texts:
"I'll reply about this later.", is this correct grammatically and right usage of the proposition "about"?

or should I have used "to"?


texts: Why does "or at least" is usually preceded by a comma?

texts:
This is from independent.co.uk (it showed up as a result on a website):

  You have probably read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or at least heard of it.

Or is a coordinating conjunction, so grammatically speaking, it should only be preceded by a comma if what follows is a independent clause.

However, in the example above:

  or at least heard of it.

What follows is a dependent clause.

So why is there a comma before or?


texts:
Does the phrase "Ferrari engines factory" have theoretically two meanings?
I think that it can mean either of
1- (Ferrari engines) factory = The factory manufacturing ferrari engines
2- Ferrari (engines factory) = Ferrari's factory manufacturing engines
Do you agree with me? If you don't, can you please tell me why?


texts:
I've been reading Agatha Christie's novels over the past few months and I have to admit to how captivating they are. As I was reading her novel "The Secret Of Chimneys", I came across a few words that seemed probably odd to me and I just had to ask this question.

Firstly, the word "Hullo".

Was it how they basically said "Hello" back in old England?

Second, the sentence "You are in error, Mr Lomax. To my knowledge I have not this lady seen before. A complete stranger she is to me".  My question is in "I have not this lady seen before", is this another way of basically saying "I have not seen this lady before"? So is it just a matter of sentence structure?

I have to admit to the amount of perfect english used in this novel specifically. I have not read anything so captivating and nicely written in quite sometime. Thus I appreciate the help!


texts: Omission of subject after "such ... as"?

texts:
I consulted Is there subject missing in as-clause? but here is only the subject missing? In that other question, another as  was omitted, but in this question, only one as is necessary?

  No court may accept a majority verdict unless it appears that the jury has had such period of time for deliberation as ♦ seems to the court reasonable, according to the nature and complexity of the case...

Source: p 156, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper

What's this omission called? Also, is there an as-clause here?
The ♦ is my addition. Should there be a pronoun it there, the antecedent of which is such period of time for deliberation?
Yet why omit the it? Wouldn't a reader be confused, detained, and frustrated?

Here's another example from p 117, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper:

  The Lords ruled that the convention against allowing any reference to Hansard when interpreting statutes should be relaxed, so as to permit reference to parliamentary materials where: ...  (2) the material relied upon one or more statements by a minister or other promoter of the Bill, together with such other parliamentary material as was necessary to understand such statements and their effect;

Update: I didn't realise user StoneyB's comment below: as here is part of the such...as construction.


texts: Should I say "Thank you for your kindly attention" or "Thank you for you kind attention"

texts:
Which is more correct?

  "Thank you for your Kindly attention."
  "Thank you for you Kind Attention."


texts:
I am a bit confused as to the difference - some use the definite article, some do not:

-All water on Earth will evaporate in a billion years.
-Not all water is composed of the same substances.
-All the water on Earth would fit into a sphere 860 miles (1,385 km) wide.
-Of course, the source of all water is precipitation, the downward arrows coming down from the top in the diagram.


texts: What's the meaning of one quotation from Edward Davenant?

texts: He said that he would have a man knockt in the head that should write anything in Mathematiques that had been written of before. I think in order to understand this sentence one should have some background knowledge. Can anyone explain it?


texts: If I hear someone ring the doorbell and suspect it is the postman, should I say "That would be the postman" or "That will be the postman"? If both are okay, what is the difference?


texts: "Had a talk to him lately" or "had a talk with him recently"

texts:
I've seen and heard both ways of saying it:

I had a talk to him lately
I had a talk with him recently

What is the difference between the two? Which one is more common? Which one is grammatically more valid? Are these two interchangeable?


texts:
Could someone please help me to choose the right word?

The Ice-cream shop is a few steps further/away.


texts:
I come across the the sentence below in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Dictionary.(http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/take-a-bend-fence-corner-etc)

  He took the bend at over 60 and lost control.

I can not figure out exactly what this sentence means.
I have a guess, though.
It seems like 'He' was driving now and lost control of his car, trying to go around the corner over 60 MPH.
Am I right?


texts:
How natural or unnatural is the following sentence, which was suggested by a native speaker (it might not be the exact wording, but 'paid' was surely used)?  It would be helpful to me if you would show me the formal version and the casual version.

Tell me how much you paid when you come back from the dentist.


texts: Word or short description for someone who roams around in his local city and knows about local lesser known places, events, things to do etc

texts: Just like we use travellers or wanderlust or globe trotters etc for people who enjoy travelling out of their own city, I want a word for people who enjoy roaming about their own city and knowing local stuff, like rare book shops, non-crowded running trails, lesser known little cafés, small offbeat local events, etc.


texts: Is there a word for "didactic in a funny way"?

texts:
There is this podcast I was listening to, in which the speaker recounts an experience at college quite hilariously but also teaches a great lesson (the lesson of sharing and the joy it brings) at the end of it. If I were to describe the podcast in one word, what would it be?

Here's a link to it :-)
https://themoth.org/storytellers/ashok-ramasubramanian


texts: What does “9s 3d“ mean in this sentence?

texts:
I am reading a British story for ESL learners and I can't understand the abbreviations 9s, 3d in the
sentence below.
Example: These queues have large cards that say: Queue here for 4s 6d; Queue here for 9s 3d; Queue here for 16s 8d.


texts: She's a twin to her brother? Is it correct?

texts:
There are two questions, quite similar.

I know the word twin which means one of the twins. Now, while introducing a girl to my friend, I want to say, "she's a twin" but in this sentence only, I want to tell that who is the other twin of that twins.

  She's a twin to her brother OR She's a twin to her sister

Is it fine? Now the second question...

Do I need to put other/another in this case?

She (A) and her brother (B) are twins. She has one more brother (C) but while introducing, she's with her non-twin brother (C). Should I say...

  She's a twin to her another/other brother?

Is that okay? If not, how do we say that?


texts: Is internet considered a way of broadcasting?

texts:
Wikipedia definition of Broadcasting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasting

"is the distribution of audio and/or video content or other messages to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium"

Doesn't that mean internet is a method of broadcast?


texts: Is "a seagull soaring just beside my ear" clear?

texts:
Is the meaning of this sentence clear:

  A seagull soaring just beside my ear distracted me from  the string of thoughts.

I meant that the seagull soared very near to the narrator.


texts: In vs Into (differences in a particular context)

texts:
Look at this meaning of against: "In or into physical contact with (something), so as to be supported by or collide with it".
1.What is the difference between in and into here?
2.Could you contrast both in this context?


texts: In the phrases, day one, day two, day three etc what part of speech is one , two, three? I know that day is a noun, and cardinal numbers are conventionally used as determiners or as fused heads in certain constructions. But in day one, day two, day three, what are they? what is their form?


texts: Meaning of "what man has deeded to himself"

texts:
(The Twilight Zone) Henry Bemis, now just a part of a smashed landscape, just a piece of the rubble, just a fragment of what man has deeded to himself.

If to deed means "convey or transfer (property or rights) by legal deed," than I'm not sure that man can deed total annihilation to himself. You cannot leave something to someone knowing that your recipient won't exist.

Is there a possibility that to deed also means to do? "What man has done to himself" makes perfect sense.


texts: Why should I delete 'it' in the sentence below?

texts:
Why should I delete it in the following sentence?

  The boat that we were taking to Miami to have it repaired was very badly damaged.


texts:
Is this parsing correct?

  I arrived at the private eye's, taken into his smoke-filled study.

My PARSING:
I arrived at the private eye's office, and was then taken into his smoke-filled study.


texts: "Excuses to not to cook" or "excuses not to cook"?

texts:
What's the correct wording? Example sentence:

  More and more, he made excuses (to) not to cook at home


texts: Correct passive voice version of "Do not disturb me"

texts:
This multiple-choice question appeared in an exam:

  Change the voice active /passive: Do not disturb me.

Options:
A. Let me not be disturbed.
B. Let I not be disturbed.
C. Let disturb me not.
D. Let not disturb me.

Some are saying the answer should be A, while some are saying the answer should be B. I know C and D can never be the answer to this. I think A is correct.

Can someone give an answer with explanation?


texts: Looking to understand music lyrics from the song "How We Do" by The Game

texts:
Just for curiosity I would like some clarification of this line of the old song of The Game "How We Do." I would like to know the exact words and the meaning of them.

In min. 1:24 to min. 1:26 I simply hear

  "give me six inches on the white air ones."

However, I looked up for the lyrics and I found

  "If a nigga steps on my white Air, Ones"

well I just want to know if I'm listening correctly or if I need to train my ear a little more. Below are the links for the video and for the lyrics.

Link to the video:
https://youtu.be/PH34kMOjmQk

Link to the lyrics:
http://www.metrolyrics.com/this-is-how-we-do-lyrics-50-cent.html

Side note.
As I previously mentioned this is just for curiosity and to check my listening so please don't judge nor leave negative comments just help out or skip it to the next thread.


texts:
I've just learned we should use the indefinite article "a" with adjectives beginning with "un-", "eu-". So, "a unisex" would be  pretty fine, wouldn't it?

The reason why I posted this question is a little remark in the materials I'd found. The answer was "an unisex".


texts: What is the best solution "going to or present progressive "for a future event in this case

texts:
Shall I say

Next monday they are operating my arm or they are going to operate my arm

I think the first one is better because it is stronger than an intention .We can suppose the date was fixed and we can't change it


texts: What do you call the legal document(s) that Iran signed to alleviate concerns of nuclear proliferation?

texts: What do you call the legal documents that Iran signed to alleviate concerns of nuclear proliferation? I am asking, because I am pretty sure there are many similar documents and they carry different legal implications. I would like to know the name of the one Iran signed under Obama. I am asking what type of document it is, not the name of the document itself.


texts: Difference between "use X to do Y" and "use X for doing Y"

texts:
Is there any difference between these two sentences?

