texts:
I'm trying to find out what "I'm partial to …" means. I thought that it means the same as "I like …".

But I found this website, which claims:

  If someone asks you whether you still love your husband after 50 years of marriage, for example, and you say, "I'm partial to him," you're either joking or politely saying "Not really." Being partial to something is to love as a warm stove is to a bonfire.

If you answer the question with "I'm partial to him", doesn't that mean that you still like your husband after all these years instead of being joking or saying that you don't like him (as this webite says)?

Also, what is meant by the comparison

  Being partial to something is to love as a warm stove is to a bonfire.

Is a warm stove hotter than a bonfire? Is being partial to something less strong than loving something?


texts:
The now-shuttered program allowed permanent residency for those who
  committed 800,000 Canadian dollars (US$726,720) to a five-year
  zero-interest loan  to one of the country's provinces.

What does to mean in the bolded phrase?


texts:
From the poem I Like For You To Be Still by Pablo Neruda

  I like for you to be still.

How is that different from

  I like you to be still.


texts:
I guess "crack my jaded shell a bit" humorously means "hurt my precious brain a bit". Am I on the right track? Searching the phrase turned out to be returning back the NYTimes article.

So far, so predictable. But speaking as a cynical observer of the Trump era, one feature of November did crack my jaded shell a bit: not his behavior or the system’s response, but the sheer scale of the belief among conservatives that the election was really stolen, measured not just in polling data but in conversations and arguments, online and in person, with people I would not have expected to embrace it.

Source: NYTimes


texts: Came VS have come, interchangeable here?

texts:
While some sand is formed in oceans from things like shells and rocks, most sand is made up of tiny bits of rock that came all the way from the mountains!

Can i use have come instead of came in this context?
To me,  it seems possible because for a long time the action was done not at a certain moment.
So, is there meaning difference between two of them?


texts: what does "would" mean in this paragraph?

texts:
My leg burned and was angry from the lead ball that was lodged in it just above my knee. I felt sleepy and everything would go black. Then I'd wake up again. I wanted to go back to our farm in Ohio and sometimes, When I'd fall into one of them strange sleeps, I'd be there with my Ma, tastin' baking powder biscuits fresh out of her wood stove.

In that paragraph does "would"  stand as conditional or future in the past or something the character did many times I think the third answer is the good one.


texts: What does 'high' refer to in Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space'?

texts:
From Taylor Swift's song Blank Space:

  So it's gonna be forever

  Or it's gonna go down in flames

  You can tell me when it's over

  If the high was worth the pain

  Got a long list of ex-lovers

  They'll tell you I'm insane

  Cause you know I love the players

  And you love the game

What does the word high refer to?


texts: I asked my English teacher about pronunciation of words like table, available, apple or people. He told me they end with a short A. But when I listen to native English speakers, I hear "pee-pole", which seems like a short O to me.


texts:
Some researchers have argued that as culture is the foundation upon which people build their identities, such cultural exportation may jeopardize the national identity of citizens of ‘importing’ countries.

If I am not mistaken, under "exportation" the author means "spreading" but what does he mean by saying "importing"?


texts:
As for history-present times comparison. Let's say Japan's earthquake is more frequent than in the past, can you say:

  Japan has more earthquakes today than they had before.

Or

  Japan has more earthquakes today than they had in the past.

Which is more correct?


texts:
The faeces contain nitrogen and it is that which fertilises the desert soil.

source: A collection of a bunch of sentences

What does "it" stand for?

I'm considering two possibilities:

1, "it" refers to nitrogen. And "that which" can be replaced by "what".

2, "it is....which..." work together to make the cleft sentence construction.


texts: Meaning of "Unlooked for joy in that I honor most" in a sonnet by Shakespeare

texts:
Shakespeare (sonnet 25):

  Let those who are in favor with their stars
  Of public honor and proud titles boast,
  Whilst I, whom fortune of such triumph bars,
  Unlooked for joy in that I honor most.
  Great princes' favorites their fair leaves spread
  But as the marigold at the sun’s eye,
  And in themselves their pride lies burièd,
  For at a frown they in their glory die.
  The painful warrior famousèd for worth,
  After a thousand victories once foiled,
  Is from the book of honor razèd quite,
  And all the rest forgot for which he toiled.
    Then happy I that love and am belovèd
    Where I may not remove nor be removèd.

I don't understand the basic meaning of the bolded line. Where is the verb? Is it "joy" = "to feel enjoyment"?

Could we rephrase it thus:

  Whilst I, whom fortune of such triumph bars,
  Unlooked-for, feel enjoyment in the things I honor most.

One other option I came up with is "I boast in unlooked-for joy", but then I cannot make sense of the rest of the sentence: "in that I honor most".

But wait, my first option is also shaky, because it's "that" and not "what" (I honor most).


texts: How to understand "Bacon is for sycophants, and products of incest"?

texts:
In Borderlands2, one says:

  Also, I require a new ventilator -- this lab smells of bacon. Bacon is
  for sycophants, and products of incest.

It's quite strange to comment such a common food. Why she claims "Bacon is for sycophants". And is there any story about "bacon is products of incest"?

Does she just blame bacon or take a metaphor for something?

PS:

You can read that wiki page to learn more about that character.


texts: What's the Difference Between "I would've had to say" and "I would've had to have said"?

texts:
If they'd asked me, I would've had to say...
If they'd asked me, I would've had to have said...

What's the difference between them?


texts: Do these sentences mean the same thing? Are thet grammatically correct? And if they mean different things what do they mean?

texts:
I'm sorry I haven't responded to your emails yet. I will respond to them as soon as possible.
Do the sentences given below mean the same thing as the sentence above? And are they all grammatically correct?

I'm sorry I haven't responded to your emails yet. I will get back to you on those (emails) as soon as possible.

I'm sorry I haven't responded to your emails yet. I will get back to you on that one as soon as possible.

I'm sorry I haven't responded to your emails yet. I will get back to you with those emails as soon as possible.

And if these sentences mean different things, what do they mean?


texts:
What causes coral bleaching ?

What does cause coral bleaching ?

What is the difference ?? which is  grammatically correct ?

Thank you in advance.


texts: Collocations for "level" to describe the seriousness of something

texts:
Consider:

  These days, Tehran's air pollution is at a risk level.

What are different levels of the seriousness of something? For example can we say "warning level"?


texts: I like snowboarding; I have been DOING IT for 10 years.- Is the second sentence correct?

texts:
I am a bit confused about the use of the verb "do".

I could understand that in a passage like

  I like playing soccer; I have been doing it for ten years.

"Doing it" refers to "playing soccer" here.

But in the case of a sentence like the one in the title:

  I like snowboarding; I have been doing  it for 10 years.

what does "doing it" refer to?

Does it mean "doing snowboarding", which, to my ear, sounds awkward, or simply, is the second sentence incorrect?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
I'm wondering if the following sentences have the same meaning. Does the second one sound natural in English?

  I can't sit there because her bag is standing there

  I can't sit there because she has her bag standing there

I'm also curious if i need to put the word "has" in the second example into present continuous


texts: difference between not to verb , to not + verb

texts:
"Name three things that, if you were told were part of the job, would cause you to not take the position. "

I've just come across this sentence while reading the news.

Question is: Why to not is used instead of not to? This usage in this way imposes different meaning?


texts: Is it ok to say 'We were wanting to book a trip to Sardinia'?

texts:
We were wanting to book a trip to Sardinia.

Is it ok to say that nowadays?


texts:
Is there any difference between "into" and "to the inside of" in this particular context? I understand that "into" and "to the inside of" don't have the same meaning in all contexts, but I was wondering if they did in certain context. I found that "into" and "to" can be used to indicate the destination of the action "migrate", but I am wondering when I can use "into" and if it's synonymous to "to the inside of". If not, how are they different?

For example:

  He migrated into the cave on the hill.

