texts:
Consider a sentence like:

  Because of ..., personalization methods are brought into attention.

I want to state that because of some events or reasons, people (or for example researchers) became interested in the topic and started developing or using it. However, I'm not sure what word to use for it. My inner feeling is that "is brought into attention" is a good choice but didn't find it in the dictionaries. Also, about "bring sth to one's attention", this states that it means "To inform one of something", which doesn't look like what I mean. "Attracting attention" may also not be fit for the purpose because the methods are not doing something (attracting attention), instead some other things cause people to pay attention to them. What's the best choice for that?


texts: Can I use thanks to them in an enumeration?

texts:
Is it okay to start a sentence with an enumeration with "thanks to"?

Here are some examples :

  Thanks to John, Mary and Suzy, we were able to have a lot of fun.

  The ministers of justice did a great job. Thanks to them, the police department and the fire department, everyone can sleep again.

If not, how could I write the second sentence in the second example?

Thanks a lot!
.G


texts: Hi guys, I just want to know if this is correct or not

texts:
It feels amazing to read this book after waiting for so long.

It feels amazing to read this book after have waited for so long.

So, which one is correct? Are both correct? And if, are they interchangeable or is there a difference when it comes to the meaning?

Thanks.


texts: If I travel between two places, can I say that I "experienced" the distance?

texts: Suppose I go to place B from place A, and then come back to place A. The distance from place A to place B is 2 kilometers. Is it correct to say that "The distance I experienced is 4 kilometers"? Or "The distance I traveled is 4 kilometers" is a better expression?


texts: How do I know if a sentence is formed using the passive voice?

texts:
Consider the sentence "The dog was poisoned."

The subject "dog", with the linking verb "was", and the verb "poisoned". Why is this sentence considered passive voice?


texts: What does "crevasse" mean or refer to in this sentence?

texts:
I looked into the dictionary that a "crevasse" usually means 'a very deep crack in the thick ice of a glacier', but which could certainly not fit the context. At first it really confuses me, then I guess there are two possible explanations:

1) it refers to 'the small crack/slit of Will‘s half closing eyelids', as his eyelids grew heavier.

2) it refers to 'the break/gap in his words', as he only half finished his sentence before he went deep into sleep.

3) other explanations that I don't know.

Could any one help with this? And I also wonder if it's quite an often/common usage in English, after all, in my opinion, 'crevasse' should refer to large and deep gaps. Why does the author choose this word?

The context is:

Will and 'I' were on holiday, in a hotel with view to ocean, just before Will fell asleep, we were lying in bed, watching the storm and lightening and heavy rain out at sea. Will is a quadriplegic and I am his carer. I found out that he decided to go on euthanasia and I did everything I could  in order to change his mind, including this holiday, hoping to make him happy.

Here is the sentence:

  Finally, I turned on to my side, away from the sea, and gazed at Will.
  He turned his head to look back at me in the dim light, and I felt he
  was telling me the same thing. It’s going to be okay. For the first
  time in my life I tried not to think about the future. I tried to just
  be, to simply let the evening’s sensations travel through me. I can’t
  say how long we stayed like that, just gazing at each other, but
  gradually Will’s eyelids grew heavier, until he murmured
  apologetically that he thought he might . . . His breathing deepened,
  he tipped over that small crevasse into sleep, and then it was just me watching his face, looking at the way his eyelashes separated
  into little points near the corner of his eyes, at the new freckles on
  his nose.

  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes


texts: Why does the "feel" in this sentence stand in the past tense?

texts:
I saw the following sentence:

this was what love felt like?

I can't understand why felt is in the past tense in this particular sentence. Is it because of Sequence of Tenses, or is it because of the meaning if the hero leads the story in the past tense?
Thanks for help.


texts:
While doing some exercises in grammar I came across this question
- Her boss was impressed with...........good job she has done.
I'm confused between "such a" and "the" as answers
My hunch says "the" but I'm not sure.
Please, can someone clear up this confusion?


texts:
I need to know how to explain what a business man do as their job:
Imagine I am a business man for many years and it has been my occupation. What shall I say in natural English? (I need the common verb which is used in this sense.)

Please have a look on my self-made sentences below:

  I have  been involved in commerce and trade for many years.
  I have  been doing business for many years.
  I have  been trading for many years.

For me, they all sound natural and the most common seems to be the last one.

Which one sounds more natural? Is there any better and more common way to say it?


texts: Is it necessary to add 'to' before 'develop projects'?

texts:
Furthermore, this master is crucial for enhancing his capacity to research and develop projects related to subterranean water, which are required to supply the urgent demand of water for zones with scarcity.

Is it necessary to add to before develop projects?


texts: In the below given sentence I want to know what role is played by the word running ?How does it fit in a sentence pattern?

texts:
Thomas came running.

In the above sentence THOMAS is the subject and CAME is the verb. What grammatical label can be given to the word RUNNING.


texts: What is the meaning of the sentence shown below?

texts:
He was quiet in his ways, and his habits were regular.

What is the meaning of 'he was quiet in his ways'.
Could u please explain it for me?


texts:
Denise turned towards the door as Judy McAden peeked inside. "I hope
  I'm not coming at a bad time. I called the hospital, and they said you
  both were up."

  Denise sat up, trying to straighten her wrinkled hospital grown. "No,
  of course not. We're(Denise and her 4 year old kid) just watching T.V.
  C'mon in."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Please. I can only take so many hours of cartoons without a break."

I can't understand the last sentence - I can only take so many hours of cartoons without a break.

What is the meaning of this sentence?


texts: In below sentence what is wrong word in grammar?

texts: In below sentence, what is worng word(A~D) in grammar? I don't know what part is wrong(and why).


texts:
I've heard that the phrase If there was/were can be used in the sentences. But I don't know exactly how to use it in sentences. Although I don't know its exact usage, I've tried to use it in the sentences below:

If there was a quite a silence at the market, it wouldn't be market.
If there were brotherhood between we brothers, we wouldn't have needed to live separately.
If there were more employees at this company, the company would get more benefits.
If there was a mistake in my writing, please correct it for me.

Could you please tell me its correct way to use this phrase? Or there's different usage of this phrase?


texts: Can we determine what the part of speech is without context?

texts:
Sometimes I feel it is difficult to know what is the part of speech of specific word when it is come without context (without more additional information)?

Example one:

  The thunder is terrifying.

Is terrifying Adjectival or Verbal?

but when additional information is available, the part of speech will be clear:

Verbal: The thunder is terrifying my son, could you close the door, please?
Adjectival: The thunder is terrifying and noisy.

Example two:

  The door was closed.

Verbal (passive voice): The door was closed by him.
Adjectival: The door was closed when we got there.

So, When the context isn't available, How can we know what the part of speech is ? let's say some one ask you: What is the part of speech of terrifying in "The thunder is terrifying"? what will your answer?


texts: "weather permitting" or "permitting weather"?

texts:
Here is full sentence:

  On December 23, 1944, one week into the Battle of the Bulge, the
  cloudy permitting weather began to give way to clear sunny skies over
  the Ardennes Forest. The USAAF and RAF had been grounded for the time
  being, unable to assist the troops on the ground, allowing for the
  rampant German successes. But now the planes began to thunder into the
  sky and do what they did best. As soon as the clouds parted American
  and British planes went to work. Raids on German supply routes were
  carried out and P-47 Thunderbolts, like the one in this lovely
  painting, hammered ground troops and tanks. Hitler's true ally in the
  offensive, the weather, had turned against him.

Or you can see here. I'm learning english through short sentence.

Which of the following is correct:

  the cloudy permitting weather began to give way to clear sunny skies over the Ardennes Forest.

or

  the cloudy weather permitting began to give way to clear sunny skies over the Ardennes Forest.

I can find "weather permitting" on the internet, can't find "permitting weather". So which is correct?


texts: Does "forgot to do the laundry" really mean one walking without underwear?

texts:
In this answer on Movies.SE, the author says:

  Sophia makes a pun about him not having any clean underwear to wear => "forgot to do the laundry"

In response to my question if it's common, they said:

  but I am pretty sure I heard it a couple times in roughly the same context in other movies/shows

Which leads me here to ask: is "forgot to do the laundry" really an English idiom meaning one walks without underwear?

The phrase/idiom I know is "Going commando", but guess it only applies for males, while the laundry idiom refers to both genders equally?


texts: “Thus ignoring” meaning of thus in text?

texts:
Shaping Identity in Eastern Europe and Russia: Soviet and Polish Accounts of ...

  Authors of survey histories were criticized for focusing on interclass as opposed to intraclass conflict thus ignoring the revolutionary role of the peasantry in the seventeenth century and erroneously labeling the Khmelnytsky uprising as a “ national bourgeois” revolution against Polish trade capitalism.* Particularly harsh was Skubytsky...

I am trying to detect the meaning of “thus” in this text, but with no hope.

I am trying to replace it with therefore or consequently. But it doesn’t make any sense.


texts:
Simple past or present perfect? Would one of them be more natural to use here or are they practically interchangeable?
Example: A young man has hit a woman with his car. He immediately calls his mom.
Son: Mom, I/I've just hit a woman with my car. I think she's dead.
Dad: What's wrong?
Mom: It's Ben. He/He's just killed a woman.
Dad: He did what?/He has done what?


texts: "Set aside the round" and "forfeit it" meaning?

texts:
It's from the movie The Big Lebowski.

2 men named Walter and Smoki are playing in a bowling league team. Both belong to a different team. Because of an argument , Walter pulled out a gun and aimed it in Smoki's face. Later , Smoki call The Dude( Walter's teamate) that he will submit this to the leage.

  SMOKEY ON MACHlNE:
   Dude, this is Smokey.Look, l don't wanna be a hard-on about this,and I know it wasn't  your fault, but l just thought it was fair to tell you that Gilbert and l will be
  submitting this to the league and asking them to set aside the round.I don't know,
  maybe forfeit it to us.So, like l say, just thought, you know, fair warning.Tell Walter.

