texts:
Is it acceptable to use the title "master" to a doctor that I've learnt from him?

He is a doctor that teach me and answer on my questions on-line, and I would like to tell him "thank you master" (because he is a specialist in his field that he teaches). Is that respectable as I want to respect him by it?


texts:
What is the term for a song that has had its music removed? That is, a song that originally had vocals and instruments, but now just has vocals?

(I know that term for the inverse case, i.e. a song where vocals have been removed and just the instruments remain. That one is called "karaoke". I need a term that I can google for software to remove instruments from a song)


texts: Synonyms for the word "chronos" with spelling similarity

texts:
Chronos is defined as:

  Chronos (/ˈkroʊnɒs/; Greek: Χρόνος, "time", pronounced [kʰrónos], also transliterated as Khronos or Latinised as Chronus) is the personification of Time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos governed linear, chronological time, contrasted with the other Greek word for time, kairos, meaning the indeterminate moment that is right for something to occur.[1]

'Chronos' is the root of time and the stem of multiple words, such as:

  Synchronously
  Asynchronously
  Isochrounous
  Chronology
  Chronicle
  Chronic

I come with a problem of failing to visualize it and concretize it in mind.

In contrast, 'Time' has a simple and concrete image originited from 'tide'.They share spelling similarity.
tide | Origin and meaning of tide by Online Etymology Dictionary

I tried to associate to 'Change' which shares the  same prefix 'Ch' with 'Chronos', since the nature of time might be 'Changing'.

Nevertheless, it seem not convincing.

Is there a concrete cencept to portray 'time' with spelling similarity with 'Chronos'?


texts: Word for "increasing someone's doubts about something"

texts:
Yesterday I was trying to say that something increased my doubts about ABC, but couldn't really come up with any verb other than "increase", so I dropped what I was saying. I know that "dispel" means "to finish someone's doubts and looking up its antonyms turned up engender, but I think it is a bit formal and I have never heard it. Engender means cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition), can I use it to mean "increase someone's doubts"?

XYZ engendered my doubts about ABC

Is this something native speakers would use in daily conversations? If not, what would be another equivalent to mean "it increased my doubts about ABC"


texts:
are "indicate" and signify used interchangeably?

for example I know that it is correct to say "this decision signified a fundamental change in their priorities" but is it correct to use indicated instead of signified.

another example here "dotted lines indicate the text's margins" also here  is it correct to use signify instead of indicate.


texts: Is it correct to say "Sweetie, don't stretch the neckline all the way to show off your shoulders like those girls on TV like that"?

texts:
Some young women wear some special type of tops like the above picture. The top could be a sweater or Tshit or any top can be made into it.
What is the common term for it in everyday conversation, for example, "she is wearing an off-shoulder top"?
Second, these women may influence your daughters as well.
Say, you have a 4 year-old daughter. She is wearing a normal Tshirt but then she wanted to copy these above women. That is she stretched the neckline of her Tshirt all the way to show her shoulders visibly to people around her.
Is it correct to say "Sweetie, don't stretch the neckline all the way show off your shoulders like those girls on TV like that"?
is "show off" used correctly here?


texts:
This is from The Expanse tv series, s01e08:

  This place used to be the jewel of the Belt.   I wish I could've seen it in its heyday.   It's not a bad district, though.   I'm
  tellin' you, if you guys
  like okra-infused tank-grown ribs,   there's this place on
  Level Six that's pretty...
  Please, shut your word hole.

What is okra-infused tank-grown ribs in the context? Wasn't able to decode this phrase.


texts:
One caveat: Know when passengers must be back on board the plane.

I find this sentence really weird. It's an example sentence explaining the word "caveat". I couldn't get what "the plane" does there.

  Know when passengers must be back (why?) to board the plane.

  Know when passengers must be back (where?) onto the board of the plane.

Unlike these versions, the original one doesn't make sense to me. Is it a typo or is there any semantic or grammatical point I failed to notice?

EDIT:

I suppose on board is a prepositional phrase used as an adverb here. How can a phrase answering the "where" question can be followed by a noun without any prepositions between them (as in "the board of the plane")


texts:
I have a sentence that roughly says trends in technology have resulted in an agile infrastructure. Sentence is as below:

  Network infrastructure is the backbone of any enterprise and the evolving trends in automation and virtualization are proving to effect an agile approach to the overall Infrastructure sector.

I'm unsure as to whether the preposition in should accompany effect. As in,

  Network infrastructure is the backbone of any enterprise and the evolving trends in automation and virtualization are proving to effect in an agile approach to the overall Infrastructure sector.


texts: Is using "me too" inclusive of multiple items in a list?

texts:
Take the following discussion:

A: I want to go to Japan and Australia.
B: Me too.

Would B's statement "me too" be referring to both countries or only one?


texts: Omitting "the" while using "most" before adverbs

texts:
As far as I know, when using "most" as an adverb to describe a verb we can omit "the" .

  1-They all cried, but Claire cried the most.

  1'-They all cried, but Claire cried most.

But when using "most" before an adverb, should I use "the" before "most" ?

  2-The question that is asked the most often.

  2'-The question that is asked most often. (It is the most often asked
  question of a number of questions or It is just asked very often?)


texts:
Which of the following are correct?

(A) These guys, especially Tom, are bad.

(B) These guys, especially Tom, is bad.

(C) These guys (especially Tom) are bad.

I think (A) and (C) are correct, but I'm not quite sure how "especially" affects the "be".


texts:
My guess is that when you have connected to a group, you are "linked in" that group. But then shouldn't the preposition "on" more suitable? I can't find a resource actually says what the company name means, even on its FAQ.

FYI: LinkedIn - Wikipedia


texts: Can we use 'was' to describe the present feeling?

texts:
I was contacting someone who replied:
"I was so glad to receiving your email." though he read and replied to me just 10 minutes after my email was sent.

I liked the sentence so I am asking if it's grammatically correct?


texts:
"Do not think you know me if at school you took a picture with me."

  "Do not think you know me if at college you are sitting with me."

These two lines are meant to rhyme, but they don't sound natural to me. The second one just sounds completely off. Are there any alternatives for sitting with someone that would fit in it's place? Also, if you could suggest some changes in the first line, I would be thankful.


texts: Is it correct and natural to say "the movies is showing a great movie today"?

texts:
Could you tell me if it is correct and natural to say the movies is showing a great movie today? For example:

Let's go catch a movie today. The movies is showing a great movie about space today.

If it doesn't sound right, what would you say?


texts:
When you want to say that a food, for instance, is naturally hot, what do you call it?

Any help would be appreciated.


texts: How to tell the difference between these verbs?

texts:
In different sci-fi stories different words are used in different context to speak about changing location in the universe:

Leap - to make a large jump or sudden movement, usually from one place to another
Jump - to move or act suddenly or quickly
Spring - to move quickly and suddenly towards a particular place
Hop - to go somewhere quickly or to get into or out of a vehicle quickly
Bound - to move quickly with large jumping movements

Do they actually mean the same thing when they refer to traveling between systems by means of wormholes, hyperdrives, hypergates or some other way?


texts: Can the word "after" be used with the word "first"?

texts:
I went there after going first to Eshwant Rao's house, where I met Raoji and the persons who usually went I mean Raoji, Karbhai, and Salam.

This sentence is from Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, Volume 56. I wonder whether "after" can be used together with the word "first".


texts: Should I use the present progressive tense or the present tense?

texts:
A lot of Chinese people are speaking Chinglish when they try to speak
  English.

or

  A lot of Chinese people speak Chinglish when they try to speak
  English.

When I was in high school years ago, I would definitely consider the latter to be the right one. Since the action, speaking Chinglish, is something people do on a regular basis, not at a specific point in time. However, after I'm exposed to a lot of youtube videos made by native English speakers, I somehow have a tendency to favor the first one. The first one seems to instantly come out of my mind. But I can't convince myself to accept the former when it comes to conscious reasoning. So is it technically incorrect to say the former?


texts: What is Difference between this word: encountered and found

texts:
I trying Understand this word "encountered" and "found" ?

for example :

I found a girl

and

 I encountered a girl


texts:
In 2003, a EU peacekeeping force was stationed in FYR Macedonia to stabilize the country after a brief civil war in 2001.  Signalling a determination to play a more active regional security role, the EU now maintains a multinational standing ‘ready-response’ force of 1,500 soldiers to deal with strategic and humanitarian crises – in Europe, but also in northern and sub-Saharan Africa.

Does the sentence mean that: EU has ready-to-act forces of 1,500 soldiers? If yes, what is the role/meaning of standing here?


texts:
What is the difference between

answering the phone

and

taking the call

??

Are they interchangeable? or Do they have some difference in their meaning?


texts: 'As the dot on the i' used as an expression

texts:
Since I am not a native speaker, I would like to know whether you use such an expression 'as the dot on the i'? If not, which expression could be similar?

For example, after a series of unfortunate events, the last unfortunate event was 'as the dot on the i'.

I know that there is 'dot the i's and cross the t's', but that has a different meaning.


texts: Why is it not idiomatic to use the past continuous here?

texts:
I have found these sentences which were said to be wrong if used together. This is wrong:

They were a happy couple. Their relationship was lasting for life.

It should be

They were a happy couple. Their relationship lasted for life.

Can you explain why the first one is wrong?
EDITED: Is

They were a happy couple. Their relationship had been lasting for life.

correct or wrong?


texts: How freely can I use numbers as modifiers?

texts: Help me phrase it, please. I want to say, 'the company's 100% stock was sold to [...]'. Alas, I haven't found many matches in Goggle News for this combination. Is it wrong/clumsy? How can I say it the right way? (I want to stress that all its shares, not just a majority stake, were sold to a new proprietor so I want to include '100%' somehow) I don't like this, '100% of the company's shares/stock was sold to [...]' because of the preposition. I would prefer a more concise language, if possible (that's why I tried to pull it off using '100%' as a modifier). It also applies to 'all of the company's shares'


texts:
I have drafted an idea in different ways. For this type of case, is there any rule of thumb to be followed?