We use algorithm A to solve the problem.
We use algorithm A for solving the problem.


texts: Following is the question on active-passive voice transformation from an exercise. Which option will be correct out of (1) and (3) and please explain the reasoning behind. I opted for (3) but the answer given is (1).


texts:
I read an example in "Merriam Webster dictionaries" which was:

  Movie audiences have effectively nixed the idea of the reviving the old-fashioned western by emphatically ignoring this latest effort.

Is the article "the" that precede "reviving" redundant here?


texts:
I was looking for a good contraceptive. In the end I settled for the pill.

  I was looking for a good contraceptive. In the end I settled on the pill.

Which one is the right option?


texts:
I'm wondering how I can refer to a plural noun in the following sentence.

  I lost my glasses. I need to get one.

(Talking about a single pair of glasses)

Since "glasses" is plural, I assume one doesn't suit here, but I don't know any appropriate alternative.


texts:
Up to now, her Hollywood movie credits have been minor.

(LA Times: In China's 'money worshiping' movie industry, stars' high pay becomes a target of the central government)

I think credits here means this kind of thing,

I know minor means small, child. It doesn't make sense here.


texts: Is the sentence "Paul drinks much milk" grammatically correct or not?

texts:
I'm doing my homework. The question is

Is this sentence
‘Paul drinks much milk.’
grammatically correct?

For me the answer is yes, because the quantifier "much" is used before non-count noun. But according my book my answer is wrong. Anybody can help me, please?


texts: "gas killing animal"... Is it a correct or is it a confusing structure?

texts:
I heard this expression (gas killing animal) on TV news, when they reported that Trump referred to Esad(syrian leader) like this in a tweet, because Esad was reported to have used a chemical gas and killed people.

Grammatically, the phrase "Gas killing animal" did not sound natural or good English to me. If I had not known about the happenings, I would have hesitated about the meaning of the structure "gas killing animal". The structure may be confusing e.g. who is killing who? Is it the animal that kills? or is it the gas that kills an animal? etc...

If we accept this structrue correct English, can I say "water killing man" if I want o refer to a man who killed another man by using water? Or can I say "medicine killing man" if I want o refer to a man who killed another man by using medicine or pills?

So, it does not sound natural to me or it somehow sounds unusual or improper English. I do not why but it just does not sound good english.

Do you feel the same and if yes, is there any other way to put it in a  clearer structure where it would not cause any such confusion?


texts: Meaning of "reach out" in relation to a song

texts:
What does "reach out" mean in this context:

  A: Do you think my song will reach out to everybody?

  B: I heard some people say that it's for kids, but that's not true, it
  reaches out to me and I'm 21.

I got this from a video, but can't figure out the meaning. Google said that "reach out" means "to help," but I don't think that's correct in this context.


texts: Referring to female college age students while writing a novel

texts:
I am trying to write a novel. I want to write in a manner that will be respectful toward gender.
I have not yet figured out how to refer to female college-age characters quickly and smoothly without just calling them girls. "Young ladies" sounds respectful but awkward especially when used repeatedly.
For example, the main character might walk down a busy path across the college campus and see many female peers along the way. I need a way to be able to refer to these peers and describe them as they are observed in passing.
Can I just say "A girl with long black hair walked by staring with wide eyes. Behind her, another girl slowly lowered her phone from her ear, and snapped a photo."
or would I need to say "A young woman with long black hair walked by staring with wide eyes. Behind her, another young woman slowly lowered her phone from her ear, and snapped a photo."
Do you see how it will get cumbersome? My novel is intended to be fantasy and humorous at times. I need to keep it informal sounding.
Help?


texts: I want to mention a singular platform but imply impact of plural things. Can I use this in the sentence?

texts:
Platforms like this are very helpful.
Or should I have to use "these"?


texts: Is "neither - nor" popular in US English?

texts:
I have plenty of American clients. We communicate formally via emails and on calls. I have never seen them using neither-nor in the past 3 years.
I am stuck in a sentence where I feel I should use neither-nor but there is little hesitation.
So, the question is do they like seeing neither-nor in written/verbal English? Is it popular? I don't want to sound funny or ancient. If Yes, what can I use instead?
Ex:

I will neither call you nor send you a message before midday.


texts:
Someone came, so I hid. I think they're gone now.

Someone came, so I hid. I think they've gone now.

Someone came, so I hid. I think they've left now.

Do all these sound natural? Which is the more natural one in the context?


texts:
During self-study, especially English, I occasionally see suggestions that include mnemonic rules. I understand they can help me with studying, but I don't get these ideas.

Here's a typical example:

  Q: How to mnemonically remember loose and lose?
  A: Lose has lost one of it's o's.

It sounds a bit messy and difficult to grasp.

Is there a simple explanation how can one make use of mnemonic rules?


texts: Repeating the indefinite article with differing adjectives?

texts:
After that event, I became a more heartful, a soulful, a fearless, a self-contained person

OR

After that event, I became a more heartful, soulful, fearless, self-contained person

By the way, can we use "a, an" before comparative adjectives as above, like "a more beautiful person"? we can say "a better idea, a taller guy" etc but about with "more"?

Also, why do we say "his best grade was BA" but not use also "the" as usual before superlative as in "his the best grade was BA"?


texts: "Solution Architect" Vs. "Solutions Architect"

texts:
Perhaps should be in an IT/Tech forum but interested in the correct way or saying.
Also related - Plural for Solution Architecture, but not exact.

I am a Solutions Architect, as I architect solutions.
I see a lot of people titled "Solution Architect", and it does sound more 'structured'.

Can both be used to describe a title?

Confusing examples I've thought of (there are many more of each):

Singular:

Project/Product Manager - You do not see 'projects/products manager'
Business Manager - No-one is named "businesses manager", although they conduct in a lot of business.
Wikipedia

Plural:

Sales Manager - I've never seen a "Sale Manager"
Operations Manager - No Operation Manager
AWS certificates

EDIT -
Forget about the verb 'architect', it isn't relevant.

I now tend more to the singular option due to that 'ear thing'.

More English examples I've thought of, and please correct me if I am wrong.

One says:

A 7-day trip or a 5-mile hike..

Not 7-days trip and 5-miles hike.

The singular for sounds more rigid with the former word.

Does that make sense?


texts: What does "check out the classroom" mean here?

texts:
The following is from a New York Times article entitled Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits:

  Advice is cheap and all too familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe (except in emergencies).

  And check out the classroom. Does Junior’s learning style match the new teacher’s approach? Or the school’s philosophy? Maybe the child isn’t “a good fit” for the school.

What does the phrase in italics mean here?


texts: Which word is correct, "existed", "existent" or "existing"?

texts:
To express that the results already exist, should I say:

"the existed result", or
"the existent result", or
"the existing result"?


texts: Why is "never mastered" used instead of "never master"?

texts:
Source video at 11:50

In the anime, the character says:

  That woman, she hates me. She wanted to make sure I never mastered genjutsu.

I do not know why never master is not used in place of the bold part. It sounds a bit odd to me.

Another great idea to write it as: She wanted I should never master my skills.


texts: I have an idea!/ I've just got an idea(expression)

texts:
Let's say you and your colleagues are figuring out how to save time doing your daily work. And then you suddenly come up with an idea, how do you say this if it happened abruptly?

  Guys, I have an idea!

Or

  Guys, I've just got an idea!

Or

  Guys, An idea just popped into my head!

which is the correct expression here?
P.S: The register is casual conversation


texts: "There was no nearby store" or "There were no nearby stores"

texts:
There was no nearby store.

  There were no nearby stores.

Can anyone tell me whether or not there is any difference between these sentences?


texts: Does the following excerpt say that most animals are active during the daytime?

texts:
"This can take many forms. Marine life, for example, is influenced by tidal
  patterns. Animals tend to be active or inactive depending on the position of the sun or moon. Numerous creatures, humans included, are largely diurnal – that is, they like to come out during the hours of sunlight. Nocturnal animals, such as bats and possums,prefer to forage by night. A third group are known as crepuscular: they thrive in the low light of dawn and dusk and remain inactive at other hours."

In an IELTS reading sample by British Council, the paragraph above is followed by this statement:

  Most animals are active during the daytime.

In my opinion, the answer is True but the key says Not Given. I can't understand why! Could you help me with this, please?


texts:
Two extracts from Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham:

He put off his answer from day to day, and then another letter would come, saying she was ill and lonely and miserable.

Lawson would become acquainted with some young thing and make an appointment; for twenty-four hours he would be all in a flutter and describe the charmer at length to everyone he met; but she never by any chance turned up at the time fixed. He would come to Gravier's very late, ill-tempered, and exclaim: -

I can't match these usages of would to any in the Cambridge Dictionary:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/would
The woulds above don't refer to future time from the point of view of the past. They don't imply neither intention, nor possibility. The sentences obviously aren't conditional. The actions above didn't happen often in the past (they've happed only once) and I don't see any willingness here.
I feel that here would + infinitive can be replaced with just a past simple tense of the verb. But what is the point of using would here instead of a simple past?


texts: How to describe this figure clearly? 2 dimensional feature vector?

texts:
This post is discussing the perceptron model.

x_1 and x_2 are x axis and y axis respectively.

should I call this figure 2-variable function or 2 dimensional feature vector, or something else?


texts: Should I say "I will be using" or "I am using" in conditional sentence?

texts:
If I am in Figi next week, I will be using my scuba diving gear.
If I am in Figi next week, I am using my scuba diving gear. (maybe incorrect)

I think the second sentence is incorrect. Can you point out why?


texts: Right phrase for "External Examiner" job position

texts:
Yesterday, I have written my CV for job interview. In the work experience field I got stuck because I did not find the right word to define my job.
I am a teacher. Sometimes, I visit other schools in our near vicinity to take the examination of those schools' students. In that case I am acting as a external examiner. I was not able to define my this job position. I thought that I should describe it as a External examiner  but then I thought that the phrase External examiner is not an ornamental term and certainly not fit with a excellent Cv.
As I am not a native English speaker I think that I did not find out the correct word because of my deficiency of vocabulary. However, this blog is sighted by lots of native English speaker. If someone have some good word choice regarding my job profile please describe it so that I can add it in my CV and make my cv more powerful.
Thank you for help.


texts: Should it be "staggered at" or "staggered by"?

texts:
I'm trying to say that the linguists were "astounded at his progress":

  The eminent linguists who were teaching him were staggered by his
  remarkable progress. They were the ones learning from him before long,
  so it was only natural.

