texts: When A was happening, B happened. OR A was happening when B happened?

texts:
When I was talking with john, the telephone rang.
I was talking with john, when the telephone rang.

What is the difference between the above sentences? (Do they sound similar?)


texts:
Is it always necessary to repeat the pronoun before each verb?

For example, do I need always to say:

  She called me and she said X

or can I use a shorter one

  She called me and said X

?


texts: Is there any difference between "in the start of something" and "at the start of something"?

texts:
Is there any difference between in the start of something and at the start of something? Not long ago I would've thought that in the start of was incorrect, but in the 11th episode of the 6th season of Friends Joey said exactly that. Here it is:

  Joey: That’s right! I helped you guys out a lot in the start of your relationship. Huh? I helped you guys sneak around for like six months, and I looked like an idiot! And I was humiliated. And I only made 200 dollars!

Would the meaning of the sentence change, if he said at the start of?


texts:
When I watched a movie in English, I heard a man say “it don't matter”.

What does it don't matter mean?

Does it sound similar to it doesn't matter?


texts:
It’s no small wonder that Mary was so inquisitive of the angel; she was still a virgin and would know no man sexually for several months, maybe as long as a year or more  (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:34).

Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/Joseph-and-Mary.html

I have a question regarding the phrase "as long as" used in the above passage. The Dictionary says that this phrase is used when we talk about "something continuing for the amount of time that you want, need, or is possible". Do you think that this (the meaning) is the case in my example too?


texts: Is grammatically and syntactically correct to use present continuous tense instead of using present perfect tense?

texts:
In our native language we use present participle tense instead of present perfect tense.

Here are the some sentences which mean the same:

  1) Why are you standing here?

  2) why have you stood here?

  3) Why are you sitting here?

  4) why have you sat here?

(sentence 1,3=sentence 2,4).

But when we translate the same words in our syntax to English, the sentence becomes to present perfect tense. Are these correct with grammatical and syntactical?


texts:
Here is the context:

  If you have to stretch up to get the belt’s prong in that last hole, you will be less able to exert pressure with your own abdominal musculature, since it must be contracted to actually generate force.

I cannot get whether the author means to stretch up the belt or the body. And I have never heard the phrasal verb stretch up. Does it mean the same as stretch.


texts:
I'm not sure what is right and what not. I've searched on Google and could not find an answer to this. How should I write this:

  I'm speaking about a user. It is the main problem.

The question is. Is this corect? In this context should I use "It" or "he"?


texts: 'is VERBed' vs 'has VERBed' vs 'has been VERBed'

texts:
Source: p 89, The Law of Contract, 5 ed (2012), by O’Sullivan and Hilliard

  If a claimant has done work
  pursuant to a shared understanding that the work is to be paid for, he should be paid
  whether or not the work benefits the defendant. Finally, as Dietrich (2001) notes, academics suggest that to work out whether a recipient is benefited, we should ask questions
  such as whether the defendant has ‘requested’, ‘bargained for’ or ‘accepted’ the services
  (see also Rowe).

Here, 'is benefitted', 'has benefited', and 'has been benefitted' all seem right and apt, but does the sentential meaning change for each? The above just exemplifies the priority of this post, the general case: what are the similarities and differences (in meaning) between: Present + adjective (what's this called?)   vs   Present Perfect Tense   vs   Present Perfect Continuous Aspect?


texts: My bank account now has 500 dollars, 50% of which was (or were) earned from my office job. Should I "was" or "were" in the clause?

texts: The word "dollar" is a countable noun, so I shall use the plural form of the linking verb in the clause?


texts:
I haven't been able to find any good articles describing rules (or patterns) specifying use of the words female and woman.

Let's take the following sentences as an example:

  (assuming we have a man and a woman)

  The woman pointed the gun at the man
  The female pointed the gun at the man

*the second sentence sounds very odd to me though.

And what about male doctor; shall we then say female doctor or woman doctor?

Can you please provide any rules / patterns (I hope there are some) specifying usage of female and woman?


texts: Am I correct in understanding these "if + would" conditionals?

texts:
The 1st context is,

My family and I ate a delicious dinner yesterday. Today my sister asks me whether I ate that spicy fish dish. I tell her that I didn't even thought about eating it, and I made an unconscious decision not to eat it. Then I explain to her that I have a problem eating fish. Does the modal pattern in the following dialog fit this context?

  "Did you eat it?", "If I ate that spicy fish dish yesterday, it would choke me." (Note: This is a past, real conditional.)

The 2nd context is,

My family and I ate a delicious dinner yesterday. Today my sister asks me whether I ate that spicy fish dish. I tell her that I was hesitating over whether or not to eat it. I like spicy food, but I had an upset stomach that time, so I quited. Does the modal pattern in the following dialog fit this context?

  "Did you eat it?", "If I had eaten that spicy fish dish yesterday, it would have choke me."  (Note: This is a past, unreal conditional.)

The 3rd context is,

My family and I ate a delicious dinner last month. Today one of my friends asks me whether I ate that spicy fish dish at that time, I tell her that I don't quite remember eating it, but I remember I just ate the dishes before me. Does the modal pattern in the following dialog fit this context?

  "Did you eat it?", "If I ate that spicy fish dish, it would have been in front of me." (Note: This is a past, real conditional.)


texts:
Born in London on April 3, 1934, world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall got an early start on animal study, spending much of her childhood observing animals that lived right in the backyard of her house.

Would you show me in a readily way what the bold part means? although I have studied what "early" means.

Thanks


texts: What is the clause "still Plato's most frequently read work" referring to?

texts:
The Timaeus was seen as central to Plato’s metaphysical thinking until the 19th century, when obsession with Plato’s political thinking replaced it by the Republic, still Plato’s most frequently read work.

I'm having a little bit of trouble comprehending the clause here. Which book is "still Plato's most frequently read work" - is it Timaeus, or Republic? Do I have to supply "which is" before "still", as if the sentence were to be "... replaced it by the Republic, (which is) still Plato's most frequently read work"? In this sense I feel like it's Republic, but to me it's still a little bit vague and uncertain.
Is there any chance that the "most frequently read work" is referring to Timaeus? Like, the whole sentence is suggesting that "despite the fact that the political obsession replaced Timaeus by Republic (central work metaphysically), Timaeus is nevertheless still Plato's most read work".
Thanks!


texts: When do you use 'Were to Verb' as opposed to 'Past tense of Verb' for possibility?

texts:
I am wondering what the difference is between 'were to Verb' and 'past tense of Verb' and in what specific situation native speakers use 'were to Verb'.

Examples:

"If you were to work for a company, what type of field would suit you?"
"If you worked for a company, what type of field would suit you?"

and,

"If you were to get married one day, you had a wedding, what type of wedding would you envision yourself in?"
"If you got married one day, you had a wedding, what type of wedding would you envision yourself in?"

I tried making a sentence using "were to Verb" but failed and I still have no clue why. My example is:

  'These days my hair has been falling out and that worries me. Might it be only a seasonal change affecting my body? I wish this were the case so then I were to get back to normal when spring comes.'

What am I doing wrong in example #5?


texts: Completing the sentence "By this time tomorrow....."

texts:
Ok. So I am having trouble completing this sentence correctly

By this time tomorrow

I will be gone
I will have gone [future perfect ? ]
I would be gone.

I am starting to think that 3 isn't right.

Is 1 or 2 right ? If no when to use the other one?

Also along wih correct answer, can anyone tell me the rule which explains why it is correct?


texts: What's the meaning of "out" in "build out"?

texts:
From NPR

Critics suggest these big ISPs aren't building out their networks enough to keep pace with the huge growth in demand.

I haven't found the definition of "build out" in the dictionary, so I looked "out" up, and find the following definition:

out: used to say that something is done carefully or completely

And examples about the usage:

I spent all morning cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.
In the summer months the soil dries out quickly.

I want to know if "out" fit in with the definition. And I guess "build out" means "build carefully and completely", doesn't it? Because I have encountered the expression twice, I want to know the exact meaning, but I cannot find it on the Internet or dictionary.


texts: 'As a 2nd language' .. Why English grammar is necessary to learn?

texts:
I have heard saying many people that English grammar is necessary to learn(To some extent I guess I do agree with them, basic English grammar knowledge is necessary/important) But in the next hand I have even heard saying many people that English grammar isn't necessary otherwise you wouldn't be able to speak English like a natural way and always get stuck thinking about the correct use of the grammar in your mind.

I am a bit confused actually and don't know what should I do. Whether I first focus on the English grammar or just start reading books and watching movies and try to speak English like a natural way (Even with some mistakes which will be corrected in future anyways).

Waiting for your precious answers Thanks.


texts: How would one express units like "KB/s" in words?

texts:
I'd like to write a comment for the code lines which convert the units, for example "KB/s" to "B/s".

Is the following an appropriate expression?

"convert everything into byte and second units"


texts:
Please tell me what is meant by 'social artifice' in the following

  Now historians are increasingly arguing that nation or national feeling cannot simply be described as 'invented' or 'imagined'. Such an approach presupposes that nation is a thing of social artifice, a symbolic formulation, rather than a natural essence.


texts:
Can anyone who knows the language well tell me if I should  use since or from in the following sentence?

Here is the example:

  I had a chronic liver disease from/since my childhood days. Now
  I am fine after the operation.


texts:
Can anyone rewrite this phrase in an easier fashion, so I can understand it:

  The last function of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it. It is but feeble if it does not see so far as to know this.

  —Blaise Pascal


texts:
Let's say you can't open a strawberry jam's jar, and you are describing it this way:

  The strawberry jam is sealed.

Or

  The strawberry jam is sealed off.

Which of them is expressed correctly?


texts: What is the meaning of "It is amazing the support we get from the community"?

texts:
What is the meaning of "It is amazing the support we get from the community" ?
Does "It is amazing the support we get from the community" mean "The support we get from the community is amazing" ?

Is "the support" being used as a subject, not an object?
If yes, what grammars can explain the composition of these sentences?
Are there many similar types of examples?


texts:
could you then email our New York office with the sales figures for this month?

