texts: I have searched and found "influent" and "unfluent", but I cannot find both of them in Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Collins. Or maybe there isn't a word adding a prefix to fluent that is the opposite at all? Which words can be alternates then?


texts: What does "the establishment favorite" mean in this context?

texts:
I don't quite understand the part in bold from this long sentence.

  The 65-year-old lawmaker, who recently had been encouraged by President Donald Trump to seek a third term, made the surprise announcement hours before a showdown vote in an Alabama Senate runoff in which the establishment favorite lost to firebrand Judge Roy Moore.

The source


texts: is the present perfect continuous possible in this case?

texts:
I would like to know if the continuous can be used in this case: over a million people have been visiting the tower of pisa in the past year.

thanks


texts:
I happened to find a chart showing a rank of countries based on their frequent use of VPNs.

Someone wrote "to think my country is at the first place." (and this was the only sentence he wrote)

What does this really mean? (It seems that the "commenter" was surprised by the fact) Is this a common expression in English?

I have tried Googling this, and found nothing.
I will be grateful for any help you can provide.


texts: Definition of an image with the word on it, basically explaining its' meaning

texts:
I remember there was a word for an image with the word on it, explaining itself..
I can't remember what it's called an it's really bugging me!

Something like:


texts: What do "first-party" and "third-party" mean in a description of DMA?

texts:
In computing, bus mastering is a feature supported by many bus architectures that enables a device connected to the bus to initiate transactions. It is also referred to as "first-party DMA", in contrast with "third-party DMA" where a system DMA controller (also known as peripheral processor, I/O processor, or channel) actually does the transfer.

(Source)

What do "first-party" and "third-party" mean?


texts:
Cissy Patterson, publisher of the Washington Times-Herald, had fresh flowers brought aboard at stopping places along the way.

What does "brought aboard" mean in this sentence?
Is that a figurative expression?


texts:
Are these expressions syntactically correct and semantically equivalent? What is general rules for "number-time noun" and "number time' noun" from semantic point of view?

"a day's work" vs "one-day work"
"two days' notice" vs "two-day notice"
"one year's pay" vs "one-year pay"

also see here.


texts:
If I have an option to do, I say:

  I can do

If I don't have an option to do, I say:

  I can not do

But what if I have an option not to do...:

  I can not do

How to distinguish it from "I can not" like "I don't have an option at all" if I want to say that I have an option both to do and not to do.


texts: Difference between "armistice" and "peace treaty"

texts: What is the difference between armistice and peace treaty?


texts:
I think it's clear to say things like this.

(1) John and I live ten minutes away by car.

(2) John and I live ten minutes away by bus.

What about something like this?

(3) John and I live ten minutes away on foot.

"On foot" could mean walking, jogging or sprinting.

I have written down two examples to specify one of them.

(4) John and I live ten minutes away by jogging.

(5) John and I live ten minutes away if we jog.

Which one is correct (4) or (5)?


texts:
I would prefer some Belgian Ale to a Pilsner Lager.

Is this sentence grammatically correct in terms of using of determinators? I am not sure how to use the articles before the styles of beer.


texts:
This is basically the nutshell of the project

What I want to say is this is basically the summary of the project, is the above sentence grammatical and idiomatic?


texts: Is the ellipse in the mentioned sentence idiomatic?

texts:
They rarely teach for its own sake but most of the time [they] use
  teaching as a way to manipulate.

Is it idiomatic to omit the second "they" in the above sentence?


texts: Possessive case with gerunds in a sentence

texts:
As I was doing an exercise on transformation of sentences (from a Cambdridge exam), I came across a sentence that still puzzles me:

Sam moved house only because he disliked commuting. = But for his ________ moved house. (Fill the gap with 3-8 words and use dislike).

The correct answer is: But for his dislike of commuting, Sam would not have moved house. But now, forgetting about the constraints imposed by the exercise, would the following sentence be correct?

But for his disliking commuting, Sam would not have moved house.

I have recently learnt about the Possessive Case with gerunds, so I am not entirely sure about its correct use, but I do not understand why the above sentence could be incorrect. I have been told that it is not a proper answer because after "his" must come a noun, and therefore, "dislike" instead of "disliking", and that otherwise, it should be "But for him disliking commuting, ...". But even so, I still do not understand why the possessive can't be used with the gerund in my sentence.

I would be grateful if you could throw some light on whether my sentence is correct or not and why.


texts: How to say cut a packet horizontally/vertically/diagonally?

texts:
Let's say I am holding a chips packet and I have to cut it with scissors.

How do I say these 3 expression without the sort of mathematical terms(horizontal, vertical, diagonal)

1: Cut it horizontally( at the top).
Should I say cut it flat?

2: Cut it diagonally (at the end.)

3: Cut it vertically(on the side)


texts: Am I correctly changing the indicative to subjunctive?

texts:
To convey contrary-to-fact or unreal situations, I want to change the following indicative sentences to the subjunctive. Am I doing this correctly?

  I held the phone as if I was holding a bomb that could explode anytime.
  I held the phone as if I were holding a bomb that could explode anytime.

  As I walked through the battlefield, it felt as if I was walking through quicksand.
  As I walked through the battlefield, it felt as if I were walking through quicksand.


texts: Why do I need the past, not the past perfect, here?

texts:
Capital expenditure of their company in the year 2001 _______ clearly below the spending in the year 2000 when they _______ about half the investments for the concept conversion.

A) used to be / had used (which I picked)

B) was / used  (the correct answer)

Can anybody explain why my answer is wrong?


texts: I found in an English learners’ textbook a sentence which goes, “Many people helped me on my journey.” That’s no problem. That makes sense to me. What about “in my journey?” Both seem to be okay. However, Google Ngram Viewer says “in my journey” is used a lot more often (link). Then comes up a question. This extract is from a English textbook for Japanese high school students at a lower intermediate or beginner level. Then why “on my journey” rather than “in my journey?” I wonder if “on” is preferred in this context?


texts: Numerous motley shops - a jarring combination of adjectives?

texts:
The place looks unreal, like a gingerbread town. And yet this town is alive - you only need to look around better. Its numerous motley shops and cosy cafes kindly keep their doors open to visitors from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m.

Somehow this combination of numerous and motley seems out of whack, but I cannot pin down why exactly. Is it okay or not, and if not, why?

Is it because motley means "more than one shop", and adding numerous to that will push the meaning towards

  Numerous shops, with each shop representing a motley collection of different elements.

With the word "motley" unable to support such meaning?

What would be a good alternative to that? Would this look okay:

  Its motley multidute of shops and numerous cosy cafes ...


texts: "match with" or "match in" in phrase like "Match with skills"?

texts:
Suppose there's person whose some qualities match with you. You have to write this in a phrase to show percentage. What I mean is this:

Match with/in/not sure quality_1: 78%

Match with/in/not sure quality_2: 68%

What is a correct way to write a pharse like above? (I woudn't mind if you change the phrase to make it correct and still having same meaning.)


texts:
Can't make out whether it is possible to say this or not:

  The vicar was afraid of a scandal, no matter the verger was good at his work or not.

OR

  The vicar was afraid of a scandal, no matter was the verger good at his work or not.

Thank you in advance!


texts:
Which is correct? I am going to write an example

If we want our country to be developed we have to go back to produce....
If we want our country to be developed we have to produce....again...

If we want our country to be developed we have to return to producing....

I am not sure when use go back / again / return when it comes to talking about something you used to do before.


texts: Why 'one of the... ' in this sentence uses 'are' instead of 'is'?

texts:
The sentence (emphasis added) is

  One of the most beautiful
  of the more than 100,000 known species in the order Lepidoptera are the tiger moths, moths known for the striking appeal of their distinctive coloration.

I wonder why it uses ARE there.
Isn't it should be 'One of + N plural + V singular'  and uses IS instead


texts: what does "as" mean here? (because or while)

texts:
There is a sentence containing "as" and I have had a problem for a long time in distinguishing whether it means "because" or "while" in the context. Please be more clear in explaining and tell me why this should or shouldn't be depending on grammatical clues. Here it is :

  The critically endangered Sumatran orangutan has seen 50% decline in its population over the last 8 years as farmers clear more and more forest for agriculture.


texts: use of would for politeness ---subjunctive?

texts:
I was looking at some uses of would and found it frustrating. What was particularly hard for me to grasp was the use of would in affirmative sentences.

Here are a few examples.

  You would have to come to the practice at 8'o clock now that you
  have made it to the team.

  Do you think she's coming? I'm sure she would.

These sentences are not hypothetical. These sentences are full of certainty. Then my question is, why do they use would? Is it something like "I would like to", some set idiom phrases that mark politeness?

So I guess my real question is this. Does every sentence become polite if it has "would" in it? Is it why would is used in above sentences?


texts: "where lay a gulf all the blacker for its glittering walls" - "all the..for" meaning?

texts:
Translating one of Lovecraft's stories, I got stuck because of the following sentence:

where lay a gulf all the blacker for its glittering walls.

Particularly, it is the "all the" combined with "for" part.
My possible interpretations:

..even more black than the (already) very bright/great glitter of its walls
...blacker despite the glitter of the walls (as if the blackness set off the contrast)


texts: Present perfect or simple past.. have fallen in love or fell in love

texts:
I'm learning present perfect and simple past in English and I have a question, is it correct to say "My parents have fallen in love and have gotten married" or "they fell in love and got married"?
Thank you :)


texts: Which English speech sounds are difficult for a learner from Jamaica to say? (I'm aware of /θ/)

texts:
On 11.1.21. I'm going to start working with a Jamaican learner of English to support her with her spoken and written English.
I understand that θ and ð may be difficult for her to say, but please can anyone identify any other sounds that may be challenging for her? I want to be well-prepared for our meeting so I can be as helpful to her as possible.
I believe she was brought up speaking Jamaican Patois.
Is she likely to find any particular aspects of English grammar difficult?
If anyone's able to throw any light on these questions, I'd be very grateful!


texts: Why is no article used in this sentence?

texts:
I read  the following sentence on Twitter:

Today, a dream comes true. Koeman was part of the Dream Team Cruyff built. After the recent history of great managers, Koeman is here to continue that.

