texts:
We say:

I am more intelligent than you.

I earn more than you do.

I like you more than your brother.

Can we say:

You show devotion to me more than him.

I feel there has to be the preposition 'to' before 'him' and the adverb 'more' should be before the noun 'devotion'; as in

You show more devotion to me than to him.

Am I on right lines? If not, then is the following correct?

You show devotion to me more than him. [And what I mean to say by this sentence is: both 'me' and 'him' are the receivers of 'devotion' that 'You' show.]


texts: "For the validation of (the) within-run precision" - should there really be that "the" there?

texts:
From the Guideline on bioanalytical method validation (2009):

  Within-run precision

  For the validation of the within-run precision, there should be a minimum of five samples per concentration level at LLOQ, low, medium and high QC samples in a single run. The within-run CV value should not exceed 15% for the QC samples, except for the LLOQ which should not exceed 20%.

  Between–run precision

  For the validation of the between-run precision, LLOQ, low, medium and high QC samples from at least three runs analysed on at least two different days should be evaluated. The between-run CV value should not exceed 15% for the QC samples, except for the LLOQ which should not exceed 20%.

Should "between-run precision" and "within-run precision" really take the definite article here? These phrases are parameter names, and the guideline does not refer to a particular "within-run precision" of a particular analytical method.

I sometimes come across parameter names used without the definite article.

Example:

  Did you know that you could count cricket chirps to estimate temperature?

Example:

  This signal can be used to estimate temperature and water vapour content throughout the atmosphere.


texts: What is the plural of status? Is it statuses?

texts:
What is the plural of status? Is it statuses or status? If it is status, is it pronounce the same is singuler status?

Is there any difference between British and American English regarding this word?

Update:

Are the following statements correct? Which one is more formal (in UK English)?

  These are statuses that will typically be assigned to the claim as the
  claims are processed.
  These are status that will typically be assigned to the claim as the
  claims are processed.


texts:
What is the difference between the following two sentences.

  I have seen the movie and she has too.

  I have seen the movie and she also has.

I think the first one sounds idiomatic but is the second one wrong?


texts: What does this quote mean here? By James Fenimore Cooper

texts:
A refined simplicity is the characteristic of all high bred deportment, in every country, and a considerate humanity should be the aim of all beneath it.

It seems to mean "All the high bred! They have a refined simplicity! Anywhere in the world. And all the lesser beings! Be kind!"


texts:
From Cambridge dictionary:

  He was born in the small town of Castleford, in Yorkshire.

I'm not sure whether I understand this correctly.  Is it a town called "Castleford"? Or there is a bigger place like a county or state contains a town called Castleford, hence we say "the town of it" as it is the capital of the state.

Why we don't just say "in a small town called Castleford"?

I've never heard "the nation of England" before. But I wonder whether this is a correct way to say "England".


texts:
I am writing an article. I have two sentences. The first sentence introduces a thesis. In the second sentence there is a reference to it. Should I use the relative pronoun "this" or "that" in the second sentence.
Here are my sentences (A and B):

A: It turns out, however, that waveguides having step-index refractive index profile are more favorable because they allow to obtain higher sensitivities.

B:
The theoretical prove to this thesis was presented in Ref. [18].

I would use "this thesis". However, I read many artices and it seems that usage of "that thesis" is more common.


texts:
Which one is grammatically correct?

  It was not until grade 2 when I discovered the 'earth' has a name.

Or

  It was not until grade 2 when I discovered the 'earth' had a name.


texts: "Not having had time" or "not having time"?

texts:
A fiction about CYBORG,

  Not having had time to connect it to her wired nervous system, she
  felt like she was dragging around a paperweight.

Why is here not "not having time"?


texts:
How to say in English that something like a movie is showing on TV?
Can I say:

  It is being published on TV

  It is being broadcasting on TV

  It's being shown on TV


texts: Can we use present continuous when we talk about facts?

texts:
I know we should use present simple when we talk about facts, but can we use present continuous too?

I'm not sure if the following is a good example.

  Adaptations in the cow elephant seal allow the production of a highly nutritious milk to fuel rapid pup growth: by second week of lactation, the cow is producing milk with 40% fat content.


texts:
The crowd listened to Paul until he said this.

Shouldn't it be "had been listening"?
The action "the crowd listened" preceded the action "Paul said" and the listening must have taken some time.
Why, in one case, you say "They had been walking outside until the weather turned bad" and in another case you say the first part of the sentence using the simple past tense?
How do I choose between the two tenses, the past perfect continuous and the simple past?


texts:
I have read text about how to use all and whole but I still do not understand it. Can you tell me, please, when to use 1st type and when to use 2nd type and give me some exampleas.

I am not a student and this is not my homework.

  All my family was on holiday in Spain last summer.

or

  Whole my family was on holiday in Spain last summer.


texts:
Do they mean the cars that we have to drive ourself

Or do they mean the cars that drive automatically by themself?


texts:
Question: Can I ask in this way:

1) He was happy to brother's marks in the diploma (He was happy because of brother's marks in the diploma)

2) He was happy to the weather. Means (He was happy because of the weather)

3) He was happy to the rain. Means (He was happy because of the rain)


texts:
I've read in a grammar text that :

  I don't like people telling me what to do.

  I don't like being told what to do.

The author claimed that 1,2 convey same information in reader.

However, I think (1) is reduced version of the below sentence:

  I don't like people who are telling me what to do.

Which is implying "I dislike people" rather "I dislike their aptitude". Would you please shed light on my confusion ?

Beside, I want to know is it grammatically correct to use passive infinitive as:

  I don't like to be told what to do.

Edit:

Is there any difference between 2 and 3 ? Thanks.


texts: Which one is correct? "had to go" vs "had to went"

texts:
Which one should I use?

I had to go to see my friend.

I had to went to see my friend.


texts:
I am wondering if these sentences are correct grammatically when I write the relative adverb, ‘where’

I go to the north. The hills are toward the north.
= I go to the north where the hills are.

This is the report. I referred to this report.
= This is the report where I referred.

This is the office. I went to the office.
= This is the office where I went.


texts:
We can see the character or symbol * on web pages or in code.

What's its name?

From my dictionary, it is called the asterisk.
But in the documentation page of fishshell dot com, it is called the star or star character.

So which one is correct and what's the difference between them? When you see *, what's the first word that appears in your mind?


texts: Has Improved upon/ on or has been improved

texts:
Which sentence is right?

He has improved on his turn taking
He has been improved on his turn taking


texts: "I was away last week" versus "I was out of town last week"

texts:
Someone asked me whether I was at home or not last week.  When I say as a response, "I was away last week", or "I was out of town last week". is there any difference in the meanings?
I just want to mean that I wasn't home, but didn't want to say the details.
I'd like to know whether I can use these two sentences interchangeably or not.  Also if there is any other way of saying, please explain to me.


texts:
I intend to use "either" instead of "any" in an essay.
I was wondering if this is grammatically incorrect to say the following:
"Users could press either buttons of their stylus"

instead of following:
"Users could press either of the buttons ..."
?

Thanks


texts: What's the meaning of "we are living moments of more and lives of less"?

texts: We are highly connected, but we aren’t having that many conversations. We have given up conversation for the efficiency of connection, and we have failed to notice the difference between the two. As Turkle puts it, “we are living moments of more and lives of less.” Connections don’t make us vulnerable the way that conversations do; we have control, or we think we do. I started thinking about all the ways that I “connect” with friends, and the frequency with which I do it, compared to the amount of conversations I have face-to-face with them. I wish I had more of the face-to-face, more eye contact, more undivided attention; and it is good that I want that.


texts: How is “any more than” used to compare two different situations?

texts:
In the following quote by Billy Sunday

  Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.

Can anyone please explain/elaborate the usage and meaning of "any more than"?


texts: There is a famous jazz song called "Shaw-nuff". Does this title have a real meaning, or is it pure "scat"?


texts: Words like 'place' in 'the place where/that/∅ ...'

texts:
A discussion under a recent question brought up a topic I've been wondering about for a while:

  Only the word "place" is unusual and has the formula "the place where/that/∅", isn't (or should I say "doesn't"?) it? – Zhang Jian yesterday

  @ZhangJian Yes, that's right :) – Araucaria yesterday

I've been wondering about this ever since I read the following quote from A Student's Introduction to English Grammar:

    [v] a place [where you can relax]

  [...]

  The non-wh construction is not always available when the relativised element is adjunct (or complement) of place; the example in [v], with the head noun place, is perfectly acceptable, but in sentences with head nouns less likely to suggest location, a wh relative would normally be required. (p.185)

Likewise, from the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language:

  Relatives introduced by where, by contrast, do not in general alternate with the non-wh type except where the antecedent is a very general noun such as place [...] (p.1053)

These quotes seems to suggest that place is one of a small class of words which strongly suggest location and have the same or similar grammar, but are there in fact any other words like place?

From these descriptions, I would think they would be very general nouns like location, but location at least doesn't seem to work the same way:

  1a. Dublin is the place where I want to live.
  1b. Dublin is the place that I want to live.
  1c. Dublin is the place I want to live.

  2a. Dublin is the location where I want to live.
  2b. *Dublin is the location that I want to live.  (ungrammatical)
  2c. *Dublin is the location I want to live.  (ungrammatical)

To make 2b and 2c grammatical, I need to add a preposition like in, so it seems like location doesn't work the same way as place.

Are there any other words like this, or is place unique?


texts: Are there classifications for English literature (useful for English learners)?

texts:
I wonder if there is a classification of English literature that can tell whether a book is easy to read/understand (good for beginners) or difficult to read/understand (experts)?

I know there is literature for school (specifically designed for learning purposes), but this is rather academic. I'm looking for something general, a database maybe?


texts:
I have a question. Here’s the sentence: I wasn’t accepted to college due to my failing English.
Is “failing” here a gerund (meaning he failed English exam) or is it an adjective, describing his level of English?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Do I need to put a definite article "the" before then-current?

texts:
In a sentence:

  He considered visitors during {the?} then current off-season to be cognizant of bear presence in the area?