It's part of a conversation but I've written this just for example. Why must we say "New York Office" rather than "New York's office"?

When is it possible to use Possessive Case, when could we use a format like "New York office", and what do you call that?


texts: Phrasal verb "see to" conflicting with passive voice

texts:
We saw Peter drive away.

Turned into passive:

  Peter was seen to drive away.

I don't agree with this, because the meaning would be entirely different- in my limited understanding. What's making me unsure is that this is on an educational curriculum book, whose creators would surely be more proficient at English than me. We all make mistakes, so is the sentence correct?

The alternative which I suggest:

  Peter was seen driving away.

The other question doesn't adress my problem. The sentence is indeed grammatically correct, but I'm saying the meaning changes because it would cause a confusion with the phrasal verb (or idiom- I might be mixing them up) "see to". I want someone to confirm or deny my arguement. Here: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/see+to


texts:
What does "run" mean in football (soccer) context?
18 mins: A good run from Jesus, who chests the ball down and cuts infield from the left, but Lindelof does well to track it and block the shot when it comes.


texts:
I came across the following sentence in the book "essential grammar in use" (Cambridge)

  "Jack did French at school but he didn't do German"

As I understand the meaning of the word  "do" can be as 'to learn'. Is that correct?

I didn't see such meaning in the Cambridge dictionary.


texts: Why is past continuous wrong in this sentence?

texts:
So I had an exam recently where in one problem we had to complete sentences with verbs in either past simple or past continuous tense.
One of the sentences was something like this:

  He _______ in France when she first met him. (live)

Most of us wrote "was living" there but our teacher said that the only correct answer is "lived" because this sentence states facts.
That was the only explanation she gave and she dismissed our argument that there's no context suggesting that we can't emphasize the first half of the sentence, but she said we can't do that, this sentence is clearly just stating facts, we just can't understand the difference between past simple and past continuous.
Now, to my knowledge and according to everything I read on the web, both can be correct, the difference is the emphasis and/or the exact meaning.
Am I missing something?


texts: "Take(away) on something" or "Take(away) from something"

texts:
I am wondering which preposition works in the following examples?
First scenario:
Please imagine a beggar who is looking at you in a very emotional way. What is your take(away) ........ his behavior?
Yes, he wants you to help him.
a. on
b. from
Second scenario:
Sara had said that she would help me anytime I need. I'm flat broke this month and have spent all my salary. Yesterday, I came up to Sarah and asked her for money. She just looked at me and said she would lend me that money the next week; while I had emphasized that I have to clear a check after two days.
So, what do you take(away)......this matter?
I think she just didn't want to lend me that amount.
a. on
b. from
I think in both scenarios, both of the prepositions work properly, though I am not sure what would be your native choice here.


texts:
Can I say "something is happened to my phone"?

The word 'is' in the phrase is showing still the problem 'is' existing and affecting me not to use my phone, no calling. But since it happened before few hours, I want to express that by saying 'happened' which is past tense.

Please, I need help my English is low.

Does "something is happened to my phone" explain that the problem started some time ago and is still happening?


texts:
He liked his warmed, though on TV ads he would demolish them toasted, the butter just melting, with an irresistible crunching sound.

The writer is actually talking about bagels. I was little confused when I read the line “He liked his warmed," cause there is no subject there. Also, no auxiliary verb is found in the line "the butter just melting" . Are they grammatically correct?


texts:
"it will be no fun to watch" or "it will be no fun to watch it"?

At first, it looked like a ridiculous question to me, but later, as I thought more, I realized I didn't know the answer. What I need here is not only "yes" or "no" reply, but also the explanation:

  Sadly, women's soccer is improving, which means that soon it will be
  no fun to watch anymore.

or

  Sadly, women's soccer is improving, which means that soon it will be
  no fun to watch it anymore.

?


texts: The noun "graduate" and verb "to graduate"

texts:
According to the Collins Dictionary, the noun "graduate" slightly differs in meaning with regard to the location of speaking:

In Britain, a graduate is a person who has successfully completed a degree at a university or college and has received a certificate that shows this. – "They are looking for graduates with humanities or business degrees."

In the United States, a graduate is a student who has successfully completed a course at a high school, college, or university. – "The top one-third of all high school graduates are entitled to an education at the California State University."

The difference is seemlingly provable in the case of the verb "to graduate" as well:

In Britain, when a student graduates from university, they have successfully completed a degree course. – "She graduated in English and Drama from Manchester University."

In the United States, when a student graduates, they complete their studies successfully and leave their school or university. You can also say that a school or university graduates a student or students. – "When the boys graduated from high school, Ann moved to a small town in Vermont"; "In 1986, American universities graduated a record number of students with degrees in computer science."

From the information above I would come to the conclusion that in British English the discussed noun and verb cannot apply to secondary education, only higher education. Is that correct? And if so, what similar noun(s) and verb(s) can be used in BE to refer to finishing secondary education?


texts: "That" as an adverb in negative sentence

texts:
Is it right to use "that" in front of adjectives such as "much" or "many" as an adverb in negative or interrogative sentences?:

-I don't have that much money.

-Do you really have that many friends?

Which one is correct? Do I need to modify any of these sentences?


texts: Is it always necessary to be "finished with"?

texts:
Is it grammatically incorrect to say "done school" or "finished school"? For example,

  I am done school, or
  I am finished school.

Must I always use the word with to be grammatically correct?


texts: From which level should I start learning English Language?

texts: I was learning English Language from Grade 1 until my graduation from the university. But I can't talk, write and listen good. I don't know my English Language Level. How to determine the Level? When I answer some question test, I got intermediate, advantage but sometime i got basic level. How to define the level of my English Language?


texts:
A tooth extracted from a human was delivered in a state of being soaked.

Would it be correct if I say phrases below instead of in a state of being soaked?

  A tooth extracted from a human was delivered in a state of that is soaked.

  A tooth extracted from a human was delivered in a condition that is soaked


texts: The use of "a", "the" and "zero article" before the brands of cars

texts:
Let's say I prefer the cars made by a certain company. Which article do I use in the following context?

  I prefer a Volvo.

  I prefer the Volvo.

  I prefer Volvo.


texts: A verb for putting the results of two different studies to get an overall conclusion?

texts:
In the end of my research I will ______ the results of these two
  different studies to get a final conclusion.

  I will ______ the result with the result of another study and get an
  overall conclusion.

I am looking for a verb for putting the results of two different studies together in order to get an overall conclusion? I thought of assemble and combine, but I am not sure about them. Any suggestion?


texts: An interesting teaching by a native speaker

texts:
Watching this video,, in which a native speaker is teaching Japanese learners about English,

The teacher is saying about "Wait a minute", from 3:16～

Wait a minute = Waitamini(small t)

To me personally, I can perfectly hear the last "t" of the sentence.
(For example, when your would like to "press on"(emphasize) Wait,)

To native speakers, is this a "true statement"?

Thank you.


texts:
For instance

  Curvature radius

and

  Radius of curvature

Is there difference between both? When I need to use "of" in this kind of word?

Another example

  Computing time

and

  Time of computing

Are they the same? I already saw the both, in academic books, and I'm confused with it. In my language always it is used "of".

Thank you in advance.


texts:
Are each of the followings correct to use? How a native speaker would express the same idea?

a) You should be careful about the people you mix yourself with.

b) You should be careful about the people you surround yourself with.


texts: Can I omit "about" from "That is the boy whom I told you about"?

texts:
A. That is the boy whom I told you about.
B. That is the boy whom I told you.

I think A is correct but is B possible?


texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct. I am particularly concerned about the why part:

  As mentioned earlier, the goal is not always 100% clear but it is important to know 'the why' of wanting it.


texts:
I was looking for the meaning of "put up" and came across this explanation in a dictionary : " [put up something] to make a particular effort in order to achieve or prevent something :

  For example :The victim was able to put up little resistance.

  Residents have put up a fight against plans to build a new road.

And the dictionary gives extra information :[put up or put on BRITISH] to show a particular level of skill or ability in doing something, especially in a competition.

  For example: Liverpool put up/on a marvellous performance
  throughout the game.

What is the difference here? Can I use "put on" in the first two sentences as well?

I have made some examples to understand the issue:

  Marc Gasol put on/up a great game last night.(He is a basketball player.)

  He put on/up a great fight in the ring last night. (He is a
  boxer. We are talking about box match and boxing ring.)

  Ricky Gervais put on/up an enormous show last night. (He is a comedian,
  making stand-up shows.)


texts: How should I parse this sentence? -- "She stood, feet solidly planted, a vital, comely, and charismatic ﬁgure who managed to operate her shop ..."

texts:
From another post, I'm now curious about the book Wicked autumn by G.M. Malliet, especially the author's style of writing.

For example, I found that it's rather tiresome to read and understand this sentence,

  (a) She was saying these things now—calling on all the resources in her cliché lineup, in fact—to a captive audience of approximately thirty-ﬁve women who, to a woman,  were wishing themselves elsewhere than in the Village Hall, sitting on orange molded-plastic seats that might have been rejects from an ergonomics study, on an otherwise peaceful Saturday night in September.

But after reading it a few times, I can parse them as a perfectly grammatical English sentence.

However, I was baffled with this one,

  (b) She stood, feet solidly planted, a vital, comely, and charismatic ﬁgure who, although essentially otherworldly, managed to operate her New Age gift shop on a large proﬁt margin.

I can understand the meaning, but by patching those fragments together. To me, it seems like a run-on sentence, but I was suggested that it is just an unusually long string of apposition.

Could you please help me parse that sentence (b)?


texts:
Care for a quick call?

Can I use this phrase to ask my friend for a quick call to discuss something.


texts:
I'd like to thank whomever who have role to make this event possible..

is "whomever who" is correct here? if not how else could it be formed?
thx


texts:
Are the following sentences correct? As an English speaker or an teacher would you prefer a singular noun or a plural noun after any in the following sentences? I admit I have asked many questions regarding any. Still I have some doubts.