Why didn't the author use an article with part here? I believe part is a countable noun.

Koeman was a part of the Dream Team Cruyff built


texts: What structures are sometimes used in your country? -> What +sth + verb question format

texts:
What structures are sometimes used in your country?
  or
  What are structures sometimes used in your country?

  What tax issues arise in your jurisdiction?
  or
  What do tax issues arise in your jurisdiction?
  or
  What tax issues do arise in your jurisdiction?

Are these in the correct question format? If not, how should I fix it?

My previous question was put on hold, so let me rephrase my question.
I learned that in question forms I need to put verbs first and then put subjects, right? i.e., what time do you go to church?  However, I'm not sure what to do with the above-mentioned sentences.


texts:
I haven't the foggiest how to express this basic idea correctly in English:

The meaning is "the trip that Paul and I will make to London". So, is "Paul and I's trip to London" or "Paul and mine trip to London" or "Paul and my trip to London".

Thanks chaps. PS I'm a native speaker!


texts: To vs For ; their usages and comparisions

texts:
He is extremely important to me.
Vs
He is extremely important for me.

The low expectations that the english fans had from  their team proved out to be a blessing  to the team.
Vs
 The low expectations that the english fans had from  their team proved out to be a blessing  for the team.

Is there any specific rule on when to use TO and when to use For?
Could anybody explain please !


texts: What is the difference between /ʌ/ and /ə/?

texts:
In this Wikipedia article in the section talking about the use of schwa in Indonesian and Malay, they use /ʌ/ instead of /ə/ to write the words that have a stressed schwa.

Also the pronunciation by native speakers of some words in English, for instance done or must, sound very similar to me as if they were pronounced like other vowels than /ʌ/.

/dʌn/ sounds similar to /don/

/mʌst/ sounds similar to /mʊst/

This make me thing that /ʌ/ is like /ə/ in the way that it is a reduced vowel, but the difference is that the former is used in stressed syllables. So how can I know the difference between the sounds of /ʌ/ and /ə/, if I want to pronounce both as a reduced vowel? Do I need to pay attention only to whether the syllable is stressed or whether it isn't to pronounce each sound?

The audio files for those words come with this application, but there are more than 2400 audio clips and I couldn't find the clips for done and must in the application's package, but I found the one for flourish, that has the transcription /ˈflʌrɪʃ/ but it sounds to me like /ˈfləʊrɪʃ/


texts: Is it wrong to say "I just wanted to have said something"?

texts:
Suppose that you are in a situation that you must provide a comment or say something, but actually you don't know what you should say. Finally, you come up with something which strikes the lister as complex, leading to a lengthy questions and answers between you and that person.

Now, suppose you want to imply "It wasn't well thought of comment and let's stop this topic"

  I just wanted to have said something.

Is that grammatically right? I see zero result for "just wanted to have said" or almost zero for "wanted to have said" which make feel insecure about this sentence.


texts:
Jack and Jill went up the hill.

or

Shakespeare is a poet and dramatist.

In the above two sentences what confused me is the subject phrase or the complement phrase. If Jack and Jill is the subject phrase thereby making the first one a simple sentence, relying upon the same principle, "poet and dramatist" is a noun phrase working as a complement and should render the second sentence a simple sentence as well. But everywhere it is a compound sentence. Why?
It may appear to be an elementary question; but sometimes its apparent innocence becomes mind boggling.


texts:
I read an article in which I found the following line:

  It was returned to the open market when ownership expired, and bought by a member of the public.

To my mind, they want to convey that some person has bought it. But then, in the following sentence, 'they contacted the firm' is written, which is probably written for a member of public:

  Thankfully for Microsoft, they had good intentions and immediately contacted the firm and arranged to hand it over.

My questions is- What is the member of the public here? Is it the common man or someone from the firm?


texts: How can I use the verb run in passive voice?

texts:
I have a sentence that goes: "Measurements are run for 2 hours". Is it correct?

Perhaps, I should use the verb "process" instead of "run"?


texts: Isn't there no difference between yeah, yes and yah

texts:
“Are you coming with us?” “Yeah, I'm coming.” (Merriam-Webster's Learner's)

In my tongue, for saying ‘yes (Korean yes),’ I could say ‘ye [je̞]’ or ‘ne [ne].’ Korean dictionaries say there’s no difference, not even some subtle nuance difference at all between the two - there’s my favourite but it would be just mine on the dictionaries. However if someone would say ‘yeah [jɛə]’ for Korean yes, it would be heard as a kind of contorted sound by gangsters or whatever. So whenever some of those who learned English from private English teaching classes make the sound for English yes, I flinch, even get sick: I don’t know if the native teachers really make the same sound.
If the sound were ‘yah [yɑ:],’ - in fact, some Korean local accent uses [ya] for Korean yes, but if the users are not the accent users (we don't differentiate /yɑ/ from /ya/) - it would, I’m sorry, piss the hearers off.
Do you use ‘yeah’ and ‘yes’ with no nuance difference at all? Can you tell me about these three: yeah, yes, yah? (If any, I also want to hear about them other than aforementioned.)


texts:
Take the example

  Monkeys like bananas.

Here, is 'bananas' referred to banana in general or more than one banana? I guess it represents only banana in general irrespective of one or more than one banana.

But what about this sentence?

  Studying at 'good institutes' can really make a difference.

Here, is 'institutes' referred to general institute regardless of one or more institutes OR is 'institutes' referred to more than one institutes ?


texts: "To be" is used as the infinitive: "He be like...", "Work be hard",

texts:
I often see, of course, in colloquial contects, that the word "be" is used like "is" or "are" and so on.
E.g.: "I be very happy then", "School be like...", "You be hating on them"

But is it really the same meaning as if you'd replace it with "is"/"are",... ?
So translated would be: "I am very happy then", "School is like...", "You are hating on them"
Or is there a different meaning of that?


texts: I didn't notice until now that he left - past simple or present perfect?

texts:
I have thought that that when something that I can notice continues up to the present, I should use present perfect.
For example:

  I have not noticed until now that his car is white.

When the action I could notice happened in the past, I need to use past simple:

  I sent him the wrong report and I did not notice until now.

But in the sentence I didn't notice until now that he left, I am not sure whether it is the first case or the second. I tend to think it is the first, as he left and his "being gone" is still valid, so I would say the present perfect should be used..is that correct?

Which one is correct and grammatical?


texts: to read out vs to read aloud vs to read out loud

texts:
What is the difference between the following sentences in terms of meaning?

  Children love to have stories read aloud to them.

  Children love to have stories read out to them.

  Children love to have stories read out loud to them.

  The attorney read the will aloud in front of the whole family after gathering them in her office.

  The attorney read the will read out in front of the whole family after gathering them in her office.

  The attorney read the will read out loud in front of the whole family after gathering them in her office.


texts: What is the meaning of "recurring wish" in this paragraph?

texts:
I find this paragraph is very confusing to understand, it is from IMDB synopsis  of Good Will Hunting (1997) movie.

  Sean points out that Will is so adept at anticipating future failure
  in his personal and romantic relationships, that he either allows them
  to fizzle out or deliberately bails in order to avoid the risk of
  future emotional pain. When Will then provides a whimsical reply to
  Sean's very serious query of what he wants to do with his life, Sean
  simply shows him the door. When Will further tells his best friend
  Chuckie (Ben Affleck) that he wants to be a laborer for the rest of
  his life, Chuckie becomes brutally honest with Will: He believes it's
  an "insult" for Will to waste his potential as a laborer, and that his
  recurring wish is to knock on Will's door in the morning when he picks
  him up for work and find that he just isn't there, that he has left
  without saying goodbye. Chuckie's honesty hits home with Will more
  than anyone else's, even Sean, a trained professional.

So Please explain this paragraph.


texts:
My mother was arriving tomorrow.

What this sentence means ...

was + tomorrow, what kind of sentence is this?
What's the meaning of this sentence?


texts:
I was reading a formal passage (academic) about the animals came across with:

  Play may seem something of a puzzle

My perception was "Play can be considered as puzzle".

I want to know about the structure, ... seem/be/... something of a puzzle/entertainment.

Is it correct to rewrite the sentence as:

  Play may seem to be a kind of a puzzle

  Play may seem something like a puzzle

  Play may seem like a puzzle

?

I am seeking for possible difference when we use something of a puzzle rather other options.

thanks.


texts: Can we say "He is a friend of mine I love" instead of "He is a friend of mine who/that I love"?

texts:
To mean "He is a friend of mine who I love" or "He is a friend of mine that I love", can I say "He is a friend of mine I love"? When I omit "who" or "that" in that sentence, it sounds wrong to me. I think I am not used to that structure. What do you think?

Note: I know (that) relative pronouns can be dropped like in "He is someone (that/who) I love", but in the sentence I gave, I think it is wrong to omit it because "a friend" was already modified by "of mine".

Context: I am talking about a friend, and I am saying I love him.


texts: "What's it say" VS "What is it saying" or "What it is saying"? Are the the same?

texts:
"What's it say" VS "What is it saying" or "What it is saying"?

Which one(s) is(are) correct?

Those sentences look a bit simple and I sometimes say any one of them but are they all grammatically correct?

Thanks,


texts:
When I want to use conscious and unconscious in specific context, for example, security conscious users, which is correct:

security-conscious users (with dash), or security conscious users (without dash). the same question for unconscious, is it:
security-unconscious users (with dash), or security unconscious users (without dash).


texts: Did I interpret the parenthesis correctly?

texts:
The parenthesis in definitions of words on Cambridge Dictionary confuses me a lot.

Regarding the one shown above, could I interpret the definition as the combination of following three sentences?

"grammar" usually means the rules about how words change their form and combine with other words to make sentences;

"grammar" could also mean the study of those rules;

"grammar" could also mean the use of those rules.


texts: reported speech--three different tenses?

texts:
I have a question regarding reported speech. I've seen three different tenses being used when in comes to reported speech and was wondering if any or all of these were grammatically correct.