What does he mean when he says "Set aside the round" and "forfeit it to us". What does he want?


texts: A phrase meaning "as frequently/often happens"?

texts:
I am looking for a phrase meaning "as frequently/often happens"?

---- , she believed it when she heard such sort of rumor.


texts: Ambiguity of 'Blank Paper', 'Blank Lined Paper', and 'Lined Paper which is not blank'

texts:
This happened with me. I asked my daughter to get me a blank paper and she gave me this.

When I asked this is not the blank paper, she said it is, there's nothing written on this.
Whereas I was asking for this -

If I say give me a lined paper, this is also a lined paper but it's not blank.

If I say give me a lined blank paper, how is it blank? It has lines on it! :)


texts: correct use of "The" in example sentences

texts:
I don't know English grammar, somehow I normally just "sense it". However, the following sentence have me beat:

  Amplitude of component P97, elicited by stimulus onset, did not depend on time.

Should there be a "The" before amplitude or not? Both seems fine for me.


texts:
He [Alfred Rosenberg] was a witness to the October Revolution which brought the Bolsheviki to power in Russia. He returned to Reval and by November 1918 he had moved to Munich.

Can you explain to me the usage of the Past Perfect in my excerpt. Rosenberg firstly returned to Reval and then he moved to Munich. I really do not understand the used tense.


texts:
Does it make sense literally to say the following?

  You can do worse than ask John for advice.

What does "can" mean here?

I know it's used to make a suggestion, but I want to know if the meaning can be deduced from the meaning of its parts.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: "operates similar to" vs. "operates similarly to"

texts:
I wonder which form(s) are correct amongst the following:

It operates similar to the above-mentioned mechanism.
It operates similarly to the above-mentioned mechanism.

Looking at Google, "operates similar to" and  "operates similarly to" have a similar number of results:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22It+operates+similar+to%22
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22It+operates+similarly+to%22


texts:
Is this a simple sentence- Every agreement of the unit is noted.

Every agreement- subject
of the unit - object
is noted.- verb


texts: What is the active form of "to be invited to"

texts:
I have the following sentence:

  I will be more than happy to have an opportunity to be invited to your institution...

Microsoft Word complains on it: passive voice (consider revising).

So my question is: What is the active version of this sentence which will keep the formalism and positive attitude?


texts:
Is the below sentence grammatically correct?

  The properties of this material have been brought into wide applications

What does "have been brought into" mean?


texts: We're having a party on his birthday VS for his birthday

texts:
I know 'for' can be used as "on the occasion of" or "at the time of", so what's the difference between the two sentences in each group?

1A. I'd like make an appointment with the doctor for 11 o'clock tomorrow.
1B. I'd like make an appointment with the doctor at 11 o'clock tomorrow.

2A. We're having a party for Jim's 60th birthday.
2B. We're having a party on Jim's 60th birthday.

3A. I've booked a table at the restaurant at nine o'clock.
3B. I've booked a table at the restaurant for nine o'clock.


texts: How to use "Could" for the following sentences

texts:
He could come by car(=May be he will come by car)
He could come by car(to talk about the past)

Then how can I know whether someone is talking about past or future event? If it is wrong then please explain it.


texts: Difference between 'record for' and 'record in'

texts:
In an english exercise, there was the correct answer:

  I am going to establish a new record for swimming.

However, my gut wants to write 'record in swimming' (as it is written in Wikipedia: 'list of world records in swimming').  Google gives both versions: world record in smth and world record for smth.

Which is the correct version or what is the difference?


texts: Which usage is correct? “cover by somebody” or “covered by somebody”

texts: Most people on the Internet use “cover by somebody".  Is it correct?


texts:
Source:

  Renton suggests to Spud that they steal the money and run as Begbie & Sick Boy get drinks in.

Why "as" is used instead of "meanwhile"?


texts:
I am looking for a word that can be used in the following contexts.

Example 1:

  Person A: I  moved to a new house since I began to work at a new
  company. However, my old house had also a beautiful environment. It
  was  old stone house with a garden that has various flowers and placed
  near a wood and a pond"

  Person B: "Your depiction ( make) me ......  my dream house in my
  mind"

Example 2:

  Although science books can explain complex topics such as the solar
  system elaborately with the help of pictures and diagrams, it may be
  overwhelming for young pupils to ... how it works really. In this case, an animation
  with narration would help comprehend the process better.

So I am not looking for a word that means " to remind". Rather, someone should draw a picture or imagine  in his mind based on what he heard with the help of his imagination. Which words can be used for this meaning besides "conjure up" and "appear", if they are correct to use.


texts:
What is the antonym of wall of text? That is, a text where every paragraph is a single sentence.
If the antonym doesn't exist, how can the opposite of wall of text be described grammar-technically? There must be a term or a description for this common type of error in writing.
Exhibit A [1]

object is valid for all .NET versions.

It is the base type that all other types inherit from, so any type can be cast to object.

You can't dynamically add and change anything on a variable declared as object.

The declaration is a statically typed and checked by the compiler.

dynamic is new for .NET 4.0.

It allows you do dynamically add and change properties and methods without the compiler checking them (so if what you wrote is wrong you will only find out at runtime).

1. Reference: Raw text. Rendered.


texts: Confusing transformation into compound sentences

texts:
What would be the transformation of the following sentences into compound sentences?

"If you want success , you will have to do be diligent."

"If I didn't help him, he wouldn't pass the exam."

MY ASSUMPTION:

"You want success and so you will have to be diligent."

"I didn't help him and so he wouldn't pass the exam."

I'm not so sure of the second one.


texts: Problem with the verb tense in a relative clause

texts:
The sentence is

  the background music that's gone through Louis's mind when he discovered his love for Lestat"

and I don't know which verb forms would be correct in the relative clause and why.


texts:
In the following sentence where should the contrasting component be placed?

  It's an acquired habit, not intrinsic

or

  It's an acquired, not intrinsic, habit.

To me both seem fine but I'd like to which one of these grammatically correct.

Thanks.


texts: How to explain the word "shadow "as a noun?

texts: We often say that the name of a person, place or thing is called noun. So, in which category, we include "shadow" as a noun. Though it is neither a place nor a thing or person.


texts:
The “state of the system” is whatever standing stock is of importance — amount of water behind the dam, amount of harvestable wood in the forest, number of people in the population, amount of money in the bank, whatever.

It seems like there are two verbs (two 'is's) in this sentence. What is the grammar behind this? Is there anything omitted?


texts: how to understand the present-participle "winding" in the following sentence?

texts:
Here is the example,

The long and winding road leads to your door.

I know the present-participle modifiers may indicate something undergoing a process or somebody doing something. But I think the "winding" here neither represents a ongoing process nor an activity and it indicates the mentioned road has a curving shape. The word seems to represent a state or quality. Is my understanding right? How should I understand the meaning by the present-participle form of the verb "wind"?


texts:
A man shouts at Ben from across the bar.
Man: Why don't you just fuck off!
Ben is held back from going at the man.

Is the last sentence correct and clear to mean that Ben is prevented from running over to the man to attack him physically?
Could it be written in another and better way?


texts:
Are these words interchangeable? I'm especially interested in how formal/informal are they. Is there any difference between American and British usage?

The discussion on english-test.net where two native speakers argue about the word sibling inspired me to ask this question.


texts: What does "tea juice" mean in this context?

texts:
I heard in a YouTube video this line:

  We could say for a vegan it's bad to drink milk. But a non-vegan who doesn't abide by that moral code will drink all the tea juice they want. (source)

It seems "tea/T juice" here refers to milk, but what does it mean exactly? Why is milk called "tea/T juice"?


texts:
I have had a disagreement with a teacher over the correct structure of a sentence.

My teacher said that the sentence "...and if they agree terms, they will have a deal." is correct. However, this sounds incorrect to me.

I would always say "...and if they agree to the terms, they will have a deal."

Could someone please tell me which is correct?


texts: Using a gerund after "to be" - "I promise to be writing"

texts:
Recently I have seen gerund after "to be" for example:

  I promise to be writing a new novel.

I beg someone's help to explain this sentence and its grammar to me.


texts: If you had studied harder, you could pass the exam?

texts:
I have seen many times in English grammar books, 'If you had studied harder, you could have passed the test.' or 'If you studied harder, you could pass the test.'
But little have I seen the sentence, 'If you had studied harder, you could pass the test.'
Aside from English grammar, do you use this structure?


texts:
Please read the sentence below, Is it possible in modern English or is it common nowdays?

  He smiled at her again and, not smiling, she looked curiously at her husband.

From: E.Hemingway - The short happy life of Francis Macomber

I think it should be something like this:

He smiled at her again and, while she wasn't smiling, she looked curiously at her husband.


texts: Am I supposed to omit do in this type of sentences?

texts: Sometimes, when we say "Nobody wants me to do what I don't want to do？", I was always wondering and dying to know if I could say "Nobody wants me to do what I don't want to" instead? Thanks.


texts:
Which one is correct after 'me' 'him' 'you' etc.. That or who?

  It isn't me that took it.
  It isn't  me who took it.

  It isn't me that 'X' hate , it's you.
  It isn't me who 'X' hate , it's you.

Thanks .


texts:
What's the right sentence and why?

Before letting me understand.
Before let me understand.

If you click here you can see that the second one is the most used.
As far as I know every time when you have BEFORE/AFTER you must use ING.


texts: Is 'telling' noun or participle on this sentence?

texts:
There is no telling where he has gone.

In the above sentence, Is 'telling' noun or participle?


texts:
I want to write a definition for "oral vaccination" for a flashcard. I've come up with this:

  The practice of swallowing a vaccine, also applied to animals by the
  use of baits, for example to prevent the spread of rabies among foxes.

Would that sound correct in form and content to a native speaker?


texts: She did it ALL by herself or She did it by herself ALL?

texts:
"No one helped Tracy to do her homework; She did it (all?) by herself (all)."

