texts: "The problem is whether they believe what I said." is a correct sentence. How about "The problem is if they believe what I said."? This sentence is less commonly used but still OK?


texts:
source: song The Box - Roddy Ricch

  I just made the Rollie plain like a landing-strip


texts: Is it appropriate to use the verbs "gain" and "lose" with the noun "visibility"? If not, what can be used instead to describe something that can change its state from visible to hidden and vice versa?


texts: What tenses should I use in clauses joined by "so"?

texts:
I'm learning about joining Past Continuous and Simple Past tenses. It's easy to understand when we use while and when. However, for other conjunctions, I don't know which sentences should be Simple Past or Past continuous. If I write a sentence with so as below, are the tenses OK?

  Several years ago, I was having problems with math, so I found a tutor to help me.


texts:
Michael Swan in his book http://ielts-house.net/Ebook/Vocabulary/Practical%20English%20usage.pdf (page 1) writes:
Commentaries on fast-moving events like football matches also have their own grammar. Less important verbs are often left out.
Goal kick ... And the score still Spurs 3, Arsenal 1 ... that's Pearce ... Pearce
to Coates ... good ball ... Sawyer running wide ... Billings takes it, through
to Matthews, Matthews with a cross, oh, and Billings in beautifully, a good
chance there - and it's a goal!

I am trying to decipher it and write all of the above in the traditional and full grammar with no words left out

It's a goal kick ... And the score has still been so that the Spurs has 3 goals, the Arsenal has 1 goal ... that's Pearce ... Pearce is heading
to Coates ... this is a good ball ... Sawyer is running widely ... Billings is taking it, THROUGH
TO Matthews, Matthews WITH A CROSS, oh, and Billings IN BEAUTIFULLY, it's a good
chance there - and it's a goal!

The Caps Lock words are the words I don't understand at all. They look like some random set of words... Is it correct what I added and how do I understand and write the Caps part?


texts:
They might not be knowing it.

Is 'knowing' a verb here? If yes, why is it considered a stative verb if it has a progressive meaning?

This is why I said knowing the meaning of it is hard.

Also here is another example using 'knowing'.


texts: Reported speech "What were you two talking about?"

texts:
Female 1: What were you two talking about?

Now, if you later wanted to convey what Female 1 has asked/said to you, how would you do it using reported speech?

  she asked me what we had been talking about?

Or,

  she asked me what we had talked about?

Or should it be something else?


texts: Word order of “carefully thought” vs “thought carefully"

texts:
He thought carefully about his decision.
He carefully thought about his decision.

In general, how do I determine if an adverb should be placed before or after a verb?

In this example, which is the better example?


texts: "a moment next of such confusion" and one other question related to a sample from an old story

texts:
I would like to ask two questions regarding the following sentence:

There was a moment next of such confusion that I did not see what
happened to Riquette, for the sight of my companion kneeling on the
dusty boards and praying with a curious sort of passionate happiness,
while tears pressed between her covering fingers—the strange wonder of
this made me utterly oblivious to minor details.

Is "next" adverb here? I am unsure of the meaning when placed like that.
Is "for" here the conjuction, meaning "because/since"? I thought so, but then I realized the sentence sounds somehow incomplete.


texts: Meaning of "mad" and "bomb" as adjectives in Ant Man

texts:
At the end of Ant-Man (2015), Michael Peña's character Luis delivers a typical rambling story to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd):

The scene can be seen from youtube. The following are the transcripts from wiki:

  Luis: Okay. Sorry, sorry. I’m ju… you know, uh, I just get excited and
  stuff. But anyway, anyway. When Ignacio tells me: “Yoh, I met this
  crazy fine writer chick at this spot last night. Like, fine, fine,
  crazy stupid fine.” And he goes up to the bartender and goes: “Look at
  the girl I’m with? You know what I’m sayin’? She’s crazy stupid fine,
  right?” [we see flashback to Ignacio meeting the girl and talking to
  the bartender who is in fact Stan Lee] And the bartender’s all like:
  “Yeah, crazy stupid fine.” So this writer chick tells Ignacio: “Yoh,
  I’m like a boss in the world of guerrilla journalism, and I got mad
  connects with the peeps behind the curtains. You know what I’m
  sayin’?” Ignacio’s like: “For real? And she’s like: Yeah. You know
  what, I can’t tell you who my contact is, because he works with the
  Avengers.”

  Scott Lang: Oh, no.

  Luis: Yeah, and this dude sounds like a bad-ass, man. Like he comes up
  to her and says… [we see flashback of the girl meting up with Sam
  Wilson in a park] “Yoh, I’m looking for this dude who’s no one seen,
  who’s flashing this fresh tack, who’s got, like, bomb moves, right?
  Who you got? She’s like: “Well, we got everything nowadays, we got a
  guy who jumps, we got a guy who swings, we got a guy who crawls up the
  walls. You gotta be more specific.” And he’s like: “I’m looking for a
  guy who shrinks.” And I’m like: “Damn!” [to Scott] I got all nervous
  cause I keep mad secrets for you, bro. So I asked Ignacio: “Did
  bad-ass tell the stupid fine writer chick to tell you to tell me
  because I’m tight with that man, that he’s looking for him?”

  Scott Lang: And? What’d he say?

  Luis: He said yes.

I don't quite understand these slangish expressions. I think the contextual meaning of mad is close to real, serious.

Bomb moves seems to me to literally mean unusual moves.


texts: Is this resume sentence too much of a run-on?

texts:
I have a 'summary' at the top of my resume, and I really could use help wording this sentence. English isn't exactly my strongest point. Is this OK? If not, how can I improve it?

As an aside, I really care more about the structure and wording of this sentence and not so much about the content. I am happy with the content; I just want to make sure I am structuring the sentence correctly. The second sentence seems long winded and possibly a run-on; however, I don't know how else to word it.

  Software developer / analyst with 10 years’ experience as a LOB
  application developer - mainly in financial services industry. A
  stickler for high coding standards; excellent communication skills,
  both written and verbal – a team player looking for a challenging,
  rewarding work environment where I can continue to grow my skills and
  add value to a successful team.


texts:
In mathematical fractions, what is the correct and proper term (in British English in case of more variants) for the horizontal division line between the numerator and the denominator?

What I find in dictionaries is

  Fraction line
  Stroke
  Fraction stroke

None of these appear in the Oxford Lexico dictionary, though, so I am in doubt. Which is a proper term that is used in English-speaking schools?


texts:
Perhaps most far reaching, California is prepared to expose the extent to which low-wage employers get a free ride on taxpayers.

In this sentence, is 'perhaps most far reaching' is a modifier?  If so, then what does it modify? I mean, WHAT is far reaching they're saying here?  And how do I know that though there isn't any subject or verb in that phrase?


texts: "It took {bla bla} to do something" structures: what's wrong with the dummy subject in comparative sentences?

texts:
Based on this answer, I would like to know why it's really odd to say:

  Fixing the problem took me two hours more than it took me to find the problem.

I know we can (or should) use ellipses, I intentionally wrote the sentence in the full version without any deletion.

The Question: I want to know what's wrong with that dummy subject it? What makes the sentence ungrammatical? I am  not asking whether my sentence is wrong or right because as the cited answer says it's not right.

In brief,

It took me two hours to find the problem.
It took me four hours to fix the problem.

Hence, Fixing the problem took me two hours more than it took me to find the problem.

About the cited post:

Question:

  "B. She was a good student, finishing in half the time it took the others to finish."

Answer:

  "Sentence B also sounds really odd. You should rephrase it like: ...finishing in half the time the others took to finish."


texts: Meaning of "Early morning itself why are you painting the road"

texts:
Source of this info is here
https://youtu.be/6NDJ-SC2_2g
Start the movie at 16: 16
Would it be right to say,
early morning only, why are you painting the road?
Instead of below
Early morning itself why are you painting the road


texts:
I found this.

  China is North Korea’s biggest trading partner by some margin.

That means the trading amount is nearly 0?


texts:
In describing a formula I wrote:

  (H + P) like before is the time for searching in the lists of the handles and patterns.

I already have explained (H + P) in another case of this formula. So, in a new case I want to refer to that explanation, so I used "like before".

Is it correct and formal? What are other alternatives?


texts: Pronunciation in British v. American English

texts:
Why are words like privacy pronounced like ˈprɪv.ə.si in British and ˈpraɪ.və.si in American (short vowel in the first case, long in the latter one)?
I read that determining whether a vowel is short or long, one must split the word in syllables, and then  if that vowel is the only one in the syllable and is not succeded by a consonant is long, but if that vowel is still the only one in the syllable but is followed by a consonant in the same syllable is short. In the case of privacy I think it is because of the different spellings (priv-a-cy in British and pri-va-cy in American). If so, do you know other words that have different spellings in British than in American? Thank You


texts: Let pets "get near" vs "come close to" you

texts: Which one's correct? E.g. if one's too scared and won't even pat them.


texts: Usage of "any" or "some" in "Would you like ..... wine?"

texts:
I have got another test question:

  Would you like ..... wine?

  any
  some

This test assumes that the only correct answer is 'some' and some people argue that the use of 'any' in this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

I think that both 'some' and 'any' is possible there with a difference in the meaning that with 'some' we are expecting answer 'yes' and with 'any' we are not sure if the answer 'yes' or 'no' at all.

I can imagine the following dialog:

Q. Would you like some white wine?
A. No, I don't like white wine.
Q. Would you like some red wine instead?
A. No, I don't like red wine too.
Q. Would you like any wine?


texts:
The package can be torn......by pulling on the red tab located at the top left corner of the box.

A.open

B.opening

C.to open

D.opened

and please explain your option.


texts:
Which of the following words is correct and why?

  This helps discriminating/discrimination of objects...


texts: Repeated actions and the past progressive

texts:
As far as I know the past progressive don't normally use for express meaning of repeating. But we can use in the following case (Swan, Practical English Usage):

  Aunt Lucy was always turning up without warning and bringing us a
  present.