Also, should then-current be hyphenated?


texts: "in" or "for" as indicators of time in sentences with fronted objects

texts:
Which preposition is correct?

  These pictures she painted for a month.

  These pictures she painted in a month.


texts: "If you are not going to drink the coffee then why did you bring it?"

texts:
I have read most of the If clause conditions , yet I couldn’t find a correct way of saying this

I was with my girlfriend in the cafe, while we were drinking the coffee my phone rang, I took the coffee and went to the car, once we arrived to car I asked her to drink the coffee or throw it away because I didn’t want it anymore. she said

  ”If you are not going to drink it then why did you bring it?”

Is what she said correct?! Did she use the correct if clause conditional ?!
If not, How should  she suppose to say ?


texts: 'my focus is with...' versus 'my focus is on...'

texts:
I just came across this sentence:

  So right now, my focus is with my kids and I'm really enjoying my time with them.

Will there be any change in meaning if we replace 'with' with 'on'?

  So right now, my focus is on my kids and I'm really enjoying my time with them.


texts: Will the reference word "they" cause confusion in my sentence?

texts:
As I write the following sentence, I am wondering whether it will cause confusion:

Don't trust those who leave their friends the moment they get into difficulties.

Based on the meaning, I guess readers can interpret "they" as a reference to "their friends," but then I am worried about it could be understood referring to "those."
Idk, will it cause confusion? If so, what are some better variation?


texts:
I have been trying to translate some Chinese text into English using google translate. Since google translate sometimes gives poor translations, I would like to seek your help to ensure that the English version is correct.
Does the following sentence makes sense? Is there a better way to say it?

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union blocked each other

The Chinese text is

冷戰期間，美國和蘇聯亙相封鎖

If the sentence is correct, would you please tell me what you understand by the terms in boldface? If the sentence is incorrect, would you please suggest terms to replace the terms in boldface? Thank you.


texts:
I'm wondering if these two sentences have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably. Doe the parts in bolds equal?

  3 soap dispensers have already been broken in the mens' restroom while the first one is still working in the womens' restroom.

  3 soap dispensers have already been broken in the mens' restroom while the womans' restroom still has the first one working.


texts:
Hi I know this is vulgar language but since it is a part of English I want to learn in right way. I want to ask a question about cum and come and this is really serious question made me confused.

I read people say "I am coming" in sexual meaning. But is it proper English or it is a just joke?

I want to ask, just before you are going to ejaculate do you say "I am coming" or "I am cumming"? Is come used in sexual meaning really or it is just word-play because they sound the same.

and I want to ask how do you say how many times you ejaculated at a night while you are having sex?

I came three time last night or I cummed three times last night.


texts: What is a Deck, Sales Deck or Sales Pitch Deck?

texts:
Sales in B2B marketing like to use the word "deck", "sales pitch", "sales deck", or even "sales pitch deck". They seldom use the word "slide" or "presentation" to say the presentation.

But, what is "deck", "sales Deck" or "sales pitch deck"? Since, they are almost the visual presentation, what are the differences amoung "deck" and "pitch", or "deck" and "slide"?

According to the dictionary, "deck" is the deck of a ship. Why people use the word deck to replace "slide" ? So interesting....

I've tried to google and also wiki, but find no clear information about the question. So, come to here and hope to find answers.


texts: Adjective followed by multiple nouns - what is modifed

texts:
I ran into a grammatical construction which I don't know how to interpret. What confuses me even more is that, after extensive googling, I found none other confused by it, except one person who's question got downvoted (https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/259980/how-to-interpret-and-adjective-followed-by-two-nouns).

Even worst, I have an adjective and three nouns, let say main plugin file line. So if one has adjective+noun1+noun2+noun3 without clear meaning - which noun is modified with this adjective? Is it main line? Main plugin? Main file? Is there any such grammatical rule at all or is it just poor wording not covered by such?


texts: What is the difference between "What time is it?" and "Do you mind telling me what the time is?"

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between " What time is it?" and " Do you mind telling me what the time is please ?",I await your reply as soon as posible.

Thank you,


texts: Subject-verb inversion in 'as' clause and passive voice

texts:
A.I. programs used to help judges predict which criminals are most likely to reoffend have shown troubling racial biases, as have those designed to help child protective services decide which calls require further investigation." (excerpted from "A.I. Could Worsen Health Disparities," NYT Jan. 31, 2019)

I marked in bold what I cannot understand. My understanding is that "those" indicates "A.I. programs," and it seems that "those" is inverted with its verb "have." (I don't know why and I would like also to know its reason.) But in this case, I think, the author should've written like "as have those been designed," because "those"(A.I. programs) cannot design by themselves, but only be designed by people.

Is my understanding totally wrong?


texts: Is it a idiomatic style to use present continuous tense and simple present tense in the same one sentence?

texts:
I asked a question (The usage of "also": Is it idiomatic put also at the end of a sentence in writing?) just now, where I said

  This video is talking about the usage of "also" and gives this example ...

I used present continuous tense and simple present tense there, is this a idiomatic style?


texts: How to use tense in the reported speech “She told me that her father…”?

texts:
Some students are confused with the options A and C.

  She told me that her father _____ to the post office when I arrived.

A. just went
B. has just gone
C. had just gone
D. had just been going

Could you tell me whether C is the only correct answer in this question?


texts: Pronoun after “should” to express a statement rather than a question

texts:
Is it possible to say:

  He decided the remainders should he relinquish.

It sounds more interrogative than declarative, putting the pronoun after "should" makes it sound like that to me.


texts:
I want to bring some tea

can mean both "bring some tea once" and "bring some tea every day". Am I right? Or it means only "bring some tea once" and if I want to say about regularity I have to use

  I want to bring some tea to you everyday


texts:
I am wondering what "ladies" means in the following sentences:

‘The first part,’ Angus says, ‘is: “Do brave deeds and endure”, which
was the school motto. The second part was added in by us boys: “If I
can’t move heaven, then I shall raise hell.” It used to get chanted
before rugby matches.’
‘And the rest,’ says Duncan, with a nasty smile.
‘It’s so menacing,’ Georgina says. But she’s staring up at her red,
sweaty, wild-eyed husband as though she’s never found him so
attractive.
‘That was kind of the point.’
‘Right, ladies,’ Johnno shouts. ‘Time to stop fannying around
and get some drinking done!’
Another roar of approval from the others. Femi and Duncan mix the
whisky with wine, with sauce left over from the meal, with salt and
pepper, so it forms a disgusting brown soup. And then the game begins
– all of them slamming down their hands on the table and yelling at
the top of their voices.

Lucy Foley, The Guest List, Chapter 15

Before the actual wedding day, at the rehearsal dinner, the best man Johnno and the ushers began to chant menacing Latin words ("Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo!’) before starting their drinking game.
In this scene, only male people are participating in the drinking game (though some women are also present at the table), so I wonder what Johnno had meant by calling them "ladies." It is perhaps an insult? But then, I wonder why there was a roar of approval. I would like to know how this "ladies" sound to English speakers.


texts:
The Earth revolves around the Sun.

I consider the above statement should be written without any article as we're using earth and sun as a proper noun. Which of these is correct to write?

  Earth revolves around Sun.

OR

  Earth revolves around the Sun.


texts:
Is there a difference between a jewel set with gems and one embedded with gems?
I was wondering if the two terms were interchangeable since their definitions look pretty much the same—obviously within the context of jewelry only.
Is it just a question of formality or is there an actual physical difference?
An ngram search shows that "set" is much more used than "embedded", but it might be bacause of a slight difference in meaning.


texts: "growth of " VS "a growth of" VS "a growth rate of"

texts:
The industry experienced positive growth of about two percent in 2015.
  The industry experienced a positive growth of about two percent in 2015.
  the industry experienced a positive growth rate of about two percent in 2015.

I think of three scenarios where I have always puzzled about the possible addition of "a" before growth. Which one is good?


texts:
Wikipedia says:

  the English words insight and incite are distinguished in pronunciation only by the fact that the stress falls on the first syllable in the former and on the second syllable in the latter.

In the online dictionary indeed it is indicated that the stress in "insight" falls on the first syllable. Yet both British and American speakers pronounce the word with the stress on the final syllable.

Where is the mistake? Should this word be pronounced with stress on the first or second syllable? Do these speakers pronounce the word correctly?


texts: "keep up" and "up keep". Do they have the same meaning?

texts:
I found this phrase below on the web:

  As far as gels are concerned, I am not a big fan. If you are not a
  woman that is going to keep up the maintenance don't do it. If you are
  willing to go and maintain the up keep, then I say go ahead, because
  gel isn't the healthiest overlay for your nails. They will make them
  dry and weak.

Do both "keep up" and "up keep" have exactly the same meaning?


texts: "What should we do IN / FOR the rest of the day?" – can I omit the preposition entirely?

texts:
A very short question: is the following sentence correct?

  What should we do (...) the rest of the day?

Could the sentence do without a preposition (in, for), or is one needed?


texts: How to identify one syllable words and two-syllable words?

texts: One syllable words like cheap, fast, large etc and two syllable words like lucky, early etc. I want to know how to identify these word?


texts: What is the relationship between the sub-items and the main one on Oxford Dictionary?

texts:
Oxford Dictionary (https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/just) gives a bunch of definitions about “just”

there are 3 sub-items in 4th item, one of them is pointed out by blue rectangle in the following image.

What is the relationship between the sub-items and the main one?

Could all of 3 sub-items could be a piece of meanings of "Simply", I guess not.

sub-item 4.2 gives

  Used as a polite formula for giving permission or making a request.

and gives this example

  just help yourselves

if this is one piece of meanings of the main item, namely, "Simply", the following sentence would sound normal

  Simply help yourselves

which actually sounds uncommon, any ideas?

Besides, neither Oxford dictionary (https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/simply) nor Cambridge dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-simplified/simply) has a piece of meaning similar to this one (shows politeness).


texts:
When you offer somebody two slices of apple on a plate, which sentence would you choose?

Would you like some apple?