"He told me that the road trip has been cancelled."

"He told me that the road trip had been cancelled."

"He has told me that the road trip has been cancelled."

Are all of these sentences grammatically correct but convey slightly different meanings, or is something not correct at all? Thank you in advance!


texts:
The dictionary says that integrity is

  the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change

Still difficult to imagine what it means.

For example, in a movie there was a guy, very successful, and he had an ugly wife. And other people, when they saw his wife, said that he had integrity. What does it mean in this situation?

My guess is that he married this woman when he was not successful; and when his situation improved, he didn't jettison her in order to find someone who was a looker. That says that he has integrity: he married her promising to stay with her until 'death do us part' and he did it. It refers to the line "that you refuse to change" from the definition above.


texts: Is it ok to begin a sentence with "Currently being" in order to say something like "Siendo actualmente"?

texts:
I'm kind of translating my CV into English, but I got stuck in the following part:

During the second year of my IT degree, three years ago, I started getting involved in several projects, working on the analysis and design of architectures as solutions to different use cases, as well as on databases management. Currently being web and mobile, the areas in which I have achieved greater professional development.

edit:
what I'm trying to express is that web and mobile development, are the areas in which I have achieved a greater professional improvement. Considering that in the previous sentence, I'm referring to the same topic, but talking about the past.
From a grammatical point of view, I'm not sure if 'Currently being', 'Actually being' or something like that is a correct way of starting a sentence and switching to present tense, neither if it's commonly used.

Hope I made myself clear. Thanks!


texts: Does this sentence sound fine? "Because of its transparency, we hardly see the problem"

texts:
I am writing about the importance of learning English vocabulary, and I have this idea:

  Just like the air, language as a medium is rarely noticed when we use it. It needs to be embedded into our daily practice to be useful. But because of its transparency, we hardly see the problem.

For clarification, the language here is transparency, or invisible, just like the air. People think that they can learn vocabulary just enough to communicate, but in fact it's not. The problem here is that it's not, but they quite confident that it is. Same as air pollution.

My native friend doesn't feel complete, but he can't think of a way to convey this message in a simple statement. Can you tell me where it's wrong, and how to fix it?


texts: How to express something that happens currently, but that might be fixed in the future?

texts:
I'm not sure if I wrote my sentence correctly: At the time the thesis is written, one current shortcoming of the proxy tables is that.

I want to say, that currently, when I'm writing the thesis, there is a shortcoming which could be fixed later.


texts:
I was having an email conversation with friends about glyphosate. One friend consistently misspelled the word as glyphosphate*. In order to bring this to his attention, I replied, "It's spelled glyphosate, not glyphosphate." After typing this, my phone auto-corrected glyphosphate to glyphosate. I then had to manually type in the extra letters to misspell the word in the manner that my friend had been misspelling it.

Is there a word that would describe this action succinctly? I had in mind,

  I had to uncorrect the spelling of glyphosate,

but the meaning is unrelated to this scenario, and incorrect is only used as an adjective.

Yes, I'm (now) aware that glyphosphate is an acceptable alternate spelling of the word, albeit much less common.


texts: where is the most appropriate position for the adverb first?

texts:
In the chemical process, first someone washes the wood, and then someone cuts it into small pieces in a chipping machine.

In the chemical process, someone washes the wood first, and then someone cuts it into small pieces in a chipping machine.

I am wondering if there is any difference between these sentences.

Any help would be appreciated


texts:
Do you have any encountering with C++?

What I meant to say is do you have any coding experience with C++, is the sentence above grammatical and idiomatic?


texts: The shop is closed. Can I use "The shop's closed"

texts:
Excersice from Merphy "Essention Grammer in Use".
There is only "The shop IS closed" in answer. Can I use short version: The shop's closed?


texts: Word choice for specifying the real estate properties in terms of sale and rent

texts:
What is the correct English word that I can use to specify the real estate properties in cases if it is intended for sale or for rent. I think I can't use

Type:sale or Type:rent

because when people read the word Type they expect a description of something like bedsitter, one bedroom, single e.t.c but nothing to do with whether it is for sale or rent. for this purpose, What is the correct way to describe the object properties in terms of its sale and rent?


texts: Is it preferable to use same structure in conjunctions

texts:
I wrote:

  It is in the form of a directed tree in which each node represents a word and each directed edge represents the relation between a word (a head) and one of its dependents.

I tried to use the same verb and structure in the conjunction, is it preferable? or I should use different structure and verbs to avoid repetition of the verb?

something like:

  It is in the form of a directed tree in which each node represents a word and the edges show the relations between the words (head) and their dependents.


texts:
I'm arranging an international phone call with somebody I speak to for the first time, after exchanging short business emails.
Here are the options I can think of

Thanks. I'll be available anytime after 6 pm BST as long as ...

you (can?) fix the schedule

you fix the time

you pick the schedule

you decide what time

you tell me what time

What I want to say is I can make time for a call anytime after 6 pm but I will not be able to pick up a call if I'm bathing my 3yo, for example, so I need the other guy to tell me what time we will have a call beforehand. (I don't know much about his availability, by the way.)
Maybe native speakers use a totally different structure of sentence?
Actually, first of all, is "time" or "schedule" correct word for this kind of "6 pm or 7 pm" thing?
I wasn't taught this kind of, what I might call "secretarial" English at school so it took 20 min just to ask this question...


texts:
Today while reading news I came across this line :

  India defeated Bangladesh to reach the champions trophy 2017 final where it will face arch-rivals Pakistan.

I doubted whether it will be arch-rival or arch-rivals so I googled for the word and found another sentence on oxford learners dictionaries website :

  a game between Rangers and their arch-rivals Celtic.

Merriam-Webster quoted this example

  In baseball, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are archrivals. ( Yes it was without hyphen)

For me the arch-rivals in third example seems fine as we are taking about two teams( two subjects are referred , indicated by are too that we are referring two subjects) which are arch rivals for each other. But the arch-rivals in first two example doesn't sounds all right, in first and second example we are talking about India's and Ranger's opponent (single subject) so shouldn't be arch-rival used there in place of arch-rivals ? Or it is because we are referring to collective noun( team) we have to use arch-rivals ? Or is it we always use arch-rivals everywhere ?

Another question, is it okay to use it without hyphen or its an error in Merriam-Webster ?


texts:
The expression carve (something) into (something) means, according to Free dictionary:

to create a carved object by sculpturing raw material OR to use a knife or other tool to carve a block of some material, typically wood, into a desired shape.

e.g. Ken carved the apple into a tiny snowman.

My question is, can it be used figuratively to say

The afflictions he went through carved him into an insightful author.

Is this use correct?


texts: Come off/come out - which is more appropriate to use in the given context?

texts:
I'm just going to come off clean and say I stole the necklace.

I'm just going to come out clean and say I stole the necklace.

I looked up come out and come off and using come out here seems more logical. Am I right?
Is it wrong to use come off here?


texts:
When you look at a picture of (the, a, 0)sun, you say the sun.
How about with sky? You see a picture of (the,a,0) sky, do you say a sky, the sky, or sky without an article?

One more thing: if the sky is dark, and you want to add this adjective, is it a dark say or the dark sky (still a picture of it)?


texts: Is "Sporting person" the correct phrase to refer to someone who love/do sport, regularly perform athletics or play sports and games?


texts:
Is it correct to use "the" in this sentence?
There are no two the same people in the world.
or should it be?
There are no two same people in the world.
Is this OK?
There are not two the same people in the world.


texts: What's the meaning of "dramatic" in this definition of drama?

texts:
Sense 5 of drama from AHDE is:

  The quality or condition of being dramatic: a summit meeting full of drama.

What does dramatic mean in this definition? Does it mean greatly affecting people's emotions?


texts: "put something off 3 days" vs "put off something for 3 days"?

texts:
I have seen some sentences, like these, using prepositions before the time delayed.

  They put off the event for five days.

But is it okay to leave out 'for' in both the following cases?

  I put the appointment off three days.

  I put off the appointment three days.

The 'put something off x days' structure doesn't seem wrong to me, because 'off' seems like a preposition, here.

('Put off something' is right, but I know sometimes "put something off" is used, even though something is not pronoun, so I used both forms.)


texts: asking for alternatives for "be held" for an event in an sentence

texts:
The original sentence
  : The Olympic Winter Games 2018 will be held for 17 days from 9 to 25 February 2018.

I would like to ask for neat options other than be held there.
I am considering take place, happen, occur as alternatives, but I am not sure which of these are appropriate and what the differences are.

Thank you for your help greatly.


texts: What does the statement "I can do that, but I don't have to" mean?

texts:
My father-in-law took me to another city to get finger printed for the DHS.

I asked him if he wanted to come into the building with me to get finger printed, and he said

  "I can do that, but I don't have to"

What does it mean???


texts:
Do we follow "is" with a gerund or infinite? For instance, should I say

"Our goal is to eliminate distractions?"

or

"Our goal is eliminating distractions?"

Thank you


texts:
The context: my friend yesterday made a contribution.

My sentence is:

  If you hadn’t wanted that feeling more than you wanted your money, you would not have made the contribution.

I am pretty sure it is correct, but I want to be sure that I use had correctly.  I am thinking between hadn't or didn't though for me "had" sounds correct, but I am not 100% sure.

I use had because it is past and you can't change the past. Thus, it is like imaginary situation.


texts:
I have this sentence:

  The main idea of the rule-based approaches is to judge each node of the DOM tree whether it is a text node by its features.

Should it be:

  The main idea of the rule-based approaches is to judge each node  of the DOM tree by its features whether it is a text node or not.

Update:

Or maybe

  The main idea of the rule-based approaches is to judge each node  of the DOM tree by its features to see/check whether it is a text node or not.


texts:
Here is my constructions:

  How much are the course tuition fees?
  How much is the course tuition fee?

So my question is, should I use 'are ... fees' or 'is ... fee'?


texts:
Are the following sentences examples of comma-splice?