  For each intersecting pair of polygons, break lines are extracted.
  Break lines are extracted for each intersecting pair of planar polygons.
  Extraction of break lines for intersecting pair of planar polygons are done.
  Break line extraction on intersecting pair of planar polygons are done.

It will be better if someone can tell me the correct way and what the errors of the incorrect ways are, because that will help me learn.


texts: Is saying "I am done with my food" proper?

texts:
Today when I was eating, I finished my food and said:

I am done with my food.

But I am just wondering if the above sentence is proper grammar or not. Of course I can say:

I am finished with my food.

I think that would sound better of course, but today I said "done with", I am wondering if that is proper.
I also wonder if the below sentence would be proper or not:

I am almost done with my food.

I think adding "almost" makes it sound more proper and grammatical, but I wonder about if I just said "I am done with my food.".


texts: Learning English is difficult "for me" or "to me"?

texts:
Note: This post is not about the choice of "for vs. to" in general, it's about their use in terms of "ability vs. action".
I am not sure whether I understand the post "is difficult for me" vs. "is difficult to me" correctly. I suppose the conclusion of which is that the following one is more natural.

"English is difficult for me".

"English" there is a language which could be considered a kind of ability/capability.
How about "learning English"? Which might be more like a kind of action. Is it still more natural to use "for" than "to"?

"Learning English is difficult for me".

Another wording might be

It's difficult for me to learn English.

I tried Ngram Viewer but got "Ngrams not found".


texts: What does "make one's self to mockery" mean?

texts:
This phrase is from W.B.Yeats' "If I were four and twenty".
The full sentence is cited here:

When I was a boy William Morris came to Dublin to preach us into Socialism. After an appeal from the chairman, on the ground of national hospitality, an unwilling audience heard him out, and after gave itself to mockery, till somebody quenched the light.

I cannot really comprehend what's "after (an unwilling audience) gave itself to mockery" here supposed to mean. And, I couldn't find similar phrases used anywhere else to draw some analogies.


texts:
1) If the word police is plural, then we have such a sentence

  Police are here

Okay, no questions, but what to do with the tag question?

  Police are here, aren't it?

or

  Police are here, aren't they?

Because I think it wouldn't be

  Police are here, aren't police?

We should change it for some pronoun

2) We can have some dialogue:

  A: Do police work well?

  B: Yes, it works very well

OR

  A: Do police work well?

  B: Yes, it work very well

OR

  A: Do police work well?

  B: Yes, they work very well

Actually it's the same point number 1, but anyway


texts: Is 'his not having a name' grammatical correct?

texts:
As I read the following paragraph out of the book Breakfast at Tiffany's on page 39,

  She was still hugging the cat. "Poor slob," she said, tickling his
  head, "poor slob without a name."  "It's a little inconvenient, his
  not having a name. But I haven't any right to give him one: he'll
  have to wait until he belongs to somebody."

I can understand the meaning of the bold sentence, but I can not fully understand the usage of 'his'. From what I have searched, the meaning of his is this:

  pronoun
  1. the possessive form of he1. (used as an attributive or predicative adjective): His coat is the brown one. This brown coat is his. Do you
  mind his speaking first?
  2. that or those belonging to him: His was the cleverest remark of all. I borrowed a tie of his.

It seems that the second meaning is the possible explanation, and from the sample sentences, I think 'his' here can be replaced by 'He' and 'him', is that right?

What is the grammar rule for this usage of 'his'?


texts: What is correct form of "to be thought ..."?

texts:
Have a question "They are thought ... a house in London"

have
to have
had
they had

I think the answer is 2. Is correct? Why if not?


texts: What kind of conditional form is this sentence?

texts:
"I will have failed if I haven’t given you the confidence and desire to explore further ..."

This sentence is from a book "Make Your Own Neural Network". This is not the only one, here are some others:

  I will have failed if I haven’t given you a sense of the true excitement and surprises in mathematics and computer science.

and

  I will have failed if I haven’t shown you how school level mathematics and simple computer recipes can be incredibly powerful ...

It has the "future perfect" + the "present perfect" in the "if clause" and it looks like some kind of conditional but I have never met such a form in grammar books. So, if it is not the "future conditional" what it could be?


texts:
I hesitated asking my question in Tex Exchange, but I finally opt for English Language Learners:

In LaTeX, there are commands that allow you to create sections and subsections in your document file. However, there is also a command that allows you to create subsubsections.

I know section and subsection are English words, but what about "subsubsection"? Is it correct English? If not, how should I write it down?
Does it apply to other words that starts with "subsub"?
Is it correct English going deeper with "subsubsubsection" etc.?


texts:
"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."

  "This is us, Harry," said Mr Weasley, and they followed the witch out of the lift into a corridor lined with doors. "My office is on the other side of the floor."

  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phenix

According to the context, "this is us" seems to mean that they had arrived at their floor. But I feel "this is ours" should be used for this. What does "this is us" truly mean here?


texts:
You should always check your oil, water and tyres before taking your
  car on a long trip.

In the example above, "your" has been used twice. Is the first "your" necessary?

Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trip?q=Trip


texts: What is wrong with [If you want to get good score] VS [If you want to get "a" good score]

texts:
which one is correct?

  If you want to get good score  (on google about 76 results)

  If you want to get a good score (on google about 328 results)

I have checked both sentences on google and checked how many lists on both, the research results show that both are okay, are they right for the grammar.

PS: "If you want to get good scores" <--this sentence is from learning English website


texts: "Since leaving" vs "since he left" vs "since he has left"

texts:
What's the difference in meaning of the following sentences:

  Since leaving school, he has had three jobs
  Since he has left school, he has had three jobs.
  Since he left school, he has had three jobs.

Do they mean the same thing, but they are different in terms of sentence structure?


texts:
Hello all I have question for you , where I can use the word "often" in spanish mean "a menudo" in spanish a example is so :

"a menudo puedo hablar ingles contigo" in english is so : "I often can speak english with you " is correct my vocabulary I use the word "often" or where I can use that word in my normal life?


texts:
I was wondering if someone could help me and let me know which verb in my self-made sentence bellow would sound idiomatically natural in English:

They gravitated to each other at the first sight.
They were attracted to each other at the first sight.

Note: By 'they" I mean a lover and beloved. (A couple who are in a deep love at the moment.)


texts: Justice Tom Clark's concurrence, GIdeon v Wainwright - 1963 US

texts:
Source: Gideon v Wainwright (1963)

  I must conclude here, as in Kinsella, supra, that the Constitution makes no distinction between capital and noncapital cases. The Fourteenth Amendment requires due process of law for the deprival of "liberty" just as for deprival of "life," and there cannot constitutionally be a difference in the quality of the process based merely upon a supposed difference in the sanction involved.
  ♦ How can the Fourteenth Amendment tolerate a procedure which it condemns in capital cases on the ground that deprival of liberty may be less onerous than deprival of life - a value judgment not universally accepted 3 - or that only the latter deprival is irrevocable? ♦
  I can find no acceptable rationalization for such a result, and I therefore concur in the judgment of the Court.

Would someone please explain the meaning of Justice Tom Clark's entire rhetorical question (that I surrounded with diamonds)? For example, tolerate and condemns are antonyms.

Also, how does the italicised make sense? Does the latter deprival refer to the deprival of life? But  deprival of life (ie death) is always irrevocable, so what's the problem or question here?

Yet deprival of liberty can be revocable (eg prisoners are deprived of many of their liberties, but this deprival is revoked upon their release back into society)? So one can validly argue that it's less onerous?


texts: Conjunction and preposition. Are these two sentences constructed correctly?

texts:
Developing countries are under high pressure in boosting local
  economies to alleviate poverty, whereas having high risk in
  deteriorating the environment to achieve such economic goals.

  Developing countries are under high pressure in boosting local
  economies to alleviate poverty. Also, in the meantime, those countries have high risk in
  deteriorating the environment to achieve such economic goals.

My understanding: 'whereas' is a conjunction, so it should be followed by either a full sentence or a noun. 'Also' is a preposition, so it should be inside of a full sentence. Am I right?
Do these two sentences read nature? if no, any suggestions?


texts: Can we say "he came past me" or "he came by me"?

texts:
We often say "he drove/walked/went by me or past me" to mean "he drove/walked/went beyond me without stopping".
But there are a lot of exceptions in English.
Can we say "he came past me" or "he came by me" if we want to say "he moved towards the place I was standing but he didn't stop at my position"?


texts: A new cabinet has been sworn in (in) Dhaka

texts: 'Swear in' is a phrasal verb. Do I need to add another preposition after the phrasal verb - in this case 'in' - if I want to mention the name of the place?


texts:
What does slow-building mean in that sentence? Does it mean "movements that were built slowly"?

  Some of our stories are about slow-building movements that display great momentum and dexterity in the use of nonviolent power but forsake short-term gains for long-term dreams. Other stories are about rapidly organized campaigns […].

More example sentences are given here.


texts:
Why in this advise :

  The risk of harm to the baby is likely to be low if a woman has drunk only small amounts of alcohol before she knew she was pregnant or during pregnancy

They use "has drunk", but not "had drunk".


texts: "We have to wear a school uniform" or "We have to wear school uniforms"?

texts:
"We" is a plural noun but why do people say "We have to wear a school uniform"?

We wear only a school uniform??

What about "We have to wear school uniforms"?

Also, "We speak English with an American accent" vs "We speak English with American accents"?


texts:
Can I use the word fit like this:

'Pick an envelope that fits everything' as in Pick an envelope that is suitable in size and shape for all the papers you have to put in there
'The tires won't fit my rims'  as in The tires are too small/big/wide/narrow for my rims
'Do you think the trunk fits all our luggage?' as in Do you think the trunk is big enough for all our luggage?
'My car won't fit the space' as in My car is too big for that small parking space.

I caused quite some drama in a forum. For instance, someone said this:

  I couldn't either, because subject-verb-object standard English word
  order causes that to be understood as "could one trunk be squeezed
  into all the different pieces of luggage.?" :confused:

or

  To fit is either intransitive - My car fits into the space; or
  transitive - My car fits the space.

  My car fits into the space - This has a nuance of motion -> my car
  will go into the space. My car fits the space. - This has the nuance
  of "the space is a suitable size for my car."