Would you like some apples?


texts: Could you help me define “reverse course” in this context?

texts:
European Union leaders agreed to suspend visa and investment talks with Russia on Thursday in reaction to its seizure of Crimea, and said they would freeze Russian assets and withdraw from a G8 summit if Russia does not reverse course. Source: Reuters - EU sets out three steps to pressure Russia over Ukraine

I checked in dictionaries but it did not help.

I think the word “course” means “act”. Am I right? Does “reverse course” mean “stop acting like this”?


texts: Tense agreement in three past conditionals

texts:
I did make an effort to eat for the entire week beforehand, trying
  desperately to put on a pound or two before Thanksgiving Day, but my
  efforts were in vain. If I ate anything, most of it came
  right back up as usual. Truthfully, there was no reason I should have
  still been alive. When at last Thanksgiving came, Becca did her best
  to make me presentable.

-Thief of Life: The Chronicles of Daniela-Book Three-Torn

  The imagined and projected guilt of being responsible for foetal
  alcohol syndrome in my unborn (and, as it turned out month after month
  after month, un-conceived) child was more than I could have coped
  with. I even felt guilty if I ate blue cheese in the
  second half of my cycle – just on the off chance that I was carrying a
  tiny dot of a human being, the beginning of a baby in my womb who
  might have had an adverse reaction to the unpasteurized dairy product.

-Pink for a Girl

  I saw nothing after that but that young body in its garments and
  imagined it without the garments.

  If I ate that day I have no
  recollection of it. If I conducted meetings I have no memory of them.

-I Diced With God: The Life of Henry VIII As Seen By His Majesty

In these consequence clauses, the authors employed present or past simple tense.

I would rephrasing them "If I ate anything, most of it would come right back up as usual", "I would even feel guilty if I ate blue cheese.." or "If I ate that day I would have no  recollection of it."

Is the if in the first two examples equivalent to when? That is to say, the authors took these protases as actual occurrences, not contingencies?

And any differences between the original and my phrasing?


texts: Have somebody done/doing for regular events

texts:
Which form should I use to imply continuity(persistence) for the event?

1- We had a strange woman come to the door selling pictures.
 (Did the strange woman use to come to the door regularly?)

2- I have my hair cut. (Does that mean I have somebody to hair my cut regularly?)

3- I just had them doing stretch routines, and after, they got
 really good at it.

4- I have somebody cleaning my car.


texts:
I read ( or have read) a lot of English tenses until I mess up.
So please what is the differences between these sentences?

  have you finished the homework?

  are you finish the homework?

  do you finish the homework?


texts:
They must let him (to) make his own decision.

I participate in voting in social network and 60% voted for not using to. But I'm not sure if it's correct to use the infinitive here like we do with

  They must allow him to make his own decision.


texts: Can 'expansion' replace 'extension' in this passage?

texts:
I think it can, but I am not sure. In what context  are expansion and extension interchageable?

Research and development for seed improvement has long been a public
domain and government activity for the common good. However, private
capital started to flow into seed production and took it over as a
sector of economy, creating an artificial split between the two
aspects of the seed’s nature: its role as means of production and its
role as product. This process gained pace after the invention of
hybrid breeding of maize in the late 1920s. Today most maize seed
cultivated are hybrids. The companies that sell it are able to
withhold the distinct parent lines from farmers, and the grain that it
produces is not suited for seed saving and replanting. The combination
guarantees that farmers will have to buy more seed from the company
each season. In the 1990s the extension of patent laws as the
only intellectual property rights tool into the area of seed varieties
started to create a growing market for private seed companies.
Previously, intellectual property rights had had a much milder effect
on the seed market. They were based on the concept of plant-variety
rights, under which the farmer could use purchased seed for further
sowing and breeding and could freely use the yield of seed for saving
and replanting. The farmer was only restricted from commercially
reselling the saved seeds.

Future Food & Seed


texts:
"using" is basically a verb in the progressive aspect. Does it serve as a preposition, too?
 I can sometimes choose between which and that in a relative clause construction. But in a sentence such as "He found a key, using which he slit open the package", I cannot substitute that for which. Only which (not that) occurs after prepositions - would that be the rule for the sentence I have quoted?


texts: How do you pronounce “asks” in “She asks too many questions”? Is it possible to omit the “s” while we are speaking?


texts:
I can not explain why "an" is used in the phrase "an estimated 2 million people are".

In addition, I can find many examples in which such phrases are treated as plural although the noun phrase takes "an". When the noun 'people' is a collective noun, it may be possible to say/write "an estimated 2 million people is". But I am not sure about this.

Can anyone explain the grammar?


texts: Is it correct to say "not that I have known"?

texts:
Consider:

  A: Do you know this guy?

  B: Not that I have known.

Is "Not that I have known" correct? The other "not that I know of" seems more suitable to me but is the first one grammatically correct?


texts: What do you call these ways of representing pronunciation?

texts:
For example:

  Honest /änəst/
  Honest [ahh-nest]

What are these called?


texts: Does "you'd better stop" sound natural as an order here?

texts:
How do you see "you'd better stop" here? Is it more a suggestion than an order? I have a context where I'm thinking of using it:
You'd better stop what you're doing, Paul. It's over. I've called the police. They're on their way.
(Paul is holding hostages)
Does it seem natural to use here as an order or maybe even a threat or is it too weak for the context?


texts:
I noticed a sign in one of the office doors which reads

  Please use the revolving doors to keep you cool

I know the word "cool" is not meant here in the literal sense as there is no scientific basis for it. So it should be the other meaning for "cool" which is synonymous with elegance/style. If it is used in that context, shouldn't it read as below:

  Please use the revolving doors to look cool

The above usage might come across a little petty but this is the one I am familiar with. Which one is the right usage?


texts: Why is there one P in "hoping" and two P's in "hopping"?

texts:
Hoping is the present participle of hope. hopping is the present participle of hop. Hoping has only one p while hopping has two. What difference does it make? Why is hoping not hopping?

Edit: I changed mop to hop because of a comment by Kat.

Kat: Why would you compare hope to mop instead of hope to hop (in which case I think your answer will become obvious)?


texts: If you came [had come] tomorrow, I might be [have been] able to help you.

texts:
I would like to know which of the following sentences is correct.

  If you had come tomorrow, I might have been able to help you.

  If you came tomorrow, I might be able to help you.


texts:
In Ukrainian, there is proverb "Кому війна, кому мати рідна". I would translate it into English as following: "What is war for one, that is mother for another".
This means that while some people are suffering from war, some other people are making money from it.
Is there English proverb with a meaning like that?


texts: "It was reported that..", which is closer to this idiom: rumor or a fact?

texts:
I'm translating the 'Spectre (security vulnerability)' Wikipedia article to my mother tongue, and it contains a sentence like below;

  It was reported that Intel shared news of the Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities with Chinese technology companies, before notifying the U.S. government of the flaws.

I can comprehend what it's supposed to convey (Intel failing to notify the bug before anybody else, especially China), but what I'm confused here is whether this is rumor or a fact.

Surely I can find out on my own by reading the cited article, but I just want to know something that native speakers automatically assume from this idiom.


texts: "When will you be leaving" instead of "When will you leave"

texts: I heard someone use the sentence "When will you be leaving?" I want to know why this sentence was used instead of "When will you leave"?


texts: "the pressure of population " VS "the pressure of the population"

texts:
The pressure of population on available resources is the key to understanding history.
  The pressure of the population on available resources is the key to understanding history.

As far as I can see, population is a countable noun, so there should always be an article before it. So I am confusing about the drop of "the" here.


texts: Unclear English sentence containing "with was"

texts:
Consider:

  Disconcerting as the grin he then waited my pleasure with was the cast of his features, not just like any I had seen.

I do not perfectly understand "with was" -- with what? This is rather confusing for me.

I am not a native speaker.


texts:
Hitler himself related to me in 1930 – when we were speaking about his family relationships (in connection with a blackmail threat), ‘Even as a 10 or 12-year-old kid I always had to go late at night to this stinking, smoky dive. Without being spared any of the details, I would have to go to the table and shake him as he looked with a blank stare.

Source: Martyn Housden: Hitler: A Study of a Revolutionary?, p. 169.

I assume that using would ("I would have to go") indicates the past tense. Can I replace "I would have to go" with "had to go" without a change of the meaning in the sentence? Is the reason for this usage clearly stylistic: the author does not want to be repetitive.


texts: Meaning of "the demographics are going to leave us with lots of jobs"

texts:
Well, Arthur C. Clarke, a famous science fiction writer from the 1950s, said that, "We overestimate technology in the short term, and we underestimate it in the long term." And I think that's some of the fear that we see about jobs disappearing from artificial intelligence and robots. That we're overestimating the technology in the short term. But I am worried whether we're going to get the technology we need in the long term. Because the demographics are really going to leave us with lots of jobs that need doing and that we, our society, is going to have to be built on the shoulders of steel of robots in the future.

Why we will rely on robots

Hi, I would like to know what does this sentence mean: "Because the demographics are really going to leave us with lots of jobs that need doing".

As far as I understand, I think it means that because of the demographic problem, which is the low birth rate, in the future, we will have too much jobs for the workable population.
So, we will suffer a lack of labor force.
Does it make sense?


texts:
I was doing my homework for CAE when I found this:

  Not ....... well-to-do parents give the support they should, and some
  parents living in the most

The possible answers are:

a) each

b) all

c) any

d) every

I marked b), but according to the answer sheet the correct one is a).
Please, could anyone make me understand the reason?


texts: How to understand the grammar of "This is what Dumbledore sends his defender!"

texts:
"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! ..."

I don't understand the grammar of that sentence because it engaged two objects for the verb sends: what and his defender. Maybe, This is the defender that Dumbledore sends looks more reasonable. Any thoughts?


texts:
Should it be "the response" or "responses" in this sentence?