I have two options of where to put the word ALL, as I showed in the sentence. Where is the right place?


texts: How does the grammar behind "though not so soundly but that" work?

texts:
I was recently regarding A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens when I came across this sentence:

  However, for once that the bold Britons beat him [Julius Caesar], he beat them twice;
  though not so soundly but that he was very glad to accept their
  proposals of peace, and go away.

I don't quite understand the bolded part. Did he beat them soundly? Not so soundly? Was he glad to accept their proposals of peace or not? How does the grammar function here?


texts: The last time we had been there, she (had) told me all about how much Jenny loved living in Paris. - Past perfect/simple past confusion

texts:
The last time Lara and I had been to Paris, Lara had told me all about how much you loved living in Paris.

The last time Lara and I had been Paris, she told me all about how much you loved living in Paris.

Her telling me, and our being there is at the same time at a time before the past.
So, for the construction to be interpreted that way, are we to use the past perfect following the TOLD, or are to use just the simple past?

If we used the past perfect there, would the time frame mean

Her telling me how much Jenny loved living in Paris- 1st.

Our being somewhere together.- 2nd

My telling someone else what jenny had told me.-3rd. ?


texts:
In my country, we are told when we mention musical instruments such the guitar, or the piano, we have to attach the definite article, "the" before that.
But this American guy, Nick, insists, "We say 'I play guitar'" (the video is partly in English and partly in Japanese), which is correct grammatically?


texts:
In my region we have a money saving system. Some friends or relatives or colleagues, gather and decided to give a particular amount a month to one of us appointed as the manager. He doesn’t receive any charges for this. You can say he only keeps the money.
Supposing, there are ten people, and each person gives 100 $, this makes a sum of 1000 $ a month.  For ten months each person gives this amount (100 $) and the sum (1000 $) is given to one of the members of the group.

What would you call it? Is there any particular name for this thing in English?


texts: How do I say in one word "going further"?

texts:
I am actually writing a computer program. I think that practically everyone knows how programs work at the very high level: they have conditions and if conditions are met then a program goes further.

Now what I would like to know is: how can I say in one word "to go further", or even "condition to met to go further".


texts:
What my son likes the best on TV (are/is) cartoons?

My approach:

  What my son likes the best on TV is cartoons.

According to me, the sentence means he likes a single thing which are cartoons.

Can you solve this through other approach related to subject verb agreement and am I right in my approach?


texts: What's the sense of 'so' in "for Oz so ordered it"

texts:
"Because if you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of the Emerald City would blind you. Even those who live in the City must wear spectacles night and day. They are all locked on, for Oz so ordered it when the City was first built, and I have the only key that will unlock them."

  He opened the big box, and Dorothy saw that it was filled with spectacles of every size and shape. All of them  had green glass in them. ... ...

  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I don't quite understand the use of 'so' in "for Oz so ordered it". Any thoughts?


texts:
In one of my posts ("that's a very good one to know" vs. "that's good to know") a nice answerer gives 2 examples and corresponding explanation

  Speaker A tells a jokes, speaker B likes the joke, so he says ,"that's
  a good one" in response.

"a good one" means "a very funny joke". I understand this part clearly.

  Speaker A announces that he's managed to fix the problem with the
  software, Speaker B acknowledges it by saying, "that's good"

"that's good" means "an unbelievable assertion". I don't think I understand this part correctly, so I looked it up on a dict and got

  a statement that you strongly believe is true

  I certainly don't agree with his assertion that men are better drivers than women.

with this definition, "an unbelievable assertion" seems to mean B dose not believe A, or at least dose not believe A strongly.

Which does not make sense. If B dose not believe A, why does B have A solve the problem and acknowledge that?

Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
I have a question about the usage of "entered along the border/road" inspired by this:

  Over the course of the operation, about four million soldiers of the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union along a 2,900-kilometer (1,800 mi) front, the largest invasion force in the history of warfare.

If I write the following:

  The invading army entered along the eastern border.
  The invading army entered along the main road.

Do the sentence 1 & 2 mean the army's path was along the border/road?


texts:
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1123264.shtml

  Sun felt it ridiculous to portray a woman kneeling and begging for
  mercy as the only means of solving problems,

I have thought an adjective always after a "be". This usage is somehow strange for me.


texts: How is the following short sentence allowed to be capitalised?

texts:
I saw the following sentence on the opening credits of a film recently: Lady In The Van starring Maggie Smith by Alan Bennett, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

It said on a page by itself:

  A Mostly True Story

How is this allowed to be capitalised? I assume of course, they have not made an error.

Thanks


texts: Articles before profession names: "Ms. Smith, public health nurse, was born..."

texts:
I know that, in general, we use an article before a name of a profession.
For instance:

He is a doctor.

But should we put an article in the following cases?

Mr. Smith, a doctor, works…
Ms. Smith, public health nurse, was born…
Mr. Smith, the third chief of justice of the Supreme Court, did…


texts:
The trip, should it go ahead, would mark Xi's first visit to the North
  Korean capital since he came to power in 2012.

source

What is grammar about the "should" go first non-question sentence?


texts: Phrase for not making a big deal out of something that is a big deal?

texts:
What's the phrase for when you don't make a big deal about something that is a big deal?

I'm sure it goes something like "____ off" or "____ it off" but I can't think of what fills the blank and it's really annoying me!


texts:
I took the following extract from the link ;
http://www.viewzone.com/aging.html

The title was : Can science make us immortal?

“From every tree in the garden did he grant them to eat, save but one. And that tree, in the center of the garden, was called the tree of life. And the Snake said to Eve, "Eat of this fruit and you will become as God and never die.-- Genesis 3:1”

I have a doubt regarding the part labeled above, in bold and Italic. Save one, at here means, eat from all the trees except one tree.

But both of the words save and but means except. So why does except came two times in the above context?


texts: The role of "at" in "They felt uncomfortable at the thought of being ridiculed in this manner."

texts:
Which one of these definitions:

  Expressing the time when an event takes place.
  Expressing a particular state or condition.
  Expressing the object of a look, thought, action, or plan.

of the preposition at does apply in this context:

  They felt uncomfortable at the thought of being ridiculed in this manner.

?

P.S. The definitions were quoted from the ODE.


texts: Can "decide" take a gerund as its direct object?

texts:
I've come across these sentence written by English novelists by googling.
(I've confirmed that they're English native speakers by googling their names)

  After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided going into the garden at once.
  I decided going into my white room.

But I've already learnt that when I want to use "decide" with "gerund", I must write it with "on" as in "I decided on going into my white house", but as I don't think this seems to be not entirely correct as I've come across exceptions to this,
I wouldn't think they might've written grammatically incorrect sentences as they're experts at writing books.


texts:
This is a line I came across in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide

  And I feel I know nothing about you - beyond your name that is.

I know the meaning of "that is", it is used to provide some extra information, but here that meaning is not likely to be true. And I never came across "that is" used in this way.


texts: A example sentence in the dictionary for the word counterpart

texts:
The Finnish organization was very different from that of its counterparts in the rest of the Nordic region.

The sentence above is an example sentence I came across, I'd like to know why it has 'that of' before its counterpart because from the viewpoint of understanding, only its counterparts is already able to express the meaning of this sentence clearly, adding the that of make the sentence more confusing.


texts:
The following genuine examples are taken from Google Books:

  She had left him nothing on her death except for her earlier gift
  of Twickenham Hall and its eighty acres of parkland, against which he
  had heavy debts.

  He had no children, and his nephew was proclaimed throughout his
  dominions, and ruled them for six years. On his death there was a
  general scramble for power between the governors of the different
  provinces.

  If the husband left his entire estate to his wife, there would be no
  estate tax at his death since his estate passed to a surviving
  spouse.

  As he develops this theme we begin to learn what he takes a "true
  philosopher" to be, and what he thinks is actually going to happen to
  him at his death.

I was wondering if the two phrases were interchangeable in these examples. Is there any discernible difference between them?


texts:
I am writing a college dormitory application and one of the questions was "what is my characteristics?" And I said I am flexible with people, and that I have never gotten in any arguments with people.
And for my last sentence, I wanted to say

"I surely will bring about peace to this dormitory"

As to how I can contribute to this dorm.
Is this grammatically correct to say "bring about peace"??

Thank you !!


texts:
What are the differences between in these two sentences?

  Rina, who wearing hairband was sitting under the chair.
  Rina, who is wearing hairband was sitting under the chair.

I am teaching primary school students how to write sentences in different ways. Two of my students wrote sentences like these. I have to explain to them which way is correct, and explain why it is correct. I am not a native speaker & English optionist.


texts: a colloquial way of asking whether or not I can get to a place on foot

texts:
I'm looking for ways of expressing or asking if a place is reachable on foot.

Can I say "Is this place within walking distance?" or "Am I within walking distance of this place?"

Also is it ok to say "is this place walkable?"

Thanks


texts: "This all happened", in here, what's the meaning of "all"?

texts:
"This all happens in the middle of winter."  What's the meaning of "all" in this sentence?

The above is a part of a synopsis of "Fargo" movie.
And I've heard a lot "it all happened...", "this all happened..."

And I've searched some dictionaries about "all". Then I guessed that in here "all" is "adverb" and means "completely" That's because its location is before verb in the sentence.

But I still cannot fully understand the above sentence meaning. Could you help me understand the meaning of "all" in here please?


texts: How to use a personal pronoun where there could be multiple antecedents?

texts:
When we say that,

Petter will give a book to Hari and he will come Dubai tomorrow.

Does the pronoun he refer to Petter or Hari?


texts:
This is a plastic basketball net for little children to play
So, we have 3 things: the bolt which is a part of the net (ie, the bolt is sticking out from the net), the nut, and the panel with a hole as shown in the below picture

We put the bolt through the hole of the panel. On the other side of the panel, we screw the nut onto the bolt to secure the net in the panel.
Note: the panel is very thick, about 5 centimetre thick.
Is it okay to say "you screw the nut on the bolt to secure the net in the panel"?
I am not sure if we say "to secure the net in / on / to the thick panel" because the bolt and the net are a whole piece.
So, do we say "to put the net in the panel" as only the bolt part of the net goes into it?
Also, in the dictionary, they say "to secure something to something"


texts: Why in "Frozen" the statement "Am I so ready for this change" has an inversion?

texts:
In the first "Frozen" movie, while the city prepares for the Coronation Day, Anna is singing a song describing how she imagines the new situation she is going to encounter on that day. At some point she sings:

  But wow!
  Am I so ready for this change!