  "The jeans won't fit you." could be interpreted as ... To fit does not
  mean "They won't look good on you." To fit does not mean "You won't
  fit into them"

  To fit does mean "They are too large/small."

  To fit -> to be a suitable size.

or

  Pick an envelope which fits everything." is non standard, reversal of
  usual direction.

or

  If one is buying a tire, and tries it out, one might find, "This tire
  does not fit my rims" just as "This hat does not fit my head." This is
  what I call reverse direction, which applies to some contexts.

  See definitions 10 and 14 at W-R online, first and second, below: to
  be of the right size or shape for:The dress fitted her perfectly. to
  put with precise placement or adjustment:He fitted the picture into
  the frame. Note the variant of 1. She fitted herself into the dress
  with great difficulty. Second sense, above.

These answers contradict themselves. But if 'fit' means 'suitable' my example sentences are acceptable to say.


texts: My swimming pool would hold 20,000 gallons of water

texts:
Forgive me for asking numerous questions about "would" on and on.╮(╯-╰)╭Somehow I hate this word and also love it.

13 — used to say that something is possible or likely
▪ I think my swimming pool would [=could] hold 20,000 gallons of water. Source

Is Merriam correct about this usage?
I would think that in this case "would" is more certain than "could", am I right?
And I invent two scenarios here:

A friend of mine ask me, "What size is your pool?" (asking about capacity of the pool). I point to my empty pool and say, "I think my swimming pool would hold 20,000 gallons of water."

A friend of mine ask me, "How much water is your pool containing now?" (asking about the fact of the amount of water). I point to my full pool and say, "I think my swimming pool would hold 20,000 gallons of water."

Will both of my answer match their respective context and aptly deliver the intended meaning?


texts:
The examination will commence _____  Monday.

a) on
b) from

which of the above will be used?
Also explain, how commence is used.

In my opinion, it should be "from".


texts: in ten minutes / in the next ten minutes

texts:
The bus leaves in ten minutes.
The bus leaves in the next ten minutes.

Do the sentences mean the same thing?

Do they mean that

The bus leaves immediately after 10 minutes.
The bus leaves within 10 minutes; maybe after 1 minute, maybe after 2 minutes, ...


texts:
Is it acceptable to say:

  "Floor 10"?

Or should we always say:

  "the 10th Floor"?


texts: How to explain the phrase "set up" here?

texts:
It's from Friends(Season 02, Episode 04): Transcript Here

The episode reveals that Phoebe had married a gay man long before, because he just needed a green card. But one day he came to see Phoebe and invited her to go  skating. So Phoebe dressed herself up, which was not necessary because her "husband" is gay. So when Monica saw her wearing such beautiful clothes, she said:

  I can't believe you're dressing up for him. I mean, you're just . . . you're setting yourself up all over again.

What's the meaning of set up here?


texts:
What is the meaning and use of above sentence if somebody replied through their mobile device and wrote below sentence in the lower part of email

  Sent from my mobile device. Typos have been authorized.

What is his/her intended meaning here?


texts:
I asked if he wanted to meet up after all of this virus is over.

He replied, "That's cool with me."

What does it mean when someone says "That's cool with me"? Is that like saying yes?


texts: confusion over which tense: Present Simple or?

texts:
A  few weeks ago, I sent a message to a foreign friend when I heard a earthquake happened in her country. But the message didn't send successfully.

Today she contacted me, I gave her a  message like this

  Actually I sent you a message to ask if you are alright when I heard the earthquake news ...

Is it right to use "are " in my above sentence?
I chose the present tense because I wanted her to know I sent her message immediately when I heard the earthquake news, if I use "were", does it sound like I gave her the message a few days after the earthquake?


texts:
I met this phrase in Harry Potter book 1, "...the train rounded the corner..."

Could you tell me if it is the common way of saying what it means or maybe better "went round the corner" or "turned round the corner"?

Is the usage of "round" as a verb common in this sense?

To me it sounds like "make the corner rounded, smooth"


texts: Meaning of "from whose known good sense he fully expected to have just such" from "Persuasion" by Jane Austen

texts:
I don't understand the structure of the bold part of the sentence below. It's from Persuasion by Jane Austen.

  Mr Shepherd, a civil, cautious lawyer, who, whatever might be his hold
  or his views on Sir Walter, would rather have the disagreeable
  prompted by anybody else, excused himself from offering the slightest
  hint, and only begged leave to recommend an implicit reference to the
  excellent judgement of Lady Russell, from whose known good sense he
  fully expected to have just such resolute measures advised as he meant
  to see finally adopted.

Might I have an explanation.


texts:
A: So, when is the next meeting?

  B: I was hoping next week, but we can make it two weeks if that's better for everybody.

This is from my meeting.

Could you let me know what "we can make it two weeks" means?

If today is January first, does it mean we can have the meetings on Jan 8th and 15th both?

I asked my friend and she said "It means if you can’t make it in one week, they can extend it to two".

So I thought it meant 8th and 15th both, since "extend it to two weeks" is what I understood,

but my another friend said it means only 15th, not 8th.

Could you explain why “make it two weeks” and “extend it to two weeks” mean only 15th?
In my understanding, I think they mean 8th and 15th both.

Thanks.


texts:
I was watching Family Guy and in one episode, Peter tries to show a group of students he is serious by breaking a table with a baseball bat. However, he knocks over the rack full of baseball bats and keeps tripping and falling on them. Eventually he gives up and says

  OK, we'll pick this up on Monday. Do any of you know my wife, Lois? Tell her I'm on the bats and to come get me. She'll know what it means.

Here is a clip from Youtube: Peter Struggles With Baseball Bats | Season 15 Ep. 18 | FAMILY GUY.

Although it's literally true, this seems like a strange thing to say so I was wondering if "I'm on the bats" has another meaning that I'm not aware of. I thought I knew a lot of expressions and I don't know what this is supposed to mean, so possibly I just misinterpreted the tone of voice. Is there a joke here that I missed?


texts:
I'd had a high school reuion party at Hongdae, but the party was over too early. So, some of us decided to drink more at a park located in Hongdae. At the park, there were a group of girls sitting on a bench, holding a bottle of beer.

The number of them was 4.

There were 4 girls.

And, they were mostly pretty, so we decided to go there. But,

The number of us was 3.

we were 3 guys.

How can I describe how many people are present here or there?


texts: Which one of the following sentences are correct?

texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  I always fear making someone feel sad when I talk.

or I should say:

  I always fear to make someone feel sad when I talk.

Doesn't the last one mean that I want to make someone feel sad, but I fear I can't do that correctly?


texts: What's the difference between "reveal" and "unveil"?Could you please tell me by some samples?Thank you for your kindness:)


texts:
I saw words like desirable, desired, preferable, preferred,.... As I checked some example sentences they are almost synonyms:

  it is desirable to check that nothing has been forgotten

  it is desired to check that nothing has been forgotten

  the user can select a desired element

  the user can select a desirable element

What is their difference?


texts: "Is someone sitting here" or "is anyone sitting here"?

texts:
What's the most common way to ask someone, if a particular seat is already taken (of course other than asking:"is this seat taken" or "is this seat free"?)

I mean what sounds more natural and what is more common "someone" or "anyone" (both of them are correct,  but which one is more common and more likely to be spoken out of the two?)

  Is someone sitting here?

  Is anyone sitting here?


texts: Why does it have to be "a man's fiancee", not just "the fiancee"?

texts:
A(fiancee): How nice of you. I don't know how to thank you.

  B(other guy): Haha, no problem. I just want to take you home!

  C(fiance): Hey! You sure are getting close to a man's fiancee!

Why do they put "a man's" before the fiancee? To my non-native eyes, it's very weird, and I've only found out this after 3 years since I started learning English. Shouldn't it be just "my fiancee" or "other man's fiancee" or "the fiancee"? What's the role of "a man's" here?


texts: The line of freezing precipitation curling up the eastern seaboard

texts:
I've looked up curl up but still I can't quite understand which sense is intended here, I can guess though that it means we have some precipitation in that area. What does curl up imply in this phrase and why has the writer chosen it_ is it supposed to create an image in the listener's mind? If yes, what?

  You can see the line of freezing precipitation curling up the eastern seaboard yesterday.


texts:
Is that true that it must always be 'the' if there are one or more modifying words? Can't I say, for example,

  'There's a car of highly decorated funny appearance'?

Does it have to be

  'There's the car of highly decorated funny appearance'?


texts:
'prevent from willing participating' or 'prevent from willingly participating'?
For example:

His active vocabulary is rather limited, but this doesn’t prevent him
from willingly participating in class activities.


texts: Differences between participle an adjectives from abstract nouns?

texts: I would like to know why adjectives such as "in love"("enamorado") or "in pain"("adolorido") write in that way and what is the name of this kind of words. Thank you all in advance!!


texts: "wouldn't rather do something" vs "would rather not do something"?

texts:
I am asking to see whether "wouldn't rather do something" and "would rather not do something" can be used interchangeably?

In textbook, they use "would rather not do something" see Cambridge grammar

But in real world, people may use "wouldn't rather do something" see Video at 4:08


texts:
Consider these two example sentences:

  I don't think Kelly will pass the exam.

and

  Kelly will not pass the exam.

Is it absolutely the same meaning or not if someone says these phrases?


texts:
In Fight Club (1999), Narrator wants Marla to choose different support group:

Marla: I want bowel cancer.
Narrator: No. No. I want bowel cancer.
Marla: That's your favorite too? Tried to slip it by me, eh?

What does "slip it by me" mean?
I know "give somebody the slip", but this one's different.


texts: A person who comes to stay in a hotel is said to be

texts: A person who comes from a far off place and stays in a hotel is said to be a guest in my view. But another of our senior teacher rejected this word. So, Is it a right term? Or any other proper word could be there.


texts: Present perfect, since something has "NOT" been Happening/Heppened

texts:
I was wondering if this form of present perfect is correct:
It's been 257 days since the last day a cat video on the internet has not made me cry!
My main concern is with the negative second part. So, the question is, which one is correct:
It's been 257 days since the last day a cat video on the internet hasn't made me cry!
It's been 257 days since the last day a cat video on the internet didn't make me cry!
Thank you in advance.


texts:
I would like to know which sentence is more grammatical and understandable.

