texts:
This topic confuses me very much.
I'm aware that the meaning of words in a sentence depends on its place,
but I can't still completely grasp the idea/topic.
Could you help me with the next sentences, please?

  (a) Look out! There's a car coming!
  (b) I came across a group of children playing.

The both look to me as incomplete, as if there's an implicit, deleted part of a sentence. Is this right?
As if they should be kind of:

  (a)
  There's a car coming along the street. /
  There's a car coming toward you.
  (b)
  I came across a group of children playing in the playground. /
  I came across a group of children playing next to my house.

-shouldn't they?

I have no questions on these full sentences, but their shorter form confuses me.

The second question is whether the words "coming" and "playing" can stand before the noun?
Kind of:

  (a) Look out! There's a coming car.
  (b) I came across a group of playing children.

Are these sentences correct? If they are, do they mean the same as ones above and sound native?

And the last question:
We know a phrase about English "the shorter the better".
So why "There's a car coming!" rather than "A car is coming"?
Are the both correct, do they mean the same and sound native?

  (a.1) Look out! There's a car coming!
  (a.2) Look out! A car is coming!

Please, could you help me with all these questions?


texts:
Someone brought this sentence to me as her topic sentence for a paragraph: "Team players can cause success in their group." The moment I read it, I thought there's something unnatural about it. Then I said she could improve it by other words because we usually use 'cause' to talk about negative effects. I suggested:

  Team players' performance can lead to their group's success.

  Team players' performance can bring about achieving success in their group.

  Team players can bring their group success.

I want to have a native speaker's opinion on that. Does her sentence need any improvement? Can any of the sentences I suggested be considered as an improvement?


texts:
I had a multiple-choice question which was:

  Let's go to the cinema. What films ____  watch?

  a) shall we

  b) are we

  c) are we going to

  d) was we

I chose c) are we going to but they took it as wrong? Why?


texts:
I mean, if damage is countable, it should be

  Deal 6 damages.

If it’s not countable, then this sentence should be wrong.

Such as saying something like

  I drank 5 water.

So... am I missing something here?


texts:
"The deposited material was a mixture of old reworked sediment from previous beach face deposits and what fluvial sediment that had accumulated after the last high stand."

The sentence is an example sentence from the Oxford dictionary: here.

As I understand, the sentence means that the deposited material was a mixture of two things: First, old reworked sediment from previous beach face; and second, fluvial sediment that had accumulated after the last high stand.

Can someone explain why the world "what" is used there. Would if affect the meaning of the sentence if "what" was not used?


texts: Sequence of tenses. Present Perfect + Present or Past Simple (not reported speech)

texts:
we have a question:
Have you ever felt like you miss someone you don’t even know?
and we have an answer, which seems a bit confusing to me
I suppose, that I haven’t felt I miss someone who I don’t know.
or this one would be better and more correct?
I suppose, that I haven’t felt I missED someone who I DIDN'T know


texts: I do not understand the role of "respectively" in this

texts:
https://www.rtu.lv/en/science/research-platforms/energy-and-environment

The first paragraph is the article is this:

  Nowadays life and economic activity are not imaginable without
  electricity, thermal energy, and transport fuel, and, respectively,
  power supply.

Meaning of respectively:
adverb

1.
in precisely the order given; sequentially.

2.
(of two or more things, with reference to two or more things previously mentioned) referring or applying to in a parallel or sequential way:
Joe and Bob escorted Betty and Alice, respectively.

Considering the first meaning of respectively , are we saying power supply comes after electricity , thermal energy and transport fuel?

The second meaning does not seem to apply , but I'm not sure.

Can somebody please help me out?


texts: If he became successful , I would be proud of him or if he were to be successful... or if he becomes successful , I'll be proud of him?

texts: What are the differences ? If I become rich or if I became rich or if I were to become rich ? What do they mean? I can't distinguish the conditional type 1 and 2.


texts:
I wonder which preposition fits in he following sentence and which one does not work and why?

The other staff were looking at him in a weird way all day and he had noticed that. That was just because they heard he had taken that money from the cash register without the owner's permission! He knew that he had been at fault and that was why he broke out in a sweat ........ embarrassment at the meeting, though the owner did not put him down in front of the personnel.

a. out of
b. from
I think they both work here, but I have an intuition that "a" is much more better-sounding here.
P.S. despite being informative, unfortunately, I did not find the similar thread quite helpful in this specific case.


texts: The missing "from" in British English-- is it really correct?

texts:
Typical American construction: "I drew my pistol and stopped the intruder from attacking me."

  Typical British construction: "I drew my pistol and stopped the intruder attacking me."

Is the latter usage truly considered completely correct in British English, if the intended meaning is exactly the same as in the first sentence above?

To an American reader, the second construction gives the implication that the attack is already occurring, i.e., it's equivalent to saying "I drew my pistol and stopped the intruder who was (already) attacking on me."  Not so apparently to a British reader.

Other similar sentences would include:

"I hit the brake and stopped the car rolling forward"
"The prime minister stopped the vote going forward"

These would seem strange to an American reader but perhaps not to a British reader.  But are they truly considered correct in the British context?

Other similar verbs experience the same difference in construction – for example "prevented", etc.


texts: What is the difference? "had feared" vs "feared" vs "was feared"

texts:
Which one should I use:

  I had feared that my companion would talk too much.

  I was feared that my companion would talk too much.

  I feared that my companion would talk too much.


texts:
Rep. Lauren Boebert has mocked philanthropist Bill Gates' wish to move toward a future in which people eat only synthetic meat—by sharing an image of a steak that a New York butcher claims was lifted from its website.

It's a Newsweek article. I understand what it means but the structure of italic part is not familiar.
I think the above is overlapped sentences and the primitive form would be that was lifted from its(a butcher's) website. The problem is the isertion of whole sentence a New York butcher claims between a subject that and a verb was.
Is it possible? Yes it should be because it's an article of a global media. How is it possible? I have never seen an example like that in any English grammar books. Is it a broken sentence which is colloquial and friendly?


texts:
Is it correct to say:

  The only furniture  that I have is a bed

Or I have to put some sort of modifier before it? For example:

  The only piece of furniture that I have is a bed.


texts:
It is from this video. It is at 4 minute and 16 second. Here is the context:

  All those things coming because we accruing volume and volume creates overload. But volume will also create overuse. And if you keep relying on this – especially if you are not using spot on, dead on, nails perfect form – it will start rear its ugly head a lot faster.


texts:
He had relocated the same day as I did after switching university. We kept in touch regularly.

Why did and not had done if both relocated the same day, same tense should be used?


texts:
I read a sentence in Kafka on the shore which was:

  Several times from inside the sleeping bag I open my eyes a slit and peer around the dimly lit room just to be sure no one else is there.

I do get the sense conveyed here but don't think "open my eyes a slit" is grammatical. I think there should have been "as" before a slit in the sentence. Am I right?


texts: "Hi there!" -- What does this 'there' mean?

texts:
There's this particular interjection-like usage of there that I think belongs to the spoken register and maybe doesn't refer to anything; as in:

  Hi there!
  You alright there?

Why is it used, and what meaning (if any) does it serve to convey?


texts:
I understand that full-size means "it's full sized", but I am not sure relative to what?

  This is a full-size pistol.

Does "full-size" mean something is within the normal size range within a gun class when used for guns? For example, a shotgun that's the size of a full-size pistol would be called a compact shotgun. Is this the case or not? I am asking, because looking up a dictionary doesn't really help to get the meaning right.


texts: Why do you say "air conditioned" and not "conditioned air"?

texts: For a non-native English speaker, it seems that "air" is a noun and "conditioned" is an adjective. Following the correct word order, the adjective should precede the noun, so it should be "conditioned air". So why "air conditioned"? Are there other examples of the same word order?


texts:
I'll show you a sentence below:

  I learned about American history in middle school.

In the clause, you can see the preposition of 'in'.

What is the correct definition of 'in' in the above sentence?

1) At the point within an area or a space
2) Involved in something ; taking part in something

A source of 'In' from: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/in_1?q=in


texts: When should I use the word artisanal versus craft?

texts:
When is something artisanal versus craft?
Why do we say artisanal chocolate but craft beer?
I couldn't find anything distinguishing the two on the internet.


texts: Does 'Was' necessitate a situation which no longer holds?

texts:
I am curious about whether the word 'was' implies a situation which is no longer the case. I was under the impression (and still am ;)) that it did not carry a hard logical implication of that nature, but have always been aware that there is a soft implication to that effect. Here is an example:

  Fred was funny

Does such a statement necessarily entail that Fred is no longer funny? I agree that most would infer that, but have always assumed that this conclusion is not assured unless specified. There are other variants with qualifications which one could also consider:

  Fred was funny at that time

I feel like this most certainly cannot imply that Fred is no longer funny, since otherwise statements like "Barrak Obama was president in 2010" would be incorrect.

Much gratitude.

EDIT:

I have received many thoughtful answers, all of which I greatly appreciate. But I think the question may benefit from additional clarity. Consider the following conversation:

  Joe: Sarah, it was good knowing you
  Sarah: What do you mean? Are we
  terminating our relationship?
  Joe: Not at all. It continues to be
  good to know you, just as it always has been
  Sarah: But what you
  said implies that you will no longer be knowing me - that I'm going to
  die or that we'll be parting ways or something ...
  Joe: Not strictly
  speaking. It merely implies that during some interval in the past, I
  evaluated the process of knowing you as good. I've said nothing about
  my current or future evaluations of the process, nor anything about
  whether the process itself continues or will continue.

In the strictest sense, which of Joe and Sarah is correct?


texts: Is "macrames" a correct plural form of "macrame" in English? I am seeing "macrame" being used in various places, but if I want to give two items to my friend, am I giving them "two macrame" or "two macrames"?


texts: Meaning of "the largest proportion of patients"

texts:
From a medical paper:

Improvements in motor development, cognitive functions, muscle tone abnormalities (hypotonia, poor head control, hypertonia) and epileptic seizures were reported in the largest proportion of patients.