There is neither a question mark in the subtitles nor in the intonation. Also a question doesn't really make sense here based on the context. Why is here an inversion then? Is it grammatically correct? Does it have any specific meaning? Or is it just an intended "licentia poetica" to keep the rhythm of the song? Is it the case of V2 word order usage as described eg. on Wikipedia?

I've tried to find something using Google but all I have found were pages with lyrics. I also can't see any similar question here or on the English Usage page. I looked for inversion but the results were somewhat non-conclusive to me (yet it took me to the aforementioned Wikipedia page).


texts: What is your favorite color of (a) t-shirt?

texts:
Is it true that this is correct?

1 What is your favorite colour of t-shirt?

and this is wrong

2 What is your favorite colour of a t-shirt?

If the answer is yes, can you explain the phenomenon in terms of grammar?


texts:
Is "fast" interchangeable with "quick" when it comes to eating?

  I am a quick eater.

  I am a fast eater.

I hear people say "don't eat too quickly" but not "fastly," so I'm wondering if one of the examples above is wrong.


texts:
In the sentence below I have two parts that I can't clearly understand. First, what function does the word 'any' have? As far as I understand it is usede to give some emphasis on the word 'heavier'. Can I omit it without changing the meaning of the sentence?  Second, it's the meanong of the word. Basically, I know meaning of the word but I guess it has been used as a different meaning .

Samuel Smiles, a nineteenth-century English author, wrote, “It is doubtful whether any heavier curse could be forced on man than the complete gratification of all his wishes without effort on his part, leaving nothing for his hopes, desires, or struggles.”


texts:
What is the difference between -ing form + noun and noun + -ing form ?

For example:
Learning English and English learning

Please answer in general, not just about the example.

Thanks a lot for your answer.


texts: "time span" or "time spans" or "the time span"

texts:
What I want to say is: the longer time duration between the first and second exam, the less useful they become. I am not sure which of the following is correct:

the longer the time spans between the first and second exam, the less
useful they become.

Or,

the longer time span between the first and second exam, the less
useful they become.

Or,

the longer time spans between the first and second exam, the less
useful they become.

EDIT:
According to the first comment, I add this suggestion:

the longer the time span between the first and second exam, the less the
useful they become.


texts:
what does the term as saying that mean in sentences below?

  Socrates is represented in Plato's Apology as saying that if the state spares his life on condition that he no longer teach as he has been doing, he will not obey.

Ethics - William K.Frankena.


texts: Can "Let's have it all!" and "Let's share it all!" refer to a plural referent?

texts:
I would like to use these two sentences in a song, a rap song, as the last line of a verse which deals with the four elements present on the earth. My point here is that all four elements on the planet are to be enjoyed and shared among all men. Should I then say Let's have it all! Let's share it all? Or Let's have them all! Let's share them all!
On the other hand, wouldn't those words sound a bit selfish and convey a contradictory intention, where I mean that men should cherish a form of togetherness?
Thanks for your precious answers.


texts: "complain about" vs. "make a complaint about"

texts:
Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition about "complain"

  to say that something is wrong or not satisfactory

and this definition about "complaint"

  a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory

I guess both of them means the same thing. However, Google Ngram shows that the former is much more commonly used that the latter

Are those two expressions interchangeable?


texts: Should I use "was" or "would be" in "This **was/would be** the second one I would have to change?"

texts:
This was/would be the second one I would have to change.

Should I use was or would be? And why?


texts: What kind of sentence constituent is "a little"?

texts:
Tell me a little about yourself.

I have got two explanations of "a little":

  "a little" functions as a pronoun. It means "something" or "a few things"
  "a little" serves as an adverb of degree, which modifies the verb "tell". It means that you don't have to tell me all about yourself,
  just tell me partly about yourself.

I don't know which one is correct.


texts: The importance of cultivating a scientific temper is needed. How is temper counted here and is a countable noun and the use of article ‘a’ here?

texts: How to distinguish countable and uncountable nouns? How can temper be counted here?


texts:
"I have been in America for 10 years" indicates that the speaker is still currently in America.

But what if you are not in America anymore and you want to express that you have spent 10 years living in America?
Can you say:

I had been in America for 10 years.
I was in America for 10 years.

Or are there any other ways to express the same idea?


texts: Can you say "everything is good" as well was "everything is well"

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say "everything is good"? And why is "everything is well" correct? Isn't "well" an adverb?

Edit: I'm looking for an answer for this phrase specifically.


texts:
This is a quotation from a text about the Internet:

  The Internet represents one of the most successful examples of the
  benefits of sustained investment and commitment to research and
  development of information infrastructure.

What does "sustained investment" mean in current context?


texts:
Google search results for being raised right quotes

From the link mentioned above, I found the word  "being raised right". What does this phrase mean in general?


texts: Singular and Plural - When Asking People

texts:
I find it complicated when addressing to a group. I'm pretty sure that when I use "people" it's plural and when I use "everyone" it's singular then. But I'm confused about the things that come after that.

Here's an example of mine:

  1.) People, get your bag/s (assume each person only has one bag) and hit (a) rock/s (assume they all have to hit one rock, not as a team but individually) using your own burger/s! (assume each one has one burger)

  2.) What if we change "people" to "everybody"? Would the answers be the same?


texts: Confusion understanding this sentence: Could you speak English before you came here?

texts:
I stumbled upon this one sentence in an EFL book.

  Could you speak English before you came here ?

The whole chapter is dedicated to can and could.

There are no other sentences around the above one so there is no context I can guess from.

First of all, does this sentence sound natural ?

Second, does it mean

  Were you able to speak English before you came here ?

Or is it some weird way of saying,

Could you do something(in this case, speak English) before you come here ?


texts: What are the transcripts at 2:23 and 2:31 in this Tonight Show clip?

texts:
What does Chris Evans said at 2:23 and 2:31 in this Tonight Show clip "Chris Evans Is Starting to Speak Like His Toddler Nephew"? begin here at 2:15

What I heard are:
2:23 for nature
2:31 You just kinda say (If he said so, then what does it mean?
Does he mean "you just sort of will say that" or "you somehow just say that"?)


texts: Can 'domestic animal' be used instead of 'livestock'?

texts:
Is it correct to use domestic animal instead of livestock (cattle)?

  livestock
  animals and birds that are kept on a farm, such as cows, sheep, or chickens

  domestic animal
  an animal that is not wild and is kept as a pet or to produce food
  Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Could they really have the same meanings?


texts: What is the difference of "It is September" and "It is in September"?

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences:

  It is September.

  It is in September.

There seems a difference, but I don't know it.

When to use the one over the other?


texts: do we say "stick up the sandals" when we do up sandals by sticking?

texts:
The above sandal has buckles, so we say "buckle up the sandal".
But this sandal has no buckles.

Since this sandal has no buckle, then
What is the rub surface that we stick the strap on to do up the sandal called?
and
do we say "stick up the sandals" (for sandals that are similar to the one in the picture 2)?


texts:
I have learned English most on programmers forums, so please excuse me for a potentially stupid question.

char - primitive data-type that store letter or other UTF-symbol
Character - object data-type that store letter or other UTF-symbol.

What is the word "char", word of English language or abbreviation used only in programming languages?

Is it correct to use something like "Text length: x chars", or better "Text length: x characters"?


texts: I want to know the difference nuance between "going to" and "about to" in native English speaker's environment, which one is better to use or widely used?


texts:
Is it everyone's dreams or everyone's dream? I thought about it and I am really unsure which is correct I think "everyone's dreams" is the correct one, but I am not sure.

For example:

  God can control everyone's dreams.


texts: Words for Deserved/Given vs. Arbitrarily Self-Chosen Nickname

texts:
For a long time, I've been using the word 'nickname' to mean an unofficial name given to a person. However, as time went by, it became evident to me that the English use of 'nickname' seems to imply (but I'm not sure if this is a rigid requirement) that an individual can arbitrarily choose, or, conversely, veto a nickname choice. Thus, it seems to be the case that in the English language, 'nickname' has a meaning closer to 'this is how I call myself unofficially' rather than 'this is how others call me unofficially'.

What words can I use when I need to convey specifically the latter meaning? What word can I use to convey specifically the former one - is 'nickname' strictly used in the former meaning? Finally, what word should I use when I want to encompass both concepts?


texts: What is the dietary term for someone who eats meat but not eggs or milk?

texts:
I was wondering what you call someone who essentially still eats meat but doesn't
eat products from animals like eggs and milk etc.. Would it be a non lacto-ova non vegetarian.


texts:
Suppose you are going to give a lecture or simply you are going to explain something to a group of people. On the other hand, you have got a cold and your voice has changed, so you want to apologize for this change in your voice which may affect your lecture.

What's the best word or phrase to describe this change in the voice?

One might say:

  I'm sorry if my voice is not good (or it's not as usual)

I have found Hoarseness which refers to abnormal voice changes, but I'm wondering if I can use it in this situation (a voice change because of a cold) and say:

  I'm sorry for my hoarse voice.

If not, what's the best word or phrase to say this (idiomatically)?


texts:
The salmon tastes awful, but it is rich with protein, omega-3 fatty
  acids, and vitamin.

or

  The salmon tastes awful, but it is rich in protein, omega-3 fatty
  acids, and vitamin.

Which one (rich WITH or rich IN) is correct in this case?


texts: Is there any difference between "Words I learnt today" and "Words I have learnt today" and "Words I have learned today"?

texts:
What is the difference between "Words I learnt today" and "Words I have learnt today" and "Words I have learned today" ?