  That's what remains of a man just after a long babysitting day.

  That's all what remains of a man just after a long babysitting day.


texts:
Reduce Canetti’s story to a morality fable of an ivory-tower intellectual becoming disconnected from reality, and forced by peasants to engage with life in all its messiness, and perhaps the Brothers Grimm could have adopted this for their collection. Ultimately though Kien’s misogyny is wearing, a block.

Source: https://timesflowstemmed.com/2011/09/03/auto-da-e/

Can you clarify me the passage in bold which I am not able to undestand. As if it was a non-complete concessive clause. Although Kien has a mysoginistic character…


texts: Meaning of "invested in vetting" in a context

texts:
Here is a paragraph from an article on www.marketplacepulse.com. I cannot understant what the the expression in bold means. Does it mean that Walmart helped their suppliers in any ways or does it mean that they carried out regular inspections on the quality of their products? Or something else?

Before online retail, supply chains relied on friction to achieve quality. Becoming a vendor to Walmart required years of work and experience. Those vendor relationships were precious and would last for decades. Because of how hard it was to build one, Walmart could trust on the network of vendors to keep up the quality. In turn, they were invested in vetting their suppliers. Friction in the system meant the supply chain could be trusted. And if anything went wrong, there was a clear path to follow to find the responsible party.


texts:
What is the difference between "co-worker" and "colleague"?

In my company there is an employee whose name is Bob. But Bob and I, we don't know each other. In this case, is Bob my "co-worker" or "colleague" or both?
In my team at work, there is Alice and we know each other and work together. Then is Alice my "co-worker" or "colleague" or both?


texts: Is it correct to natural to use the verb "correct" in the sense of changing people's behavior for the better?

texts:
Is it correct to natural to use the verb correct in the sense of changing people's behavior for the better? For example:

  In a lot of cases prisons don't correct people.

If it is not natural, what would you say instead?


texts: Why "Remarked the fish" works? Why not "The fish remarked"?

texts:
I read a story, called The Little Fish. But I don't understand why the following sentence use ‘Remarked’ began. Usually, sentences always begin with a noun.

  “I can imagine!” remarked the fish.

I'm confusing about the structure of this sentence. Why don't author uses "The fish remarked."? I think the order is matter.


texts: I am better than you or I am better than you are

texts: Which one of these two is correct? Is it necessary to write 'you are' instead of only 'you'?


texts: Should I say "also surprised" or "surprised too"?

texts:
Is this sentence correct?  Does it sound ok for a native English speaker?

  Are you also surprised?

I'm asking because I'm not a native English speaker. I'm not sure if it sounds natural.
I would use

  "Are you surprised too."

instead, but I'd like to know if it sounds ok with "also" too.


texts: The percentage of xxx vs. The proportion of xxx?

texts:
Which expression would be better in formal academic writing?

The percentage of incidence is approaching approximately 80%.
The proportion of incidence is approaching approximately 80%.

I believe both ways would be fine, but would like to know any subtle difference in nuance.


texts: "should not be held responsible" vs. "should not be responsible"

texts:
Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition and example about "be responsible for sb/sth"

  to have control and authority over someone or something and the duty to take care of them

  He is responsible for the council's waste management department

and this one about "hold sb/sth responsible"

  to blame someone or something for something bad that happened

  He was held responsible for the accident.

I guess I understand part of those. I see the difference.

First example indicates he is actually responsible for ...

second example means he is not necessarily actually responsible for ... Maybe, he should not be responsible for the accident.

Speaking of "should not", the following expressions seem to mean the same thing.

  He should not be held responsible for the accident.

  He should not be responsible for the accident.

I guess both of them indicate that people should not accuse him because of that accident. I really don't see the difference with addition of "should not".

Google Ngram shows that "should not be held responsible" is more commonly used than "should not be responsible". However, that graph does not seems helpful.

Am I missing something? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
G. H. Hardy, "A Mathematician's Apology":

  Even in mathematics, history sometimes plays strange tricks; Rolle figures in the text-books of elementary calculus as if he had been a mathematician like Newton;

Can I substitute the past perfect for plain past simple and say as if he were?


texts:
He has his eye on plots in Hackney and Shoreditch, and is taking in
  leases on the properties around Austin Friars, which he intends to
  enfold in his building plans; and then, build a big wall around the
  lot. He has surveys to hand of a manor in Bedfordshire, one in
  Lincolnshire, and two Essex properties he intends to put in trust for
  Gregory.

  — Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

What is the meaning of "hand" here?


texts:
What exactly does " I go to school at 7" mean? Which one of these does it mean?

leave home at 7
take transportation vehicle at 7
arrive at school at 7, or
my first class starts at 7


texts: Omitting a word when it referring to two actions

texts:
Here is my sentence.

  In our work, this is accomplished by identifying a feature line as a
  step-edge and the orthogonal residuals of the edge points to the
  fitted line.

My question is whether the term identifying is referring to both feature line and orthogonal residuals? Because I am not sure whether this tells my real idea and I want to say;

  .... by identifying a feature line as a step-edge and identifying
  (finding) the orthogonal residuals of the edge ....

In this case, can I omit the second identifying?.

Comments are most welcome


texts:
I have come up with the following simple sentence:

  If I had been younger I would have had less wrinkles.

It bears the past tense in it and I as understand it is perfectly correct. But if I make it a bit more complex I'm not sure what tense I should use for the 2nd, 3rd etc. verbs in such sentences. For example, lets change the said sentence to this:

  If I had been younger and exercised more I would have had less
  wrinkles and could run a marathon.

Is that sentence correct? The thing that bothering me, whether it is correct to use just "exercised" & "could" and not "had exercised" & "could have".


texts:
Which of the following sentences are correct?

  Mainlanders were actually more likely to be arrested than native Indians

  Mainlanders were actually more likely to be arrested than native Indians were

Please explain.


texts:
When we used the word "look", mostly it refers to someone's (his/her) overall appearance.
But how can I use this word properly in order to imply or to refer to someone's eyes..?
Should I use always "eyes" as a subject or should I use a preposition or adverb?

To make it clear I wrote some sentences:

  You look good = You look presentable = You are good-looking
  You look well = You look healthy
  You look happy = Your body looks happy (here eyes also can show the experience of happiness besides face and body)

But when I try to say:

a.

  You look so deep, meaningful, tired. (Could it connote only eyes?)

Should I say

  "Your eyes look so deeply, meaningfully, tiredly"

b.

  I can see tiredness in your look. (Could it connote only eyes?)

Should I say

  "I can see the tiredness in your eyes"

or should I say

  "The look in your eyes shows how tired you are"


texts: What is the meaning of planning a journey to smallest details?

texts:
Son telling about his father.

  Dad's expeditions always included a journey. And he always planned
  them, down to the smallest details.


texts:
I’m often confused when I speak about times and dates. What is the rule for using on, in, and at in the following sentences?

I will do it ___ Tuesday.
We married ___ March.
He returned ___ the same day.
Every day ___ the same time, I walk the dog.


texts: Which one is appropriate to use? 'works' or 'worked'

texts:
Which tense is appropriate to use 'works' or 'worked'? Please explain.

1.Leona works harder than any other lawyer in the firm.

2.Leona worked harder than any other lawyer in the firm


texts:
Ok. So the situation is say, most people I come across hate Justin Bieber but I don't.

Then what should I say to state this fact?

  I don't hate Bieber like everyone else.
  I don't hate Bieber unlike everyone else.

Or could they maybe both work:

  I do not hate Bieber  (the way) like everyone else (does).
  I do not hate Bieber (which is) unlike everyone else.

Meaning the same things in different wording.


texts:
I want to simply tell my friend about my pending works. Shall I use "have to" to express the same.

  I have to go to market.
  I have to mail reports.
  I have to clean my room.

Here no one is forcing me to do these works. Is the use of "have to" correct.


texts: What does "during the week" exactly mean?

texts: Many questions ask like "What time do you get up during the week/on the weekend," which makes "during the week" mean "from Monday to Friday." Does "during the week" exactly mean "from Monday to Friday"?


texts: The preference for "may be" ot "maybe" after the conjuction "― and"

texts:
My dad turned around and stared at us, his fear confirming that something wasn't right ― and maybe even very wrong.

One student struggles to understand the sentence especially in a bold part. - and (something) "may be even very wrong" or  "- and maybe even very wrong". I think he/she is unsatisfied with the verb coordination after the conjunction "- dash" with the previous that clause.
In my opinion, it's simply explaining the extent of the dad's judgement (wasn't right - even very wrong). So, maybe is better than may be in the sentence.
Is it an idiom (I saw "Not Even Wrong" as a phrase) or any typos or something else?


texts: Does the phrase "operate with a full deck" have the same meaning as "play with a full deck"?

texts:
D.Trump said that Nancy Pelosi was "not operating with a full deck". Does it mean the same as not play with a full deck?

I searched in some dictionaries but didn't find the first phrase there.


texts:
Please explain the meaning of this dialogue:

  You will procure a keg of nails from Chapin and commence to putting on clapboards.


texts: Is there another expression similar to "the big thing I have going for me"?

texts: I am not sure if I understand the expression, but I think "the big thing I have going for me" means "my biggest asset is", but I was wondering if there were any other similar expressions, because I can't find synonyms for expressions like that somehow, there's no dictionary for synonymous idioms.


texts: Is it correct to say "Yes, it happened for me and James"

texts:
In the context of a network issue some people were facing, a colleague asked:

  My wifi dropped out and I have to use the network cable. Did that happen to everyone in the office or only me?

A colleague of mine responded with:

  Yes, it happened for me and James

I didn't think this sounded right, and feel like it should be written as:

  Yes, it happened for James and I

My colleague feels that his sentence composition is correct.

Is it correct to say:

  Yes, it happened for me and James

Alternatively, should it be written as:

  Yes, it happened to me and James


texts: Is it mandatory to put a comma before "with" in this situation?

texts:
He ran out of his house(,) with his wife following behind.
Countries all over the world competed this year(,) with Brazil in second place.