Also, should it be "staggered by" or "staggered at"?


texts: Not repeating the negation for the second clause

texts:
On world building meta I came across this sentence:

  Now I truly believe that those that ask in this manner are not actually lazy and just expect us to do their work for them.

How is this sentence semantically correct? I understand from context that the negation is applied to lazy and expect, but shouldn't the sentence be like this ?

  Now I truly believe that [they] are not actually lazy and don't just expect us to do their work for them.

Here it's ok with the context (even though it was a weird sentence to read), but if the two clauses where even slightly unrelated, i.e; if the first one didn't imply the second one, there would be no way to tell if the negation also applied to second clause or not.

Actually I'd expect the negation not to apply to the other clause at all, like in this sentence:

  I believe he's really not intentionally disrespectful and just means well.

So is the sentence phrases in a weird way or is it normal? If so, how does it work?


texts: meaning of the phrase "cycle on" in context

texts:
Here is the context:

  As Charles Darwin put it at the end of the Origin of Species, "there is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or one, and that whilst Earth has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

Actually cycle on is not only thing I cannot understand there. What is the word being there for. Could you please rephrase the whole sentence for me?


texts:
Earlier this week, I asked a question on this website about the meaning of "for gerund".

I asked what "I earn money for buying drugs." meant, and one user answered that it meant "I earn money for the purpose of buying drugs.". But as I did more research into it, that didn't seem so true.

I got this phrase from a Boy Scouts of America website and it said, "Spring Fling Section. You earn this for attending any spring season Cub/Parent Weekend."
which basically means "You earn this because you attended this session."
 and not
"You earn this for the purpose of attending this session."

Is my interpretation right?

Thanks.


texts: "the years of filming and editing HAS/HAVE finished"

texts:
This is from a Wikipedia article.

  Having started filming in 2009, the documentary is planned to be released in 2020, after the years of filming and editing has finished.

Is using has grammatically correct here? The years is plural, so it should be have, I think.


texts:
The two advantages of self-service are that there is no waiting to be served and that there is a wide variety of choice.

Do we need to add again  "complementiser-that" before
"the second clause".


texts:
Jess Huang: This is a big, trending topic for companies. Predictive analytics can definitely help you refine and fine-tune the design of your loyalty program. It helps you better understand your different types of consumers, how much they’re spending, and how valuable they are to you. So it allows you to start thinking about how to migrate them up in value and decide which ones you are willing to spend more on.
Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/customer-loyalty-the-new-generation?cid=soc-app


texts: which one is correct? "I'm an English teacher and supervisor or I'm an English teacher and a supervisor"

texts:
Which one is correct?

  I'm an English teacher and supervisor
  I'm an English teacher and a supervisor


texts:
(These are lines from Good Witch.)

Grace asked for the WiFi password, and Nick said

  Radford—uppercase D—329—dollar sign—exclamation point.

with the subtitle below showed “RaDford329$!”. "Radford" is Nick's second name and it was said as one word, not letter by letter.

My question is, how can we be sure that the uppercase D was meant for the first D but not the second or both?

Or is it just a typo?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
The sum of all the numbers from 1 to 10 is 55.

Can the "sum" in the sentence above be replaced with "total" as follows?

  The total of all the numbers from 1 to 10 is 55.

I found the phrase "total of all the..."  on the Internet, but I became afraid whether this usage is correct after looking up dictionary definitions for "total" although I cannot explain.


texts:
In this first instance the main clause only stands alone if you  omit (then).

But in the other example it clearly has a main clause. So would this be classed as an embedded main clause as it only works as a independent clause if it's adjusted and or if it's joined with a dependent clause.

If I have enough money, then I will buy a new car.

If it rains, the picnic will be cancelled.

The picnic will be cancelled if it rains.


texts:
I'm Brazilian and in the portuguese language we have a verb do describe the act of putting something in a bottle. The verb is "engarrafar".

Is there an equivalent in english?


texts: Why doesn't "He used to take me to the first game when I was only 6" work?

texts:
I took placement test and here is one question I am curious about.

He____ me to the first game when I was only 6.

I thought the answer was

a) Used to take

but it says

c) took


texts: Past Perfect Tense or simple past tense for two past actions

texts:
Are the below sentence constructions are correct for past perfect tense? I am aware that past perfect tense is used to tell about past of past i.e. if there are two actions in the past and we want to emprise on which action completed first.

My question is, Are the below sentence constructions are correct as past perfect tense because these sentences have two past? Or simply simple past tense will do?

I want to tell someone that

1 Past) He had called me 2nd Past) but I could not picked his call because of xyz reason.

1 Past) I had gone there for interview 2nd Past) but did not get select due to xyz reason.

1 Past) Where you had gone 2nd Past) when I called you?

Or simply simple past tense will do?


texts: what is the correct way to pronounce "disease" , /s/ or /z/ sound?

texts:
Merriam Webster dictionary's phonetic transcription is /dɪ-'zi:z/. But in this movie trailer: The Thinning 2016, min 0:13 'What causes disease', it sounds like /dɪ-'zi:s/. I believe i hear the hiss sound at the end. So which one is correct? which way should i go with?
Thanks.


texts: "Raising up the dead" VS "Raising up the deads"

texts:
It seems the correct sentence would be :

  Raise up the dead

Though "dead" is supposed to be about dead things or persons, which would be plural. So why wouldn't we say :

  Raise up the deads

?


texts:
This the famous script from the movie Enter the Dragon.

Han:

  We are all ready to win, just as we are born knowing only life. It is defeat that you must learn to prepare for.

Williams:

  I Don't waste my time with it. When it comes, I won't even notice.

Han:

  Oh? How so?

Williams:

  I'll be too busy looking good.

I did not understand the last line. What does Williams  mean by saying busy looking good?


texts:
Things had been happening. Divisions were moving. There had been,
  there was going to be, a stunt. A battalion marched over the hill and
  sat down by the road. They had left the trenches three days march to
  the north and had come to a new country. The officers pulled
  their maps out; a mild breeze fluttered them; yesterday had been winter and today was spring; but spring in a desolation so complete and far-reaching that you only knew of it by that little wind. It was early March by the calendar, but the wind was blowing out of the gates of April.

This passage is from Tales of War (1918), a novel by Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany, about the Great War.

I do not understand 'stunt' at all. Is this a kind of a operational strategy?


texts: what does "what is in the rest of the boxes" mean?

texts:
I am reading a book "Denying to the grave". In one paragraph, the author writes:

  Always ask "Compared to what?" and "What is in the rest of the boxes?" when someone makes a claim about the risk or safety about anything regarding our health.

I don't think I really understand the contextual meaning of "what is in the rest of the boxes". I searched for the definition on the Internet or tried looking it up in dictionaries but I have found nothing.

I guess "the boxes" here have something to do with risk assessment.
So what do they refer to?


texts:
Is there any alternative to this construction?

  It was too stupid a question.

I mean, can we somehow put the 'a' in a different position and is it used in English (maybe informal) or the version I've given is the only possible?  Also, I feel as if something's wrong in my previous sentence, it would be very nice if anybody corrected it.


texts: It is October now, so do you say "this December" or "next December", or maybe both? Of course I am talking about the month after next.


texts:
I was watching Emmys when I heard the phrase "go blue" from Darren Criss who won the award for the lead actor in a limited series. He said:

  Congratulations to all of you. Thank you to the television academy.
  Go blue.

You can find his speech here and this phrase at 1:29.

I googled go blue and I found this:

  This is in reference to a 'blue movie', a euphemistic term for a
  pornographic film.

  going a bit blue then would mean that the programme/character in
  question is normally 'clean' but has begun to include more adult
  themes.

and this one:

  to turn blue from being cold or not breathing

But I think none of them makes sense in this context. So what does "go blue" mean here?


texts: "It's around evening" is it correct to use

texts:
I was chatting with one of my overseas friends:

  My friend: Is it evening over there.

  I: It's around evening here.

I want to express that it's not evening right now but very soon.

Did I answer correctly.

Please explain

Thank you.


texts: Is 'natural beauties' a common phrase to describe places of outstanding beauty?

texts:
When I look the word 'beauty' up in monolingual dictionaries I see it's mostly used as 'uncountable.' The only example I could find was in Collins Dictionary.

The beauties of something are its attractive qualities or features.
[literary]
He was beginning to enjoy the beauties of nature.

I'm wondering if we can we use it 'natural beauties' as in the following sentence:

I'm interested in natural beauties, so I prefer going to the lake to relax and refresh.


texts:
What figurative expression could I use to describe "an abundant source of"?
The context is the following:

the Amazon is a true Free University of Sciences and Philosophy, and authentic ___________ of arts and crafts.

I've found "gold mine", but I believe it wouldn't fit here. Other expressions I considered using were: "cellar" and "granary", but I don't know how they sound for a native. Do they sound very far-fetched?

I don't want the sentence to sound too informal, so I guess I should avoid things like golden goose, cash cow, bonanza, El Dorado.


texts: May I say "Time will tell you [something]"?

texts:
I am learning how to cook Japanese and Thai food. Some of us have just begun apprenticeship. My master (an experienced cook. He was from Middlesbrough) taught me how to make sushi more than several times, but I just failed to do it. He did not blame me but told me to practise it more.
I told him

  Thank you for your kindness, master. I will do my best and keep practising. Time will tell you that I am a good cook.


texts: Grammar category for "either, neither, nor"

texts:
I'm trying to think of a tag for "either, neither, nor", in the example below, for nor:

Our neighbours aren’t very polite, and _____ particularly quiet! (answer: nor are they)

How a grammar book would categorize it?


texts: Word or expression for a child who looks exactly like a parent

texts: What word or expression can I use for a baby who is the exact copy of one of its parents?


texts:
Do I need a period at the end of a sentence that ends on "pm"?

