently tried to correct something someone wrote which said:

  ...it would be a pity, wouldn't it, for example.

Is that actually grammatical? I learned to put anything after a question tag. I don't know if that was because it is bad style or grammatically wrong?

A longer example text would be:

  There is a lot of controversy about your company. How do you explain the rumors about it destroying the environment? There is usually more than one side of a story, isn't there, in that case?


texts: Licking your fingers after eating is called what?

texts:
I can't find it. What is licking your fingers after eating is called?

I'm not asking if it's rude/social acceptable, I'm asking what the action is called?

I'm not asking if it's called cleaning, there's a name for specifically licking your food stained fingers, I can't remember what it was.


texts:
Is it correct to put clock information at the end of the sentence if there is another time adverb such as in the mornings, every day or on weekdays in the sentence?
Does it sound natural?

He starts work every day at 9:00 am.


texts: What does "one" refer to in: “one that is subsequently rejected…”?

texts:
Here is a sentence from an LSAT:

It draws an analogy between semiplaning monohulls and conventional
ships that constitutes an objection to the argument's main conclusion,
one that is subsequently rejected by appeal to another analogy.
source

Does "one" refer to the "main conclusion" or "an objection"? And why?


texts:
"No more Hiroshima" or "No more Hiroshimas".
Some say the former and some say the latter.
I'm wondering which is grammatically correct.


texts:
The 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was enacted because the earlier Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was not worded strictly enough and did not include cosmetics. Two important concepts introduced in this new act were adulteration and misbranding. For example, false or exaggerated claims commonly were placed on new drug labels and often misled the consumer. This was considered misbranding. All controlled substances were required to be labeled “Warning: May be habit forming .” This act also provided the legal status for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Adulteration deals with the preparation and/or storage of a medication. Mishandling of the food or drug may cause injury or even death to a consumer. This act described the exact labeling for products and defined misbranding and adulteration as being illegal. The new law also required drug companies to include package inserts and directions to the consumer regarding safe use (see more information under the section titled.

May be habit forming . What does it mean? Does it say it could be addictive by making a habit?


texts: Let's say someone asks me why I like to snowboard and answer with because I like to speed. What I am trying to say is that I like to move fast. Is it natural to use the verb speed in this context? Would it be more natural to use speed as a noun as in because I like speed?


texts:
The day after he was arrested, Vanzetti had told Katzmann that he carried the gun to protect his fish cart.

Source: Sacco & Vanzetti – Eli Bortman.  The sentence is on page 35.

I would like to ask why Past perfect in the second part of the clause is used. The first Vanzetti's arrest occured and only then he talked to Katzmann.


texts: Is there any difference between "[Only/All/All] that I need is"?

texts:
Is there any difference between:

Only I need is
All I need is
All That I need is

I noticed that this phrase is used with nouns after "is", can I use this phrase with verbs?

for example:

  Only I need is sleeping/working etc.


texts:
Might it not be a mistake?

I don't understand this combination, might plus not, this way.


texts: "capability of doing" or "capability to do"

texts:
I would like ask if there is any semantic difference between the following sentences:

  What makes us different from other animal families is that we have a
  complicated brain that has the  capability of creating new
  technologies.

  What makes us different from other animal families is that we have a
  complicated brain that has the capability  to create new technologies.


texts: The meaning of "be in touch about something"

texts:
I heard a line in British TV series "peep show" that is

  It's a logo, for when people are in touch about doing baseball caps with my initials on.

I suppose it says 'for when people are in contact about making baseball caps'? I'm not sure. Would be great if there's anyone who could help me with it. Thanks!


texts:
Here is the situation, two men in the train, one asks another if the current station is the one he needs. It's not the one. The first man wants to say that the station the second guy needs is  gonna be one of next stations without explicitly telling which one exactly.

Can he say "Your station is further", if not, what's the proper way of saying that?


texts: when using 'and' to write a compound sentence, what is the role?

texts:
I'm reading a scientific research paper but not quite sure why some compound sentences are made in certain ways. Here is part of the article:

'Here, we summarize the roles of FGF signaling in mouse tooth development and the ways FGFs control the stem cells in incisor renewal, trying to separate its diﬀerent functions and highlighting the crosstalk between FGFs and other signaling pathways. '

I understand that 'the roles' and 'the ways' can be joined with 'and' as well as 'trying' and 'highlighting'. But why they are in the same sentence?


texts: Good strategies to improve vocabulary when at C2 level?

texts:
My level of English is at the C2-level (I have passed the Cambridge Proficiency in English exam, CPE and according to https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/cefr/ that equals C2). Even though I don't live in an English speaking country I use English everyday at work, private, watching TV (with subtitles) and so on but this usage is usually on a quite basic level, simply because that is how one uses language in everyday settings.