Is there are comma needed here (grammatically)? If so, how is this "with" different from others?


texts: Is "This brought me an idea" correct English?

texts:
Coming from German I wonder what the correct idiom is here.

  This brought me an idea.

or

  This made me an idea.

or

  This got me an idea.

or

  This gave me an idea.

Well, I guess I could say

  This made me think of an idea.

but I wonder what else is possible here.

What would you propose?


texts:
I like to open my mind, but my mouth in a general discussion.
  I like to open my mind, but not my mouth in a general discussion.

and

  I have a cat at my home, but not a dog.
  I have a cat at my home, but a dog.


texts: The teacher told us that ice {floats/floated} on water

texts:
If:

  The teacher said to the students, "Ice floats on water."

Then did:

  The teacher told the students that ice floats on water.
  The teacher told the students that ice floated on water.

Are both correct? If not, please explain it to me.


texts: a proper adjective to describe a method that requiress a lot of efforts

texts:
I've come up with two words, but not sure if they are the most common collocations in this case.

laborious method

arduous method

Both of them sound rather formal to me. So, I would like to ask, how to make them sound more colloquial without changing the meaning here?


texts:
When I am using Java language. I need to look up some material in its official website: The sentence I copy from here. The author of this document give an definition of Java Class File:

  An abstract representation of file and directory pathnames.

I feel confused with the above sentence. Does the author means "file" and "directory pathnames" or "file pathnames" and "directory pathnames"? On other words, Is there an ellipsed "pathnames" after "file"?


texts:
How do you think that which is omitted in the main sentence?

Main sentence : "Excuse me, could you help me fill out this form?" "Sure."

I think these are omitted in the sentence.
But I am not sure which is right.

"Excuse me, could you help me fill out (of your information you have in your brain) this form?" "Sure."
"Excuse me, could you help me fill out (of your hands) this form?" "Sure."

Another main sentence : I have to dry out the laundry.

I think this is omitted.
I have to dry out (of moisture condition) the laundry.


texts: Is referring to a specific definite person of KNOWN gender as "they" acceptable?

texts:
Egalitarianism and anti-sexism seem to be strict norms in English-speaking societies.
I think a majority of people advocate the use of they when referring to a specific definite person whose gender is unknown to the speaker--as shown, for example, in the comments to the following youtube video:

Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them

For example, such people think the sentence Leslie did their best is acceptable,
where Leslie is the name of a person whose gender is unknown by the speaker.

When gender is irrelevant or unimportant, referring to a specific definite person as he(she) when the person's gender is known by the speaker may be considered as sexist by those advocates of egalitarianism and anti-sexism.

So my question to ELL is this:

  Is referring to a specific definite person whose gender is known by the speaker as they acceptable?

For example, is the sentence

  The police officer John Smith did their best.

acceptable when the officer's gender is known to the speaker?

Remark Since this question has several downvotes, I would like to make it clear that my question is ABSOLUTELY NEUTRAL. It's just a question. No more or no less.


texts:
I come across this quote of Emerson.

  "Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary."

I searched for a while, failed to find a sound explanation for the phrase "the while", What does it mean?


texts: "I would be very happy, if I can get a chance on work on these projects"

texts:
Just got a informal message in a group regarding CSR activities. Can you please suggest me which one will be the best sentence.

I would be very happy, if I can get a chance to work on these projects.
Happy to hear about this, looking forward to work on these projects.
I am happy to be part of the same.


texts:
Reports in the media that Norfolk constituency MP, Dehenna Davison has joined calls for Boris Johnson’s top aide, Dominic Cummings to quit have been branded “misleading” by her office.

What is the difference between introductory comma usage and commas surrounding non-essential names? In the sense, some introductions define the subject of the sentence rendering it non-essential whilst others don't.

In the example: Norfolk constituency MP, provides the introduction to Dehenna Davison so one comma after the introduction, but Boris Johnson's top aide could only mean one specific person.

Are these just matters of style and consistency in newspapers?


texts: Do the words "gay" and "queer" always have a deragatory connotation? When do they not?

texts:
Searching for a saying/proverb about people's unexpected behavior, I came across this one:

  "There's nowt so queer as folk".

Being aware of the derogatory connotation the adjective queer may have and most certainly would have nowadays in reference to people and their behavior, I remember that the first time I looked up the word in an English-Russian dictionary - it was long time ago - its meaning was illustrated by the example:

"Why are you looking at me in this queer way?"

This time, one of the top links that Google provides for the "as queer as folks" request, leads either to the UK or the US and Canada series about the life and drama of a group of gays (in the meaning of homosexuals).

I'm wondering whether at the present time there is a situation for this word and this proverb, or for the word gay to be said and taken without any homosexual context.

Should one always avoid using the adjectives gay and queer in their primal meanings as "bright and pleasant" and "beyond the usual"?


texts: how do understand word "for" in the phrase "black women for wellness"

texts: A NGO named black women for wellness, its website black women for wellness. what does this phrase mean? black women who pursue wellness, or healthy black women, or something else?


texts:
Why is it "wonderfully" instead of "wonderful"? As far as I know adverbs are not usually used with such words as "look", "feel", etc. It's "you look beautiful", not "you look beautifully". So is "wonderfully" used to emphasize "like"? I'm a bit confused.
"Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy".


texts: omitting 'being' in a participial construction?

texts:
A: Why didn't you include this song in your newly released album?
  B: _________ could be, it was a poor fit that had to be abandoned.

  (a) As pedestrian as
  (b) Being as pedestrian as
  (c) Having been as pedestrian as
  (d) It was as pedestrian as

In this question, the right answer is (b).
According to Answers & Explanation, choice (a) is wrong because omitting "being" in a participial construction occurs only before 'past participle.'

Is that right?
I'm still thinking that (a) is not wrong in the sense that the given sentence is not a participial construction but rather a verbless clause where adjectives—here, pedestrian—can be used as a sentence starter.

Thank you in advance.


texts:
All the Leo Messi fans here in this sub: if he joined either City or Chelsea, would you then hate him?

IS the use of colon in the sentence above is correct? Actually I don't know the proper use of colon. While making the sentence above, it generally felt appropriate to me to use colon. And would somebody explain me the proper use of colon in any kind of sentences?


texts:
Is first one incorrect? If so, then and why there should be to?
And what respond would be?

Where did you disappear?

Where did you disappear to?


texts: Are "they" and "them" the same word or two different words?

texts:
My question arose after I have completed this quiz: https://www.sporcle.com/games/g/common_english_words
(I do use Sporcle a lot).

The quiz is amazing and very nice to play. However, a question appeared in my mind: why are some letter strings sometimes treated as two different words but sometimes as the same word? The author indeed did a great job when he/she listed 100 most common English words. But I wonder what criteria he/she used.

For example, look at "they" and "them". Or "she" and "her" et cetera. As you see, the words "they" and "them" occupy two distinct slots.

On the other hand, if you try to enter "am", or "are", or "is" (or "has", "had" etc.) [after you have already entered "be" or "have" respectively], then nothing happens. I guess this is not because these verbs aren't among 100 most popular words (I think they are!) but just because "am", "are" and "is" are treated as forms of the verb "be" ("to be"). But if this is essentially the same word, why isn't it the case for "they" and "them"? The words "they" and "them" clearly have the same basic meaning, they both are pronouns. Also, they have one common initial sound and share three letters in common, out of four total. For comparison, the verb forms "be", "am" and "is" share no identical sounds or letters at all.


texts: Can we use "are" with "be" in english sentences and when it correct?

texts:
I am learning English and would like to understand if we can use are with be in the same sentences. As I understand be comes with passive. So, my question is, is it correct to say:

These jackets are most likely to be sold very quickly than other jackets design.

Thanks in advance for your help.


texts: What’s the meaning of “Well... dang” in this context?

texts:
So I read a post today about “say no more” memes from barbers. One of the meme is like this:

Then one of the comment said: “Well... dang.”

I frequently see this statement, but I can’t quite grasp what this actually express in literal. “Dang” feels like a word with thousands of meaning depends on the context. So here I present the context. If the commenter is asked to elaborate what he’s trying to express with his “well... dang.” what he’s actually say? Did he praise the meme’s cleverness? Did he sympathize with the person in the picture? Did he mock at the person in the picture? Did he mock at the barber’s job? Or something else? Thanks.


texts: Is there any difference between "out of the picture" and "out of the equation"?

texts:
For example, is there any difference between the following sentences:

With your ex out of the picture, we can finally start dating.
With your ex out of the equation, we can finally start dating.

In general, the only difference I could find is that "out of the picture" seems more common. Apart from this, is there a difference in their meaning too?


texts:
The sentence:

  Pupils who play sports forget to have a good time during the years they do play because they’re so focused on winning.

Questions:

How should I understand the meaning of "do" after "they" and
How can I substitute "do" with another word?
Is that "do" a modal verb there?


texts:
I have a question about the difference between verbs "put" and "place" in this context:

  The doctor put him on antibiotics.
  The doctor placed him on antibiotics.

Any difference between "put" and "place"?


texts: What does "it" refer to in "Percy wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy."?

texts:
"Don't let Percy hear you saying that," Hermione said, smiling slightly.

  "Yeah, well, Percy wouldn't want to work for anyone with a sense of humor, would he?" said Ron, now starting on a chocolate eclair. "Percy wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy."

  Harry potter and the goblet of fire

I guess Ron is being sarcastic here, but I don't understand the exact meaning of the sentence especially what "it" refers to here.

Is it "a joke"?


texts:
What does this sentence mean?
''I need us to maybe put times aside that I can count on.''
If ''times'' means ''the circumstances and ideas of the present age'' What can he count on?


texts:
The lecturer is saying

  I am going to say that I'm
  gonna do like a lot of simplifications
  for the sake of the fact that this is a
  30-minute talk.

  and if you can squint and read C you should be pretty fine with this talk.

lots of posts like this one are using the phrase "squint and read" as well.

what does that mean? does "squint and read" mean "trying the best to read", "to take a glance", or something else?


texts: Is "what benefit are something to something" grammatically correct?

texts:
In the series Young Sheldon season 1 episode 13 at 1:16 the following is said:

  But what benefit are rules to a dead man?