For example:

  I went to bed last night at 11:00 pm


texts: What is a word for 'being discrepant from something'?

texts:
I'm writing a report and I want to describe some data points A becomes discrepant from data points B when a control parameter increases. I think I have learned a one-word expression for being discrepant from something, but I can't remember it. I think it was like divert or something, but the dictionary says divert has another meaning, not what I intended. Could anyone recommend such a word?

Update

I've attached an example figure.

What I want to describe is that the graph is gradually changing from the solid line to the dotted line, as in the figure.


texts: What is the difference beetween "You decided" and "You did decide"

texts:
I know that "You decided" is simple past, but I've never ever seen this kind of construction until I listened it in a song (You did decide):

  Pronoun + Simple Past(Past assistant did) + simple present

Then,
what is the difference? Does this construction really exit?


texts: A noun for a country you live in and that's not your home country

texts:
Suppose you are from country X, and had to travel to and live in a foreign country Y for a better life, leaving behind your family. I'm looking for a word with the meaning a foreign country you voluntarily [to exclude exile] live in

  I've been living in [expatriation] for five years.

My understanding is that in this sentence, expatriation referes to a state rather than a physical place.

  I hope my husband will return from [expatriation] soon.

I'm not sure this last sentence is correct with expatriation refering to a foreign country (place). What I'm particulary interested in is the phrase return from Y.

So, does expatriation work? any other word? Other words that I have a confused understanding of are exile, alienation and diaspora.


texts: more Swiss media confirmed -- is "media" a mass noun?

texts:
Example with a context:

  More Swiss media confirmed Saturday that Vladimir Putin is the father of a bouncing baby girl, giving the lie to the Kremlin’s determined efforts to deny the story.

Is the word media used as a mass noun in this paragraph? If so, then what does this actually mean? Swiss media companies collectively? My understanding is that it says there are now even more news agencies in Switzerland that report on the story about Putin's girlfriend giving birth to a baby girl. Am I right?


texts: sentence structure S V ,and prepositional phrase

texts:
This is the kind of mistake which the teachers haven't been able to prevent the students from making.

Which the teachers haven't been able to prevent the students from making.

S= the teachers , V= haven't been,

able is an adjective , so I think it should be a complement in the sentence.

So far, we have S V C, which is a normal grammar sentence structure.

But what about the infinitive " to prevent the students from making"

Is this another complement? But S V C C  structure doesn't seem to exist.

Or is the infinitive an adverb modfiying C(able), so it remains S V C(+adverb clause)?

By the way, the PP "from making " is an adverb modifying the verb "prevent" and object of the PP is "mistake", is that correct?


texts: "the imread function" or "the function imread"

texts:
What is the difference between the following sentences? Are both correct? If both are correct, which is more popular?

  The function imread reads images.

  The imread function reads images.

Note that "imread" is the name of the function, and that the difference is the order of the words "function" and "imread". I have seen both constructions repetitively in software manuals and source code comments.


texts: the placement of adverb "not" for infinitive verbs

texts:
A recent article in Politico had the following title
"Advisers almost universally encouraged Trump to not say much this week and urged him not to take questions on Friday after his first public remarks of the week"
Q1. Are all following alternative acceptable grammatically

... encouraged Trump not to say much this week and urged him not to take questions

... encouraged Trump to not say much this week and urged him to not take questions

... encouraged Trump not to say much this week and urged him to not take questions

Q2. Is the interpretation correct that the original title tried to put more emphasis on Trump "not taking questions", and less on Trump not saying much ? And the alternatives would merely shift the emphases according to the position of the adverb "not".


texts:
I'm working on a software project that generates templates from raw data. We use "template" as a noun and a verb (though I don't know if using it as a verb is technically correct). Is there a good single word for a thing that makes templates? E.g. a templater or templatizer.

EDIT:

Just for fun, what are some silly names you can think of that I could use to annoy a coworker? He hates it when we say "templatizer," so let's see if he likes something like "Template-O-Matic" better :)


texts:
They have been cleaning.

How can I change it into the passive voice? I'm supposed to change it into the passive voice and I don't know how.


texts:
"The weather in the southern Indian Ocean is much clearer today than the past couple of days, allowing for the full spectrum of electronic and visual of search capability," -Commander William J. Marks, spokesman for the U.S. 7th Fleet, said in an email.

The source is here

When it says: (... allowing for the full spectrum of electronic and visual of search capability,..) isn't the second "of" just a typo? Or perhaps could we omit it?  I mean it should be something like (... allowing for the full spectrum of electronic and visual search capability, ...)
Spectrum is a difficult word to digest.  Even after looking at Longman that writes easy I cannot figure it out.  Would you simplify it?


texts: What does "There's such a thing as ..." mean?

texts:
In a TV Show I am watching (Doctor Who) there is moment where a character says

  There's such a thing as** too keen.

I am wondering what does the "There's such a thing as too [adjective]" mean?


texts: It looks to be hurting. VS. It looks to hurt

texts: What's the difference between them? I couldn't properly come up with any examples or contexts with them respectively.


texts:
What's the difference?

I was writing an essay, which got corrected and i wrote this:

  For this reason, sports facilities would have a bigger impact because they would help in mitigating the effects of diseases in the populace, thus saving money because of fewer people being sick.

and it was corrected to this.

  For this reason, sports facilities would have a bigger impact because they would help in mitigating the effects of diseases in the general population, thus saving money because of fewer people being sick.


texts:
This is the context:

  think it’s very hard to define consciousness in terms of anything more basic than consciousness,
  just as it’s very hard to define time and space in terms of anything more basic than time and space.
  But there are things we can which at least I think are helpful. There’s a phrase due to Thomas Nagel, who
  was mentioned earlier, who wrote the article “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” You might say that a system
  is conscious when there is something it’s like to be that system—so it’s something it’s like to be me; it’s
  something it’s like to be you. But importantly, assuming you’re not a panpsychist, you would say there’s
  nothing it’s like to be that [points to a cup on the table] cup. So, likewise, a mental state like seeing will be
  conscious if there’s something it’s like to be in that state; for example, there’s something it’s like for me to
  see you right now, but there’s nothing it’s like for me to do some computation in my cerebellum.

  source: The enigma of human consciousness.New York Academy of Sciences.

What does "it’s something" mean in this context? Does it mean "a meaningful statement"?


texts: "Cut back/down my shifts" or "cut back/down on my shifts"?

texts:
I'm confused because I see the two versions on Google Books:

"cut back/down my shifts"

"cut back/down on my shifts"

What's the correct alternative? Or they are both correct?


texts: "I thought that he was wrong" or "I thought he was wrong"

texts:
"I thought that he was probably wrong" or "I thought he was probably wrong"
which one is correct?


texts: Is “proceeded” used correctly in“how this case proceeded”?

texts:
Is below sentence is grammatically correct?

  How this rape case proceeded very differently from the other rape cases.

It’s from Important lessons to be learnt: How the Kathua rape case proceeded very differently from the Unnao rape case

According to me “proceeded” has been used incorrectly in above sentence. It should be “was proceeded”.

“Proceeded” is transitive verb. Judge need to proceed the case in court.

Is there any article where I can read about when it is mandatory to use is/was in the English?


texts:
...The construction with "of" seems to be the most common,
  followed by the one with no preposition, and then by the ones with "in" and "at" .

  The funeral is at 3.00, followed by a reception at X bar.

What is the function of "followed by" in those sentences above? Is it a participle? DOes it act as an adverb or noun?

Does it modify the whole main clause? or just the subject of the main clause, "the construction" and "the funeral" ?


texts:
What does this "refine" mean here?

  It would be refining too much, perhaps, even considering his
  monomania, to hint that his vindictiveness towards the White Whale
  might have possibly extended itself in some degree to all Sperm
  Whales, and that the more monsters he slew by so much the more he
  multiplied the chances that each subsequently encountered whale would
  prove to be the hated one he hunted

  Source


texts:
Which one of the following sentences is correct and why? Are there any other options? I'm not sure about the usage of "was", "has" and "on" in this situation.

This building caught fire
This building was caught on fire
This building caught on fire
This building has caught fire

I would like to use this to say that an abandoned building caught fire many years ago.

Related: catch fire; catch on fire , but it does not address the "was" part.


texts:
I am not sure how the construction "whether + [infinitive verb]" is used. Examples:

I don't know whether to turn left or right. (= I don't know if I turn left or right ?)
I don't know whether to turn left will take us to the hotel. (= I don't know if turning left will take us to the hotel )

Are these two sentences gramatically correct? Do they have the meaning inside the parentheses?


texts: When I meet some phrases with "hit", I often have trouble in understanding the meaning of this word. For example, "hit the bed", "hit the book", "hit the spot", "hit up for" and so on. I know the basic meaning, that means beat, but I can't get these phrases if I don't look them up in the dictionary. The word seems to have no fixed meaning, so how could I feel it's meaning? How to use it to make sentences? I hope someone could help with the problem.


texts: Is 'The student asked to be excused the examination' grammatically correct?

texts:
I am a high school student. I just want to know that, is this statement grammatically correct?

"The student asked to be excused the examination"


texts: what is the meaning of "engage in an argument"

texts:
Imagine that, a guy and I are discussing something, they reply

  If you want to engage in an argument ...

What does that mean? I guess I could consider "argument" as "fight with words". Does "engage in an argument" mean "challenge"?

Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Is it acceptable nowadays to use both types of spelling in writing?

I have a tendency to mix up American and British English. This is because most of the South Asians have learned English in two ways simultaneously. 50% from academic books which are mainly of British Standard, and 50% from watching Hollywood movies/subtitles which are most times of American Standard. Therefore, it is almost a common phenomenon to find writings of students that have both types of spelling, and most of the teachers do not mind it at all.