In the case we use the past progressive with repeated meaning. I suppose such using of the tense emphasize a positive emotion. It also can emphasize a negative emotion, rather than past simple. Am I right?


texts: What's the difference between Simple Present vs. Present Progressive for expressing a habit?

texts:
According to this page, it is okay to use present progressive to describe interrupted actions:

  She is studying English five days a week.

But I know for expressing habits we should use simple present:

  She studies English five days a week.

Are both examples means the same? If so, then we can extend this to other examples which it feels wrong to me. In example:

  I am eating my food every day.

is the same as:

  I eat my food every day.

What's the difference between these 2 examples? It seems we can use present progressive over simple present for describing "time-consuming habits" like eating, studying, watching a movie and so on, right?


texts: A parentless child is an orphan, but a child with bad parents is?

texts: A parentless child is called an orphan. But is there a word for a child whose parents have lost their legal parenting rights as a result of child mistreatment?


texts:
sentence: Let's meet in the lobby at noon.

I see three objects here: "us", "lobby" and "noon", whereas the correct answer is two. This sentence example comes from this YouTube video,
5:50 min.

Please explain me, why the word "us" is not considered an object?


texts: Meaning of perfect aspect in infinite clauses

texts:
Motivated by this question I've realised I have some difficulty in interpreting infinite clauses.
What is an infinite clause?
One of my grammar books says that an non-finite clause is a dependent clause that unlike finite clauses have no tense or modality. Infinite clauses are a particular case of non-finite clauses, and are constructed using a verb in infinitive form. Here are some examples:

To have thought this made him more cheerful
It's difficult to maintain a friendship
My goal now is to look into the future

My difficulty: Attaching a tense to an infinite clause
Probably because of the *-to-be expressions:

the bride-to-be
the groom-to-be
a failure-to-be
is-to-be

I have interpreted clauses like:

then to be seen only in Japan

as:

which are about to be seen only in Japan

In the question I linked above, @StoneyB points out that correct interpretation is:

which then could be seen only in Japan

My question: Do infinite clauses with perfect aspect imply a past tense?
I would like to get help to interpret the difference in meaning in these two clauses:

To think this makes him more cheerful

To have thought this makes him more cheerful

Amber already answered to this question in the comments:

You find it unthinkable that this makes him more cheerful.

You thought this would make him more cheerful, but in retrospect it seems unthinkable.

Additional question: Can an infinite clause carry meaning of future
I understand from Amber's comment that "to think" just describes the action of thinking without saying when, but "to have thought" describes a past event, a thinking I did in the past.
What I would like to see is whether there are cases where "to think" may carry meaning of a future action, as in the expression is-to-be.


texts: "Is owned programmers" - What does this mean?

texts:
Example with a context (How to Write Doc Comments for the Javadoc Tool):

  The doc comments for the Java platform API specification is owned programmers. However, they are edited by both programmers and writers. It is a basic premise that writers and programmers honor each other's capabilities and both contribute to the best doc comments possible.

I completely don't understand what that sentence is trying to say. What do they mean by is owned programmers?


texts:
It doesn't occur to me that I haven't exactly showered him with love and adoration and overt affection, nor does it occur to me that within five seconds I will have offended every breathing entity within my radius and not have a clue why.

I would like to ask whether it would be a mistake to use just simple future tense instead of perfect future in the passage in bold in the above sentence? The excerpt is an internal monologue from one short story.


texts:
This nation has not allowed one single day, one single year, one single decade pass over the last 40 years of the life of the ruling Islamists without systematically, consistently, non-violently, but structurally challenging and changing it. This challenge has changed the ruling regime, produced rooted and successive women's rights, human rights and civil rights movements within the skeletal framing of the ruling Islamic Republic.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/idea-regime-change-iran-delusional-180604165615762.html

I have to ask someone to help me with understanding the above paragraph. I am not sure how to interpret the passage in bold. Does it say that the Iranian people (the nation) permanently over the last 40 years under the regime of the theocracy were able to change in a positive way the nature of the regime? Does the whole paragraph say that in reality, the regime is not so bad – as is often suggested – and that there is the progress in terms of civil and human right and so on?


texts: Do I need the "the" in the following sentence: "Whenever I got depressed, (**the**) sounds seemed amplified"

texts:
Whenever I got depressed, (the) sounds amplified themselves ten or
  twenty times.

Why or why not?


texts: Why is "what" correct in the following sentence instead of "that"?

texts:
Nobody knows for sure (that, what) the world will look like in 20 to 25 years from now?

The second part: "the world will look like 20 to 25 years from now" is it correct or wrong?


texts: Meaning of "behind the initial outbreak" in the following sentences?

texts:
What is the meaning of "behind the initial outbreak" in the following sentences,

  The death toll has now topped 3,000 in China, where experts say they
  have identified two  of the virus. That team, based at Beijing’s
  Peking University, suggested a more aggressive strain was behind
  the initial outbreak and accounts for 70 per cent of cases, while a
  milder version is now spreading faster.

(Source : "Coronavirus ‘is like a combination of SARS and AIDS’, doctors say " By Sam Corbishley )

Does "a more aggressive strain was behind the initial outbreak" mean "a more agressive strain was spreading slower" ?


texts: I heard this sentence in a video.What actually means by "so fine a gift".I didn't understand.Please explain what kind of sentence is this?


texts: Can "do somebody" mean "imitate somebody" in spoken English?

texts:
I heard this exchange from Friends (an American TV show):

  ... ...

  A: They do you.

  B: Do me?

  ... ...

(Unfortunately, I don't know the episode number.)

The context is that A is B's assistant and she is trying to give B (a boss) some feedback about how B's team members think of him. I figure "They do you" here means they imitate him, such as his behavior, the words he said, the way he speaks, and etc.

Am I getting it right? Is it a common usage?


texts: Using two-ings in the same phrase. Is it grammatically correct?

texts: My dad is texting me using abbreviations.


texts: What kind of trip WILL YOU BE TAKING vs. What kind of trip DO YOU WANT TO TAKE?

texts:
A sentence meaning question of:

  1) What kind of trip will you be taking?

Vs.

  2) What kind of trip do you want to take? (If I were to construct)

If I were to ask a commuter about the trip he is going to take I would construct Sentence 2...

What is the difference between the two really?
 - is it how soon it will be? Or something...


texts: Does this past perfect tense imply regret?

texts:
Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley - how could he have been so stupid?
It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat.
(Harry Potter)

The first past perfect tense, surely, shows Harry being self-critical. In the context, it seems the second one also has the same meaning, but I’m not so sure because of what. Would you let me know better?


texts:
Is it correct sentence?

  "I have been really into science fiction movies recently".

If it is right, what is difference with

  "I am really into science fiction movies"?


texts: Have I chosen the good tenses for both events

texts:
I was a bit really surprised when I received the confirmation from bandcamp  that  the sprints single was on its way to me. Although I had asked for it, I had not sent any money for it.

I was wondering if 'did not send' would be better? I don't think so cause both events happened before being surprised and I want to emphasize both of them.


texts:
Consider the following example from the entry for soak in Macmillan:

  Blood was soaking through my glove.

When soak is used in the middle voice as above, could it be substituted with "was soaking itself through.." or "was being soaked through.." here?

I think the original example represents more of a spontaneous event while "was being soaked through.." more of an intended action.

Do I get it right?


texts: What does slow your role mean and is it role or roll?

texts:
Can someone please help me to clear this up in this statement:

  Should it be role or roll and what is the meaning and/or
  origin of it.


texts: What is the meaning of "Why else would she?" in this context?

texts:
I have told my husband it makes me very uncomfortable and that it almost seems she attends hoping to run into him. Why else would she?

Would someone explain what the part in bold means please?


texts: Is it a mistake? or grammatically ok? 'I'm gonna have to work on what else can she call me/

texts:
I watched a interview with Hillary on Ellen Show.

Hillary was talking about her granddaughter. Ellen asked what she called Hillary

Hillary said on the show :

  She’s got a couple of words. I’m waiting to see what she wants to call
  me. If I like it, I’ll say “yeah that’s a good one”. If I don’t, then
  I’m gonna have to work on what else can she call me.

I thought that the last sentence was supposed to be like I'm gonna have to work on what else she can call me. Because 'what else she can call me' is not a question.
So, I thought she said it grammatically wrong. But I'm not sure if it is her slight mistake.

You could watch it at 3:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RihhE7Qgkww&t=3m50s


texts:
Yesterday my teacher corrected me, because I said "take a bath" (I was talking about taking a bath in the beach). He told me that the right way to say it was "take a dip". I want to know if he was right, or if that is only one way to say it.
Thank you all


texts:
We use comma to set off a quote. Example:

  Yesterday, Al came to me and said, "What are you doing?"

But when I want to express a thought to someone or myself, how do we punctuate it?

  I thought to myself, "Can't he see what I am doing?"

OR

  I said to myself, "Can't he see what I am doing?"

is it correct? Or is there any other way to punctuate it?


texts: Is it a correct construction "do something without somebody doing something"?

texts:
For example, I wrote the sentance:

  Any program that is able to answer the questions meaningfully and keep the conversation going without people guessing it’s an AI is a human-like one.

Firstly, I wonder if it's correct. Secondly, it would be very nice of you to show a few more constructions with a close meaning.


texts: What does "facilitated the loans" mean here?

texts:
Can anybody paraphrase the sentence in bold for me, please? I feel confused. Thanks.
Big banks also serviced a large chunk of customers in the Paycheck Protection Program, the government’s $660 billion effort to prop up small businesses. Since lenders mostly catered to existing customers, the money first landed in bank accounts of the firms that facilitated the loans.
Source:https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/21/banks-have-grown-by-2-trillion-in-deposits-since-coronavirus-first-hit.html


texts: My understanding is there is a 'recommended sell by' date beyond which the food is considered  'not so fresh' and an 'expiration date' beyond which the food is potentially spoiled and should not be eaten. After the first date the food is 'outdated' and after the second date it's 'expired'. Is my understanding correct?


texts: Is it ok to use "chip in" like this in an IELTS writing task

texts:
I want to express that the purpose of education should serve the development of whole society.
My writing:

On one hand, in most countries, education is invested with national revenue. In other words, every tax payer is required to chip in. So, it should serve for the development of whole society.