I also checked the subtitles and indeed this is what he says.

Is it grammatically correct? Shouldn't it be something like

  But what of benefit are rules to a dead man?


texts: "For the best part of a generation" - meaning

texts:
Could you help me in understanding the exact meaning of a phrase "for the best part of a generation".
For example:

  For the best part of a generation--the welfare state generation of 1945-79--this interpretation of Britain's past carried almost
  everything before it.

Source: (c) David Cannadine "The Rise and Fall of Class in Britain", http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cannadine-class.html

Does it mean "for almost everyone" from this generation?
I come across with this phrase in many other papers and sources. Can it be used in direct(?) meaning in describing most notable representatives of a generation of scientists (like "for the best part of a generation, most scientists tend to write about this problem...")?


texts:
What is the difference between using the simple past in two parts of the sentence and using the past simple in one part and the past perfect in the other part. For example:

  "As soon as the light started changing, the birds went silent"

What does that exactly mean? Why did not we say:

  "As soon as the light had started changing, the birds went silent"

In the following sentence, which one is correct: ate or had eaten>\?

  When I came home, my wife and my sister ate dinner.
  When I came home, my wife and my sister had eaten dinner.


texts: I thought '30-day' and '30 days' are right. But, when I typed 30 days plank challenge, all subject was written as 30 day. Can I use 30 day instead of 30 days? It's tricky! Please help me.


texts:
Scrum is a popular way of organizing software development process. There are also other ways, for example, the Waterfall method. Let's suppose I want to say that our company or the members of our project's team organize their work using Scrum method or Waterfall method:

We used to work by waterfall, but now we are working by scrum.

Or do natives say it another way?


texts:
None of the multimedia that enhances business, personal, and family use of a PC could exist without sound capabilities. Multimedia CD-ROMs and DVDs bring their subjects to life in ways not possible in books, because you hear the actual sounds of whales, wars, and warblers, of sopranos, space blaster shots, and saxophones. Not that sound capabilities must always enlighten you on a topic. You should have fun with your PC, too. It won't make the work day shorter to replace Windows's error chime with Homer Simpson saying, "D'oh!" You won't be more productive every time a Windows program opens or closes if it
  makes a sound like those doors in Star Trek. And you'll spend more time than you should creating an MP3 song collection from your stockpiles of music CDs. But so what? Taking advantage of the sounds in a multimedia PC personalizes a machine that has a rap for being impersonal. Sound simply adds to the fun of
  using your computer. And we all spend too much time in front of these things for it not to be fun.

I don't think I comprehend that last line well. What's that really say?


texts:
The verb execute has 2 different but somewhat opposite meanings: to run and to kill.

Plus, there are at least 3 words derived from this verb:

executive: a person who runs an organization;
executor: a person who executes a will;
executioner: a person who kills criminals;

I'm having a hard time remembering which is which. I'd like to understand where it means "to run" and where "to kill". To be specific, my questions are:

Is it always true that executor means "runner" and executioner means "killer"?
What can be run by an executor? Can we say command executor, law executor, plan executor, etc.? Can we say business executor instead of business executive?
Does executable mean "can be run", "can be killed", or either depending on context? I think we can say executable programs, but can we say executable criminals?
Same but for executive (when used as adjective). For example, in these sentences:

  His executive skills will be very useful.

  The executive process went smoothly.

Is it clear if executive here means "running a business" or "killing someone"?
When someone mentions "the power of execution", are we sure it's about leadership but not a firing squad?


texts:
This is not a bad analogy for global immigration policy. When migrants move from a poor country to a rich one, they typically make three to six times as much money as before.

  If everyone who wanted to migrate 【were allowed】 to do so, the world would by one estimate be twice as rich.

  Yet this vast gain cannot be realised, because most would-be migrants are forced to stay where they are. ⑤The door is locked, and voters in rich countries hold the key..

I'm wondering if it is better to replace the bolded part with.had been allowed, considering it is the 3rd conditional. It's a situation that didn't happen in the past.


texts:
Could you please look at this sentence and let me know if past perfect is needed.The sentence is from a song.

I woke up this morning with the blues
My baby left me a note

I would have written, my baby "had left" me a note because the first action was leaving a note . Could it be possible that  both events are not related . I mean it is not because "my baby left me a note that I woke up with the blues". But if it was related?

Thanks for your answer


texts: 'A better striker was playing for them than we have.'

texts:
[Source:] Comparative subordination

  Examples of the comparative that do not allow an analysis in terms of coordination (because the necessary parallel structures are not present) are instances of comparative subordination. In such cases, than has the status of a preposition or a subordinator (subordinate conjunction), e.g.

  b) A better striker was playing for them than we have.

I can't pinpoint why, but this sentence sounds wrong. I would've written:

  1. A striker better than ['whom' or 'the one'] we have was playing for them.

Q1. Why does b) lack  ['whom' or 'the one'], which I added to 1? Must such a pronoun follow than?

Q2. Does b = 1? If so, please explain and show all steps and thought processes to explain this equality? In other words, please help me to conciliate b) and 1.? Why do I contend against b, but can understand 1?


texts: what does "Fort Knocks Wages Express" mean in the context?

texts:
It's also from the children's book series called Murderous Math, a group of criminals were bailed out from the prison by a friend who wants them pay back. A solution to get money was offered.

"And where did these ten fat ones (10 million) come from?"
"A friend who wants it paid back."
"Where are we supposed to find that sort of dough?"
"The Fort Knocks Wages Express"
"You're joking, nobody knocks off the Knock Express"


texts: Passive "to+infinitive" in the context: usage and definition

texts:
Consider (source):

  At that moment Francisco Pizarro came onto the scene. A native of Spain, he was sojourning in Panama when he heard of the riches to be found in that far off land.

My Question: How should I construe "riches to be found"?

I analyzed this sentence as:

He heard of riches that people were to find.
He heard of riches to be found (by people).

Am I right? Does it a furtive "to+infinitive"? I am wondering what is the difference if we say

  He was sojourning in Panama when he heard of the riches being found in that far off land.


texts:
I struggle a lot with dialogues, and I was wondering if you could tell me which of these sentences is correct. If neither is, could you tell me how to build it correctly? :)
“I told her my secret.” said she.
“I told her my secret.” she said.
My main troubles are where to put a comma and if we say “verb, pronoun” or “pronoun, verb.”
I know that if it were a person’s name it would be different.
“I hate her.” said Laura.
Is it different with pronouns?
Thanks for helping a fellow English-learner!


texts: How can I make questions with "who" if there is a possessive pronoun in the answer?

texts:
What if the full sentence has a possessive pronoun in it and you have to ask the question with who? For example:

--> Alex is eating his lunch.

Would the question be "Who is eating his lunch?", would it be "Who is eating their lunch?", or would it be something else. Since we don't know the answer when we write the question, I don't think it is logical to assume the subject of the sentence is a male or a female, but their is plural and we don't know if the subject is plural either.


texts:
which sentence is correct regarding the use of article "the":

  There was a significant difference between the pretest and the post-test values of the students’ depression.

or

  There was a significant difference between the pretest and post-test values of the students’ depression


texts:
What is the meaning of below sentnece using would?

But the baby's disappearance would fox police for days.

for contex please read.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-teen-kills-2-year-old-to-avenge-insult/articleshow/47714093.cms


texts:
"How much one enjoys himself travelling depends largely on who he goes with, whether his friends or relatives."

Can someone paraphrase this sentence? I am confused about "whether his friends or relatives".


texts: What does "Imagined only as Orwell could," mean in the sentence?

texts:
The full sentence is as follows.

Imagined only as Orwell could, this powerful fable is instilled with humour and an underlying urgency that makes this one of the most prescient warnings ever written.

This is written in an introduction of Orwell's best known novel, 1984, on the website of one of its publishers, and it is difficult to understand what the sentence mean by this. Please teach me the correct interpretation of it and how it grammatically works.


texts: Does "blow something off" mean "blow the dust off something"

texts:
I heard in a movie description this line:

  She spots the compass in the dirt, then picks it up and blows it off.

This line describes the protagonist picks up her compass off the ground and blows the dust off of it. I fount that expression odd, because to me "blow something off" would mean "to blow that thing off": for example, The wind blow off the papers. If you "blow the table off," does it mean you "blow to dust off the table"?

Or did I hear it wrong? Is the verb used here not blow? I am putting the audio clip here (uploaded to an audio sharing site Clyp) for reference.


texts: "which I use very little" Or "which I use it very little"

texts:
Should we use the pronoun "it" with "which"? Which one of the following is correct?

  I should sell my car, which I use very little.

Or

  I should sell my car, which I use it very little.


texts: What does "what lies ahead" mean in this context?

texts:
Firstly sorry for my bad English.

I'm translating an article about wearable smart watches. But what does what lies ahead mean in the following context?

  There is no shortage of wearable gear out there, and really what I’m
  writing about here is the latest crop of smartwatches, most of which
  run on Android Wear. In the grand scheme, I know it is but a portion
  of what many of us may use, be it Jawbone’s UP, or Fitbit, or
  Samsung’s Tizen powered Galaxy Gear, and for me, it really comes down
  to a single issue. As I thought about that single issue though, I
  examined other factors that leave me feeling pensive about what lies
  ahead.


texts: Odd and even but not odd and odd or even and even pairs?

texts:
I want to know how I can differentiate in plain English these two kinds of pairs:

The first type:

(odd, even)
(even, odd)

which means that the order doesn't matter but two values in a pair should be of different types. And the second type:

(odd, odd)
(even, even)

Which means only when the two values in a pair are of the same type.

How can I name these two type of index in a coordinate system?


texts: "You go to a party with 500 guests." -> has the party 500 or 501 guests in total?

texts:
I read the following in a problem statement in {1}:

  You go to a party with 500 guests.

Has the party 500 or 501 guests in total? Or is it ambiguous?