  He migrated to the inside of the cave on the hill.


texts: Of late, I was reading about AIDS which is the abbreviation of "acquired immune deficiency syndrome". This got me into thinking that AIDS isn't a disease (a disease in itself). It is a set of specific symptoms or signs that are associated with a disease. So why we count it as a disease? Why in so many cases a disease has syndrome in the end of its name?


texts: Is the first “only” in “They should only know that this is the only place...” correct

texts:
They should only know that this is the only place that sells coffee.

I don’t get what the first “only” means in that statement my friend made.


texts:
I am a non-native English speaker. I have been learning English for a few months. Some people say that "should" is the past form of "shall" but some people say that it is not true. I have asked this question because I was reading a novel and in the novel I found something which looks wrong to me.

From the novel:

  I managed to nod. I should say something. I just wasn't sure what to
  say. He was waiting on me to speak. “I like them,” I blurted out
  nervously.

As per my opinion:

  I managed to nod. I should have said something. I just wasn't sure
  what to say. He was waiting on me to speak. “I like them,” I blurted
  out nervously.

My question is that the writer should not have used "should" for
the past action. It should have replaced by "should have".


texts: Can we use definite article "the" with meal of the day?

texts: I have a question about using definite article. I'm Azerbaijanian that's why I don't know English grammar very well. In English lesson our topic was "Article". And I wanna know can I use "the" with "lunch", "breakfast" or "dinner"


texts: Meaning of 'beware' in this song from the latest WoW trailer

texts:
The song has the following lines:

  "Beware, beware the Daughter of the Sea."
   "Beware," I heard him cry.

And, in the ending:

  To his nation, with his last breath, cried,
  "Beware the Daughter of the Sea."

Is the meaning of these sentences to warn 'the Daughter of the Sea' (like in 'But beware, dear brother, ...') or to warn against her (like in 'Beware the dog')

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo7XPvwRgG8
Lyrics: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Daughter_of_the_Sea


texts: What does "to be at the upper end" mean in this context?

texts:
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs downgraded stocks to "underweight" as part of its 3-month asset allocation citing global equities to be at the upper end of their "fat and flat range."

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/29/banks-are-preparing-for-an-economic-nuclear-winter.html


texts: Reasons for these two past perfect tenses

texts:
I had once vowed that I would never call her aunt again: I thought
  it no sin to forget and break that vow now.  My fingers had
  fastened on her hand which lay outside the sheet: had she pressed
  mine kindly, I should at that moment have experienced true pleasure.
  But unimpressionable natures are not so soon softened, nor are natural
  antipathies so readily eradicated.  Mrs. Reed took her hand away, and,
  turning her face rather from me, she remarked that the night was warm.
  (Jane Eyre)

Are the two past perfect because of the past tenses below, or because of some other reasons?

(Past tense)--------------------(the past of the Past tense)
I thought it no sin-------------I had once vowed
Mrs. Reed took her hand away----My fingers had fastened


texts: Meaning of "enterprise" in "the intellectual enterprises of computer science"?

texts:
In CS 50:

  This is CS50, Harvard  University's introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.

What is the definition of "enterprise" here?

I found two seemingly correct definitions in Longman Advanced American Dictionary:

  [uncountable] the activity of starting and running businesses:
  [uncountable] the ability to think of new activities or ideas and make them work:

Which one is correct?


texts:
Which way is correct? Thanks!

Tomorrow I will fly to Los Angeles, which is south of San Francisco.

or

Tomorrow I will fly to Los Angeles, where is south of San Francisco.


texts: The car is a "bit off" = the car is off the road? I'm a bit off = I'm a bit off topic?

texts:
The car is a bit off → the car is off the road
I'm a bit off → I'm a bit off  topic

Can they be briefed/shortened like that?


texts:
I know that the Present Perfect is used for events which:

occurred in an imprecise point of the past and
are "connected with the present".

However, this last definition seems vague and subjective to me.

For instance, it is clear to me that I could say:

I have never seen this movie.
As a child, I never saw this movie.

But what about:

  As a child, I never saw/have seen this movie, and I still feel sad for that.

This past event obviously affects the present. Is "as a child" a precise enough point of time to always trigger the Past Simple?


texts:
I searched the meaning of the word get ahold of something which showed:

  If you get ahold of someone or something you manage to contact, find, or get them.

But in the below paragraph the meaning doesn't fit well.

  "Then there’s the other personal root for this book. I am by nature majorly pessimistic. Give me any topic and I’ll find a way in which things will fall apart. Or turn out wonderfully and somehow, because of that, be poignant and sad. It’s a pain in the butt, especially to people stuck around me. And when I had kids, I realized that I needed to get ahold of this tendency big time. So I looked for evidence that things weren’t quite that bad. I started small, practicing on them—don’t cry, a T. rex would never come and eat you; of course Nemo’s daddy will find him. And as I’ve learned more about the subject of this book,there’s been an unexpected realization—the realms of humans harming one another are neither universal nor inevitable, and we’re getting some scientific insights into how to avoid them. My pessimistic self has a hard time admitting this, but there is room for optimism."

This paragraph is from the book Behave by Robert M Sapolsky.


texts: How do I understand these while clauses?

texts:
"A woman doing the same job as a man should be paid the same," she
  said. "But we are often told that the man has to support a family."
     Several men in the audience nodded emphatically:
  that was what they always said.       "But what about
  the woman who has to support a family?"      This
  brought murmurs of agreement from the women.      "Last
  week in Acton I met a girl who is trying to feed and clothe her five
  children on two pounds a week, while her husband, who has run off and
  left her, is earning four pounds ten shillings making ships'
  propellers in Tottenham, and spending his money in the pub!"
     "That's right!" said a woman behind Ethel.
     "Recently I spoke to a woman in Bermondsey whose husband
  was killed at Ypres--she has to support his four children, yet she is
  paid a woman's wage."      "Shame!" said several women.
       "If it's worth the employer's while to pay a man
  a shilling apiece to make gudgeon pins, it's worth his while to pay a
  woman at the same rate."  (Ken Follett, Fall of Giants)

The parsing is very hard. On one hand, ‘employer’s while’ and ‘his while’ seem noun phrases but they make no sense to me. On the other hand, I suspect 'employer's' and 'his' have some meaning but I'm not sure. How do I understand the sentence, semantically and syntactically?


texts:
This is a question from sentence correction.

  Incorrect: The possibility of an attack on Indian Point, a nuclear power plant, has caused local governmental oﬃcials to plan evacuation routes, build shelters, and offering citizens potassium pills so there will be fewer casualties in case of a leak.

.

  Correct: The possibility of an attack on Indian Point, a nuclear power plant, has caused local governmental oﬃcials to plan evacuation routes, build shelters, and offer citizens potassium pills in order to have fewer casualties in case of a leak.

The word "offering" is changed to "offer" in order to make the sentence parallel.

But I don't understand the reason of changing the phrase from "so there will be" to "in order to have". Can anyone explain me the reason? If I retain the first as it is, will the meaning remain the same?


texts:
I know we generally use the singular verb in this structure, even if the answer is plural (in AmE, I think). As in:

  Who is talking? - Jack is talking
  Who is talking? - Joey and Sam are
  talking.

What if I use each other at the end?

Who is/are talking to each other?

The plural form sounds natural, but I'd like to know what native speakers of English think, and how they use it.
There are other links discussing the same topic, but I am emphasizing on the phrase to each other.
And I know you can simply say "Who is talking?", but my question is what happens when you use 'to each other'?
Or is it that it is grammatically wrong yo use to each other at the end of this questiom?


texts: The novel adjective in the expression 'novel coronavirus'

texts:
What the meaning of novel that describes the coronavirus?
Is it from:
1, new - a new virus.
or:
2. original - the strain that can bring new children that are not the original virus?


texts: What does "yet" at the end of a sentence mean?

texts:
I booked a room on a website and want to make sure the room is non-smoking. Therefore I wrote an email to the hotel yesterday and they replied me today:

  Regarding your reservation, we change your room type from Smoking to Non-smoking yet.

This message sounds great at first but the "yet" at the end is kind of confusing me. Does that mean "not yet" so I have to keep waiting?