However, I also read a lot of English at quite a bit higher level, e.g., The Economist, The New Yorker, academic papers and similar. And when doing so it is obvious English is not my native language. Even though I have no problems understanding what I read a quite detailed level, there are still plenty of words that I only have a vague idea of their meaning.

Recently I therefore decided to do something about this - I started using the Anki flashcard system. Whenever I bump into a word I am unsure about the meaning of (or maybe I know the word but in another meaning, that doesn't make sense in this context) I add it to Anki and then once a week or so I look up the new words in a dictionary and add a translation. So far so good.

The problem is that the meaning of many of these new words is quite extensive (see the screenshot at the bottom for a translation of gather. Of course, I know that gather means assemble, come together but in the specific the context I read it it was the fourth meaning of it that was used, draw a conclusion.) when you which causes difficulties on many levels.

It is hard to make Anki card. Gather has more than 10 different translations, just the word (Some of them clearly are related, while some are very different from the main meaning of gather.). Add to that a bunch of idioms or constructions.

A quick look tells me that I know about half of those more than 10 meaning. Of those 5-6 meanings, I could use half "actively" (e.g., use that meaning when I write or speak without thinking) while the other half is passive knowledge which I would understand but not use myself.

When rehearsing, if I see a card that says gather I immediately come to think about the main meaning of gather and it is difficult to recall the secondary, tertiary or quaternary meanings since the primary meaning is so strongly imprinted in me.
If I want to learn most of the meanings of gather I would need to create maybe 5 reversible cards (= 10 cards) in Anki. To separate them I need to add some hints but those hints often makes it too easy. On the other hand, creating one massive card with 5 meanings would mean that I almost always will fail that card because I only recall 3-4 of the translations.
Many words are similar. These are some of the words I added in the last month:

conscientious
confound
conversely
congenial
concerted
contention
conviction
conciliatory
contemptible
compunction
conceivable
concession
compounded
commotion
convocation
countenance
concede

I guess you can appreciate that it is easy to mix up many of them...

For reference, I also study French at the B2-level and learning vocabulary at that level is much easier since it is almost always enough to learn the main translation of a word.

What are some good strategies to overcome the four problems listed above?

Footnote: a quick translation back to English of most of the meanings of gather my dictionary lists.

Come together
Collect
Harvest
get, gain
come to a conclusion
understand, realise
wrinkle, to wrinkle
lift up
sum up
grow in size
bad weather is incoming
a "ripe" boil
a swollen finger
something about sewing technique


texts:
I have always been struggling with when it is appropriate to use "await". Could I use it in this sentence? And how does it differ from the sentence with "waits for"?

Jerry comes down to the lobby where his assistant awaits him.
Jerry comes down to the lobby where his assistant waits for him.


texts: What does "shut his ears in the oven door" mean in this context?

texts:
"Oh no, sir, no ... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir --"

I am not quite sure if I understand the phrase "shut his ears in the oven door". Is it he cut his ears off and put it into the oven or he cut his ears off by shutting the oven door?

How should we understand the phrase?

-- Excerpted from Harry Potter.


texts: Infinitive as adverbial modifier of purpose

texts:
I read this sentence in the Barron's practice exercises book (you should choose the incorrect usage):

  The understanding (a) electricity (b) depends (c) on a knowledge of atoms and the subatomic particles of which they are composed (d).

The incorrect part is (a) and I should replace it by Understanding or The understanding of. But the book also suggests using To understand form as a correct answer.

Could you explain to me if it is possible to use the last one in that particular case?

I don't completely understand it (hope my misunderstanding is set clearly).


texts:
does "bearing good or ill" here means "producing good or ill"?

  what is the meaning of vibration? a supernatural emanation, bearing
  good or ill, that is sensed by or revealed to those attuned to the
  occult.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/vibration


texts:
Does this mean that many people have that opinion? Usually what comes after the "of" denotes the thing that someone else, mentioned before, formed his opinion of.(sorry confusing explanation)
As in "That is YOUR opinion of X."
So to avoid confusion would the above sentence have to be rearranged to
something like "That is many people's(because many's doesnt exist) opinion." or better "Many people have/share that opinion"?.


texts: Are "flaps under the wind" and "flaps in the wind" both correct?

texts:
I am not sure, but I think they broadly mean the same thing. However, I don't see a lot of entries on Google for "flaps under the wind" as in "the flag flapped under the wind". Are both grammatically correct or not and why?

For example:

  The flag flapped violently under the wind.

  The flag flapped violently in the wind.


texts:
I live in France and last week we had to write a dialogue in which I wrote:

  But Sir my parent called I am excused

I don't know if it is correct.