If any student is interested in joining the programme, he or she is requested to contact the authority.
If any students are interested in joining the programme, they are requested to contact the authority.
Any student interested in joining the programme is requested to contact the authority.
Any students interested in joining the programme are requested to contact the authority.

I have noticed that any can be used with both singular and plural nouns. But when any is used with if and in questions like the avove, should I use a plural noun or a singular noun?

Please confirm as an English speaker or as an English teacher which one you would prefer.


texts:
In Fight Club (1999), Narrator hugs a very fat man:

Narrator: He developed bitch tits 'cause his testosterone was too high
and his body upped the estrogen. That was where I fit. Between those
huge, sweating tits that hung enormous, the way you'd think of God's
as big.

What does "where I fit" mean?
Does it mean Narrator is also a fat man (or) Narrator fits his body between
those tits?


texts: "I knew he must have been about seventeen"- Is it correct sentence? Help needed!

texts:
"I knew he must have been about seventeen"- Is it correct sentence?

I have a confusion with the sentence given above. Because as far as I know that if the main clause is in past tense then the subordinate clause must be in past form. If it is correct, I need to know why. Please some body help me to solve this problem!


texts: Is it correct to say "could you turn the songs/ videos on"?

texts:
Your wife is holding a mobile phone which contains many songs/videos in song/video formats such as mp3 or avi.
In dictionaries, "turn on/ off" is often used for machines.

to make a machine or piece of electrical equipment such as a
television, engine, light etc start operating by pushing a button,
turning a key etc
Eg, "Jake turned on his computer and checked his mail."

The dictionary says "by pushing a button". We also push a button on an app, on a mobiephone for example, to turn on a song / video.
Is it idiomatic to say "could you turn the songs/ videos on"?
It seems that people say "play", "could you play the song/video?". But I am not sure.


texts:
What does the boldfaced pronoun it refer to in the following extract from Frankenstein?

  This appearance excited our unqualified wonder. We were, as we believed, many hundred miles from any land; but this apparition seemed to denote that it was not, in reality, so distant as we had supposed. Shut in, however, by ice, it was impossible to follow his track, which we had observed with the greatest attention.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
Can we skip objects in colloquial English, for example,

  Have you read the book?

  Yes, I've read (it) already.

By skipping "it", still is it ok?

Or

  Can you drink your milk?

  But I don't want to drink (it).


texts: What’s the difference between these two sentences

texts:
Are both sentences correct? Can it be said either way?
”Then there are the people who start their day watching cable TV news.”
”Then there are people who start their day by watching cable tv news.”


texts: What are the differences between "very much" , "so much" and "too much"

texts: What are specific usage of: "very much", "so much" and "too much"?


texts:
[i] He hadn’t better tell them. (CGEL, p.113)
  [ii] He had better not tell her. (CGEL, p.196)

According to CGEL, negation can be marked after or before better. But I can’t find any examples of [i] in COCA or BNC. So it seems to be not grammatical issue but others in there. Why aren’t there any examples of [i] in those corpuses?


texts:
I have a question about the usage of the phrase "out of turn" in this article:

  Donald Trump booted Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from an Iowa press conference because Ramos yelled questions out of turn and was raving like a madman, the candidate said Wednesday.

According to this dictionary, two definitions seem to work:

  definition 9 under section Phrases:  At a time when it is not one’s turn.
  definition 10 under section Phrases: Speak in a tactless or foolish way

Which definition would fit the usage in the article?


texts: What is the difference (if any) between "I should go," and "I ought to go"?


texts:
I'm reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. The following paragraph is decribing a woman who's just woken up all cranky and doesn't want to get up:

  "I just want to sit here on the bed and stare at the floor." Her voice
  had become sharp with overtones of bleakness as her soul congealed and
  she ceased to move, as the instinctive, omnipresent film of great
  weight, of an almost absolute inertia, settled over her.

I'm confused about what "soul congealed" means here. The dictionary says "to congeal" means "to solidify or coagulate". But I don't understand how a person's soul can be solidified or coagulated. Does "soul congealed" mean that she's got low in mood? Can anbody explain the idea for me?


texts: Doing something in the future: I am vs I will be

texts: If I am able to do something in the future should I use "I am able to do it in the future" or "I will be able to do it in the future"? Is there a difference?


texts: Is the definite article required before "economy"?

texts:
I am writing an essay with this sentence:

  This study focuses on the transformation of the economy.

I wonder if to refer to the economy as a whole I could say

  This study focuses on the transformation of economy.

According to both the Macmillan Dictionary and the Cambridge English Dictionary, the word economy when referring to the whole of trade, business, and industry should be countable. It is only an uncountable noun when used to mean "saving money". Does it mean it should always be preceded by the definite article when used in this sense?

It seems strange that I found a lot of examples online that defy this.

  More clearly even than the transformations of economy, the transformations of law reveal the influences of the quantity, for example, or of the heterogeneity of the associated unities.

  The course examines contemporary Latin America, and the transformations of economy, society and politics that have occurred in the twentieth century.

  The transformations of economy and society since the mid-1970s have generated a more political world, as conceptions about ways of resolving the emerging problems have sharpened and fractured the postwar political consensus.

  ... to analyze how the adaptiveness of states is today accomplished within the framework of globalized inter-state integration, although often still haphazardly regulating the transformation of economy and society on a global scale, and how well this is embedded in global society;


texts: "Stay / sleep for the night" VS "Stay / sleep overnight"

texts:
What is the difference between:

  a. stay / sleep overnight
  b. stay / sleep for the night
  c. stay / sleep for one night

Just in order to clarify what I need, I made up two examples. Please let me know if there is any difference between my suggested choices (to me, more or less they mean the same thing):

  He stayed / slept at my home................

a. for the night
b. for one night
c. overnight

Or as a sign of hospitality, ask someone to stay at my home for the night and not to go home:

  Stay / sleep here............

a. for the night
b. for one night
c. overnight

PS. I have read the similar thread: but that was not that helpful that it should be.


texts:
I've just been faced with the statement "Son of a gun" in a film, and i don't know the meaning of it.

I think it must be an idiom, but i did not find anything when i searched for it in the google.


texts: Can I say "I am sorry?" when I can't hear something?

texts:
As far as I know, we can say these when we can't hear something somebody said properly: "Excuse me?", "Sorry?" and "Pardon?".

What about "I am sorry?"? Can I also say "I am sorry?" instead of "Sorry?"?


texts: Is the phrase "dog clash" understood as "clash between dogs"

texts: There is a well known game called "Clash of Clans", and its title's meaning is obvious, while "Clan Clash" may mean "Clash within Clan" (or just does sound naturally perhaps?), and "Clans Clash" is not correct either, as far as I understand. But what about the case, that I mentioned in title? Since there's not such ambiguity, can I say "dog clash", or "dogs clash" to express "clash between dogs"?


texts: Grammatical structure of the sentence "There is no dinosaur skin left to study."

texts:
I am trying to figure out the grammatical structure of the following sentence:

  There is no dinosaur skin left to study.

This is what I have:

There is -> (what?) -> no skin -> (which/what?) -> left -> (for what?) -> (to study).

What is the word left (in a grammatical sense)? It's definitely not acting as a verb here.


texts: Is it normal to use the gender-neutral word "child" instead of "son" or "daughter"?

texts:
When talking about a specific, non-plural, child who is your son or daughter, is it normal to use "child" rather than "son" or "daughter"?

For example,

  I went with my child to the doctor's today.

I did a quick google for "With my child", and mainly came across cases involving hypothetical children who are not of a specified gender, for example

  How do I start a conversation with my child about stammering?

If it's currently not common to use "child" about a specific child, are people advocating such usage in order to not be discriminatory about gender?


texts: Past Simple versus Past Perfect Simple: why use a Past Simple for an action anterior to another?

texts:
The sentence

"He went out after he had made a few calls and left a message to his wife."

has one main verb, 'go', in the Past Simple, and two subordinate verbs, 'make' and 'leave', mentioning actions that are anterior to the main one. Why then not use a Past Perfect Simple for both? Why is 'leave' in the Past Simple?


texts: Is there a more natural way of saying "accompany someone with his singing"?

texts:
Elvis stepped up on the stage and accompanied Madonna with this
singing.

Is there a better way of saying this? It's a mouthful and it sounds a bit robotic and non-natural.


texts: Is "either" used correctly in this case?

texts:
Is the sentence below correct?

Either a desire for revenge or the protection of society cannot have been the only motive.

...and would the sentence below be a better alternative to the one above?

Neither a desire for revenge nor the protection of society could have been the only motive.

Edit:
Below are the question and the accompanying choices.

Q32: Which of the following is the most effective way to combine these sentences?
A. Revenge cannot have been the only motive; protection cannot have been the only motive, either.
B. Either a desire for revenge or the protection of the society cannot have been the only motive.
C. The motive cannot have been the desire for revenge or the desire to protect society.
D. A desire for revenge cannot have been the only motive, but the motive cannot have been only protection, either.


texts:
"Somebody Stupefied a Death Eater on top of the Tower after Dumbledore died. There were also two broomsticks up there. The Ministry can add two and two, Harry."

  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I deduce that "add two and two" is a variant of put two and two together. If so, any reason why it's been "two and two", not "one and one", etc. "One and one" looks more simple.


texts: Why should I omit "like" from "...would ask like this question: why..."?

texts:
Many people would ask like this question: why am I here?

One of my friend told me that I should omit like, but he didn't tell my why.
Is the sentence with like grammatically or meaningfully correct or not?

And if i should cross like out, why I must do that?

What I meant by "like" is maybe they would ask themselves a question identical to this question or similar.


texts: Does 'be off' meaning 'leave/go away' in the past tense?

texts:
I made up the following situation:

There are 3 friends named A, B and C.
One day A says to B: "I am off to Africa next week."
A couple of days later B says to C: "C, I met A the other day. She told me she was off to Africa this week."