I confirmed with the hotel. They've changed my room to non-smoking already.
@snailplane, @Damkerng and @WendiKidd's replies are helpful. Too bad I can only choose one as answer.


texts: How to say that we know about sb/sth because of sth/sb?

texts: I'm wondering which preposition to use in this sentence :" I know about him ... my friends" or " I know about this movie ... newspapers" to show that I know about these things because I saw them or heard about them from those things. Sorry if this kind of question sounds quite silly but I still dont master English very well yet.


texts:
Imagine someone asks a woman about their job:

  What's your job ma'am?

She has no job and works as a mother and keeps home. What is the common term to such a profession in modern AmE?

She can say:

  a - I'm a housewife.

  b - I'm a homemaker.

As far as I know, the word housewife is not very pleasant to be heard by a woman. Instead they prefer to be called "homemaker". Hence, 'b' should work better here. Do you confirm it?
If not, what a native would call such a woman?


texts: About the use of "would" in this context

texts:
The text below is a comment that I've excerpted from the comment section of a newspaper article:

  Not too surprising. Mohammed bin Zayed is doing to the US what empires have done for thousands of years - take advantage of divided and weakened nations. He showed disrespect to outgoing President Obama because he knew incoming Trump would not care, or perhaps even welcome it. Obama would never have condoned a foreign monarch disrespecting outgoing President Bush in 2008.

  What was Zayed's beef with Obama? For daring to act in America's best interest viz a viz Iran. MBZ would prefer to maintain indefinite sanctions that failed to halt Iran's nuclear weapons program.

  So yes, MBZ and these nations pretend to be friends with America, that is, until we begin to act in our best interests and refuse to accept that their personal enemies are necessarily our enemies as well. Zayed will play Trump and Kushner like a fiddle; after all he's been dealing with world leaders for 30 years, when most members of Trump's inner circle were still in diapers.

Question: What does the modal would in the second paragraph express?


texts:
It was Mr Harding that my secretary sent the bill to yesterday.

  It was Mr Harding who my secretary sent the bill to yesterday.

Is" who" possible in stead of "that" when a personal object is emphasised?


texts:
For is used as an introduction of reason. I consider, the reason of what happened in the first clause should be introduce with For (used as coordinating conjunction) in the second clause.

"She must have been tired, for she fell asleep the moment she inclined her head."
(Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco, 1965)

The above sentence is doing opposite to main idea.

I think it should be written as

she fell asleep the moment she inclined her head, for She must have been tired.
Please elaborate.


texts:
The words "on a rolling basis", as it seems to me, might have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used (but I am not sure, as the meaning of these words is beyond my grasp).
Here is the context:

"Under s. 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a senior police officer could grant a stop and search authorisation for a designated area where he considered it ‘expedient’ to do so for the prevention of acts of terrorism. This was subject to confirmation by the Secretary of State. Once the authorisation had been granted, s. 45 of the Act empowered the police to stop any person or vehicle in that area and search them for articles of a kind which could be used ‘in connection with terrorism... The authorisation did not even have to be considered necessary for preventing acts of terrorism in order to be granted. Authorisations had been made for London on a rolling basis ever since the power of authorisation was first granted."

My understanding is that, in this context, the words mean "almost regularly, as the need arises".
There is another context:

There are two trustees up for appointment in each year for three years terms on a rolling basis.

In this context, they mean, in my view, "two trustee are appointed for a term of three years who can be reappointed for a further three years' period and further so on".
Third example:

All relevant market information should be published on a rolling basis in a timely manner.

Would you please share your views on the meaning of "a rolling basis" in these contexts?


texts: What's 'my local area' mean? Can it be my hometown?

texts:
In an EAL test, the examiner would ask me whether I am studying or working, so the examiner would know that I am working and I live in Melbourne for the majority of my time.

Then the examiner might ask me to describe a change that will improve my local area. In this case, can I talk about the change that is going to happen in my hometown? (I didn't follow the news closely, so although I live in Melbourne, I cannot think of any change that is going to happen... )

Given that I live in Melbourne now, does 'my hometown' still considered as 'my local area', or 'local area' has to be the place I'm currently living?

Is it acceptable to say 'I can't think of any change that is going to happen in Melbourne, so I will talk about a positive change that is going to happen in my hometown'?

Thank you!


texts: Tasks/instructions? A question on teachers' vocabulary

texts: Each exercise given in a textbook is accompanied by instructions. Is it acceptable to call them also "tasks"?


texts: "on understanding" vs "in understanding"

texts:
In the following sentence why is the preposition "on" used? I would use "in" but to be honest I don't know why. How do I know which one is the correct to use?

  A front end developer will often focus heavily on understanding HTML,
  CSS, and JavaScript since these languages live in the browser.


texts: Proper use of 'the' in following situation?

texts:
"Test PC is connected via Ethernet and UART to System Under Test."

I'm not quite sure where to put "the" in this situation. The reader is actual test engineer which should be familiar what is meant to be said in the sentence. English is not my mother language, thus I'm having difficulties with grammar and I can only correct my sentences based on a hunch. Which in this situation would be:

"The Test PC is connected via the Ethernet and the UART to the System Under Test."


texts: Is "sing" a noun or a verb in this quote by Samuel Beckett?

texts:
"When you are up to your neck in shit, all you can do is sing."
Samuel Beckett

I just checked some credible online dictionaries like Longman, Macmillan and American Heritage and they all had "sing" as a verb only. Though there was an entry as a noun in the latter, obviously it wasn't relevant to the context here.

On the other hand, I checked and saw the infinitive form of "sing" as "to sing"
so I'm confused and very curious to find the grammatical point behind this usage.

Plus I'd like to know how it would be if we replaced "sing" with "struggle" here. Can both "noun" and "verb" forms of a given verb be used here after "is"?

Thanks!


texts: Let's do/ make competition or let do competition?

texts:
If I want to tell someone to make /do competition with me or with other guy, what is the right way to express it?

  Let's do/ make competition!

  Let do competition!

  Let make competition!

  Let's do competition!

I would like to understand the using of 's after let (let's), if any. Also, I would like to understand the distinction between 'make' and 'do'.


texts: Can I use an incomplete sentense in listing?

texts:
First, obtain a comprehensive understanding of the emissions level of
  key pollutants, a foundation upon which to conduct pollution
  abatement-related analyses.

Can I use an incomplete sentence in listing as shown in the example? I meant to use first, second, and third to indicate the research aims. I also want to use a parenthetical expression 'a foundation xxx' to modify the 'comprehensive understanding', thus to show the importance. Not sure if the sentence is grammatically correct.


texts:
When reading news titles in English, I always notice a strange form in the title, examples :

Quarantine bringing out creativity for millions on TikTok (source: CNN)
Meet the clown lifting spirits in the time of coronavirus (source: CNN)

I said strange because there is no "to be" verb before these 2 verbs ("bringing out" and "lifting"). (I supposed the time is present continuous but with "to be" verb cancellation)

Is it a special form of writing news titles in English?


texts: why use present perfect in" Has Russia economy worked well, why or why not" here

texts: Currently i am writing on essay on" has Russia economy worked well? Why or why not" I don't understand what's the implication of present perfect here. Does the question want me to discuss the economy fared between further past to the present time? Or only talk about the past few years. I am thinking to start from the collapse of the Soviet to the presen


texts: When + [Present Participle Simple] vs When + [Present Participle Continious]

texts:
Here's an example sentence from a meme (imagine there's a man thinking about it with a wise look):

  When you are thinking about how to reduce work without doing anything

Why not

  When you think about how to reduce work without doing anything

?

And, if both are used, then in what cases each of them?


texts:
i have just read this sentence which seems strange to me, because I couldn't find  "details for" in dictionary:

-He just turned up out of the blue sky, so we haven't got any details for him.

Is the sentence mentioned correct?


texts: When someone's behavor is admirable or... in your view

texts:
Imagine someone helps a beggar and you see their action / behavior and like it and want to give a compliment to them.
OR
someone says you some bad words in a situation and you instead give him a smile and ask him to keep calm without saying even a single bad word.
I would be thankful if someone could tell me if in AE it is possible to say:

  His / her behavior was really admirable.