I wonder about the meaning of this phrase.
Could it be that this "largest proportion" only equals, say, 30% of the overall studied population of patients, but due to it being "the largest portion united by the alleviation of the same set of symptoms", it would still qualify as the "largest proportion", with other "portions" (united by alleviation of a different set of symptoms) being smaller?
Or am I overthinking this, and this basically means that the majority of patients experienced alleviation of these symptoms?


texts:
I received feedback that it is 'medical professional's" rather than "medical professionals" in the following context:

  Using our solution you can remove the stress of data security from
  medical professionals.

I think the reviewer is confused and I am right.  I think the reviewer is thinking in terms of a singular noun possessive apostrophe s

Example:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/punctuation/apostrophe

  The dog’s tail wagged rapidly.

But professional is a noun and the plural is professionals.

Can anyone confirm if I am correct?


texts:
He sent the letter.

If I want to ask about the subject, I can say:

  Who sent the letter?

If I want to ask about the object:

  What did he send?

But how can  ask what was the verb (the action)? is the following correct?

  What did he do by the letter?


texts: What is the place in the office people grab coffee and snack?

texts:
It is not necessarily a room but can be small area in the office, has a coffee maker, fridge, microwave, sink and cabinets holding seasoning, paper towels and utensils. Sometimes there is a vender machine too.

is it a pantry?


texts: do we say "he is checking in to the building" to express someone is wiping his magnetic card on the security system to get in?

texts:
check in [phrasal verb] 1  : to report to someone when you arrive
  at a place (such as an airport or convention) to let them know you are
  there

  Passengers must check in one hour before the flight leaves.

  Where do I have to check in?

  especially : to arrive at and be given a room in a hotel, motel, etc.

  check in [=register] at a hotel

  Guests cannot check in before 4:00 PM.

Some modern buildings or some security rooms are often equipped with some security systems. You need a magnetic card to get in, see this picture.

So, how do we express when someone is wiping his magnetic card on the security system to get in?

do we say "he is checking in to the building"?

The phrase "check in" in the dictionary doesn't seem to express the action of wiping the card to get into a building / room, etc.


texts: Does "orange" rhyme with "cringe" in the UK?

texts:
Someone asked me why "orange" didn't rhyme with "range" and "strange", so I looked it up to have exact phonetics and show them the slight difference, but I found something weird.

On WordReference the phonetics is /ˈɒrɪndʒ/. It didn't seem coherent (it sounds very different with other accents), so I looked on other sites, and according to wiktionary that's only the British pronunciation. They give /ˈɒ.ɹɪnd͡ʒ/, which is a little more precise.

When I listen to the sample, it does sound like "oringe".

That would mean that in the UK, orange rhymes with cringe  /krɪndʒ/ and binge /bɪndʒ/, is that correct ? Or are phonetics not 100% correct and doing what they can to be close to real pronunciation ?

Also, reading this question brought me to the list of English words without rhymes, and orange is /ˈ-ɒrᵻndʒ/ there, I don't know if that fits all accents.


texts:
Consider:

  To enhance insight on the ionic liquid structure, RDFs due to correlations between atomic sites on each ion were calculated.

I guess "due to" means "resulted from" here. Does it have such a meaning? Here, we have one clause. Should we expect a second clause whenever a "due to" is used?

This is another question with similar title but the contents of the question and answer don't deal with "due to" as expected here.


texts: Can "wandering eye" be used as a biblical reference or as marriage issue?

texts:
In a series I've heard someone refer to wandering eye as an example of problems in a marriage.

  - What kind of problems?
  - He's got a wandering eye, evidently.
  - So Ms. Bible Bully and I do have something in common after all.

Since the speaker, in fact, seems to have nothing in common with the mentioned woman (the bully), I'm not sure what they mean.

The best shot I have is that they refer to infidelity, as this is the most significant property of the president's marriage. However, I feel I'm missing something.


texts: How can I say "I am sorry for sending you the consequent emails" in more professional and proper way?

texts: I am sending another email before receiving any reply and want to apologize for that at the beginning of the second in an official way. How can I say "I am sorry for sending you the consequent emails" in a more professional and proper way?


texts: Is it okay to say something like "The reason why we pick him lies in it that he is obviously more promising than other applicants"?

texts:
Is it okay to say something like this?

  The reason why we pick him lies in it that he is
  obviously more promising than other applicants

The part I am not sure is the boldfaced part.
And I know that, instead of the boldfaced words, I can simply say

  The reason why we pick him is that he is
  obviously more promising than other applicants

The sentence merely functions as an example of the usage of "it that".


texts: Would it be more correct to call a polar bear a "preyer" , a "predator", or a "hunter"?

texts:
My little son is due to make a small brochure about the polar bear according to his kindergarten teacher's arrangement.

He intends to name the brochure "Polar Bear: the Hunters on Ice".

I, however, think it somewhat inaccurate to call a polar bear a "hunter". The predatory ways of the ursus species are different from those of top feline animals such as tigers and lions which are more usually called "hunters".

I am unsure as to what the most correct way to refer to polar bears might be. "Preyers on ice"? "Arctic predators"? Is there something more appropriate to call them?


texts: The odd usage of the word hence in "Hence the need for a providential Prometheus with a “why not?”"

texts:
Hence the need for a providential Prometheus with a “why not?”

What does hence mean in the context? There is a usage of it with 'with'?


texts: What does "You could've fried an egg on your face" mean?

texts:
... ...

  Harry yanked his robes straight and headed for a seat at the very back of the class, where he busied himself with piling all seven of Lockhart's books in front of him, so that he could avoid looking at the real thing(refers to Lockhart).

  ... ...

  “You could've fried an egg on your face,” said Ron.

  “You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny, or they'll be starting
  a Harry Potter fan club.”

  “Shut up,” snapped Harry.

  The last thing he needed was for Lockhart to hear the phrase “Harry
  Potter fan club.”

I don't quite get the meaning of “You could've fried an egg on your face,”. I think it's a metaphor. The close phrase I can get is "have egg on one's face", which means: Fig. to be embarrassed by something one has done. But the phrase "fried an egg on your face" might be different. What does it mean exactly? Is it the same as have egg on one's face?

-- From Harry Potter.


texts: How shall I semantically distinguish to be pedantic and splitting hairs while they both indicate the same message about a person who is paying too much attention to some unnecessary details?


texts:
Does the word fishing line have a plural? Wikipedia says that there is a plural, and in the Longman Dictionary it is uncountable.

There are no articles in similar sentences:

  Canada Goose Entangled in (the/a) fishing line
  Humpback Whale Entangled in (the/a) Fishing Line

but there is an article when defining the word:

  A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling.


texts: Strange use of participle instead of gerund

texts:
Here is a piece of text from the book on which I'm learning English:

  Now, tell me how you've been. Just because Molly sent me here for something else, doesn't mean she'll accept me not asking you a few more questions.

Could you explain me (or give the name/link to a rule describing the topic), why there is that "me not asking" there? Isn't there should be "my not having been asked" instead? I.e.:

  Just because Molly sent me here for something else, doesn't mean she'll accept my not having asked you a few more questions.


texts:
I could go to the cinema.

As I am not a native speaker, usage of modal verbs is always confusing to me. I understand the above sentence in following cases. So please say if I am wrong.
Case1: It is possible for me to go to cinema, I have that ability. Going or not going is my choice.
Case2: If some unstated hypothetical conditions were satisfied, I would be able to go to cinema. For example: I could to go to the cinema, If there were no exam.
Does given two cases of interpretations possible for the given sentence? Are there any other interpretations?


texts:
Good Day!

I've encountered with the following issue:

An example given from Participle I Rule:

  "He looked at me knowing that I would win."

In this case the action "knowing" refers to "him", so it's to be understood as:

  "He looked at me and he knew that I would win.

and the next example:

  "This is a picture of me waiting for the train."

In this case the action "waiting" refers to "me", not to the "picture", so it's to be understood as:

  "This is a picture of me, which shows that I was waiting for the train."

And the question is: "How to understand, when seeing a sentence like the first example, the meaning of such sentence?"

  "He looked at me knowing that I would win."

Why the action "knowing" can only refer to "him", but not to "me", and to be understood as:

  "He looked at me and understood that I knew that I would win."

I hope my question will be understood and given an answer :)


texts: Need some help to understand the difference of these sentences

texts:
Can any one tell me what is the correct sentence among theses two or I can use both?

This is not Peter's house.
This house is not Peter's.


texts: Which is correct: "John was born after..." OR "John had been born after..."?

texts:
Is it correct to say:

John was born decades after the death of his grandfather.

or

John had been born decades after the death of his grandfather?

I remember learning that "had been" was a relative term (as in relating to some other event), whereas "was" generally refers to some past event. Is that correct? If so, then which one is more appropriate?


texts: Does the following paragraph read as if written by a non-English speaker?

texts:
"My customers," she explained, "are guys who don’t have girlfriends
  and have too much loneliness. Or middle-aged men who have wives but
  don’t feel their company."

The sentence sounds okay for me, but native English speakers said that it didn't sound natural. What's the part that doesn't sound natural and what's the correct alternative?


texts: "Work with someone" or "work on someone" in the sense of getting someone to do something?

texts:
Could you tell me if I use the preposition on or with with work in the sense of getting someone to do something? For example:

Your buttering up won't work on/with me, young lady. I won't let you use my car without you having a driver's licence.


texts: I saw this sentence on a GRE app. The -ing phrase obviously modifies the noun "the highbrow", but is it necessary to have the comma?


texts: Do we need 's in "I'm a friend of Stephen's."

texts:
I'm a friend of Stephen's.

It's British English, period: around 1970's.

Do we need that 's at the end of the name? I can see why it is there when you say, for instance, "I was at Stephen's." Here you omit something; you can put something after Stephens's and complete the sentence: "I was at Stephen's home."

But in the first sentence you cannot put anything after Stephen's.


texts: Shouldn't we need to put "not" before "because" to make the structure take "..not...but rather" form?

texts:
I am confusing.
I guess the author want to express a contrast by using ...not...but rather structure.
To negate the forepart proposition, should not we have to insert a "not" to make the part negative?

