texts: Difference between "even if" and "even though"

texts:
When I was at university, my English teacher used to insist a lot on the difference between these two expressions, telling us that even if was to be used when introducing a hypothetical situation (Even if I knew where John is, I wouldn't tell you), whereas even though was to be used as a concession or admission (Even though I know where John is, I won't tell you).

A few years have passed since my university days, and I'm under the impression that this kind of distinction is no longer made. Even if seems to be prevailing, and even though is less frequently found either in texts or in speech. Is my feeling correct? Has the difference between the two forms been cancelled?


texts: How to understand "All machines have their friction..." by Thoreau?

texts:
How does it become a man to behave toward this American government
  to-day? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with
  it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as
  my government which is the slave's government also.

  All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to
  refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny
  or its inefficiency are great and unendurable. But almost all say that
  such is not the case now. But such was the case, they think, in the
  Revolution of '75. If one were to tell me that this was a bad
  government because it taxed certain foreign commodities brought to its
  ports, it is most probable that I should not make an ado about it, for
  I can do without them. All machines have their friction; and possibly
  this does enough good to counterbalance the evil. At any rate, it is a
  great evil to make a stir about it. But when the friction comes to
  have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let
  us not have such a machine any longer. In other words, when a sixth of
  the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of
  liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and
  conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think
  that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize.
  What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so
  overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army.

How can I paraphrase this sentence? The sentence comes from On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Para. 8.

If "this" refers to friction, friction has a useful effect on counterbalancing the evil, what does counterbalance mean in this sentence? But if friction means disagreement or tension between people or groups of people, isn't it the same as evil? Then why does he say "it is a great evil" and "make a stir"?


texts: Possibility of conditional sentence for the future?

texts:
Firstly, would you correct me if I'm wrong?

  Were we to meet again, ~

This implies the meeting will never happen in the future, like "If I meet you in the heaven". 0 percent possibilities.

  Should we cross over again, ~

This implies the meeting will less likely to happen. Like 25(?) percent of possibilities

  If I see you again, ~

This has purely 50/50 chances to meet them each other.

Secondly, then what should I use for the probable future conditional like above 50% possibilities. Do I just add some adverbs like "If I possibly see you again"?


texts: What tense is denoted by this construction?

texts:
In a technical document, which I have been reading, I am faced with the following sentence:

  A name having namespace scope that has not been given internal linkage
  above has the same linkage as the enclosing namespace [...]

I don't understand what exact time-construction is denoted by the has not been given word-combination. I had been thinking that this construction denotes the present perfect continuous, but it is not true, because the verb is used in the past participle form instead of present participle form.


texts: Which one is correct here- attacks or attackers?

texts:
A blog's title is following:

  Pak-based cyber attacks use phishing to target Indian defence sites

IMO, if we remove 'use phishing' then 'attacks' is okay in this title because an attack cannot 'use' anything including phishing. In a way, 'attackers' looks more proper for this title.

Is my opinion right? I know the question is quite simple, but I am not sure about 'attacks' is written here in an idiomatic manner.


texts:
I wrote:

  The left-hand side of an assignment must be a context variable prefixed with either $, # or @# symbols.

When there is 3 symbols above, can I yet use "either"? if no, how can I say it?


texts: What do you call a chief clergyman in a church?

texts: What do you call a chief clergyman in a church, a person who is in charge of a church?


texts: It sounds like "are" is eaten in "you're", is this a common accent or my mis listening?

texts:
I am not a native English speaker, so I have some difficulties on catching some pronunciation in spoken English.

This guy is lecturing (https://youtu.be/_nRtCVJIToA?t=251)

  You had an idea, you had a target, if "you're" going all the way, it means you're not stopping

where "you're" sounds like "you" without "are"

same situation happens again (same video, another time stamp)

  get out of my way if you're trying to stop me.

Is this his own accent or my mislistening?

Note: I am aware that "you're" is contraction of "you are", I have no difficulties on reading, writing, speaking when I encounter "you're" and "you are". I just have some difficulties on catching the "'re".


texts:
I saw this sentence on a book

  Health can be defined as “[a] state of being associated with freedom from disease and illness that also includes a positive component (wellness) that is associated with a quality of life and positive well-being"

Does the clause "That also includes a positive component that is associated with a quality of life and positive well-being." modify "freedom" or it modifies "illness"?

I think it modifies freedom, but I was taught that relative clause always modify the noun before it, so it really confuses me. Can there be any exceptions?


texts:
The following is the opening paragraph to The Girl on the Train:

  She’s buried beneath a silver birch tree, down towards the old train tracks, her grave marked with a cairn.

Is the word down necessary? What is its semantic contribution?


texts:
Which word is correct in these two sentences?

A child may also suffer from/with a runny nose.
A child may also suffer from/with a fever.


texts: "Once is enough" or "One time is enough" or something else?

texts:
Which of the selected phrases sounds natural?

  No need to do this several times. One time is enough.

  No need to do this several times. Single time is enough.

  No need to do this several times. Once is enough.

Or maybe you would say some completely different phrase?


texts:
We usually form wh-questions with wh- + an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with wh- + a modal verb + subject + main verb ...
  When what, who, which or whose is the subject or part of the subject, we do not use the auxiliary. We use the word order subject + verb: What fell off the wall? Which horse won?

  Cambridge Dictionary

The above rules are well known to English students. but what are the other rules that we use to form questions in English?

for example, the following question don't follow the above rules.

  How about going to the cinema tonight?


texts: What's the meaning of this phrase? "....exploded in our faces."

texts:
The conversation is below:

  Jason: Maggie. I tried to include you

  Maggie: Oh don't patronize me Jason throwing me a bone calling me old (expletive) maybe a few years you can bring me back for old timers day.

  Jason: We talked about all of this I just happen to be the guy who is here the day the whole gummy bear thing exploded in our faces.

So what's the meaning of exploded in our faces??


texts: Does "trade understandings" and "ambitions falter" sound incoherent?

texts:
There is a growing sense of disorder and fragmentation in the world as trade understandings and ambitions falter

Does "trade understandings" and "ambitions falter" sound incoherent or am I getting it wrong?


texts:
Which one is correct? Is there any difference at all?

  Today, you have a lot more chance to get yourself a girlfriend than at any other time of the year.

OR

  Today, you have a lot more chance to get yourself a girlfriend than at any other time during/throughout the year.


texts: What does "the Trump suit for the hand" mean?

texts:
The dealer continues distributing the cards until each player has a total of six cards. The dealer then removes the bottom card from the remainder of the deck and places it face-up in the center of the table to designate the Trump suit for the hand.

What does "...for the hand" in last sentence mean?


texts:
I have a grammar question:

Is it ok to say "Don't say we didn't tell you" about something that happened in the past?


texts: What does "only half kidding" mean in this context?

texts:
Almost immediately, she was lost in the labyrinth of works for sale: Takashi Murakami’s lurid blond plastic milkmaids with long legs and erect nipples; the words “any messages?” spelled out in neon tubing. It was like an enactment of the world inhabited by the protagonist of Moshfegh’s forthcoming novel, “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” who works at a gallery in Chelsea, amid objects like a quarter-million-dollar “pair of toy monkeys made using human pubic hair,” with camera penises poking out from their fur. “Did I do this?” Moshfegh said, only half kidding. She sometimes gets the sense that she has the power to conjure reality through her writing.

  Though the details of Moshfegh’s books vary wildly, her work always seems to originate from a place that is not quite earth, where people breathe some other kind of air.
  The New Yorker, Ottessa Moshfegh’s Otherworldly Fiction By Ariel Levy

How common is saying “half kidding”? And what is the difference when “only” is put in front of it? “Only half kidding”? Does it say she was semi  serious in a way that was apparent in her face with a frown? Or it just simply mean that it was not clear if she was kidding or really meant it?


texts: what does "establishment" imply in the following context

texts:
The proposal includes considerable renovations to the gallery with an extension of exhibition space and the establishment of more permanent areas for exhibiting.

What does the word establishment connote here exactly? The usage seems to be kinda out of place, irrelevant, while considering the context and architectural register as well, so would want to know what do you think about it?


texts:
What is the meaning of this headline? I got it from The Economist.

  Difference Engine: Circle of life


texts: Why didn't delete 'it' in the sentence: What was it about snails that made the writer collect

texts:
What was it about snails that made the writer collect them for his friend on that day in particular?

Why didn't delete it in the sentence above?


texts: Is a component properly layouted or properly layout?

texts:
If I want to use layout as an adjective, do I need to change its end part? If a component has been formatted and positioned using a layout that is properly configured, which should I use?

The component is properly layout.

or

The component is properly layouted.


texts:
I have read and heard these kinds of sentences or utterances many times:

"It might be a stupid question but can fish breath?"

"I don´t know how to say this but you should change your life!"

I don´t understand how to grammatically analyze this correctly. Are these introductory phrases (and therefore a comma has to follow before, "but"!?) followed by a question or an imperative sentence or is a different kind of thing? I can´t make sense of it otherwise because, "This might be a stupid question" can´t really stand by itself for example, can it?

A further question I have is if you have to pose the question or the imperative statement right after, "but". For example:

"It might be a stupid question but it is a question nonetheless: Do fish breath?"

or even

"It might be a stupid question but it is a question I might not pose otherwise.
Last year I......and then......(a number of sentences might follow).
Do fish breath?"


texts: A bronze image of Ganesha - is it the same as a statue?

texts:
Until today, I did not know that an image does not need to be a picture:
From the Oxford dictionary:

Image: [countable] a picture, photograph or statue that represents
somebody/something

Reading a story titled "The Bronze Image", they talk of a small bronze image of the God Ganesha. From the context (and also because it is bronze) it is clear that it is not a picture. However, why did the author not use "a statue" then, or  "a figure"? Is there anything special about using "image" in this sense?


texts:
I now look forward to applying the analytical, problem-solving nature I have cultivated since elementary school to solve the major problems faced by society.