  I am well, thank you.

  I have been sick, but I feel better now, thank you.

If just one is a comma-splice example, why is one acceptable, and the other not?


texts:
I am litle bit confused over usage of the sentence mentioned below.
"I used to be
waiting for train
when i was in my graduate school".
Is it idiomatic?


texts: "it's what happened" vs. "it's what has happened"

texts:
Note: This post is not about the concept of present perfect. It's not about the general rules either. It is about real life context. I know the general rules I just don't know how do I use some of those in this particular situation. Telling the general rules again does not always help solve specific questions, right?

When describing something happened, people usually use "it's what happened" or "it's what has happened".

However, Google Ngram indicates the former is much more commonly used than the latter, why is that?

Does they mean the same? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts: An idiomatic expression for when you miss the line you were reading

texts:
Edit: By "line" I don't mean the storyline but the literal, written line on the page.

If it ever happened to you that you were reading and some kind of distraction caused you to raise you eyes just for a moment, but enough to make you miss the line you were reading so you have to scan the text to find that line again, you know how annoying that is.

For example, consider the following scenario:

  A: That twinkling light over there is really annoying. Everytime I see it from the corner of my eye I tend to look at it and I _____. I've literally _____ three times already!

Note that while this may cause you to lose track of the story and force you to re-read the whole paragraph, that's not necessarily true. For example, after raising my eyes for just a second I still know what's going on, but I need to find the right line. If it takes too long, I may not remember anymore what was happening and I may have to go back a couple of sentences. In my mother tongue there are two distinct expressions, that, though interchangeable to some extent, have slightly different meanings. One is more suited for when you just have to find the line, and the other for when you lose the thread of the story because you either took too long to find that line, or because the story was too complicated, or maybe because you're tired or for any other reason.

Are there two distinct expressions to distinguish between both things in English?


texts: Meaning of notwithstanding in the sentence

texts:
What is the meaning of "notwithstanding" in the following sentence:

  Most of our platitudes notwithstanding, self-deception remains the most difficult deception.

The quote is taken from the essay "On Self-Respect" by Joan Didion.

The dictionary definition of the word is: in spite of. However, I do not see how that makes sense here:

  Most of our platitudes in spite of, self-deception remains the most difficult deception.


texts:
According to a grammar book named Top 20,  both the if-clause and the main clause describe situations that are or were always true in the first type of conditional sentence.

Here’s an example of conditional 1 in the past tense: If I was late for work, my boss got really angry at me.

That italicized phrase sounds a little off.

I feel like it should be: my boss would get really angry at me

Is this how you’d normally say it?

If not, how should I rephrase it?

Thank you.


texts:
I have this statement:

  The document will not be indexed nor retrieved.

I know it is not correct and I must use either. So, my question is:

What is the correct sentence:

  The document will not either be indexed nor retrieved

Or:

  The document will not either being indexed nor retrieved

I have feeling that the second one is correct while I knew that after will we have to use the zero form, which is be not being

any reference to learn more about that grammar is appreciated.


texts: Is this translation of the original text correct

texts:
I was reading a translated copy in modern English of The Tempest. And one of the sentence of the original text which was

  All things in common nature should produce without sweat or endeavour.

Was translated into:

  Nature would produce everything people needed, and all of it would be shared equally by all.

According to me, the original sentence just means that the nature should produce everything by itself without any human attempt. But there is no implication that it will be distributed equally. So, is the translation incorrect? English is my third language so I tend to take analytical approach while construing sentence-meaning. But I'm having unprecedented trouble in doing so with "The Tempest". Is there any tip?


texts: Is this verb kick followed by resultative complement?

texts:
Kurt Tippett kicked two goals last night. (Aussie ABC News)

It seems that this sentence is ‘one-complement pattern with monotransitive verb (Angela Downing’s term). Can we call ‘two goals’ the resultative complement?


texts: Is there a phrase or word that means "put on too much makeup"? I remember there was a phrase and I think it had the word "paste" in it, but I don't remember it. I also think there was a verb that pretty much meant the same thing, but I don't remember it either. Can anyone help me out?


texts: Question about meaning of "per capita" in this context

texts:
Did they cover the strip club per capita numbers? Those are staggering.
No, just restaurants per capita.

I know **per capita" means **for each person" , but I have my doubts whether the sentences would still be meaningful after substituting the words.
Could you simplify the conversation, pkease.


texts: how does the perfect gerund *having+participle* work as a noun?

texts:
I am confused about how the having+participle construction works as a noun, e.g

  Having played football he came.

How does having played work as a noun here?

And what are differences between a "perfect gerund" and a "perfect participle", since both use having+participle?


texts:
Sometimes I come across sentences or phrases which should (in my opinion) contain the verb "to be" (present continuous tense) but they actually don't.
Last time I saw that on CNN in the running line, there was something like "Trump and Clinton working to flip states in their favor" (it was not a capitalized title).

So, is there any rule for that or it's just a feature of mass media?

UPD: here's the answer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlinese


texts: difference between experience of and experience

texts:
Would you show me which one is correct, as I have seen both experience of +an ing verb and experience +an ing verb in dictionaries?

Dictionaries' example: It was an experience being involved in making a television program

His peers, with whom he shares the common experience of being black in a white society

My example: It was an experience of being involved in making a television program

My examples: ... as a person who has five years experience heading this institute...

.... as a person who has five years experience of heading this institute...


texts: Why should I replace "Despite" in this sentence with "While"?

texts:
Why should I replace Despite in this sentence with While?

Wrong:

  Despite this book is useful, many students have not started reading it.

Correct:

  While this book is useful, many students have not started reading it.


texts:
I need to ask him whether he has done any grave mistakes in his last birth.

Is this sentence grammatically correct? I am confused whether to use 'had done' or 'has done'.


texts:
Example 01

    I didn't get up until 10 in the morning, knowing well that my friend was going to leave at 12 noon

    I didn't get up until 10 in the morning and knew well that my friend was going to leave at 12 noon.

Example 02

    An big earthquake hit yesterday, fortunately just causing little damage and no casualties.

    An big earthquake hit yesterday and fortunately just caused little damage and no casualties.

What is the difference in meaning between the sentences in example 01?

What is the difference in meaning between the sentences in example 02?

Is using gerund phases after the end of a sentence equal to using the conjuction "and"?


texts:
The doctor asked me to have a record of food routine like what I eat in/on one day.
Which is grammatically right to use?


texts:
Why do some people say "morning too" instead of saying "good morning to you too", in response to "good morning"?

Is it grammatically correct and valid to say "good morning too" or just "morning too"?


texts: How to understand the grammatical stucture of sentence "Interrupting a thread that is not alive need not have any effect."?

texts:
I have found this sentence in javadoc for one class Thread.
While I've understood its meaning, not sure if I understand its grammatical form.

  Interrupting a thread that is not alive need not have any effect.

I could pull out "that is not alive" - quite clear. Then left

  Interrupting a thread ... need not have any effect.

Looks like "a thread" could be also thrown away

  Interrupting ... need not have any effect.

Is "need not + bare infinitive" a correct grammatical form?


texts: "we women", "you women", "they women", "we men", "you men", "they men"

texts:
''A woman from the government said, 'We women are walking with our heads up, and you men will have to put your tails down,' '' Loroupe recalled. (The New York Times)

I know that one subject is enough, but supposing that due to  some idiomatic reasons "we women" and "you men" are correct—are they?—, can we infer that each pronoun can be used the same way—i.e., "I woman", "they men" and so on?

For example, can the following sentence be legally pronunced by a woman who is speaking to another woman?

  We women know things that they men will never  understand.


texts:
Most programming projects are kept afloat by the best programmers on the team.

I don't understand this sentence. I found "afloat" to have meaning of "floating on water" which does not suit in this sentence. Am I using the wrong definition?


texts: "He […] you to his party last week, but he did not have your address"

texts:
I am confused about this question. What can I put in the blank ?

If you say the sentence must be

  He would have invited you to his party last week, but he did not have your address.

then how can I say

  He […] you to his party , but he had not had your address.

Are these sentence grammatically correct?

If I know your number , I would call you.
If I knew your number, I would call you.
If I knew your number, I would have called you.
If I had Known your number, I would have called you.


texts: Is it correct to say "something smells burning in the kitchen"?

texts:
The verb "smell" is a linking verb and is often followed by an adjective.
For example, "It smells bad".
Also, adjectives can also be formed from verbs by adding "ing" or "ed".
For example, "boring/bored", "tiring/tired", "exciting/excited", etc.
Do we have adjectives "burning/burnt"?
Is it correct to say "something smells burning in the kitchen" or even "something smells burnt in the kitchen"?
Some suggests "something smells like burning in the kitchen".


texts:
The Client hereby undertakes to comply with the Collection Hub’s Terms and Conditions and for the evidence of this acceptance it fulfills its full business name, name of the acting representative and presses the button “ACCEPT”.

I do not understand why the passage in bold has this form. Why is "it" before "its". I think it is the "client" who is supposed to fulfill its full business name. So there is no need to use any pronoun. But in this case I would choose the possessive "their".


texts:
What do they care about most?

or

  What do they care about the most?

Are both correct?


texts: Correct tense for two events/actions in context

texts:
a) I explained him thoroughly.... but sill he made mistake.

b) I went to mall yesterday.... there I unexpectedly met my teacher.

c) I already parked my bike near xyz ....and later I saw the board of No parking.

d) I called him in the morning... but he did not picked up my phone.

In above sentences there are two actions/events. These actions/events happened one after another. Still only using simple past tense it conveys the meaning of context. And help to understand what would have happened first and what later in the context.

My question is, we use simple past to indicate completed action in the past and past perfect to indicate earlier event in two past then what exactly differentiate simple past and past perfect considering above examples?


texts: Rewrite "No one listened to what the policeman was saying last night"

texts:
I met this problem in an English test at my school this morning. The requirement of the question was to rewrite the sentence with the word given in the brackets and use between 2 and 6 words. This was the sentence that troubles me.