{1} Bertsekas, Dimitri P., and John N. Tsitsiklis. Introduction to probability. Vol. 1. Belmont, MA: Athena Scientific, 2002.
Harvard


texts: What does "were identical to the last freckle" mean in this context?

texts:
Aunt Petunia shrieked and fell backward over the coffee table; Uncle Vernon caught her before she hit the floor, and gaped, speechless, at the Weasleys, all of whom had bright red hair, including Fred and George, who were identical to the last freckle.

As I understand, "A is identical to B" means A and B are the same. But in this context, the phrase seems to be used in a different way. It sounds like it conveys both Fred and George were exactly identical (from the first) to the last freckle. Is my understanding correct?


texts: What do the words holy cow and holy shit mean? I have read them in dramas and online articles. Are they offensive? Is it normal for a person to use it?


texts:
I'm confused in using 'until now.' Precisely, which tense should I use with until now?

I paid my electric bills until now.
I have paid my electric bills until now.
I had paid my electric bills until now.


texts:
Most of my friends who work in content writing, as a part-time job, earn a lot.
Most of my friends who work in content writing as a part-time job earn a lot.
Are the commas in the given sentence necessary?


texts: Making "passive" with verbs of perception

texts:
I do not have any problem making sentences with verbs of perception, as I call them,  when the sentences are in the active voice, for example:

I heard him say this.

I noticed her indulging in vulgar activities.

But, when it comes to passive voice with these verbs I feel a little confused as to the syntax.
Should I say:

1. I heard these words spoken by the native speakers of English.

Or,

2. I heard these words being spoken by the native speakers of English.

Or,

3. I heard these words to be spoken by the native speakers of English.

Which is the most natural to the ears of a native speaker?


texts: What is the meaning of "on the coal face"?

texts:
When I was reading an article, I came across this sentence:

  "Service that should be provided on the coal face are centralised and staff and students left to manage on their own."

I wonder what is meant by "on the coal face" in this sentence.

Here is the full context:

  Services that should be provided on the coal face are centralised and staff and students left to manage on their own. Four change management proposals to allegedly reduce costs, but no discussion with staff about strategies for saving money. Wasteful expenditure such as sponsoring a yacht, building a balcony for the Vice Chancellor to use for events, free t-shirt to new student and free accommodation fro international students are just some of reasons that UTAS is justiying job cuts.


texts:
I know I can say She said that if it rained, they wouldn't go outside.

But can I say:

  In the past, if it rained, they wouldn't go outside.

Does the second one work?
It will mix with the unreality structure?

Thanks so much!


texts: Usage of the modal verb "will" in context

texts: I came across rather strange for me the usage of "will". Here goes: " Loads of things has happened to me today. It will seem strange." Did the speaker use "will" as an intesifier to mean the things happened to him is annoying?


texts:
Does "huge" and "inert" are two adjectives for "bulk"?
IT is difficult within any reasonable compass to follow the rise of
various mediums in the United States, and a study of one or two
outstanding cases must typify the whole. The years 1874 and 1875 were
years of great psychic activity, bringing conviction to some and scandal
to others. On the whole the scandal seems to have predominated, but
whether rightly or not is a question which may well be debated. The
opponents of psychic truth having upon their side the clergy of the
various churches, organized science, and the huge inert bulk of material
mankind, had the lay Press at their command, with the result that
everything that was in its favour was suppressed or contorted, and
everything which could tell against it was given the widest publicity.
history of spiritualism


texts:
Here's an extract of a professional newsletter in the petroleum industry.
It concerns the cost of crude oil in relation to storage capacity.

  “The cost of storage in the U.S. is high today because tank space is
  scarce and thus you have a wide contango at prompt in order to
  cover the cost of storing crude oil from one month to the next."

For info,

contango

is

  the postponement of payment for and delivery of stock from one account
  day to the next

and

prompt

is used here, I think, in one of these business sense either of

  the time limit allowed for payment of the debt incurred by
  purchasing goods or services on credit (Collins)

or

  the contract specifying this time limit

or

  a memorandum sent to a purchaser to remind him of the time limit and
  the sum due

I understand each individual word and  I understand the global meaning of the sentence: It can be boiled down to  "the cost of storage in the U.S. is high today because tank space is scarce"

But I don't really understand "wide contango at prompt", in the sense that I'd be at a loss to explain it to someone else.

Can you help me parse this clause  ?

(i.e grammatical and semantic analysis or even say the same thing with a simpler sentence or more common words.)


texts:
I wonder if someone could tell me which choice works in the following sentence and why the others do not work: (From my point of view, all of these choices work in this context.)

They have great promotion till January 5th......50% off.
a) up to; b) until; c) by


texts:
STUART:
  I think you have some great ideas but where you lack is in details and structure—both areas which I excel at. Last night I came up with some terms and conditions, and should you feel like you can abide by those, I'd be happy to come back to work with you but not for you. I want to be VP of Project Development. I want more responsibility and I want to be in the room when decisions are made. Give it a look over and give me a call tomorrow, and let me know what we can do.

I can't understand the meaning of "should" in the above context. Does it mean "if"?


texts:
One evening, when Charlie went in to see his grand-parents, he said to them, "Is it really true that Wonka's chocolate factory is the biggest in the world?" "True?" cried all four of them at once. "Of course it's true! good heavens, didn't you know that? It's about fifty times as big as any other!"

In this sentence, what does "it's about fifty times as big as any other!" mean?
Can someone explain it more easily? Is there another meaning of fifty without 50?


texts:
In the sentence,

  I asked her if she was going shopping and could get me some toothpaste

Is shopping a noun,verb or a gerund?
Can we put two verbs together like this: “I am going swimming this, Friday.”


texts:
In my thesis I am quoting a passage from a paper in which the author* used the word "learnable" in the sense of something that is easy to be learned.

I have searched for the word in both the Merriam-Webster and the Cambridge English online dictionaries, but didn't find it there. Nevertheless, this word seems to be used quite a lot in many scientific papers, it returns 775,000 results on Google and a lot of occurrences in Wikipedia.

So I ask: is this a valid word in English or, perhaps, just a neologism?

* he is from the University of South Florida and has a common American name - just in case somebody finds this relevant


texts: Is 'yet's' "yet is" in "the fact that they haven't caught him yet's one hell of an achievement"

texts:
"Hard to help a boy who's vanished off the face of the earth," said Dirk.

  "Listen, the fact that they haven't caught him yet's one hell of an achievement," said Ted. "I'd take tips from him gladly. It's what we're trying to do, stay free, isn't it?"

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Is 'yet's' "yet is"? Is it a normal contraction?


texts: Is there an adjective that means something is going out of the body at one end and going back in at the other end? I know I used the same picture not long ago, but now I am looking for an adjective to describe the shape. The best phrase I came up with is "hollow convex shape", but that doesn't really says much, because the thing at the end has a "cord-like structure" and one end goes out of the body and the other goes back in right beside it. Is there an adjective for this?


texts:
Is it possible to write this answer instead the one given in that test

My mother fell ill last week. I am making all the meals instead of her. She still does not feel well so she is seeing a doctor tomorrow . I hope she will get better soon.

Can it be possible to change     does not feel by is not feeling well and she will get by will be getting

because both actions are not realised at moment of speaking they are still in progress


texts: This is not a question. It's a love message from across the ocean. I know this breaks the site rules and probably will be removed, but it's important for me that you know how much I like you. I can't resist this overwhelming desire to get it out. It's important that Andrew, J.R., Stoneyb, Colleen, Sovereignsun, Mick, Weather vane, Fumblefingers and all the other great members here know that a rural woman from Egypt has been proudly including your names in my conversations with my friends. For a long time, I have browsed this site using different accounts and sometimes as a guest. I have learnt a lot, and the best I have learnt is the virtue of helping others without expecting anything in return. English has helped me see the goodness in you, the other. I wish my people, all of them, were able to see you the way I do.


texts: Can't understand the meaning of "have taken" in context

texts:
What changes have taken place in your province?

Can anyone tell me what "have taken" means in this sentence?


texts: What word refers to the structure of a sentence?

texts:
I am wondering what's the word that refers to the form, structure of a sentence? By form, I mean the number of predicates, the length, the subject, verb, object order, etc.

For example:

  This sentence has a complex ___; it contains several commas, several
  vanity words like "therefrom" and "whereamong", and several verbs.


texts:
"There should be someone at the reception desk" (affirmative sentence)

I believe this sentence is correct and also next one.

  "Shouldn´t there be someone at the reception desk?

but what about the 3rd?

  "Should there be someone at the reception desk?

and with must?

  "There must be someone here"  (affirmative sentence)
  "Mustn´t there be someone here?"
  "Must there be someone here?"

Somehow I feel that N°s 3 & 6 are not correct or are they? Please help. Thank you.


texts: You have flakes or small pieces of different colors of dough. Do you pluralize these and say, "pick up all these or doughs?


texts: It's kind of/for you to help me with this

texts:
Usually, we use the structure "for...to..." to indicate an infinitive with its own subject.

  Anna will be happy for the children to help you. (The children will help you.)

  My idea was for her to learn Russian.

  It's important for the meeting to start tomorrow.

However, sometimes we use the preposition 'of' instead.

  It's very kind of you to help.

  It's silly of her not to accept him.

I wonder when we should use the preposition 'for' and when we should use 'of?'


texts: Can someone please tell me a word which means "sudden drop"? I want to use that word to say that there is a sudden drop in velocity.


texts: Metaphorical reference to someone bad to doing good and being praised more than a good person

texts:
I'd like to point out the following phenomenon that frequently occurs in the daily life. Take a mischief, culprit, someone unreliable and well-known to be a lousy piece of manure. Basically a bad person. When they stop with their misdeeds and do something good, the contrast between expectations and actuality cause such a dissonance that they often can market the improvement widely and with lots of appreciation.

While it's obvious that the good deed should be rewarded as the changed achieved is welcome and worth encouraging, there's a difference between that and the reaction an oppositely minded person. A person who is reliable, don't horse around, does well upon others etc. will, of course, be appreciated for those actions but the level of gratitude and praise tends to be far lesser, down to non-existing.