Does this need to be replaced by to solving


texts: What does "it" represent in this context?

texts:
If we take light for example, is it a wave or a particle? What is the 'true' nature of light? Is it a mixture of waves and particles or is it the way in which we try to make sense of light, by categorizing its essential features according to properties that fit a wave model or a particle model, that is getting in the way of our understanding of its real or 'true' form?

I would like to know what these two "it"s point to. At first, I thought that the first "it" points to " 'true' nature of light" mentioned previously, while the next "it" points to "that is getting in the way of our understanding of its real or 'true' form".

But considering the conjunction 'or', it seemed like the two 'it's had to mean the same thing. Then I was faced with another problem; if I take both as "that is ~~ form", the first part doesn't seem to make sense, since it is not the mixture of waves and particles itself that blocks us from understanding its real form. My interpretation was that the both meant "true nature of light", and understood this sentence as:

  Is the true nature of light a mixture of waves and particles, or is the true nature of light how we try to make sense of light (which actually is getting in the way of our understanding of its real or "true" form)?

But this doesn't seem smooth either. How should I understand this sentence? Thank you in advance!


texts: “Starting from one point” is a correct usage?

texts:
If I am traveling from one location to another then is it appropriate to say

I am starting from the airport and will reach home in 15 min.

Is “starting from somewhere” a correct usage?
When I am about to start from-let’s say-my house. And I call my boss and say... ”hey, I am starting from my house right now.” how does that sound? I mean is this the correct usage? Or "start" is being used only in case of things such as, starting a machine, or starting an engine or starting a work etc?


texts:
I would like to learn about the difference in meaning of the following sentences.

  1) The books were on the table since morning

  2) The books have been on the table since morning

In which cases, each of them would be more appopriate to use?


texts: How can I say "you have to bear the baby (not abort it)" in more natural English?

texts:
Suppose there is a doctor who wants a patient to cancel a planned abortion for the patient's safety. What should this doctor say?

Can an English speaker please help me to fix the following sentence so that it would sound more natural?

  Please don't abort the baby, you have to bear the baby for your own safety.


texts: Is there another word except of "of" in which its letter "f" pronounced as "v"?

texts:
I have learned that the word "of" is pronounced as "ov".
Are there any other words in which the letter "f" is pronounced as "v", or it is one exception?


texts:
This is the sentence in question:

  "Describe an experience that you went out with your friends and had a good time."

I found this in an ESL speaking practice booklet (compiled by non-native speakers), and the word "that" rubs me the wrong way. I would substitute "in which," "where" (although more informal), or "when."

Would you kindly let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices and how you would explain the choices to an ESL student?

EDIT: I am still looking for help explaining the choices. Also, please keep in mind that I'm not literally teaching this ELL English, but only helping him prepare for an international English proficiency exam.


texts: Which of these sentences is correct: "Our topic for today is games." or "Our topic for today is about games."?

texts:
Which one is correct?

  Our topic for today is games.
  Our topic for today is about games.


texts: Elaborate the usage and meaning of "fly-on-the-wall account" -- Full sentence in the description

texts:
Donald Trump reacted angrily to a fly-on-the-wall account of his first
  nine months in the White House.

Taken from The Economist 19th January 2018


texts: Visual Deconstruction of Sentence Wanted

texts:
In the halcyon days of English learning in Japan, dating back as far
  as the Meiji Era, it used to be that, unlike recently, when, alas,
  much emphasis has been placed blindly on practical communicative
  “skills,” those who bravely chose to set foot in the interminable
  forest of the language saw “art” therein, finding the whole purpose
  and meaning of their noble endeavour in so honing their “craft” that
  they might dabble in poetical flourishes, or enjoying Shakespeare, in
  their second tongue.

Vexingly,I find myself in over my head with structural parsing of this.
I would appreciate it if you could kindly furnish me with some kind of visual aid that plainly shows the syntactic framework of the verbose sentence.


texts: about use of an article in front of 'trim'

texts:
I'd like to ask about use of an article before the noun 'trim' when 'trim' means: "material that is used to decorate clothes, furniture, cars, etc., especially along the edges, by being a different color, etc". That is from Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

And also from the dictionary there are example sentences as below.

  The car is available with black or red trim.

  a blue jacket with a white trim

  The kitchen units comes in white with a grey trim

I am wondering why there's no article in the first one and there is one in the rest ones. Doesn't it matter whether there is an article or not for all the sentences?

Thank you. Any explanation will be appreciated.


texts:
Lovely community, when checking my review with the Grammarly Premium, in the sentence

  'A Beautiful Mind' is a history about an extraordinary mathematician, John Nash.

it underlined about and instead suggested of.

Is history about also possible? Or history of is the only grammatically correct way?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Is it right to say "you wanna join?" to invite someone to join me for the activity? Is it causal English or not grammatical at all. thanks. I know it's correct to say "you wanna join me?", however i wonder if "you wanna join" works as well here. Thank you


texts: Can I omit the second "she were" in the following case?

texts:
She stared at me suspiciously, as if (she were) searching for wrinkles
  in a shirt.

Why or why not?


texts: What do we call someone who's in between -a friend and an enemy!

texts:
He's a friend of mine

The message is clear. He's my friend. He wishes all good for me and helps me whenever I need one.

  He's an enemy of mine

The message is clear again. He's my enemy. He wishes all bad for me and never helps me whenever I need!

  He's ...... of mine!

The message is clear. He's neither friend nor enemy. He's in between. At times, he may help me but then I cannot always rely on him. He's not a friend of mine.

Other times, he does really bad to me but maybe, there was no any other go for him. He's not an enemy of mine! :)


texts: Article a or the in the following sentence

texts:
I would like to ask which article is suitable in the following sentences:

  1) He fabricated a/the story that he left behind his wallet in a taxi and couldn’t contact the driver.


texts: What's this kind of more advanced, analytical reading called?

texts:
My previous posts, especially those concerning Mastering the National Admissions Test for Law by Mark Shepherd, reveal flaws, lapses regarding English questions 'of comprehension, analysis and, to some extent, logical reasoning' and  'reasoning skills ... critical necessity for a legal career.'. I ask about English, and not law; that test involves
everyday knowledge topics; no specialist knowledge of law is required'.

To help me find other resources to correct my miscues and oversights, what's this type of reading called? (There are only a limited number of mock LNAT questions.) It's surpassingly trickier and more nuanced than regular 'reading comprehension'. I can comfortably read English and even those passages in the LNAT questions, but I couldn't discriminate or infer the hidden, indirect, intricate, subtle, and thorny.

Would something like http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Intelligent-Touchstone/dp/0671212095 help with my weaknesses? Is it apt?


texts:
There are two boxes of nails in the room. Left box and right box. There are also two men in the room. Me and my friend. How should I ask my friend to give me all the nails from the left box? My question is about articles. Also, I want to use attributive nouns. So:
"Give me the left box nails." or "Give me left box nails."? I can make a guess that the first variant is more correct. But I want to know what rule applies to this case.


texts: Is there missing a comma in this sentence? "When I was at the Academy I had the pick of models, but now I can never seem to hang on to them. "

texts:
Obviously, this is a compound-complex sentence. Is there missing a comma between the first two clauses in this sentence?
Orignial: "When I was at the Academy I had the pick of models, but now I can never seem to hang on to them. "
Changed: "When I was at the Academy, I had the pick of models, but now I can never seem to hang on to them. "


texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  A number of researchers are expected to attend the conference

Notice that the sentence is using the plural verb "are" after "researchers" but I don't know if it needs the singular verb "is" instead, since it says "A number" before "researchers".


texts:
Here’s a sentence that I translated from Chinese.
My American friend just proofread it for me, but we had an disagreement over the word “cause”. He said that I should’ve use “cause” instead of “causes”, but he didn’t know why.
He said that it felt odd to use “causes”.
Could anyone explain it to me regarding why I should use “cause”?

Here’s the sentence:

  It’s not inappropriate to focus on eliminating highly susceptible places or circumstances for fire, but the problem is: Are illegal rooftop subletted rooms the only factor that causes such tragedies?

Please let me know if there’s anything else in my sentence that’s weirdly constructed, thank you!


texts:
A is 178cm tall, and here is the conversation between A and B.
A: I am 180cm tall
B: yes/no, that’s nearly true.
Are both yes and no acceptable? If not, what does whether yes or no is suitable depend on?


texts: What is diplomatic crisis in the sentence?

texts:
Please explain what is diplomatic crisis in the below paragraph.

The referendum is crucial for Mr. Erdogan’s ambitious plans to overhaul Turkey’s political system. If he gets the reforms approved by a majority of voters, Turkey would move towards a presidential system. He would then handpick his own cabinet and his Justice and Development Party’s MPs and gain at least two five-year terms uncontested. It is therefore unsurprising that Mr. Erdogan is turning the diplomatic crisis into a political battle to appeal to nationalist sections of the electorate. But the crisis could have undesirable outcomes. European leaders fear that Mr. Erdogan’s outreach could help the anti-Muslim far-right parties in the continent. In the Netherlands, which went to the polls on Wednesday, the far-right candidate, Geert Wilders, has already questioned the “loyalty” of Dutch Muslims of Turkish origin and called for a tough response to Ankara.


texts: WHY "double French " and what does it mean?

texts:
This is so frustrating while reading, knowing very word but not the meaning. Why double French ? My guess is "they once had French course" based on a fact from the novel. But why double it??? Does it mean "they fail the French test and take the second test?"

here is the sentence :

One of the boys I knew at school had taken a round-the-world trip and come back somehow removed and unknowable, like he wasn’t the same scuffed eleven-year-old who used to blow spit bubbles during double French.

By the way, is it even possible to blow bubbles with spit, as in the sentence "blow spit bubbles"? or does it simply mean the boy likes to spit in a disgusting way ??


texts: Is my sentence correct and does it make sense?

texts:
Please help me out here, which one is correct (and makes sense).