  No one listened to what the policeman was saying last night.

  -> What.................last night. (Ears)

What I wrote was "What 'being said wasn't all ears on' last night" but that didn't include the policeman and I wonder if "wasn't" would be counted as a word or two. If it was not limited between 2 and 6 words, I would rewrite the sentence as "What the policeman was saying was not all ears on last night".
Could you help me with this problem?


texts: "Thank you, Lord, for the teachers (those) who care for me"

texts:
Thank you, Lord, for the teachers those who care for me.
  Thank you, Lord, for the teachers who care for me.

Which of these two would be more correct?


texts: Differentiate similar nouns—prefers to see a movie with “a message” “a thought” "a comment" or "an idea"?

texts:
She often says that she prefers to see a movie with a (n) ______.

A. message
B. thought
C. idea
D. comment

It seems that the four choices all work well for me. The exam question therefore puzzles me and pushes me to raise it as a question. I have however found "a movie with a message" in a corpus, so does it look as familiar as an idiom? PlUS: The teacher hasn't showed me the correct answer, and it is beyond my knowledge to put it for you now.


texts: Use of “that” or “the” with the title “option A”

texts:
Context: I volunteer with a student who is taking the CELPIP exam in Canada. In this exam they give a survey with two options (option A and option B). The student has to choose an option and say why he/she thinks it's the best.

My student wrote the following:

  I think  the option A  is the  best because ... (sounds wrong to me)

As a native speaker, I suggested that he use either of the following:

  I think that option A is the best because...
  I think option A is the best because...

My question is why do we use “that” or no article before "option A"?

Also, why can we say “I think that the best option” or “I think the second option is the best”?


texts: What is the meaning of "no less" here? Is it positive or negative?

texts: In other words, in the definition we have given of it, is it really possible to add to the boundary between the science of personality and the biological sciences a no less firmly established boundary, on the other side of the terrain thus sketched out, between the science of personality and the social sciences?


texts: What is the grammatical function of “while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is burning”

texts:
"And indeed, what is better than to sit by one’s fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is burning?" ― Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

What grammatical phrase may you dictate while wind beats against the window and the lamp is burning? May it seem an adverbial clause placing information on when? I thought a comma gets placed when independent clauses go former to dependent clauses?

May you write it like this?

  While the wind beats against the window and the lamp is burning, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book?


texts: A quite aware and experienced person who usually and easily can judge people / situations properly

texts:
I need a single word in English encompassing a specific quality of someone who is so aware and astute that can easily understand and judge other people and their intentions prior to any attempt by them. Such people usually so experienced and sharp that can judge people often properly and make best decisions at the due time.

Example:

  Harry: do you remember that wheeler-dealer who was in the office about two months ago Jason?
  Jason: who exactly?
  Harry: the agent who came here to get into partnership with our company's main stockholders!
  Jason: ah, the bastard who was trying to play dirty against our holding by informing our rivals about our latest products and their qualities.
  Harry: bingo, you hit the mark.
  Jason: I'll always remember how Dr. Smith by exchanging a couple of sentences with him at the first meeting, noticed his under the belt intent and the way he gave the guy that runaround.
  Harry: haha, yea. Doctor is a really ........... man.

I wonder what do you call Dr. Smith in this scenario.

The only word that comes to my mind is "shrewd", but I'm not sure if it is exactly what I need.


texts: What does "to call" mean in this sentence?

texts:
What does call mean in this sentence?

  Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton won her party's primary in Mississippi, but her battle with Bernie Sanders in Michigan is too close to call.


texts:
"We got him," Belgian migration minister Theo Francken tweeted following the culmination of a four-month manhunt across Europe.

Why there isn't definite article in front of Europe? For me it would feel logical to say

  manhunt across the Europe.

Is this wrong and if so why?

Another example:

  The market is a gap which separates producer and consumer.

Why there isn't an article before producer and consumer. For me it would feel logical to say:

  The market is a gap which separates a producer and a consumer.

Is this wrong and if so why?


texts: Is there a more efficient way to say a decimal place in decimal number?

texts:
Let's say there is a number 12.3456789.
From what I have learned, 1 is tens, 2 is ones, 3 is tenths, 4 is hundredths, 5 is thousandths, 6 is probably ten-thousandth?
Is there any way more efficient than that to indicate decimal places in English? It feels very mouthful when the number has many decimal places like if there's a number 0.123456789 and I want to say 7 is at [place] for example.


texts:
Flashback, warm nights almost left behind
  Suitcase of memories, time after—
  Sometimes you picture me

I wonder what the subject noun of the sentence is.
Is “time after” the abbreviation of “time after time”?


texts:
I believe this doesn't sound natural. Could you correct the sentence if I'm wrong?

"I can't say that I got 100% of what you've wrote on these [scientific] papers"


texts: What is appropriate usage of words loggia, deck, patio, balcony and so on

texts:
As part of my assignment I need to describe details of Thomas Kinkade's artwork Silent Night.
I can't find how is the left part of the cabin called (part where you can see Christmas Tree).

I have several options:

patio
balcony
deck
verandah
porch
loggia (as for me, it seems like most appropriate)

but I'm not sure that at least one of them has suitable meaning.

What is appropriate word for this?


texts: Can you explain about the correct interpretation of this sentence containing double gerunds?

texts:
This constant obsession about attaining a ghostly pallor and observing our behemothic interest in the Duke’s every move and the Duchess’s every outfit makes me think that the British may have been forced out of our country a long time ago but perhaps they still haven’t been entirely forced out of our heads.

Either observing our behemothic interest is the new phrase or the about also applies to observing.I mean to say, is it
This constant obsession about
1 attaining a ghostly pallor and
2 observing our behemothic interest in the ... ?


texts: What does the phrase "shape up" mean here?

texts:
What does the phrase "shape up" mean in the following sentence from the description (not available online) of the game "Griddie Islands"

Help these tropical getaways shape up.

Here is a description of the game from a different source:

Griddie Islands is a classic puzzle game with arcade elements, in
which you need to make a small island with different geometric shapes,
gradually increasing their level and earning more money. (Apk Vision)


texts: Word order. Is that two sentences differ?

texts:
What words order is better:

  This may not be her plan, but then again it might be so.

or

  This may not be her plan, but then it might be so again.

If it helps, I am trying translate this russian phrase:

"Вероятнее всего, хоть она и не планирует, но ситуация возможно, повторится и на этот раз."


texts: What does ‘railway’ mean in the following X?

texts:
What does ‘railway’ mean in the following (is it sentence?) ?
What’s the difference between railway and track then?


texts: Would you explain the usage and grammar of "shall"?

texts:
Would you please explain a little about the grammar of "shall"?

For example, in a book that I'm reading, there's this sentence:

  In the following, we shall consider the propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a linear medium (free of saturation and hysteresis), free of sources.

Why has "shall" been used here? What's the meaning of it? What's the usage of it?


texts: What's the difference between these two phrases

texts: I saw two phrases 'come to one's rescue' and 'come to one's assistance'. What's the difference between them?Thank you.


texts:
I am very confused about the two sentences I am going to make up.

(1) The black, the white and the red marble(s) on the desk are mine.

Please note that in my next example, assume that there are several marbles in each color.

(2) A black, a white and a red marble is or are to be removed from the box.

In (1), do I need to pluralize the word "marble"?

In (2), which verb works better "is" or "are"?


texts: The word "little" inferring the meaning of something important, big or critical

texts:
I may have made it up but it seems to me that the word little on some occasions infers the opposite of its intended meaning in certain contexts:

Those guys are going to pay for what they've done. We'll pay them a little visit tonight.
Honey, the little problem with you is that you don't want to try to understand people.
We've got a little problem here and I'm not sure we're going anywhere any sooner.

Does it depend on the context or the reader's understanding?


texts:
Are these sentences correct?

It looks not easy.
It seems not easy.

Or do I need to say like these?

It doesn't look easy.
It doesn't seem easy.


texts: Verb usage in subordinate clause with "before"

texts:
Question:
While some scientists are confident of the project of transforming Mars, they admit that it ______(be) a few decades before people ________ (move) to the planet most similar to Earth.
The correct anser is: "will be" and "move".
My question is:  can I use "can move" in the second blank?
Thanks!
EDIT:
@EdwinAshworth this does not meet the requirements of such question.  The rule is basically "one word per blank".   However, when considering tense of verbs, it is allowed to use 2 words if necessary.   E.g. when "be" is expected, you can fill in "will be/am/is/are/were/have been" etc.   I looked up the dictionary, in cases with "before", present tense verbs are expected.  So you cannot say:  before people "will move" to... However, I personally think that use "can move" will emphasize the meaning that it is not people's intention to move to Mars or not, but the possibility of moving.   I am only asking if "can move" is gramatically correct, and is it idiomatic expression for a native speaker?


texts: Why is "mixing" used instead of "to mix" in "didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that"?

texts:
I started reading Harry Potter and there is a sentence:

They didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.

I understand the meaning of the sentence, but could someone explain why mixing is used, but not to mix ?
I expected a sentence like that They didn't want Dudley to mix with..


texts: What do you call the building like Sherlock Holmes ( imaginarily ) live?

texts:
Could anyone please let me know what you call the building, like the one, which is tall but not wide enough on the street? Can I call it an "apartment"? Or is there better choice to use?

Thank you in advance.


texts: How to formulate this question correctly: How these checklists have been developed?

texts: How to formulate this question grammatically correct: ": How these checklists have been developed?"


texts: Does "be sitting" mean "action" or "state"?

texts:
Given a sentence:

A couple is sitting on the bench.

Does that describe a man and a woman who is in the middle of the action? Or does it refer to a couple who is seated?


texts: How to understand 'with a bit of luck' in this sentence?

texts:
This is a quote from a comment on the movie Like Sunday, like rain :

With a bit of luck Whaley was looking to cast the philandering, grubby musician who is messing up Eleanor’s life.