So far, I can correct myself on using "o" vs "ou" based spellings. Although, it seems there are plenty more types of differences that exist between these two standards. And to fix this problem seems to be a mountainous task.


texts: In this sentence, is the comma after "president" necessary?

texts:
This is the plan of the United States' new president, Donald Trump.

I have seen sentences like the above both with and without that comma after "president". Which is the right way to write it?


texts: Can I omit "being" with word "after" in a reduced relative clause?

texts:
When (being) happy, dogs wag their tails.

As shown above, sometimes word "being" can be deleted.

Does the word "after" work in the same way too?

  After offended, he sued the owner of the store.

Is it possible?


texts: Why I can't use "that its" in this case?

texts:
I faced a question where I was supposed to fill in the missing blank. The question was:

  The large family _____ house had been destroyed by the storm was invited to stay at a hotel.

There were multiple options including:

i) whose

ii) that its

Can someone explain why option (ii) is wrong while option (i) is correct?

What is the grammar involved here?


texts: Is there certain rule to discern which modifies noun which modifies verb?

texts:
  Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of
  the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet –– what on earth
  would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment
  they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else
  looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione
  Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd
  learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to
  listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd
  had to take a school report [i] home to the Dursleys saying
  that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. He kept his eyes
  fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come
  back and lead him to his doom.    Then something
  happened that made him jump about a foot in the air - several people
  [ii] behind him screamed.  (Harry Potter and the
  Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K.Rowling)

   The best part is that the owner shares the same passion as the
  customers when it comes to buying parts [iii] for their cars.
  (pristineparts.com)

My own language using different suffixes for modifying noun, or adverb, verb or the sentence, when I come across [i]~[iii], it’s not easy to decide either these modify the previous noun phrase or they behave like adverb (or adjunct) to modify verb (or sentence, clause?). Can they be discerned either way, or are they ambivalent? Is it only dependent on, who the reader is, when a person reads?


texts:
"Remember that guy that gave up? Neither does anybody else...".

What does this quote mean? I think it has the meaning like this: "Nobody remembers the guy who gave up". Is it accurate?


texts:
a. Any company that has at least two production plants in Germany should be informed.
b. Any company with at least two production plants in Germany should be informed.
The normal interpretation would be that the company might or might not be in Germany but the production plants are.
But is it at all possible to use those sentences if the company is in Germany and the plants are not?
I think the rule says that the 'in Germany' modifies 'production plants', but do native speakers always respect the rule?
What do you think of
c. Any person with a heart problem in Germany will benefit from this new policy.
d. Any person who has a heart problem in Germany will benefit from this new policy.
?
I find (c) strange and (d) seems to be about any person who gets a heart problem in Germany ("in Germany" seems to me to modify 'has a heart problem" and is adverbial).


texts: Is the phrase "let happen whatever may" valid and correct in the sense of leaving something to chance?

texts:
Is the phrase let happen whatever may valid and correct in the sense of leaving something to chance For example:

I have not idea what is going to come up in the exam. I have no time to prepare, so let happen whatever may.

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


texts: Is "these toys need to go away" passive or active?

texts:
This morning, I wanted my son to put some toys away, so I told him:

  These toys need to go away.

Then, I started thinking about whether this sentence is active or passive voice. The following sentences are either clearly active or clearly passive:

  I need to go to the store. (active)
  These toys need to go be put away. (passive)
  These toys need to be put away. (passive)
  You need to put these toys away. (active)

So, where does that leave my original sentence? Even though it looks like sentence #1, the true actor (my son) for the action (putting away the toys) isn't really present.

I did some research into the mediopassive voice, but that doesn't seem to apply here either.


texts:
I'm talking about a person's name. For example:

  He wanted to change his __ at the registation office.

I searched on Google. But the results are kind of strange, and I'm not very sure if they are commonly used.


texts: "What is 'bleach'?" or "What does 'bleach' mean?"

texts:
What is 'bleach'?
  What does 'bleach' mean?

I want to ask about the definition of a word. Are both sentences OK?

I don't know why I sometimes think that it is not suitable to use the word 'mean' or 'meaning' for some words like some materials, or places etc.


texts: Is it proper to say “welcome back” to my colleague

texts:
I want to say "Welcome back" to my team mate who is at the same level in the organisation, when he came back to work after the new year holiday. But it sounds like a message sent from a boss to the employee.
Is it appropriate to do this between me and my peers?


texts: Does the expression 'such as' imply that it's not a definitive list?

texts: I wonder, does 'such as' mean "for example" only or can it mean both "for example" and "comprising"? In other words, does it say anything at all regarding whether the following list is complete? Lexico simply defines it as "for example", but I've come across a few instances where it feels like it's used before a complete list.


texts: What are the differences between the two sentences?

texts:
Bill makes fewer mistakes than I do.
Bill doesn't make more mistakes than I do.
I guess, 'Bill makes fewer mistakes than I do.' means
I RARELY make mistakes,
but Bill makes much smaller number of mistakes than I do.
whereas, 'Bill doesn't make more mistakes than I do.' means
I OFTEN make mistakes,
but Bill doesn't make as many mistakes as I do.


texts: How to mention to a consideration from a comprehensive perspective

texts:
Suppose someone is consulting you about a matter and you are going to tell him that they have to consider the matter from a comprehensive perspective / point of view; which one of the following sentences sounds more natural to you:

  -1- First, you have to consider the matter from a comprehensive perspective.

  -2- First, you have to have a bird’s eye view about that matter.

  -3- First, you have to analyze the matter from a high vantage point.

  -4- First, you have to view the matter from a macro level.

All the sentences above are self-made and mean the same for me, but I doubt which ones sound natural or unnatural to a native speaker.


texts: "walking recovery in patients who suffered a stroke" or "the recovery of the ability to walk in patients who suffered a stroke"?

texts:
Tell me please which phrasing sounds more natural in the following context:

  The necessary information can be found in the article with the title WALKING RECOVERY IN PATIENTS WHO SUFFERED A STROKE.

  The necessary information can be found in the article with the title THE RECOVERY OF THE ABILITY TO WALK IN PATIENTS WHO SUFFERED A STROKE.

I am not sure any of the variants for the article title sounds native. Tell me please what would be the natural title for the article on relearning to walk after a stroke.


texts: I had heard this from someone . Actually that person used this sentence when she was going to eat a dish . It is related to food . What does it mean?


texts: Is there any difference between "already" and "now" when used with the present perfect?

texts:
Could you tell me if there is any difference between already and now when used with the present perfect? For example:

I have already had five tablets, so I know a thing or two about them.
I have had five tablets now, so I know a thing or two about them.


texts: I am trying to understand this quotes by Keynes

texts:
I can't really figure out what this quote is saying.

"But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again."

Is he trying to talk bad about economists?


texts:
Can i use “ less “ as adverb in sentence like :

  I earned $500 less in this month.

As far as i understand , i need to add “ than... “ after “ less” to use it as adverb .


texts:
In the sentence: "The boy kicked the ball," the ball is obviously the direct object.
A student asked me if the sentence were changed to "The boy kicked nothing," is nothing also a direct object?


texts: Why "an awards winning" isn't a proper word?

texts:
So, we were given this question in our exam and we were supposed to choose the word or phrase that was incorrect in the sentence,

  The latest edition of an awards winning student newspaper has been scrapped after a threat of legal action.

Options were,

a) latest
b) an
c) awards winning
d) scrapped

My question simply is this that suppose some student won more than one awards then shouldn't it be "awards winning student"? If not then why? Anyone who can tell what rule is followed here?


texts:
In a hostage situation, a police officer says

We don't need the FBI here. We got this.

What does "We got this" mean? Could it mean "We got this thing under control"?


texts:
In sentences like

  I would like to take you out for/to a meal.

  I took her out to/for a meal.

should to or for be used? Do these prepositions equivalent here, or do they differ in meaning or usage in some way?


texts:
A friend of mine sent me this sentence: "This is London: Whatever you do to us, we will drink tea, and jolly well carry on".
Everything is clear except for the expression "jolly well". I have asked to a teacher and he says it is old-fashioned and equivalent to "very well". Can you explain better when it could be used and, if it's possible, the origins of this expression? I've never heard it before.


texts: Does the verb 'to busy' require a reflexive pronoun?

texts:
It busied me for hours.

When 'busy' is used as a verb, does it always need reflexive pronouns? In the above sentence, I haven't used the reflexive pronoun.

I am asking because in Merriam-Webster I found the following example of usage

  the video game busied the child for hours


texts:
If a product is already sold and no longer available, do I say:

Sorry, the product has been 'sold' already.
Sorry, the product was 'sold' already.
Sorry, the product 'sold out' already.
Sorry, the product is 'sold out' already.
Sorry, the product has been 'sold out' already.

I'm slightly confused between the subtle differences between all the above statements. Can someone please clarify when do I use them?


texts: Modal verbs in Zero Conditionals (Present Real Conditionals)

texts:
What modal verbs can be used in Zero Conditionals (Present Real Conditionals)?
For example, I have stumbled across such examples:

If you want to go to university, you must study hard.
If it can be dreamed, it can be done.

So, what modal verbs (from will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must) and in which clauses can we use when forming this kind of conditionals in general?


texts: Should I use "did "or "had" in this question?

texts:
My friend called me. I could not pick up his call because I was driving my car. When I reached the office and called him back, I wanted to remind him about his last call. How could I remind him about it?

  Hello, did you call me?  Sorry I was driving my car at that time.

Or

  Hello, Had you called me?  Sorry I was driving my car at that time.

Or I just could say

  Hello, you called me?  Sorry I was driving my car at that time.

Maybe there is a better way to say this?


texts: Is there any difference between restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, and defining and non-defining clauses?

texts:
Are these the same things called differently or not?

Restrictive clause:

  The person who taught the ceramics class is a friend of my mother’s.

Non-restrictive clause:

  Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.

Defining clause:

  There are now only two schools in the area that actually teach Latin.