A man climbing nearby saw the accident.
A man climbing nearby met with an accident.

Does the first sentence mean that the man who saw accident was climibing nearby or did he meet with accident like in the second sentence.

I'm confused what "saw" actually means?


texts: "Actually, he's just..." or "Actually, he just..."?

texts:
A: How's it going with you and Toby?

B: Great. Actually, he's just moved in with me.

Can I say "Actually, he's just..." or should it just be "he"?


texts: What’s the meaning of ‘proudly’ in the context?

texts:
"I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could...."
  "Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly.
  (Harry Potter)

What's the meaning of proudly in this context?


texts: What's the difference between 'shut down to' and 'shut down'?

texts:
I am new to the phrase shut down to.  What's the difference between shut down to and shut down?

We all have set patterns in life. We like to label ourselves as this
or that and are quite proud of our opinions and beliefs. We all like
to read a particular newspaper, watch the same sorts of TV programs or
movies, go to the same sort of shops every time, eat the sort of food
that suits us, and wear the same type of clothes. And all this is
fine. But if we cut ourselves off from all other possibilities, we
become boring, rigid, hardened―and thus likely to get knocked about a
bit. You have to see life as a series of adventures. Each adventure is
a chance to have fun, learn something, explore the world, expand your
circle of friends and experience, and broaden your horizons.
Shutting down to adventure means exactly that―you are shut down.

Find Your Happiness (Collection)


texts: Which one is correct: "PhD studies" or "PhD study"?

texts:
I am always confused when it comes to talking about my studies.
Could someone tell me which one is correct:

  I received financial support during my PhD studies.

or

  I received financial support during my PhD study.

It becomes even more confusing when it comes to Master's!
So, how about

  Master's studies vs. Masters studies vs. Master's study vs. Master study

Is that wrong to say

  I received financial support during my PhD program.


texts:
There is no school in Japan now that doesn't have a computer.
  There is no school in Japan that now doesn't have a computer.
  There is no school in Japan that doesn't have a computer now.

Which position is suitable for the adverb "now"?


texts: Hair stylist: long is out and short is in

texts:
The following sentence seems cryptic to me. Can you please demystify that?

  Hair stylist to his customer: "Long is out and short is in. Shall we try the latter then?"


texts: What do you call the sides of the bench-like seats in subway trains?

texts:
This is an example (from a train in Japan). I circles the relevant section:

(Another problem is, I'm not sure whether to call those seats "chairs" or "benches.")

Example sentence:

  When the passengers entered, I retreated until my back hit the __


texts: past perfect to explain the completion of an action

texts:
I just ordered the book after seeing this aleatorick's  post on the blog (probably as soon as he had posted it)

would it be better to use past simple for post, I chose past perfect because I wanted to explain the completion of the action  of posting (he had just finished writing it that I was already ordering  it)


texts:
What is "it" in the following sentence?

  He distorted the shape of a common object to make it harder to recognize.

Is 'it' pronoun?
Is 'it' formal object(= dummy object)?


texts: "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." meaning?

texts:
Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.

  -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Social activist

I'm not sure how to understand the sentence correctly. As I understand, "faith" here refers to those persons who have faith, so the whole sentence is saying that those who have faith are taking the first step already, even when the whole staircase is still unclear.

But I don't have any confidence about it. What is the sentence actually saying?


texts:
Well, I was reading a book when I read this sentence

Should you fail to do so, we would have no choice but to take further action.

I want to know what type of conditional is this? The if statement part is in present (First conditional) and the result part is using would (Second conditional).
Is it a inverted conditional or a mixed conditional or something totally different?

Should we win your prize we would like to build a new school close to our production center.

To me it seems like a structure to show politeness.


texts:
SOURCE

Oxford Learner's dictionary says, in its definition of on:

  5 immediately after something
  On arriving home I discovered they had gone.
  There was a letter waiting for him on his return.

But I think it's more like 'when' than 'after', isn't it?

What does, for example, "On returning from holidays" mean? After arriving home? Can't this also mean "On the way home" and even "When about to get going home"?


texts: Using different vehicles in sequence while commuting

texts:
How to describe a commute when you use different kinds of vehicles without walking?

Imagine you use 3 different vehicles to get to work.First bus, then metro and then a shuttle but bus leaves you at the metro station and the shuttle takes you just outside of the metro station you leave. Therefore, you do not need to walk to get on  to one vehicles  to another.

A: How to commute to work?
B: I take three different vehicles.
A: It must be tiring do you walk a lot?
B: Only walk to the bust stop and then I ...............(between vehicles).

Can I use hop on/off or they are just another  words for getting on/off for this context?


texts: "were also been accused" grammatically correct?

texts:
Others accused Mr Glavin of inappropriate touching, and leading with intimidation and fear. Mr Leman and Mr Norman were also been accused of sexual harassment by former staff.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53815705
"were also been" a typo or a correct grammar?


texts: meaning of the phrase "at something's most simple"

texts:
Here it goes:

  At its most simple, a gun is a fairly basic machine that takes advantage of simple physics.

Does it just mean simply put?


texts:
I have a basic question regarding commas, and I have not found the answer I was looking for.

So the rule of thumb is to never separate the verb from the subject or main subject should I say...but in speech for instance or a question.

E.g

  Are you ready, Coachella?

We separate -- is that mandatory to use the comma- why? For instance:

  Are you ready Steven?

vs:

  Are you ready, Steven?

Another example:

  It's what she feared the most, death.

Is the comma needed here, and if you reverse it:

  "Death, it's what she feared most."

Why grammatically does the sentence not work without the comma.

What -term- do you use when you can switch the sentence around and it still works either way ?


texts:
I heard that this question causes an eternal conflict between people, and I'd be interested in what you think about it, and whether there is an answer to it or not. (It might have already been asked on the site, in that case, sorry)

So, my question is, which one is correct:

It is I.
It is me.

More generally: does the verb "to be" require the nominative or the accusative form?

Unfortunately, in English only pronouns (I, you etc.) have an accusative different from their nominative. How does this work in other languages (e.g. German), which have different forms?

To me, "It is I" sounds a bit too formal. "It is me" is much more common, but is it a correct use of the language?

Which one do you use, and which do you think is correct?


texts:
Can anybody help me with meaning of "on a simplistic level", for example in:

  People travel more. What are the causes?

  The reasons are many and varied. On a simplistic level, there are a larger number of means of transportation. However this is not enough to explain this increase.

  On a simplistic level, one may be inclined to ask: "Why not?"

I could not find any definition in the Internet.


texts:
When I pay for something at grocery or anywhere.

  I will pay on a MasterCard.

  I will pay with a MasterCard.

Which is more commonly used?


texts: "Linearity was evaluated" vs. "The linearity was evaluated"

texts:
In a procedure validation document, the first sentence in Section 12 "Linearity":

  The linearity was evaluated by measuring the peak areas due to aspirin in a series of 12 chromatograms.

Do I need the definite article here, or can I write:

  Linearity was evaluated by measuring the peak areas due to aspirin in a series of 12 chromatograms.

We are evaluating the linearity of the HPLC procedure. We are trying to explore whether the procedure produces results that are linear. But maybe there's no linearity at all: there may be no linear relationship between the results.

Somehow it feels like without the article it sounds okay. But I'm not sure.


texts: Usage of the definite article "the" and its omission

texts:
Is it mandatory to use the in the following sentence? If I omit the from the sentence, will that be correct and what difference in meaning will it create?

Here's the example:

As a teacher, I feel disappointed for (the) students who could not pass last year's maths exam.

I know I can say "As a teacher, I feel disappointed for a student who could not pass last year's maths exam". So if I want to make it plural I think I should say like this way "As a teacher, I feel disappointed for students who could not pass last year's maths exam". Isn't it?

Note that when I am saying this, I have no particular students in my mind.


texts:
Source

  Tiffany offers to deliver a letter to Nikki, if in return he will be
  her partner in an upcoming dance competition.

What is the meaning of confusing sentence?


texts: "I happen to be free now" or "I have happened to be free now" when talking about a present situation?

texts:
Do I say I happen to be free now or I have happened to be free now meaning that the circumstances are such that I am free at the moment? For example:

  I told you I was going to be busy, but I happen to be free at the moment.

  I told you I was going to be busy, but I have happened to be free at the moment.


texts:
Are these phrases interchangeable, or is there any difference? Which one is more idiomatic?

We reach out to the people who surround us or the people around us?

We have cut the trees which/that surround us or the trees around us?


texts: Is it correct to say "let's have a jumping/spinning race" to see who jumps the highest or spins the fastest?

texts:
We say "let's have a running race" to see who runs the fastest.
Now, we want to see who jumps the highest or spins the fastest.
Is it correct to say "let's have a jumping/spinning race" or "let's have a jumping/spinning competition"?


texts:
In this context is it ok to end with a preposition?

  "Send some pictures from the nice place that you're in."


texts:
Is there a way to say something like:

  I can choose both.

But with a strong implication of choosing only one of the two?

Of course I could say:

  Both are allowed.

Is either what I'm searching for?

Do

  I can choose either.

  Either will do.

suggest that only one has to be chosen?


texts: Is there singular/plural list on the web?

texts:
Sometime it's necessary to determine if a word is singular or plural (to know which article to use or not to use).
Is there some kind of dictionary that tells whether a word is singular or plural?


texts:
Paul reacted after witnessing living colony for shrunken people not protected against insects and birds:

  Paul: What, and there's no net? No walls?

  Jorgen: No, we've been lucky. We are too close to the sea for the
  mosquitoes. And over the years we realized that the birds, they prefer
  the lemmings.

What does it mean, "for the mosquitoes"?

I find this line from Downsizing 2018 movie.


texts:
Is it gonna be right if I say this?

  They were riding on the train and it turned over.