I'm asking this question because many dictionaries confirm that it is possible, but as far as I know in AE people use this adjective to describe a very serious situation like self-devotion or something like that. E.g. a pilot who saves 300 passengers lives by doing something very risky.
If my taking is right, then I would be thankful if you could let me know how an AE native speaker would say the same thing in natural language?


texts: "for many generations they were transmitted"

texts:
From the book "Sapiens", on the page 142:

  For many generations they were transmitted orally and would have lived on even had writing never been invented.

In the sentence above, it seems something is omitted. I don't get what it is and why. Please explain the structure of the above grammatically.
After "and" there are 2 verbs and the sentence seems reversed , which I don't understand
Thanks for your comment . In this context they refer to "the Hebrew Bible , The Greek Iliad ... "   I can see the subject of "would have lived " is "they "      Then what about the sentence " even had writing never been invented " . I assume this sentence means "even before writing had never been invented . " can you omit before ans that ,s why the sentence is reversed?


texts: 'Apples, red in two of them and brown in one of them, are rotten'

texts: If apple A and B are red and apple C is brown and they are rotten, then does 'apples, red in two of them and brown in one of them, are rotten' make sense? I mean two red apples and one brown apple are rotten.


texts:
I read a sentence in  The hindu which was:

Although this approach has allowed India to eschew involvement in regional
disputes and dehyphenate relations with regional rivals...

What is the meaning of dehyphenate? I couldn't find it in any dictionarie?


texts: "Get {something} through to {somebody}" vs. "Get {something} across to {somebody}"

texts:
How do these expressions differ?
Does one of them sound more forceful to you?
For instance, in the following sentence, does using each one make any change in meaning:

  What are you trying to get across to me?
  What are you trying to get through to me?


texts: Does "I can't address this job" mean "I can't do this job"?

texts:
Let's imagine a situation that I have to paint a house, but I can't do it by myself.

I would like to know if the phrase:

  "I can't address this job by myself"

means

  I can't do this job by myself"

Meaning, of course, that I need some help painting the house.


texts: Which of the following qualifies as a conditional sentence?

texts:
1) If you step up on this, it could be a great breakthrough for both of you.
2) If you stepped up on this, it could be a great breakthrough for both of you.


texts: What does this example sentence for "shake down" mean?

texts:
Oxford Dictionaries Online gives the following definition for the phrasal verb shake down:

  become established in a new place or situation; settle down

And it gives the following example sentence for this meaning:

  It was disruptive to the industry as it was shaking down after deregulation.

I know shaking down here means "restoring". But how could shaking down be a disruptive thing?  Or do the two its in the sentence have different denotations?


texts: How can I understand the phrase "in the toilet paper"?

texts:
The following passage is from the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

  Halfway through the summer, I decided I was pretty much done with swim team. So I came up with a trick to get out of practice. I'd swim a few laps, and then I'd ask the coach if I could use the bathroom. Then I'd just hide out in the locker room until practice was over. The only problem with my plan was that it was something like forty degrees in the boys' bathroom. So it was even colder in THERE than it was in the pool. I had to wrap myself up in the toilet paper so I didn't get hypothermia.

How can I understand the phrase in the toilet paper?

I have got two explanations:

I used the toilet paper to wrap the box.
I wrapped the box, and make the box covered or wrapped in the toilet paper which has that thing over or round its surface.

I wonder which one is correct?


texts: Meaning of the quote "As Above So Below; As Within So Without"

texts: I was reading The Secret when I came across the above quote and couldn't understand it in spite of googling


texts:
I've read a definition for the word withdraw at Cambridge Dictionary and there was examples for it's usage.

Ex:The president has ordered troops to be withdrawn from the area.

but, I can't under stand why should I use the passive form to be withdrawn instead of the active form to withdraw , as long as the troops will do the action by themselves.

Thanks,


texts: VOA Learning English Word Book is the correct word?

texts:
I started studying English that used VOA Learning English.

The word book seems strange, so I ask.

First "a (an) - advise" What is mean? a(an) = advise

Next "about - adj. almost ("about half"); of or having a relation to
("We talk about the weather")

About is an adjective (adj)? Is not it an adverb (adv)?

VOA Learning English Word Book.

Is this word book correct?


texts: Sentence Meaning of "I have lived in the land of Israel for at least half of the year over the last decade"

texts:
I am not a native English speaker, so I am confused about the simple sentence below.

I have lived in the land of Israel for at least half of the year over the last decade.

What does it mean? Does the speaker lived in Israel for a minimum of half a year (.5 years) last decade or (10.5 years)? Please explain it to me. Thanks.


texts: Can I use these forms to ask about the needed time?

texts:
I've watched this video.

But I used other forms for asking about the needed time for doing something, and I want to know if I can use these forms or not, like:

  How much time did you need to finish your homework?
  How long will you need to go home?
  How much time does the technical office need to fix my problem?
  How long does the technical office need to fix my problem?


texts: A pair of jeans vs tight jeans or blue jeans (without a pair) etc

texts:
When can we use jeans without a pair of in English?

I read the following in a novel:

  She had on tight jeans with a pair of pink heels.

Is this proper usage?

Or should the writer have used the following?

  She had on a pair of tight jeans with a pair of pink heels.

She is an American writer.


texts:
ESL Podcast 1196 has sentence like

  I want you to verify the facts and figures and to flag anything.

Could someone describe the difference between "to flag" and "to mark"?


texts: The difference between related and relatable

texts:
This post gives the difference between related and relatable by comparing the definitions.

  related is standing in relation or connection while relatable is possible to relate; able to be related to.

This post gives an nice example of related and relevant

  math.stackexchange is related to ell.stackexchange

as they're both StackExchange sites, however,

  the one is probably not relevant to the other in terms of content

as the topics covered by each site probably don't overlap much.

Could someone give similar examples to compare the difference between related and relatable?


texts: What is the difference between "certain" and "sure"?

texts:
What is the difference between certain and sure?

I do not understand the grammatical differences between them.


texts: Today my doubt is about the word “get through”. Basically the meaning is like “finish” something right? Well in this quote “when you get through the homework, I’ll give you more” can I use the word “finish” instead of “get through” for example “when you finish the homework, I’ll give you more”. If its possible replace this word, can you explain me when to use each one?


texts: Question about "not differ from each other by much more than"

texts:
I want to make sure that my understanding of the sentence below is accurate:

The ages of white pines in a certain forest do not differ from each other by much more than the length of time it takes a white pine to grow to maturity.

My understanding:

The ages of those pines differ from each other not more than the maturity time of a white pine.


texts:
It's been raining all day.
It's been way too long.

What does the meaning of "it is been",
could anyone explain more specific how to use and the meaning of it?


texts: "You must not forget ..... (turn) off your stove, it's very dangerous."

texts:
I saw this fill in the blanks question on my practice book and it left me confused

You must not forget ..... (turn) off your stove, it's very dangerous.

For the book, answer is to turn. My answer was turning
I couldn't decide am I just being wrong but feeling like I am not, or is there can be two answers?


texts: If meaning of a word able to vary by sentence, what does it mean by alone?

texts:
So I mean there are too many words which is multiple meaning in English. And these sentences are able to vary by sentence. For example:

The house by the tree.

"by" means "next to" or "near"

This book was written by a popular author.

"by" means "product of".
What does these words mean when we use them by alone? When does "by, as, about, so" mean different? What is the basic meanings of these words?


texts:
What is the meaning of this sentence especially "Flipped it on"?

"They purchased a L400 recently from XYZ and immediately flipped it on and got very lucky"


texts: "She does?", "she has?" etc as rhetorical questions

texts:
I have many native English friends I talk with and I have noticed one thing among them: they use question tags (not quite question tag but more of a rhetorical question) in a different way. For example, they will use "she does?" instead of does she? when you tell them something like "she likes apples". So the conversation can be illustrated as:

You: She likes apples
Addressee (native English): she does?