It's especially commonly noticeable in schools where the typical bad boy might get a lot of positive attention for doing a slight change for the better, whereas the typical good girl might take substantial reprimand for simply not upholding a high standard at a few occasions. (The reference to gender being irrelevant here, I only used those as a coined terms - the good girl might be a male.)

I'd like to allude the above situation, rather implying it by an expression than describing it bluntly by direct description.

I'm talking about a method like saying november-may situation or doing raindance. The first one being a reference to a romantic relationship of with a considerable age difference. The second one being a reference to the rain being annoyingly imminent right after one has washed the car.


texts: Can I say "It all happened so sudden"? I wanted to use it as a Whatsapp status but I am not entirely sure if I can use it like this.


texts: 'Looking forward' and 'Looking backward' mean?

texts:
It is difficult to know how to determine whether one culture is better than another. When it comes to public opinion polls about whether cultural changes are for the better or the worse, looking forward would lead to one answer and looking backward would lead to a very different answer. Our children would be horrified if they were told they had to go back to the culture of their grandparents. Our parents would be horrified if they were told they had to participate in the culture of their grandchildren.

What does it mean of the bolded part?
looking forward would lead to one answer and looking backward would lead to a very different answer.

My understanding is that  looking at the future generation's culture is horrible to grandparents and looking at the past generation's culture is horrible,too to our children.
But somehow i feel like i am out of focus..
Help:)


texts:
I have this quiz:

  __ he tried to cover up the truth, it came out at last.

  A. No matter what

  B. Whatever

  C. No matter how

  D. However hard

The given answer is D but I think all the four are right.

My reason is that the following sentences both make sense to me:

He tried everything to conceal the truth. => what
He tried very hard to conceal the truth. => how


texts: Do we say "Do you hear the toy saying or sounding 'I love you' "?

texts:
I am playing with my son and the toy suddenly made a sound of "I love you".

How do I express in that situation?

Do you hear the toy saying or sounding "I love you"?

But only human can say, objects like a toy can't, right?


texts: position of adverbs in no sooner ---than

texts:
No sooner did I lie down last night than I fell asleep.
  No sooner did I lie down than I fell asleep last night.

Which is better. ? Thanks in advance.


texts: Usage of "will" with "if" clause in conditional sentences

texts:
I have read that "will" should not be used with "if" clause in conditional sentences. However, I feel that below sentence is grammatically correct even though "will" is used with "if" clause. Could you please help clarify same along with good explanation.

  If you will not do it then I will do it myself

Please note that I want to know from international competitive exams perspective, so I need grammatically correct answer. Also, all good/additional information you may provide with the answer would be highly and sincerely appreciated.


texts: More, extra instead of "overcharged", "ripped me off"

texts:
The cabby charged me more.

The cabby charged me extra.

Do these sentences work instead of:

The cabby overcharged me/ripped me off.

Do they sound natural and are they likely to be used?
Can "higher" be used here too?

The cabby charged me higher.


texts: Present continuous to talk about the future

texts:
I've recently read a grammar rule; 'The present continuous can refer to the future', which suggests that English speakers often use the present continuous tense to talk about something that's about to happen.

So with that in my mind I could make these two sentences:

  The construction work will be completed in two months.
  The construction work is being completed in two months.

The latter sounds less natural to me. Nevertheless, I think it should be considered correct according to the rule above.

Is the sentence 2. actually in any way grammatically incorrect?

Thanks in advance.


texts: "The day someone does something" or "the day someone will do something"?

texts:
Tell me please if I need to use the helping verb will when referring to the future in the following context.

  The day I (will) get my diploma, I will celebrate it with all my friends.


texts:
Man is the only animal which esteems itself rich in proportion to the number and voracity of its parasites.

compared with the number and voracity of man's parasites, man considers himself rich?


texts: Can "a gerund noun phrase" be used as a secondary verb of the verb "save"?

texts:
Jesus saves sinners going to hell

I think here "save" seems used as a ditransitive verb taking two objects "sinners" and "going to hell", so this sentence can be transformed into "Jesus saves going to hell for sinners".
(But it seems like it couldn't a ditransitive verb but just a monotransitive verb if we think of the sentence in this way that there's an omitted preposition as in "Jesus saves sinners ["from"] going hell")

Likewise, can "a gerund noun phrase" be used as a secondary object of a ditransitive verb? If so, could you make some sentences as well?


texts:
A sentence I found has the phrase "current trends in using business applications".

What does in using mean here?


texts: 'Antidotes have been since then introduced.' Is this correct word order?

texts:
'Antidotes have been since then introduced.'

It's possible to rephrase it as: 'Since then, antidotes have been introduced.', but I'm not sure if the first version is correct.


texts: What does "they’ve got a hotel to run" mean?

texts:
They’ve got a hotel to run.

I've across with the phrase above in a novel. But apparently it's a famous sentence in The Furchester Hotel:

  They're furry and crazy - and they've got a hotel to run!

But what does it mean?

Note: James and Bradley are the hotel's owners.

The fuller text is:

  “If we could all just stop pointing the finger at me for a minute,
  there’s something I’d like to bring up,” Matthew says. He knows he
  sounds a bit aggressive; he doesn’t care. They’ve practically accused
  him of murder, for God’s sake. “What’s that?” David says. “I think
  James and Bradley are hiding something.” James looks completely taken
  aback. Bradley flushes to the roots of his hair. “What do you mean?”
  James stammers. Matthew leans toward James and Bradley, who are seated
  together. “This is your hotel. Maybe you know something the rest of us
  don’t.” “Like what?” James says, on the defensive. “I don’t know. But
  I’ve seen you two whispering together. What have you been whispering
  about?” “We haven’t been whispering,” James says, coloring. “Yes, you
  have, I’ve seen you.” “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Ian interjects,
  “they’ve got a hotel to run.”


texts: What is the proper way to construct a sentence with two nouns?

texts:
Is knight templar the correct form to describe a man with the grade of knight who is part of the Templar order, or templar knight is more correct?

Sentence example:

  He was a knight templar.

or

  He was a templar knight.

I do not know if the order is important, but in this example: the man was first a Templar and later received the rank of knight.


texts: I don't want someone who is lonely. So what do I want?

texts:
Here are some antonyms for lonely:

populated
sociable
befriended
close
frequented
inhabited
loved
unlonely

Basically, by lonely I mean someone who feels lonely even in a crowd. Such people are usually depressed. They feel happy if anyone gives them some positive attention.

These people want a man in their life and they actively seek mates. Whereas a person who is comfortable in her own skin won't have to go on looking elsewhere for attention and love since they are enough for themselves.

What should I say when I have to say I want someone who is ....?


texts:
Someone's got some hair blocking his eyes, how to say to remove it from his face?

Brush away the hair.
Put away the hair.
Remove the hair.
Hand-brush away the hair.
?


texts:
How should I use nouns like proof or evidence in a sentence that requires the noun to be negated when the noun is countable/uncountable? How do I know whether or not to put an article and when to use no or not?

  'y is not proof that x exists'

  'y is not a proof that x exists'

  'y is no proof that x exists'

I found this on another website:

  When a noun has an ungradable meaning (it is either something or it is
  not) we cannot use no + noun:

  A potato is not a fruit.

  Not: A potato is no fruit.

  When a noun has a gradable meaning, no + noun means the same as not
  a/an + noun:

  [a football manager talking about signing a new player]

  It’s no secret that we are interested. (= It’s not a secret. A secret
  is gradable. Something can be more of a secret than something else.)

Now, according to this, it should be ok to say no proof because you can also say not a proof. Am I misinterpreting something here?


texts: How to respond to a security guard's "Thank You, Sir" after a routine pat-down?

texts:
I had been to a shopping mall this morning, and went through the usual security procedures. One of the security guards did the so-called body check, that is, gently touching you to check if you have something suspicious in your pockets or clothing. (He does this for all the visitors.) He then visually indicated that I could enter the mall, and said, "Thank you, sir".

I smiled and nodded politely without thinking much of it, but I wonder now, what could have been an appropriate verbal response?

The responses given here (Possible responses to "thank you") seem inappropriate in this situation. You can't respond to a body check with "You're welcome", "My pleasure", "Anytime", or "No problem" (or can you?).


texts: A good football match ON(preposition at the end meaning)

texts:
What is the meaning of the ''on'' at the end of this sentence:

  Question: How often do you watch TV?

  Answer(native): ''I'd say maybe only a few times a month when there is a good football match on''

Is this the same as:

  "I'd say maybe only a few times a month when there is a good football match on TV".(my understanding)

  Does this mean that the above answer just omit the ''TV'' word because he's a native speaker, thinking it can still be understood because he said ''on'' at the end of his answer?

Are they the same?


texts:
Do they mean different things, or pretty much the same?

For example:

  I typed on Google "How many breaths does a person take in a day?" and  scrolled down until I spotted an/the average: 17,000-30,000.

Is the meaning different if you pick an or the?


texts: What is a third of a circle or a third of a plane called?

texts:
There is a word for a quarter of a circle or a plane: "quadrant".

What is the corresponding word for a third of a circle? "tridrant" or "terdrant" or something different?


texts:
What is the difference between dinner and supper?
I understand both as the same meal.

In The Hound of the Baskervilles, there is this sentence:

  And now, if we are too late for dinner, I think that we are both ready for our suppers.Source: The Hound of the Baskervilles

From this sentence, it seems like you're supposed to have dinner, and then have supper?
I am really confused.


texts: I Pass my life + (helping others or by helping others)

texts:
I hear both the expressions:

I am passing my life helping others.
I am passing my life by helping others.

Do the both carry equivalent meaning ?
Please explain.


texts: Is this implication of the word "mythological" fine?

texts:
I read this in "Kafka on the shore":

  Greek gods are more mythological than religious figures. By that I mean they have the same character flaws humans do. They fly off the handle, get horny, jealous, forgetful. You name it."

In the part that I have highlighted, the character says that by mythological, he means "having character flaws" but that doesn't correspond to the definition of the word(of or relating to mythology or myths) I find in Merriam webster dictionary. So what am I missing? And one other thing are not "Greek gods" "religious figures"? as the narrator seem to imply the opposite.