Original:

  She attracted attention not so much because of the qualities of
  her features but rather because of the naturalness and grace with
  which her expression moved.

With 'not' added:

  She attracted attention not so much not because of the qualities
  of her features but rather because of the naturalness and grace with
  which her expression moved.

Source: it is a sentence quoted from much acclaimed Murakami Haruki's novel <1Q84>.

Here is the whole paragraph:

  A detailed examination of her face from the front would reveal that
  the size and shape of her ears were significantly different, the left
  one much bigger and malformed. No one ever noticed this, however,
  because her hair nearly always covered her ears. Her lips formed a
  tight straight line, suggesting that she was not easily approachable.
  Also contributing to this impression were her small, narrow nose,
  somewhat protruding cheekbones, broad forehead, and long, straight
  eyebrows. All of these were arranged to sit in a pleasing oval shape,
  however, and while tastes differ, few would object to calling her a
  beautiful woman. The one problem with her face was its extreme paucity
  of expression. Her firmly closed lips only formed a smile when
  absolutely necessary. Her eyes had the cool, vigilant stare of a
  superior deck officer. Thanks to these features, no one ever had a
  vivid impression of her face. She attracted attention not so much
  because of the qualities of her features but rather because of the
  naturalness and grace with which her expression moved. In that sense,
  Aomame resembled an insect skilled at biological mimicry. What she
  most wanted was to blend in with her background by changing color and
  shape, to remain inconspicuous and not easily remembered. This was how
  she had protected herself since childhood.


texts:
I saw it on a book about occupational therapy
What is the meaning of "bought the field into existence" in this sentence?

The observation that engagement in an occupation had the potential to transform people is bought the field into existence.


texts: meaning of the phrase "all out rip doing someone"?

texts:
It is from this video. It is at around 31 second. Here is the context:

  You might be surprised by the end of the video because I am not going to come out here and all out rip keto dieting.


texts: How to use these structures "take something apart" and "put something together", the "something" is plural or singular?

texts:
take somebody/something apart phrasal verb

  1 to separate something into all its different parts OPP put together

  Tom was always taking things apart in the garage.

  put something ↔ together phrasal verb

  3 to make a machine, model etc by joining all the different parts SYN
  assemble

  I can’t work out how to put this table together.

The example in the dictionary says "put this table together." but why don't we say "put the table's parts together"?

Look at the picture, a pen is made of many different separate parts

So, do you say "don't take it apart" (suppose the speaker and the listener know "it" refers to the pen) or

"don't take them apart" (suppose the speaker and the listener know "them" refers to the separate parts of the pen)?

And, do you say "please put it together" (suppose "it" refers to the pen) or

"please put them together" (suppose "them" refers to the separate parts of the pen)?


texts: Word for a person who increases the argument

texts:
What can I name a person who increases the argument between two people.

Can I call him as catalyst or is any other word available?


texts:
According to what I have been learning from my teachers of English, the structure should be like this:

Subject + who/which/ that + be + adj + Main Verb.

E.g: People who are extremely rich will buy these cars.
However,  I often see sentences like this:

The minority of us lucky enough to have born in the developed world take for granted universal education, an assured food supply and clean, piped water.

I know it’s grammatically correct not to use relative clauses in these cases, as I have seen people using this structure in both writing and speaking. The thing is, there’s no rule saying that I can use an adjective right after a noun without using a relative clause. Therefore, I’m not sure when I can and cannot use this structure. And I feel it’s weird if I say:

People extremely rich will buy these cars.

And I wonder if I use a relative clause in the second example:

The minority of us who are lucky enough to have born in the developed world take for granted universal education, an assured food supply and clean, piped water.

Will there be any change in meaning? I don’t know whether it is a minority of us who are lucky to have born in the developed world or it is that we are lucky to have born there but a minority of us take for granted such good things.


texts:
In the following sentence which word is correct?

She does not believe ___________ Mr. Sharma can help her.

The two options are

Whether
That

According to me it should be that because she is completely sure that Mr. Sharma can not help her. But my teacher says it should be whether.


texts: "It must have been a powerful wizard to ... " -- is "it" a pronoun or a dummy?

texts:
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts [bank]," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles - someone tried to rob a high security vault."
Harry stared.
"Really? What happened to them?"
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."
(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Does the highlighted 'it' indicate ‘someone’ whose sex is unknown,
or is it an anticipatory "it" (dummy it) for ‘a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts’?


texts:
I have this table, which has a button to go to the "Details page" of that transaction.

What would be more natural or appropriate for the button's label?

See Details
See Detail
Show Details
Other?


texts: How to express looking from the outside, and inside, the "outside-look" and "inside-truth"

texts:
Many times, things are not what they look like from the outside. What are the two words describing such outside-look and inside-truth?

For example,

  He looks casual, but he is a sincere person deep inside.

This is describing a person, about outside-look and inside-truth, I want that two contrasting words that summarize/lead the cases. I meant,

  Skin deep, He appears casual, but deep within, he is sincere.

That Skin deep and deep within are the two contrasting words that I'm looking for. What are they? Especially when describing a matter, a situation etc.

superficially and actually? What else? What are the best phrases to replace the following contrasting words that summarize/lead the cases:

  From outsider look, this programming language lacks such feature, but what's really true is that it has a much more powerful one.


texts:
Suppose John went to some office building and inquired with the receptionist about someone that worked there, and that someone happened to be away at that moment.  Then John said to the receptionist:

  I will try back later.

I could not find "try back" in dictionaries.  Could it be a slang phrase?


texts: This is my dwelling Vs. this is my house?

texts:
The definition of a word dwelling is a house or a place of residence.

But I don't understand the difference of two.

You normally use the word house, but then when do you use dwellings?

Is the word more proper/formal?


texts:
To a limited extent, the OECD Convention on the Bribery of Foreign Officials drew attention within the global private sector to the damaging effects of corruption and the potential costs of bribery by companies headquartered in countries that are signatories to the convention. International efforts to bring to account companies that perpetrate or are complicit in environmental destruction, child labour exploitation, and political violence meet with stiff opposition from within the business community.

This text came from this news article.

I am translating this article. I am confused about what the word "within" mean in these sentences, because "within" has more than one meaning.

Can we replace the first "within" by "of" and delete second "within"?


texts: You should say "sprung to someone" or "sprung onto someone?"

texts:
Example sentence:

  Mary sprung to Nana and seized her by the arms.

A native English speaker changed that to sprung onto (I think the person is from Britain). However, Googles gives me more results with "sprung to X."


texts:
Yeah. There's an investigation being opened. And I haven't heard
  officially, but the French media is saying that there is, you know,
  there was renovation going on near the roof by the ceiling. There was
  a lot of scaffolding there. And they say that's where the fire broke
  out. And there was so much, you know, wood and timber in there
  hundreds of years old. And they say it was, you know, dried and cured
  and waxed. And it may have been that wood along the ceiling where the
  fire started. But we'll find out, Ailsa.

The above quote is in NPR new about the fire on The Spire of Notre Dame Cathedral. As for the bold sentence in the paragraph, I wonder if it is correct to rewrite it to "And it may have been that the wood along the ceiling is where the fire started." ?

In my opinion, the rewrite sentence is not grammatical, since if we replace 'it' with "that wood along the ceiling is where the fire started", the sentence will be "That wood along the ceiling is where the fire started may have been.", and this doesn't make any sense to me. So I don't think my previous rewrite is correct.


texts: Difference between in/on a social network

texts: What's the difference between in/on a social network? For example, "If two individuals are friends in/on a social network, they ...".


texts: What is subject In the following sentence?

texts:
Some celebrities, while commenting on this brawl, could not hide their delight at the thought of someone finally boxing sense into [Justin] Bieber"

What is the subject of while commenting on this brawl? Who is commenting on the brawl?


texts:
When there is a cat present in the room, how would you ask your one-year-old kid whether she see/saw the cat?
-Did you see the cat?
-Do you see the cat?
-Have you seen the cat?


texts:
Is use to incorrect because we use present tense if we talk present habit?
What is the difference between the two sentences below?

  I am used to GETTING up late in the morning.
  I am used to GET up late in the morning.

Please help me to understand.


texts:
What is the difference between "favourite" and "like the most"?
My mom understands that you can sometimes have more than one favourite, is that correct?

What is your favourite food?
Pizza and burgers.
OR
Pizza.
What food do you like the most?
Pizza.


texts:
"He says there’s more to learn about Columbia’s history with slavery, which wasn’t abolished in New York until 1827."

This is from AP news script.

I'm confused with the use of the use of past perfect.

Shouldn't it be "which had not been abolished in New York until 1827."?

Can you use simple past with 'until'?


texts: "What are you saying" vs "What you are saying"

texts:
I don't understand the correct meaning and concept of the following sentences.

  1. I can't hear what are you saying?

  2. I can't hear what you are saying?

another example;

  1. Where are you going?

  2. Where you are going?


texts:
In the followong sentence, I'm confused with the use of 'looks'. Is it grammatically correct?

  She looks an interesting girl.


texts: What are these flying things called in English?

texts: I saw something flying today. What should I call it in English?


texts:
1.The price of butter in my local supermarket has gone down in the past two days.

2.The price of butter in my local supermarket went down in the past two days.

I don't get any difference between them, if I use #1 in the non-continuative sense. Can any one tell me what the difference between them is?

Thanks.


texts:
Both the earth and the moon do not shine by their own light.

  Both the earth and the moon do not shine by their own lights.

I can't decide whether the word light is "countable or uncountable" in this sentence.


texts:
In the following sentence, Does the "the" article come before the "first" word?

  I have two reasons for my claim. The first, it is . . .


texts: "There is/are one teacher, one student and two players in the boat."

texts:
If the subject is plural we use 'are', and if it is singular we use 'is'.
There is a pen on the table.
There are two pens on the table.
What about when there are multiple parts? As in: one teacher, one student and two players.