Another example:

A: she has told me the truth.
B: she has?

Surprisingly, I recently watched "Sherlock Holmes" and came across such kind of questions a lot, particularly in "A scandal in Belgravia".
My question is: is this common among native English speakers to use questions like that? How often do you use them in real life? Is it considered a rhetorical question?


texts: Past Perfect Continuous vs Past Continuous/Past Simple

texts:
Doing a grammar task I found this:

A: Did you go out last night?

B: No, 1) _____(work) all day, so I 2) _____(stay) in and 3) _____(watch) TV.

The key says that the only option here is
1) had been working; 2) stayed; 3) watched

Could you, please, explain why Past Perfect Continuous is used in the first gap? And can I use Past Continuous or Past Simple instead of it and have a grammatically correct sentence?


texts: Ask when the hotel would serve dinner and breakfast

texts:
I am staying at a hotel and they offered breakfast and dinner. The hotel specifies the time periods for breakfast and dinner time, like maybe 8 - 10 am for breakfast and 6 - 7pm for dinner. Like you cannot eat if you are past the time.

So I want to ask the front desk then about the time. How can I structure my sentence? Are these following good?

What is the breakfast/dinner time?
when can I expect to have breakfast/dinner?
what's the schedule of breakfast/dinner like?

Should I like to ask if I need to reserve a time(or time slot)?


texts: Is it possible to write a complex sentence without a dependent clause and without conjunctions?

texts:
My first language is not English. I am currently preparing for the IELTS exam. Today I saw a YouTube video about the IELTS writing task. In this video, the teacher gave an example of a complex sentence which is:

  "The amount of people from an English town deciding to start a
  vegetarian diet increased steadily by approximately 125 from about 75
  to 200 between 2004 and 2007. "

In another video, the teacher gave some more examples of complex sentences:

  Between 2004 and 2007, the number of people increased steadily from
  about 75 to 200.

  There was a steady increase in the number of people from about 75 to
  200 between 2004 and 2007.

  The number of people becoming vegetarian experienced a steady increase
  from about 75 to 200 between 2004 and 2007.

I myself cannot see any subordinate clause or dependent clause in the four sentences. I do not know why are they considered complex sentences. Can anyone help me ASAP please? My IELTS exam is very near :(.

Thanks a lot.


texts: What are the commonly suitable words between these

texts:
I want to say 'let's get started' but after this I don't know what prepositions are commonly suitable between 'let's get started' and 'doing homework.' I guess maybe 'with' is common.
Please let me know them from this restricted context!
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/support-and-training-for-schools/teaching-cambridge-at-your-school/getting-started-with/


texts: Formal words for "beside" and "in the best way"

texts:
To translate a text, I wrote:

  Today, the success of products and organizations largely depends on knowledge and innovation. The most successful organizations are those that use these assets beside the social capital in the best way.

I am not satisfied with "in the best way" and "beside", though don't know much other way to mention them.

I request for more alternative and formal ways to say "use something ... beside something else..." and "to use something in best way"...

By beside here I means something like "in conjunction with"..

I am thinking of

  The most successful organizations are those that use these assets alongside social capital in an efficient way.


texts:
I am looking words to describe the status of the Toilet.

Using: someone is using the toilet.
????: no one is using the toilet.

So I think the word shall be Unused, but it gives me feel like something is new, have never be used. So I want to know the word for the status of not using, or any other word better than Unused?

BTW, the words are for the programming purpose.
Like:

Toilet.Status = Using
Toilet.Status = Unused


texts: English word for an art to convey as much information as possible using few words

texts: While giving speeches one may be concise or not. I think there was a word for being very concise while conveying a lot of information. That's it - information condensed is as few words as possible. Is there a word for that in English?


texts:
There's a rule about one-syllable adjectives that end in a single vowel and a consonant, that duplicates the consonant in the comparative form:
big --> bigger
hot --> hotter
I've been asking around to native english speakers and nobody seems to recall this specific rule, and the odd thing is it doesn't apply in the adjective "new":
new --> newer, not newwer
So, some students were wondering why "new" isn't considered an irregular adjective like bad (worse instead of "badder"), good (better instead of goodder), etc..
Usually I look up in a "A practical English Grammar" by Audrey Jean Thomson,
A.V. Martinet, Oxford University Press - Fourth Edition to answer all my doubts, but this one keeps on puzzling me.


texts: What is the difference between 'plot turn' and 'plot twist'?

texts: Do I understand correctly that 'plot twist' is the same as 'plot turn' but even more surprising? Is there any distinct line between the two? Furthermore, does the word 'spoiler' apply only to instances of revealing plot twists but not plot turns?


texts: Which meaning does 'television' have in this sentence?

texts:
I stumbled across this sentence, which is used as an example, while looking through Oxford Guide to English Grammar:

  If you haven't got television, you can't watch it.

Assuming the sentence is correct, I looked up television in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary which gave me 3 meanings of the word:

A piece of electrical equipment with a screen on which you can watch programmes with moving pictures and sounds.
The programmes broadcast on television.
The system, the process or business of broadcasting television programmes.

I thought in the conditional clause television referred to the first meaning, but I then noticed there was no a before television. Also, in the latter clause, it seemed to refer to television with the uncountable second meaning (as in watch TV). This caused me confusion.

I tried changing the sentence into the following:

  If you haven't got a television, you can't watch it.

which turned out to be weird since nobody 'watches a TV'.

So which meaning is correct? Was the sentence wrong in the first place? Did I misunderstand something here?


texts: Can I append question marks to affirmative sentence to confirm/ask something

texts:
Consider the sentences:

It is raining there?
You're gay?
You will be able to finish this by monday?

First sentence means: I think it is raining there and I am confirming it.
Second means: I am asking if the person is gay?
Third means: I am asking if you are able to finish this by monday?

So are my sentences grammatically correct? Also are my explanation of these sentence is correct or not?


texts:
Just an interesting sentence. I want to know if it's compeletely alright for using and constructing this way:

  What problems won't I put up with with you?


texts:
"thing" is a countable word. (source). But I can find both

no such a thing ...

and

no such thing ...

Which one is correct?


texts:
I'm discussing internals of a database system with someone and I'm struggling to figure out how do I talk about my past thought on the subject.

If I was just expressing my thoughts I would say "It is the visibility map that controls whether we do a heap fetch, and the map bits are set only by vacuum".

However, I need to express my past thoughts about it, which might be incorrect. My gut feeling suggests to say "I thought it was the visibility map that controls/controlled whether we do a heap fetch, and its bits were set only by vacuum". But I'm not sure about controls vs controlled and I feel like I need a general rule for this kind of situations.

Upd: regarding whether I don't think this any more: originally my sentence was something like "I thought ..., was I wrong?" or "I thought ..., but now I'm less sure."


texts: Definite article before countable and uncountable nouns

texts:
Sorry if the concepts relating the definite article are such volatile!
Which articles (definite, indefinite, zero) can and can't be used before uncountable nouns?

For example:

The data extracted from a node (correct, right?)
A data extracted from .... (incorrect)
The tea was delicious (right?)
A tea produced by Ahmad company (incorrect)?

I thought wherever we can use "the" we also can use "a", but it seems we can use "the" before uncountable nouns but not "a" right? For example, I feel "the tea" could be incorrect! if yes why "the data" is not?


texts: Ten days have passed TO/OF/FOR some event

texts:
I am writing a line, but confused using a preposition:

  Almost ten days have passed to/of/for Apple’s WWDC 2015 event.

This is just an example. What it takes when we talk about 'X number of days have passed to/of/for any event?

Thanks in advance.


texts: "Take your change for / from / on your $100" - Which preposition should I use?

texts:
"Here's the change back for / from / on your hundred"
  "How much change do I get for / from / on a $100 note?"
  "I doubt I have change for / from / on $100"

Which prepositions are correct to use?


texts: error out -- what exactly does this phrasal verb mean?

texts:
Source: You Don't Know JS: this & Object Prototypes  by Kyle Simpson (2014)

Example:

  Now we have an infinite circular duplication problem because of the circular reference. Should we detect a circular reference and just break the circular traversal (leaving the deep element not fully duplicated)? Should we error out completely? Something in between?