After reviewing the main features, benefits, and risks of fintech, this paper examined the domestic trend of fintech and the response by financial institutions, then inspected the financial stability with regard to fintech in South Korea. Currently, flagship financial services provided by domestic fintech companies include simple payment and remittance, peer-to-peer (P2P) finance, crowdfunding, initial coin offering (ICO), and robo-advisor.


texts: What is the meaning of come to in this sentence?

texts:
Through reading of “LUKÁCS’s Hegel book that had to be published in Switzerland in 1948 because it appeared insufficiently orthodox to his comrades” (ibid.), but also the works of MARX and ENGELS, FETSCHER was prepared for KOJVE’s Hegel interpretation, all the more so that “through contact with Dresden, from where my mother settled in the West in 1948” he “had come to numerous Marxist publications and had already read with great interest works by MARX, ENGELS, PLEKHANOV, Georg LUKÁCS, and Ernst BLOCH, which had been published
there”.


texts: Placment of second interrogative pronoun

texts:
How long will you stay and where ?

  How long and where will you stay ?

In which sentence is the placement of where used correctly ? Or both of them are the same ?


texts: What's the meaning of these military terms?

texts:
I want to find out the meaning of these military terms:

  from the edge
  tactical edge
  the deployed user
  the tactical services
  Joint IT

Examples:

  Today many IT services and systems are designed to work in a robust IT environment and often do not scale down to the deployed user ...

  It will facilitate mission accomplishment by providing tactical services from the edge in support of the warfighter ...

  ...recognizes all aspects of Joint IT...

  ...providing increased agility, and operational effects and capabilities for the warfighter at the tactical edge.


texts: A question from test: choose one of then, since, after, that

texts:
Here is a question from a test:

  It was only ten years ago ... she started her new job

  then
  since
  after
  that

As far as I remember, the correct answer is "that" (fourth one), but I have no the slightest idea why it is so.

Can anybody tell what piece of grammar it is and/or explain why "that" is the correct answer?


texts: Is this correct? "Do you know what a dog is?"

texts: I was wondering if I could use any of these questions to ask for a definition to another person: "Do you know what a dog is?", "Do you know what is a dog?", "Do you know the meaning of the word dog?"


texts: Which preposition to use with "provocation"?

texts:
I was solving a couple of questions, and this one really intrigued me:

  The police resorted to lathi charge ____ extreme provocation.

("lathi charge" is a form of police control employed in India to stop a mob from going rampant)

What preposition should fit into the blank?

More specifically, should it be 'upon', or should it be 'under'?


texts:
Running the White House in a normal environment can be overwhelming. But the affable 44-year-old routinely finds himself rushing down the hallway from his office to intercept unscheduled visitors to the Oval Office.

If running the White house in a normal environment can be so difficult and the 44-year-old became busy because of that, then why there is a but in the beginning of the sentence? Wasn't "but" used to say when some two situations are contrary? Or Am I just misunderstanding these parts of article completely?

http://time.com/4672974/donald-trump-white-house-chaos/


texts: What does "non-associative animal" mean?

texts:
I came across this in relation to pet rats:

"The light and noise will most certainly not bother the rat because rats are non-associative animals and they will not mind the noise and light of the television."

Now, as far as I know "non-associative" means something that does not associate one thing with another. Rats, however, are very intelligent by nature, which by definition means they should be pretty good at making associations. It seems that here the phrase is used to describe their perception rather than their intelligence but I've never seen it used like this and I'm not quite sure what is meant by it (neither could I find anything in the dictionary). Could someone please clarify.


texts:
With the RKC kettlebell technique, you grip the handle tightly with one hand, keep your head tilted up at the bottom of the swing, lock out your elbow throughout the swing, snap your hips forward into hyperextension, inhale during the downward swing, and stop the swing at shoulder height.

The Source: http://livehealthy.chron.com/russian-vs-crossfit-kettlebells-5561.html

Could you help me please with the meaning of the phrase "lock out your elbow throughout the swing". I am familiar with the standard meaning of "lock out" but none makes any sense in that context. It occured to me that it could be equivalent of "don't bend" but I am not sure…


texts: Difference in meaning between "the things you needed" and "the things you need"?

texts:
What’s the difference in meaning between these two?

Did you find all the things you needed?
Did you find all the things you need?


texts: Can we use might have for future possibility?

texts:
I know that we use might have to show that something has possibly happened now or happened at some time in the past. But can we use it for future? For example:

Just imagine there is a person who is 40 years old and he loves a girl who is 18 years old... For teasing him I say:

  "You are too old, when she will come to your age you might have died"

Is it a correct sentence? I don't know...I'm a learner, please help.


texts:
This can make other people feel offended

This can make other people offended

This can offend other people.

These are exactly the same meaning without any difference in nuance, right?


texts: What do you call an oozing light you see from a distance in the landscape?

texts: I can't think of a specific term or even a phrase to describe it correctly. I would describe it as a oozing light, but an oozing light is too non-specific.


texts:
Quite confusing for me as I have read/heard both.

  Your salary in/on hand will be X amount.

What it takes and why? To me, both seem correct.


texts: What is the meaning of 'virtual'? Dictionaries confuse me!

texts:
What is the meaning of the word 'virtual' is it real? Fake? Created? Real looking like? What?

While virtual world means created by computer, if something is created as virtual device, is it for real? I mean tangible? Can you touch it? If so, why is it virtual? Another concept that I came across is virtual reality. Now again, if it's touchable, in this real world, why is it virtual?

Collins describe that as 'having the essence or effect but not the appearance or form of' - again is it for real, touchable, or imaginary? It gives an example of a virtual revolution! what's that now? Revolution happens for sure and you and I witness it, don't we? What's virtual in that again?

Finally, kindly tell me, if something is virtual is it visible, touchable, in real world or it's imaginary? If everything is imaginary, why do we have virtual assistant - an answering machine; Why do we have virtual devices? if they are imaginary? Sorry, if this all looks silly to natives! :)


texts: "Even this means" VS "Even though this means"

texts:
Medical workers exhibited their dedication to saving lives, even though this meant they had to put themselves in harm's way.
  Medical workers exhibited their dedication to saving lives, even this meant they had to put themselves in harm's way.

I want to know which of these is correct.


texts: What is "To litter the foul center-table" in this sentence

texts:
Although i know meaning of each word one by one in this sentence in Mark Twain's short story "About Barbers" I cannot understand what is "to litter" and "foul center-table" in the context.
Thanks for your help!

Finally, I searched out the least dilapidated of last year's illustrated papers that littered the foul center-table, and conned their unjustifiable misrepresentations of old forgotten events.


texts: When referring to abstract noun how should I use demonstratives? Abstract nouns do not have a distance from the speaker. For example when should I say "this story/concept/word/name" and when I should say "that story/concept/word/name" or "the story/concept/word/name""?


texts:
now I am trying to study about relative clauses.
But I am curious about why do you use relative clauses?
For example, a thief is a person who steals thing.

also how do many English native speaker use relative clauses?


texts: "something we wanted to do but **we didn't**", is the second "we" optional?

texts:
Some guy is talking about the use of would have and the past
participle

  we use it to talk about
  something we wanted to do but didn't

I would have said

  we use it to talk about
  something we wanted to do but we didn't

Is the second "we" that functions as subject of the clause follows "but" required, optional or unnecessary?


texts: How does a "parent" generate a "sister"?

texts:
Forgive my ignorance, but I am still a newbie on these matters.

A parent site is a website, and it is synonymous with a main site, correct?
Whereas a sister site is a site closely related to a parent site, a type of “spin off” that successful TV series sometimes generate. Correct?

For example, if I've understood correctly,  EL&U (English Language & Usage) would be the  parent site while ELL would be its sister site.

But why isn't a sister site called a daughter site, or a child site instead?

A ‘parent’ generates children, not siblings.

EDIT

Amazingly, it seems the expressions parent site and sister site are not listed in any online dictionary.


texts: Is the following expression is clear: "determines whether A is greater than or equal to B"?

texts:
The processor determines whether value X ≧ 100.

I am trying to rewrite the above sentence without using the mathematical symbol. My example is as follows:

  The processor determines whether value X is greater than or equal to
  100.

I am afraid that this may be misinterpreted as follows:

  The processor determines whether value X is greater than 100 or value
  X is equal to 100.

Is there a possibility of such misinterpretation?


texts: There were or there was in second conditional

texts:
I want to clarify the use of "were" to replace "was" in second conditionals. I learned that we should use "were" in I/he/she/it to make it more formal. But how about it "There"?
For example,
If there (was/were) no virus, I would go to Europe.


texts: Look for something to do sth or look to do something

texts:
I found this structure in a book:

  What is he looking for to buy?

It sounds correct to me but my friends insist it is wrong or sounds weird!
I'd like to know if, first, it is correct to use an infinitive with 'to' after a preposirion like 'for', and second,which of the sentences in this pair, as an answer to the question above sounds more correct?

  He's looking for a shirt to buy.
  He's looking to buy a shirt.


texts:
Which is correct and appropriate when referring to a picture on some page of a book?

  A: Look at the picture on book page 49.

  B: Look at the picture from book page 49.

Also, would you think the same if a text or an article were involved instead of an iconographic document?


texts:
Are you fell on your head when you were kid?
  Have you fallen on your head when you were kid?
  Did you fell on your head when you were kid?

Which one is correct to say.


texts:
Meaning of aristocracy and connotation of wealth:

Must an aristocrat be wealthy?


texts:
I wonder whether we can use couldn't in this sentence, and if no, why:

She misses her family living abroad. She __ visit them for years, but
they just got an e-mail account, so now they can keep in touch daily.

A test I've been solving says one should use hasn't been able to, not couldn't, but I'm not sure why.
One textbook (Downing & Locke) says that we use 'could' for extended actions in the past and 'was able to' for perfective actions, but that in negative phrases this distinction is not obligatory:

He was able to escape. (OK)
*He could escape. (Error)

But:

He wasn't able to escape.
He couldn't escape.

Is it that the words "for years" together with the "but-clause" containing the word "just" stress the "perfectivity" and force us to use the construction (to be able to) better suited for perfective actions?


texts:
My manager told my to answer customers' questions.

I want to say this answer for a specific question:

  We are providing services through smartphones applications. Each service has its own natural. For more information contact me please.