Is what B says correct? Does "was off" make sense and still have to do with "leave"?


texts: Difference between 'could have to go' and 'could have had to go'?

texts:
I am confused between

  I could have to go

  I could have had to go

  I can have to go

  I can have had to go

Can anyone explain meaning of both with better and easy understanding example.


texts: What is correct here - anyway or either?

texts:
A: Have you tried the pills I got you?
B: No.
A: I don't think they go well with alcohol anyway/either.
(B is drinking doing the conversation)
Is "anyway" or "either" correct here?


texts: Is the definite article "the" needed here before "construction"?

texts:
Should I say

  Does construction of railway lead to prosperity?

Or should I say

  Does the construction of railway lead to prosperity?

Why?


texts:
I have been reading an article on how to speed up laptops or PCs and I came across a sentence which I am unsure about how to interpret it.

Whole text:

  Unfortunately, as computers get older they invariably get slower. If
  your laptop or PC feels like it's crawling along, we've got a series
  of handy hints and tips on how to bring it back up to speed.

The confusing sentence :

  If your laptop or PC feels like it's crawling along, we've got a
  series of handy hints and tips on how to bring it back up to speed.

First I tried to parse the sentence. I know bring something back means to return something. I also to know " up to " means to a certain extent. Now I don't know whether should I interpret the sentence like:

They have got a series of handy hints and tips that would bring the speed of a slow laptop or PC completely back, just like their first day.

or

They have got a series of handy hints and tips that would just bring the speed of slow laptop or PC back only to a certain extent, not completely.


texts:
I am creating identifiers in so called "camel case". This means that words are concatenated together and all the words (except the first in our case) are started with a capital letter.

For example, "see also" becomes seeAlso.

For "plaintext" or "plain text" it becomes plaintext or plainText.

So "plaintext" or "plain text"? (and thus plaintext or plainText?).

Side note: The term "plain text" means a text without formatting (without bold, italic, color, etc.)


texts: "generation heat", "generating heat", "generated heat", which is more suitable to describe heat to be generated?

texts:
My new PC generates less heat than my old one.

I would like to rewrite this example such that heat is the subject. Could you advise on which of the followings is best?

  The generation heat of my new PC is less than that of my old one.
  The generating heat of my new PC is less than that of my old one.
  The generated heat of my new PC is less than that of my old one.


texts:
Since I'm studying another language, I found a translation of the conditional into this sentence:
"If he was able to catch the bus, he won't be late."
Is this correct? Shouldn't it be
"If he was able to catch the bus, he wouldn't be late."


texts:
What's the differences between these 3 sentences?

She is very arrogant , which I don't think she has a flexible personality.
She is very arrogant ; I don't think she has a flexible personality.
She is very arrogant , and I don't think she has a flexible personality.

Someone told me that the first one is wrong.
But why?

And what is the differences between the first one and ''I think the other thing that was really good about it as well was that everybody worked really hard and helped tidy up at the end , which I hadn't expected at all.''?


texts:
The question is, should the 'should' in this sentence be capitalized?

Also, is the type of that sentence interrogative or declarative or a mix of both?


texts: Is it the correct use of "result in", in the following quotation?

texts:
Making use of the technological tools does not always result in a good ending.

I want to say using technology is not always good.


texts: What's the difference between "would" and "will" in the following context?

texts:
How would he do that?

And

  How will he do that?


texts: What is difference between "save up" and "save"

texts:
Why do we sometimes use save up, and sometimes  save in the sentence about money? Is there any difference between them?

For example:

Know how much money you have saved up.
Know how much money you have saved.


texts: what is the meaning of "wearing a shirt"?

texts:
Who is wearing a shirt?
 I think number 1 man is wearing a shirt.
 But my mothertongue also makes sense number 2 man is wearing a shirt.

I think that "wearing a shirt"can transplate  a double meaning .  which is  a man is wearing his clothes all day. (1 number picture) And  wearing his clothes just that moment. (2 number picture) and  I edit my picture because number 2 picture look like put off his shirts.

And I don’t  know why I can’t  comment.


texts:
In response to the growing crisis, the agency is urgently asking for more contributions to _____ up for its sharp decline in purchasing power.

Which out of make and making is correct to use here ? I understand with prepositions I need to use ing form like I look forward to meeting you but I don't know if the to in question sentence is preposition or not. Also  let me know if there are any other grammatical errors in the sentence.


texts:
How do the AmE speakers describe the following symbols of beauty and ugliness:
when eg. a girl has very beautiful 'big' eyes (not overmuch) how do you call it?
I guess you say:

- 1- She has very beautiful wide eyes.

What about the opposite scenario when someone has very big eyes as if their eyes are coming out from their eye socket; perhaps you say:

- 2- She is pop-eyed.
Note: in this sense, I need to discover the informal / colloquial term, but about the other sentences, I am looking for the most common way to call such people.

Finally what about someone who has a very wide mouth? I think you should say:

- 3- He has a very wide-mouth

or perhaps:

- 4- He is very wide-mouthed.

PS. for me all the first three sentences work well, but I am not sure if they are the way natives express them. About the #4, I guess it is  little bizarre.


texts: Where should I use "over the past decade" in this sentence?

texts:
It seems to me that it is better to use 'over the past decade' at the start of this sentence rather than the end, although I am not too sure why!

"There is an ever increasing number of people deciding to pursue their post graduate education in Taiwan over the past decade."

"Over the past decade, there is an increasing number of people deciding to pursue their post graduate education in Taiwan."


texts:
The story is about love potion, a conversation between a seller and a customer:

  "How carefully she will look after you! She will never allow you to be tired, to sit in a draught, to neglect your food. If you are an hour late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has caught you."

  "I can hardly imagine Diana like that!" cried Alan, overwhelmed with joy.

What is "to imagine Diana like that!" in the text above?
Thanks..


texts: What is the difference between admit and accept in this sentence?

texts:
My heart does not admit what my mind already knows

My heart does not accept what my mind already knows


texts: Is it correct to use "were not they ...?" to ask question about some people in negative way?

texts:
Were not they interested in my profile?
Were not they from London?

Both questions are negative and want to know about some people's information/ideas. If it's not something native people would use, what's the equivalent and alternative?


texts: What is the difference between two sentences

texts:
There are two sentences:

He has two sons who become a doctor.

He has two sons, who become a doctor.

I am in Korea. In Korea, in the first sentence "He" (i.e. the person from the first sentence) could have either sons or daughters, But in the second sentence "He" (i.e. person from the second sentence) must have two sons.
Is this also the case in English? Or are there any other differences?


texts:
Could these two words be used interchangeably?

It seems that both derive from the same verb "substitute".
I didn't find an example that could resolve my doubts.
I conjecture that the word "substituent" belong to specialized vocabulary as there are not so many results as in case of "substitute". But it is still only guess.


texts: Should I use "previous experience in" or "previous experience of"?

texts:
I've been looking everywhere to see what's the right approach, and I can't find anything in english.stackexchange.com or other sites.

I have the following sentence:

  Our customers love this feature, but we know it's not always that easy if you don't have previous experience of creating rating scales.

I'm wondering if the above is correct, or if this is correct instead:

  Our customers love this feature, but we know it's not always that easy if you don't have previous experience in creating rating scales.

Notice the difference in the use of “of” vs. “in”.
Which one is the correct one in this sentence?


texts: "Mid-autumn Festival" and "Moon Festival", Which is better known in English-speaking world?

texts:
Today is the Mid-autumn Festival of China and I read an article of a Taiwanese scholar telling that his research finds Moon Festival is more better known to English speakers than Mid-autumn Festival, a coined phrase by Chinese, because some authoritative dicitionaries have  the entry of the former but not of the latter.

But I want to tell him that in our English textbook co-authored by Chinese and English native authors, we get only Mid-autumn Festival and never knows there is a name as "Moon Festival", perhaps it is a holiday of Indians living in Peru or Venezuela.


texts: Difference in meaning between 'While I was reading a book' and 'While I read a book'?

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between the two sentences?

While I was reading a book, I found an interesting article.
While I read a book, I found an interesting article.

I learned that in an ordinary case, we should put 'ing' form in the sentence including 'while'.


texts: What is the gap/crack/flaw in the top of a cardboard box called?

texts:
per this answer

  The bits at the top and the bottom that tuck in to seal the box are called the flaps.

what is the gap/crack/flaw pointed out by red arrow shown below (img_1) called?

is the part that is labeled blue shown below (img_2) also a slot?

Another concern is the hole/slot in img_1 is hollowed out while the one in img_2 is not.


texts:
I am quite familiar with the meaning of "react" as "change in response to a stimulus". For example "She reacted angrily when scolded".

However in the Merriam Webster definition of React in the "transitive verb" section it says "To cause to react". Is this use common?

Can I say for example "The thief used his finger to react the infrared sensor"?

(meaning using the finger to cause the sensor to react)

EDIT:

What would be a good way to rewrite the above sentence?


texts:
I was doing a composition and I had to use the relative pronoun in the following sentences.

  1- The man _________ you spoke to is deaf.

  2- I gave it to the man ________ I saw there.

Answer of the first sentence was whom/that and that of second sentence was only whom. To me both of the sentences look the same then why that is not used in the second sentence?


texts: what is the meaning of word 'ghost' here?

texts:
the tough tissues surrounding the actual brain -- as well as tiny capillaries and portions of adjacent cortical tissues have been preserved as mineralised 'ghosts'.
What is the meaning of 'ghosts' here ?


texts:
In the movie Romeo & Juliet (2013), Lord Capulet says:

  Day, night, month, year! My constant care has been to have my
  only child worthily matched. And here I find an educated man of equal
  birth with honorable parts, with fine estates and handsome to behold,
  and what is my reward? A puking fool, who answers, "I'll not wed. I
  cannot love. I am too young. I pray you pardon me."

Listen to the spoken line.

The context for this quote is that Lord Capulet wants his daughter, Juliet, to marry Count Paris, but Juliet herself does not want to.

The noun part has many definitions in the dictionary, and I'm not sure which of them is applicable to this line.

What is the meaning of "honorable parts"?

This movie doesn't use the original Shakespeare script, but the language is intentionally made somewhat old-fashioned.


texts:
Some were made to cry. Others, to make others cry

Does it sound natural? If not, how would you write it? I feel like there is something wrong with it, it's a literal traslation from my mother tongue (spanish).  I'm writing and illustrating a comic and this quote is quite important to the plot.


texts:
I can't figure out which one is the correct formal one or if all the variations can be used:

Shouldn't it be? (=?) Should not it be?
Should it not be?
Should it be not?