A. There is one teacher, one student and two players in the boat.
B. There are one teacher, one student and two players in the boat.

A or B?


texts:
My nose has been red cause of cold.

Above sentence is made by me. Is this sentence correct?

I am specifically wondering: Can we use "been" here? If we can, then why?


texts:
Which one is correct and more natural?
Is there difference in meaning?

  I suggested that he should eat more vegetables.
  I suggested that he eat more vegetables.
  I suggested that he ate more vegetables.

Can we omit "that" word from these sentences?


texts:
She greeted me warm.

In ‘He died young,’ young is added as predicative adjunct. Likewise, can the sentence, ‘she greeted me warm,’ be used: ‘warm’ is the predicative adjunct for ‘she’?


texts: Which one is more used: tomato or tomatoes / strawberry or strawberries?

texts: When asking "Do you like...?" or saying "I like or I don't like...", is it more idiomatic to put "tomato" or "strawberry" in the singular or in the plural?


texts:
I'm reading this blog post at https://eatplayhate.me/2010/07/18/mono-cecil-vs-obfuscation-fight/. The Author used the word "semi-seedy" to describe some programming tasks like binding variables, enumerating properties etc. What exactly does "semi-seedy" mean here? Seedy means dirty and unpleasant, possibly connected with bad or illegal activities. Does semi-seedy means somewhat dirty and unpleasant? These are just programming tasks, which makes me a little confused.

Now, .NET comes with a powerful code introspection tool, System.Reflection. Reflection is great for binding variables, enumerating properties and doing all that kind of semi-seedy stuff you tend to want. It is not, however, great at editing code. Infact, it is so un-great as to not let you do it at all. Reflection works only on loaded assemblies and is really a metadata-manipulation library. If you want to get to the IL code itself, or go around renaming things, you’re going to need a more powerful tool. Enter Mono.Cecil.


texts: What‘s’ the specific difference between "divide" and "separate"?

texts: In Oxford dictionary, "divide" means to separate or make something separate into parts, while "separate" means to divide things into different parts. The dictionary does not describe the specific difference between the verb "divide" and "separate", so I need your help. If you give a detailed description of them, I will be appreciated a lot!


texts:
1: I invite everyone present to the opening of the new superstore.
2: I'm inviting everyone to the opening of the new superstore.

Which of the above most accurately corresponds to...

3: I'm offering this invitation to you now.

I chose #2 as the correct answer in a test, but the book's answer is #1. Could you please explain it to me why my answer is wrong?


texts:
I love to go out dancing. (OALD)

When I came across this sentence, I recollected the man, Cheo Yong, who saw four legs on his bed over 1,130 years ago, when he came back late. After that, singing “two are mine, two are who’s? Though originally mine, what should I do, after deprived,” he went out, dancing. (This song very famous, every Korean middle school student learns the old lyrics in Korean text books.)
But I can find ‘go out dancing’ is interpreted, on Korean websites, into ‘go outside to dance.’ Is it an idiom? Can the sentence in OALD be interpreted ‘go outside, dancing,’ as the dancing of the doomed guy who saw four legs in A.D.879.


texts:
I am writing an incident report on a client of mine who bit me on the shoulder causing a red mark... He is a youngster who did this suddenly as I was playing with him. This will possibly be read by the insurance company and certainly by my supervisors. Is the following sentence acceptable?

  Client suddenly sunk his teeth into staff's shoulder creating a red
  bite mark

"To sink one's teeth into something" is defined in the dictionary as getting oneself very involved in a subject matter, etc.

I was wondering if I could use it literally as in the above scenario. Also, there was no blood on my skin, but the bite mark was evident. Does my usage correctly relay the incident?


texts: Whatever she said, I will/would insist on doing that tomorrow

texts:
In this following sentence,

which one is better:

whatever she said, I will/would insist on doing that tomorrow.(now I'm speaking)

Because we can just use "would" in the following sentence right?

After he finished this, he would clean the floor.

Thanks in advance


texts: Putting do/does before the subject in not-question sentences

texts:
Only if Cid is a cat does Eve love him.

When using this structure should I always break loves to does love (with subsequent using does in front)? Can I just write:

Only if Cid is a cat Eve loves him.

What about just love as in they love. What can I write:

Only if Cid is a cat they love him.
Only if Cid is a cat do they love him.


texts: "Don't take my water, it is …" after touching the bottle with my mouth when I'm ill

texts:
When I drink water, there are two ways to drink. Either I can touch my mouth to the bottle or keep the bottle away from my mouth.

Suppose my friend comes and asks me for water. As I am suffering from fever, I want to say to him: "Don't take my water, it is …". What should I fill there?

I was thinking to use "used" there. But "used" can be used in the case when I didn't touch water with my mouth. So, what should I use? I am not getting the proper word for it.


texts: Is "The Department of Culture and Sports" the subject of this sentence?

texts:
My friend and I have recently got a lingering debate on defining the subject of a contracted clause below:

The Department of Culture and Sports called on male civil servants at the department to wear the five-piece long dress when going to work on the first day of each week.

I think it's a complex sentence, of which the dependent clause, when going to work on the first day of each week is an elliptical one.
Per grammar rules, the hidden subject of this contracted clause must be the same as the the subject of the independent clause, that is, The Department of Culture and Sports.
However, my friend thought the subject of this clause is male  civil servants
So which one is the real subject of this clause? and is there any misplaced modifier here?


texts: Could the Past Perfect Tense and the Present Perfect Tense be used together?

texts:
As far as I know, Past Perfect comes along with Past Simple, but can it be used together with Present Perfect? I've read the following sentence in a book, so I assume it's an example of a narrative reported/indirect speech:

  She knew that many of the men who had followed him into that battle had never marched back

Which of the two sentences is correct? (or more grammatically correct)

  She knows that many of the men who have followed him into that battle have never marched back.

  She knows that many of the men who had followed him into that battle have never marched back.


texts: Offering to do something without using "shall"

texts:
What can I substitute "shall" with in these sentences to sound less formal?

You look cold. Shall I put the heater on?
What shall I bring you, tea or coffee?


texts: Can adjectives modify a pronoun like "rich they", "poor you" and "beautiful I"?

texts:
I want to modify a pronoun with adjectives like "rich he", "poor they" and "beautiful I". Can I do that?

For example, can I say "I saw rich him driving a supercar", "Poor you can't buy foods enough", "Smart they graduated from a famous university"?


texts: Is "The office where the tickets are sold" correct passive voice?

texts:
I am trying to give information about "ticket office," and I want to know if my clause is correct or there another way I can give information about it.

  "A ticket office is the office where the tickets are sold"


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "Shed some light"?

texts: I heard this phrase in the movie "the fugitive" when the news reporter was talking about the investigations  around the murder of the fugitive wife


texts:
When a boat or ship sinks after turning over its sides we say it capsized.

How did this word originate? The meaning seems little to do either with a cap or its size or tailoring a cap to a size or shape, etc.

EDIT1:

Cap is also related to Sanskrit  Caphala for head,I could guess the first part. But   addition of *size" got too distorted in usage I cannot understand how, seems to me too far fetched.


texts: Do "between" and "across" have distinct meanings in "between and across children in various sociodemographic groups"?

texts:
Do "between children" and "across children" in following sentence have different meanings?

In addition, wide health inequalities persist between and across children in various sociodemographic groups in the United States. In spite of the changing nature of health care for children overall, child morbidity remains disproportionately high in children from lower sociodemographic homes. Children from more deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds tend to have poorer health and higher rates of mortality from major diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer in adulthood. Especially for children, the origins of poor health can be multiple and complex, and addressing the root causes can be equally complex.  Wider determinants — the influencing factors responsible for everyone’s  health— are more significant for children.

Friedman, H. S. (Ed.). (2011). The Oxford handbook of health psychology. Oxford University Press.


texts: Dividing words into syllables between vowels

texts:
Are there some guiding principles on how to divide words into syllables (for spelling/pronunciation) especially in relation to when the division occurs between two vowels?

For example why does 'brief' consist of one syllable and 'client' consist of two syllables. And why words like 'actual' have three syllables and not two. What are the other cases where syllable division between vowels occurs?

Also a direct to any comprehensive source on the above would be much appreciated.


texts: Help choosing between decimated and reduced

texts:
I have a question for which I am doubtful about which to choose among the two .. can someone help?
Please select one option for the blank:

After years of unchecked exploitation of its natural resources, the state, predictably, has _________ the population of its native plants and animals.
a) stymied
b) increased
c) reduced
d) normalized
e) decimated

I chose decimated as that is strong as the question says years of exploitation.
Will any other answer fit here? Will reduce fit in?
I did not choose reduce as it is lighter than decimated...


texts: Is it correct to use reminisce without about in the following sentence?

texts:
I always see "reminisce" paired with "about." Like here:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reminisce

  Ray pauses to point out the Whisky a Go Go, on Sunset Boulevard, and
  reminisces about the night Elvis Presley went there to see the Kinks
  play. —David Wild, Rolling Stone, 13 May 1993

It is correct to use the word without "about?" Example:

  I reminisce her in scenes clumsily filmed by my mind.


texts: Is there a difference between "can't" or "couldn't"?

texts:
He spoke so quickly that I can't understand him at all.
He spoke so quickly that I couldn't understand him at all.

What is more correct?


texts:
Air transport is increasingly used to export fruit and vegetables
  to countries where they cannot be grown or are out of season.

Is there a synonym for "increasingly"? And, can I use "growingly"? (It is for IELTS exam.)


texts: It was a pleasure DOING business with you...or  it was a pleasure TO DO business with you?  Is it one of these wrong and why or are they both oK. Thank you for your help.


texts:
He moving better than before but still doesn't seem he can sprint. Hope it gets better if he's trying to run whatever it is off. –

what does it mean (to run whatever it is off) in that sentence.


texts: use the word "life" without any determiner

texts:
In an English classroom, the teacher might explain a word to the students like this

You would use that at work or in your personal life.

When the word in question is explained in a book, which means the wording needs to be more formal, is the following wording clear and natural?