I am not asking if the content of the message is correct. But I am asking if this sentence is grammatical because I want to show it to customers.


texts:
My friend had asked me about how to go to one picnic spot which I had visited long back. I told him the route. After weekend I want to ask him whether he had gone to that picnic spot or not

How should I Ask?

  Did you go to picnic spot which you were asking me?
  Or

  Had you been/gone to that picnic spot which you were asking me?
  Or

  Have you been/gone to that picnic spot which you were asking me?


texts:
When a baby eats food, he might drop lots of food. Can these drops be called droppings? If not, what is the appropriate term:

Stop making drops/droppings?


texts: Is it grammatically possible to use prepositions 'of/from' in the following sentence: 'I'm a long way off (of/from) being fluent.'?

texts: I am not sure whether I can use prepositions 'of/from' in this kind of structures and how am I to know how to use them properly? I have looked the phrase up and the only examples they give are when it comes without an object as in: September was a long way off. Success is still a long way off. Holiday is a long way off.


texts:
I have a lot/much/far/a bit/any more interests in common with my sister.

I have a lot/much/far/a bit/any more stuff in common with my sister.

Can we use all the adverbs used for comparative forms (far/any/no/much/very much better) with more in above sentence?


texts:
How to use "Might be" and "Perhaps"? Are these terms interchangeable in a sentence?

Although I use dictionaries for references, I still face difficulties when forming sentences with these two words. I especially can't decide in what types of sentences, I should use these ones.


texts:
I am not sure if there's an antonym for jam as in "they jammed our radio signals". Is there? I looked up dictionaries and thesauruses and I haven't found a single antonym for the verb jam as in "jamming a radio signal". There are antonym related to different definitions of jam, but not the one I am looking for. What are the words that can qualify as an antonym?

I am thinking there are phrasal verbs or other verbs that are not quite the same as antonyms that could be provided as answers, but I am not sure if these words can technically be used as antonyms.


texts:
I'm learning number, big numbers like one hundred (100) or one thousand (1000).

The question is: for a composed number e.g. 73,987, that I can write as,
seventy-three thousand, nine hundred and eighty-seven

Is the and word mandatory?
or can I simply write seventy-three thousand, nine hundred eighty-seven

another example: 123,601,
one hundred twenty-three thousand, six hundred one
one hundred and twenty-three thousand, six hundred and one

And if there are differences between British and American English.


texts: what's the exact meaning of "I don't like it very much?"

texts:
I don't like it very much

Here comes 2 possible understandings

1.I hate it very much.

2.Though I do not like it very much, I like it a little.

Which one is right?


texts: Is it correct to use "take" in "I took this word from the dictionary"?

texts: Let's suppose I am translating a text from my native language into English, and I come across a word that I don't know how to translate. I look it up in the dictionary and put it in my text. Can I say that I took that word from the dictionary, or should I use a different verb?


texts: Value of sentences with or without antecedent

texts:
Our politicians have been pandering again. This demotivates the voters. - Entire first sentence as antecedent

When we take the bolded sentence away from its antecedent, where does that leave it grammatically both in and outside of the structure.

This is the subject of the second sentence but obviously without it's antecedent doesn't make sense alone. But is it classed as independent when paired with it's antecedent and dependent when alone ?


texts:
Here is a sentence:

  I can barely see a foot in front of me in this fog.

As a standalone sentence, it can't be the answer to the question starting with "What can you..." since "a foot" here is a unit of the length of vision, and so the question it may be the answer to might be "How far can you see in this fog?"  Would I be right saying that "barely" in this sentence modifies "can" whereas "a foot" modifies "to see"? If yes, does it mean that it plays the role of an adverb? But can a noun be an adverb? If yes, what type of adverb it is in the above sentence?

P.S. There's a related post on the role of "a foot" in a sentence, but it doesn't seem to meet with my request.


texts: "where else" word usage in a sentence (phrase)

texts:
Let's say you just expressed your annoyance to a taxi driver who happens to be texting while driving you around.

  What the! where else can you see a driver who has got the nerve to text while driving!

Can you use this word combination (where-else)? I just made this one up taken from "what else", "anywhere else" words. I can't see any result upon googling the word "where else".


texts:
Machiavelli saw himself as a realist, someone who recognized that
  people are fundamentally selfish. Thomas Hobbes shared that view: it
  underpins his whole account of how he thought society ought to be
  structured.

A little history of philosophy - Nigel Warburton, Chapter IX

What does "account" mean?


texts:
Additional information:

  According to the source a noun 'lyrics' as text of a song it isn't a mass noun; It means that it has singular and plural cases for such noun, but according to its examples there're no cases with singular 'lyric' noun.

Question:

1) Does it exist the only option for the noun 'lyrics' as plural or sometimes the noun 'lyrics' could be singular in terms of using it for defining text of song entity

2) In case when the noun 'lyrics' can be only plural then can I treat (perceive) the noun 'lyrics' as a mass noun in spite of Oxford dictionary determination? - I think no because mass nouns are uncountable

Examples:

  singular: Her first lyric for the song is great

  plural: Her first lyrics for the song are great


texts: Can we write- please confirm about your duty

texts: Can I use -please confirm about your duty.?


texts: Which is the verb in this sentence? Or is this sentence not grammatical/missing verb?

texts:
I came across this sentence in Collins Dictionary:

  Light mist, fog bank further out in the Channel, smooth, oily swells running.

I can't seem to parse it grammatically. I think "further out in the Channel" is an adverbial phrase modifying one of the subjects "fog bank." But is either smooth or swell the main verb in this sentence? What does this sentence mean, if it is one at all?

Edit:

Also if it is not a complete sentence, is smooth here a verb, adjective, noun, or adverb? Is swell here a noun or a verb?


texts:
Which one do I have to use?

  I got to know it was a self-help book.

or

  I got to know it is a self-help book.

Which sentence is correct?

Note: The book is/was a self-help book when I was reading it; also now the book is a self-help book, and also in the future the book will be a self-help book.


texts: Is the format be+on+trial grammatically correct?

texts:
See, for example, the following example;

  He is on trial for selling illicit goods in his store.

Is that sentence grammatically sound or should it better be like;

  He is put on trial for selling illicit goods in his store.

? According to Google N-grams, the original is more frequent. See is on trial,is put on trial.


texts: Usage of "which" and "what" in affirmative

texts:
The  medico  went  to  the  nearest  village  and  there  in  the  bazaar  he  found  various  kinds  of meat  and  fish.  He  looked  around  for  some  time  and  found  that  nothing  suited  him.  His  medical knowledge  now  seemed  to  warn  him which meat  or  fish  was  indigestible,  which not  nutritious, which unseasonable,  which  would  cause  what disease, which  would  upset  the  stomach  and  which the  bile, till finally he left without buying any meat or fish!

In this paragraph, I wanted to know the usage of "which" and "what".Are they determiner or relative pronouns?


texts:
While looking at World Cup match schedules, I saw this phrase:

  All times are Pacific Time

I googled a bit and found similar but different phrase:

  All times are in Pacific Time

So, is one of them wrong?  Is the "in" needed?


texts: How to call value compared with the previous day's value in stock exchange?

texts:
Hi, I'd like to know how to call value compared with the previous day's value in English.

This image is what I screen-captured in tradingview.com

Q1. how do you call these value in English? -> (0.37%, 0.78%, 0.25%)

Q2. how do you call these value in English? -> (9.3, 46.2, 0.00297)


texts:
In the following sentences, with is necessary?

He needs the tools to build the house with.

He uses the tools to build the house with.


texts:
Could you please tell me whether the following sentence

  We've eaten at that restaurant in recent years.

is grammatically correct and sounds natural? Is that the correct  usage of the present perfect?


texts:
One of my colleague asked me that "What time can I call you". I need to answer him.

Is this correct? If not please suggest the correction(s).


texts:
When have I to use "don't + pronoun"/"doesn't + pronoun"? I saw it a few times and I'm not sure how to use it.

An example could be:

  You're going to school, don't you?


texts: Passive past perfect vs Passive past tense

texts:
What is the difference between Dishwashers were introduced in 1978 and Dishwashers had been introduced in 1978
Thank you in advance.


texts: why did Dan Treacy write "had ever had " instead of "have ever had"

texts:
And Carnaby Street was fab

The best weekend that she had ever had

this is the last sentence of "smashing time" a song written by Dan Treacy , the leader of the television personnalities

I was wondering why he did not write have ever had (up to now), why did he use the past perfect which means  that he had never experienced something so good before this trip, but surely now this may  not be the case

https://themilkybaskets.bandcamp.com/track/smasing-time-television-personalities


texts: Should the verb be plural or singular in a sentence "The set of steps include[s] ...". Because set is something that can include something else, it feels to me that it should be includes, but since my emphasize is not on the set itself an is on the steps, it seems to me that it should be include.


texts: Is "gaped," "gawked," and "beamed" usually paired with "at subject"?

texts:
I usually see these words paired with "at subject." Even dictionaries have it this way:

They stood gaping at the pig in the kitchen.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gape
Same with "gawked" and "beamed." (I'm not very sure, though.)
Would it be strange to write this words without an "at subject"?
Example:

He gaped, then told told Lily, "What are you doing?"


texts: what is the meaning of "a play about the slipperiness of language"?

texts:
I read a phrase in an essay titled "The Wreck of Order in Early Modern Women's Drama"

  Ferguson, Kennedy, and Hiscock have seen Salome as a play about the slipperiness of language, particularly women's language in the early modern period.

What does "a play about the slipperiness of the language" mean exactly?