My question:

is "chip in" too informal? Should I change it?
are these three sentences logical to a native speaker of English?


texts: ran lower to the ground vs ran low to the ground

texts:
Can you explain to me why author have used word "lower" instead of "low". The text is:

  I was too far away to see anyone, so I parked behind a big rock at the base of the mountain, left my helmet there, and hurried into the tall grass. The trees were about 200 yards away when I ducked and ran lower to the ground.

Is that correct to tell "ran lower to the ground"?.


texts: "I told you earlier" or "I told before"?

texts:
Could you tell me if I have to use earlier or before after tell in the following context.

  Person A: why didn't you tell me that Kate and John are going to get married.

  Person B: Actually, I told you earlier/before. A few times.

Are both possible? If so, then is there any difference in meaning between the two?


texts: Parallel Structure - 'print twenty copies first and make sure they deliver them on time'

texts:
I read the following script in a TOEIC Speaking book:

  “Hi, Mohammed. This is Sam.
  I just got your voicemail about the printing job. I would rather go with the original printer. Maybe you can ask them to print twenty copies first and make sure they deliver them on time, before you have a meeting with a client, and then they can finish up the rest of the copies later… after you have a meeting.”

I think the boldfaced sentence can be analyzed into the following:

You can ask them to print twenty copies first and (you can ask them to) make sure they deliver them on time.
You can ask them to print twenty copies first and (you can) make sure they deliver them on time.

Which one do you think is correct? #1? #2?


texts:
What does "like" mean in "What’s your schedule like next week?"
Can I say that without ‘LIKE’?


texts: What is the sense of using "have had" in this context?

texts:
Context:

  When I have had the food, then only I will tell you the story.

What is the sense of using "have had" here?

I am thinking that the sentence should be :: When I will have the food, then only I will tell you the story.


texts: Meaning and syntactic function of modal verb.

texts:
He would be a servant in his family.

In what sense is the construction (would be) used?

It's a modal verb right? And as it's a predicate in this sentence,what type of predicate is it?


texts: Usage of “Want someone to do something” in relative

texts:
Should i use pronoun “him” before “ to win “secondly in relative clauses in sentence below ?

“ The man who i want to win award “.


texts:
Let's say a primary school teacher is going to tell a story. But before she starts, she is asking her students to:

  form a circle line surrounding her (like this one in the picture)

What is a better way of saying it? I think there's a fixed phrase for it, but I can't get the correct word out.


texts:
Is it acceptable to use a negation after "unless"? I know it's far from standard.

  You don't love people. But you will succeed unless you don't like people.


texts: P*ss one's pants (out of/from/with) fear / laughter

texts:
I wonder what preposition do you normally use after the informal idiom "piss one's pants" to join it with the words like "laughter" or "fear" etc.?

Example 1:

  — He was really a chicken! I never forget once that the air raid began. Believe it or not he pissed his pants............fear.

a. with
b. from
c. out of

Example 2:

  She is hilarious; yesterday she had us pissing our pants ........ laughter.

a. with
b. from
c. out of

I wonder what choice is correct here?
If non of them works, please let me know what do you normally use instead?


texts: How to use "threat" and" the body health" together?

texts:
Have I correctly written this sentence? How do I join the negation of "threat" and the phrase "body health" (to say that a threat to body health won't exist)?

  In this way  no  threat to athlete's health will be.


texts: Usage of "Should" With Subjunctive or Without Subjunctive

texts:
What is meaning of "should" in these sentences?

What are differences from other usages of "should"?

  It's funny that you should say that. I was going to say the same thing.
  It's only natural that parents should worry about their children.


texts:
Is it also possible to write "level intro" as an alternative to "intro Level"?
In case of yes, as I guess, what the grammar would be to justify the structure?


texts:
I have a question regarding reporting verbs such as "deny", which are followed by another verb in -ing form.
Direct speech: "I didn't steal the car", said Harry.
The action is in the past tense "didn't steal".
So if I transformed this sentence into reported speech should it be "Harry denied stealing the car" or "Harry denied having stolen the car"?


texts:
Rhetorical - I find this word too difficult to understand. Translation of this word to my native language also didn't help me to understand.

I have verified some websites and found no answers understandable because of no simple examples or my lack of skill.

In Merriam-Webster site, the definition for Rhetorical as follows,

a : of, relating to, or concerned with rhetoric,
b : employed for rhetorical effect; especially : asked merely for effect with no answer expected a rhetorical question

So please help me with some examples.

Sorry for my bad English. English is not my native language.

Thanks in advance.


texts: someone who tries to be funny but they're not

texts:
You've probably come across such a person who tries to be funny but he can't be because he's not but he thinks he is. Their jokes are old or simply what they say is not funny, you get the idea. Not that they're weird or bad; actually they turn out to be real sweethearts sometimes but they're just not funny. What do you call such a person?

  Your grandpa is nice but let's face it: he's [the word]

  Oh man I don't know why he tries so hard to be funny! Why nobody tells him that he's just [the word]. That's pathetic!

An adjective, a noun, or a noun phrase will do.

Edit: In my native language we have an adjective to describe such a person which literally means insipid that is used for food, too. Like insipid food which tastes bland, the person who's *insipid has not much sense of humor as if being funny was like spice making the person *tasteful. I thought there might be an equivalent in English but I gave up searching after a while and I posted the question.

Thanks


texts:
I am wondering what could means such a given sentence:

  you could use "help" in your sentence.

I mean that "could" is used in the past situations but i only consider this sentence and its exact meaning.

Let me explain what I comprehend according to this sentence:

  you did not use "help" in your sentence. However, there is another verb which is "help" that you can depict your idea with the same cleanness.

Am I right?


texts: Is there a good adjective for jigsaw pieces that don't match? I feel like "unfitting" and "non-matching" are not idiomatic and perhaps even incorrect. I was wondering if there were better adjectives that I didn't consider.


texts: Question about relative pronouns and clauses

texts:
My friend wants to share some sugar with me. I need a container for it. What should I say in the following situations?

I'll go and look for something to put it in.
I'll go and look for something that/what/where I can put it in.

If I'm trying to cut the butter can I say:

I'm looking for something to cut the butter.
I'm looking for something to cut the butter with.
I'm looking for something that/what/which I can cut the butter with.


texts:
This is the sentence that I've been thinking:

I would have gone had they been ____
a) ignorant
b) ignorance

Notice that the writer (of the question) omitted the "if", so that he could revert they and had, means that the sentence is a conditional sentence.
So, between ignorant and ignorance which one is better? In this case I'm thinking about "I'd be happy", It has an identical structure with the question, is it correct if I choose b) since it's an adjective?
Sometimes, I'm confused with what I should put after "be". Like:

I want to be a doctor (a noun)
I want to be happy (an adjective)

What's the difference? How do i know? Hope you can make me understand.


texts:
Could you tell me which sounds the most correct and natural: of all or out of all? For example:

  Out of all the people I know Kate sings the best.

  Of all the people I know Kate sings the best.

If both are perfectly fine, then which one is more common?


texts: The difference between " I ate at 7:00 AM" and " I ate from 7:00 AM"?

texts:
What's the  difference  between:

  I ate at 7:00 AM.

and

  I ate from 7:00 AM.


texts: Is "whimper" the same as "say with pain"?

texts:
"How is this possible?"
  whimpered the old man. "I saw you die by the hands of our enemies. I thought you were a goner!"

I am seriously wondering if you can use the verb whimper that way. I am saying that, because it seems to mean

  To cry or sob with soft intermittent sounds; whine

  To complain.

Now, I've never seen it used to mean "complain" and I always see it being used as "say with intermittent sobs" or "say with pain", but the first definition doesn't match, because when you cry you don't talk. So is there a simple explanation for this?


texts: What is the time frame of "This weekend"?

texts:
Look at this page

  On a weekday, the weekend or this weekend can refer either to the
  previous weekend or the following weekend. You can use at, during, or
  over in front of the weekend. Don't use any preposition in front of
  this weekend.

  My birthday was this weekend.

  We might be able to go skiing this weekend.

Here is what I understood, suppose that today is Tuesday & I say:

My birthday was this weekend. (the previous weekend, ie 4 days ago)

We might be able to go skiing this weekend. (the following weekend., ie that will happen in 4 days)

And Cambridge Grammar says:

  We often use this with words describing time and dates like morning,
  afternoon, evening, week, month, year to refer to ‘the one that’s
  coming’ or ‘the one we’re currently in’:

  I’ll be with you some time this evening.

  Johan seemed very happy this afternoon.

  Ian is in Germany all this week.

If I say:

My birthday was this weekend.

Suppose today is Sunday, does that sentence  mean  my birthday happened on Saturday?

Suppose today is Friday, does that sentence  mean  my birthday happened at the weekend last week?


texts:
It is from this article about a boxing match.

  The rematch was again played out at pace, with Whyte picking smart shots under pressure.

I would get if there were a clarification of at what pace, slow or fast. Perhaps it has a somewhat different meaning there.


texts: "I don't promise anything / nothing / something / everything" - Difference?

texts:
If I want to say someone that I don't premise him about that, it says, I want to give him nothing about permission. what's out of the following four is the correct?

For example:

  a) I think I'll finish the procedure today but I don't promise
  nothing. (or maybe I don't want to promise is more idiomatic)

  b) I think I'll finish the procedure today but I don't promise anything.

Now, if I say "nothing" I'm confused whether it's considered a multiple negation or not, because if it is, then I basically say the opposite of what I want. And if I say "anything" it sounds to me like I say something like "I don't promise you anything in the world but I do promise something anyway.".

By the way I'm also confused about the words, something and everything in this context.

  c) I think I'll finish the procedure today but I don't promise something.

  d) I think I'll finish the procedure today but I don't promise everything.


texts: What is the difference between "go for" and "go with" in the sense of choosing something?

texts:
What is the difference between go for and go with in the sense of choosing something? For example:

  I was offered a few jobs and I will probably  go for the one with higher pay.