Is there a context in which they would be different/incorrect?

I could not find an answer for this among the already asked questions but if this is a duplicate please feel free to mark it as such.


texts: Can I put the adverb "exponentially" after the intransitive main verb "grown" when the auxiliary verb "had" precedes the intransitive main verb?

texts:
Can I put the adverb "exponentially" after the intransitive main verb "grown" when the auxiliary verb "had" precedes the intransitive main verb "grown"? (auxiliary verb + intransitive main verb + adverb) Here is the example sentence.

The corn had grown exponentially since last year.

Or should the adverb come after the auxiliary verb and before the intransitive main verb?

The corn had exponentially grown since last year.


texts:
if you would all like to collect your books from the back.

Is that mean just "take your books from the back?" then why he uses "if"?
I wonder when I use "if", then I have to add more sentence like "you can" in this.

if you would like to come my party, you can.


texts:
The options of question 21 are:

  crisp
  coarse
  crinkled
  crumpled.

I know the answer is (3) or (4) and
the suggested answer is (4). I read wrinkle, crinkle, crumple, rumple and Asking for little explanation but failed to get a clue. If as said "wrinkle and crinkle have to do with stronger creases, while rumple and crumple have to do with gentler ones", how come the answer is (4) but not (3)? Could anybody help? Thank you very much.

Edit:
Thank you for all the replies. The question is taken from direct link to the pdf file. You can find more exam papers on that website. They are exam papers from well-known primary schools in Singapore. Some of the questions are difficult. I have come across vocabulary words that I see in GRE vocabulary books. As a non-native speaker of English, I am doubtful whether a primary school student can tell the nuance between wrinkle, crinkle and crumple.


texts: what is meant by "in an otherwise" in a sentence?

texts:
Here is the statement:  This is not a temporary rupture in an otherwise stable equilibrium: the crisis

through which we are living is a turning point in history.


texts:
How do we know all these things? How do you know that when you cut a
  branch off a tree it doesn't hurt the tree -- only it can't express
  its pain because it can't move? (Or maybe it loves having its branches
  pruned.) How do you know that the muscle cells in your heart don't
  feel pain or excitement when you run up a flight of stairs? How do you
  know that a kleenex doesn't feel anything when you blow your nose into
  it?

[What does it all mean? Thomas Nagel]

What does the word "only" mean in the context?

I think it means "but". Is it correct?


texts: What is the meaning of "the more" in the sentence?

texts:
Algae are living things that corals eat. The more the corals have to eat, the larger their reefs will grow.
I think "the corals" is the subject of the sentence "the more the corals have to eat", but how about "the more". Does it mean algae? Can I reverse the sentence into the corals have to eat more, the larger their reefs will grow?


texts:
There are three sentences which makes me confused.

I think one of them is used to say you don't feel good or you literally are sick.

Other one is used to imply that the temperature in the room where you stay is probably lower than average so you are shivering.But you are not ill, if you turn the heater up, you will feel perfectly ok.

But which is one which or are they interchangeable so we need extra explanation what we want to imply?

  I am cold

  I feel cold

  I got cold

And are there other phrases that can be used for these situations that we can be more clear on what we want to imply?

For example I heard

  I am chilly

But I am not sure in which mean can it be used?


texts: Is there an idiom that supports the idea that "inflation is bad"?

texts: I am thinking there could be an idiom that states that you can't just print money out of thin air and expect it to magically fix the economy? Can you think of an idiom like that? I am looking for an idiom I can use to begin my essay on inflation.


texts:
Why is "it" used in "How is it life after death?"?  I know it looks strange, but I can't understand the use of "it".
Why can't I write "How is life after death?" or "How is the life after death?"
There are difference between the meaning of these forms?

Thanks for helping


texts: What do you call a short fence made of metal inside a garden used to protect flowers? Is there a specific word for it, or is it just called a short iron fence?


texts: Did you notice that I had changed some passages/I changed some passages in my article?

texts:
Context: I sent one of my articles to a friend of mine a week ago and yesterday I resent it with some corrections. So, today I am talking to my friend on the phone and ask:

  1 - Did you notice that I changed some passages in my article?

  2 - Did you notice that I had changed some passages in my article?

Which tense is appropriate in this context?

I see them this way:

  1a - Did you notice (when you were reading the article) that I changed some passages in my article?

  2a - Did you notice (when you were reading the article) that I had changed some passages in my article?

Which makes 2 more logical. But I am not a native speaker. What do you think on the matter of the question?


texts:
Jeff introduces Laura, who just went for shopping for ornaments:

  Laura: Just another diamond bracelet.

  Jeff: Just a diamond bracelet? That doesn't sound like you.

  Laura: You're right. I don't like to break up a set, so I got matching
  diamond earrings and a matching diamond necklace.

What does it mean, "break up a set"?

I find this line in Downsizing 2018


texts: Part of the throne room where people bow

texts:
What do you call the part of the throne room before the throne where people bow before the king during an audience with the king?

Is there even a name for it? I would call it center of the throne room, but that's a really awkward phrasing and I would rather use a word. You're welcome to find a phrase if you think there are no word for it.

For example:

  The peasant bowed in the ______ before the king as he plead his
  innocence.


texts: Difference between "a crowd" and "crowds"

texts: Please let me know the difference between a crowd and crowds.


texts: Which article should be used in this sentence?

texts:
Since I have specified where the change happened - the ecosystem, should I use article "the" here?
Also, should I put "the" before ecosystem?

  The extinction of endangered animals results in the dramatic changes in ecosystems and in the food chain


texts: Clear the exam - is there any difference from 'pass the exam'

texts:
I've just came across the collocation 'clear the exam'.

Even though I do understand the meaning from the context, I could not find this phrase in Longman dictionary,
and when googled the search results are mostly shown for 'pass the exam'.

I was just wondering about the frequency of usage, etc.


texts:
Imagine a mother is waiting for his son's arrival at 1 am and her young son has not returned home yet. The family daughter says: let's call police or emergency center; maybe he has had a car accident! Mother gets angry with her daughter and wants to say; "stop talking / thinking about bad things / events etc." Does the sentence bellow work in this sense and does it sound natural and idiomatic? Is it in common use in the US?

  Don’t foretell dire things.


texts: Is it right to say "You are waiting me on a mistake"

texts:
If there's some person (e.g., in your work space) who is waiting on you to make a mistake then to give you a warning or something, is it right to tell him:

  "You're waiting me on a mistake"?

How can I tell him that the right way?

This person is jealous of me and trying to catch me out on something so he fire me out of the job.


texts: When to use simple past or present perfect? (I called him or I have called him)

texts:
There is someone knocking at the door.
It must be the computer repairman.
I ______ him to come to fix my computer.

The answer is "called". But why not "have called" ?


texts: Is the phrase "over the years", used in the correct place in this sentence?

texts: This has been as consistent as the sun coming up over the years.


texts: What do the demonstratives (determiners) refer to here?

texts:
Recording engineers and musicians have learned to create special effects that tickle our brains. These special effects are similar in principle to 3Dart, motions, or visual illusions, none of which have been around long enough for our brains to have evolved special mechanisms to perceive them.

Here, which do none of which and them  refer to?

Only 3Dart,motionpictures,orvisualillusions?
OR
Both
special effects and 3Dart,motionpictures,orvisualillusions ?


texts: Which preposition is right in "an answer to/for/of/on + something"?

texts:
Which prepositions can come after "an answer" and are natural?

E.g. the below sentence can show the context the phrase would be used.

  I would like to get an answer to/for/of/on this question.

To me, who is not a native English speaker but an intermediate ESL learner, all of them feel natural.

Thank you. :)


texts: Can you apprehend something instead of someone?

texts:
Can the verb "apprehend" used to mean "to check"?

I'm asking this because because I came across this sentence in my book:

  Apprehending social and communal disharmony, the government banned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS and Jamait-e-Islami.

I think the author is trying to convey the sense of "check" through "apprehend"? Am I right? Because I didn't find any dictionary describing this usage of the verb.


texts: "this activity is started" or "this activity was started", which is correct

texts:
what is the right way to talk about an activity that I  started a week ago?
Is it "this activity is started" or "this activity was started"?
Please advice


texts: Omission of subject -- Can we omit 'it' (subjective) in any cases?

texts:
Following are a few examples;

(It) Looks like you didn't study much for the test.
(It) Seems like I'm the third wheel here.

Are the above omissions valid either formally or informally? How so?


texts: Which construction is correct? Make the choice of wisdom or make the choice with wisdom ?

texts: which construction is grammatically correct? Make the choice of wisdom or  make the choice with wisdom?


texts:
Which is correct / acceptable usage

  I pride myself associated with CompanyX from past 3 years.

OR

  I pride myself associated with CompanyX for past 3 years.

OR something else?


texts:
NEW YORK — Perry Ellis is not a brand that makes men nervous or causes them to titter.... ...Perry Ellis is not niche; it is mass. And its creative director, Michael Maccari designed a spring 2016 collection that was welcoming to a wide swath of men
  -----------.

Are "niche" and "mass" nouns here? How am I to understand them? Definitions I found for niche (recess in a wall, private space, habitat, ecological role) and for mass (liturgy, celebration of Eucharist, expanse, bulk, amount of material) do not seem to make sense here. How are these about clothing? Large clothes with much material? Clothes for church? Clothes for habitat? How are these opposites?  ("is not niche. It is mass.)

What words could replace niche & mass to make this more understandable?


texts:
A bird cage stands/sits on the table.

Could I use both? Which one is more natural?

  A laptop stands/sits/lies on the nightstand.

Could I use them all? Which one is most natural?

  A cell phone sits/lies on the nightstand.

Could I use both? Which one is more natural?


texts: Example of right usage of Past Simple and Present Perfect

texts:
I am practising and doing exercise on the differences between simple past and present perfect.
One of the rules I've learnt states that present perfect should be used when an action happened in the past but at a nonspecific moment of time. So when we do not know exactly when it happened.