Here attached is part of the context:

Since Herod cannot recognise what is due to him privately versus what is due to him publicly, he is ripe for Salome's plans catering to his overwhelming egotism. After Salome's seeming proof of loyalty, Mariam's arguments with him in the scene following seem like so much carping and not the proper sort of behaviour for recognition of a husband and king whom she had missed while he was gone. Ultimately, Salome's weapon against her brother results from rigid patriarchal understanding: an unreasonable expectation of loyalty on the part of her brother as head of the country and their family and a stunning naiveté about how language really works. Ferguson (243), Kennedy (114), and Hiscock (100) have seen Salome as a play about the slipperiness of language, particularly women's language in the early modern period. After all, women speak out frequently in the play and one of Mariam's faults is seen to be her speaking. Unlike some of these women, Salome speaks frequently but to the point. In an important interaction with Herod about Mariam's future, Salome responds to his ravings nonchalantly; as Herod tries to figure out the best way to kill Mariam, she offers up options, none of which he is willing to commit to. Herod makes the ridiculous claim that when Mariam is killed, if he cannot stand being without her, "You'll find the means to make her breathe again, / Or else you will bereave my comfort quite" (4.7.387-88). Salome, in a triumph of Nixonian double-speak, replies, "Oh ay, I warrant you" (4.7.389). She, like the Iago she is often compared to, speaks the truth, but Herod, Othello-like, cannot hear the truth because it would rip from him all sense of comfort and loyalty in the world that he, by his own machinations, has made a dishonest and disloyal world. When he does decide to remand the issuance of Mariam's death sentence, he offers to do so, ultimately, on the basis of Mariam's physical beauty. Comparing Salome to her, he says, "You are to her a sun-burnt blackamoor: / Your paintings cannot equal Mariam's praise, / Her nature is so rich, you are so poor" (4.7. 461-63). Salome does not respond with anger as one would expect from a woman whose main means of impressing the patriarchy, her beauty, has been devalued; instead, she merely replies, "I'll stay her death; 'tis well determined: / For sure she never more will break her vow, / Sohemus and Joseph both are dead" (4.7.502-04). With her very words, she uses rationality to exercise her will; she clearly sees Herod's irrationality and knows that only her clear-headedness will get her what she wants. Instead of the battle between rationality and passion (or will) that Laurie Shannon sees as part of the theme of the text (148), Salome uses reason to exploit others' passions and fulfill her own ambitions.


texts: Using present perfect tense for an action that is still in progress?

texts: My question is "Can we use present perfect tense for that an action which started in past and is still in progress"? if yes than how?


texts:
Call me once you reach home.

vs

Call me once you have reached home.

what is the difference?

also

I'll only be satisfied after I pass my test with good marks.

vs

I'll only be satisfied after I have passed my test with good marks.

which one is more correct?

Does the use of simple present mean the activity is performed at the very instant of reaching home or say passing the exam, and the use of present perfect means sometimes after the say reaching home or passing the exam ?


texts:
There are about a dozen bananas in this basket.
There are about twelve bananas in this basket.

I know that there are some adjectives that show quantity. So, twelve is an adjective for sure. However, regarding dozen, I've some reservations. Oxford dictionary mentions dozen as noun only.
So I want to know, in the above sentence, is dozen a noun or an adjective?


texts: Follow me, and your urologist will be buying himself a new yacht

texts:
The following1 is a retort from the dean of a hospital to her highly insubordinate lead-diagnostician.

  In a little place called "follow me, and your urologist will be buying himself a new yacht."

The above diagnostician wants to know where the dean is planning to meet someone, and is known to use a private investigator to snoop on people without their consent.

The problem is, I have no idea what the above is supposed to mean. I know what a urologist is (but not who she would be referring to). I know what a yacht is (really expensive boat). I know the dean would want to do something to penalize the diagnostician in case he followed the dean. However, it sounds like the punishment for insubordination is something completely random.

What is it supposed to mean?

[1]Source: House M.D., Season 5 Episode 6


texts: Comma between a which clause and an "and"

texts:
We have parsley, which is needed for flavour, and beer, which we can use for the marinade.

Should there be a comma before the "and"? I think there should be to make the sentence structure easier to understand, however Grammarly tells me otherwise.


texts: Is there an idiom that means that you are in a very strong negotiation position in a negotiation? If there's no such idiom can you think of an idiom that means that you are in a stronger position than someone or something else? I am thinking of using the word in an essay on the U.S.-China trade war.


texts: What exactly does “walking around the house” mean?

texts:
I am confused of the word “around”.

A person is outside and walking along the house?
A person is inside the house walking in any direction.

Does it mean number 1 or 2? If both are correct, how can we distinguish which one is which when someone is using the word “around” in that context?


texts:
Q: According to recent studies, bananas are the most promising food for an edible vaccine against the hepatitis B virus,

  A) but this virus is very common in many African countries

  B) so that potatoes, tomatoes and other vegetables  might serve to immunize people some day

  C) just as symptoms of acute viral hepatitis usually begin  suddenly

  D) which lives in about 5 per cent of the world's population

  E) whereas scientists have discovered a way to boost the level of immune-triggering hepatitis protein in the fruit

This is the question. I am asked to complete the sentence. The given answer is E. I think the answer should be D.

This is what I think about the question:

D seems to  be the correct answer because it explains Hepatitis B virus. E, however should be wrong because "whereas" doesn't really go well with the rest of the sentence. Can you explain if I am wrong? Thanks.


texts: What meaning of "when" is it in this sentence?

texts:
Setting: An air plane crashed and bunch of school students have been stranded in an island

  Student A : Isn't it strange? Here we are talking to each other... when, since we're in different classes, we probably never would have spoken to each other if this hadn't happened.

  Student B : Oh, that's not true.

Why the author put "when" in student A's dialogue? Is "when, since" equal to "Because back then"?


texts: Difference between Past simple & perfect

texts:
Could somebody tell me if I'm right with my explanation below:

I loved her as soon as we met : (I don't love her anymore right now)
I've loved her as soon as we met : (I'm still in love with her right now)

Thanks


texts: Sharp-nailed fingers vs Sharp-nail fingers?

texts:
1) She has sharp-nailed fingers.

  2) She has sharp-nail fingers.

Which is correct? and Why?


texts: What does the following sentence mean (related to grammar)

texts:
I saw the following sentence in an English learning book (It was an exercise and the final answer was the following sentence):

  Who would ask for help if you needed it?

What is the meaning of this sentence? Someone else asked for help and you needed help?! This sentence was not in a text and is an independent sentence.

If the sentence is not right, what will be the answer? the question is:
Who ....... for help if you ........ it? (Ask ,Need)  __> It must be completed with ask and need and the answer must be second conditional.


texts:
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post a question like the following (and if not, I'd be happy to be redirected to a better one, maybe still on StackExchange), but since I have no other ideas, I'll ask anyway:

I've recently taken the CAE (Cambridge English Advanced, or C1 level) exam, being awarded grade A with an overall score of 205 on the Cambridge English Scale, which corresponds to CEFR C2 level.

My question is: can I write on my CV that I achieved C2 level or not?

INFO: The front page of my certificate states:

  Cambridge English Level 3 Certificate in ESOL International (Advanced)*

  This is to certify that NAME SURNAME has been awarded Grade A in the Certificate in Advanced English

  Performance at Grade A demonstrates an
  ability at Level 3* and Council of Europe Level C2

  Overall Score 205

  [...]

  *This level refers to the UK National Qualifications Framework

On the back:

  Results are reported using scores on the Cambridge English Scale and
  certificates are awarded to candidates who achieve the following
  grades:

  Grade A - CEFR Level C2 (score 200-210)

  Grade B - CEFR Level C1 (score
  193-199)

  Grade C - CEFR Level C1 (score 180-192)

  Candidates who have achieved a score between 200 and 210 (Grade A)
  have demonstrated ability at CEFR Level C2. Candidates who have not
  achieved a passing grade, but score between 160 and 179, receive a
  certificate stating they demonstrated ability at CEFR Level B2.

Asking to a couple of friends and to the manager of the English school where I took the test I got opposing views on the subject. Can you enlighten me?

For the time being my choice is to state this on my CV:

Certified C2 level, Cambridge English C1 Advanced qualification (Dec. 2018)
Cambridge English Scale score: 205


texts: Word for contents lightly erupting from container

texts:
I feel like I know this word, but I can't think of it.
Here's the setting. I worked in the school's lab, where I was creating an ester from methane acid + methanol, and I dropped some sulfuric acid into the reaction tube, which made the contents bubble and kind of lightly erupt from the tube. Erupt is not the right word because it implies much more volatility than what the eruption really was.
This spillage was somewhere in between a gentle bubble over and volatile eruption. It was kind of like a few pulses of the liquid popping out of the tube, but not all of it erupting out.


texts: Difference between “competitive analysis” and “competitiveness analysis”

texts:
What is the difference between “competitive analysis” and “competitiveness analysis”?

I find “competitive analysis” is a common term.

  Competitive Analysis

  Definition: Identifying your competitors and evaluating their
  strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to
  those of your own product or service

  https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/competitive-analysis

  Competitive analysis or competitive research is a field of strategic
  research that specializes in the collection and review of information
  about rival firms.

  https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/5-ways-to-perform-a-competitive-analysis-establish-your-presence

I cannot find a ready definition for “competitiveness analyst”. But it is also used in news.

  “Tucson Roberts of Tucson/Atlantic Consulting and Robert Ingram of
  Common Sense Economic Development discussed their three-month
  assessment of the region, including its aerospace-related strengths
  and weaknesses, as well as a strategic competitiveness analysis.”

  https://www.register-herald.com/news/greenbrier-valley-region-certified-as-aeroready/article_50f70309-bc5f-5023-928c-9af6b6b90757.html

  “Further, it includes a relative competitiveness analysis of different
  CAR-T cell therapy-based gene editing platforms, based on various
  parameters, such as ease of system design, cost of technology, level
  of toxicity and efficiency of technology.”

  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/car-t-therapies-market-2nd-edition-2019-2030-300928619.html


texts:
I have three noun words that will be constructed as a part of a title sentence. Consider:

  ........ using Shape properties means

And

  .......using Shape property means

The property is a quantity or say, a number. The are more than one shape properties of an object.
The Mean is an average

For example

Object A:

Property1

Peoperty2

Mean of those properties

Object B:

Property1

Peoperty2

Mean of those properties

Now I want turn it as a part of 'title' of my report in English

I do really need your assistances in choosing between

Shape properties means or shape property means?