  I was offered a few jobs and I will probably go with the one with higher pay.


texts: different ways of asking if something is free

texts:
I've come up with these following expressions to ask if something is free or not by using the word charge. It seems like the word is really versatile  because not only can we use it as a verb as in "we charge you for parking ", but also as a noun as "an incidental charge is an extra charge that is excluded or outside the rate of the hotel". So can you guys confirm whether these following sentences are natural or not.

Will I be charged for this?
Are there any charges for this?
Does it charge anything?

Thanks.


texts:
Drinking tea is good for health.
What is the function and name of the part of speech  tea in the sentence given below.

Drinking tea is good for health.

Some grammarians say that tea is the object of the gerund Drinking. I think Drinking tea is the subject collectively.


texts: Difference between (was thinking / thought / have thought / had thought)

texts:
Consider the following dialogue:

  A: I think we should go to China for our holiday this year.

  B: Sorry, what did you say? I was thinking about my work.

If I replaced "was thinking" with "thought", "have thought" or "had thought", would they be all acceptable in the conversation? Would each of them bring any difference in meaning?


texts:
The best way to cut it short and still convey your message is adding -able to any verb.

  Yeah, it's doable - I considered all risks, resources to be used, my endurance, budget and the like.

Also,

  I know you cannot sleep with any disturbance around. And, I have heard that the new hostel you are shifting in has a lot of factories nearby. Will you be comfortable?
  True, but it's still sleepable! (I know it's improper but using this to cut it short!)

Now, the question -

  Is putting -able to any verb allowed following any rule/s?** We have doable, walkable, manageable, and so on.

If we can apply -able to any verb, things become so easy!


texts: Which auxiliary verb or copular to refer to uncountable nouns?

texts:
If we take uncountable noun (or "mass noun") such as toothpaste which is marked in the dictionary as uncountable, then which auxiliary verb / copular (is / are) I have to use in the following sentences / contexts?

  Sentence A: There is/ are toothpaste that is / are not safety.
  (I mean to one only...)

  Sentence B: This toothpaste is pleasant for mouth (I mean to 2 types of toothpaste).

In sentence B my paradox here comes from the fact that it is something uncountable (a lot...)and therefore should get "are" when my meaning to one only and it should get "is".


texts:
Can we use compound nouns as adjectives? What can we say about the compound nouns below, aren't they defining the subjects?

examples:
1. Jack the Ripper suspect
2. Snowman drawing book
3. Fruit-fly trap


texts: My English is not so good. Can someone please tell me what a non-integer string is?


texts: The difference between "prevent" and "avoid"

texts:
The accident could have been prevented

The accident could have been avoided

Would you show me semantically what the difference between the two is?

Also, are there any scenarios in which both sentences could be used interchangeably?


texts: This sounds circular for numbers etc. - what's the meaning of circular in this passage?

texts:
Primitives are also compared by value: two values are the same only if they have the same value. This sounds circular for numbers, booleans, null, and undefined: there is no other way that they could be compared. Again, however, it is not so obvious for strings. If two distinct string values are compared, JavaScript treats them as equal if, and only if, they have the same length and if the character at each index is the same.

I can't understand what the adjective circular is supposed to mean in this context. According to dictionaries, the word has basically two definitions: when something has a round shape and the other meaning is about a logical argument being circular. Neither one appears to be fitting for the context of this paragraph.


texts: Would you help me with using combined adjectives and it's shortened of them?

texts:
They are 15-year-old girls

They are 15-year-olds

Are both of them the same and correct? if so, could anybody possibly kindly tell me when would you rather use which one?


texts:
Could someone explain this quote ? I do understand the words used in this quote but I just do not really understand what exactly does it say..

  One will rarely err if extreme actions be ascribed to vanity, ordinary actions to habit, and mean actions to fear.

from: Human All-Too-Human by Friedrich Nietzsche


texts:
My textbook says they are incorrect, but I fail to find their mistakes.

  Many men still have difficulty accepting a woman to be a business
  partner.

  At the daycare center, the teachers treated the children like their
  own children.


texts: Word for people with interesting and for those with boring stories

texts:
What word can I use to describe people who frequently keep telling a long story in a boring way (i.e. they keep telling their life incidences in exaggerated way)?

In a similar vein, what word can I use to describe people who keep telling their life incidences in interesting and enjoyable ways?


texts: Do I need do add "over" after "come" in the following sentence?

texts:
I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come (over) and chat with you for a bit'.

The person who's speaking went to another person's door. Do I need to add "over"? Why or why not?


texts: What do you call people in positions of power or some criminal who protect you in some way?

texts: What do you call people in high places or some criminal who protect you in some way? For example, if it's someone in a high place and you did something illegal, they abuse their power to help you get away with it. Or if it's a crimina they literally protect you from other criminals. I would like to know formal and informal ways to say it.


texts:
I have problem with grammatical structure of following sentence.

  Several layers of thin clothing are essential to keeping warm.

Shouldn't be "to keep"? why "keeping"?


texts: an expression that means disturbing someone physically to an extent that is not severe

texts:
What expressions do mean disturbing someone physically by hitting or touching or pulling or pushing them moderately?

For example, especially when they're kids, the brothers and sisters hit the other on the arm or back or pull over the other to the floor, but the extent of it is not so powerful that they are injured, but only disturbing the victims or playing with each other.


texts: What steps can you take ~ vs What steps you can take?

texts:
The speaker said on a video about relief tips:

  You then wanna formulate an action plan.
  What steps can you take to start to address your worry,
  and I guarantee you that as soon as you start to get into action around what you are worried about, you are gonna immediately start to feel better.

What I wonder is that the sentence 'What steps can you take to start to address your worry' is correct.

I know the spoken English is not always as grammatically correct as the written English.

But in this case the speaker doesn't speak fast and doesn't seem to make a mistake.

Is it her mistake? or not?

You could watch the part at 1:28.


texts: "A little too (much) young" vs "A little bit too (much) young" vs "a bit too (much) young"

texts:
I often see phrases like "a little too much", "a little bit too small", "a bit too big", "a little bit too much old", "a little too heavy", and "a bit too old" and as far as I know it means "to some extent (slightly or fairly more) than an amount (much) beyond what is reasonable" but what is the difference in extent between them?

I mean how differ these 5 for instance?

He is a bit too young.
He is a little bit too young.
He is a little bit too much young.
He is a little too young.
He is a little too much young.

As Oxford dictionary says:

"a bit" - A fairly large amount; somewhat; to some extent.

So does that mean that "a little bit too young" is somewhat less too young than "a little too young" and "a little too young" is slightly less younger than "a bit too young" and "a little bit too much young" is way much younger than "a little/ too young" but less younger than "a bit too much young"?

I have also come upon "a little bit too much, too little (or any other adjective)". How much more or less is that?


texts: what does "figures" mean at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
I came across this offer:

The daily bugle.figures i'd wind up here, but i don't have reason to go in.

what does figures mean at the beginning of a sentence?
in my opinion, here it should be in the meaning of the verb,but it is not clear whether it is possible to put it in the first place without the subject.
Or maybe there is a different meaning(not a verb), but I do not understand how to translate it correctly .I would be happy to help


texts:
They finally get their way.

Or

  They finally got their way.

Which one is grammatically correct?


texts: Can the word after "the same" be plural?

texts:
Is the sentence

  The same character in different locations will be converted to different symbols

correct? Should character be characters so that it can match the plural form of different symbols?


texts: What is the verb for trying to join a group of people when someone is unwanted in it?

texts: Let's say there is a guy who wants to be part of some group of people. And although is let to know that he is unwanted, he is annoyingly trying to join the people. What is the most common verb for it?


texts: Not the patriotism, but more-so the dominating aspect, the desire to conquer and to have territorial control. An insufficiency of power or domination.


texts: Difference in the meaning between "Life has changed for all of us" and "Life has changed all of us"?

texts:
What is the difference in the meaning between "Life has changed for all of us" and "Life has changed all of us" ?

Does "Life has changed for all of us" mean "Because of all of us, Life has changed" ?
Does "Life has changed all of us" mean "Because of Life, all of us are changed" ?


texts: grammar on verb tense for the following example

texts:
What would be the correct verb tense for the following statement?

I learned (past tense, correct) that HIV virus was a serious disease and currently there is no vaccine for it.

(a) I learned about this fact in the past. So the verb "to learn" is in the past tense.

(b) HIV was a serious disease but also is still a serious disease. So do I use was or is ?

(c) currently there is no vaccine, and the statement uses the adverb "currently". So should I use was or is?


texts: I'd like to know sentence examples of the word 'bad' meaning excellent or good

texts:
In OALD (9th edition), the word 'bad' is defined as 'good;excellent' in a definition. I'd like to know sentence examples.
When I thought much about it, I felt bad.
Is my sentence acceptable according to that meaning of 'bad'?


texts: What kind of modifier are the two words “allurement and fulfillment” in the following extracted sentence?

texts:
It is a challenge and a wonder, an allurement and a fulfillment, which man can never escape but has to encounter.

What type of modifier are these two words?

Are they referring back to the pronoun it or the two words “a challenge and a fulfillment”?

And what is which modifying here?

——-

Source


texts: We have been quiet, but we are/were listening?

texts:
If "are" is used, shouldn't it mean they are listening now, but it's uncertain they were listening or not ?
Present perfect continuous covers past and present, which one then should be used ?


texts: He sucks on his fist and making sucking noises

texts:
When the baby is hungry, he sucks on his fist and making sucking
  noises.

Can the 2 verb using present continuos tense?


texts: What are the differences between "I am retired" & "I was retired"?

texts:
In dictionary:

  re‧tired /rɪˈtaɪəd $ -ˈtaɪrd/ ●●○ adjective

  having stopped working, usually because of your age

  a retired teacher

  Both my parents are retired now.

So,  "I am retired" = "I have just retired", isn't it?

but let say "I retired 5 years ago & I haven't been doing anything since then.", then how do I say?