Is there any difference?
When should I use which?


texts: Is it correct to say "by your thirty years old" instead of "by thirty"?

texts:
Imagine you asked someone about their plans and wishes for the future. Would it be correct to say:

  What do you hope you'll have achieved by your thirty years old?

rather than:

  What do you hope you'll have achieved by thirty?


texts: What does it mean by "nobody ever measured"? Or what does "nobody ever measured" mean?

texts:
In English Erotic movie "Fifty Shades Darker", Ana & Christine have conversation on bed after having sex.

  Christine: Why do you think you waited? For Sex.

  Ana: Mmm! Mmm! I was reading Austen and Brontë and nobody ever measured
  up to that. I guess I was waiting for something exceptional. And then I
  met you.

What does mean by "nobody ever measured" means?


texts: are these equal: "we got angry" and "we were angered"

texts:
Do these phrases have the same meaning?

  "we got angry" and "we were angered"


texts:
A vengeance on your crafty wither'd hide!

  Yet I have faced it with a card of ten.

  'Tis in my head to do my master good:

  I see no reason but supposed Lucentio

  Must get a father, call'd 'supposed Vincentio;'

  And that's a wonder: fathers commonly

  Do get their children; but in this case of wooing,

  A child shall get a sire, if I fail not of my cunning.

Taming of the Shrew

What is faced it with a card of ten referencing in this text? I can't quite remember what it was but it was something along the lines of a game.


texts: When you're going to be late for a meeting

texts:
Let's assume that you are going to be late for a meeting.
I wonder when do you normally use each sentence below?

  1) I’m sorry for keeping you / to keep you waiting.

I would use this sentence both before seeing the person who is waiting me e.g. through a phone call while I'm in the taxi and called them and using this sentence as an apology.

  2) I am sorry to have kept you waiting.

I think it can be used only when you reach the person who you have kept him waiting on the meeting and you'e going to apologize him in this way.

I wonder what do you think?


texts:
When somone has two jobs, what is correct usage of 'indefinite article'?

A. Jack Hamilton, a small business owner and a construction foreman, died yesterday.
B. Jack Hamilton, a small business owner and construction foreman, died yesterday.

C. He is a doctor and a writer.
D. He is a doctor and writer.

Which is correct?


texts:
I have several questions regarding the following sentence.

  As powerfully wired as we are for social contact, so too are we wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers. source

I think "As ... as" in the first part means comparison of equality. Below is my trying of undo inversion of the sentence. (If there are any other suggestions, please let me know.)

  As we are powerfully wired for social contact, we too are powerfully wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers.

Can I omit the first "As" in the original sentence? If it is possible, can anyone please explain to me why?

  Powerfully wired as we are for social contact, so too are we wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers.

This sentence seems pretty sophisticated and complicated for me. I am trying to fully understand it especially in grammatical terms.


texts: What does surrender preferred shares mean here?

texts:
Does it mean exchange preferred shares for common shares?
He exercised all of them in August 2017, and covered the $5 billion cost of doing so by surrendering virtually all of Berkshire's preferred shares.
Source: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-invested-5-billion-bank-of-america-made-fortune-2020-10-1029690339#


texts:
I have two sentences that are ambiguous to me.

The first sentence is:
I have got a woman at home.

The second sentence is:
I got a woman at home.

The meaning I'm aiming for is the present moment. I think it's I have got a woman at home, but I'm unsure.


texts: What does "ever" suggest in this sentence?

texts:
The late Sol Adler was the most distinguished practitioner of the English language who ever turned his attention to "polishing" in china.

I looked up the Oxford dictionary, and it says "ever" has four meanings:

used in negative sentences, = never.
used for emphasis when you are comparing things.
all the time, always.
used after when, why.

I don't think any of these meanings make sense in this sentence.


texts: Is the past progressive tense the more natural tense to use in this context?

texts:
If I have just been talking to my son on the phone (I'm not anymore. I have hung up.) and then someone asks me if it was my son whom I was talking to, to which I answer:

"Yes. I was just calling to say goodnight."

Is the past progressive tense ('I was just calling') the more natural tense to use here?


texts: Why is "rival" pronounced different to "pivot"?

texts:
In English language, open and closed syllable vowels are pronounced differently even when spelled similarly. This is probably the first rule every student learns about pronunciation.

Several examples of how open syllables are pronounced can be found here:
https://www.sightwordsgame.com/spelling/words/open-syllable/

More information about the closed syllable and other types can be found here:
https://www.sightwordsgame.com/spelling/what-is-syllable/

As per the subject, "rival" has an open syllable "ri" which is pronounced as per the open syllable rule. However, "pivot" which apparently has the open syllable "pi" is pronounced as if the syllable was closed.

The question is mainly whether this is an exception to the rule, and whether the only solution here is to just memorise how certain words are pronounced? Or is there something that the OP doesn't know about the open/closed syllable reading rules?


texts:
The owl prowled in the plain.

  It happened in the plain where the flying predator prowled.

Are these sentences using the word prowled correctly? I thought you would use it for land predators, but I am not sure how to use the word for flying predators.


texts: the difference among "what do/shall/will we do (now)?" in a specific situation

texts:
In this situation, is there any difference between these three expressions?

The situation is as follows.

  You and your friend are hanging out.
  You guys went to a cafe and enjoyed talking there for some time.
  As you and your friend are getting out of the cafe, you are not sure what to do next.
  You can suggest going to a movie theater or just depart and go home or whatever.
  So you are saying one of the three expressions below.

What do we do (now)?
What shall we do (now)?
What will we do (now)?

Thank you as always.


texts: Which one is correct: "Do you wake at seven?" or "Do you wake up at seven?"

texts: Someone said to me that the first one is the correct answer, because you use "wake up" to ask someone to stop sleeping. But I think the first one does not sound natural.


texts: Do the two sentences carry essentially the same meaning/connotation?

texts:
After the sentence 'all the animals ... San Diego Zoo,' I wanted to place a sentence with essentially the same meaning/connotation.

  There was a big explosion heard in Southern California.

  I hear all the animals have become extremely restless at the San Diego Zoo.

  None of the animals that are kept at the zoo have been calmer since the explosion.

I wondered if I successfully repeated the same meaning/connotation in a different sentence?


texts: Can you clear my this doubt of tense usage - "this happens" and "this happened"?

texts:
Naruto

  Just when I thought there was peace and we'd resolved one issue, this happens.

The dialogue is subtitled at the video at 03:33. In the above sentence, I think this happened should have been there in place of this happens. Can you explain why this happens used there?


texts: why is it right to say "a... professionalism"?

texts:
As jeans-lovers have entered the corporate world they have popularized a casual work look, wearing Jeans as the basic wardrobe ___ laid-back but actually ambitious new professionalism. (From an English test)

Why "of a seemingly" would fit for the blank?　The Oxford dictionary presents the world "professionalism" as uncountable, so isn't it contradictory to the article " a＂？


texts: How can I define a section about formulas and calculations in my documentation

texts:
I'm writing a documentation for a program I wrote, and one section is about the mathematical formulas and calculations I used. I want to create a different section for this but cannot come up with the word to describe this section.

The documentation is for a program that is embedded into Autodesk Inventor to build high pressure vessels and process columns. For some pieces of the code there are some trigonometric problems and they are solved. In the code I refer to the formula or calculation section where the calculation is explained based on sketches.

Is it possible to put this into one word? Formulas is an option, but something tells me there is a better word out there to use.


texts: I am almost to London. This sentence is correct?

texts: If I want to tell someone that I am almost to a specific location, What should I say ?


texts: Simple Present versus Present Progressive

texts:
What is the correct form and why?

  Do you miss some item that is on the list?

  Are you missing some item that is on the list?

The context in this particular example


texts: Are sometimes Simple Future and Future Progressive interchangeable

texts:
One thing that tricks me is the meaning the progressive form of the future conveys. For instance:

This time next week we'll be meeting our boos

Saturday I'll be fighting him

Does those two mean:

Later in the future, We'll meet our boss and when this time next week comes, we'll still be doing so

Later, I'll fight him and when saturday comes, I'll still be doing so.

Or, does it mean:

This time next week we'll meet our boss

On Saturday I'll fight him

And the latter makes me question: if the latter is right, does it make both future forms interchangeable? How do they differ in meaning, and how is the future progressive different from its simple form? What's the usagage of the future continuous?
I'm really struggling on this.


texts: Image directory or Images directory? (Pluralizing of attributive nouns)

texts:
(The original title of this question was "Image directory or Images directory?" I changed it later.)

As I know, we say

car park
train station
bookshelf

I.e. the words "park", "station", "shelf" are singular.

What is the correct way to refer to the directory that contains different images:

image directory or
images directory?

Note that I don't talk about the proper name. The proper name is Foo.

C:\Foo\
    |-- a.png
    |-- b.png
    |-- c.png
    |-- d.jpg
    |-- e.jpg
    |-- f.jpg
    |-- etc.

Initially I was sure that singular "image" would be fine. But then I discovered that sometimes the plural form is used.

A quote from LibreOffice wiki (singular form):

  the template will be stored in your user template folder.

A quote from IBM official page (plural form):

  Adding images to the images directory


texts:
On this audio file, at 1:40, what does in the rack mean?

It's what I hear:

  I got three cars in the rack, it's all over the place down here, you know.

Source: The ILI English Series, Intermediate 2, Page 87


texts:
According to CPE Use of English, "content" and "contents" have different meanings. But which meanings are they talking about? The only singular form is given in #4.

content
4 [singular]
(following a noun)
the amount of a substance that is contained in something else
• food with a high fat content
• water/moisture/protein/DNA content
• the alcohol content of a drink
(Oxford Learner's Dictionary)


texts: What does "ROS" mean in the context of online advertisement?

texts:
At http://stackexchange.com/mediakit you can see two online advertising plans, one of which says:

  SELF-SERVE
  $500-$4,999
  ROS global only

What does the 3rd line "ROS global only" mean?


texts: Ask him for photos of/ Ask him to send you photos of his

texts:
I know it's correct to say:
"Ask him to send you photos of his vintage car collection."
But is it also correct to say:
"Ask him for photos of his vintage car collection."
And lastly, which one would a native speaker say?


texts:
There are many spoty on my car.