This word could be used at work and personal life.

There is no need to put a determiner before "personal life", right?


texts:
Source

  When Cairo and Brigid O'Shaughnessy meet, they make references that
  the reader and Spade don't initially comprehend.

What is the meaning of the reader in this sentence ?


texts: Pronunciation of street names, cities, rare surnames and city districts

texts:
I have problem with finding IPA for some street names, cities, rare surnames and city districts, basicly words I can’t find in dictionary.

For example I need to pronounce word ‘Gorgie’, /ˈɡɔrɡiː/ but my first guess was something similar to /dʒɔrdʒi:/.

Any tips? Thanks in advance.


texts: If 'Social Media' is uncountable and plural, why do we say 'Social media is...'?

texts:
This all began when I saw Grammarly giving me a red line on the verb has. My sentence, as I remember roughly, was...

  Social media has all potential to make your products and services popular

The Grammarly tool suggests 'have' and gives me a reason:

  The singular verb has does not appear to agree with the plural subject media. Consider changing the verb form for subject-verb agreement.

It gave me surprise because I have, at many places, seen the usage of Social media is... I then explored on OALD which has an entry for this two-word word

  social media (uncountable, plural) ~ Social media is a big part of my life

Kindly help me learn.


texts: Can I say in spite of I calling her,she gave me no answer

texts: In spite of I calling her,she gave me no answer


texts: Does "be over later" mean today or later in the week?

texts:
Well texting someone yesterday. They stated,

  I will be over Later.

Does this imply they will be there later in the week? Or later that day?


texts:
Why don't the sentences such as

  I wish I were(was) rich.
  I wish she were(was) my mother.

contain conjunction?

It seems to me

  I wish if I were(was) rich .
  I wish if she were(was) my mother.

are more correct.


texts: "do" or "to do" in the below sentence and why?

texts:
Out of these two sentences, which one is correct, and why?

  He made me do it.

  He made me to do it.

I was thinking to do is correct, but an example I read says do is correct.


texts: "At the age of 23, she [become] a doctor"

texts:
At the age of 23, she will become a doctor.
  At the age of 23, she became a doctor.

Please advise which one is correct. My friend is saying "will become" is wrong.


texts: Why should we use 'Did you come?' instead of 'Did you came?'?

texts:
I know 'Did' is the past tense of 'Do' and if we want to
ask question in present tense 'Do you come?' and in past tense it is 'Did you come?'.
Why don't we use 'Did you came?' as came is the past tense of come?


texts: Is there any difference between "twice, three times, etc." vs "twice over, three times over, etc."?

texts:
Accordng to the dictionary, the expression with "over" can be used to "say how many times the same thing happens" or "say by how much an amount is multiplied".

These are the given examples:

  1 - He sings each song twice (over).

  2 - The pattern is repeated many times (over).

If I haven't known this example of "over", I would have used these sentences, for example, without "over".


texts:
Situation 1, the boy and his mom are at home. Mom saw a broken glass on the floor and she wanted the boy to come to her.
Do we say "the mom called the boy over" and "the mom called out to the boy" in the situation 1?
Situation 2, mom twisted her ankle and she wanted the boy to come to her.
Do we say "the mom called the boy over" and "the mom called out to the boy" in the situation 2?
What is the difference between "the mom called the boy over" and "the mom called out to the boy"?


texts:
This question regards an recurring theme from lots of music I hear.

  She had a ticket for the races just like me she was a victim of the night
  - Tunnel of Love, Dire Straits

  And I'm off to the races
  - Off To The Races, Lana Del Rey

  A Day at the Races
  - Album by Queen

Many more examples exist, though I can't come up with a lot (I always notice them in passing).

Since it's so common, I'm certain there's some kind of metaphorical meaning to it - is there? What is it? What happens there?


texts: difference between disapproval with and disapproval of

texts: I read an article in news papers and i noticed that the author used the word  disapproval with the preposition with but as far as I know this word takes "of" as a preposition


texts: How do I explain why "I wonder where is the bus station." is wrong?

texts:
I am having a hard time explaining why the sentence  “I wonder where is the bus station.” is wrong and it should be “I wonder where the bus station is.”
How would I explain why the word “is” shouldn’t go there?


texts: Can I say to mail me referring to e-mail?

texts:
Can I say someone to mail me when I'm referring to sending me to an e-mail?

I'm aware of other meaning of the word mail, but is it nowadays used in older meaning?

In many languages mail and e-mail are synonyms. Would an average native speaker younger than 40 also understand it that way?


texts: present perfect continuous or present perfect simple?

texts:
This is from a website:

  recently visited pages, easily find again pages you have been reading.

Would it be possible to say: "pages you have read" without any difference in meaning?


texts: Meaning of the sentence which begins with a verb in infinitive form

texts:
I cannot understand the following sentence because of its grammar.

  To borrow a phrase from the old Star Treck series, the "prime directive" of the limbic brain is to ensure our survival as a species.

I am totally bewildered by the first part of the sentence.


texts:
How to say if we send something wrong

" I'm sorry by-mistake I sent to you."


texts: How to differentiate between "to" and "in"?

texts:
Would you tell me if there is any difference in meaning between these pairs?  I cannot yet get my specific answer as I am wondering if "in", "out of", or "to" mean the same thing? if not, how to differentiate among them?

  two cupfuls to a gallon

  two cupfuls in a gallon

  one in three young people

  one to three young people


texts: "Knowing Language know grammar is easy." Is the sentence correct?

texts:
"Having a lot of money have respect for others is not easy."

Are my sentences correct, does it need any punctuation mark ?
Please Explain me.

I am not a native speaker.


texts: Differentiating kids' party and adults' party

texts:
In my native language (portuguese) we can easily differentiate a party for kids and for adults through the word we use for party.

When I say adults' party, I mean a party with a DJ where young people party all night long, men hit on girls (and vice versa), get drunk etc:

and kids party, I mean a nice cake and sing happy birthday to you.

So, are there any words to refer to kids' parties and adults' parties that are not shared between these two kinds?


texts: How to analyse/decompose 'where this would otherwise lead to an unjust result'?

texts:
Source: p 102, How the Law Works, by Gary Slapper

  With so many rules and slightly different interpretations of them in thousands of cases, it is not always easy to see which interpretation of the law a court will give in your case. This uncertainty is increased by the ability of the judiciary to select from what is often a wide range of precedents, and to distinguish earlier cases on their facts  ♦ where this would otherwise lead to an unjust result in the view of the judge ♦.

I'm contending with where, this and otherwise. Please explain the thought processes behind how to determine the answers here and resolve the ambiguity ?

1. What's the antecedent of where here? Is this use correct? Why not a relative pronoun of the form "preposition + which" ?

2. What's the antecedent of this ?

3. What does otherwise mean? I don't understand the last relative clause (surrounded with lozenges ♦)

Thanks to StoneyB's answer, I tried to recapitulate it:

2. this = distinguish earlier cases on their facts

3. otherwise = opposition to 2, so this would otherwise => "failing to distinguish ..." (the exact words of user StoneyB)


texts:
And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out for
  nothing, without money. Source

Another instance:

  Now he don't talk too much, talk too much. Source

Please explain how is it possible grammatically?


texts: The exact meaning and synonym of "inherited wisdom"

texts:
I am wondering what "inherited wisdom" means.

Furthermore, it would be appreciated if someone please provide a definite synonym for it.


texts:
I have never run across all those words. They seem not only close in sound but be used in similar situations (according to my research), that I sometimes become unable to choose which one to use.

The Merriam-Webster says (excerpt):

Clash

  intransitive verb

  to make a clash <cymbals clashed>
  to come into conflict <where ignorant armies clash by night — Matthew Arnold>; also :  to be incompatible <the colors clashed>

  transitive verb

  :  to cause to clash

Crash

  transitive verb

  a:  to break violently and noisily :  SMASH
  b:  to damage (an airplane) in landing

  a:  to cause to make a loud noise <crash the cymbals together>
  b:  to force (as one's way) through with loud crashing noises

  4:  to move toward aggressively (as in fighting for a rebound) <basketball players crashing the boards>

  5:  to cause (a computer system, component, or program) to crash

  intransitive verb

  a:  to break or go to pieces with or as if with violence and noise
  b:  to fall, land, or hit with destructive force
  c:  to decline suddenly and steeply
  d of a computer system, component, or program :  to suffer a sudden major failure usually with attendant loss of data

  to make a smashing noise <thunder crashing overhead>
  to move or force one's way with or as if with a crash <crashes into the room>

Crush

  transitive verb

  1

  a:  to squeeze or force by pressure so as to alter or destroy structure <crush grapes>
  b:  to squeeze together into a mass

  3:  to reduce to particles by pounding or grinding <crush rock>
  4

  a:  to suppress or overwhelm as if by pressure or weight
  b:  to oppress or burden grievously <crushed by debt>
  c:  to subdue completely

  intransitive verb

  to become crushed
  to advance with or as if with crushing

From above, many questions arise. For example:

clash(intr.) 1 and crash(tr.) 2a (= crash(intr.) 2?) shares similar examples but does it mean they're synonymous in this way?
Definitions in crash use "break" while crush use "squeeze", and does it mean crush is a subtype of crash, or the two are separate in manner of using forces?
Is, perhaps, the choice of crash and crush predictable from the object? Which is more correct to say "His dream was crashed." and "His dream was crushed."?

Ultimately, if possible, I want to know whether, for native speakers, these words indeed share some kind of base sense but differ due to external factors, or are essentially different but have many common usages. If the latter, what's the crucial difference between them?


texts: Comma splice with short imperative clauses

texts:
I saw the following (what I believe to be a) comma splice in an advert this morning and was wondering how you would go about remedying it.

  Be a part of it, visit [web address]

Would it be better to substitute the comma for a dash?


texts: "Did you notice that he..." /past simple/ or /past perfect/

texts:
I see that some natives consider this sentence:

  "I noticed that he left."

to mean that - at a certain point in the past I noticed that he had left before.