Non-defining clause:

  Doctors use the testing kit for regular screening for lung and stomach cancers, which account for 70% of cancers treated in the western world.

What is the difference between these two types of clauses  (restrictive and non-restrictive, and defining and non-defining)?


texts:
Can someone help me? Which one is grammatically correct among these 3 sentences?

1.After the Civil War,an old slave was even reported being killed as he was learning to read.

2.After the Civil War,an old slave was even reported having been killed as he was learning to read.

3.After the Civil War,an old slave was even reported to be killed as he was learning to read.


texts:
Hindus practise idolatry,

Options-

a)- don't they?

b)- haven't they?

I think the answer is "don't they"
but, according to the question the answer is "haven't they"

Why???
Please someone explain it to me...


texts: The difference between a point in the past and something that still continues

texts:
So I have 3 sentences:

Why didn’t you send it to me yet?

(And that means that they did not send package to me and can’t send it anymore because the deadline passed right?)

Why haven’t you sent it to me yet?

(The difference between first sentence is “have” which implies that it still continues in the present so they still have time to send it?)

She didn’t give me the papers yet

(Like in the first sentence means the deadline passed and she can’t give me the papers anymore?)

She hasn’t gave me the papers yet

(Like in second sentence she still has a time to give me the papers?)
Does what I said is correct?


texts:
Is there a difference in meaning between "haven't ever" and "have never":

Haven't you ever tried this?
Have you never tried this?

And in such structure.

You haven't ever tried this?
You have never tried this?


texts: Is "Do I open the door" grammatically incorrect?

texts:
I used to work with an English guy and whenever I had to ask something for permission I'd go like

Do I put this away?
Do I delete this from the system?
Do I go home now?

He told me that this is not good English, better ways to say this is by starting the sentence with shall, should, can or could. I was just wondering which grammar rule am I breaking?

ciao


texts: Is this sentence talking about the past or present?

texts:
I’m not sure whether this sentence refers to past or present situation:

  You couldn’t do the job if you didn't speak Japanese fluently.


texts:
Are the following sentences (Q&A) correct?  I found these in some article, and felt awkward.  I'd appreciate if somebody tell me.
" What was decline in sales the result of? "
"  It was the result of poor sales in restaurants and bars."
How about these?
What made the decline?
Why did the decline happen?


texts: Slang word for working overtime without being paid

texts:
I am looking for a slang word to describe the situation, where you are voluntarily working overtime at your job, but without getting paid.

E.g. if you stay late at your work because you would like to solve a specific problem; and you do that voluntarily with no pay because it is in your own interest.

It could also be the fact that you stay late to show your manager that you are willing to put down the work that needs to be done (perhaps so you may get a raise or a promotion in time); sort of an investment in your job.

Are there any fun or slang words to describe this?

In Danish we have the words "Interessetid" or "Interessetimer", which essentially translates to "Interest time" or "Interest hours".

Thanks.

EDIT:

Just for clarification, I am not referencing forced overtime. I am thinking about salaried work where in some industries it is common to work overtime - even though you are not getting paid extra to do so. Think about Banking, Consulting or legal work. In banking many people work maybe 60 hrs per week - even though their contract only states 40 hrs. Therefore the last 20 hrs. would be "voluntary overtime" (or the fun slang word I am looking for here, to describe this).


texts:
Clean shirt, he thought. He unbuttoned the top buttons of his trousers
  and spread his knees, squatting slightly, to hold them up. Fool thing
  to do, he reflected. Do it every time. (He tucked in the deep tails
  and settled them; the tails of this shirt were particularly long, and
  this always, for some reason, still made him feel particularly
  masculine.) If I put on the shirt first, wouldn’t have to do that fool
  squat. (He finished buttoning his fly.) Well (he braced his right
  shoulder) there’s habit for you (he braced his left shoulder and
  slightly squatted again, readjusting).

A Death in the Family by James Agee

Does 'brace' here mean 'reinforce' or 'freshen up'? Or something totally different?


texts: You want him to move or go to a position that is behind your back. Is it correct to say "move/go behind me"?

texts:
Say, your daughter is standing in front of you and there are some bad people (maybe some robbers or gangs) threatening you.
It’s safe to ask her to move to a position behind your back so you can protect your daughter.
Is it correct to say "move/go behind me" or "move/go to behind me" or "move/go from behind me"?


texts: Danger, jeopardy, hazard. What's the difference?

texts:
I've looked through a number of discussions on the internet about this question, but still don't get it. Looks like they are almost total synonyms. But I'm confused by the fact that "jeopardy" and "hazard" are used very rarely.
Are they even used in everyday life? Is it ok to say something like this?

Your career is in jeopardy


texts: What does "third west" mean in hospital?

texts:
Go to third west.

When a nurse or someone says this to you in a hospital context, what does this mean to you?


texts: Using "very" to put emphasis on sentence meaning

texts:
"Very" is commonly used to put emphasis on adjectives, like :

  I think you're very strong.

But I noticed there are sometimes other usages, such as this sentence I came across :

  With or without you I just feel the very same way.

Is this type of usage correct in everyday language ?


texts: Choice of preposition: "across/between/for/in British English and American English"

texts:
What prepositions can be used at the bold part of the following sentence?
And what differences in meaning can be made there between the ones?

  The second syllable of "et cetera" is pronounced the same across/between/for/in/of/to British English and American English.

Prepositions in English are sometimes very tricky to me. I will appreciate all your answers and comments.


texts: I read a comic and a character uses this word when the day is over and the other character said he experienced something unusual. So what's the meaning of try me? What is the something to try? Why me?


texts: John is up, or Jane is up, what do these two expressions mean? I mean what should come to someone's mind when it's first heard? Or do they mean anything? Thanks in advance.


texts: appositive clause or relative clause?----" it was the way the setting sun illuminated the yellowing plastic."

texts:
Then there it was, an ad for “Joe’s Café,” perched atop a metal pole, which was upright under a cape of kudzu vines. Maybe it was the way the setting sun illuminated the yellowing plastic. Maybe it was the small hole, evidence of vandalism or of a hailstorm. Something about the sign touched me. I pulled over.

Is the bold text a appositive clause or relative clause?
If it is a appositive clause, then why "that" is omitted? Is it acceptable? I am only aware of the rule that "that" can be left out in relative clause and objective clause.
And if it is relative clause, should it better be "Maybe it was the way by which the setting sun illuminated the yellowing plastic"?


texts:
It gutted him to see her suffer like that.

Can gut be used transitively like this?
Or should I rephrase my sentence like this?

It left him gutted to see her suffer like that.

I looked up the word but my dictionary doesn't seem to permit the above usage of gut.
Lexico carries a separate entry under gutted (adjective) meaning Bitterly disappointed or upset but the transitive verb use of the word doesn't seem to be correct.
Why is that?


texts:
In rap, I heard "How low can you go?" some times.
What does it mean? Is this phrase some fixed form? and is this used in everyday conversation as well?


texts: Questions about Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

texts:
Would anybody like to explain the following problems that I face while I read the following sentences?

" Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town, dating from that day in 1894 when Colonel Sartoris, the mayor -- he who fathered the edict that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron -- remitted her taxes, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity. Not that Miss Emily would have accepted charity."

-- William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" (1930).

1) What is the function of 'Alive' in this sentence? Is it a form of reduced clause? Please give me some examples related to this kind of structure where single word stands alone at the starting of a sentence. I think this kind of words that stand alone at the end and starting point of a sentence are able to work as adjective or adverb.

2)"Miss Emily had been a tradition" ...... what does it mean? Is it possible for a woman to be a tradition?

3) "..........on the streets without an apron -- remitted her taxes."

How "remitted her taxes" is related to the other parts of this sentence? Again I wish some examples related to this. Please, if it is possible to you, give some examples.

4) " ........ the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity. Not that Miss Emily would have accepted charity."

a) Is "the dispensation dating from ....... on into perpetuity." working here as appositive? If it is not, what is it?

b) Two prepositions have been used here (on into perpetuity). Why? Is it possible? Would you like to give some examples?


texts:
I'm student in computing science, and I would like how to say that I'm a professional.

For exemple, to say that is director :

  As the director of that group

So in the sentence:

**** I looked closely at the products and I see a manufacturing default in a cable connection inside the graphic card.

How to say that I'm a professionel, I replace **** by ?

  Professional consultant

  As a professional

  Care professional

  other

https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/traduction/en+tant+que+professionnel.html


texts: Adjective to describe the relationship of dependence between two courses in university?

texts:
Intro: I'm designing a system where I want to show a tree/graph structure where I show which course do you have to approve in order to be able to start another one.
The literal translation from Spanish (my native tongue) would be "correlative" but doing some search doesn't seem to be the case in English.

Question: What would be the appropriate word to express that dependence between courses/subjects?


texts: Do "die for something" & "kill for something" have the same meaning?

texts:
die for something: To have a very strong desire for something : I'm dying for a drink/ Kids die for Sugar Glops

kill for something: To be willing to go to great extremes to get something : I'd kill for a beer now

So, Do "I'd kill for a beer now" & "I'd die for a beer now" have the same meaning?


texts: use of article in exclamatory and interrogative sentence

texts:
See the following examples:

  What sort of (a) man he is!

To my knowledge, this is wrong because in sentences starting with 'what kind of' 'what sort of' 'what type of' 'what variety of' and in exclamatory sense articles are not used before nouns. ( I am not entirely sure why this happens, I have observed this ). But what will happen if I use it in the interrogative sense? Should I use an article or not. Also, clarify if my first understanding is right.

  What kind of (a) man is he?


texts:
The only thing that could change my father's prediction is if Natasha ran away with me.

What does if mean in this sentence? Would it be correct if I used “whether” or “that” instead of “if” here?


texts:
In addition to being used as an adverb intensifying an adjective, it may modify a whole clause.
Can I write the sentence above like these?
▪Additionally being used as an adverb intensifying an adjective , it may modify a whole clause.
▪Additionally it is used as an adverb that intensifies an adjective. It also may modify a whole clause.


texts: Can we generalize about finite verbs and infinitives?

texts:
My doubts arose after reading the section on Infinitives in the Oxford Guide to English Grammar by John Eastwood.