The car was parked under a tree and the flower heart droped on the car.
Can we say "There are many spoty on my car."


texts: at [in, with] which + for one + to Infinitive: Grammatically illicit?

texts:
"He is looking for a school 'at which for his daughter to learn French'."

Some people say this sentence is bad and illicit because 'prenuclear'. Is it true?

(I know that "--- at which his daughter can learn French" is well-formed.)

I've found lots of this pattern:

  A: One Truth is a parent-free zone, and provides a great space in which for us to get to know each other better, to ....(omission)... (trinitychurchknebworth.org)

  B: Is this really the best situation in which for him to rehabilitate himself?  (International Catholic Univ.)

  C: It's just the right size in which for me to stack my potholders. (individual impression, Amazon.com)

  D: Everywhere were things with which for us to make fire. (oneida-nsn.gov)

  E: --(omission)-- provide children with safe boundaries in which for them to explore, develop and flourish. (Sarisbury Infant School, U.K.)

  F: The staff at the rescue center  --(omission)-- made it their mission to find this loving senior cat a home in which for him to spend his golden years. (CAT DEVOTION)


texts:
Background: I have many friends called John (at work, at church and at college). Now, I have a music school where I'm the teacher. How would I say:

1) I don't know how I still don't have a student called John in my music school.

2) I don't know how I don't have a student called John in my music school yet.

3) I don't know how I don't have a student called John in my music school already.

I'm very confused about the use of these words.


texts: looking for saying about getting happy with other faults and getting sad with others success

texts:
I want to write a saying or good expression in an email to my boss to say "we should not be happy of other company's fault and get sad if they get better. we should be happy with what we are doing".

I wanted to say "Stronger enemies makes us stronger" but I was not sure if this really fits to the case? or is there any better sentences for that?


texts: discerning between "creation" and "creating"

texts:
But it seems that only the more eccentric or popular artists are viewed as true artists when working with items normally discarded in the trash pile. Why can’t average people be considered artists when they pull the same items out and mold them into some form of personal art of their own creating? Maybe it’s because we all have our own pre-set ideas of what art is and isn’t, or who artists are or should be.

I am wondering the reason why there has been used creating rather than creation.


texts: "wish" with bare infinitive: "the wish that the truth be unveiled"

texts:
Could anyone please clarify why "be" was used in the sentence? As far as I know this kind of structure can be used when you suggest, demand, or require something. But with "wish," I have no clue.

  At the opening, Chun’s daughter Sumita Kim told reporters that she was sorry for her mother that the exhibition overlaps with the prosecutors’ investigation, but the ongoing investigation will fulfill the artist’s wish that the truth be unveiled.

(http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3020062)


texts:
A “McCoy” means something that is truly genuine.

The idiomatic expression, “the real McCoy” is used when the speaker wants to emphasize the purity the authenticity of something. It is said to derive from the Scottish McKay (or MacKay) whisky whenever a host offers his guest a drop of the real McKay, whereas the idiom “real mccoy” is said to be an American variant.

Meanwhile, a decoy has quite the opposite meaning, it refers to something or someone who pretends to be something they are not. For example, a designated decoy is, supposedly, a stone-cold sober person leaving a public bar who pretends to act extremely drunk before  getting into their car, and driving off. The erratic driving is aimed at drawing the police officers' attention at a sobriety checkpoint, thereby allowing the decoy's inebriated friends to drive home without being caught. (I have no idea how effective this ruse is.)

Finally, coy is just an adjective, and means; acting shy, uncertain, or unwilling to say much, often in order to increase interest in something by keeping back information about it

I was wondering whether all three terms were related or coincidental.

In addition,  although the noun coyness exits, the noun coy itself doesn't seem to be listed in any of the online dictionaries I checked, is it an archaic term? If it did exist, what did the noun use to mean?


texts: How to match Subject verb agreement in this type of sentence?

texts:
The chips, derived from designs by ARM, which is based in Britain, will be similar to those that already power its smartphones and tablets.

In this sentence, which of the following subject takes the  verb ? I need to understand the all subject-verb- agreement in this sentence


texts: "Nearly" in the phrase "nearly everyone"

texts: Why is the adverb "nearly" grammatical in the statement "Nearly everyone has heard of George Washington" ?  The dictionary says "everyone" is a pronoun.


texts: What are the parts of speech in the sentence: Regular exercise strengthens the heart, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack

texts:
Can anyone break this sentences into parts of speech?

  Regular exercise strengthens the heart, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack

What is the conjunction in this sentence joining the two clauses of the sentence?

Why is the word coming after thereby written in “-ing form”?  I do not understand this grammar with -ing.


texts:
What if? Alternative history’s butterfly moments reach lift-off.

This is the title of the article from the today electronic version of the Guardian. I struggle with the phrase "reach lift-off". Could you please rewrite it for me to understand it.


texts: What is the meaning of "governing possession" & "wild" in this passage

texts:
Growing up in the listless nineteen-eighties, Cecilia Normanton knew her father well, her mother not at all. Mr. Normanton was handsome and tall, with steely gray hair brushed carefully every day so that it was as he wished it to be. His shirts and suits gave the impression of being part of him, as his house in Buckingham Street did, and the family business that bore his name. Only Mr. Normanton’s profound melancholy was entirely his own. It was said by people who knew him well that melancholy had not always been his governing possession , that once upon a time he had been carefree and a little wild, that the loss of his wife—not to the cruelty of an early death but to her preference for another man—had left him wounded in a way that was irreparable.

What substitution do you recommend for these words?


texts: "The Hateful Eight" - Full of hate or hated?

texts:
Tarantino's new movie "The Hateful Eight" is translated to "Os Oito Odiados" which can be translated to "The Hated Eight".

Is this a correct translation of the title? Doesn't the title actually mean that these eight people are full of hatred and not actually hated?


texts: How to figure out whether I can address a person as "homie" or "dog"? Is it offensive?

texts:
It's something I picked up from video games. For instance in GTA V video game a slang language like "Whats up, homie?" or "See ya, dog!" is used all the time. My question is - under what circumstances can I address a person like this?

From what I know "homie" is more or less neutral. For instance it was used by some hosts of Equal Three show to address an audience. Not so sure regarding safety of "dog" though. Could it be considered offensive?


texts:
I have been checking my writing in Grammarly and correcting my grammar using the Free Plan. But there are some warnings that can only be fixed using the Premium Plan. One thing that is bugging me a lot is the warning of "Passive Voice Misuse" in this sentence. What would be the proper usage of passive voice in this sentence? And why is Grammarly considering it as an error?
The sentence is as follows:

The well is divided into three sections as surface (0 to 4,000 ft), intermediate (4,000 to 13,290 ft), and production (13,290 to 20,000 ft) sections considering casing design, which was mentioned in the first chapter.


texts: Is it grammatically correct to use a comma to separate full sentences?

texts:
Example:

  I don't lit up everything around me, I just like to be in the
  spotlight.

I think this is called trailing comma or something like that. Is it grammatically correct?


texts: situations for "new for me" and "new to me"

texts:
This post is focused on the patterns xxx to someone and xxx for someone, which is different from "You must wear a suit TO an interview" vs "You must wear a suit FOR an interview" that talks about many situations except for these two patterns.
From Oxford Learner's Dictionaries

This is a new experience for me.

Our system is probably new to you.

In TWO AND A HALF MEN SEASON 1, EPISODE 5

Charlie: What happened?
Did I do something wrong?
Please don't tell Alan's wife.

A lady: No, you didn't do anything wrong.
I really like you.

Charlie: Okay. This is new for me.

According to another ell post, "The task was new to me" is more natural than "The task was new for me".
According to Ngram Viewer, both are in use

Are there some rules or situations for when to use which?


texts: Question about meaning of " Common Man's " & "mounting " is in the context here

texts:
However, the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi (Common Man's) Party,
  with its stronghold in the capital, Delhi, is mounting a
  strong challenge.

My perception after checking in dictionary is that The party that most of its members are men ( common man ), and has the supportive area in Delhi is facing a big chalange.

I also would be greatful if you could help me saying what the use of  's  is here? And why the capital letters are used here? Common Man's.


texts:
My English speaker friends said I can't say:

  I have 1 hour left until/till going home.

My friends recommended to use this:

  I have 1 hour left until/ till I go home.

But I can say this, right?

  I have 1 hour left before going home

Then even though in sentence 1 and 3, until and before are both prepositions, why can't I use gerund behind until and till?

Thanks.


texts: what does "worked around" mean in this sentence?

texts:
From the Wikipedia page of Luis Buñuel:

  During the course of production, Buñuel worked around his technical
  ignorance by filming mostly in sequence and using nearly every foot of
  film that he shot.

Does this mean that Buñuel was an amateur in filming at the time, but he tried to improve his skills by by “filming mostly in sequence and using nearly every foot of film that he shot”?

Would you please explain what “filming in sequence” is and what it means to “use every foot of film”?


texts: At and On-how can i know when to use each one in a more specific way? Not in a basic way

texts:
What do these sentences mean?

I am on the show
I am at the show
I am on the front right here
I am at the front right here

I've seen and heard these sentences but i'm not sure about their meanings


texts: Database is [nothing but] an organized form of data

texts:
I encountered a sentence

  Database is nothing but an organized form of data [...].

and got confused by the part "nothing but".

What is it used for and what meaning does it convey here?
How correct is it to start a formal definition with "nothing but"?
How is it different from the next quote?

  Database is an organized form of data [...].

I've seen a few sentences with this structure before. They were pretty logical, rather informal, and, I guess, "nothing but" meant "only" there.

Thank you in advance.


texts:
The suck of the water as it took the beginning of the last steep pitch was frightful, and Thornton knew that the shore was impossible. He scraped furiously over a rock, bruised across a second, and struck a third with crushing force. He clutched its slippery top with both hands, releasing Buck, and above the roar of the churning water shouted: "Go, Buck! Go!"