In this case I'm concerned about word "riding". I think it might be wrong in this case.


texts: `used only to test` or `only used to test'

texts:
I have built a new idea. To test this method, I applied it to several data sets. Then I would like to say that these data sets are only used to test
the performance of the new method.

  These data sets are only used to test the performance of the new method.

or

  These data sets are used only to test the performance of the new method.

or

  These data sets only are used to test the performance of the new method.

Which one is correct? I think the first one is the correct one, but not sure.


texts:
Example sentence:

  Pike Place brewed coffee is the caffeine king of/at Starbucks.

What's the correct construction? And why?


texts: What does the phrase "swoop into" mean here?

texts:
I am not sure about the meaning of the phrase "swoop into" in the following sentence:

  You can use the app’s amazing flight tracking function to perfectly time when the flight will swoop into your frame.

The text is from a flight information app.


texts: Question regarding meaning of “spell out”

texts:
There was an unearthly quality to the atmosphere inside the Frieze New York art fair, like the air in a plane—still but pressurized, with an unsettling hum—when the fiction writer Ottessa Moshfegh visited to speak about her work one afternoon in May. “I hate this fair already,” she said when she walked in, handing her ticket to a very tall, very pale man dressed entirely in black lace. Almost immediately, she was lost in the labyrinth of works for sale: Takashi Murakami’s lurid blond plastic milkmaids with long legs and erect nipples; the words “any messages?” spelled out in neon tubing. It was like an enactment of the world inhabited by the protagonist of Moshfegh’s forthcoming novel, “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” who works at a gallery in Chelsea, amid objects like a quarter-million-dollar “pair of toy monkeys made using human pubic hair,” with camera penises poking out from their fur. “Did I do this?” Moshfegh said, only half kidding. She sometimes gets the sense that she has the power to conjure reality through her writing.

Firstly Who is saying this sentence? The writer of this text? Or Moshfegh? (I did not think so) or a vague voice from neon tubing?

Secondly spell out is different form spell? Does it mean a n y m a s s a g e s ?

Spelling alphabet by robot inside the tube?

Thirdly, is there any connection between this and the next sentence when it is talking about “enactment”  If yes can you paraphrase it please?


texts: if i carry enough money/ have carried enough money

texts:
If I carry enough money, I will definitely go and watch a movie on weekend.

vs

If I have carried enough money, I will definitely go and watch a movie on weekend.

Which one is correct? situation: today is tuesday and I am talking about things I would do on weekend.


texts:
Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard
      Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like [sky 1] the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
      It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to [heaven 2] the heavens.
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

  Merlin nodded: this one would summon him to London decades later when hellfire fell from [sky 2] the skies.
  (from COCA, The Queen and the Cambion by Richard Bowes)

There is/are the sky/skies or heaven/heavens above the Great Hall. I remember reading plural mountains is because mountains cannot be separated as a clear-cut unit, for they are connected, in CGEL (I can’t find from what page, now). So I thought [sky 1] is the very near sky just outside the hall, which cannot be separated, for the seer and the sky is close enough, the borders with the other skies cannot be - imaginarily -lined between them.
In this respect, [sky 2] is the ones that are spread out to only goblins knowing where; [heaven 2] opens to likewise.
Is this what the singular, plural means?


texts: Present Simple or Present Continuous for end result?

texts:
There have been a lot of discussion concerning the difference between the Present Simple and the Present Continuous for actions but I'm eager to know if there is a difference when speaking about an end result of an action?

Here's what I mean:

Make sure she gets on the train.
Make sure she is getting on the train.

Here the difference is obviously understood and both sound okay. But what if we use "to end up" as the verb:

Make sure she ends up on the train. (idiomatic)
Make sure she is ending up on the train. (ridiculous to my ear)

Seems to me that the continuous tense doesn't work with end results:

See that he turns up at the bank.
See that he is turning up at the bank.

The latter sounds awkward and ridiculous. Why does this happen?


texts: "request you to give an appointment" or "request you for an appointment"

texts:
Which of these sentences are wrong?

This is to request you to give an appointment.

OR

This is to request you for an appointment.


texts:
The full context is

"I'm so awfully glad, Jimmy. You want some more, don't you?" Lily asked very excited.

Let's pick out a sentence

Lily asked very excited.

Why is this sentence correct? What is the function of excited in this sentence?
If it is an adjective then we should write

Very excited Lily asked.

If it is a participle then we should write

Lily asked being very excited.

If it is an adverb then we should write

Lily asked very excitedly.


texts: If + simple tense, would + bare infinitive (First conditional with would?)

texts:
In a reply to the comment below in this topic: difference between won't and wouldn't

  If you ask me nicely, I will/would come with you. why here both will
  and would are correct?

The answer was:

  Strictly speaking they're not both "correct". It should be ask + will
  (or asked + would for more "hypothetical" phrasing). But some native
  speakers in casual conversation aren't too fussy about such fine
  points. –  @FumbleFingers

My listening skills may not be good enough, but I think I heard more than once in some animes where the characters use "would" with simple tense if-clause. Unfortunately I cannot bring up any evidence offhand. I sometimes capture some clips when I watch but I had to wade through hundreds of them if I were to look for a certain one.

Could it be true? I understand it is not grammatical, but, if so, what is it considered? Regional? Very informal? Slang?

Edit:

Maybe what I heard was something along the lines of what is in here First conditional with “would” instead of “will”

  "If it rains tomorrow, I would go to the cinema" is conditional advice
  suggesting that the person you're talking to should go to the cinema
  in the case of rain. –  Peter Shor


texts: Can I use the pronoun "who" after an English possessive to refer to the possessor?

texts:
Then Mark held Mary's hand, who was still terrified. (Meaning, "Then
  Mark held Mary's hand, Mary being still terrified.)

Can I use the pronoun "who" in this case, even if the preceding word is not what the pronoun "who" refers to? ("Who" doesn't refer to the hand, but to Mary.)


texts:
Let's say I just turned on my computer, opened email and there is an unread message from my friend there - he sent it to me a few hours ago. First of all, I want to tell him that I didn't answer because I got it just now:

  I got your message just now, sorry.

Would it be common, idiomatic phrase?

And isn't it ambiguous? The first meaning:

  I received your message just now, sorry. (this is the meaning I want to convey)

The second meaning:

  I understood your message just now, sorry.

(We say "I got it", "I didn't get it" meaning "I understood it", "I didn't understand it", right?)


texts: Parts of speech of "Those" and its usage

texts:
I assume that That and Those both are same parts of speech. But I have some question:

I know this is correct -

  The room is stuffed with the dead animals that I have hunted.

Now I know that in this usage "that" can be used for both singular and plural nouns. But can I also use "those" in place of "that" when plural noun is there or will it be wrong?

[N.B so far I haven't seen such usage]


texts: What does "Kaos" and "Ophistodpmos" mean?

texts:
Here's a passage from Women in the Nineteenth Century, and I wanna know what does "Kaos" and "Ophistodpmos" mean. Would anybody help me?

  [Footnote: As described by the historians:—

  "The temple of Juno is like what the character of Woman should be.    Columns! graceful decorums, attractive yet sheltering.    Porch! noble, inviting aspect of the life.    Kaos! receives the worshippers. See here the statue of the Divinity.    Ophistodpmos! Sanctuary where the most precious possessions were kept    safe from the hand of the spoiler and the eye of the world."]


texts: Which one is better?: Do you need a/any/some help?

texts:
How is the nuance of each one?

  Do you need help?
  Do you need a help?
  Do you need any help?
  Do you need some help?
  May I help you?

And which one should I use to offer some strangers my help in stations etc.?


texts:
I'm reading my lecture and I have the following sentence

  We're ice skating this afternoon in the park.

My question is which tense is used in this sentence? Is it gerund?


texts:
What does the word smart mean in this context?

Is she smart meaning she is intelligent
She is clean, neat, well dressed

I've looked up in dictionaries and I'm still confused what does smart mean in that context. Personally I think it means she is clever, because it is preceded by pretty but I am not sure.

  Akiko is 20 years old, a second-year student at a language school in Tokyo. Her dad is a businessman, and her mom is a housewife. She has a brother in high school. She is pretty, gentle, and smart, but that doesn’t make her life any different.

  She wants to have an outstanding and colorful life. She also wants to speak English fluently and to be able to find a good job in a big corporation. To achieve her goal, she has studied English for years, but she is still too shy to speak. Every time her high school friends come back from the
  U.S., they speak better English to foreigners than she does. They enjoy speaking a lot while she feels frustrated about her poor English.


texts:
Consider, please, the following sentence:

  She's an actress whom most people think is at the peak of her career.

Is whom correctly used here as an object of think? I'd suggest such variants:

  She's an actress who most people think is at the peak of her career.

or

  She's an actress whom most people think (to) be at the peak of her
  career.


texts:
I can’t get the meaning of “how” in an article. This is from the article column from The Guardian, “Now we know there’s racial bias. The challenge is how to address it”
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/07/racial-bias-address-prejudice

Please have a look at the embolden part.

  Imagine a life inside an open-topped glass box. You could see what was
  around you, what your friends and neighbours and colleagues were
  doing. You could probably hear what was happening. In many and varied
  ways, you would be connected to your surroundings and have
  expectations to match. But just reach out to touch something, to
  connect, to truly become part of the life you see, and the fact of the
  box asserts itself. You can’t. You are close to what’s outside – the
  glass may be quite thin – but what separates you, as opaque as it may
  be, determines your life.

  Think of that scenario, and you might get close to some of what we
  have learned from a week of reporting in the Guardian’s Bias in
  Britain project. How life in that glass box means that for all the
  jobs certain people might see and reasonably aspire to, they never
  quite seem able to match their aspiration. How, for all the
  property ads that hold out the promise of a place to buy or rent,
  people in the box fail, in ways and by margins that seem inexplicable,
  to land the home they thought they could get. Why their friends,
  unencumbered by invisible impediment, have a different experience when
  they walk the high street, or go shopping, or go clubbing. Life is not
  always awful, but it always falls short. It’s like chasing a £5 note
  in the breeze. It forever seems reachable but, by fingertips’ length,
  it isn’t. For so long now we have been told that the so-called scourge
  of political correctness has irreparably tipped the scales towards
  minorities. If this project does nothing else, it exposes that lie.