Part 1 of the question

Is it correct to generalize that all finite verbs change according to person, tense and number, while infinitives do not change? Or, are there exceptions? The book I have mentioned does not do that.

Part 2 of the question

In the questions "Do you play football?" and "Could you reach in time?", are "do" and "could" finite verbs and "play" and "reach" bare infinitives?

Part 3 of the question

"Can you reach in time?" Is this the present tense form of the question "Could you reach in time?" There seems to be a difference in meaning, "can" suggests possibility and "could" seems to ask about what actually happened. If "could" in this sense does not have a present tense, how can it be a finite verb form?

I went through the answers to related questions on this site but it is still not clear. Perhaps I do not understand some of those answers.


texts: What do you call the area you work in? Synonyms for 'work area'

texts:
This is a two-part question.

What are the different names you use for the AREA OF LAND in which you operate? 'Work area' seems to be an okay description, but I am looking for single-word, more formal synonyms. Neither 'workplace' or 'worksite' are the type of words I am looking for, as workplace would mean a facility like an office and worksite describes where infrastructures are being built.

Part two of my question will also further clarify part one. I wanted to use the synonyms meaning 'work area' in the following fictional situation.

I am an ice cream truck driver, and I usually work at or around a specific place at a certain time. Then one day, a bunch of kids came and started selling their own ice cream where I sell mine. can I say something like 'Don't invade my [insert synonym] and steal my customers, find your own place to sell ice cream.'

Is the word being used correctly in the above example?


texts: What does 'principle' mean in 'reasons of principle'?

texts:
This is the heading for http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/torture/ethics/wrong_1.shtml. How do you determine/deduce the right definition for this noun? Which of the following is it?

  1(.0). A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning

This means that 'reasons of principle' are just the norm and standard, so they should hold, regardless of their truth, falsity, merit or demerit.

  1.2. [mass noun] Morally correct behaviour and attitudes

This means that 'reasons of principle' are reasons, consistent with and due to morality or rectitude.


texts: increased from (a / zero article) mere X%

texts:
A quote from The Economist:

  This divergence ripples through to customers: the difference in the
  cost of borrowing between German and Spanish firms rose from a mere
  six basis points in summer 2011 to 149 basis points earlier this year.

Would the omission of the indefinite article in such constructions (a mere X + percents/basis points/tonnes/kilometers) always be an error?

Google Books finds instances of "increased from mere" + X + percents etc. but they are rare as a hen's teeth and the authors seem to be mostly non-native English speakers, judging by (the?) surnames.


texts: Can you clear my this punctuation syntactical doubt?

texts:
Items to be worn at school:   kind of White 'V' neck shirt with white flaps with house stripes, white socks, white hair band and white shoes, House colour scarf.

I feel like the and should come between last two phrases as I have seen this standard at most of the phrases. Is the above construction correct and what is the logic behind not putting the and at between the last two?

On the side, I also noticed a capital 'H'. Might  it signify something?


texts: Can I say "Google for it" if I'm using another search engine?

texts: It seems like many American dramas use the phrase a lot. Suppose I'm using Bing (from Microsoft), do I need to use "look it up on the internet" or something else?


texts: How to reassure someone who is saying sorry for their mistake

texts:
What can I tell someone who is saying sorry for their mistake?

  Why you are saying sorry for this?

  Why you are telling me sorry for this?

  Sometimes it happens to me too.

Any other suggestions?


texts:
What I would like to say is that you should go to the nearest store or the department where they can fix your mobile for free because you have a warranty.

what is the place that people visit when they have a warranty?


texts: What is the form of the verb that follows "of"?

texts:
I wonder what is the correct form of the verb that follows  of
for example, what is the correct form?

  the way of conveying

OR

  the way of convey


texts:
''when the person you wanted to give the world to ends up being temporary''

It's like a meme with a baby sobbing video.

What does it mean?
Why is it ''ends'' instead ''end''?


texts: I don't understand the usage of 'a' in this sentence

texts:
I have trouble understand this sentence:

  The kernel maintains a data structure called a page table, that contains a mapping of
  a processes' virtual page addresses to real page addresses in memory.

Why it's in plural while there is a 'a' proceeding it? It sounds like it is saying "some arbitrary group of", am I correct?

The book is How Linux Works by Brian Ward, 2nd, page 182, line 4.


texts: Can I do this? - Sentence structure "It.. that.."

texts:
Here's a sentence written in my textbook.

  The first time I ever went to a club must have been 5 years ago.

I'd like to make another sentence using this like following.

  It must have been by the time I had been working just for a few weeks that a memorable incident happened.

I really do know I have been getting a huge help here. Thank you all seriously.


texts: Should I use subjunctive mood when I'm writing a document?

texts:
the subjunctive mood is used to explore conditional or imaginary
  situations.

I want to write,

  When it is processing task-A, it would frequently use the XXX
  resource.

It seems like an imaginary situation, so should it be

  When it was processing task-A, it would frequently use the XXX
  resource.


texts: Is it idiomatic to say "would be highly probably"?

texts:
In my other post ("The question is that" vs. "The question is") I said

  I guess the 3rd way ... would be probably grammatical and idiomatic.

And I feel I could convey more confidence. Then this expression came out

  I guess the 3rd way ... would be highly probably grammatical and idiomatic.

I am not sure whether it is grammatical and idiomatic. so, I search on ELL and Google Ngram

So, is it grammatical and idiomatic to say "would be highly probably"?

Before @Astralbee @KateBunting and @WeatherVane mentioned the other possibilities, I didn't consider highly probable, highly likely, almost certainly. Here is the update.


texts: the more the merrier - definite article used as an Adverb?

texts:
The grammar book says:

  1) "The" is used as an adverb in such sentences; as,

  The more the merrier.
  The fewer the better.

I tried google bt it is not helping me. so I came here.


texts:
I have found two similar sayings in English which say: undertake only what you have the money or ability to do and no more. But apparantly they work only in British English, whilst I need something more epidemic and in common use in both Americans and Britons.

  Cut your coat according to your cloth. (UK)
  As long as your blanket you may stretch. (Perhaps a translation from another language)

What do the Americans say in the same sense?
What is the most common way yo say it in both AmE and BrE?


texts:
I looked up Google Ngram and found that we can use any one of at, in, on before break, but we can only say at lunch break and on lunch break.

Is what I've got right and do they have any difference when used with different preposition?


texts: What is the difference between a "metaphor" and a "simile"?

texts: I often get the two mixed up and confused. If possible please use in a sentence! Thanks!


texts: Where are finite verbs in these sentences?

texts:
I found these sentences from the internet.

1.Finite verbs usually follow their subjects:
He coughs.

The documents had compromised him.

They will have gone.

This web said that the bolded segments above are finite verbs

2.The girls were talking to each other loudly.

The second web said that  were is finite verb and talking is  non-finite verb

I’m confused where finite verbs are.


texts: What is the meaning what's the meaning of "I'll get it " in this passage?

texts:
What is the meaning of,  I'll get it ,  in below passage :
Penny was picking up a pile of wood , doing jody's work. Jody ran to him .
"I'll get it , Pa! " . Jody said .
I think that " I'll get it "or "I get it " means here " I do it " , is it correct? Or if I would say " I've got it " , it could be mean " I've done it " , correct?


texts: What does "boys rule, girls drool" mean?

texts:
What does "Boys rule, girls drool," mean? I googled it but did not get a straightforward answer.

It is a dialogue of Dumb And Dumber (2014) film.


texts:
S is the set of 2 elements.
S is the set with 2 elements.

Is there any difference between them?


texts: Does "occurring" mean "happening", "existing" or some other meaning?

texts:
nature posts this

  In order to understand how Sanger sequencing works, it's first
  necessary to understand the process of DNA replication as it exists in
  nature. DNA is a double-stranded, helical molecule composed of
  nucleotides, each of which contains a phosphate group, a sugar
  molecule, and a nitrogenous base. Because there are four naturally
  occurring nitrogenous bases, there are four different types of DNA
  nucleotides: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C).

In this context, does "occurring" mean "happening", "existing" or some other meaning?


texts:
This is a dialogue from Bojack horseman tv show

Bojack said "you think this is how she expected her life would be going at 34(age)"
I can't make sense out of this syntax.
Specifically the part "she expected her life would be going at 34".how these words in this clause are grammatically linked.

can someone help me by telling in terms of adjective s,adverbs and other fundamental units of language


texts:
Are you angry with me because of my being late?
Are you angry with me for being late?

Is it considered a good practice to add the personal pronoun in this case as in the first example?
Does the sentence become wrong and vague if I phrase it like in the second example?


texts:
I heard of some native English speakers say some thing like "you're gonna" or "you got to" a lot, I often don't distinguish them.

Consider this example, a English teacher says

  when you begin a sentence with an adverb clause

and would he say

  you're gonna put a comma in that sentence.

or

  you got to put a comma in that sentence.

or

both work?

They sounds so similar that I often can't distinguish which one the speak is actually saying.

I am aware that "you're gonna" is a colloquial way to say "you're going to" and "got to" sometime means "have to".

Google Ngram shows that both of them are in use.

In practice, for instance, those two examples pretty much seem to mean the same thing.

Is my understanding correct?


texts:
Imagine I had a dream when I was kid. Now I am adult so I talk about it which I couldn't fulfilled and will not able to.

Which tense should I use in the blank?

  I too did have some childish dreams like every kid like being
  astronaut and going to moon when I ... adult.


texts: Socratic badge: Ask a well-received question

texts:
The Socratic badge page states the following:

  Ask a well-received question on 100 separate days, and maintain a
  positive question record. This badge can be awarded multiple times.