My question regards the application of this rule in this text I posted, sentence number 6.
I would have completed it with "have bought", but in the book I find that the right answer should be "bought". Why is that?

Thanks for your help!


texts:
I would like you to kindly let me or confirm with me about the use of the verb "compound" at the title. It's from this article.

Kim Churches, CEO of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), says,

  “Women are faced with the pay gap and the leadership gap every single day as they pursue their educational dreams, enter the workforce, and continue throughout their careers,” Churches told Yahoo Finance. “It compounds over time.

According to Merriam Unabridged, the definition of the verb "compound" are

  Transitive

  1:  to put together (as elements, ingredients, or parts) to form a whole :  combine, unite

  2
  a :  to form or make up (as a composite product) by combining different elements, ingredients, or parts

  b obsolete :  compose, create

  3
  :  to settle amicably :  adjust by agreement :  discharge (an obligation) upon terms different from those which were stipulated, claimed, or demanded (as when a smaller sum is accepted than was asked) :  compromise

  4
  a :  to increase by geometric progression or by an increment that itself increases

  b :  to cause to multiply at a faster and faster rate
  c :  to add to :  augment

  5
  :  to forbear prosecution of (an offense) for a consideration

  6
  :  to wind the field magnets of (a dynamo) so as to make excitable by both a shunt and a series current

  7
  :  to combine (as forces and velocities) into a single resultant

  intransitive verb

  1
  :  to unite into or as if into a compound

  2
  :  to come to terms of agreement or payment :  settle by a compromise :  agree

It would be, I guess, the 4a of the transitive verb, am I correct?

Thank you so much for your kind advice in advance (m_m)


texts: What is the difference between "in" and "for" in "hasn't eaten in five months"?

texts:
Now the cubs are growing, fed on mom's milk, but mom herself hasn't eaten in five months, and is getting thinner by the day.

What does in mean here, and how would the meaning of that piece change if for were used?


texts: What is the difference between "when we are" and "when we will be"?

texts:
Please help me understand the difference between these two statements.

I hope we can all celebrate when we are back in office.
I hope we can all celebrate when we will be back in office.


texts: Difference between, "claimed as" and "claimed to be"

texts:
What is the difference between:

  "She claimed the child as her own"

and:

  "She claimed the child to be her own"


texts:
This excerpt comes from Birds New to Britain and Ireland by J.T.R. Sharrock:

  In 1980, after due deliberation (including a survey of all known
  European records), the BOU Records Committee accepted not only that
  wild vagrants could reach Britain, but also that both the 1954 Fair
  Isle and the Caerlaverock birds were such, so, eventually, following
  the opinions of the Wildfowl Trust and the late Dr J. M.
  Harrison(Harrison 1958).

I am not sure what such, so, eventually means here. I can't make sense of the sentence because of these three words that seem out of place.


texts: Is using two consecutive verbs grammatically correct?

texts:
I go sing karaoke at bars.

  An engineer goes camping.

The verbs go and sing and go and camp with -ing have been used consecutively in the above two sentences respectively. Are they grammatically correct and if they are then what do they mean?


texts: what does this sentence mean in the following passage?

texts:
what does this sentence mean? (emphasis added)

  Serious adjustment problems with global implications directly confront one
  or two of the advanced countries, but a significant slowing of
  the world economy and high energy and food prices could give rise to or
  worsen adjustment problems in a number of African, Latin American,
  and Asian economies.

Does it mean that:

  there are now serious adjustment problems that face just one
  or two of the advanced countries?

Does it mean that:

  serious adjustment problems will confront just one
  or two of the advanced countries?

I will be grateful in anyone could help me through this problem.

Yusuf, Shahid. 2009. Development Economics through the Decades : A Critical Look at 30 Years of the World Development Report. Washington, DC: World Bank. p 71.


texts: What is the difference between "How about" vs "What about"?

texts:
Can anyone tell me the difference between How about and What about in the following sentences?

  What should I say: What about her or How about her ?

And,

  Should I say What about playing cards or How about playing cards?


texts:
1.Have you phoned your sister?

  2.Did you phone your sister?

What is the difference between the above two sentences? (Do they sound similar?)


texts: Is there different meaning between the following sentences?

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

  I don't have any cameras.
  I don't have any camera.


texts: "Prevent keep seeing it" or "prevent keeping seeing it"?

texts:
Example sentence:

  To prevent keep/keeping seeing Mary naked, Tom dressed her in one
  of his T-shirt and his cleanest shorts.

Should it be keep or keeping? And why?

I searched for "prevent keep seeing" or "prevent keeping seeing" on Google but didn't find any results.


texts: what means "undimmed by time, unbound by death"?

texts:
So the full line is

If we have souls,

They are made of love we share

Undimmed by time, unbound by death

I didn't quite understand what the write meant by undimmed by time.Is it means that the souls will get brighter as the time passes? or something else.
Souls are connected.Is unbound means they brake the chain of body and mind by death?


texts:
Let's say you run into a long time no see highschool girl classmate a minute ago. Who grew hot, and you say:

  When we were still in high school, she didn't have this exceptional body curves, and now she has it! Wew!

To:

  She have not had this body curves before, and now she has it! Wew!

I have constructed these 2 sentences if I have done the correct thing to say that they are contextually the same, aren't they now?


texts:
Would, could, and might can be used to express possibility or uncertainty in the present or future (they are the "softer" and more "indirect", or more "polite" forms of will, can, and may in this usage, I believe), but I don't know whether the subordinate clauses should follow the rules of the sequence of tenses or not.
Let me explain what I mean:

(1) "I am not sure I want to go to the party. But if Betty invites/invited me, I would go."
=>I want to use "would" to express future uncertainty.

(2) "This thing is mysterious. I would imagine Tom is/was able to explain."
=>I want to use "would" to express present uncertainty in my thinking

(3) "I have an idea. We could tell him that we will/would not let the secret out so that he will/would trust us"
=>I want to use "could" to express future uncertainty or possibility.

Does the sequence of tenses apply in scenarios where we use would, could, might in a present or future sense?
In cases of expressing possibility or being more indirect, do we just treat would, could, and might the same way as will, can, and may in terms of the sequence of tenses?


texts:
Is it "teleport into" or "teleport in"?
Teleport implies a movement and into indicates the destination. Therefore, is "teleport in" incorrect? It seems to me that "teleport in X" means you're teleporting from X. Is this the case or not? Or do both mean the same thing?

For example:

  He teleported in the room.

  He teleported into the room.


texts: Is the phrase "stop X from being an oddity" grammatical/idiomatic?

texts:
Example:

  Mary was always called a freak for wearing old-fashioned clothes. One
  day she decided to buy new ones, so she would stop being called an
  oddity.

Is this correct grammar/usage? If not, what's the correct option?


texts:
I learned that clad can mean dressed, but I'm not sure the exact usage of it.

Normally I used to say

1. An old man, dressed up in old clothing, is standing there.
2. He dressed up well/neat
3. He dressed up in old clothing.

Can I use "clad" in all these sentences instead of "dressed up" like below?

1. An old man, clad in old clothing, is standing there.
2. He clad well/neat
3. He clad in old clothing.

I don't think clad fits well in all of these sentences. May be it fits well only in the first sentence. It doesn't fit in 2nd and 3rd sentences I guess. Am I correct?


texts: May I use "parted with his life" for "died"?

texts:
Can the phrase to part with one's life be used figuratively as a synonym to the verb to die?

  John didn't care about his health and parted with his life in his
  early 30's.


texts:
I realize that it's a common phrase, it couldn't be wrong, and I'm not saying it is. Yet I just can't help but wonder, is there a word left out? Could this phrase be re-written some other way?

Like saying:

  As horrible as it sounds, their true intention was to steal from us!

Does it mean: It is as horrible as it sounds, their true intention...

Or: I'm saying this regardless of how horrible it may sound...

I googled it and looked up some dictionaries but couldn't find something that would help. Thank you in advance!


texts: Word for people who are pretending to be making effort

texts:
What are the right words or phrases that describe a person who is pretending to be working hard or contributing to a team effort, actually doing nothing but waiting to get a (undeserved) share of reward?

I tried to look it up in a dictionary from my mother tongue to English, and I did not find any words or phrases, only full sentences.


texts: What is the name of this pâté "container" (image included)

texts:
Could you tell me how is this pâté "container" called in English?

Thank you :)

Edit: I am not looking for the exact name of this particular packaging. I know that water is usually sold in bottles, milk in cartons and yogurt in containers - now I need to know the name of "container" used for pâté.


texts:
I came across this question. Although I know the answer, I could not figure out why the other options cannot be used. The answer is "would". Other options are  "could" and " might". Since "could" and "might" can be used in conditional sentences as well, I would like to ask why they would be wrong.

  You _ think, they'd be here by now.


texts:
From the book 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared.

  "Allan was beginning to tire of Stalin's touchness. The old geezer was quite red in the face with anger , but about not very much. Stalin went on ."

From the above sentence what does 'about not very much mean'?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Example:

The number of reservations made in the 2015 Pink Sale increased 45% when compared to the 2014 Pink Sale; while room nights booked were up 24% year-over-year.

BTA: Pink Sale A Success; Reservations Up 45%

Is it a non-existing phrase made up by a corporation to promote their product, or it has a meaning?


texts: and so is used -- how to properly understand that type of grammar?

texts:
Example:

  "Gzip" compresses to smaller files than the "compress" command and so is used for almost all compressed files on Unix and Unix-like systems.

I have a problem with the adverb "so" there. I'm not sure if I understand the semantics of its usage in this example very well. "so" when used as an adverb like that typically means "in the manner of", but it doesn't really sound like that's the case here. And the "gzip" utility is used in this manner of compressing to smaller files than the standard "compress" command for all files that need compression in Unix? Hmm... As I said, I'm not sure if my interpretation is correct. What's your thoughts?


texts: How do you know that a Phrasal Verbs can be separate or not?

texts:
I am a new English learner and our teacher were talking about Phrasal Verbs, even though I am the most hard work kid in our class I still don't understand how to know a Phrasal Verb can be separate or not.