I can get the “how” and that makes it difficult for me to understand the two sentences that begin with “How.”
I need your help, thank you.


texts: How can I change a passive vocabulary to an active one? A passive vocabulary is a word that I know it when I see it in a text but when I want to speak, I do not remember it for using.


texts: Answering a negative question with an infinitive phrase

texts:
This question came up in one of my student's textbooks. They are given three potential answers, only one being correct. Why does the text say that the answer below is not correct? I know it doesn't sound right, but why?

Q: Why don’t we go another way?
A: To save money.

Thanks for any help.


texts: Possession without using apostrophe ( ‘s ) or ( of )

texts: Is there a rule to show possession without using apostrophe ( ‘s ) or ( of ). There are expressions such “car tyre”, “ windshield wipers”, “bike rack” or “quality control process” all these examples don’t have any “’s” or “of”. According to the above mentioned examples, if we put one noun before the other we get possession for the first noun, is it correct?


texts: Can i use "Z" instead of "The" when choosing a name for a website?

texts: I am trying to name my new tech website, but all of the names i thought of where taken, one of these is "thetech......", so i tried "Ztech....." it seems that it's available, so my question is: Is it okay to use "Z" instead of "The"? Is there anything wrong with it? like does it have any hidden meaning?


texts: "Inform xxx about the outcome" - is this phrase all right?

texts:
"In that scenario try to auto-detect the header row. Inform page 2 about the outcome."
Is this phrase all right? What would a native English speaker use?


texts: What is the exact difference between 'Hi' and 'Hello'?

texts: What is the actual difference between 'Hi' and 'Hello'? When to use 'Hi' and when to use 'Hello'?


texts:
Extracting from: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Jerry, left alone in the mist and darkness, dismounted meanwhile, not only to ease his spent horse, but to wipe the mud from his face, and shake the wet out of his hat-brim, which might be capable of holding about half a gallon. After standing with the bridle over his heavily- splashed arm, until the wheels of the mail were no longer within hearing and the night was quite still again, he turned to walk down the hill.
“After that there gallop from Temple Bar, old lady, I won’t trust your fore-legs till I get you on the level,” said this hoarse messenger, glancing at his mare. “ ‘Recalled to life.’ That’s a Blazing strange message. Much of that wouldn’t do for you, Jerry! I say, Jerry! You’d be in a Blazing bad way, if recalling to life was to come into fashion, Jerry!”

Although I know what the bold part means, especially in my own language, actually, I am wondering what is the concept if it- the bold part-- that is behind it.


texts: Usage of ''doing'' in "You are doing fine"

texts:
You are doing fine.

This sentence is from The Last Leaf. What is the case of doing in this sentence? Is it an emphatic do? I found that do, does and did are more common in "emphatic writing".


texts: "have done on weekend" vs "had done on weekend"

texts:
Which is the right way to say grammatically?

  If you had reviewed your lessons on weekend, you could pass the test now.
  If you have reviewed your lessons on weekend, you can pass the test now.


texts:
I am wondering if you need to put a dash (-) or a slash (/) or something else, because both of them looks odd to me.

This particular sentence illustrates why I think it looks odd:

  This is a Nintendo Labo-LEGO bundle pack that will allow your children
  to express their creativity at a fraction of the cost if you would
  have bought them separately.

The dash looks a bit weird here if you ask me.


texts: Which tense to use in constructs where events are supposed to happen in future?

texts:
Consider  two expressions

It is possible that by the time I come back next year, the company has either shut down or has been taken over.
It is possible that by the time I come back next year, the company will have been taken over or will have shut down.

Another expression

Since term of your deposit is so long, it is possible that by the time it completes,it has/will have actually depreciated in value due to inflation.

Should I use present or future perfect tense in this expressions? Or Are both of them correct here?


texts:
According to my dictionary (Webster's):

  A level surface is one that is flat and even
  A smooth surface is one with no rough parts or bumps
  A flat surface is one that is smooth, level, or even

I searched a lot but the websites didn't really give me a full understanding as to how these words are exactly different.  What I learned from the sources here and there is:

  A level surface has no slope
  A smooth surface has no rough parts
  A flat slope has no curves or bumps and no slope

I'd like to know if my deduction is correct.  Here are more questions:

Can a surface be flat but not level?
Can a surface be smooth but not level?
Can a surface be flat but not smooth?
What about an even surface? Is it one with no slope? Is it one with no bumps? Or both?


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct? "You are so offended"

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

  You are so offended.

(Since offended is adjective in past tense)


texts:
Given such a sentence, would that verb "contrive" mean like, "set up"?

The "selected words 900 for TOEFL" gives synonyms of it as concoct, devise, fashion, improvise, invent.

  He contrives/contrived her death.

Definition from Merriam Unabridged.

  1

  a :  devise, plan, plot

  contrive means of meeting

  b :  to fabricate as a work of art or ingenuity :  design, invent

  from stone, wood, shell, and bone the Indians contrived … household utensils —
   American Guide Series: Tennessee

  2

  now dialectal :  to find out :  understand

  3

  obsolete :  to form, shape, lay out, or adapt by contrivance

  the whole shire contrived into 33 hundreds — John Speed

  4

  :  to bring about by stratagem or with difficulty :  effect, manage — often followed by the infinitive

So only given such a sentence, can I deduct that the phrase would mean he "plotted" ( set up ) her death?


texts: "And am happy" is correct or not in this context?

texts:
I work as a police and am happy with it.

or

I work as a police, and I am happy with it.

or

both are correct?


texts: What exactly does the verb move mean here?

texts:
The teacher moved the students to action.

I found out that the word action is a noun.  Then, what exactly does the verb move mean here then?   It cannot mean cause for action is a noun.   Could you help me clarify it?   Thanks.


texts:
The belief that the art of the novel can be discussed and evaluated only after its narrative techniques or ‘‘devices’’ have been identified and enumerated launches novel theory into an Adamic ecstasy of naming. The first thing to notice about the essays in this section is how many terms they coin, how the novel’s particular literary form seems to require a new literary-critical vocabulary. The aesthetics of the novel have been missed, it seems, not because the novel isn't an aesthetic form, but because critical language derived from other literary genres can't register the novel's distinguishing formal features.
  James's prefaces to the New York edition of his work (1907-9) offer plain-speech terms like "picture," "scene," and "center of consciousness" to describe the compositional effects he most valued. This rough vocabulary only whets the appetite of percy Lubbock, James's most influential follower, who almost twenty years later is driven to write "The Craft of Fiction"(1921) because of his felt "want of a received nomenclature" (90) in the Anglo-American study of fiction.

Does "compositional effects" mean: this way of using words?

and I don't know why writer in the next sentence says:"rough vocabulary" because in the lines before she mentions that James offer plain-speech terms. what does "rough vocabulary" really mean?

Source: The Novel: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1900-2000


texts:
"Discovery" is a noun. Yet "discover" is a verb.
"Making" is a noun.  Yet "make" is a verb.

Both "discovery" and "making" sound like verbs, but they aren't.

What is the best way to spot these noun(s) that seem like verbs(s)?


texts: Is it natural to use the verb "stomp" in the sense of getting something off one's feet?

texts:
Is it natural to use the verb stomp in the sense of getting something off one's feet? For example:

  Before you come in, please stomp off the snow of your feet.

If it is not, the what would a native English speaker say?


texts: Did the printer get sick or not in fact?

texts:
From The Heart of a Broken Story:

  I’m a good printer’s assistant, but that’s all I am. One day the
  printer got sick, and I had to take his place. What a mess I made of
  things, Miss Lester. No one would take my orders. The typesetters just
  sort of giggled when I would tell them to get to work.

When I read "One day the printer got sick", I thought the printer got sick in fact, then I read "No one would take my orders", the "would" here suggests it's in a subjunctive mood which implies the printer didn't get sick in fact.

So I got confused about "the printer got sick" is a fact or a fiction? Could anyone please give me some hints about that?


texts: Differences between "has started taking", "has been taking", "has taken" and "took"

texts:
Can anybody explain the meaning of these sentences?

  He has started taking antidepressants.
  He has been taking antidepressants.
  He has taken antidepressants.
  He took antidepressants.


texts: Error correction : All the children have assembled on the ground and are waiting for the Principal to come

texts:
All the children have assembled on the ground and are waiting for the Principal to come.

My book says the correction to above sentence is to replace the principal to come with the principal's coming but I doubt if its the correct correction. Please confirm if the book is correct or not, if correct then why ?


texts: What does *a batter with three balls and no strikes on him* mean?

texts:
Ran into:

  "Tearing up the pea patch" meant going on a rampage; "sitting in the catbird seat" means sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him.

What does sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him mean?

Obviously, it is talking about baseball. It must be about the scores a batter might take. But I do not know the rules.

And is going on a rampage used in its normal sense, that is to say going very angry? Or it as well refers to something technical in baseball?


texts: I have visited I have been visiting today

texts:
Is there a difference between "websites I have visited today" and "websites I have been visiting today"?
Can both be used when I have ( recently) finished visiting sites for the day?
Does the continuous imply I have been visiting the same sites all day or does it just mean I have been visiting various sites during the day?


texts: Do you say "the tree is shed in winter" to express all leaves on the tree fall off because of the weather in everyday conversation?

texts:
The Vietnamese-English dictionary suggests me to use "the tree is shed or nude" to express all leaves on the tree fall off because of the weather.
But I am not sure if we say it in everyday conversation.
Do you say "the tree is shed in winter"?


texts:
Which statement is correct and Why:

  There are jeans on the bed.

  There are two pairs of jeans on the bed.