FYI, Whaley is the director of the movie.
This sentence feels a bit off for me. I think with a bit of luck implies 'luckily, one could have the ability to do something'. And look to means he was just trying to find an actor. I don't understand why would he need luck to try to cast the role? Shouldn't it be 'with a bit of luck, he casted the musician'?


texts: Can I use "Making acquaintance" for a friend I meet later?

texts:
I saw a friend at a party but couldn't tak to her. Later I meet her again, can I say that we couldn't make acquaintance at the party?

If not then what can be said?


texts:
How do I call the first and last child in the family? Are there any special words for them?
An instant, there are some words we use for the last member of the family in Persian, like "tah-taghari", how about in English?


texts: "the printers is" vs. "the printers are"

texts:
As is well known, expressions like "at the printers" or "to the cleaners" can be equivalent to "at the printer's shop" or "to the cleaner's shop" respectively. But if this is so, these expressions could be construed with a plural or a singular verb. So my question is, which one of the followings is grammatical—A, B, or both?

A. The printers is near the hospital.
B.  The printers are near the hospital.


texts: Neutral equivalent to the attributive use of the adjective "so-called"

texts:
The attributive use of the adjective "so-called" is defined as follows by the Oxford English Dictionary.

  In attributive use (hyphened): Called or designated by this name or term, but not properly entitled to it or correctly described by it. Also loosely or catachr. as a term of abuse.
  More recently, and now quite commonly (esp. in technical contexts), used merely to call attention to the description, without implication of incorrectness.

Is there any unambiguously neutral equivalent to the attributive use of the adjective "so-called"?

Example of use:

  The objective of the de-identification process is to remove all so-called Protected Health Information (PHI).

I don't want the reader to think that I may imply that Protected Health Information isn't a good term. I know I could rephrase it such as:

  The objective of the de-identification process is to remove all terms known as Protected Health Information (PHI).

but I am looking for another adjective that can be used attributively.


texts:
The siren signalled the approach of an ambulance.
Many kind of birds fly south at the approach of winter.

Both are taken from Cambridge Dictionary while I was searching the meanings of "approach".

In the first sentence no preposition has been placed before "the approach" while in the later "at" is placed before it. I cannot when to use "at" and when not to use.


texts:
Could this be an error?

  MLB
  Any Playing Field constructed by a professional club after June 1, 1958, shall provide a minimum distance of 325 feet from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on the right and left field foul lines, and a minimum distance of 400 feet to the center field fence.

How does a ballpark "provide" a distance?  A restaurant could provide some service.  A person could provide supplies.  But the mentioned "distance" is an intrinsic property of a baseball park, and cannot be given away. Would replacing "provide" with "have" be better?


texts: Why does "hulled" mean "devoid of hulls" rather than "having hulls"?

texts: I was studying the nutritional profile of sunflower seeds here when I came across the word hulled, referencing the seeds. I had only known about the noun hull, and the adjective form was a first-time encounter. My first impression was that hulled meant "having hulls" since a hull is the shell of the seed, but to my surprise it means "having had the hulls removed". So I thought what if there was the word dehull, wouldn't that mean "remove the hulls of" and so the adjective "dehulled" could be derived? so I looked up the word dehull and it does exist with the same meaning as I predicted. Therefore, hulled and dehulled are interchangeable. So isn't it weird that hulled is used to mean devoid of hulls?


texts: this is sentence correct and portray what i mean to say

texts:
you sitting behind me was less distracting that you came and sat in front of me
is this grammatically correct, does this sentence portray what i mean to say if you get it.


texts: What's more common in the spoken English "Isn't it?" or "Isn't it so"?

texts:
What's more common in the Spoken English (and also in the formal English)

"Isn't it?"

or "

"Isn't it so?"


texts: No sooner did subject present or No sooner had subject part perticiple

texts:
As soon as he came into the classroom, the light went off.
  No sooner had he come into the classroom than the light went off.
  No sooner did he come into the classroom than the light went off.

Which is right? If I use the first, is that right?


texts:
Sentence: She pulled into a lonely diner located just out of town.

What does "lonely diner" mean here? Does it mean that the diner is lying by itself with nothing near it?


texts:
I can understand 80% article in bbc news or yahoo.
To read esoteric writings  or simple journal article gain more for me?


texts:
The following is an excerpt from the website.

  Disneyland, all of which belongs to the Disney Company, is located in Anaheim.

While I am aware of "all of which", "some of which", etc. usages, I think I've never heard of "all of that".

  Disneyland, all of that belongs to the Disney Company, is located in Anaheim.

I believe the second sentence is grammatically wrong. A thought occured to me that it may be related to the nonrestrictive usage of relative pronoun. "That" cannot be used as nonrestrictive one.(after comma)

Can anyone please verify this?


texts:
I lived in France for 2 months during which time / during which / during I was in vacation
  The world war II, during which / during which time many people were killed, ended in 1945

When do we use "during which" and "during which time" ?

  He drived the motorbike at which speed / at a speed which  no one had reached before
  She called the doctor, by which time / by the time when / by the time they  closed the hospital

There might be more than one correct answer in question 3 and 4, please explain to me in detail

I don't know much about using a preposition together with "which" . Please teach me as precisely as possible


texts: What does "wage an all-or-nothing return" mean here?

texts:
I use this link but don't think it helps: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/wage_2

Binaries are a financial instrument where traders wage an all-or-nothing return. In this article, we’ll walk you through the top binary options brokers.

Source: https://financesonline.com/15-popular-binary-options-brokers-one-best/


texts:
I have been listening to lot of songs and I have come over this term, "Kingdom Come", several times. I cannot quite place the meaning of it. Internet search only shows that it is a part of text of the Holy Bible.

Imagine dragons "demons" is one of them with lyrics as below:

  No matter what we breed
  We still are made of greed
  This is my kingdom come
  This is my kingdom come

Please clarify the meaning.


texts:
May I use definite article in front of abstract noun?

  1.Creativity is a must in the present world.

  2.The creativity of our boss has taken attention.

when and why I will use definite article?


texts: I am looking for an idiomatic phrase you would say to somebody you hate when something bad happens to them. For example, they could fall and break their knee or had bad news, etc. You wish them more of it, and you say it in their face.


texts:
Does "will look out over a capital city" mean "will keep watch on a capital city"?  The prepositional word "over" has given me a hard time to figure out what it means. Because a phrase like "look over one's shoulders" is very different in meaning with "look on one's shoulders."

Stay home, Americans were exhorted, to prevent further spread of a surging virus that has claimed 400,000 American lives. Biden will look out over a capital city dotted with empty storefronts that attest to the pandemic’s deep economic toll and where summer protests laid bare the nation’s renewed reckoning on racial justice.

Source:  The Associated Press


texts: Time expressions after which Present Simple and Present Continuous converge

texts:
In the last couple of months I've noticed that there are certain time expressions after which the present simple or the present continuous converge and can be used withouth any change in meaning. Let me support my question with a couple of examples:

Example 1:

  It's the last time I repair this umbrella

  It's the last time I'm repairing this umbrella

Example 2:

  When I make a salad, I always use clean hands

  When I'm making a salad, I always use clean hands

I'm really confused as I can't find any grammar rule that would explain this curiosity. Perhaphs there isn't any. Any feedback will be much appreciated.


texts: What does the line "So long and thanks for all the fish!" mean?

texts: I got a mail with the subject "So long and thanks for all the fish!" from my Manager. What does it mean?


texts: What's the point of "but" in some sentences?

texts:
From The Godfather:

  And so it was Fanucci alone. Or Fannucci with some gunmen hired for a
  special job on a strictly cash basis. Which left Vito Corleone with
  another decision. The course his own life must take.

  It was from this experience came his oft-repeated belief that every man
  has but one desteny.

I expected that only would have been instead of but there. Therefore I'd like to ask the reason for using but in that sentence.


texts: Question word(s), subject and verb of subordinate-clause in "Could you tell me which flight he will be on"

texts:
I'm trying to find subordinate-clauses' subjects and verbs, but there's something that confuses me:
For example when I'm looking for the question word, subject, and verb in:

"I don't know who those people are"

It's clear to find the question word, which is 'who'. After that, it's easier to find the subject and verb.
But, when I encounter with subordinate-clause that includes multiple question words, I am not sure how I can separate these sentences into subject and verb:

1.Could you tell me which flight he will be on?
2.I need to ask him what time we are leaving.
3.Can you tell me how much time we have?


texts:
From NPR

Safe harbor laws are introduced to protect those minors who are forced to prostitute themselves.

  New York has probably one of the most comprehensive safe harbor laws. Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, there are a few states that are doing this specifically with children. Washington, D.C., for example, has a court. And basically, this has been a whole series of individual judges seeing these cases coming through their courts and becoming passionate and involved on the issue and being willing to work with prosecutors, the defense bar and service providers to establish these problem-solving courts.

What's the meaning of come through here? I guessed it should mean arrived at the court. But After looking up the word through in the dictionary, I found that through means pass a place, not arrive at a place. If someone wants to express arrive at someplace using through, he might want through to someplace, right? But what's the meaning of "coming through" in the quote? Does it mean the case only pass the court instead of arriving at the court?


texts:
Read this sentence:

  There are good people who will help you. There are bad people who'll cheat you. But you never know who is who or which is which?

My vote is for 'who is who' but then if I think twice, 'which is which' also fits! I'm confused.


texts: Political division: department or departamento?

texts:
In some countries of Latinoamerica the political divisions of territory are called "Departamento". Is it correct to translate it as Department? I think it could sound odd.

For example, "Departamento de Lima" should be translated as Lima Department, Lima Departamento or Departamento Lima?


texts:
Is there difference in meaning between these three sentences?

  He was working less hard than it's usual.

  He was working less hard than usual.

  He was working less hard than usually.


texts:
Bin‘ali acted as his intermediary with the Islamic State leadership,
  whom al-Maqdisi threatened with dire consequences should they fail to
  participate.

What does this mean?! And what kind of structure is it? (The second part of the sentence, I mean.)

Note: Bin'ali and al-Maqdisi are two Jihadi figures.


texts:
Is 'the comb of the roof' similar with 'the ridge of the roof'?