Should this be:

  "I noticed that he had left."

Another variation is:

  "I noticed that he has left."

Which is correct?


texts: "The cat killed the rat that ate the corn". Is 'that' here nominative or accusative?

texts:
The cat killed the rat that ate the corn.

My thought process:

Main verb = kill
Doer of action = cat = subject = Nominative case
Object = rat = Accusative case
"that" here is a relative pronoun for the rat. As rat is in accusative case, so is "that".

Answer as per a book which doesn't explain. "that" is in nominative form.

I'm poor at grammar. Somebody please explain. Thanks!


texts: 'a piecemeal approach to dealing/deal with the problem'

texts:
This is an example from OALD:

  a piecemeal approach to dealing with the problem

I think that in "to dealing", 'to' is a preposition, and that if we change it to

  a piecemeal approach to deal with the problem

'to' is no more a preposition. I'd like to know if the second sentence is grammatical, and, if so, what it may mean.


texts:
May i know which sentence below is the correct one:

My heart (and belly) is full.

or

My heart (and belly) are full.

TIA!!


texts:
Again at eight o’clock, when the dark lanes of the Forties were lined
  five deep with throbbing taxi-cabs, bound for the theratre district, I felt a sinking in my heart. (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The
  Great Gatsby)

What’s the meaning of ‘five deep’?


texts:
The German language (my mother tongue) does not offer different question words for asking for an adjective and for an adverb. In both cases Wie? is used which literally means How? in English. This raises some difficulties for English question sentences:
Is my assumption right, that for adverbs how is used and for adjectives what is ... like? For example:
For adverbs:

He was eating lunch hurriedly.
How was he eating lunch?
She worked very hard yesterday.
How did she work yesterday?

For adjectives:

Our clothes were wet because it rained cats and dogs.
What were our clothes like?
Our new car drives twice as fast as our old one.
What is the car that drives twice as fast as our old one like?

Could the forms of What is ... like be replaced with forms of How is ..., must they be replaced or would it be wrong to replace them?


texts: Historical present(tenses usage accuracy)

texts:
this is historical present usage
Let's say you are a having a conversation with some random
individual, your storytelling a past event during your childhood using present tense and you say:

  ''Dating back when I was a child, everytime we go to stores, I tend to look at gameboys telling to my dad, ''I want you to buy me that for my birthday''... and yadda yadda yadda...

Did I use the historical present correctly?


texts: How do natives say how they would like to pay?

texts:
How do natives answer the question "How would you like to pay?"  When I want to pay with my bank card, sometimes they ask credit or debit?  Sometimes they ask Visa or Mastercard?  So I now usually say "credit", or "Visa".  Does that sound natural?  Besides to what you think it's natural to say, what do you think about the following options?

Card?
Bank card?
By card?
With card?
On my/the card?
Credit/Debit (card)
Visa/Mastercard

Additionally, what if you want to pay with cash?

Cash?
By cash?


texts:
Based on Cambridge site, it is obviously more common to use "prefer + to" or "prefer + rather than"

  I prefer football rather than computer games.

  I prefer tea to coffee

I have a habit to use "prefer" + "over", and I wonder whether it is grammatically wrong or unnatural:

  I prefer tea over coffee


texts: Must "firstly,... secondly, ..." or "first,... second, ..." always follow "There are X number of reasons"?

texts:
I have read hundreds of posts where people debated over the use of "firstly, secondly, ..." and "first, second, ..." My understanding is it comes down to style and neither is wrong. However, I can't seem to find the answer I am looking for.

I am writing an academic paper. My question is this: Regardless of which form I choose, does "firstly, secondly, ..." or "first, second, ..." have to be preceded by "There are X number of reasons for this."

For example, must the sentence structure be like this: There are three reasons for why that is the case. First,... Second,... And finally/more importantly,...

In my case this is what I have:

  Paragraph 1: [Explained how a program works, and the stated rationale for using unemployment rate as an indicator of employment prospect.]

  Paragraph 2: But the regional unemployment rate, as many often argue, is not an appropriate indicator of an individual’s employment prospects (XX 2011; YY 2009). First, the regional unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted 3-month-moving averages. This means that the adjustment of the entrance requirements (i.e., the VERs) considerably lags actual conditions in the regional labour markets (YY 2009). Second, as XX (2011, 1) points out, the regional unemployment... And most importantly....

I don't want to say there are X number of reasons, cause there might be more. Also, the part in bold is a fact, which creates a problem, but the fact is not the problem. I just want to use "first, second, ..." for pointing out how those points are different.


texts: What is the meaning of ''or something and or something like that''?

texts:
What is the meaning of ''or something and or something like that'' in this sentence? So, I've seen something like this.

  Are you good or something?

  Do you have pencil or something like that?


texts: Are the given sentences grammatically correct? Can we omit the highlight TO?

texts:
If you want to get to where you want to get, you have to work hard.

If you want to get to where you want to go, you have to work hard.

If you want to get where you want to get, you have to work hard.

Are all the above sentences grammatically correct and usable?
Can we omit the highlighted to, like has been done in the third sentence.
Is there a difference between using get and go in the given sentences.


texts: Is it correct to use "catered" in a sentence like "which is an technology originally catered for..."?

texts:
I wrote the following sentence which my tutor doubted it, but I cannot see the why. Can anyone help me figure it out?

More specific,  should catered be replaced as caters or catering or other forms? or there is no problem for the following sentence.

  Multi-sensor fusion is also known as  multi-sensor data fusion, which
  is an emerging technology originally catered for the military needs


texts: Not to forget - Is this a prepositional phrase?

texts:
Not to forget that you are wholly in charge of the quality of food
  that you put into your babys mouth!

I have learned that each sentence needs to contain subject, verb, object, etc. What is a  function of the not to forget at the begining of the sentence? Is this some kind of introductory phrase? Which are the other types of phrases in English?


texts:
detailed means having many details

brief means short

So how come are they antonyms?

what if something is detailed and still short even after providing all the details? (it totally depends on the topic)


texts: The meaning of "Spiders are not strictly insects"

texts:
What does the following sentence mean?

  Spiders are not strictly insects.

Does it have the same meaning as

  Strictly speaking, spiders are not insects.


texts:
What is the best preposition for "touch down"? Can we use it without any preposition?
For example:

We've just touched down Qatar.
We've just touched down at Qatar.
We've just touched down in Qatar.

OR

We've just touched down at the airport.
We've just touched down in the airport.


texts:
When filling up my personal information for a job application, I'm asked about my Highest School and Second Highest School. After this field, they ask for Highest Degree.

Does Highest School mean the type of institution (High School, University) or the name of it?


texts: As I expected / had expected / have expected

texts:
It is not such a pretty place as I (expected / had expected / have expected).

Which is the correct tense to use here ? I am not able to figure out any difference in the meaning of the three difference tenses used here.

Edit : I used google translate to translate it in my native language, have expected sounds wrong to me here but still had expected and expected seem to convey almost same meaning.


texts:
a. I gave a phone and a computer to my two best students.

b. I gave them a phone and a computer.

c. I gave a phone and a computer to both of them.

d. I gave them both a phone and a computer.

Can we tell if

I gave them each a book and a notebook

or

I gave one a book and the other one a notebook

?

Many thanks


texts: What  is the formal word for urinating and passing the bowels? If we say 'He went to restroom' it isn't much clear, still. Or if we say, 'He went due to call of nature' it sounds humorous.


texts: Why author said "debugger is a neutral frame of reference" in Software Exorcism?

texts: I read the book Software Exorcism which is authored by Bill Blunden, I read there is definition about debugger, author said it's a neutral frame of reference. English is not my native language, is there any one can help me understand it, thanks a lot.


texts: "in which", "to which" are these subordinate conjunctions?

texts:
This is the bag in which I put my sandwich.
  I shall return the money to the person to which it belongs.

"to which it belongs" and "in which I put my sandwich" are these subordinate / dependent clauses?

"in which, to which" are these subordinate conjunctions?


texts: "The older a tree is” vs. “The older is a tree"

texts:
I have this sentence:

  The older a tree is, the thicker its trunk is.

I’m quite happy with the meaning of the sentence. But doesn't it sound awkward to a native speaker? If so, how to reword it? I  feel that

  The older is a tree, the thicker its trunk is.

sounds better, but I cannot justify the inversion.


texts: Do I need a hyphen in "1000-L bioreactor"? Hyphens with abbreviated units of measure

texts:
The cultivation was performed in a 1000-L bioreactor.
  The cultivation was performed in a 1000 L bioreactor.

Which is better? I find conflicting examples online. On Grammar Book I found this:

  According to The Chicago Manual of Style, hyphens are never used between the numeral and the abbreviation or symbol, even when they are in adjectival form. Therefore write 12 mm focal length.

But then on the APS House Style page I found this:

  Hyphenate when a number and a single unit of measure is used as a modifier or when a number and unit of measure is part of a compound adjective, e.g., "a 12-kDa fragment," "3 × 4-cm strip," or "2-μm-diameter tip."

So there's no definitive authority on this, and it's a matter of personal taste and corporate rules?


texts: Why is the article "the" used in "the events?"

texts:
Here is the second sentence of Lovecraft's "The Shunned House":

  Sometimes it enters directly into the composition of the events, while sometimes it relates only to their fortuitous position among persons and places.

According to the English language rules, was the word 'events' representing a class of objects or why is "the" placed before it?


texts:
I always get confused between these two sentences:

  Why are you making noise?

  Why you are making noise?

Could anyone put light in the differences between the two?


texts: Present tense simple - Present tense progressive

texts:
Are both correct?

  My brother sits at his desk and he does his homework.

  My brother is sitting at his desk and he is doing his homework.


texts:
Longtime ago, I learned that I should put the article "a/an" between "such" and a singular countable noun following "such." However, I have encountered many counterexamples like the following sentence I excerpted from the US Tax Code:

  The Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may
  designate, shall furnish the land offices at.

In addition, there are many similar usages of "such" in some contracts, including "such firm," "such person," etc.