Typically in a title, a word should be in a general sense, while talking about an object in general, needs to use a plural form. Now I'm really confused which one of those needs to be in a plural form or, eventually some of them need to be plural

Thank you for the time.


texts: What does "You (don't) want to do something" mean while explaining?

texts:
What does it mean when someone explains something to me?

  You want to do this.
  You do not want to do this.

Is this equal to You should/shouldn't do this?

(instead of "do this" would be something different)


texts:
If the law was adopted some time ago and is still effective, what tense and preposition to use?

  The law IS effective ON July 1, 2014.

vs

  The law IS effective SINCE July 1, 2014.

vs

  The law HAS BEEN effective SINCE July 1, 2014.


texts: How do I ask whether there it's a holiday for the class?

texts:
I am enrolled in an evening program conducted on every Wednesday. In the schedule, an upcoming Wednesday is left blank. I want to ask the coordinator through email whether that particular Wednesday is a holiday for my program. Which of the following is correct?

  Is/Are there classes on next Wednesday?
  Is/Are there lectures on next Wednesday?

Asking "Is there class on next Wednesday?" feels a bit odd.


texts:
As Cambridge dictionary clarifies, the term "the breadline" is a British one that means:
the breadline

The level of income someone has when they are very poor, with only just enough money to buy food, pay their rent, etc. (My take: the minimum income level that below that is called poverty):

They are living under the breadline.

I was wondering if it does not work in American, what would be its American English equivalent?
Also, please let me know if my take on the meaning of the term is right.


texts: Is it correct? : Anytime within Friday is available

texts: I'd like to know this sentence is correct grammatically: Anytime within Friday is available.


texts: "for a whole week" vs "for the whole week"

texts:
which of these two sentences is correct?

  It has been snowing for a whole week already.
  It has been snowing for the whole week already.


texts:
What does it mean by "asleep at the watch"?

  The childish awe that accompanied the president stands in unfortunate contrast to the indifference greeting the next state visit to Israel. Unlike the Trump visit, this one will mark an historic occasion: the first-ever by the prime minister of this country. This individual presides over an economy that is growing at a dizzying pace and could one day emerge as the world’s largest. Yet days before the arrival of the world's most important prime minister – India's Narendra Modi – Israel is asleep at the watch. (Meirav Arlosoroff / Analysis)

Haaretz: India's Narendra Modi Visits Israel, Sees Israeli Desalination Tech at Beach With Netanyahu


texts: I found in a dictionary that valedictorian is the student who gives a speech at a graduation ceremony. I that the only word for that?


texts: Even if "although" is omitted, can this sentence still have the same meaning?

texts:
For example,

Although I know he is honest, I don't like him
Knowing he is honest, I don't like him

I think 2 has the same meaning as 1 even if "although" is omitted because it's most natural to read 2 as 1.
What do you think?


texts: What's the meaning of "he minded another straw"?

texts:
Dennis's face showed even less disappointment, and indeed the only
expression of it that he allowed to escape him was, when breaking the
news to Mona and when Mona suddenly said, "Then I can marry Peter," he
had replied, "Oh, yes," rather in the tones that a camel might use, if
he were able to talk, and when his back is broken someone had asked
if he minded another straw.

This is from "The Story of Mona Sheehy" by Lord Dunsany.
I can't understand the meaning of this clause: "and when his back is broken someone had asked if he minded another straw." What does it mean?


texts: What is the meaning of "morning blues" or "Monday blues"?

texts:
Just want to know the real meaning of:

  Morning blues

or

  Monday blues

Do these two have the same meaning?


texts:
Which sentence is grammatically correct?

  I miss the discussions we used to have.
  I miss the discussions we used to had.

Please give the reason why one of the above is correct.


texts: formulating an idiomatic multiple-choice question

texts:
Is it idiomatic to say "What is a toy from the East?" (meaning "Which toy comes from the East?") in a multiple choice quiz? For example:

What is a toy from the East?

top

butterfly

blocks

Or will it sound a bit off?


texts: what is mold situation in this sentence?

texts:
In the classroom, there is mold situation.

what does that mean? I don't understand. Is it about the classroom who is boring? Or the students who are old?


texts: How do you say "later part" of videos in English?

texts:
Say, there is a video, at the start part it has sound, at the later part, there is no sound at all.

How do you describe the "later part"?


texts:
From the book Thinking in Java:

  I found out, by creating and chairing the C++ track at the Software Development Conference for a number of years (and later creating and chairing the Java track), that I and other speakers tended to give the typical audience too many topics too quickly.

What does that actually mean? I tried to look up other definitions of the word track in dictionaries, but to no avail. I couldn't find anything that could even remotely fit the particular usage the author uses here.


texts: a tall, slim woman vs a short fat man - problems with a comma

texts:
At the 2012 US Track and Field Championships, a tall, slim woman
  in a tracksuit watched the long jump final.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2574382/Hall-Fame-Jack-Joyner-Kersee-Heptathlons-original-Golden-Girl-First-Lady-track-field.html

Why is there a commma after the word "tall"? I'd guess that it shouldn't be a comma because "tall" belongs to SIZE and "slim" belongs to SHAPE.

  A young woman was assaulted by a short fat man with dirty trainers
  in a busy Plymouth street.

Source: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/woman-attacked-in-busy-plymouth-street-by-short-fat-man-wearing-dirty-trainers/story-29536571-detail/story.html
"short" belongs to SIZE and "fat" belongs to SHAPE and there is no comma?
Why is it so confusing? The categories are the same.


texts: Does "the overall sake" mean "for the sake of the majority of people"?

texts:
I was certain that the "phrase" (the) overall sake exist until I have typed it on Google search box to find no result containing it as a whole.

So, I want to know if it exists in English and if it would mean what I want to convey which is "for the sake of the majority of people".

I have also searched for a phrase to indicate that meaning but didn't find a one.

For example:

  Even if it wasn't to your approbation, it would be for the overall sake.


texts:
I have a question about informalness of the phrase "make a delivery" compared to the verb "deliver":

  The delivery man delivered ten times.
  The delivery man made ten deliveries.

Could it be that sentence 2 is informal compared to sentence 1?


texts:
"It did nothing but make us ridiculous."

It means : "It did nothing but It did make us ridiculous."

Here, 'but' seems to be a conjunction.

But I know, 'but' is a preposition (meaning 'except') in the phrase 'nothing but'!

Again, if 'but' is a preposition, the verb following it should be in -ing from. But here the verb is in the base from - 'make'!

Then, what is the parts of speech of 'but' in the phrase "nothing but"?


texts: Does the word "weisure" has the same meaning as leisure? If not, what is the difference?


texts: Any differences between "I didn't have many apples" and "I had few apples"?

texts:
We all know that "I had a few apples" and "I had few apples" are different.

I wondered what the possible differences would be in the meaning of these two sentences:

  I didn't have many apples.
  I had few apples.

Well, we know that "few" is a negative quantifier and it's the opposite of 'many'. But do the two sentences convey precisely the same meaning?


texts: Tense structure in this phrase: "unfurl my cape and swoop in to launch my second act..."

texts:
"I just wanted to leave L.A. in a snit, lick my considerably wounded
  ego, and when I determined that everyone felt sufficiently sorry for
  me, unfurl my cape and swoop in to launch my second act and show
  those bastards who the true bitch goddess of architecture really
  is."

It's from "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" by Maria Semple.

I can't understand the tense structure in the bold phrase.
Is she going to unfurl her cape in a future time, or did she already make that?

Is this supposed to be something like below?

"...(I am going to/I will) unfurl my cape and swoop in to launch my second act and show those bastards who the true bitch goddess of architecture really is."


texts: Difference between such trash and such a trash

texts:
What is the difference between the following two sentences

  You must not read such trash

  You must not read such a trash

Or are they both the same?


texts:
We say “I felt honored to have won such a prestigious award.”

In the first sentence, we use felt+past participle form. Why we use past participle form? is it any rule like be+past participle?


texts: Wondering what the phrase "down close" mean in an economic-related context?

texts:
Down close to 5 percents.
It was talking about market and shares.


texts:
This is taken from The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

  Kyle had been born four years to the day after her mother had died.

Here "her mother" refers to "Kyle's mother's mother".

I have problem understanding the meaning of this sentence. Does it mean "Kyle had been born after four years on the same day when Kyle's mother's mother died"?


texts: When to use "willing", when to use "want to"?

texts:
I just met, again, someone using the phrase "willing". He said: "I'm willing to go." Why did he not use "want to"?

Is there any difference between the words? Any situation where you would just use one of both?

Edit:

So I did some research about it, still I'm confused about it.

I found a reference here explaining the difference. It says that "want to" means things that I really wish to do or happen. On the other hand, "willing" means to be able to do something but it isn't really the number one thing which is a priority.

But what is about a sentence like "I'm willing to wait."? "I want to wait" doesn't sound as it could mean the same. In my opinion, "ready" could be good replacement for "willing" in this content. So, when do I exactly use "willing" and when "want to"?


texts:
In a sentence taken from the Oxford Dictionary:

  ‘The inscription on his tombstone in Groombridge Church, where he is buried alongside his three children, bears his original name and no reference to his nom de plume.’

Is ‘buried’ an adjective, a participial adjective, or a predicate nominative  because it follows the copular verb is?

  Predicate nominatives complete only linking verbs. The linking verbs include the following: the helping verbs is: am, are, was, were, be, being, and been; the sense verbs: look, taste, smell, feel, and sound; and verbs like become, seem, appear, grow, continue, stay, and turn.

Or is it a past participle because the clause is in the passive voice?

Does “he is buried” mean currently his body lies in a coffin covered with soil, or  does it mean he has been buried by someone?

If we say ‘he was buried’ it clearly refers to an event that happened and ended sometime in the past. It might even suggest that the burial ground has since been changed.


texts: What is the meaning of "We can’t all fight habits as well as Calvin"?

texts:
By the way, is it appropriate if I turn to my Christian friends for an answer too?