What exactly would you say the phrasal verb error out means? Please, give a bunch of examples.


texts: Is 'dweller' BE or AE? How can I know words are BE or AE?

texts:
Is 'dweller' Britsh English or American English, or both?

I rarely see this word, maybe it is American English, or maybe I didn't read enough...things.

How can I know whether words are Britsh English or American English?

Is there a way to look it up?

Thank you!


texts:
The usage of "much" in the following sentence is unclear to me:

  It's not much different.

I learned that "much" cannot qualify the positive degrees of adjectives and adverbs.
So, I wonder if it should be like this:

  It's not much more different.

I want to know whether "much" is used correctly in both sentences. Also, if the first one is correct, please tell me when this exception occurs?


texts: Why is "here" changed into "there" when converting this sentence into direct speech?

texts:
I have two questions about reported. First I came across such a sentence which I needed to transform from reported speech in direct speech.

Jack told me that he would be here at seven.

That's what I have "I’ll be here at seven". Having checked the answers, I have found such a variant as "I’ll be there at seven".
Could you explain why "here" is changed into "there"? I thought this rule is applied only to "direct-reported speech" where "here" changes into there.
I wonder why instead of a regular transformation "tonight - that night" in reported speech, I have the variant "that evening"  in Answers. I couldn't have found any proof to this transformation on the internet.


texts:
I know a bit of photography. If you decrease the number of shutter speed, the amount of light going into the lens increases and as a result of that, the lights become 'lines'.

How do I refer to such lights? I want to say -

I love ________ in this picture

OR

If you want to have _____ lights, decrease the shutter speed of your camera.

Here is what I'm referring to.

One word that comes to my mind is 'shredded lights'. Kindly confirm or suggest something better.


texts: Can we use "from", "to", "than" interchangeably in this structure "different (from/to/than somebody/something)"?

texts:
see this structure:
different (from/to/than somebody/something): not the same as somebody/something; not like somebody/something else. Ex: "American English is significantly different from British English." Source
So, can we say:
American English is significantly different to British English.
or
American English is significantly different than British English.
They sound pretty weird to me.


texts:
Here is an example:

  I know the feelings away, uh

  I will sell out my shit some more, ah

  But I feel like a MAD MAN!

I know sell out means to sell all things and it's often used with selling tickets at some concert, but I don't think he is saying about selling his music in the future. Help me, please.


texts: "Do you got anything?" vs. "Do you have anything?"

texts:
Is there a nuance of difference when someone asks do you got anything for me? as opposed to do you have anything for me? I am aware that the former isn't really grammatically correct, but that's what Rachel said in the 12th episod of the 7th season of Friends. The context is Rachel told Tag to go to look for the folder that he was supposed to overnight, but didn't because Rachel forgot to put it on Tag's desk. And to avoid emberrassment Rachel is making out that she actually did. Here it is:

Hi! I got you some coffee. To, uh… (She looks for a place to set it on his messy desk and he clears a spot for her to set it down.) …fair enough. So! Do you got anything for me?

Here is scene. It is at around 3 minutes and 31 seconds.


texts:
Example:

  The tasks this layer is responsible for are
   meaningful to the business or necessary for
   interaction with the application layers of
   other systems.

Can we omit for in responsible for? Because for and are together sound very strange. Or this for is mandatory?


texts: Is the word "uphill" limited to "hill" to English speakers

texts:
The children were running uphill towards the house.

Is the word uphill (adjective and adverb) used only in the context of hill or for roads and any kind of surface as well?

Can I say:

  The road is steeply uphill.

What's the most natural way to express this?


texts: For indicating the history  of not far and early past (for example until a century ago) which one describes better? contemporary history or recent history?


texts: correct use of hyphens to connect two words

texts:
Should I use a hyphen to connect the following words? What is the general rule about that?

environment friendly  -->  environment-friendly
frontend   --> front-end
backend   --> back-end
speedup   --> speed-up


texts: Can You Put An Adverb Before An Adjective

texts: I want to know that can we place an adverb before and adjective means what is the order of placing adjectives adverbs when used together or individually


texts:
I always dreamed of going overseas to Europe and learning different
  languages, meeting new people. Eating my way through Italy. I've
  never even made it over the Atlantic.

I googled Eating my way, I saw someone already posted at English Forums.

I didn't understand the reply there. So tell the meaning in simple way.


texts:
A simple way to check whether a verb is transitive or intransitive is to ask the question what or whom after the verb. If you can answer what or whom then the verb is transitive otherwise it is not.

I have confusion in these two examples

Separate townships have coalesced into a single,sprawling colony.
The atoms were coalesced into a larger molecule.
The rebel units coalesced into one army to fight the invaders.

I am sure that in example 3 coalesced is  an intransitive verb and in example 2 it is transitive. My question is that when I can answer what after all three examples. Then how come they are different?
In example 1 we can say separate townships coalesced into what?
In example 2 we can say the atoms coalesced into what?
In example 3 it can be questioned that rebel units coalesced into what?

My questions are :
Is the example 1 transitive or intransitive?
Is answering what or whom after an verb a reliable method to identify its transitive or intransitive property?
Is there any other method or a reliable online source which can identify these?


texts: Is 'I can't imagine what would that be like' a correct sentence?

texts:
I don't like literary theory, I can't imagine what would that be
  like..

That's my own sentence, but I've got no idea how to correct this.


texts: what does " tweak your pitch" mean here?

texts:
But (also like dating) a lot can go wrong. If you’re striking out in your email campaigns, you’ve got to tweak your pitch. Here are nine reasons that marketing emails get rejected – any of these sound familiar?

tweak:improve

pitch:the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.


texts: "Something is playing in the wind...": The Fixtures?

texts:
There is a reason why a great many things are called fixtures: such things are meant to be securely fixed, attached, usually to a surface. Whereas a loose fixture refers to the state of that object, the play is rather possibly the range of motion available to the object in that state:

  play n.

  [...]

  Movement or space for movement, as of mechanical parts.

  [ American Heritage Dictionary of the English language ]

That state and the space for movement are conditions where noise may occur when a force sets the object in motion. So if someone comments about hearing a rattle in the wind, couldn't they say that "something is(the fixtures are) playing in the wind", with no reference to music or an animal running around or what not? Could they say that there's a play with some fixtures or do the more casual meanings of play completely upstage the motion sense here? Is "(the sound of) a loose fixture in the wind" the better way to express this; would that be confused with a *fixture (set/let) loose in the wind*, as in completely free from any restraint and not just sort of "hanging"?


texts:
From H. G. Wells:

And looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as
we have scarcely dreamed of, they see, at its nearest distance only
35,000,000 of miles sunward of them, a morning star of hope, our own
warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water, with a
cloudy atmosphere eloquent of fertility, with glimpses through its
drifting cloud wisps of broad stretches of populous country and
narrow, navy-crowded seas.

Does "intelligenceS" mean intelligent beingS?

What does "navy-crowded seas" mean?


texts:
I've seen a lot "I may just go lay myself down on the bed" in movie.
I think they are same. Are they right?
"I'd like to lay myself down on the bed."
VS
"I'd like to lie down on the bed."

"Laying myself down on the bed is great feeling."
VS
"Lying down on the bed is great feeling."


texts:
Is okay to use 'is' instead of 'are' in the case of singular 'you' when we want to make it emphatic?

Hey, I told you not to come here, didn't i? What is you doing here then?
I spent all morning cooking! Is you going to eat it or what?
You've got anything you need! What else is you looking for?
I'm sick and tired of your games, it's all the same every day! When is you ever going to stop doing that?


texts:
I know a similar question was asked before, but I didn't understood it (call me stupid or idiot).(Comma before "because.")
As it is evident from this site that a comma must precede the conjunction before but only when there are two meanings.