Our teacher told me that if you don't know if it can be separate or not just don't separate it. Is it right?

Oh by the way I am Taiwanese person, so I don't write some word that were too hard for me.


texts: "government by two persons" is to "diarchy" as "government by simple majority" is to what?

texts:
As far as I know, the government by

two persons is called "diarchy,"
three persons is called "triarchy,"
many persons is called "polyarchy."

So, my question is, is there a word to define the government by the simple majority of persons?

It's worth noting that "democracy" is not the word I'm looking for because such a word, as far as I know, defines a complex concept not based only on the majority criterion.


texts: The origin of using "could use" as meaning of "need"

texts:
I found the awkward sentence when translating it into Korean.

It is "I could use an escape to tropics."

My book said it means (translated into English)

"I want to escape to tropics." or "I need an escape(vacation) to tropics."

Basically, I think "could" means "capability or (not that convincing) guess" and "use" means "do something with it".

Therefore, the sentence like "You could use that cup" makes sense.

But, why does the "necessity" meaning emerge?


texts: "Backyard" vs "Front yard" - same but different

texts:
Not really a serious English question, more like a curiosity.
I am wondering, why "backyard" is written as one word but "front yard" is written as two separate words. Equivalently, why are both "back yard" [two words] and "frontyard" [one word] incorrect?
What "rule" (or standard practice) determines which words can be combined into one and which can't?


texts: Idioms in Imagine Dragons' "Thunder": "Just a young gun with a quick fuse"

texts:
Imagine Dragons' "Thunder" starts with a confusing verse where the singer speaks the time he was:

  Just a young gun with a quick fuse

  I was uptight, wanna let loose

The closest meaning I could find is "young passionate/labile leader". Is that the meaning intended by the writer?


texts: Why Biji comparing the Paula words with sun signs here?

texts:
In English Comedy-Drama movie Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Puala Paxton insults Jess before her family with lesbian mark when she saw wearing her shoes which are provided by her own daughter Juliette. Actually Biji standing near them ask others by saying this lines.

  Puala Paxton: Get your lesbian feet out of my shoes!

  Biji: Lesbian? Ηer birthday's in March. I thought she was a Pisces


texts:
I was born in Bosnia and grew up in Bosnia but the thing is that ever since my birth, my mom (who is NOT a native English speaker) has been speaking English to me.

Another thing is that half of my family lives in the USA and just because of that we use English 60% of the time.

I met my first English speaking friends when I was 3-4 years old, we kind of grew up together and when we grew old enough to discover Skype and other apps, we continued communicating through them all. My best friend is from Cuba, living in Miami, and other people I spend time with every day are not from Bosnia and they don't live here either, which means I've been using and listening to English 90% of the time.

I started teaching English when I was 15 and established my own online English school last year.

Even though I am a Bosnian who lives in Bosnia, I cannot speak Bosnian well at all. I always need people to translate words from Bosnian into English for me and from English into Bosnian when I'm trying to speak.

Now what bothers me is that many people keep saying that I am not a native English speaker just because I wasn't born in the US and because I am not an American.

I mean, does it matter? Does our nationality really have something to do with the language we speak? There are tons of Chinese people who cannot speak Chinese at all.

Are there any professionals out there who can explain this?


texts: Wondering what " plant" mean in this context.

texts:
Before reading the text sorry for adult content.
I have my doubts if the word " plant" has to do just with putting a kiss or putting a hide illegal kiss. Both definitions are from Longman.

After a lot more sniffing, I decided to plant a kiss on her boots. I kissed the inside, then the heel, the sides and finally the part for the toes.


texts:
"Everything OK?" I ask timidly, immediately realizing what an inane question this is. To his credit, Paul ignores it.

Yes, google does give the meaning of this phrase right away, but i'm not a native English speaker, so could anyone be please kind enough to elaborate it  more? that'd be a huge favor for me.


texts:
Actually, as you may guess, I'm not a native English speaker, in fact it's third language that I've leaned. Persian and Azari Turkish are my mother tongues. By the way, I have to get an IELTS cert and I should prepare myself to do so. But I have problem with tenses. I always get confused about perfect tenses. I really can't know whether I should use simple present/past or present/past perfect. I'm looking for some sort of flowcharts to check which tense should be used. For example I think I should use simple past when there is a "certain time", e.g. "yesterday" or "on March 9th". Could you please help me understand usage of perfect tenses. Here are some sentences you may use to explain the situation:

  Concorde, the world’s fastest passenger plane, (develop) ____ by France and Britain together.

  In the 1950s, both countries dreamed of having a supersonic plane, and the project (start) ____ in 1962.

  £1.5 billion (spend) ____ on developing the Concorde, and it (test) ____ for over 5.000 hours, which makes it the most tested plane in history.

  The first passenger plane (introduce) ____ by British Airways and Air France in 1976.

I know these are passive voices, but that's not the thing I'm talking about. Thank you in advance.


texts: Can this clause function as an adverbial of reason?

texts:
I couldn’t analyse the structure of this sentence properly. Specifically, i don’t know what is the function of the clause “over giving weighting factor to the role of youngsters.”

This is the whole sentence:

  There has been a lot of controversy among people over giving weighting factor to the role of youngsters.

Can the second clause (over giving...youngsters) function as an adverbial of reason??


texts: over or on - "do a little math over/on what I have left"

texts:
Here the speaker uses "over" - "do a little math over what I have left over". I wonder whether "on" works here as well - "do a little math on what I have left over."
Context:
Bill Gates on a wealth tax:
"I've paid over $10 billion in taxes. I've paid more than anyone in taxes. If I had to pay $20 billion, it's fine."
"But when you say I should pay $100 billion, then I'm starting to do a little math over what I have left over."
5:12 AM · Nov 7, 2019


texts:
In a film (Horrible Bosses) a person said:
"I'm this close to getting a big promotion with my own office."

Why he used "with"?


texts: How can I say that I have used a piece of cloth a lot?

texts:
What is the best way to say that you have used a piece of cloth a lot?
Does it sound OK to say:

I have worn this dress a lot.


texts:
a. It was six months away from his graduation from college.

  b. It was six months from his graduation from college.

  c. He was six months away from graduating from college.

  d. He was six months from graduating from college.

Can one tell if 'away from' and 'from' mean 'before' or 'after' in these sentences?

Many thanks


texts: Irregular conjugation of the verb "blame"

texts:
Is it o.k. to conjugate the verb "blame" in this way?:

  I am to blame.

  You are to blame.

  He/She/It is to blame...and so on.

In order to tell someone themselves blames something on.


texts: Graphic or Graphical part of the project? Which is correct?

texts:
My question relates to software project. Which form is correct?

I am responsible for graphic part of the project?
I am responsible for graphical part of the project?
I am responsible for graphics part of the project?


texts: Is it grammatical/idiomatic to say "Thursday night" instead of "On Thursday night"?

texts:
Example:

  On Tuesday night, I went to the see doctor.

  On Wednesday night, I visited my uncle's farm.

  Thursday night, I stayed at home.

I saw some people using this structure on Google Books. However, I'm still not sure if it's grammatical/idiomatic to omit the "on."


texts: What's the grammatical structure of "hard as that is to believe" in this context?

texts:
"Enough to bring joy to the most joyless critics, isn't she?"

  "Mmm. And in the hands of a real purveyor of the arts, she could be something in this country. Shame, she's fallen in with you."

  "(laugh)You really are better on the page, Mr. Bennett, hard as that is to believe."

  The Greatest Showman

What's the grammatical structure of "hard as that is to believe" here?

I guess he's being offensive to the critic because the critic provoked him first. So I understand what this means but I don't understand the grammar of "hard as that is to believe".

Can anyone help me with this?


texts: "...assumed known." VS. "...assumed to be known."

texts:
While writing a report, I need to decide on which of the following two constructions is correct/more appropriate.

  The characters of A in B are of course assumed known.
  The characters of A in B are of course assumed to be known.

My issue is with the ending of the sentence (The initial parts are technical).


texts:
What is the meaning of "Or the other way around" in below sentence I sow in newspaper.

  You read a book & tell someone you loved it & they go pick it up. Or
  the other way around.

Thank you.


texts:
What is the difference between the two sentences:

  I've been living in X country for 20 years.
  I've been in X country for 20 years.

Is #1 still in the X country? Also, is #2 also still in the X country?


texts: "the page elements" or "the page's elements"

texts:
Many times I see constructions like

the node's text , the node text
the node's tag, the node tag
the page elements, the page's elements
the page footer (to mean the footer of page), the page header...

I know that they are different but it seems sometimes they can be used in place of each other. for example what is the difference of

the page elements
the elements of page
the page's elements

I found it awkward to repeat the page's elements if I can't use "the page elements".
Are there times that we can use both an adjective and a possessive construction for something?


texts: What is the grammar used in this sentence

texts: “Love is too weak a word for the way I feel.” Can anyone explain to me what the grammar behind “too weak a word” is? Specifically the usage of ‘a’


texts: Is there a better way to say "go home to home"?

texts:
I am not sure if I am crazy, but "going home to home" sounds unidiomatic. By that, I mean going to every home like some people do every morning.

Here's an example:

  The milkman goes home to home to deliver milk in all of the houses he
  was assigned.


texts: What do you call the place where car tires are changed, oil is checked and if there is something wrong with your car, it is fixed?

texts: What do you call the place where car tires are changed, oil is checked and if there is something wrong with your car, it is fixed there? I would like to know what people call that plece in American and British English.


texts:
"Are you retarded, or just plain stupid?"

I am trying to paraphrase a sentence from the movie, "Forest Gump", to one of my American friends. But I misread the word 'plain', and I read it as 'playing'. So the sentence becomes "Are you retarded, or just playing stupid?"

This made my friend laugh a lot.

Question: Why does "playing stupid" sound so funny?


texts:
Is "eats with hunger" a synonym of "eats greedily"?