"I am retired" or "I was retired"

Similarly, when to say "he is dead" and "he was dead"?


texts:
I read the following sentence:

  All he needs is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.

I think the subject of the verb "listens" should be somebody but not something. Is "an ear that listens" commonly used?


texts: Differences and similarities between "catastrophe" and "disaster"

texts: In my field study Environment Eng. disaster is used for natural happenings which cause irreparable results in the nature and human beings' lives, but I have seen and read people use them for different or similar matters. Could you please make clear what the correct usage of those terms is?


texts:
Woman: Do you have any pets?

Man: Yes. I have a dog named Burt.

Woman: A dog? Really? I love dogs.

Man: I was thinking/wondering, if you were interested, you could come over to dinner Friday. Then you could meet him.

Woman: I would love to.

In the man's second statement, is one of "I was thinking" and "I was wondering" more appropriate to use here if it's a sudden idea the man gets that he invites her over?
Also, is it okay to insert "if you were interested" as I have to tell that he's far from sure if she would want to come over so he's asking a little carefully?


texts: Did I interpret the question correctly? In correct English?

texts:
On another question I asked, I realised the first sentence should read like the one below. Now I need to ask if it goes with my second sentence?

  Any play, literally or figuratively, is confined to a certain place
  where the story unfolds. In this essay, I will discuss the nature of
  Elsa’s character during her visit to Miss Helen within the confinement
  of the time and space of the play.

This is the question I must answer: Based on the discussion of the idea of confinement in Chapter Four of Introduction to English Literary Studies (IELS), write an essay of at least five paragraphs in which you discuss how the confinement of time and space enables the audience or reader to see more deeply into the nature of Elsa’s character during her visit to Miss Helen. You must make references to relevant aspects of the play to support your answer.


texts:
As far as I understand, both "have to" and "be + going to" are used in future action.
So, for example I have an exam in 2 hours, which one should I say?

I think I have to study now because I have an exam in 2 hours.
I think I'm going to study now because I have an exam in 2 hours.

What's the main difference? Are those interchangeable?
I read a book and it said have to expresses the idea that something is necessary and be + going to is used when I want to do something. In my case, I want to study, so, aren't they have the same meaning? By the way I've tried to look for possible duplicate but I couldn't find any. Hope you can help me to understand.


texts:
What is the active form of this sentence

"My phone being tapped".

This sentence contains the passive construction (being tapped).
I think that the active form would be

"they are tapping my phone"

but then it looks like the present continuous tense. Could you explain it, please?


texts: ”You can’t put nothing past nobody.” What does he mean?

texts:
Currently reading this article, at the 5th paragraph,

  “I made a point of not looking directly at anybody,” said Amayo, a Montreal native who grew up in New Jersey. “I don’t want to say it was scary, but it was definitely uncomfortable. You can’t put nothing past nobody. You don’t know what people are thinking.”

I googled "put nothing past nobody" and this page came up, saying,

  You are correct. "...she really put nothing past Teresa." does mean that nothing Teresa could do would surprise Kate.

But when instead of Teresa but nobody? In addition to it,(from the same page)

  Literally, putting something past a person is offering them a choice. I agree with JamesM on what the expression means here.

So when putting nothing past nobody is offering nobody no choice?

I am sorry I got totally perplexed.

Kindly support me and thanks in advance.


texts: The Meaning and the structure of grammar of a sentence which includes Whatever

texts:
They cannot make a man wise or foolish; they achieve whatever luck would have it.

I understand the former but don't the latter which is italic. I think whatever can be replaced with any or what but the following sentence still remains dubious.

  They achieve luck.

  Luck would have it.

What is it?


texts: Usage of "coerce" and correct preposition (in programming context)

texts:
I have a function that takes a numerical value V and a tolerance value T and does the following:

if (-T < V < T)
    set V to 0,
else
    do nothing.

So it turns values near zero into zero. This function is called "coerce" (by the people who programmed the function).

Some questions:

Is it a suitable name for the function from the language usage point of view?

I only know coerce in the context of forcing so/sth INTO DOING sth. The above situiation is more like forcing so/sth INTO BEING or BECOMING sth, so I was wondering if some other verb has to be used in this situation.

Lets consider a similar function that takes a value V, another value A and the tolerance T and does the following:

if (A-T < V < A+T)
    set V to A,
else
    do nothing.

So this function turns values near A into A. I'd like to give the function a similar name, but this time with a preposition that indicates "towardness".

What would be the right preposition for its name? CoerceInto? CoerceTowards? Or something else?


texts: Is it appropriate to say "To crack this hard nut"?

texts: I want to say "To solve this difficult problem". Of course, it would also be appreciated if you can tell me a better expression.


texts: "Many people choose to work ........ the comfort ..........their home"

texts:
Which ones should be filled in the blanks in the following sentence to make it grammatically correct?

  Many people choose to work ........ the comfort ..........their home.

in, on, from, at, of

I'd say :

"Many people choose to work FOR the comfort AT/OF their home"

But for is not among the options.


texts: Do masked expletives take the same special characters or different?

texts:
I often read sentences with masked expletives (is this term correct?) just to avoid offensive words being expressed with their full spellings. Though just one letter would convey the word.

My question is, when we use these masked expletives, are they always with the same characters (**) or take different (@#$%).

Also, is there any order like - !@#$ (Shift + 1, 2, 3, 4)? If there's not then I observe that exclamatory mark does not go well as the first masked expletive!

  Do you think you can bully me? F*** off.
  Do you think you can bully me? F#$% off.
  Do you think you can bully me? F### off.
  Do you think you can bully me? F!@# off - see, (!) does not look smooth as the first masked expletive!


texts:
I am learning this paper

  Our lower bound on the latter algorithms holds even if the algorithms
  are enhanced with an arbitrary kernel function

does "bound holds" mean the "bound" has an almost fixed value?


texts:
I have a problem. At English classes there was a sentence:

  Mike is wasting most of his money on/into clothes.

Teacher said that the right variant is "into". I tried to find some examples with "to waste into", but I found nothing.

Is it possible to say like that? If yes, can you give me some examples using "into"?

How can I prove that "on" is right?


texts:
Extracted from dictionary Oxford Advanced:
He had changed to such an extent(= so much) that I no longer recognised him.
Paraphrased:

a. He had changed  so much that I no longer recognised him.
b.  He had so changed that I no longer recognised him.

Would you please show me if I have reworded the sentence correctly? if not, could you teach me?
Thanks a million


texts: Did the word "to guess" have a brave tone in this context?

texts:
I had a strange situation today. On another SE website, I found the following comment:

  I'm not asking what is your guess about implementation. I'm asking you
  what exactly one should be able to do with this dialog. So far I know it
  should pop up and look similarly. I can guess it should affect Graphics3D
  somehow, via context menu maybe, but I don't want to guess because we aren't
  here to guess what OPs need.

Source: Something like ViewPoint Selector (Mathematica.SE)

I'm Brazilian and I do not know if what was written had a brave tone.

The translation of the word "guess" seemed pejorative to me.

For me phrases such as:

  I suppose...
  I think...
  I imagine...

seem kinder.

I am wrong? Or did the tone have this characteristic?

I was not offended. But I just want to learn if there is a word more appropriate to not generate doubts.


texts:
I found the text below in a website and I'm trying to understand the meaning of IKEA in the context:

  Technically, this kit allows you to follow an IKEA-like manual and put
  together a guitar, functionally identical to a cheap guitars of
  well-known-brands-we-won't-mention here for a fraction of their price.

I found these two definitions for it:

  IKEA Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (Swedish home furnishings
  retailer; derived from founder's initials and hometown)

  IKEA I Know Everything Already

...but none of them seems to make any sense to me.


texts: Any difference between "top selling" and "best selling"

texts:
I have seen on TV the expression about album sales and the presenter used an expression "top-selling" album, referring to one of the albums. Then I remembered there is also another word in English to mean the same thing, which is "best-selling". They both seem to mean the same thing?

Any difference between the two?

Regards,


texts:
I can’t understand what is the meaning of "that" in the following sentence:

  ...she felt sad that she didn't see them more often...

Are "that" and "because" both words synonyms?


texts:
Companies to be brought into public ownership.
  Introduce a shorter working week within a decade.
  Billions to upgrade every home to be energy efficient.
  Skilled and experienced sports therapist, who about cares about more than just your money.

How would these examples be categorized in English? Not quite sentences nor phrases. The first is newspaper style without the connective verb (are) but the others differ.


texts:
I have come across the following sentence in New Round-Up 3 Pearson Education Limited 2010:

  I swam at the beach last weekend.

I would have understood if it were 'at the seaside', but 'at the beach' strikes me as unusual.


texts: Which way of asking this question is correct?

texts: Does anyone know why hasn't the homework been released yet? vs Does anyone know why the homework hasn't been released yet?


texts: "I will be loving you 'til we're 70" vs. "I will love you 'til we're 70"

texts:
From Ed Sheeran's song Thinking Out Loud:

  And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70

Why is it not

  And, darling, I will love you 'til we're 70

?

Why is progressive used here?


texts: How to chose between "get" and "have got"?

texts:
In a class context, would a student, asking about the homework and if any homework is due for today, ask:

  Did we get any homework for today?

or

  Have we got any homework for today?

Or can both questions be used?


texts: Is it common for native speakers to offer to do things with "Can I"?

texts:
You have a car. You have to go to the same way as Steve, who is on foot. You offer him a lift.
  You say to him:

The exercise is from Can/Could/Would you ... ? etc(Request, offers, permission and invitations) unit. The correct answer is obviously Can a give you a lift? but I never heard people saying this.

I would use something like this

  Hey, I have to go the same place as you, so I can give you a lift if you want.

or

  Hey, I have to go the same place as you. Would you like me to give you a lift?

I'm just curious if Can I give you a lift? is a natural way to say this or it's grammatically correct, but not used by native speakers.


texts: Usage of "cause" in "Impeachment does not even require probable cause that a crime has been committed."

texts:
Is the use of cause  within this context correct?:

  Impeachment does not even require probable cause that a crime has been committed.