Here is the picture. I guess the red-checked spot is the comb of the roof. Is it right?


texts: Meaning - 'It's Cliff's Notes without Cliff's Notes.'

texts:
Source, 30% down the page: 'In Defense Of 'Difficult' Books', by Claire Fallon, 2014 Apr 17

Even if writers persist in creating convoluted pieces, as many still do, the push to skim and speed-read threatens to nullify their efforts. Some texts can be read and mostly comprehended at 1,000 words per minute, but Middlemarch and Infinite Jest probably can't -- at least by most of us mere mortals. The ability to basically register what each word in Middlemarch means is not the same as the ability to understand the book. Complex works should offer us more and more meaning the more time we spend with them, whether we're rereading or simply slowing down to spend more time contemplating each passage. Rushing through a great book strips the reader of any value other than the right to say we've read the work in question. It's Cliff's Notes without Cliff's Notes.

I know what are Cliff's Notes, but what does this sentence mean?  Is this a turn of phrase?


texts:
Here is a scenario: suppose I am going somewhere with my friend. And my friend gets into an argument with a few guys that leads to a fight. And I have nothing to do with it. But they start beating us. And suddenly my friend flees the scene. Now I want to ask him in a complex sentence why he left me alone to be beaten.

Having me been beaten, why did you run away?
Having had me been beaten, why did you run away?
Having had me beaten, why did you run away?

Or any other suggestion how to say this.


texts: Can I say something like “No, it may be not” or is that wrong? I affirmed something and then I said “No, actually it may be not” (trying to say it may actually not be like that) and somebody told me it should be “No, it may not be”, but the former still sounds better to me.


texts: What's the grammar of "Attached" in this email?

texts:
Attached you will find the document "How to fill out the online application". This document gives you full details on filling out the online application and should be read with care.

They attached an document in the mail. So I could guess the meaning. But what's the grammar of attached? It looks like past participle.


texts:
I don't understand the meaning of the verb "offset (to counterbalance, counteract, or compensate for) in the following context.

"A typical local rule requires a mailbox to be offset the entire width of a shoulder off the road with an addition of a specific number of inches."

Here is the [link] (https://legalbeagle.com/5598432-rules-moving-mailbox.html)


texts: Can I use 'of' with a geographical name?

texts:
How should I use of with a geographical name, like

  ...top rated hair clinic of uk.

Is this correct?


texts:
I've read a text saying

  But Sutherland could have made the weeklong climb blindfolded. He’d done it before, or may as well have.

What is the meaning of "or may as well have" in this context? If he definitely had done it before, why add this phrase? Is this some widely used collocation?


texts: When we're talking about ID or passport, do we use "date of issue" or "date of issuance"?


texts:
Is it the same as "endless loop"?

  The Flywheel and the Doom Loop. Those who launch revolutions, dra- matic change programs, and wrenching restructurings will almost cer- tainly fail to make the leap from good to great. No matter how dramatic the end result, the good-to-great transformations never happened in one fell swoop. There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. C K' L Rather, the process resembled relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.

Source: https://www.coursehero.com/file/p4m0kaq/The-Flywheel-and-the-Doom-Loop-Those-who-launch-revolutions-dra-matic-change/


texts:
(1) He gave her some money.

Its passive voice is:

(2) She was given some money.
(3) Some money was given her.

  (4) He gave some money to her.

Its passive voice is :

(5) She was given some money to.
(6) Some money was given to her.

Which sentence above is correct? How to change a sentence with two objects into passive voice?


texts: How to understand "he'd be lucky to escape Azkaban" in this context

texts:
Dumbledore was trying to sort it all out ... what did that mean? how much power did Dumbledore have to override the Ministry of Magic? Was there a chance that he might be allowed back to Hogwarts, then? A small shoot of hope burgeoned in Harry's chest, almost immediately strangled by panic—how was he supposed to refuse to surrender his wand without doing magic? He'd have to duel with the Ministry representatives, and if he did that, he'd be lucky to escape Azkaban, let alone expulsion.

  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I don't quite understand the meaning of "he'd be lucky to escape Azkaban". On the other hand, why didn't it put "he'd be lucky to escape from Azkaban"? How should we understand it in this context?


texts:
I just read another question where someone mentioned "driver's license" is more used than "driving license" in the US.

How do I pluralize "driver's license"?

  Driver's licenses

or

  Drivers' licenses

Same question, but suppose there are lots of girls and I want to talk about their heads. Should it be girl's heads or girls' heads?


texts:
I've seen a lot of exceptions for the reported speech and I would like to debate and thereby clear the things that are on my mind regarding this subject.

I've seen these types of "Rules"  of Backshifting (I.g - Move one tense back to the past; eg. - Present Simple -> Past simple)

  Apply Backshiftng if the introductory sentence is in the past (Which it is not true, eg. "He said he likes you")

  Apply Backshiftng if the information is still true in the future or present.(But sometimes, things that happened in the past are being reported in its original sentence,rather that the Past Perfect Tense. eg. "He said he's finished studying")

  Apply Backshiftng optionally. (This is the one I've been sticking for, however, when you tell something days after it happened,it sound strange to not backshift. Eg. "He said he will call me the next day, but he didn't!")

The problem to me is: how am I going to know when backshifting is okay?


texts: How do I understand these multiple complements?

texts:
“And we believe that the best situation for all parties involved would be for us to have custody of Zoe, to raise her in a warm and stable family situation, to provide her with the kind of upbringing and, well, not to be gauche, but privileges we can provide for her.”
(Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain)

I guess the subject, the best situation, is followed by three complements: (1) to have custody of Zoe, (2) to raise her in a warm and stable family situation, (3) to provide her with the kind of upbringing – for us is common agent for to-clauses. And after and is the second complement for believe. But there are two strangeness for me: (1) what not to be gauche mean? Is it modest expression for the speaker?, (2) If but-clause is really the complement, why does the book adopt but? Is it mean only privileges (they can provide her only with privileges)? Or is but related with the previous phrase, not to be gauche?


texts: Fly on a jet pack vs fly with a jet pack?

texts:
Neither "fly on a jet pack" nor "fly with a jet pack" sounds idiomatic, are they? And are there better alternatives, because I can't really think of other ways of saying it.

For example:

  I fly on a jet pack above the lake to attract tourists.

  I fly with a jet pack above the lake to attract tourists.


texts:
I would prefer that she do that

and

  I would prefer that she did that

Why one is present subjunctive do and the other  past simple did


texts: Can't we say " Look at those dark clouds.It is likely/bound/due to rain " ?


texts:
Person A: After listening to a video clip, do you comment with "I like it" or "I liked it"?
Person B: The present tense is probably better. In general, though, you can use either.
Can I use "could" in place of "can" here? I mean, do we use "could" with "in general" or "generally", if we want to show doubt or sound tentative?


texts: more complicate than I'm making it out to sound—"make it out to sound"?

texts:
Source: short audio clip

Transcript:

  ...but I am sure that modern web browsers will perform these steps in parallel  and that is a lot more complicated than I'm making it out to sound, okay? But my bare-bones explanation here should serve as the general series of steps...

I would have no problem understanding that if he said it like this: and that is a lot more complicated than I'm making it sound. But that's not what he actually says. He threw an out in there for some reason and I don't understand why.


texts: Why omitting articles in "get out of [something]"?

texts:
Why is it ok to omit an article in a sentence using the get out of expression:

  He gets out of jail.

instead of

  He gets out of a/the jail.

I found this thread, but it is somehow not really relating to my case.


texts:
They believe this.

  Should they?
  Shouldn't they?

Do the both replies mean the same?


texts:
I wrote:

  For example,  in cases  where the user comments on a page are preceded by "Comments" title,  this title can be employed in an extraction rule to identify that section.

Can I use "Where" instead of "In cases where" in the sentence above?


texts: experiences among or experiences from/in?

texts:
Is the sentence:
"His work is often inspired by travel experiences among other cultures"
grammatically correct?
It sounds a bit odd to me. Would "experiences from" be better?
Thanks in advance!


texts:
What are the differences between a/ and b/ below?

  a/ The agreement will be terminated upon written notice?

  b/ The agreement will be terminated on the basis of written notice ?

My understanding is that a/ contains also bit of time element, while b/ is only about the method of sending. Do you think that a/ and b/ are identical or you agree with my understanding that one is with time element and the other one slightly different without time.


texts: What does "ramified" mean in this sentence?

texts:
This is a line from the movie The Ballad of Buster Scruggs:

  (Buster Scruggs to the camera, supposedly to the viewer, before turning to face an opponent in a gunfight duel): Things have a way of escalating out here in the West with one thing leading to another, but I should be able to make pretty short work of this ramified old son-of-a-gun.

Dictionaries define ramify as to spread out, but I don't see how that can fit in this context. What does it mean here?


texts:
A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and
  tidy under the inky sky, (1) the very last place you would expect
  astonishing things to happen. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

What’s the antecedent for which?
Is the noun phrase (1) modifying Privet Drive?


texts: How do you say something equivalent to French expression "public facile"?

texts:
In French, there is an expression that says "public facile" ... means somebody who will easily approve/enjoy pieces music or other arts if they are asked their opinion.

I would tend to translate it to "easy audience" , but does it actually have the same meaning in English and if not, what is the English way of saying it?


texts: I haven’t liked it lately or I haven’t been liking it lately. Which is better to use?

texts:
I haven’t liked it lately

I haven’t been liking it lately.

Which one is better?
I do feel like the latter is more of a conversational form, isn’t it?
And obviously “like” is a non-continuous verb.
But what about these examples?

“I haven’t liked her cooking lately.” - doesn’t sound quite right.
“I haven’t been liking her cooking lately.” - this one sounds way
better to me.

What do you think?


texts:
Take a look at this philosophy paper. Here is the first sentence of it:

  One of the main themes that have concerned philosophers of language in
  the twentieth century has been the semantics of proper names.