I wonder why the writer used the preposition on and not in. The days do not make an interval because they are separate but they are still a group and not a single day.


texts: How to distinguish words hare, here, hair, heir, hire, her, higher, hear?

texts: How can I distinguish between the words 'hare', 'here', 'hair', 'heir', 'hire', 'her', 'higher' and 'hear' when pronounced?


texts:
If I saw an attractive girl, then I thought her long time. That is

  I left deep impression on her.

Or

  She left deep impression on me.


texts: Which to choose: "a high rate of detection" or "the high rate of detection"?

texts:
How can I decide which one to choose?

  The experiment achieves a high rate of detection with very low error margin.

  The experiment achieves the high rate of detection with very low error margin.

Why would you choose one over the other?


texts: spaceflight physical -- what exactly does "physical" mean in that context?

texts:
Source: This Week in Space: Help Wanted on Bone-Dry Mars

Example:

  But NASA isn’t turning this into some kind of space-based reality show: The qualifications to be an astronaut candidate are still pretty specific. You need a science degree (ideally an advanced one), three years of related professional experience, or 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in a jet aircraft. And couch potatoes, take note, you also “must pass the NASA long-duration spaceflight physical.”

In the dictionary, the word physical has several meanings. Which one is used here?


texts: Is the highlighted line phrased in a natural way?

texts:
(Person 1) Who've cut your phone line?
(Person 2) Burglars.
(Person 1) Burglars? Burglars cut your phone line?
(Person 2) Yes. My house was robbed last night.
Is the highlighted line phrased in a natural way in the context? Or would it be more natural to say "Did burglars cut your phone line?" or something third?


texts:
Melanie: You don't have an ATM.

  Dorothea: Them things. Russ won't get one because you lose personal
  contact with customers.

  Melanie: Yes. That would be tragic.

I understand the sentence, but I can't find any connection between customer's and ATM. Dorothea says ATM would let Melanie to lose personal contact with customers. My doubt is Why would a ATM does such things to her?


texts:
It was in Crash Course World History. It is at 1 minute and 53 second. Here it goes:

  Your descendants will number the stars, and you can have the land of Canaan forever.

I have checked all the meanings of the verb, but still I cannot get it. I guess the speaker meant by that that the descendants will amount to the number of stars, but I am not sure because in all the examples given by the online dictionaries, there must be some number after the verb number. For example:

  After the hurricane the homeless numbered over 200,000.

Is it possible that the presenter meant outnumber the stars?


texts: What"s the meaning of "the raw physicality of"?

texts:
The word "raw" confuses me. Could you please tell me what's the semantic relatedness between words "coin" and "raw"?

The full text is:

  Tyler was a softer target: I begged and he gave me a silver coin as big as my palm. The coin soothed me. It seemed to me that Tyler’s buying it was a declaration of loyalty, a pledge to our family that despite the madness that had hold of him, that made him want to go to school, ultimately he would choose us.
  By the time the leaves
  began to change, from the juniper greens of summer to the garnet reds and
  bronzed golds of autumn, that coin shimmered even in the lowest light,
  polished by a thousand finger strokes.I’d taken comfort in the raw physicality of it, certain that if the coin was real, Tyler’s leaving could not be.

  Tara Westover's novel, educated

I checked "raw" in Longman Dictionary:

  not cooked
  raw substances are in a natural state and not treated or prepared for use.
  raw information is collected but not organized, examined, or developed.
  raw feelings are strong and natural, but not fully controlled.
  if a part of your body is raw, the skin there is red and painful.
  not experienced or not fully trained.
  touch/hit a raw nerve
  very cold.
  music, art, language etc that is raw is simple, direct, and powerful, but not fully developed.


texts: Can "it" refer to something we haven't mentioned yet?

texts:
We usually use pronouns to refer back to people or things that we already mentioned.

Can we use pronouns before we mention the noun?

  A: Are you going to the game?
  B: No, it's sold out. There aren't any tickets left.


texts:
Is it possible for a clause to be reduced when it uses the verb "to be"?
Here's an example sentence:

  When I'm lazy, I usually sleep.

Can I reduce the when clause here to:

  When being lazy, I usually sleep.

?


texts: What do you call an encircling road climbing up a hill?

texts:
I base my question on this question: What is this type of road called in English?
From that post, I learned that this kind of roads are called Switchback or Serpentine

By definition, a switchback is "a 180° bend in a road or path, especially one leading up the side of a mountain." Basically, it only represents paths of a "zig-zag" shape.
But what about a circular or rotating one like the below, which do not bear the "zig-zag" meaning?


texts:
Among the many famous lines in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is the following:

  Lady Macbeth: 'We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we'll not fail.'

I believe that the line is partially responsible for the coinage of sticking point, whose meaning today is quite different.

Examples of usage:

  ‘safety issues have been a sticking point in the negotiations’
  ‘This time the environment is shaping up as a key sticking point, due to concerns that some nations may use it as a protectionist measure.’
  ‘The movement of people is set to prove a major sticking point between the EU and the British government, which is seeking to curb immigration in the wake of the vote.’ [source]

Oxford Dictionary defines it

  sticking point
  An obstacle to progress towards an agreement or goal.

While Merriam-Webster claims that its first known use was in 1946, and defines it as

  an item (as in negotiations) resulting or likely to result in an impasse

What did William Shakespeare mean by sticking place?

Its meaning in Macbeth: be firm, unwavering,  is radically different from today's sticking point.

What, or where is this sticking place today?
Is there any difference in meaning between sticking place and sticking point?


texts: Does "I’m so happy because my mother gives me a present" sound strange?

texts:
See this dialog:

  A: Hello ___.

  B: Oh hi ____.

  A: I’m so happy because my mother gives me a present.

  B: Oh what is it?

  A: It is a new pencil case.

  B:Great!

I would say this context is talking about a specific thing - a thing that happened for now, not a repetitive thing.

So, in that respect, I would say "I’m so happy because my mother gives me a present" sentence sounds very wrong to me.

I would think the best response should be "I’m so happy because my mother gave me a present" or "I’m so happy because my mother has just given me a present". because the "action of giving a present" finished in the past.

"I’m so happy because my mother gives me a present" sounds like "I’m happy whenever my mother gives me a present" (a repeated action)

Am I right?


texts: Are there words in which the letter D is pronounced like T (and they are not -ed)?

texts: Are there words in which the letter D is pronounced like T (and they are not those words which ending with the past tense suffix of -ed)?


texts: "You're using THE wrong formula" vs. "You're using A wrong formula": choosing between the definite and the indefinite article

texts:
I'm trying to conceive the difference between the use of a definite article and an indefinite article here.

  You are using a wrong formula (for the math problem).

  You are using the wrong formula (for the math problem).

What's the difference if any?


texts:
My American co-worker sent this to our group chat:

  Can an undatable man be transformed into a datable man?

  I am not asking if you think such a thing can be done in real life.

  I am asking if a real undatable man can be transformed into a datable man.

English is my second language, and I'm having trouble making sense of the last two lines.


texts: "we are not running any businesses, nor have we ever"

texts:
I am applying for bursary for my college education. I wanted to write that my parents are public servants and they are supporting me studying abroad solely using their salaries and life savings. And I want to add this following sentence.

  "My family is not running any businesses, nor have we ever run any"

Is this sentence correct. If not, can you guys help me to make this sentence grammatically correct?


texts: Usage the particle "of" before past participle form of a verb

texts:
What are the grammatical and semantic roles plays the particle "of" in the next sentence?

  You had to of seen it before

Source: Conversation with an Aussie


texts:
Now i have a situation where an apple can be placed between

two mangoes or

two bananas or

a mango and a banana.

Now this sounds too verbose. What can be a better word instead of 'between' which describes all three phrases in a single phrase? Can it be 'among', 'amongst', or 'in-between' or any other word? Or another phrase?
Edit: 'Too verbose' is an exaggeration on my part. But if I include more five six fruits, it will kind of make a repetitive thing.


texts:
what's the meaning of this sentence in "Billie Eilish - She's Broken":
"You see them talking but hear no sound to hit the ground"


texts: Which sentence meaning is most similar to "I march the troops."?

texts:
The main sentence is "I march the troops."

The others are below.

  I make the troops walk.
  I make the troops walked. (Walked is used as passive form.)

In both sentences, which has same meaning like main sentence ?


texts:
When you use "could have", do you have to use past tense to be grammatically correct? These modal verbs really confuse me because I'm not sure if I always have to match everything to the tense of the modal verb I'm using, or if I can mix and match verb tenses. Please see my examples:

  I could have used the paprika in the refrigerator since it is similar to the bell pepper the recipe called for.

  I could have used the paprika in the refrigerator since it was similar to bell peppers the recipe called for.

  I could have used what was in the refrigerator since they are similar to what the recipe calls for.

And then with "must have," I tried to use both simple past and present continuous. Do you think the sentence below is correct?

  I must have ignored my friends who were cheering on for me because I was so happy to have reached the finish line.

What about should in this sentence?

  I thought I should tell you that I will be attending your party next Friday.


texts: near to is not used before the name of a place, festival, person, et cetera

texts:
As far as I understood, and having taken into account the following through googling, I reached the bold part. I am wondering if I am right.

You usually say:

near to something that is abstract.

Take the following:

near to God

near to fear

near to death

Updated:
 Definition of near preposition from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

near preposition
BrE /nɪə(r)/ ; NAmE /nɪr/
(also near to, nearer (to), nearest (to))
Near to is not usually used before the name of a place, person, festival, etc.
 Add to my wordlist
 at a short distance away from somebody/something
Do you live near here?
Go and sit nearer (to) the fire.


texts: Can I use "that I like" in the following sentence?

texts:
I want to say that the following quotes are "motivational quotes that I like".

Is it proper to use "that I like" as an adjective to "motivational quotes" ? It seems to be okay as far as I know.

Is there another way to express this idea in more concise manner? I feel that adding "that" seems to make a sentence longer and more verbose.
For example, I could try to express this way: "Here are my favorite motivational quotes"?

Thank you for any suggestion!