I've looked through many dictionaries and none of them did define cause as evidence or proof, which are ,I believe, the intended meanings of cause above. Do you know of any other meanings of cause that could explain its usage above?


texts:
I'd like to know whether "about" or "just about" should be used in the following. If either is fine, what is the difference?

  Jack London was immensely popular about / just about a century ago.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: John stopped to talk to me/ stopped talking to me

texts:
David stopped to talk to me

  John stopped talking to me

The explanation given in the material  supplied by The English and Foreign Languages is like this.

  David stopped on the way so
  that he could talk to me.

  John stopped talking to me  so he  and I are not on talking terms now.

In reality most of the students understood  as in John's example.

Do non-native speakers of English who are not advanced find the difference between the two sentences like the native speakers unless explained?

Some of the English teachers I know could not tell the difference.

This is not a duplicate of the previous question.I saw it just now.It seems to be a duplicate but I taught this to my students and some teachers too.They could not find the difference easily.

Is really a difference between the two or it may mean the same to non-native speakers who are not advanced learners?


texts: Is there punctuation which shows possession?

texts: My question is do you make a sentence a possessive by a punctuation Mark?


texts: What does "in one form or another" refer to in this sentence?

texts:
In Italy bells stand for power and control. And bells, in one form or another, accompanied him throughout his life.

The article is talking about the prime minister of Italy. I am confused about the phrase "in one form or another", does it refer to "power and control"?


texts: What's the difference between "get all my work done", "finish all my work" and "be done with all my work?

texts:
I'd like to know the difference between these three expressions. What I want to express is that yesterday was my last day of work for this year and I have two weeks off work from today. Which of these should I say:

  "I got all my work done for this year."
  "I finished all my work for this year."
  "I'm done with all my work for this year."

I can think of these sentences for what I want to say, but it's very difficult to understand the nuance or the difference of each sentence.  Could you explain that, please?


texts:
Do I use  "to be formed" correctly?

  The British cuisine  'is formed'  by European  and Asian food.

Can I use " be made of" also?


texts:
Can you please explain which one is suitable?

  Did you watch the football yesterday?

Or

  Did you watch football yesterday?

I think definite article(the) is suitable here because this is specific not a general thing


texts:
I just saw an article titled "4 Ways to React When Your Email Keeps Being Ignored". There is a smaller sentence beneath the main title, it says

  Want to silence those dreaded inbox crickets? These four strategies can help.

I am confused about this sentence and really do not know what the authors' mean.

Thank you very much!


texts:
Is there a verb that means "tracks and changes"? I don't think there is so can you find a way to formulate the following sentence in a way that doesn't sound too weird and incomprehensible?

For example:

  The robot tracks the national average height of the U.S. and changes
  its own height to match the national average.


texts:
I really have no problems understanding what the phrase means, so please do not answer with a description of the phrase.

I was looking for the grammar behind this: Why, instead of any other preps, we have "at" used in this expression? My research didn't reach any results. I would write the questions relevant to give direction to what answers I seek.

While you're at it. Why "at"?
Is there any other preposition that is actually applicable there?
Which use of "at" is this?


texts: How to identify the essential elements of this paragraph?

texts:
The wind -driven rain came sheeting across the windows of the lighthouse. The seas roared their waves and thundered agaisnt the rock on which it was stood. The man-made construction  vibrated with the assault of Nature. Inside the Lighthouse Keeper read his newspaper, seemingly indifferent to the tempest around him.

What I have identified are:
1. Lighthouse and its keeper.
2. Tempest.
3. Newspaper.
4. Man-made.

Should I identify more? Thank you :)


texts: Can I introduce myself and my job position in one sentence?

texts:
I have a such paragraph:

  My name is Yaroslav Konoplov.

  I am a software engineer living in Kyiv, Ukraine (UTC+3).

Basically I want to merge these sentences in one.

  I am Yaroslav Konoplov, a software engineer living in Kyiv, Ukraine (UTC+3).

Is this correct?


texts:
In one of my posts (Adverb: the cornea "ideally should be perfectly" round like a ping-pong ball) I said

  the cornea ideally should be perfectly round like a ping-pong ball

I am pretty sure this sentence is grammatical and idiomatic, as a nice contributor had verified it.

Per Cambridge Dictionary, there are at least 10 different types of adverbs and these are manner, place, time, duration, frequency, degree, focusing, certainty/obligation, viewpoint, evaluative.

I cannot match the adverb "ideally" to any of those types, could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
I don't understand how yours truly can mean me, they are two complete differents words, maybe if it was mine truly I could understand a little better, but the truly part would stil being strange.
¿Does anyone knows why it's yours truly?


texts: Please help me to understand this clause

texts:
SOURCE

  In  parts  of  South  America,  you  can  barely  move  for  beautiful  people  chipping  their  nail  polish  on  endangered  hardwoods, and, in Africa, cuddling up to wild animals. Tracy Ward, the actress and now Marchioness of Worcester,  started trying to save the tropical rain forest after a stint on a detective TV series. As she tellingly explained, "I had  never really had the time or the knowledge, and suddenly when I had no work I realised there was a problem."

I don't really understand what the sentence "you can barely move for beautiful people...." means. Please help me to understand.


texts:
The following context is given:

  — When we're asleep, our mind can do almost everything.

  — Such as?

  — Imagine you're designing a building. You concigously create each
  aspect. But sometimes it feels like it almost creating itself, if
  you know what I mean.

  — Yeah, like I'm discovering it.

  — Genuine
  inspiration, right?

  — Now, in a dream our mind continuosly does this.
  We create and percieve our world simultaneously.

I know what perceive means but can't bound that meaning to the context. Could you help me?


texts: What does "catch up to" mean in this context?

texts:
I used this link: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/catch+up

"The debt problem may be catching up to consumers, with recent falling property prices a bad signal for retail sales, according to Cousins. House prices in England and Wales slipped last month, in the most lackluster July in five years, according to Acadata and LSL Property Services Plc. House prices had held up partly due to a government program that encouraged first-time buyers to enter the market, according to Cousins."

Source:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-18/pyrford-says-brexit-is-sideshow-consumer-debt-bigger-challenge


texts: No restrictions to having vs no restriction to have

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

There seems to be no restriction to having radio transmitters in the
garden.
There seems to be no restriction to have radio transmitters
in the garden.


texts: She is in /on the left side of the picture?

texts:
In what preposition should I use when referring to a picture / photo description or a person who's located in / on one of its sides.

  She is in the left side of the picture

Or

  She is on  the left side of the picture


texts: Differentiating between an economy condition and an economic condition

texts:
"an economy condition" or "condition of economy"
"an economic condition"

Could anyone please through some vivid examples show me what is the subtle difference between the two?


texts:
Recently I came across a sentence:

  Last week,my friend asked me how I am and I said (...).

To me this sounds completely wrong, as both happened in the past, I would expect it to be "how I was" rather than "how I am".

Is this reasoning correct or is my grammar knowledge incomplete?


texts: The key to my room. Vs The key of my room

texts:
To.         Vs of

  I am looking for the key of my room.
  I am looking for the key to my room.

I have just known that the second is right and the first is wrong. However, sometimes it is confusing in a lot of situations to discern what the right one is.

Is there any rule in regard to the usage of to and of, particularly when we want to describe the belongings or possessions of something?!

Do I have to say

  the damage to my house, or the damage of my house
  the door to my room, or the door of my room
  the password to my account, or the password of my account?


texts: In the last two years and currently — can I use this?

texts:
In the last two years I worked on some position at the company. And currently I do the same.

Can I use Present Simple 'In the last 2 years I work' and it will mean in the last two years and currently.

Or I have to use full expression like 'In the last two years and currently I work'

I need to mention that cause I was on another position before. And it's interesting to know how to avoid saying 'Since'


texts:
How do you refer to someone who is a distant family of you in natural English? I.e. your cousin's cousin.

The only options that I can think of are as below. I wonder if you have a look on them and let me know whether they work. If they don't, then what shall I say in this respect?

  He is a distant family.
  He is one of my distant family.
  He is one of my distant family members.

Thank you.


texts: How to understand song titles like: "Hit me off"

texts:
I'm listening R&B and would like to know what singer says.

Google translator cannot help and and linguee has no records.

How should I understand "hit me off" in the lyrics for the New Edition song "Hit me off"? (The last song on this list, Nr. 38)


texts: Question about the tense used when talking about a general scenario

texts:
Do the three sentences below have any differences in meaning? Do I use simple past or present perfect or simple present tense when it is a general scenario?

  Every time I go back to my dorm from a class, I look up words the professor mentioned and said during the class.
  Every time I go back to my dorm from a class, I look up words the professor has mentioned and said during the class.
  Every time I go back to my dorm from a class, I look up words the professor mentions and says during the class.


texts:
What does "in a deep hole" mean in football (soccer) context?
37 mins: Of all ways for Sevilla to concede, that has got to hurt the most. That was just so, so poor. Dortmund lead 4-2 on aggregate, and can relax and perhaps also attack a bit more. Sevilla meanwhile are in a deep hole.


texts: What does mean "He pitched the song up"?

texts:
Yesterday, I watched a video clip of my favourite band on YouTube. The video was not the official one, it was assembled by an ordinary person who also changed the singer's voice just a little bit (his voice got higher).

I made a comment about that video: "One of the best songs of this band!".

Someone else made a comment in reply to mine: "Did you notice that he pitched the song up?"

What did that reply mean?


texts: Is there a better way to say "space for improvement"?

texts:
In the following sentence, is there a better word to use instead of space?

"A lot of space remains for improvement and future work"

To add some context, the sentence is from a paper on database storage integration (i.e. computer science).


texts:
Are there any rules for omitting an article after the word "with"?

for instance, a sentence I see a lot is:

  The procedure fails with small probability

rather than with a small probability.
What happens when we have a possession of the form: <object1> with (a/?) <object2> where the first object is plural, but the second is not. E.g.,

  procedures with a fixed cost

or

  procedures with fixed cost

... or maybe a simpler example: cars with radio  vs. cars with a radio.


texts:
That day, I had been working in London and I was on my way home when....

or

  That day, I had worked in London and I was on my way home when...