We were supposed to write a dialogue
where you arrive late to your first day of school and explain to your
teacher why was that. In case my sentence is completely incorrect and
you're not understanding a thing it's supposed to mean that my parent
called the school to say that I will be late for a reason that wasn't
the fault of anyone here I was stuck in the subway in between station,
so you can't punish me "I'm excused" I have been forgiven for my
delay. I don't know if I'm making any sense to any one right now, but
it is a very common expression in France, and I figured I could use it.


texts:
I have a technical document which is a set of rules of how to write the CSS code.
One of the rules is about describing HEX colors in a "human-readable" way.

Refer to the name of [edit: the] color in the comment.
.some_element         { color: #ff0000 }  /* #ff0000 is red */
.some_another_element { color: #00ff00 }  /* #00ff00 is green */

Is the word "refer" the best option here? Or maybe I should change it to something like "specify" or "mention"?


texts:
Which is the formal one?
“Given I’m tired, I won’t be there.”
“Given that I am tired, I won’t be there.”
Can we omit the “that” after “given” or it won’t be formal anymore?
Other examples:
I don’t like you, given you’ve been mean lately.
Or...
I don’t like you, given that you’ve been mean lately.
*formal please
Thanks for the help!


texts: Is there a word for "divulging unintentionally"?

texts:
The President * information to an unauthorized staff of the White
  House.

I am wondering if there's a word for divulging unintentionally like as in a person leaking corporate information to a person who's not supposed to have that information unintentionally. Is there such a word?


texts: Like if someone asks what is the writer / author trying to say, does it mean trying as in the definition attempt or effort? Can someone please explain in a clear way with examples.


texts:
I found the following sentence in an article:

    Chaaya becomes very happy when she finds that her son is still alive. Her eyes well up.

What is the meaning of "eyes well up"? I tried to check this in the Oxford dictionary, but there I found a close meaning:

    well up no object, with adverbial (of a liquid) rise up to the surface and spill or be about to spill.

    ‘tears were beginning to well up in her eyes’

But I nowhere found "eyes well up" in any of these 3 dictionaries: Oxford, Cambridge, Merriam-webster. I also checked this through Google ngram and found that this is commonly used nowadays. I am not able to understand whether this combination of words "eyes well up" has any meaning?


texts:
First of all, thank you for your assistance in advance.

When I am reading this Op-ed,

there is a line,( in the second paragraph )

  And if he did unnecessarily compromise the source of the sensitive information >he shared with the Russians, shame on him.

Now, I used to know, or I might have not known very accurately regarding this verb, and I checked the Merriam Unabridged. It says,

  2
  of factions :  to adjust or settle by partial mutual relinquishment of >principles, position, or claims :  settle by coming to terms

  3
  a :  to put in jeopardy :  endanger (as life, reputation, or dignity) by some >act that cannot be recalled :  expose to suspicion, discredit, or mischief

  b :  to cause (a person) embarrassment, humiliation, or shame by improper >sexual advances or by allowing the suspicion of such to arise
  same man>
  c :  to reveal or expose to unauthorized persons and especially to an enemy >(the nature, details, or workings of classified matter or a classified device)
  system>

Now I personally would guess the definition 3 is used in the line.

However, it seems to me personally, 2 and 3 have different meanings
in a way the former has some positive nuance whilst the latter has the
negative.

Am I correct about this? And should it be so, how come a verb can have 2
unparallel meanings?

Any answer will be appreciated with great thanks.


texts: Comparing two qualities of the same thing

texts:
When we say, for example, "James is taller than Eric", we are comparing the same quality in two people. But are we allowed to use this structure to compare two qualities of the same thing? For example, suppose we have the sentences

  "This belief is speculative to some degree."

and

  "This belief is factual to some degree."

Now, can we form a comparison like

  "This belief is more speculative than factual."

?

Apparently, the previous sentence can be produced from the following sentence by ellipsis:

  "This belief is more speculative than it is factual"

I think a valid way of saying it is

  "This belief is not so much factual as speculative."


texts: How to say that someone has too much emotion, more than their position allows?

texts: I think I've read something in the structure of "he is [adj] [prep] humanly temper", but I can't remember the exact words for someone who should be just but instead let the temper got the better of them. Kind of like Greek gods who get carried away by little things just like a real life human being. Is there really some phrase like this?


texts:
When I am reading the below paragraph, I was totally lost. My question is how I can paraphrase this type of long sentence to understand authors motive clearly. Another question I have in my mind that why the author use numbering (1), (2) in between this whole sentence.

  Our hypothesis is that (1) many strains of rats simply cannot mount
  sufficiently vigorous destructive immune-response (using lymphocytes)
  to outstrip the liver's relatively great capacity to protect itself
  from immune-response damage and that (2) the systemic unresponsiveness
  observed is due to concentration of the recipient's donor specific
  lymphocytes at the site of the liver transplant.