  ... as interested in any transaction with such firm or company
  shall be sufficient disclosure for the purposes of voting on a
  resolution...

Can someone kindly explain to me why there's no article after "such" in the above-mentioned examples?

Thank you


texts: "In the right combination" vs "with the right combination"?

texts:
I just realized that both seems to mean the same thing. However, I am not sure if this is something that's context-dependent or not. What do you think?

For example:

  I pressed and used the buttons at the right time and in the right
  combination.

  I pressed and used the buttons at the right time and with the right
  combination.


texts: In the morning, Rice was eaten by me. Is there any dangling?

texts:
1. I ate rice in the morning.
2. In the morning, I ate rice.
3. Rice was eaten by me in the morning.
4. In the morning, Rice was eaten by me.

Are they all correct sentencess?
In the last sentence, Is there any dangling ( Either active or passive doesn't matter to me. )?


texts: Sequence of tenses: They created a device that is able or was able?

texts: When I'm telling someone about a movie that I watched, is it correct to say, "They created a device that is able to send people into the past", or "They created a device that was able to send people into the past"? Or are both correct?


texts:
By the time they reach the station the train would have/will have left

Since it's a future action, we should be using 'will have'.

But since 'would' can also be used as a modal verb to indicate a conditional mood, 'would have' also sounds good to me, as the one who is saying cannot be completely sure of the time of the train's departure.

Please clarify.


texts:
What is the difference between "barely" and " hardly" ?

Is there any real difference in meaning ? are there any contexts in which one works but not the other ? if yes , give examples please.

For example , If I want to say that given a bad translation of a book . Do we say that the book is translated barely or hardly ? or something else ? why ?


texts: What is the meaning of "He who dies with the most toys wins"?

texts: I've recently encountered this saying and got confused how to interpret the message of it. I wonder if that is supposed be sarcastic or possibly proud to be greedy.


texts: It [has been/is?] better to keep money in a bank than to keep it under your bed in a suitcase

texts:
It has been better to keep money in a bank than to keep it under your  bed in a suitcase.

This sentence is from an error spotting exercise as per the answer key it is error free but isn't the has been here wrong ? Since the sentence is saying kind of fact  isn't it better to use is here ?


texts:
Can I use the verb be in present perfect continuous tense or it is always stative?
Are there any exceptions?


texts:
I think that one can receive a degree in a field, say, Management. I saw somewhere that this was written on the first page of a thesis:

  Thesis for receiving «MA» degree on Translation Studies

  Topic: ...

  By: ...

Is using on with degree acceptable? I think it should be:

  Thesis for receiving «MA» degree in Translation Studies


texts: What does "can't but" in this sentence means?

texts:
I was reading a novel titled "Spice & Wolf" when I found this sentence.

  In other words, he thinks he can't but loose an arrow without hitting a deer.

You can see the context here.

What does it mean? As far as I know, 'can't but' means 'it's inevitable' or 'doesn't have any other choice' but then the meaning of the sentence will become, "It's inevitable that he'll miss the deer," and I'm not quite sure about it.

And then, about the next paragraph,

  While the hardships of retainers who had to hunt with the duke would be hidden, it would mean good work for the hunters in the region who hunted and killed the duke's prey ahead of time.

I fail to understand what it means. Can someone explain it to me?


texts: Meaning of the words "gonna get it" in the clause

texts:
Wife and Husband just got in their car.
Wife was rushing her husband not to get late to a movie theater while her husband was trying to start the car. He can't get his car started multiple times because the car won't start. Do the words in bold mean to start the car or there is something else?

Wife: We got to get there before it's too late.
Husband: I AM GONNA GET IT just a sec.


texts: "to document in categories the items included in the deposit transaction" -- I don't quite understand

texts:
Source: Wikipedia

  A deposit slip is a form supplied by a bank for a depositor to fill out to document in categories the items included in the deposit transaction.

to document in - is this a phrasal verb? I also don't quite get how categories and the items fit together.


texts: Bring or go down 26,000 feet or by 26,000 feet

texts:
If someone asks someone to decrease the height (plane)  what is a natural way to describe that?

  Bring the plane down by 26,000 feet.

  Go down by 26,000 feet.

And can "by" be dropped?

  Go down 26,000 feet.

What is the shortest and most natural way to express this according to you other than my sentences?


texts:
Is the usage of most meaning and most meaningful below correct?

The day that has the most meaning for me is my birthday.
The most meaningful day for me is my birthday.


texts: Can I use a "be" not after a modal verb or "to"?

texts:
I always think "be" should be after "would, should, could ..." and "to".
But I see this today.

  Any test which be migrated without this tool, will be charged as per
  Azure pricing.

Is it grammatically correct?


texts:
According to the Cambridge Dictionary

be down to sb

  It's down to me to find a suitable person for the job.

Is it's down to me commonly used in casual conversations?

Like:

  It's down to me to find a suitable person for this job.

  It's down to me to find an ideal vacation location.


texts: Is "under" considered as a noun modifier to "box"?

texts:
He keeps his money box under his bed.

Does the adverb "under" modify the head "box"?


texts:
The proof consists of two parts (or steps).

Is consists of correct or it should be consists in instead ? and why ?


texts: What does "I didn't even go to how huge something is" mean?

texts:
I have come across in the second episode of the eighth season of Friends. Here is the context:

Rachel: Phoebe the father is not here okay? I haven’t told him yet and
I don’t think I can tell him at all now!
Phoebe: Why not?
Rachel: I don’t know, let me think. I was walking down the street
thinking, ‘I’m gonna tell the father today’ and then bam!
Phoebe: Bus?
Rachel: No, you! Phoebe you freaked me out. You kept saying how huge
this all is!
Phoebe: Well-well but it is huge.
Rachel: I know, but I was just thinking about how huge this is for me.
I didn’t even go to how huge this was going to be for the father.


texts: Correct sentence construction during documenting a user activity

texts:
I am preparing some user guidance document and documenting how a system behaves. During that documentation I am facing some difficulties to express a user activity.

Can some one please explain Which one is correct/more appropriate and why other is wrong?

Click on "Yes", system process the request.
Click on "Yes", system processes the request.
Clicking on "Yes", system process the request.


texts: Question about "might like" vs. "would like"

texts:
Good evening!
I took a modal verbs test at a website and one of my answers was marked off as wrong:

  Julie might like to visit Kyoto when she is in Japan

I should've instead filled in "would", according to the provided answer sheet:

  Julie would like to visit Kyoto when she is in Japan

What is wrong with the first sentence? One explanatory page says 'might' may be used to express future possibility. ("She might take the bus to get home.")


texts: "Makes someone and __ do something" — I or me?

texts:
I have a sentence "So thoughtful and just makes Mrs. Smith and I miss them even more!"

Is this grammatically correct? I'm in doubt because I'm not certain whether "Mrs. Smith and I" is a compound subject or a compound object. I would say "Mrs. Smith and I miss them even more" (without the passive piece in the front), but at the same moment I'd say "It makes me miss them even more".

Thank you!


texts:
From Cambridge Dictionary

  The dress was bright red.

I totally understand this use.

From a tutorial

  The water was a kind of dark green colour.

I don't really understand this use.

Is it common to say something is some color?

Does the following one mean the same thing?

  The water was a kind of dark green.


texts:
What is the difference between:

I have to know exactly why it is I'm doing a particular job.

And

I have to know exactly why it is I'm doing a job.

?


texts: If something costs 45 euros and I will have 100 euro note how to say that I'll need 55 euro back(change)?

texts:
From googling I don't see that it's common to say 'I need change from 100 euros'.

So what's the proper way to say this?


texts: idiom for "close the door that allows wind into your house"

texts:
In Arabic, we have an expression that literally translates as

  Close the door that allows (or would allow) the wind to pass through, and have peace of mind.

We use it as a metaphor for avoiding problematic situations or situations involving potential trouble. For example, if your friend's job is making him unhappy or involves extreme exertion, you  could advise him to find another job using this expression. I'm looking for an English expression that's as literally close to this as possible.


texts: the meaning of the phrase "milk run" used in tourism

texts:
"Every tourist destination has its milk run. In order to survive, tour operators will have to offer holidays where visitors get away from their fellow travelers. This needs imagination and commitment, and currently many tour operators prefer to keep on with the milk run as the easy option"

I don't understand the meaning of the phrase "milk run" in the above paragraph. Could you explain it and give me some more sentences for example?


texts: What does "get commoditized" mean in this context?

texts:
I used this link, but I couldn't understand it.

  Don't let yourself get commoditized. Build slowly.

source: Yahoo Finance


texts:
This is a quote from "Annie Hall"

  I'm not myself since I stopped smoking.

Shouldn't present perfect be used here?

  I haven't been myself since I stopped smoking

Is it because since works as because here?

  I'm not myself because I stopped smoking

or is it just incorrect and present perfect is the right tense here?


texts:
Simple Present

  Sarah writes the letter.

  Present Continuous

  Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.

  Simple Past

  Sarah writed the letter.

Why Simple Present and Simple Past do not need to put "is"?


texts: Question about meaning of 'field' and 'established' in the context

texts:
if a debris field is established.
Is it talking about debris or just the area in which debris might be found?

The United States Navy is moving one of its high-tech Black Box detectors closer to the search area for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane in remote seas off the Australian coast, bolstering hopes wreckage of the plane may be found soon.Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board on a flight to Beijing on March 8.The so-called Towed Pinger Locator will be crucial in finding the black box of the missing jetliner if a debris field is established by an Australian-led international search team scouring an area in the southern Indian Ocean some 2,500 km (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth.


texts: Can I put 'for' after 'Happy birthday'? I don't know why it is not suitable.


texts: Can the verb "wrap" describe the current condition of something?

texts:
Suppose there are two situations:

A line of people waiting outside some store is getting very long and the line goes around a street corner.
A ribbon is glued around a water pipe.

Suppose the conditions in both situations are current conditions.  I am exploring the possible usage of the present tense of the verb "wrap" for those two situations:

  The line of people wraps around the street corner.
  The ribbon wraps around the pipe.