PS: Here is the source.


texts: What does "thou art come unto a feast of death" mean?

texts:
I came upon this sentence while reading the narrow road to the deep north. I knew it's from Shakespeare but can't understand.

  Thou art come unto a feast of death


texts: I know impart means "to give" and is used commonly with knowledge, as in "impart knowledge"...but can I say that a government scheme "imparted money" to the beneficiaries?


texts:
shrew /ʃru/
  shoe /ʃu/

Korean having no spelling for consonants by themselves, when I come across one of them, as in /ʃ/, it makes me very hard to catch how they are pronouncing. What’s the difference between /ʃ/ and /ʃu/?
I have this idea. In some Korean comic books they mark a laughter, especially a kind of smirk, with this sound, ㅋㅋㅋ [k k k], which isn’t on formal writings. If it be in a formal story book, it would be 크 크 크 [kɯ kɯ kɯ] or something that is combined with other vowels. The difference in sound between the two is, in fact, almost only the length of the sounds. So likewise, /ʃ/ and /ʃu/ maybe the same actually I would guess, except the length of the two.


texts: "An Arabic-poems-based video"; is the adj. correct?

texts: I want to refer to the fact that most of a video’s content is Arabic poems. Is it correct to write: an Arabic-poems-based video? Or should it be an Arabic-poetry-based video, for example? Or is the idea of forming the adj. this way entirely wrong?


texts:
In a topic about negative structure: negative question, Swan said that a question could ask a confirmation of a negative belief. So, let's look at the following two sentences:

  Oh, Dear. Can't they come this evening?

and

  Oh, Dear. Couldn't they come this evening?

The first sentence was provided by Swan, but the second is mine. As far as I understand what Swan said, the first sentence shows the speaker suspects that they didn't come. In contrast, in the second sentence, the speaker shows that it might be  good if they come.

Am I correct?


texts: Do I need add "feel" in the following sentence?

texts:
Outdoor activities didn't make him happy, but (feel) sleepy.

Do I need to write feel there? Why or why not?


texts:
Which one is right, faculty of science Or faculty of sciences?
I think "sciences" is better as it refers to multiple departments.


texts:
Consider the sentence below.

  The total mass is the sum of the mass of all components.

I do not understand why definite article "the" is followed by the word "mass."
Why the word "mass" is specific? Is the phrase "of all components" makes it specific?

The sentence is from a science article.


texts: By ear I feel that the answer is "I'm going to fly", but the more I think about it and the more I see "will fly" to Paris as a legitimate option as well, can you guys help me out decide with some explanation?


texts:
what is the meaning of "broadly defined"?

Three broadly defined groups are at play in the River Valley


texts: How many times do we need to use auxiliary verb in a sentence?

texts:
Which one is correct sentence? I'm asking how many times I need to use 'will' in a sentence?

One day I will have so many cars that I will not even remember how many cars I will have.

One day I will have so many cars that I don't even remember how many cars I have.

Should I use 'will' again and again?


texts:
This sentence is from a TOEFL material:

  According to the news report, this investment by the company will likely provide a major boost to the economy because it will lead to the development of new technologies for export.

I usually put preposition to after the adverb likely, but here in this sentence, the word clearly hasn't been used that way.

Now I'm confused about when to put preposition to after the adverb likely.

Will this sentence still be grammatical if I put preposition to after the adverb likely? If so, why then is the preposition to omitted in this sentence?


texts: Difference between "I have done" and "I have been doing"

texts:
Please let me know the difference between here two sentences:

I have smoked for three years.

and

I have been smoking for three years.

Also if it started raining hours ago and now it doesn't (it has just stopped), can I say "It just rained for hours"? How should I say properly?


texts: a word or phrasal verb meaning "to reduce the complexity of a concept"

texts:
I want to say:

  To be a good teacher, one needs to X some concepts.

In place of X, I can only think of "attenuate", which means to lessen the severeness of a disease. But I want to say 'to make a complex concept simpler'. Is there a verb for my purpose?


texts:
I came across a sentence in a novel:

  You have a concussion and are more use to the Navy with a working brain than without, plus you're 'bout as dinged up as that ship is. Look at your shoulder. (The Beautiful Mistake, by Steve Zingerman)

I thought are more use to reads strange to me, because be of more use to is a more common expression.


texts:
it is clear that "Vanilla" means that component that we add to our food , and no one don't know the meaning of "experiences" but i can't got it in this context , and i thi,k that it is a slang or idiomatic expression , could you help getting the meaning of it :

"
right there in front of them now without
commenting on whether these people were
already very socially awkward in the
first place I thought it was very
interesting how even with vanilla
experiences one could be so used to
reducing themselves to a voyeur that
they come to prefer that rather than the
real deal  "


texts: Can I use "She" and "her" for an animal?

texts:
Can I use "She" or "her" for an animal?
For example, Suppose I have a dog that is of the female gender.
How do I refer to it? "It" or "She"?

Also when I am talking with someone about an animal (for example Animal Doctor) and we both don't know the gender of the animal. How do we refer to it? "He" or "It"?


texts: Empathy vs Sympathy in the same sentence?

texts:
http://grammarist.com/usage/empathy-sympathy/ exemplified:

  The government must not mistake the empathy we feel for Denise Fergus’s loss with sympathy for her views. [Guardian]

I can't distinguish empathy vs sympathy in this sentence. My divination of:

empathy is that the Guardian understands and feels for Denise Fergus's loss.
sympathy is that the Guardian pities Denise Fergus's loss, but still spurn or reject her views?


texts:
Sweeping changes to the way Australia delivers welfare have been flagged in a report that calls for thousands to have their disability pensions cut if they can work. (Aussie ABC)

[Question 1] This structure is not easy to understand. I guess that-clause is an extraposed relative clause that modifies this NP, sweeping changes. Am I right?
[Question 2] Does this phrase, Australia delivers welfare, mean to give government’s financial aid (to the disable)?


texts: What is the order of singular and plural pronouns in the same sentence?

texts:
What's the order to be followed in case of pronouns where there are 2 third person subjects, one being plural and one singular. For example

You, David, them and I are invited for the party.

Or will it be

You, them, David and I are invited for the party.


texts:
Can you please let me know which sentence is correct?

Supreme Court concerns on India sex ratio.

Or

Supreme Court concern on India sex ratio.

As I have watched in news that they have not appended "s" to verb, however I thought that it is required as it is in Simple present tense.

Please correct me if I am wrong.


texts: Comma usage with Provided or Provided that

texts:
So I was checking the general usage of commas with conjunctions, and saw the inconsistent case of "provided" or "provided that". Example:

You can drive a car provided that you have a valid license.

You may produce your own version of the form, provided that the content is the same as in the attached template.

Why does one of the sentences get a comma, and the other one doesn't?


texts: Which words belong to "that" in this context?

texts:
Chapter 5 describes this historical process in which the referendum
became an institutional constraint that induced cooperation among all
major political parties and led to negotiated legislation and mutual
adjustment among interest groups.
- Swiss Democracy by Wolf Linder

There is a thing that is ambiguous to me. In the first glance I think the word induced and led to belongs to that. But in another reading of this sentence led to and became can belong to referendum as "in which referendum became ... and led to ...".
I want to know which one is true. Because in the first varian referendum is a constraint which led to negotiated legislation. I'm not sure how can a constraint lead to this.


texts:
In the following, is "yesterday" a modifier for "late" or is "late" a modifier for "yesterday"?

  Terry mills was dumped late yesterday while on a trade mission in Japan. (ABC News)


texts: What does it mean + to-infinitive / gerund

texts:
I always come across with this form "What does it mean+ to-infinitive" . But I don't understand why we use to-infinitive instead of gerund after mean. As far as I know, mean + to-infinitive means "intend".

  What does it mean to be human?
  What does it mean being human?
  What does it mean to be an American?
  What does it mean being an American?


texts:
Having known him for many years, I'm sure he will reject the offer.
  Knowing him for many years, I'm sure he will reject the offer.

Which one is grammatically correct? If both, what is the difference in meaning?


texts:
1.Around midnight, as we left the previous year behind and moved into the new year, my mom would be busy cooking for the guests. I didn't like crowds so I stayed in the living room watching the telly.

2.Around midnight, as we left the previous year behind and moved into the new year, my mom was busy cooking for the guests. I didn't like crowds so I stayed in the living room watching the telly.

3.Around midnight, as we left the previous year behind and moved into the new year, my mom cooked for the guests. I didn't like crowds so I stayed in the living room watching the telly.

Let's say the speaker was asked how they spent the new year's and they answered with one of the responses mentioned above.

How do the responses differ in meaning from one another?


texts:
At the center of The Witch is the family's eldest daughter, a young woman named Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), whose coming of age is even more fraught for taking place in a secluded wilderness with only her family around. Her mother seems to suspect her of being untrustworthy even before witches enter the story, and her younger brother keeps sneaking glances down her shift.

Source

I am not sure what the brother exactly does. Does it mean that he is attracted by his sister? Is not in the review a TYPO when "shirt" was mistakenly replaced by "shift"?


texts: "If I'll be there" correctness and first conditional

texts:
First, are the following sentences correct?

"If I'll be there, I'll do <something>." - That's how google translates my sentence
"If I am there, I'll do <something>." - I tried to create a sentence in first conditional.

If sentence number one is correct, why is it like that? I know that for example "If it will rain, I will do <something>" is incorrect, but it has similar structure for me.


texts:
I read yahoo news on a daily basis and sometimes I find some mistakes in it. I post that part of the news here to make sure it is wrong (a typo mistake) or I do not understand it perfectly.

  News from Yahoo:

  “You say, please, do it for a short while; of course you’ll be back
  up, let’s see how long it goes. Once he settled down to the idea and
  saw it work, it was fine. When things went a bit wobbly at the 2003
  World Cup, he was back up straight away,” Ganguly said.

As per my opinion:

  “You say, please, do it for a short while; of course you’ll be back
  up, let’s see how long it goes. Once he settled down to the idea and
  saw it worked, it was fine. When things went a bit wobbly at the 2003
  World Cup, he was back up straight away,” Ganguly said.