It's from 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London.

In the above sentence, 'a second' could be understood 'in the second place' while 'a third' be 'in the third place'?
And then where is 'a first'?

May be it is a stupid question, but I don't understand the above sentence clearly.


texts: "they've misunderstood" or "they've been misunderstood"

texts:
How can they trust it, they've been misunderstood

I'm not sure whether been should be there or not.


texts:
What's the difference between all these? Thank you

  Give back/ Bring Back / Take Back / Put Back / Return Back


texts: How to say the fractional part of a number?

texts:
This question was prompted by Do digits after the decimal point have a specific name?.  How does one correctly refer in spoken speech the part of a number after the decimal point.  Would 123.45 be spoken as "one hundred twenty three point four five" or one hundred twenty three point forty five"?

I've always spoken it as the former (point four five), but more often nowadays I'm hearing it as "point forty five".  Not sure if there's a correct way, or if people nowadays are just getting more sloppy in pronunciation and grammar and are finding it easier to just modify the language to their benefit rather than try and maintain long-established language standards.


texts: What's the meaning of "He's trade through and through"

texts:
Here are the quotes from HBO's drama Gentleman Jack ：

  A-He makes carpets, John Abbott.

  B-Wool, yes, probably.

  A-Either way, he's trade through and through. You're going to have to put the tin lid on that one. Otherwise, I will.

The meanings of trade in Urbandic are all about gay people in the closet, but is it the actual meaning here?


texts:
Is there an idiom or a phrase that means "he's a talented writer"? I can think of a few way of expressing it, but none of them sound particularly good or idiomatic even. Most of them sounds weird.

For example:

  He had a very masterful pen.

  He had a very majestic prose.

Not sure if you would agree, but those two sound awkward and weird, and not particularly eloquent.


texts:
A song that was included in a trailer of a film was not a part of the film. So what should be used:

  Why isn't this song part of this film?

  Why isn't this song in the film?

What sounds more natural: "part of/in"?


texts: What do you say if X is in plural and singular at the same time?

texts:
Let's say you talk about rooms and some rooms have one door, some have two, some have threes. How do you make a general statement about all the rooms without making an overly long sentence? I also don't want to use (s), because it's bad style.

For example:

  The dog felt afraid in all of the rooms when Rupert made the door(s)
  disappear with his magic wand.


texts: What does "track the work of somebody's work" mean?

texts:
I read a sentence in "The Hindu" which was:

The IAF, which had tracked the work of Houston-based senior scientist Kumar Krishen's work for nearly three years, finally roped in after he quit NASA in September 2018.
Does "track work of somebody's work" here mean "note the progress" of or is it an error?


texts: "I don't smoke more cigarettes than i need to get a kick out of."

texts: I heard someone say " I don't smoke more cigarettes than i need to get a kick out of.", and i was wondering whether what he said is grammatically correct.


texts: Strong vs. Weak Verbs: Plus Verbs with Many Different Past Tenses and Past Participles

texts:
Okay, so this question came up the other day and it's not the first time, but it got me to thinking about words in English with variant past tenses and past participles; what is correct?  Can one use somewhat archaic formations that may now be dialectal English or even obsolete and still get the message across?  What are the rules for the myriad past tenses and past participles that can exist for one word?  I know there are certain rules wherein it is used, but often as an attributive adjective such as "sunken" in the example,

  "the sunken ship";

however, what do I do when I am editing someone's English paper and the writer insists on writing constructions that don't go with usual rules in Modern English?  Here are a few examples that I have had to debate about whether I should edit or allow the writer a certain cachet or style in his writing, not to mention that I am not 100% sure whether these can't be used this way and still follow the rules to the point that it's not a grammatical error or a form of catachresis:

  "By the time they arrived on scene, the ship had sunken into the
  deep blue sea." (past participle: to sink)

  "By springtime, the snow has usually molten from site." (past
  participle: to melt)

  "The batter knows he swang at a bad pitch." (simple past: to swing)

Now, I've looked these up in several dictionaries, both online and in book form, and they appear to work.  "Swang" as the simple past for "swing" says in some dictionaries that it's archaic, dialectal, "archaic and/or dialectal", nonstandard, and the list probably can go on.

I know there are strange past tenses as well as some that are not used too often.  I can list some and hope you can figure out where they come from if you should not know them offhand: slank, stang, slang, wrang, snuck, clave, wrothe, writhen, chode, chid, stove, rove, shope, shapen, misshapen, drunken, shove, shaven, shore, snew, snown, crew, abode, abidden, bode, bidden.

In my editing within the last couple of years, I've run into a few of these listed above in sentences similar to the ones listed below:

  "He slank through the hallway."

  "Man has been shapen in God's image."

  "He wrang the man's neck."

I've looked up "wrang" to see whether it can be used as the past tense of "wring" and it's hard to find it in most dictionaries, but I have found it in a couple as an alternative past tense or one that is archaic or dialectal, and it appears to have some provenance as I have found that wringen in German has a simple past tense of wrang and a past participle of gewrungen.

Then there's "snuck" as the past tense and past participle of "to sneak", which gives me pause in correcting since I've been chidden before for having corrected this form:

  "He snuck out with his friends."

In this situation, I've always been told that "snuck" is bad English; the past tense should be "sneaked"; however, some dictionaries give it a pass as a new variant that has gone from a weak verb to a strong verb in its past tense.  Does that mean I allow this one to go by unedited?

Basically, my question is this: What do I do with someone who likes to write with this style?  Is the style fine to allow to go uncorrected or is he just wrong?  What are some of the rules for these past tenses and past participles.


texts:
‘I have been in worse problems’ is this statement gramitically and syntactically correct?
I have tried searching in Google and also on quora
But I got both positive and negative answers


texts:
What does "be out" mean in this excerpt:

  So just to recap real quick, make sure your car’s back into drive, signal to the left so that you're indicating which way you're pulling out, you're going to check your left side mirror to make sure you have enough room, and then right before you actually pull out, you must turn your head. Turn over your left shoulder, make sure there’s enough room to safely pull out and when all of that happens, pull out of that spot and you’ll be out there and driving safely again.

Source: this driving video


texts: Why do people consider that the non-continuous meaning relates to physical pain?

texts:
SOURCE  (Javalatte's comment)

  hurt as an intransitive verb is definitely mixed, and the majority of people consider that the non-continuous meaning relates to physical pain

Can somebody explain why the non continuous meaning relates to physical pain? Is it because the physical pain can not be seen (my stomach hurts) and in case the pain can be seen (example I am bleeding), is it better to use continuous tense?


texts: Is the phrase " to facilitate the comprehension of the poem" correct?

texts:
I want to say that the simple syntax of a poem, makes it easy for the reader to understand. Is it correct to write

  The simple syntax that is used, facilitates the comprehension of the
  poem.

?


texts:
I was reading a standard (DS-1 Drill Stem Inspection) and I saw the following sentence:

The reference standard for flux leakage transverse flaw detection
units shall be a through-wall drilled hole standard prepared from a
length of pipe of the same nominal diameter as the pipe to be
inspected.The hole size shall be 1/16 inch, ±1/64 inch indiameter.

I couldn't completely understand the word "through-wall hole".
what has me confused is this:
does The hole have to go completely through the body of the pipe(as in you can see through it) or does it mean that "put your drill bit perpendicular to body of the pipe and make an arbitrary hole depth with the specified diameter"?


texts: Word request for scenario "where everything is a lie" like disillusionment?

texts:
I am looking for a word like disillusionment. Like the movie The Usual Suspect, suppose, you have a friend, who has been telling you a story.
You believe the story, and than you suddenly realize that everything he told you is a lie.(Gaslighting)
You might lose your sanity, and start questioning everything.
What would be the best word to describe it?
For e.g.
"Jon has been fooling his friend Jane. But Jane does not know it. Jane believes everything Jon tells him. Jon leaves. Suddenly one day, Jan realizes that everything Jon told him is a lie, and she has been fooled. Jan slowly loses her sanity, and starts questioning even her real experiences."
Does disillusionment describe this scenario? She has gone insane/is disillusioned? etc.
If yes, what other words can I use?


texts:
Does it mean "total mobile sales are zero". If so, is it paradoxical with what was said in the second sentence, which is $100M?

  According to Fung Global Retail, the warehouse club sector is expected to generate $191 billion in revenues in 2017. But according to Huang, mobile sales for all these competitors total "about zero. In just three years we've reached $100M in sales."

Source


texts:
Look at the picture, I am not sure if I understand the stairs' anatomy correctly.
Do we say "main handrail", "subhandrail", "a railing" as shown in the above picture?
A flight of stairs might have 1 main handrail and some subhandrails. It might also have many railings.
My child is too short to hold the main handrail. In this case,
Is it correct to say "Please hold on to the subhandrail and railings while walking up the stairs"?


texts:
I notices that some people will pronounce the word, "either" in one of two ways. The first one is accentuiating e and pronouncing the e like one would were they saying the word, "each". The other is way I have heard people pronounce either is by pronouncing the word like one would if either were spelled "ither".

Is it just an accent difference? If so, which regions pronounce it which way?


texts:
which one is correct? Or neither?

(1) Will everyone be notified regarding the number of prizes they would receive?

or

(2) Will everyone be notified the number of prizes they would receive?


texts: “the top levels of government” -- why not "of THE government"?

texts:
Example taken from: Russia questions five suspects over Nemtsov killing:

  However no information has emerged as to the possible motive the men could have had in killing the charismatic opposition leader. His allies believe his assassination was a hit ordered by the top levels of government determined to silence dissenters. The allegation has been strenuously denied.

Why not say by the top levels of the government? What do you think the difference would be?


texts:
If I would like to express that the application has to be submitted on the two exact days mentioned below, can I use "from" as italic? Will the meaning change to "starting from that date" when using "from", or should "on" be used?