(I am on my way home after the working day)


texts:
Once again I don't get the difference in 2 sentences from my grammar book:

  The noise of their footsteps had become distant before my father spoke again.
  He walked quite close to them before he spoke.

Why in these 2 identical (in my point of view) sentences we use different times.
And one more question on this theme:

  "He had been hanging/ had hung for a while before he had any recognition at all."

Which tense is right and why?


texts: "Such a bad behavior" or "Such bad behavior"?

texts:
"I can’t believe he did that - I’ve never seen______ bad behavior!"

If there are two choices: "such" and "such a," which one is correct?

I personally think both are correct but have slightly different meaning which I couldn't figure out.


texts:
I am new to reading fantasy and fiction books.
I am writing one which is called Fable & Coins which is about a merchant called Yohan who is heading through a city called Yarren, where a rite has been set up on it for the past 2 days.

Is there anything wrong with that sentence? Thanks!

I want it to have a nice flow and no typos.


texts: Is this verb usage correct? authors are recommended

texts:
For research articles of any type, authors are recommended to look at the EQUATOR network

Seems to me authors don't get recommended. Should be "we recommend that authors..." or "authors should...."


texts:
Which preposition(s) is / are correct in the following example?

  We contacted the college authority over / on / by Skype.


texts: How many bananas are there? There are many. Is it correct?

texts:
I already learnt that we use much and many in negative and interrogative sentences and a lot of in affirmative sentences. But I saw this example in the book and I don't know if it's correct. Can I answer: there are a lot of bananas. Or can I answer with the word in the question. For example:
How many books are there?
There are many/ There are a lot.
Please help me understand.


texts:
Which of the following is correct?

  Only after he came home did I go to bed.
  Only after he came home, I went to bed.

Is the second clause correct?

Or is inversion compulsory in that case too?


texts:
I understand that work can mean the place where you do your job.
Which of the following 'work' has the above meaning?

I leave for work at 7.30 every morning.
I go to work by bus.
I get to/ arrive at work at nine.
I am usually at work till six.
Luckily, I don't get ill very much so I'm not often off work.

Can anyone also please explain what it means by 'off work' in the fifth item listed above?


texts:
I would like to understand in which cases the word "distance" is a mass noun and in which it is not. Indeed, distance is something that one can measure, so for me it looks like it should be a mass noun. However, one says,

Please keep your dog at a distance.

Question 1. What is the rule here?
Question 2. Are there some similar situations in which a "naturally mass noun" becomes countable?


texts:
Are human beings getting smarter?

The title above is weird for me. in my opinion the correct is

  Are human getting smarter?


texts:
Here for the past 40,000 years, a deep fissure in the Earth's crust
  has allowed oily tar and methane to bubble up to the surface from far
  underground, evidence of the ceaseless activity below our very feet.

I found very feet in above sentence.

What is the difference between feet and very feet?


texts: "It were students ...' or 'It was students...'?

texts:
Consider:

  It were or was the students who wanted the teacher to declare

Is there a way to identify when a collective noun will take a singular verb and when it will take a plural verb?


texts:
The police questioned everyone in the room.

Here "in the room" is an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase
I think it is an adverb phrase.But some of the teachers of our country think it an adjective phrase. Which one will be correct?


texts: Looking for a 1000 most frequent english words

texts:
Is there a free list of 1000 most frequent words used in everyday English? If there is a list with usage examples (as each of those words has multiple meanings for sure, not to cound phrasal verbs), it would be even greater.

Is there something alike, but with phrases? (E.g. 1000 most frequent phrases)


texts: Most comprehensive guide for article usage (a/an/the/no article)

texts:
I have been trying hard to understand how to use articles correctly. I read several English grammar books but they mostly provide only 5-6 rules for article usage. However, when I try to understand why an author used a, the or no article in a text, I have no idea where to look for it.
I am aware that it is very difficult to define specific rules of all article uses, but millions of English learners have the same problem every year. One can find here and there different rules for articles, but I am wondering why should not we create the most comprehensive guide here for article usage, which the large community can contribute to and millions of people can use it as the best guide for articles.


texts: The difference between "testament" and "will"

texts: From what I found out in legal correspondence and deeds, it appears that "will" is used far more often than "testament". Is one more formal than the other? If not, what is the difference between the two?


texts: one week training; in the next month; course vs training; right usage;

texts:
Is it right sentence:

  Firm is planning to send me to London for one week training in the next month.

"for one week training": I mean that duration of training is one week.

Also is there is really difference between "training" and "course" in terms of education?

Thanks


texts:
All forms of discrimination on grounds of gender is violative of fundamental freedoms and human rights. (LINK)

Would a native of English language use is violative of, rather than "violate(s)", in the sentence above? If so, how are these two ways different?


texts: "haven't" vs "have no" vs "does/do not have"

texts:
Are there differences in meaning ? When we say:

I have no ____
I don't have ____
I haven't ____
I haven't got [a/an] ____

EDIT: Replaced the placeholder something to ______.


texts: What is the phrase 'spot of black' supposed to mean here?

texts:
I read a sentence in a chapter in textbook which was:

  But Sadao, searching the spot of black in the twilighted sea that night, had his reward. There was no prick of light in the dusk. No one was on the island.

Let me provide you the context here. Sadao was helping a person in escape by instructing him to go to an island and flash a torch if he was there the next day. But he had gone so there was no prick of light. But I want to ask what he means by searching the "spot of black". He should've searched for light not for blackness. Moreover I think "black" has been used as a noun here and no definition for the noun sense of "black" seems to fit for me here. Does "of black" mean "having the color black" here? What am I missing?


texts:
I come across many marketing lines... say

  High performance. Delivered

Now, I have a question. I know what is headlinese for what we don't bother much about grammar.

But, what sort of style is this? Can't it be written...

  High performance, delivered!

The string 'High performance' and the word 'delivered' are connected and depend on each other separating them that too with the 'period' makes it ungrammatical. The 'comma' would have certainly worked and would have been a way better choice. What say?


texts: Treatment of the second relative pronoun

texts:
I'll appreciate it if a native speaker to especially American English would tell me how you feel and write.

  This is the only word (that) I know which[that] explains the situation. (A grammar book)
  Thus, things you typically encounter that might not usually trigger fear now do so. (This seems to be from a grammar site)
  Note that the conjunction (the second that) is usually dropped in this structure; it must be dropped if the relative pronoun is a subject.
  This is the woman (who/that) Ann said could show us the church.
  (M. Swan,  Practical English Usage, 498.15)

After reading M. Swan's, I think (1) should omit the second relative pronoun.

(2) might be correct with the second relative pronoun because the first relative clause is hard to consider as an inserted clause. This is the case of stacking of relative clause, but (1) isn't. (1) is the case with an inserted clause. Am I correct?


texts: "Have you ever worked in a ..." vs. "Have you ever been working in a ..."

texts:
Which one of these sentences is right, the perfect simple or the perfect continuous?

  A: Have you ever worked in a factory?
  B: No, never!

or

  A: Have you ever been working in a factory?
  B: No, never!


texts: Did or Do in "Do you think it'd be okay if i did (do) that?"

texts:
Do you think it'd be okay if i did that?
  Do you think it'd be okay if i do that?

I usually prefer not using "Will", i'm kinda trying hard to use the would right.

Are both of the above sentences grammatically correct?
Do they mean the same?

Your help will be really appreciated.


texts:
We can use this sentence "I never knew you liked dogs" .

But I dont get it why do not we use " I never knew you like dogs " instead of the first sentence.


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say:

'This coat fits me very much'

and

'This coat suits me very much'
?

I know the difference between 'fit' and 'suit', I'm only interested in using 'very much' with them


texts: What to say in recipes to add the preparation to the previous one?

texts:
In traditional french cuisine, the cooking recipes can be written in a traditional way where an action follows the list of ingredients such as:

2 egg white        beat until foamy
20g sugar          add
                   mix until thick
                   save for later

2 egg yolk
40g sugar          mix until white, thick, fluffy
                   add to the saved preparation

I would like to know the proper way to say these two locutions 'save for later' and 'add to the saved preparation' in English.


texts:
I am trying to edit the Statement of Purpose for graduate school of a friend who is a non-native English speaker. I saw the sentence:

  As a result, I could be admitted to [a certain undergraduate school], and I chose to go there.

The intent of the sentence was to say he studied a lot in high school, and was able to get into a certain undergraduate school.

As we all know, could + [verb] can either be past tense

  When I was a boy, I could eat a lot of food

or a hypothetical

  I could get into my dream school if I ace the GRE

But for some reason, with his sentence I only interpret it as a hypothetical. As a native speaker, I have the strong urge to correct the sentence to

  As a result, I was able to be admitted to [a certain undergraduate school], and I chose to go there.

Does anyone have an explanation why, or a different interpretation of the original sentence?


texts: When do I hyphenate compound nouns used as adjectives?

texts: For example, is the correct phrase English-language journals or English language journals?


texts:
They are too imaginary not to be false.

What does this mean?
It is so complicated.

My theory is "too imaginary to be real."


texts:
I don't know the exact meaning of the phrasal verb: "Shut down". There seems to be one little button on Windows which turns the computer off, and is called: shut down. Yesterday, I was watching a TV show where two siblings were competing to know who would get more customers, after a while one won it, and seeing that by winning it, he made his sister feel bad because she got fired due to lack of customers, therefore he decides to "shut his tent down" - Guys, I can't believe you SHUT DOWN your tent just for me.

So, what does "shut down" exactly mean? I have noticed that "shut down" may mean "turn off", but could anyone explain to me what are the others meanings?

Edit 1 - The siblings were competing to know who would get more customers by selling food in a tent. - There are also other examples using the phrasal verb "shut down", such as: Shut her down, Shut me down, I will shut you down. What do they mean?