Question: What did you like about camp?
Answer: I liked swimming and hiking because they were fun.
Does he need a comma before because they were fun?
The short answer is no.

Another example is given where it is advised to put a comma before because:

He didn’t run because he was afraid.

Without a comma, you don’t know whether the writer means that the reason the man didn’t run was that he was afraid or whether the writer means there was some different reason the man didn’t run.
If you put a comma before because (He didn’t run, because he was afraid), it’s clear that the part after the comma is extra information: the reason the man didn’t run—because he was afraid.

Isn't it obvious that he didn't run because he was afraid? Just like the first example it was obvious that he liked swimming and hiking because they were fun?
Can anyone please illuminate this matter to me in simple terms?


texts:
Is it OK to say "Take the torch" if the word "torch" is mentioned in the sentence for the first time.
The full sentence is "Take the/a torch to light up your way"?


texts:
Which of the following sentence is grammatically correct?

  When husband/he checked his wife mobile.
  When husband/he checked her wife mobile.


texts:
I know what diversify means (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/diversify?q=diversify)
but I'm not sure what kind of industry "diversified" is.

Diversified

· 188 billionaires

· 9% of the list

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2019/03/09/how-the-worlds-billionaires-got-so-rich/#3619bce46ae6


texts:
The sun rises earlier and earlier each day and sets later and later, so that the business man upon returning from his office can enjoy reading the evening news with the same degree of comfort that he scanned his morning's paper (with), being no longer dependent upon artificial light.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30E14F63C5C17738DDDA80B94D9405B8285F0D3

Why isn't "with" used here?


texts:
After a project, my supervisor said that our work was "not bad".

First, I thought that he meant that our work was in the middle (not bad and not good).  But then my coworker later said that he meant that our work was actually "good".

Is there a reason to say "not bad" instead of "good"?  Do these always mean the same thing?


texts:
Present Perfect is used for actions which happened in the past but have some influence for the present:

  I have done it and now I am happy

What is "have done" action? It's something what happened before "I am happy".
I am happy but why? Because I have done it. They are connected.

If something happened in the past and doesn't have influence for present, we can say the same in Past SImple:

  I did it and now I am happy

What is "did" action? It's something what happened before "I am happy".
I am happy but why? It's unknown but the fact of me doing it in the past isn't connected with my happiness now. I am happy because of something else but not "I did it" makes me happy now.

It's clear, it's okay.

The trouble starts with Past Perfect:

  I had done it and then I was happy.

What is "Had done" action? It's something what happened before "I was happy".
But was it the real reason which I was happy for? Was it the analogy with "I have done"? Or it is an analogy with "I did" when something was earlier and doesn't have influence?

For Present we have two options:

  1) Something was in the past and matters now - I have done 2)
  Something was in the past and doesn't matter now - I did

But we don't have the same system for Past and Future. If it were something like:

  1) Something what was before something in the past and didn't matter -
  I had done

  2) Something what was before something in the past and mattered - I
  had had done

It's just an exmaple of how it could be. So what does Past Perfect mean? It's like something what was before some other action or moment and doesn't have connection with it(=Past Simple) or it was earlier some other action or moment and it has this connection, has this result but only for Past (=Present Perfect)


texts:
I found this expression while preparing for the IELTS test:

  "Teachers will take the class rolls."

What are these "class rolls"?


texts:
Are these two meanings equivalent?

"half as fast" vs "twice as fast"

Ex:

Reaction A is half as fast as Reaction B.

Reaction A is twice as fast as Reaction B.

This is from my Chemistry textbook and I want to make sure I am interpreting it correctly.


texts:
I didn't get this joke.

  If I ever put 'Taken' in my Twitter bio, just know it was...

  A: By Aliens

  B: By the men in white coats

  C: Into custody

I know taken is the movie where the daughter gets apprehended  but what are the other two options B and C means in context which makes it funny?


texts: Can vs. Could in the reply "It can/could be in the car"

texts:
I’ve made another mistake in a modals test, in the can/could segment.
The following exchange was presented:

  Where’s my bag? Have you seen it? – No, but it _ be in the car.

I decided that both ‘can’ and ‘could’ are appropriate in the underscored position.
The key contained only ‘could’.
I’m curious why ‘can’ here is wrong:

  Where’s my bag? Have you seen it? – No, but it *can be in the car.

In the Russian language, we use only the present-tense form of ‘can’ in such hypothetical answers: the past of 'can' would sound literal and ridiculous; so one may tend to carbon-copy the 'can' construction into English, failing to notice the difference in sense.

I’ve consulted a textbook and it says that ‘can’ tends to be used to convey a more general meaning. An example is given:

  The weather can change very quickly in the mountains. (in general)

  The weather is nice now, but it could change. (the weather now, not
  in general).

Is it in the same vein with the car in the example? Does “It can be in the car” sound too general while “It could be in the car” zeroes in on the immediate situation?

Would the sentence with ‘can’ come out too haughty in the context, that is, a person turns for advice concerning situation at hand, and gets a generic sentence, almost telling him “well, your bag, speaking generally, can fit in the car, go guess the rest of it”?


texts: Does 'NOT' take some effect in this sentence?

texts:
a1. This theory is yet to be proven.

  a2. This theory is not yet to be proven.

I feel both a1 and a2 denote the same meaning that this theory hasn't been proven yet and probably will be proven, which seems to me that NOT doesn't take any effect. I am not sure if my suspicion is correct. Or if there is some difference between a1 and a2?


texts: "That’s what I have done" VS "That’s what I did."

texts:
A: Let's implement a feature:......

  B: #1)That's what I have done

  B: #2)That's what I did.

Which do you prefer? Originally, I use #1, but someone told me that #2 is more proper.


texts: (emergency / necessary) services, it triggered a powerful (tsunami / wave)

texts:
My answers are: emergency-  wave

Earthquakes, storms, floods and droughts are hazards for everybody. Most cities in the world have large populations crowded with bad housing often far from effective (emergency / necessary) services. Between 1990 and 1999, 82 natural catastrophes took place. Thousands of people were killed and economic losses rose to 535 billion dollars.
A strong earthquake hit Japan on 11 March 2011; it triggered a powerful (tsunami / wave)


texts:
I was answering an american survey where the questions has been (badly?) translated in French and I had to answer to the question: "Quel est votre niveau scolaire ?" that I can translate to "Which is your school level?".
I wanted to answer "Master" but I've got an error saying the form was waiting a number value. I guess, even if the question has been translated in French, the form is expected an answer based on the US school system.
I made some research to find the equivalent grade level for a master degree but what I found wasn't satisfactory. Indeed, I found two scales: one from grade 1 to grade 12 but that only considers high school and before; one other for postsecondary education from grade 1 to grade 7.
Master degree is grade 5 but it is confusing with the other scales. So I answered 17 (12 + 5), am I right?


texts:
To say the actors were (i)_____ their director is an understatement: a
  director who is visibly bored by his cast and their performances is
  hard to (ii)_____.

  Blank(i)
  A disappointed in
  B accepting of
  C motivated by

  Blank(ii)
  D lambast
  E displease
  F suffer

The correct answer is given as BF, but I have no clue how I am supposed to understand the complete sentence. Also, it hardly makes sense to me what after ":" is for explaining the first part of the sentence...


texts: Proper way to express that you didn't know before, but now you do

texts:
What is the correct way to express that you didn't know something, but now you know?

My friend sent me a snapchat of his FIFA game play. For the first 2 secs of the footage, it looked like an actual soccer match to me, so sent him a snapchat saying "I thought that was a real soccer match lol". I was expecting a response like "yeah it kind of does lol", but he replied "no, it's my game play".


texts:
When describing a person who is awarded the best paper, what preposition should be used? It would be great with the explanation why.