  Submit the Application Form from 4th October 2018 (Thursday), at 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. / 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. or from 5th October 2018 (Friday) at 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. / 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m."


texts: "Caulk" Vs "Cock" Pronunciation Difference

texts:
How do I pronounce "caulk" so that it is not misheard as "cock"?

Some native speakers told me that they are the same sound.


texts: Grammar in the phrase: "I was thinking we talked for 30 min"

texts:
This is from an email exchange. I was supposed to meet with someone and asked the person how long our (future) meeting would last. The response was "I was thinking we talked for 30 min".

It occurred to me that while I knew the meaning of it, it had been a while since I learned the relevant grammar rule, so I couldn't "justify" the usage of past simple in this sentence. I tried googling, but haven't found anything relevant yet.

My confusion is about using past tense to describe a future event. It sounds like an effort to make it sound more tentative and more polite, perhaps. Something in the spirit of "I'd prefer (it) if you didn't mention this to anyone." but I can't quite pinpoint the relevant grammar here. Or was it just a mistake?

Thanks!


texts: Does "Though she felt ill, she still went to work" sound natural?

texts:
Though she felt ill, she still went to work.

Does this sentence sound natural to you?


texts:
OP: "Mother dished the food up straight out of the saucepan"

I only know what "straight out" means. It means FRANKLY or DIRECTLY. But when it adds "of" behind it, I just cannot figure out what does it actually mean?


texts: What is the natural way of saying in this situation, Mom had just been home but her son didn't pay any attention, but kept watching TV?

texts:
What is the natural way of saying to your son in this situation,

Mom had just been home but the son didn't pay any attention to her or
say "hello" to her, but just kept watching TV?

Is it natural to say this to your son "you should care about Mom by saying something to her when she's home, for example, 'how was your day?' or 'hello mom'"?


texts: Improving wording to use in job interview

texts:
Hi, I'm the applicant XXX. My forte(strong point) is my strength and
  stamina, which I built and developed through my past experiences as a
  cheerleader and a track-and-field athlete. Thanks to my stamina, I
  could regularly donate my blood. I have donated my blood more than 10
  times but I never felt tired or lethargic even during the day I
  donated my blood. My amazing physical energy will help myself accustom
  to frequent attendance of long-range air route flights.

Hi, I'm trying to say these sentences in the inteveiw a few days later, and before that, I want to improve these sentences(especially the sentence in bold) so that I can practice them. I need your advice.

Which one would it be better to use between forte and strong point?
Would it be better to write just stamina instead of writing both strength and stamina?

Does 'which I built and developed through my past experiences' sound natural?
Does 'built and developed' sound redundant?

I'm not sure how to rephrase "frequent attendance of long-range air-route flights". It is quite long and I want to shorten it. Is it okay to write"long-range flights" in stead of "long-range air-route flights"?
Feel free to give any additional advice. It would be really helpful to me.


texts: Date equivalent for "less than or equal"

texts:
I'm developing a software, and I have to indicate in a selection menu the equivalent of "less than or equal" for a date field.

Since we already have "Before" value, who doesn't take in account the selected date, what value can we use?

I was thinking about "Before or On", but my colleague doesn't agree.

Thanks


texts: " ... as if the dog were its mother" - why "were" and not "was"?

texts:
I passed a test and this question confuses me:

  The young chick, separated from its mother after hatching, followed the family dog around as if the dog were its mother

I chose "was its mother" as the correct answer, but it seems like the correct answer is "were".

The question is, why are we using "were" when we are referring to a singular form of a third person?

The following makes sense to me:

  ... As if you were its mother

But using "were" for the answer is like saying "He were", which doesn't make sense to me. It must be "You were" and "He was".

What's the reason for this?

UPDATE: I've read the answer links that are marked as duplicates of this question. I already know those answers. But they are talking about "You", while my question is why we are still using "Were" when both of the subjects are "Him/Her", not "You".


texts: Should there be an infinitive in "sharp corrections to elevated stock prices"?

texts:
…the Survey calls "a classic emerging market 'sudden stall' induced by sharp corrections to elevated stock prices." With Indian stock indices continuing…

(emphasis added)

Why it is "to + verb 2nd form" should it be "to+elevate" ???


texts: Do we use 'with' or 'to' with 'proportionally'?

texts:
The temperature increases proportionally to/with pressure

I found some forums that used 'to' instead of 'with'. I have heard the adjective 'proportional' used with 'to', as 'X is proportional to Y'.

But when it comes to the adverb, I feel 'with' sounds better. But Google search (even though both expressions yield thousands of results, 'to' is more commonly used than 'with') and Ngrams disagrees with me. Any help?


texts:
I see a sentence in my book:

Diamond necklaces and rings had been beautifully arranged on a background of black velvet.

Why not say: of a black velvet？


texts: What is the difference: "doesn't come" vs "won't come"

texts:
I was doing an exercise and came across this:

  If the teacher ... we ... the exam(not come, not have).

So my guess would be one of the followings:

  If the teacher doesn't come we won't have the exam.

  If the teacher won't come we won't have the exam.

Could you please explain what should be in places of dots and why?


texts: How can we say that 'adverbs are placed as close as possible to the words they are supposed to modify'

texts: eg. He ate the cake quickly, In this sentence 'quickly' modifies 'ate' but they are not close to each other.


texts:
The following paragraphs describe a chart.
Although there was no change in the number of people aged 65-74 between 1960 and 1970,
the number of people aged 75 and over had increased during this time. By the year 200, 12.%
of the US population had reached the age of 65 or more, although this was slightly lower than in 1990
when it had peaked at 12.6%
The chart shows that today people in the United States can expect to live longer than in 1900. By the
year 200 more than 12% of the population had managed to live to the age of 65 and over compared to only 4.1% in 1900.
I have some doubts with past perfect that are used in this two paragraph.
By definition, When we are talking about past and want to mention something that happened earlier we use past perfect tense.
This rule seems not applicable for the above example. Then why we use past pee]rfect without using simple past tense?


texts: How do I understand the Aussie English accent?

texts:
Source
I am unable to understand commentary at 2:00 by an Australian and also at 1:54.What does he say?

Which method should I adopt to learn English effectively if I don't have native speakers to talk to.Any website available for learning with subtitles?


texts: "Take the time to do something" vs. "take the time out to do something"

texts:
Could you tell me if there is a difference between the phrase take the time to do something and take the time out to do something? In the 20th episode of the 9th season of Friends, they used take the time out to do something. Here it is:

Charlie: It's a... It's good to meet you! Thank you so much for taking
the time out to show me around.
Ross: Oh, no, it's no big deal, I mean, if I weren't doing this I'd
just, you know, be at the gym working out.

How the meaning would change if Charlie omitted the out?


texts:
It's pretty cold outside, and someone has opened the window. (Car, or maybe a room).

  Close the window, it's pretty cold outside.

I know that this is one way to describe it. But is there a way to use "air"( that comes in through the window) in anyway in this context?

  Close the window, air's coming in. (through the window.)

  Close the window, cool air's coming in.

Is there a better way to put it?

And if it's windy:

  It's pretty windy outside, and air's coming inside.

I know that the last part night not be used in the last sentence, but I just want to know the best way to put "air" in the sentence.


texts:
"They had to live each day, for a month, as an old person, with hidden cameras to record how other people reacted to them".

Why is past simple used in the end of this sentence?


texts: Interchangeability of present perfect continuous and present perfect

texts:
A: Why is your baby's face so dirty?

  B: "He _______ (eat) chocolate."

I know the answer is present perfect continuous (has been eating), but what about present perfect (has eaten)? Can we use it in similar situations?

I'm interested in British English in particular.


texts: "At" present situation OR "In" present situation - Which preposition is correct?

texts: Which preposition is correct when we use with the word "situation" - (in/at) present situation


texts: Which one is more correct "had been stabbed" or "was stabbed"?

texts:
Can we report the matter as below?
Which one is more correct by using Simple past (was stabbed) or Past perfect (had been stabbed)?

  Four persons were arrested by the police on Tuesday for the murder of a scrap dealer's son, XYZ (25), who had been stabbed to death on the terrace of a market complex building on the night of October 1.
  Four persons were arrested by Ghaziabad police on Tuesday for the murder of a scrap dealer's son, Farmaan (25), who was stabbed to death on the terrace of a market complex building on the night of October 1.

(Source: Article in The Times of India)


texts:
The day dawned beautiful, mild, and still at Flemington Racecourse. But it won't last: strong winds are tipped before the running of the Melbourne Cup. (Aussie ABC)

What does 'tip' mean in the context? It sounds like 'the wind blows.' But I can't find the meaning  on dictionaries.


texts:
I have a genderless word (a student), but I need to use the possessive pronoun for it. I think of four possibilities: their, his/her, her, and its.

When a student has a process, the student can improve it from their experience or other's feedbacks.
When a student has a process, the student can improve it from his/her experience or other's feedbacks.
When a student has a process, the student can improve it from her experience or other's feedbacks.
When a student has a process, the student can improve it from its experience or other's feedbacks.

What are the best, allowable, and non-allowable usage?


texts:
You usually use "fiancé" with "é" and not "e" as "fiance". Why?

I know "É"  is a letter of the Latin alphabet, and the word "fiancé" refers to mid 19th century: from French, past participle of fiancer ‘betroth’, from Old French fiance ‘a promise’, based on Latin fidere ‘to trust’.1

I know it is a loanword (like résumé from French) a word adopted from one language (the donor language) and incorporated into another language without translation.

But why don't you translate it into English? Why "é" remains original?


texts:
Could you please explain me what does "clean cut whimsy" mean? I truly have no idea. I'm trying to understand this figure of speech word by word, but it doesn't work.

  The Cosby Show was wildly popular for a reason: it executed the family
  sitcom formula better than any other program. The stories were
  moralizing but plausible, the laughs were genuine, and the cast was
  solid from top to bottom. Though he’s become less universally beloved
  in his later years, Bill Cosby is undeniably one of the most talented
  comedians ever to grace the American stage, and he carried the show
  that bore his name with his finely honed brand of clean cut whimsy.

  Source