A:

  He eats with hunger

B:

  He eats greedily


texts:
It took her two hours to finish her homework.
It took two hours for her to finish her homework.

Q: I know #1 is correct and I guess #2 is also correct/natural.
What is your opinion?


texts:
which is correct:
Sharif University of Technology, the first rank technical university of Iran
Sharif University of Technology, the first ranked technical university of Iran
I guess rank could be noun and the first one could be true, but if I must use an adjective, the second could be true


texts: How to ask a question according to the specific sections?

texts:
（1）I get up early in order to catch a bus.

  （2）I get up early because I can catch a bus.

How to ask a question according to “in order to catch a bus ” and "because I can catch  a bus"?


texts:
I've got difficulties in using prepositions. I'm not sure how to say it correctly.

  On my last holiday I went to Greece.
  In my last holidays I went to Greece.
  In my last holidays I was in Greece.

What would a native speaker of British English say?


texts:
Please, help me understand an expression. What does the expression "Sampe examples" mean? "Sample" != "exapmle"?

Sampe examples:
...
code1
...
code2
...

Why don't writing just "Example/s"?

Examples:
...
code1
...
code2
...


texts: What’s the actual difference between “among” and “between”?

texts:
Well, the thing is that I know that among is used to establish a relationship with 3 or more objects. On the other hand, between is just for two objects. Nevertheless, I do not understand what to write when it comes to some expressions.

Let’s say, for instance, that I want to emphasize a video game, in this case Doom, from other video games during the same era. How should I write the next sentence?

  A) I will emphasize the difference between Doom and other games from the same era.

or like this

  B) I will emphasize the difference among Doom and other games of the same era.

Since ”other games” are already more than two, or in this case, one object, shouldn’t it be among?

Furthermore, if I try to emphasize the difference among 3 objects, how should I write it?
Here I will explain the difference between Roses, Violets, and fruits.
Or
Here I will explain the difference among Roses, Violets, and fruits.

Thank you.


texts: I'm confused about present simple vs. past simple

texts:
Okay, for example

  The bar magnet is moved back and forth.

Why is  'moved' used? Since it is a present tense, should it be 'move' instead?

  Why are you wrong?
  Why were you wrong?

Like because I asked my classmate when we were looking at our papers but then I asked him ‘why are you wrong?’ then I suddenly doubt about it since he had made the mistake earlier, should it be ‘why were you wrong?’


texts:
I came across this sentence today but am not sure if this is a reduced relative clause.

  These six categories are also consistent with those used to group the multiple-choice questions included in this chapter.

Can that/which are be understood to be in the sentence?

  These six categories are also consistent with those that/which are used to group the multiple-choice questions included in this chapter.

If the above sentence is correct,and since that/which represents those
 can the relative clause be viewed as:

Those are used to group the multiple-choice questions included in this chapter.


texts:
I just have heard a song "Heart Don't Lie".
And I'm curious to know, how has it used? grammatically.

  "Heart Don't Lie"

  "Heart Doesn't Lie."


texts: Why can "populace" be used as an adjective in "most populace cities?"

texts:
I wanted to talk about the cities where the population is high. My correspondent told me we must say:

  The most populace cities

Instead of:

  The most populated cities

I don't understand how the noun populace can be used as an adjective. Can you explain that to me?


texts:
For describing an expect result in an audit report of testing (Action: Click on 'LOGO' at the top right of the page), which one of these is correct:
(Expect Result refers to 'It should'  )

  Expect Result:  Go to the home page.
  Expect Result: Enter the home page.
  Expect Result: Access the home page.
  Expect Result: Jump to the home page.
  Expect Result: Navigate to the home page.

Or maybe i should use some other terms like reach, get to. Thanks a lot.


texts: "I made it to the finals" in a formal way?

texts:
Is it okay to say that my team "made it" to the finals in a formal letter?
If not what else can I say?


texts: Is there a difference between the words "concious" and "conscious" (and is the former even a word)?

texts: My auto-spelling software seems to accept concious as a word. Is it correct to do so (for historic or whatever reasons), and is there in any case a difference between concious and conscious?


texts:
I have heard in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” that Harry says “I did not do it” when Ron asks whether he put his name?
Why doesn’t he say “I have not done it” instead of “did”?


texts: Demanding money for poor countries to take voluntary action

texts:
I found this sentence while reading today's The Times of India. Here is the link for the complete article.

  Although India will continue to insist that the global climate deal should have the principles of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and Kyoto Protocol that call for only rich nations to cut emissions while demanding money for poor countries to take voluntary action, it may now start questioning the idea of keeping the world's highest carbon emitter China in the same league as the other developing countries.

I can't understand the bold part of the quoted sentence. Does it mean that the poorer countries will not have to cut emission simply, they will be charged money so that they voluntarily take measure on emission?

Thanking you in advance.


texts: Can anybody explain these numbers for me, please?

texts:
I don't quite understand the things in bold:

  Of the 40 occasions since 1928 in which an industry rose by at least 100% over any two-year period, a collapse of more than 40% over the subsequent two years occurred 53% of the time — or 21 times, as noted above.

Source: http://www.barrons.com/articles/are-we-in-a-stock-market-bubble-1490261265?google_editors_picks=true

There are lots of things that are confusing. Does "40% over the next two years" mean the same as "40% of the next two years"?

Does 53% of the time mean "50% of the two years"?

If so, how does the meaning of the whole sentence fit together?


texts: "Yet", "Still", "Also" to say a further possibility

texts:
I wrote:

  By default, any user-created ruleset is derived from a master ruleset, which includes the basic heuristic rules to cover the common tasks required by the extraction algorithm. However, it is [yet / still / also]? possible to override each rule in a derived ruleset.

When you want to say another option still exits, what is common? yet or still or also?

However, in my sentence, I think I should use "also" because I am saying that a user is not required to be bound to the rules in the master ruleset?!


texts:
In one of my posts ("that's a very good one to know" vs. "that's good to know"), a kind contributor says

  "That's a good one" is a stock phrase

I've seen this term (would I call it a term?) "stock phrase" a few times though, I still don't know what does it mean. So, I searched a bit and got this explanation

  A phrase frequently or habitually used by a person or group, and thus associated with them.

When read this words, first phrase shows up in my mind is "Obama (Yes We Can)".

Similarly, "That's a good one" is associated with a specific group when it means some appreciation of jokes.

Is my understand right? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts: What does "otherwise" mean in this context?

texts:
Can anybody rewrite what Callow said in a simpler way. I was confused by the words and the order of the phrases he used.

Callow at Westpac said the domestic logic, "in any country or zone where wages growth is weak and core inflation not on a clear self-sustaining uptrend", would otherwise be to ease policy.
"Which is actually most of the world," he said.

source: http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKBN16N0OC-OCABS


texts:
I'm looking for the best word that means "being able to reach goals indirectly, perhaps, but not necessarily, with cheating or deception".
(basically I'm trying to find the best translation for the russian word "хитрый")

I think that without context that word should have a neutral meaning. But depending on a context it can appear as a good or a bad quality.

For example:

"Being a [xxx] person he was able to calm his boss down and stop the approaching conflict in the team" - an example when it serves as a good quality.

"Being a [xxx] person she was able to make her fiancé forgive her and even buy her that diamond necklace she wanted, although he had to spend all his savings on it" - an example when it serves as a bad quality.

"The [xxx] fox flattered the crow,  and got crow's cheese" (a summary of the Ivan Krylov's fable "The Fox and the Crow") - another example where it serves as not a good (at least for the crow :) quality


texts: Is there a significant difference in meaning between "other studies confirmed" and "other studies have confirmed" in this context?

texts:
I recently corrected something for a friend. She wrote this:

  An international team of scientists collected insects using the so-called “Malaise traps” in 63 protected areas in Germany. This long-term study revealed that the biomass of flying insects decreased by more than 75 percent in the time from 1989 until 2016. Other worldwide studies confirmed or even exceeded these figures.

I thought it was fine, but her teacher put a  "(have)", before "confirmed" suggesting the present perfect could be used instead.

  "Other worldwide studies (have) confirmed or even exceeded these figures."

I told her to ask him why since it seemed illogical to me!

"He said that she didn't give any information about the time the studies were published and it could have been the case that they were still running!
I addition to that he said that it also could be a possibility that there might have been studies before 2016 that had been ignored (though correct or important) in addition to studies to after 2016."

He basically said that the sentence is unclear if I understood him correctly.

Well, I object that. First, the use of the present perfect would suggest that the studies are still running (which seems impossible since a study is by definition already finished when calling it a study (?)), and you would, therefore, have to call it an unfinished study. Second, the simple past can be accompanied by adverbs or adverbial determinations but it doesn't have to be, does it? Why should there be additional information here?

Third, the past perfect should be used in the same sentence than the simple past as far as I am concerned rather than in the next one in this case (semantically):

  This long-term study revealed that the biomass of flying insects decreased by more than 75 percent in the time from 1989 until 2016. Other worldwide studies that had been conducted confirmed or even exceeded these figures but were ignored and others also confirmed or exceeded these figures."

You should probably add a "before 2016" and "after 2016" here but it seems so awkward to even write it like that?

I don´t know if he is really well educated or just picky!


texts:
In the article Political hashtags like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter make people less likely to believe the news, there is a comment that this research studies:

To say one gender over another experiences harassment more is an understatement! I feel it happens just as much for each gender, but more are afraid to say anything.

What does "more are afraid to say anything" mean? I speculate that it means "I'm afraid to say anything more". Is that correct?


texts: "If I did find out" vs. " If I found out"

texts:
If I found out the truth, I would definitely tell you.
  If I did find out the truth, I would definitely tell you.

What is the difference between these two conditional phrases?


texts:
This sentence is from TOEFL.

  We all tended to take these places for granted, but I do not know what we would have done to entertain ourselves without them.

(for the context, these places refers to a movie theater and an amusement park.)

I understand the overall meaning of the sentence, but I really do not know and want to know why ourselves put in there.

Is there any syntactic structure that ourselves should put in that position?

I think the sentence is makes sense without ourselves. If I omit it, then the sentence will be ungrammatical?