The application I am learning on, said that "There are jeans on the bed" is not correct.


texts: Can "Then" be used at the beginning of a sentence like " And"?

texts:
This device includes components A and B. A has element c and d. Then, B
has element e and f.

I would like to know whether Then" in the sentence above I created is used correctly.  You may think "Then" in the sentence above is unnecessary, but I am required to translate literally, word by word, from my language to English.


texts:
All the quotes are from Sweet Town (Toni Bambara’s first published story)

The Context: The protagonist is a teenager girl who gets involved with two guys in one spring and one summer. When she saw the note her mother wrote her,

  "My dear, mad, perverse young girl, kindly take care and paint the
  fire escape in your leisure… "

here was her reaction:

  " As if bare-armed spring ever let up from its invitation to
  perpetuate the race. And as if we ever owned a fire escape. 'Zweep,' I
  yelled, not giving a damn for intelligibility, and decided that if
  ever I was to run away from home, I'd take her(her mother) with me."

Later in the story, the race is explained.

  "and in this spring race, the glands always win and the muses and the
  brain must step aside to ride in the trunk with the spare tire."

I have difficulties understanding  "bare-armed spring ever let up from its invitation to perpetuate the race".  What does "bare-armed spring" mean? Does "let up" mean stop?  Could you help me decipher it?


texts: "hood" denoting a condition or quality when we use it as a suffix. For example, falsehood, neighborhood. But we don't say "truehood", "brotherhood". I'm wondering in what condition we can use "hood" as a suffix.


texts:
I found this sentence in The Longest Ride:

  As scary as the prospect of real life seemed, she was excited at the thought of having her own place. She vaguely imagined a loft in some city, with bistros and coffeehouses and bars nearby, but who knew how realistic that was. The truth was that even living in a dumpy apartment off the highway in Omaha, Nebraska, would be preferable to her current situation. She was tired of living in the sorority house...

What is the meaning of this sentence? Actually "but who knew how realistic that was" part makes thing hard for me to understand. Please help me.


texts:
In case of pronuncing "support you", I thougt connecting 't' to 'y' makes a 'ʧ' sound, so that It's sound like "səˈpɔːrtʃu".
but I found many videos in which It's sounded like "səˈpɔːr u".
Which pronunciation is correct? Are both correct?
Is there standard of pronunciation on this case?


texts: English equivalent of French "quiproquo"

texts:
In English, quid pro quo refers to a barter-style exchange. I'll do this for you and you'll do something for me. There is this quote from the movie The Silence of the Lambs(1991) where Dr Lecter says:

  [...] If I help you, Clarice, it will be "turns" with us too. Quid pro
  quo. I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about this case,
  though. About yourself. Quid pro quo. Yes or no? [...]

Of course this is basically about the "counterpart" to a "part" so to speak, more generally a reciprocal exchange, one could almost say a bargain, "something for something" (else, but somewhat equivalent).

But in Romance languages, another meaning has prevailed, "to take one thing for another" or basically the case of the mistaken identity(based on Collins translating the French word "quiproquo"; see do ut des for the English meaning equivalent as used with Romance lang.); more generally a mistake. As it relates to human beings, a typical scenario is when a person mistakenly assumes a "doctor" to be M.D. when they are in fact a Ph.D., based on some confusion or lack of information, and then starts acting accordingly(divulging personal details about their condition etc.). One can see how such a "device" or situation can bring comic relief to a stage play for instance.

Is there more a expressive/colorful idiom besides the "case of mistaken identity" which would carry that idea?


texts:
Can we say the following sentence,

In his entire professional career, he has produced ten plays. instead of

In his entire professional career, he produced ten plays.

if he is still alive but not professionally active?


texts: What does "A millions years ago" mean here?

texts:
I would like to know what "A millions years ago" means in the following sentences:

‘So Charlie boy,’ Johnno says, ‘tell us. How did you two first meet?’
I think at first he means Charlie and I. Then I realise
he’s looking between Charlie and Jules. Right.
‘A millions years ago . . .’ Jules says. She and Charlie raise their
eyebrows at each other in perfect unison.
‘I taught her to sail,’ Charlie says. ‘I lived in Cornwall. It was my
summer job.’

Lucy Foley, The Guest List, Chapter 12

This is a thriller novel published in 2020 in the United Kingdom. One hundred and fifty guests would be gathering at some remote and deserted fictional islet called Inis an Amplóra off the coast of the island of Ireland to celebrate the wedding between Jules (a self-made woman running an online magazine called The Download) and Will (a celebrity appearing in a TV show program called Survive the Night). The day before the actual wedding day, Hannah, the wife of Charlie (Jules' friend), arrived at the island and is now at the dinner party for the rehearsal dinner with only some selected guests. And during the party, Johnno, Will's friend, asks Charlie and Jules as to how they came to meet each other in the first place. At first, Hannah thinks the question is directed to Charlie and herself, but soon realizes that it is for Jules and Charlie.
In this part, I wonder what "A millions years ago" means.
Is Jules saying basically like "once upon a time", with some wistfulness...? Or perhaps, is she saying "It would take a million years to tell you how we met, because it is a long story"?
And I wonder why it is "a millions years ago" rather than "a million years ago". I am wondering whether it is grammatically okay ('a' + plural), and guessing there might be an idiomatic expression regarding it, though I cannot find it...


texts: Construction of Subordinate Clause in For-Relative Clause

texts:
a)We obtained the instructions which the engineers should follow.
We obtained the instructions for the engineers to follow.
b)The world’s largest hornet which researches are to find in expedition for the first time,
The world’s largest hornet for researches to find in expedition.
a)----The verb «follow» is directly related to Headword «instruction», meaning to follow «what?» -  instruction, which makes it an Infinitival RC with For subordinator.
b) ---«Find» refers to «hornet», meaning to subject «Hornet» to an action, again Infinitival RC with For subordinator
What happens in the next sentences is unclear for me.
A1.These are climate changing efforts with which forest fire could be kept that low.
These are climate changing efforts for forest fires to be kept that low.
B1.The antique tools with which you can keep timepieces ticking.
The antique tools for timepieces to be kept ticking.
A1 ---«Keep» acting as an infinitive relates not to the headword of RC «efforts», but to the subject «fires», which is already a part of the relative clause.
B1. ----« to be kept» is referenced to «timepieces» but not to the Headword «Tools»
Question: 1. Would you consider subordinate clauses all examples above to be For –Infinitival relative clauses? or the latter section (A1-B1) would belong to a different grammatical category? If, so, could you, please, name it. So that I could search information on it.
Appreciate  any help! Thanks in advance!


texts: Should I use "at every iteration" or "in every iteration"?

texts:
Which one is correct "at every/each iteration" or "in every/each iteration"? I also have this confusion when using "step" instead of "iteration". More specifically, should I use "at each step" or "in each step"? Is there a difference in meaning between the usage of "in" and "at"?

Google Books Ngram Viewer shows that "at each iteration" is the most common expression.

This type of expressions are often encountered in computer science. For example, in the paper Metacontrol for Adaptive Imagination-Based Optimization, the authors often use "on each iteration".

Note: I'm not looking for an explanation in the specific context I've just mentioned (i.e. the paper I linked you to above), but general guidelines to follow.


texts:
Is use of "at" and "for" in a sentences correct grammatically?

  Fig. 13 shows two lines from hub to casing at upstream and downstream of the rotors and also shows axial velocity distribution at the lines for Fi=0.275.

(emphasis added)

Fi parameter specify amount of inlet velocity in turbine. A part of figure as follows:


texts: Seeking advice on how to master numbers as a non-native English speaker

texts:
I'm not a native speaker but English has been my language of choice for more than 10 years now. I think and dream in English... However, I'm always struggling with numbers.
If I'm watching a video for example and the person says some number greater than 100, I need to slow it down and repeat it a few times before I can internally "visualize" what it actually means. I can perfectly understand sped up videos, but I find it very difficult to understand numbers at a normal speed.
I also find it difficult to say numbers or calculate stuff in my head. My speaking (and thinking) speed drops significantly, and I can even mess up frequently or mispronounce numbers that sound similar (e.g. thirteen vs thirty).
I do try to practice counting and manipulating numbers in my head, but I hardly see any improvements. And this issue also happens with another foreign language that I speak somewhat fluently.
I think that the issue is that different languages have different ways of representing numbers (for example, saying 2 before 3 in 23, or the other way around). And when you learn your first language, the brain structures how it sees numbers based on those rules, and strongly associates the words and symbols with the notion of a "number".
I would highly appreciate any suggestions that might help.


texts: "to fulfill the word I had given" Idiomatic?

texts:
"It took me five years to fulfill the word I had given"

Is the above sentence idiomatic?

"to fulfill the word I had given" seems bit unidiomatic to me, I don't know why. I'm thinking that there could be some better and more idiomatic phrase in English to mean that.

The context is, I had told one of my friend that I would draw his picture but I didn't. After five years (now), I've drawn his picture and want to say the above statement to him.

I want to know how a native English speaker would say that.

And also I want to know, can I say the below statement when the moment I have finished the drawing,

  "It has taken me five years to fulfill the word I had given"


texts: Can I make sentence with "scramble" in this way?

texts:
In the dictionary, scrambling means that compete for something.
so ,Can i make the sentence with ''scramble'' in this way....

I scramble for life.
Mr. Alex is scrambling as vice president candidate.


texts:
Which one is correct?

She is not as friendly as I thought.
She is not as friendly as I was thinking.

Both the past simple and the past continuous tense refer to an action made in the past. Which tense should I use in the examples above and why?


texts: Syntax of "There they all were, talking about homework and Quidditch and who knew what other rubbish"

texts:
Hermione ripped open the newspaper and began to read the report inside while Harry looked around the Great Hall. He could not understand why his fellow students were not looking scared or at least discussing the terrible piece of news on the front page, but very few of them took the newspaper every day like Hermione. There they all were, talking about homework and Quidditch and who knew what other rubbish, when outside these walls ten more Death Eaters had swollen Voldemort's ranks.