Is the usage of the present-tense "wrap" to describe those two current conditions correct?


texts:
THIS is a song Bad and Boujee by Migos. I wonder what the word boujee means here.
I can't conclude because the verses around it are not so closely related.
Is that girl so great, she is at the top, very rich or something else?
What other word could we use instead of that?


texts: Which sentence is correct in the punctuation system?

texts:
In the following sentences, which sentence is correct in the punctuation system?

As the game proceeds we hear the umpire calling out: zero-1; 1-1; 3-2; or 6-8 as the case may be.
As the game proceeds we hear the umpire calling out zero-1, 1-1, 3-2, or 6-8 as the case may be.


texts: Is this passive verb construction & condition wrong?

texts:
Sentence itself: [Enemy] uses that spell when was attacked by any Ice spell.

I am wondering, is that construction sounds "good" in English, or native speaker would rather use different tense/aspect or word "If" instead of "When"? Is is good to use Present Simple here? I guess it is, because we are talking about general fact (or pattern if you will) that does not strictly relate to any time at all.

Also I will be glad if you point to more mistakes I did in this question, just to keep my grammar right.

Thanks!

Details:

There is a videogame enemy, who changes his attack pattern, based on which type of attack he received. He uses specific spell only after the player use Ice spell against him. The sentence above is a text string in that enemy's description which player can find in bestiary (menu).

P.S. The deal is I am trying to translate game from my native language to English, just for practicing my English (have studied it for one year only, sorry) and passive forms + conditions are the most challenging thing I have encountered yet and I cannot really get into them.


texts: I don't know which one is correct to use: they will be redirected or they redirect?

texts:
I built a sentence but i don't know which one is better to use based on its previous sentence:
If/when they click on it,

they will be redirected to another page.
or
they redirect to another page.

I don't know if I use will be redirected or only redirect?


texts:
Both of them are used: visualization and visualisation.

Visualisation is more commonly used in UK.
But, visualization is more common in US.

What is the history of this word?
Which is officially correct?


texts:
I am an indian.
Today I called a receptionist.
She told me that I must submit my form by today.
I was shocked and so I said "What?Today itself?"
She said  "Yes today only"
I know both of us are wrong grammatically.Natives dont say today itself/today only.So what I(and She) should have said?


texts: When to use May Have & probably in Sentence?

texts:
We use either may + have and might + have to show that something has possibly happened now or happened at some time in the past. (Learnenglish.britishcouncil.org)

What is the difference between the two answers this question? (Which one is correct?)

Question: Where has he gone?

Answer 1: Probably, he has gone to the canteen.

Answer 2: He may have gone to the canteen.


texts: What does a taxi driver say to the customer when he gets to the required destination?

texts: I am making a conversation when using public transport in English. And I don't know what a taxi driver might say to inform his customer that he has already got to the required destination. Is it "here we are?"


texts: I'm confused with the use of 'prevent from' in this sentence

texts:
We can prevent from having bad smell by washing our face more often
  with mild unperfumed or antiseptic soaps and by not eating certain
  foods such as chips and chocolate.

In this sentence, I'm confused about the use of the verb 'prevent'. After the word 'prevent', should I use the preposition 'from'?


texts:
Sometimes  dreams  are  terrifying,  but  they  are  usually  a  collection  of  scattered,  confused thoughts.  If  you  dream  about  something  that  is  worrying  you,  you  may  wake  up  exhausted  sweating, and  with  a  rapid  heartbeat.  Dreams  have  positive  effects  on  our  lives.

In this paragraph, what does "they" refer to?  In my opinion,  as a pronoun rule, it refers to "dreams". But ,in the sense of context, it could refer to "terrifying dreams". Please share your opinions with me.


texts: Standards "have changed" or "have been changed"?

texts:
I want to say that current standards in education are not tha same as they were in some time in the past. I wonder if I should use the passive or active voice here.

  A lot of standards in education have changed since I was a student.
  A lot of standards in education have been changed since I was a student.

Which one is preferable? I think that second option with passive voice is correct, because education standards can't change themselves. However, I wonder if there're any cases in which we could use the first one.


texts: What part of speech is the word “doped” in the phrase “highly doped semiconductor”?

texts:
What grammatical forms do "high" and "priced" take in the phrase "high priced clothing"?  Or is this "common term" simply a grammatically incorrect construction that has been accepted over time, assuming of course, that "high priced clothing" is accepted as grammatically correct.  In a similar fashion, is there a way to interpret the grammatical construction of the phrase "high-doped semiconductor" so that it would be grammatically correct?

Based on the dictionary definition of "high", it appears "high" may be used interchangeably for "highly" when used as an adverb (see below). Is this an exception? What is the difference in grammatical construction between the examples below and the phrase "high-doped semiconductor"?

  Highly:
   he ranked high among the pioneers of chemical technology

More example sentences:

  There is no great benefit from ranking high this year as next year there are no World Championships.

  It has to be said that Pas de la Casa is boring, unless getting legless ranks high on your list.

  What is lacking are not the resources, but the political will. It is clear these topics do not rate very high on his agenda.


texts: What's the meaning of "in decimals" and "in fractions" in this text?

texts:
Here's an excerpt from Michael Lewis's Flash Boys book:

  Part of that narrowing would have happened anyway, with the automation
  of the stock market, which made it easier to trade stocks priced in
  decimals rather than in fractions.

Could you please explain "in decimals" and "in fractions"?


texts: Using of word "just" with present perfect- "your friends have arrived" Vs "you friends have just arrived."

texts:
Could any one please explain the use of word " just " with present perfect ? I know that it's used to say that an action happened very recently, but I want to know what is the difference between placing and removing just from the sentence?

I think if want to remove it,  there must be a clear present relevance is that right ?

For example:

  your friends have arrived.

or

  you friends have just arrived.


texts: What subordinate clauses are there here?

texts:
1) Am I right to divide these senteces into clauses like this?

2) What about their types(subject, predicative, object)?

  It’s odd (main clause) / how it hurts/ at these times/ not to be part of your proper family (predicative).
  It was only then (main clause) / that I realized (predicative) / that she was travelling too (subject).
  What I want to know (predicative) /  is / when you’re going to get married (subject)

In the 1st one we can change the order like:
Not to be part of your proper family hurts and it is odd - so that must be a subject, right?

What about the 2nd, some would call "that I realized" - a relative clause, but I don't know what it is. It's not even in my lecture material. Is it the same as an appositive (content) clause?

This source may give you an idea of what clauses are according to Russian grammarians: (http://bookre.org/reader?file=627767&pg=303)

Just help me to define types of clauses, according to the source I gave.


texts: Does an adjective 'polite' have 2 types of Degrees of comparison?

texts: I read that 'polite' can have 2 ways of degree such as politer / politest and more polite / the most polite. Actually, I take the view of 2nd type because it's a long word, so we need to use more /the most. But if it's an the exception from the rule, when we should use the one form and another , or it doesn't matter and we can choose the form by our preference?


texts: What does the phrase "roll over baby" mean in a song here?

texts:
Well, I love this song.

From the first, the singer, Trine Rein, sings,

"Roll over baby".

I am sorry I don't get the meaning even considering the context following it.

I have my paid dictionary but I decided use to free online dictionaries, since mine is too complex.

The definition of "roll over" is, according to this dictionary,

  transitive verb

  1a: to defer payment of (an obligation)

  b: to renegotiate the terms of (a financial agreement)

  2: to place (invested funds) in a new investment of the same kind

And according to this dictionary,

  verb (used without object)

  to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a ball or a wheel.

  to move or be moved on wheels, as a vehicle or its occupants.

  SEE MORE
  verb (used with object)

  to cause to move along a surface by revolving or turning over and over, as a cask, a ball, or a hoop.

  to move along on wheels or rollers; convey in a wheeled vehicle.

I don't understand what "roll over" means here, in connection with the following lyric "the time has come, to make a little bit more room".

May be, should I take the phrase literally, "roll over", in which the lover rolls his body over and around the hay or the pith of the rice(wheat, corn etc) paper tree "to make a little bit more room"?

Thank you for lifting up my interest in this song in advance(m_m).


texts:
In the sentence "He is playing for Australia".
"is playing" seems to be the verb
But isn't "playing" a gerund here as it is the complement of the verb "is"?


texts: Another thing they had done was migrate vs. Another thing they had done was migrating

texts:
I have recently happened upon this sentence:

  Another thing that no previous hominine had done was migrate into the Americas.

It was in this video. It is at 3 minute and 37 second.

This grammar structure seems strange to me. Would be correct to say this like this:

  Another thing that no previous hominine had done was migrating into the Americas.


texts:
I am stuck with using the articles.

In the sentence:

  I was employed as: declarant, interviewer, promoter, boutique seller.

Do I use an article only after as or in front of each word? Can I omit it anyway?

P.S. Is declarant correct word in English for a person who puts/adheres declarations on products that go on sale?


texts:
What's the correct genitive construction of heart and function?

Should it be "heart's function" or "heart function"?

For instance:

  "The heart function is to supply blood to whole body."

or

  "The "heart's function" is to supply blood to whole body."

By googleing I found both choices, and that's why I'm not sure about it. Please, it would be very useful if you explain your answer, because I find my self in such situation very often about other words as well.


texts: Past perfect or past simple in these sentences

texts:
I know this is not really a new question but . . .

  I got a letter from John yesterday. We were at school but I lost touch with him because he was very ill and could not go to school anymore.

QUESTION #1: Here is my question. Will it be possible to use past simple for lost because if I receive a letter that means I am in touch again. So the action "lost" is completed or finished as soon as I get a letter. In that case, past perfect should be better. Right?

QUESTION #2: Same question for were at school.  That means that I'm still at school with John at the time of receiving a letter. Right?


texts: Saying for distracting someone with other activity?

texts:
There's a Polish saying jak pies je to nie szczeka, which (literally translated) means "when dog is eating, it is not barking."

What is the English saying with the same meaning, used to mean that if we involve someone in other activities, he/she will stop what he/she is usually doing?