I have also already heard "Shut down" in a game called League of Legends, when a player's got a kill score, like: Killed 15 players and died 0 times, and when someone kills the player with a kill score, A warning pops up saying: Shut down!

What does it mean? I presume it may mean something like: Stopped!


texts:
Generally what it is the time of the day whether morning, afternoon, evening or night. We wish everyone good morning then start the conversation, good afternoon then conversation begins and similarly with good evening. Why don't we say good night first and then start a conversation? It's again one of the time of the day.

I'm expecting other answers than just because after that we sleep that's why it is asked at last.


texts: Indirect speech: is "has been" acceptable in “…the matter has been taken up with Saudi authorities”?

texts:
Consider the sentence:

  External Minister said that the matter has been taken up with Saudi authorities.
  Source: The Times of India

Since it's a reported speech form, shouldn't it be 'had been' instead of 'has been'?

In reported speech, if the main verb is in the past tense then the verb in the subordinate clause will also be in corresponding past tense.

  John said, "I have finished my work". (Direct speech)
  John said that he had finished his work. (Indirect speech)

This is something which every grammar books suggest but why do I often come across the sentences which overlook these tense modification as in the citation given above ?


texts: How to distinguish 'month' and 'months' in pronunciation?

texts: How to pronounce the two and distinguish them in pronunciation as I almost hear them the same.


texts: Could someone help me visualize a paragraph from 'The hitch hikers guide to the galaxy'?

texts:
The island of France was about twenty miles long, five miles across
  the middle, sandy and crescent shaped. In fact it seemed to exist not
  so much as an island in its own right as simply a means of defining the
  sweep and curve of a huge bay. This impression was heightened by the
  fact that the inner coastline of the crescent consisted almost
  entirely of steep cliffs. From the top of the cliff  the land sloped
  slowly down five miles to the opposite shore.

  Five miles across the middle

Does this mean that the middle portion of the island is 5 miles long? Or 10 miles long that is 5 miles on either side of the middle point?  Is "5 miles across the middle" the same as "the middle is 5 miles across"? Because when I say "my house is 5 miles across the road" it means it (house) is 5 miles after I've crossed the road.

  In fact it seemed to exist not so much as
  an island in its own right as simply a means of defining the sweep and curve
  of a huge bay

I didn't get this at all. Isn't "in its own right" used for abilities?


texts: Are "thus" and "such that" really that old-fashioned?

texts:
I was browsing a famous social media website when I stumbled upon a post where someone was talking about how math teachers often speak and it mentioned some grammatical constructs which I often use in casual speech: "such that" and "thus".

English not being my native language (I'm French), I learned these from movies and online content mostly so I can't really tell if they are still "used" in day-to-day conversations.

I use "thus" a lot as a translation for "donc" to mean "implies", as in "The sky is blue, thus it is not red." I don't really know of any other word except for "so", but I often end up repeating it a lot so I replace it with "thus" sometimes.

"Such that" also seems familiar to me, its translation "tel que" being quite common in French.


texts: Until an hour latar, until a year later, until next year?

texts:
I am struggling a bit with expressions determining points in time and duration. Could you please explain to me whether I got it right? I am using "until" on purpose, I do know I could say it in a different way.

  You can stay until next year. Does this mean the next calendar year? I.e. if I say in December, does it mean they can stay just for another month?

  You can stay until a week later. Is this even correct? In this case, does it mean they can stay another 7 days?

  He did not talk to me until a year later. I would think here I express that he talked to me again after more than 365 days.

  He did not talk to me until the next year. Here I would say he talked
  to me in the next calendar year, which could be in a few days (in
  December).

.


texts: The difference between "each", "both", either

texts:
The issue is confusing to me. That's what I heard from natives.

1 The house has a door at either end.
2 The house has a door at both ends.

Some say that 1 and 2 are correct and mean that there are two doors, one door at each end.
Others say that 1 doesn't mean that there are two doors. It means that there is only one door at either end.
Others say that 2 is incorrect because it's impossible to have one door at both ends. Probably, they meant it that way if we use "one door" instead of "a door". Would this make a difference?

3 The house has ONE door at both ends.

Do 2 and 3 mean the same or not?
Others say that the best is this:

4 The house has a door at each end.

What are your ideas, comments on the issues?


texts:
I can remember the english class where the claim was:

When building indirect speech in past, all the tenses are moved towards the past.

  He said he was ill = He said: "I am ill"
  She told me she had never been to France = She told me: "I have never been to France"
  I promised I would do that in five weeks.

How can I express the case where the claim comunicated in the past was and still is valid. Something like:

  The teacher said the Sun _ a star.


texts: How do I punctuate "according to" in a sentence?

texts:
Here is the sentence I have trouble with:

  Please be informed, according to the local team, the part was delivered yesterday.

I have a friend saying that I should not separate the according to phrase by any commas, and that I should use that after informed.

What is right?


texts: What does "respective constituents" mean in this context?

texts:
Does it mean "their disbled staff" or "their disable customers"?

"We are big on giving back to our respective constituents. We do that by giving back monetarily to organizations like Wounded Warriors," he said."And also by training and mentoring disabled veterans."

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/mischler-financials-role-on-snap-ipo-2017-2


texts: Wide variety or wide choice (in context)

texts:
Fill in the Blanks

  We offer a wide ....... of classes in this school.

  case
  variety
  part
  choice

For me a wide variety of classes imply that we have various classes (in different subjects) and wide choice of classes imply that you have a lot of classes to choose from (and attend in). But the questions of the book in which I found this question have one valid answer and I don't know which one is right and I am not native so I cannot be sure about the feeling I get from each answer.

So, which answer is right (or more appropriate)?


texts: Omitting articles before countable nouns

texts: It is known that if a noun is countable than an article must be used. However, recently I have come across a very interesting sentence. Here it is: "Kate is daughter of John Taylor." What does leaving out the definite article mean there? Would not it be better if it were  like " Kate is the daughter of John Taylor"?


texts: "killed" vs. "had killed" in newspaper/reporting speech

texts:
In newspapers I've read "had killed" in some places and just "killed" in others. I'm confused about the use of the past perfect and the simple past in reporting speech.

For example:

  Police arrested the killer who had killed his boss.
  Police arrested the killer who killed his boss.


texts: What is the difference among "discuss" and "confer" and "consult"?

texts:
For example, every employee need to "discuss" or "confer" or "consult" with your boss for vacation time.
What is difference among them? In this case, which ones are correct and which is most appropriate?


texts:
I want to use some special pronoun. For example, the "have-nots" means who have nothing.

If I am trying to say "the ___ want to earn more by working hard", should I use "want" or "wants"? I just want to figure out how does verb works, if I use self-created word.


texts: What is to the last as the rest to the first?

texts:
When we speak about something being the first then everything after it is the rest. Well what I am looking for is a proper word that would refer to everything that's before the last.

To illustrate:

[first|...rest] vs [???...|last]

So can anyone help me with finding a word that would be to last the same as rest is to first?


texts: Difference between 'may have had to stay' and 'may have to stay'?

texts:
I am confused between

  He may have had to stay late tonight.

and

  He may have to stay late tonight.


texts: Is "be" really required after "may" in this sentence?

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

  Age maybe has slowed down MT Vasudevan Nair but his creativity remains undiminished.

I think it is an egregious error to use may be this style. Shouldn't there be just "may" before "slowed down"?


texts: The way to give reason by giving reasons for that reason

texts:
The table shows 80% of correct fixings. In contrast to correct fixings, there are some incorrect fittings mainly because of missing lines or distorted graph relations due to the absence of small segments, mismatch of parameters or under-segmentation.

I feel this is bit odd and as I don't have experience with explaining this type of case. I am looking for some assistance with modifying this in a more formal way to present this idea.


texts:
Please imagine your mother insists that you must eat something and you just don't want to eat because of lacking appetite, what would you normally say?

  I don't have appetite.
  I'm off my food.

For me, both of the sentences above mean exactly the same, but apparently, based on most dictionary definitions, "to be off one's food" implies the message that you're ill, but rarely it can indicate unhappiness too; in the manner that you don't want eat because you don't feel good.

Please let me know if these sentences are interchangeable or not? If not, why?


texts: Begin the sentence with present participle

texts:
The captain won the toss. He elected to bat first.

Is it

  Having won the toss the captain elected to bat first.

or

  Winning the toss the captain elected to bat first.


texts: Two-syllable verbs stressed on the first syllable that do not double the final consonant in the --ing form

texts:
Can anyone think of more two-syllable verbs that have stress on the first syllable and do not double the final consonant in the -ing form. The instances I am looking for will have a vowel before the last consonant in the infinitive form.
For example:  open > opening ; enter > entering   (in red below)


texts:
I was taught that the noun "fruit" is non-countable in English.

If so, then what would be its countable counterpart? I am sure there should be one because the need for that is quite practical.

Let's say there is one orange, one apple and one pear on the table.

What would be the right word to refer to all three of them in a countable way, that is, in the way of saying "There are three ... on the table"?

It looks to me like saying

  "There are three pieces of fruit on the table"

is rather awkward because both the word "orange", and "apple", and "pear" are all countable. Besides, both orange, apple and pear have their distinctive shapes and edges and are very easily distinguished (unlike, say, a piece of cheese, or a pinch of salt, or a smear of dirt).


texts: What is the meaning of this lines spoken by Larry Talbot?

texts:
Larry Talbot says this words to her brother's wife:

  I seem to recall he mentioned you in one of his letters. And it's quite
  uncharacteristic of my brother to treat a lady in such a way, but the
  character of man is such a shiftable thing.

If Larry is taking about woman why does he mentions about man in this sentence: character of man is such a shiftable thing?


texts: Meaning of "substituted for other tenses"?

texts:
I'm reading the following paragraph and puzzled by "substituted for other tenses." What does it mean in relation to the particular example in quotation marks?

  As a workaround, some writers have begun using the plural pronoun their as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. For example: "Every student must turn in their homework." However, this approach becomes problematic when the plural pronoun they is used in the singular form and substituted for other tenses, which results in faulty syntax such as: “Tell that worker they must be careful on the roof.”