How can the present perfects be used here with a definite time? Please, keep in mind that the paper came out in 2012, which is in the 21st century (duh!).


texts:
In a little survey, I have been asking queries about how the respondents feel about the word 'Japanese' as a noun. I now would like to ask them if the same answers that they've made apply to other nationality nouns with -ese, as far as they are concerned.

Do you think the phrase 'as in your answers so far' works here, as normally 'the same' requires a parallel structure? Should it be "Do you feel the same way about the other nouns ... as you feel/do about 'Japanese' in your previous answers"?

  Do you feel the same way about the other nouns of nationality ending
  in ese (examples: Portuguese, Chinese and Sudanese) as in your answers
  about 'Japanese' so far?


texts: What is right expression to say "last one play"?

texts:
My Japanese friends like to say "last one play" in a futsal soccer game which means this game will be over if the ball becomes dead.

"Last one play" sounds a bit strange to me, but English is my second language.

Does "last one play" sound strange to a native English speaker?
What is the right expression to say it?


texts: How to use 'THE' and 'apposition clause'

texts:
Here's a sentence that I'm not sure is right. And I have TWO questions

Even though I'm finding the price of coffee quite expensive, I think it is a small price to pay for 'the convenience' that I can easily find a coffee shop and study there whenever I need to.

Even though there's nothing talking about any conveniences of the coffee shop before this sentence, when I want to make the situation or the gesture (I'm going to talk about the conveniences as soon as this sentence has finished or after this sentence finished, the thing I'm trying to talk about is the convenience of coffee shop. ), is it proper way to word 'the', reading it out loudly?

For starter, here's an example.

The fact that nearly everyone has their own phone speaks for itself.

Here, 'the fact' is being followed by the perfect sentence. Then, can I phrase perfect sentence right after 'the convenience' in the same way as 'the fact'?  When exactly is it possible to phrase perfect sentence structure after a noun?


texts:
A got B a dress. But it was too big. So B jokingly says:

  You know what, two like me can fit into this.

Is the use of "two like me" natural?


texts:
Fire extinguish systems
Fire extinguishing systems.

Can you tell me why #2 should be used instead #1? Or do you use the 1 as well?


texts:
I came across this sentence:

Mangroves live life on the edge.

Looking it up in a dictionary, I learned that "live" is transitive when it means " to spend your life in a particular way. " If it is the case, then why the determiner "a" or "the" is not used here since life can be countable when it means the activities and experiences that are typical of a particular way of living ?


texts:
I am a learner of English. Sometimes I see an article (a and the) before the noun (life) but sometimes I also see the noun without any article. So I am confused when should I use an article before the noun and when I should not. Please check the examples and let me know are they correct?

  Examples:

  His life is an awesome life.

  I want to get a beautiful life.

  I like the life he lived.


texts:
I was asked to correct this sentence on my exam:

  A simple rule of 'five' helps make exercising a most enjoyable activity.

What's the error and how do I correct it?

On the exam I changed exercising to exercise, but now I'm having second thoughts.


texts:
When I am preparing my presentation for the meeting, someone asks me to go out playing basketball. Which following statement is more correct?

"Not now, I'm working" or "Not now, I'm at work"
what is the difference between "I'm working" and "I'm at work"

As I know, I'm working is Present progressive, means I am doing my job right now.

On dictionary.com for the phrase At work, there are two explanations:

  Engaged in a job or other activity, as in The contractor is hard at work on the new building, or The little boy was fascinated to see the
  washing machine at work. [Early 1600s ]
  At one's office or other place of business, as in Is it all right if I telephone you at work ? [Late 1800s ]

For the first meaning, in some other online dictionary, also bears the meaning of busy.

My question is if the two sayings are the same meaning when they refer to "be busy doing their job right now"?


texts: Why doesn't "aversion" correspond to "aver"?

texts:
I thought that the noun "aversion" was derived from the verb "aver". However, it seems they have different meanings.

My question is, how can an English learner know such nouns?
I don't think there is a general rule. Should I consider such cases as the things that must be memorized?


texts: . . . have a natural talent for—thinks strongly and clearly

texts:
The following is from Emma, and I'm wondering whether there is a disconnection here; the preposition for seems to lack an object, and "thinks strongly and clearly" seems out of place, grammatically.

  No doubt he is a sensible man, and I suppose may have a natural talent for—thinks strongly and clearly—and when he takes a pen in hand, his thoughts naturally find proper words. It is so with some men. Yes, I understand the sort of mind. Vigorous, decided, with sentiments to a certain point, not coarse. A better written letter, Harriet (returning it,) than I had expected.”


texts: the place of the phrase "in car production" is correct?

texts:
In which kind of processes are the large and complex robots used in car production?

In this sentence, is the place of the phrase in car production correct?
Thanks in advance.


texts: What word can "she" be replaced with to refer to family members

texts:
What word can you replace she with.
Like if you are talking about mom or grandma or sister.


texts:
Soviet involvement in the war was deeply unpopular in the USSR, being fought largely by conscripts among whom there were many casualties, but it ended not so much because of popular discontent but because the military and financial drain on the USSR was too great to be continued.

What does 'financial drain' mean?


texts:
this lecturer is saying

  Hello everyone. Welcome to the second lecture for CS230.

is it grammatical and idiomatic to add a "the" before an "ordinal number"?


texts: What is the difference between "packing" and packaging"?

texts:
I think this is a simple question, but it confuses me when I am creating sentences. I make a few searches on Google and find out that the words are not synonymous.

But in what context I will use "packing" and "packaging" in the correct way?


texts: What does Trump mean here with "They don’t need more as they are going up for the shot."?

texts:
I like the NBA so I check any article if I spot them.
Anyway, this article has this line by Trump,

“I think [the kneeling] has been horrible for basketball,” President Donald Trump said on Fox Sports Radio in August. “Look at the basketball ratings. They are down to a very low number. They have enough politics with guys like me. They don’t need more as they are going up for the shot. There was a nastiness about the NBA the way it was done, too. The NBA is in trouble. Big trouble. Bigger trouble than they understand.”

Question 1 : What does Trump say when he says "they don't need XXXX". What is the direct object? Politics?
Question 2 : What does this line mean

as they are going up for the shot.

By the way, even after I was given the answer and I accepted it, I still don't understand what Trump is trying to say.


texts: Exist a gramatical qualifiers guide to resolve a qualifiers excercise?

texts: I want to fill the exercise but I just do it with trial and error until I get all correct, exist something I'm missing like a grammatical guide to answer this exercise?


texts: sentence structure of 'That is what I believe it means'

texts:
That is what I believe it means

Is 'what' here the object of 'I believe'? Or is there a wh-word omitted?


texts: When is "'s" needed after a possessive "of"?

texts:
From a dictionary and  a usage guide, I learnt that these phrases are OK:

the home of a schoolteacher
the sister of the Duke of Urbino
a friend of my mother's
a cousin of Lorna Cook's
a close friend of the President's

The usage guide says that sometimes the 's can be omitted, especially in AmE. So my first question is
1. Are the first two phrases from their 's versions, i.e.

the home of a schoolteacher's
the sister of the Duke of Urbino's

?
2. If so, then why do

a cousin of Lorna Cook
a friend of my mother

whose 's are omitted seem to be uncommon ? Or they aren't? Is there any rule, pattern or tendency to which I could stick regarding this issue?


texts: Is time hyphenated when you spell it out? For example: "It's two-thirty."

texts:
My book says:

It's two-thirty.
It's six-forty.
It's five-oh-four.

But I found online:

It's two thirty.
It's six forty.
It's five oh four.

I don't think people would spell the time like that on common situations but if I were to spell it out, do I hyphenate it or not?


texts:
I was reading something and there was this sentence.

On receiving a
letter from Bogle, Lady Tichborne sent enough money to pay for the fare back to England.

What does on mean in this sentence?


texts: What's the name for non-bribe payments taken forcefully and illegally?

texts:
In my national language Hindi, there's a term for it. Let me describe it.

Corruption is a nuisance in India. However, corruption is of many types here. For example, if you give some money to a traffic policeman, he'll let you go even though you have broken a signal at crossroads. Now, that is bribing him. But, I'm not talking about it.

In other case, mainly policemen, rogues or hoodlums take money from local vendors i.e. small shop owners, road-side vegetable sellers etc. If the latter ones don't give, they harass them one or the other way. Hoodlums may even 'beat' them. Policemen may falsely book them. That said, those people have to give money forcefully, unwillingly.

They come to 'collect' their _______ regularly. Say weekly or monthly.

I'm searching for a term for that money they take. Precisely a noun to describe the unethical act.

Say, a road-side vegetable seller is telling to a reporter/journalist...

  "You don't know sir, we live terrible life. We earn INR 5000 a month, but then INR 2000 goes to policemen/hoodlums as ______________."


texts:
Thinking has come to life again; the cultural treasures of the past, believed to be dead, are being made to speak, in the course of which it turns out that they purpose things altogether different from the familiar, worn-out trivialities they had been presumed to say.

Source: Mark Lilla: The Reckless Mind, p. 12.

I would like to ask what noun the relative clause ("in the course of which…") modifies. Is it really "the past"? I am familiar with the phrase "in the course of time" but in the course of the past seems to me very odd.


texts: What is the meaning of "Two layers of bad smell"?

texts:
In opening scene of Comedy movie Dinner for Schmucks (2010), Tim saw Barry rubbing Barry's face with aftershave.

  Tim: Why are you putting on aftershave?

  Barry: Oh, force of habit. When I was married,  I used to stay up late
  working on my mice, and Martha hated the smell of formaldehyde.

  Tim: You can smell them both, Barry. Two layers of bad smell.

  Barry: That's exactly what Martha used to say.


texts: Which part of speech is this "earliest" in this sentence, an adjective or an adverb?

texts:
I joined a team at 8 years old, which is later than most kids start now, but was the earliest you could start on the girl’s team (10 and under).

I just can't decide whether this "earliest" in this sentence is an adjective or an adverb. Is there any defaulting word obstructs my judgement?

It will be greatly appreciated if your explanation or analysis would be given in detail.