  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I'm wondering why it puts a comma between 'were' and 'talking'. I think "There they all were talking about homework" is fine. Another thing is about "who knew what other rubbish", which I feel it should be "who knew what other rubbish was". Any thoughts?


texts:
I am stuck with this sentence:

  There is no any reason to use it

In some contexts it's pretty clear which of the two words to use. But another, like the example above, is confusing me. So how would I say it: "no any reason" or "not any reason"?


texts: Different usage of "simple past tense" and "present perfect"

texts:
I have a question regarding the usage of "simple past tense" vs "present perfect tense". Sometimes I see they are both possible to talk about a finished action. I know we cannot use "present perfect tense" to talk about a finished action, that have mentioned time frame. But my question is different. Suppose, something happened yesterday but I do not want to mention the time rather I want to describe what happened. In this kind of situation which tense is appropriate?

Here's the context:

  I bought/have bought a mobile. It has a stunning look and takes nice pictures. I am very happy with it.

Please note, that I bought the phone yesterday. I know if I used yesterday in that sentence I had to use "simple past tense". But as I have not mentioned any time frame, Can I use both the tenses?

Please also note that I just suddenly start a conversation with "I bought a mobile", with no preamble.


texts:
• She has a child

Questions for the above example:

  Does she have a child? (This could be the common question for the above sentence as far as I know)

My question is,

Is it possible to make a question with "Has she" for the above sentence? like Has she........? )

If both are wrong, please help me with some examples.

Please help. Thanks in advance.


texts:
Which is more idiomatic/correct or formal/technical:

X prevents Y from moving further into Z
X prevents Y to move further into Z
X prevents the diffusion of Y further into the Z

The first sentence seems like a template for the usage of "prevent". It is usually "prevent from". How about the second and third ones? I'm also not sure about the gap between "diffusion" and "further"


texts:
In my ATM card , it said : " This is a property of... If found, please return to..."
The meaning is clear, but I've never seen a grammar structure like that. Can you tell me what that is ?  Can I use the same with other verbs i.e if broken, if damaged..?


texts:
I stumbled upon this phrase here-

  Today’s rivers offer us energy, clean water, fisheries, flood and drought protection, recreational opportunities, spiritual outlets and aesthetic value.

I would appreciate if somebody explained the meaning of this phrase beyond this context too.


texts: "Don't have no time" vs "don't have time"

texts: What is the difference between "don't have no time" and "don't have time"? Both these expressions mean leak of time, right?


texts: What is the meaning of I have been broken

texts:
If you see, I was broken makes sense to me. It means you're having a very difficult time due to say some tragedy.
But I want to say it like Once you are broken, it will always xyz. But to me, it seems tragedy happened recently and you're still affected a lot. But what if I want to say the same for a tragedy that happened long ago? Does the following sentence makes sense?
Once you have been broken, it will always xyz. My specific doubt about this is: Does have been here mean that somebody else deliberately and specifically caused trouble to you? Is the sentence hinting to some other person?


texts:
I understand the common rule, but I need explanation about exception:

Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves
Handkerchief (s or ves)
Hoof, hoofs or hooves
Scarf, scarfs or scarves
Wharf, wharfs or wharves

If I will always use -ves I will be correct


texts:
Is it possible to write "integrated to"? If so, is there a difference between "integrated to" and "integrated into"?

This technology is still far from being as integrated to/into our
everyday life


texts: Can “during the last few months” be used with present perfect?

texts:
Here are the sentences:

  We haven’t eaten at that restaurant during the last few months.

  We didn’t eat at that restaurant during the last few months.

I think during implies the duration has ended, hence the past tense not present perfect.

Which one is correct?


texts: One word for a letter without sender's address

texts: What is a letter without a sender's address called?


texts: What does "jumping anyone on a depth chart" mean in this context?

texts:
Except that now Lynch is done. At least in Denver. There may be other teams out there who want to give him a shot, but it’s hard to see him jumping anyone on a depth chart — assuming he’s claimed.

I don't understand the phrase in bold above. I looked up 'jump'. The closest I can get is 'to attack', but I don't feel it can fit for this context.

What does "jumping anyone on a depth chart" mean?

The full source.


texts: When do we say "skies" instead of "sky"?

texts:
You would think we never use "skies" since there's only one sky, but I've heard it often enough that I often want to say "skies" rather than "sky". The problem is that I never gave much thought about it, so I have no idea why I even want to do that.

When do we say “skies” instead of “sky”?


texts: What expression fits the best for the intended meaning?

texts:
I'm looking for an expression that would mean someone takes control over someone else, like in a bad relationship, when someone takes a dominant posture in spite of the other person. Google would translate this sentence :

  You got your grip on me

As so in french. Though I know "get a grip" has a totally different meaning, so I suspect it isn't correct.

I also encountered this sentence :

  You took hold of me

Please tell me if these google translations have meaning to you and if not, what would be the most appropriate expression to use.


texts: What is the meaning of 'the inbite' and article 'the'?

texts:
How do I take words which I can not find in Google. Just there are brands TICT / INBITE of fishing poles. What is the meaning of 'the inbite' and article 'the' here? Is it such a grammar for each new word put 'the' before it?

  An easterly is the most disagreeable wind in Lyme Bay— Lyme Bay being
  that largest bite from the underside of England’s outstretched
  southwestern leg—and a person of curiosity could at once have deduced
  several strong probabilities about the pair who began to walk down the
  quay at Lyme Regis, the small but ancient eponym of the inbite, one
  incisively sharp and blustery morning in the late March of 1867.

THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN
by John Fowles


texts: Can anybody rephrase "it may not feel like it" in this context for me, please?

texts:
With major economies like Germany and Japan offering negative yields on their, for example, ten year bonds, the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) has to walk a delicate line. Other countries are keeping their rates low in an effort to stimulate their slow-growth economies. And while it may not feel like it to millions of Americans who are financially struggling, the U.S. economy is one of the strongest in the world.  So the Fed is under pressure to actually raise our interest rates to slow down our economy, offset the future threat of inflation, and restore a more normal term structure of interest rates.

source: www.forbes.com


texts: Is "An unfathomable chaos" grammatically correct?

texts: I am writing a blog where I describe a problem as leading to "an unfathomable chaos", which is being underlined by Grammarly plugin for Chrome. Is it a mistake on my behalf or Grammarly is getting it wrong?


texts: Grammar of Polonius, Act 2, Scene 2, Hamlet

texts:
15% down the page: LORD POLONIUS [says:]
  This business is well ended.
  My liege, and madam, to expostulate
  What majesty should be, what duty is,
  Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
  Were nothing but to waste night, day and time.
  Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
  And tediousness ♦ the limbs and outward flourishes,
  I will be brief: your noble son is mad: ...

1. What's the subject of were? Is it 'My liege, and madam, to expostulate ... Were nothing...'? If so, shouldn't this be was, or is the  present subjunctive somehow used?

2. Is a verb (like 'is') missing where I placed the black lozenge? What's this phenomenon called?


texts: Can I use "The mike is yours" implicitly?

texts:
Is it necessary when I say: "The mike is yours, confound me." that you really have a microphone, or you should have a microphone?

If yes, then what should I say instead that sentence with the part "confound me"?

A side question: Does "confound" here mean amaze/impress?


texts: What is the expression for saying grateful?

texts:
What is the right expression when saying: "I am grateful"?

Do we say "I am grateful to you" or "I am grateful for you? Or are there other expressions?

What is the noun of this adjective "grateful?


texts: When do I use "are" instead of "is" with a measurement?

texts:
When writing measurements or time, do you use the plural form "are" or the singular form "is"?

For example:

  There [is/are] 12 inches in a foot.

  There [is/are] 12 months in a year.


texts: meaning of a sentence in simak's project mastodon chpt.1

texts:
I am wondering the meaning of the following sentence found at the end of chapter 1 in Simak's Project Mastodon!:

  Snide item in smug, smart-alecky gossip column: Saucers are passé at the Pentagon. There’s another mystery that’s got the high brass very high.

This looks like a cutscene to the newspapers of something like that, but i cannot understand the meaning


texts: The difference between "as" "when" and "while"

texts:
What's the difference between "as", "when" and "while"?

  The doorbell rang as/when/while Anna was asleep.

Which is right and why?


texts:
I thinking about this two..?

when we use congratulation and where we use congratulations.?

Which is correct: congratulation or congratulations? where am i use ..??


texts:
Daily at 7 am, my alarm clock sounds "triiiinnngg'. Now, my concern is how do I describe alarm's action? I'm searching for a 'verb'.

  My alarm rings at 7 am.

Or

  My alarm bells at 7 am.

Or

  My alarm triggers at 7 am.

I heard somewhere that 'Alarm fires at 7 am'. Is 'fires' a correct word for an alarm in this context?

Thank you.


texts:
If a name of a company contains the word "and", should we capitalize the first letter "a" in this word?

  Limited Liability Company Horns And Hoofs

Do we have to capitalize the first letters in all words included in a name of a company?


texts:
Is the verb "teach" used like the verbs "live", "work" and "study" which can be used in both the present perfect and the progressive without any change of meaning?
To say that the person is still teaching English can I use the present perfect in my sentence instead of the progressive?
"She has taught English for five years" instead of "she has been teaching."


texts:
A large number of rare paintings were sold last year.
A large number of rare paintings was sold last year.

Which one of the sentences above is the correct one? If I consider that the verb to sell refers to 'a large number', then the use of 'was' is correct. However, considering that it refers to 'rare paintings' then I should use 'were', right?
How should I proceed on my reasoning?


texts:
I'm arguing with my girlfriend (we are not native English speakers), what is the proper form, go back home or come back home.
For example, consider two versions:

I will go to the office and then go back home.
I will go to the office and then come back home.

My girlfriend thinks the first version is wrong and only the second version is correct. I claim that both versions are correct and mean more or less the same, however the first version focuses more on the journey home itself, and the second one emphasizes the fact of reaching the destination (the home), but they can be used interchangeably as long as I want to express that I will go there and back (visit that two particular locations). and then I will leave (e.g. I will leave the office and probably I will head home, but it's not guaranteed that I will reach home or head home directly - I want to emphasize departure from the office rather that the arrival home).
What it the native speakers' take on that?
There are two similar questions:
Come back vs Go back
"I want to come there" or "I want to go there"
But they touch the problem from slightly different angles.


texts: McDonald's use "I'm lovin' it." slogan. As we all know that love is a stative verb and young people, too, use stative verbs in the continuous form. Can usage of 'ing' with Stative verbs grammatically correct?


texts:
In the following sentence

  This has to change. Arab countries as well as the UN should put meaningful pressure on the military council to pay heed to popular demands and hold those responsible for the June 3 massacre accountable.

It must be June third massacre. I am confused about how to use dates in a sentence somebody please help me


texts: Honorific implication of 'Have a word with'

texts:
I know that when teachers want to speak briefly with their students, they often say

  Can I have a word with you?

And depending on the tone, students could be in for it.

What I'd like to know however, is whether it's okay the other way around. As in for students to use this phrase when they want to speak to their teachers? Or is it only appropriate to be used by people of senior status when addressing those of junior status? And if it goes the other way it would come across as rude.


texts:
They give you exercises to do.

Please explain to me why "to do" is used here, not "to be done".


texts: "Lay" in Rogue Legacy Prince's Journal, Entry #1

texts:
Prince's Journal, Entry #1.

Tonight I will get a headstart over my brothers and sisters, and set forth on my quest while they lay asleep.

From what I understand, the verb after while should be used in its present tense because previously the prince used Future Simple tense. The usage of Future Simple and then Past Simple would be perplexing to say the least.
I see two reasons why lay was used there:

Prince made a typo.
The archaic present tense of lie was lay, or some other flavor of [REDACTED].

So please tell me, why was lay used here? Did I miss something?
EDIT: I'm well aware of the difference between lay and lie, it's just that I didn't expect to see such a mistake in a widely acclaimed game.


texts:
This assumption which I know is true (or which I know it is true?) made me change my opinion on the matter.

Which seems to be the subject of is whereas the direct object of I know is which is true. Yet for some reason I always feel tempted to put an it before is true? Is it incorrect?


texts: What is the opposite to laudatory when describing an adjective?

texts:
For instance, when I say that the word "great" is a laudatory adjective.
What would the opposite to that be in the case of a word such as "evil"?
Thank you.


texts: "Let's just say" expression clarification

texts:
I am wondering what the 's in the let's just say... expression is.

Is it "let us just say"?

I doubt it is the to be verb, because it doesn't make much sense, does it?


texts: What does it mean by 'relative luxury' and 'hand person' in idiomatic English?

texts:
Source

  This is a relative luxury, as the ones still around in the team set-up will attest, given the team's abysmal run of the last few seasons.

I could not figure out what the speaker intends to say here.

  Gambhir is an old Kotla hand who is unlikely to misread his 'home' patch.

What does it mean by 'hand person'?

  On the other hand, while Chris Morris' manic hitting lower down against Gujarat would have given DD's finishing hopes a boost,....

Does 'His hitting lower down the order has given hopes...' require a comma before 'has'?


texts: Another important trend has been. Is it a complete sentence?

texts:
Another important trend has been to reduce the number of platforms used for car models, as Japanese producer have long been doing.

Is it correct/complete sentence? My question is about *Another important trend has been???? * If I cut out the adjunct To reduce the number of platforms used for car models, as Japanese producer have long been doing from the sentence, the main sentance would be Another important trend has been Is it a complete sentence? Isn't it passive sense?? If It's a passive sentence, after *Has been * whether  something is required or not??


texts:
Did you do your homework while you were coming to school?

  Were you doing your homework while you came to school?

Does it mean that in the second sentence the homework was not finished when the person arrived at school and in sentence one the homework was finished before the person arrived at school

and if both actions lasted the same time should I write
Were you doing your homework while you were coming to school
or Did you do your homework while you came to school


texts: Should we use "is sending" or "is to send"?

texts:
In the sentence below:

  The only way to communicate with me is ________ me directly an email.

should I fill in the blank with sending or to send?  Or will both work?

Is there a general rule to determine when should we use verb-ing or to verb?


texts: In this video, the phrase "a continua" is mentioned several times. Is that correct use of the indefinite article?


texts: Does "kindly do the reimbursement" need an article?

texts:
I am writing a reimbursement letter:

  I booked train ticket for Dr.David journey on 19.Apr.2016 and the ticket is attached for your kind perusal.

  I request you to kindly do the reimbursement for the same.

I'm confused about whether I should say:

  kindly do the reimbursement for the same

or

  kindly do reimbursement for the same

Which one is makes sense in this context?


texts: "Student Jacob was in Italy" - is "student", here, an adjective or a noun?

texts:
I am currently writing a paper on British newspaper articles; however, I keep on encountering constructions such as:

"Student Jacob was in Italy" or
 "jailed Samantha said yesterday..."

where words that my books say are nouns seem to be being used as adjectives? I would be grateful if someone could tell me if these nouns, in these instances, become adjectives?


texts: Is there any problem in pronunciation of words with Phonetic Alphabet?

texts: I have pronounced the English words with Phonetic Alphabet(in the site ldoceonline.com) for almost 1500 words and I have improved very well. But I didn't see anyone that uses this method for a large number of words. Can I continue this method for the pronunciation of English words and can I improve?


texts: Does "when" produce object clause in this sentence?

texts: The sentence: "Books are gifts when they are acts of love.". The second part after the "when" is the object clause and the sentence is complex, right?


texts:
I am not sure if this sentence is correct:

  The word, from which the Polish, Ukrainian and Czech verbs 'mówić', 'мовити', 'mluvit' descend, means 'to say'.

It is certainly a restrictive clause, but normally restrictive clauses are not set off with commas, and sense would be less clear if we remove the commas before and after the clause.

What should I change to get this sentence correct?


texts:
what's the meaning of  long hold zero in the following sentence

although I was not able to long hold zero to turn off the engine after this


texts: The use of the past perfect after the present perfect in one sentence

texts:
Could you tell if it's correct to use the past simple or the past perfect in the following sentence.

  I haven't mended the jeans that I tore.

  I haven't mended the jeans that I had torn.

If both are perfectly correct, then what is the difference? If there is no difference in meaning, then which one is more common?


texts: /dz/ and /z/ Is there really big difference?

texts: I have difficulty distinguishing the two phonetic symbols. Roads, rose; needs, knees... Do these words sound very different to native speakers? How should I pronounce them?


texts: Negation of sentences containing modals and auxiliary verbs

texts:
This question drew my attention to something that seems perfectly clear to native English speakers, but leaves English learners bewildered.
When you negate a sentence containing a modal or an auxiliary verb, the outcome varies depending on the modal or auxiliary. For example, when you negate a sentence containing must, the obligation remains but the action is inverted:

I must stay at home
I must not stay at home

With need, however, the obligation is cancelled (it becomes an option), and the action remains the same.

I need to stay at home
I need not stay at home

The original question referred just to these two cases, but the potential for confusion exists for all modals and auxiliary verbs. This is a canonical post that deals with the broader issue. Two questions, then:

Why is it so quirky?
Are there any rules to decide what effect negation will have?


texts: What kind of impact the word 'yet' has on the sentence?

texts:
What kind of impact the word 'yet' has on the sentence or is there no impact at all and can we even omit 'yet' without losing the meaning (context) of the sentence?

  Current version includes a range of new features and functions to give you the best experience yet.


texts: How to join sentences that have a preposition

texts:
This is the chair.
My parents gave it to me.

This is the chair which my parents gave to me.

This is the chair which my parents gave me.

Should it have "to" or not?


texts: When to use gigantic,large ,humongous and huge

texts: When should I use gigantic, large ,humongous and huge


texts:
The following took place in a board of trustees meeting :

  Speaker 1 : The college has always based its legislative initiatives on local control, and this kind of articulates that .If
  you see something here, feel free to provide some  insights.

  Speaker 2 : Thank you. Definitely a working document. Not complete. Second one is related to the partnerships with KBOR. We
  tried to state our position and then why.
  On that one, though, we need to probably explain what Senate Bill 345 is. Most readers won't know. That needs to be better explained. It's a 100-plus page legislation.

What does "on that one ,though" mean ?


texts: Do you use a comma after perhaps to begin a sentence?

texts:
Perhaps is not an interjection, but can it be considered an introductory element at the beginning of a sentence?

  A: Perhaps, they thought it wasn't going to rain.

  B: Perhaps they thought it wasn't going to rain.

I think the second one is correct, but I'm not sure.


texts:
This question is regarding "on time" and "in time" with a specific example.

Consider, if a train is scheduled to leave at 9:00,it leaves on time, and you arrive at the station at 9:00.Thus you miss the train because you don't have enough time to check-in processes.

I was just wondering would you say

  "I arrived at airport/station on time."

to imply you arrived at station exactly in the same when the train leaves or an airplane takes off.Without further explanation do native speakers even assume you were there in time or is it clear you were late.Can Being "on time" be used in negative context?

Is it more idiomatic to say

  I couldn't arrive at airport in time.

even though you missed it for almost a few seconds.

Another example can be

"I arrived at school on time for exam but I couldn't enter to exam because I had to be there 15 minutes earlier the exam starts."

So how would you say " I miss it because I am late for a few second/minutes".I mean what is opposite phrase of "in the nick of time" or can we use it for negative sentences?


texts: Word for disturbing the peace & normal conditions of an area or region for certain motives

texts: I need a proper word when someone or an army intentionally disturbs the peace and normal conditions of an area or region for certain motives.