"He is awarded the best paper from conference A?"
"He is awarded the best paper at conference A?"
"He is awarded the best paper of conference A?


texts:
(1.1)She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. (1.2)No
way could I have sent her away. (1.3)No way, not me anyway. (1.4)Maybe
someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. (1.5)"We're
moving house." (1.6)"No space for her any more with the baby coming."
(1.7)"We never really wanted her, but what could we have done?
(1.8)She was a present." (1.9) People find all sorts of excuses for
abandoning an animal. (1.10)And she was one of the most beautiful dogs
I had ever seen.
(2.1)I called her Goldie. (2.2)If I had known what
was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name.
(2.3)She was so unsettled during those first few days. (2.4)She hardly
ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. (2.5)There was
nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. (2.6)Heaven knows
what had happened to her at her previous owner ' s. (2.7)But
eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. (2.8)Always
by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by
the fire.
(3.1)That 's why it was such a shock when she pulled away
from me one day when we were out for a walk. (3.2)We were a long way
from home, when she started barking and getting very restless.
(3.3)Eventually I couldn't hold her any longer and she raced off down
the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
(4.1)By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with
Goldie. (4.2)But when I saw her licking the four puppies I started to
feel sympathy towards them. (4.3)"We didn't know what had happened to
her," said the woman at the door. (4.4)"I took her for a walk one day,
soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared. (4.5)"She
must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from
behind her.
(5.1)I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget
now, and she looks just like her mother. (5.2)And I've learnt a good
lesson: not to judge people.

My question is :
How to understand the phrase "about her" in bold? Does it mean "around her" or "related to her"?


texts: Is it possible to say "I did ... metres in the long jump"?

texts: I've been searching websites looking for an informal way to talk about one's results in such events as long/high jump, 100 metres if one is not a professional athlete but e.g. took part in the school sports day. Is it possible to use the verb "do" as in "I did ... metres in the long jump" or "I did ... seconds in the 100 metres"? Does that sound natural or you need a more concrete verb like 'leap' or 'run'?


texts: What structure is used in "Would Aragorn had he had the ring been"?

texts:
Despite leaving Frodo and Sam to finish what the Fellowship started, Would Aragorn had he had the ring been able to control it without falling to Sauron's will and becoming his servant, was there a chance Aragorn could have been strong enough as a Numenorean from a royal bloodline of faithful Numenoreans most notably: Elendil and Isildur (i know isildur fell to it).

  Is this what Sauron feared most about him,the fact that he was a strong willed heir of the man who cut the ring from his finger could in fact resist the rings attempt to Corrupt him? or would he have eventually caved and fallen like Isildur did? (Source.)

Specifically,

  Would Aragorn had he had the ring been able to control it without
  falling to Sauron's will and becoming his servant.

I couldn't understand which structures is used in here.

I mean shouldn't it be like:

  Would Aragorn have that he had been able to control the ring without ...

If I am wrong, could you explain the formal usage of these structures ?


texts: Does using the simple past without "used to/would" imply something happen just once?

texts:
1.Your answer takes me back to my college days when I wrote an answer that would grant me not more than 3 marks, to a question that was 15 marks.

2.Your answer takes me back to my college days when I used to/would write answers that would grant me not more than 3 marks, to questions that were 15 marks.

Do both the sentences mean the same thing? Does wrote imply the speaker wrote such an answer just once, whereas would/ used to imply they might have written such an answer many a time?

Like if I said "I used to ride a bicycle as a kid", or "I used to ride a bicycle when I was a kid", it would clearly mean that as a kid I rode a bicycle more than once, right? But if I said "I rode a bicycle when I was a kid",  would the implication remain I rode it more than once?


texts:
I've got an excerpt from a book here and I want to know what kind of grammatical construction this is:

  He set off for the stairs with the others trailing after him.

I want to research it, but I don't know what it's called.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Why did Hopps the bunny use "didn't" when talking the present moment? Was it a kind of mood?

texts:
"Zootopia" around 00:14:04/01:48:32

  Benjamin Clawhauser: O.M. Goodness... They really did hire a bunny. [Laughs] What!? I gotta tell you, you are even cuter than I thought you'd be!

  Judy Hopps: Ooh, uh, you probably didn't know, but a bunny can call another bunny cute, but when other animals do it, it's a little...

  Benjamin Clawhauser: [Gasps] I am so sorry! Me, Benjamin Clawhauser, the guy everyone thinks is just a flabby, donut-loving cop stereotyping you, oh...

(http://zootopia.wikia.com/wiki/Zootopia/Transcript)

relative: What's the grammar of "Me, Benjamin Clawhauser, ... stereotyping you"?


texts:
I agree that we use the indefinite article when talking about not unique jobs/occupations. But does it somehow change depending on the position of the job word in a sentence? I mean, "Builder John has won the prize". Is it common to say like this?
So, I would appreciate it if you could help me with the following sentences:
John is a builder.
Builder John has done sth. (or The builder John has done sth?)
John, the builder ..., has done sth. (or John, a builder (like a member of a group))
or, if talking about somebody who is famous
the writer Alexander Pushkin
or just writer?
or "Alexander Pushkin, a writer ... ."? or the writer?
and if talking about unique positions
The president Trump ... .
Trump, the president ... . (or just "Trump, president...")


texts:
We were playing a game. A random person was given a word and that person had to "make" or "come up" with a question with the help of that word. That person could [then] ask* that question to anyone.

  Ex. Whenever he "asked her to do" anything for him she refused.

Question 1: We know ask should not be followed by "To" so what is the way to construct this sentence properly?

Question 2: *In my introduction, where I have the asterisk, should I have used "could ask" or "could have asked"?


texts:
I don't always get up early.
I always don't get up early.
Are both of these sentences correct?


texts: Singular or plural with "zero": "The temperature will drop to zero degree(s)"

texts:
Please have a look at the two sentences below:

The temperature will drop to zero degree.
The temperature will drop to zero degrees.

So which one is correct? In other words, how to use the plural form of degree?
And furthermore, for any other countable noun?

OK, guys. Let me change my problem. Now I'm very confused in the definition of plural form. When do we need to use plural form?

If it means "more than one", how do we ought to use 0, -1, 0.9, and so on?
If not, what is its real meaning?


texts:
Okay, What I have learned so far that if we add "To be verb" ( are, is, am) before verb words, the verbs will change to adjective. For instance,
* I am  interested, instead of I am interest
* He is disappointed,  instead of He is disappoint.

My question is why many people say/spell "Let's start" instead of "Let's started"?


texts:
Is this sentence from a movie grammatical?

  I thought you overqualified.

The construction "think someone adj." strikes me as odd. Explanations/examples?


texts:
I know that questions and negative sentences made with "have to" use "do / did / does / have" auxiliary phrases. Why was "should" used as an auxiliary verb in this sentence?

When Odin ruled that Agnar must die, I thought, “No, The other one will fall. I’ll see to that,” and a moment later, I turned the spear which had been heading towards Agnar’s chest towards his opponent, who fell to the ground and died with fearful groans.

Odin was not pleased. “You can’t do that, Brynhilde, I told you to kill Agnar. That was my will.”

“Well it wasn’t mine,” I said. “Why should one so young have to die?”

Shouldn't this sentence be like this? >>>> Why does one so young have to die?


texts: Grammar of "I would quickly sabotage close-up whatever..."

texts:
Excerpted from the-tls.co.uk:

  I was too afraid that I would quickly sabotage close-up whatever good impression I might have managed to create long-distance.

I can understand the sentence above, but its structure is strange to me.
"I would quickly sabotage whatever good impression I might have..." is normal, but when added close-up I am confused, it seems it just sticks an extra noun into a complete sentence.

Can someone show me some sentences with similar structure (Verb + extra noun + Object)? What kinds of nouns can I use in this way?


texts: "communication systems" or "communications systems"?

texts:
I know, we add s to the scientific contents when want to mention them as a field of study. Compare

  Mathematics, Thermodynamics, Physics, ....

My field of study revolves around transmitters, receivers, wireless channels, and others of that ilk. In English, this field is called communications†. Now, I am curious to know which one of the below phrases is correct and what is the difference between them:

  communication systems
  communications systems

The Ngram results:

Specifically, these two book titles are about the field, but one uses s and one does not:

† In some universities it is still called Telecommunications.


texts: Why connection is "pronounced" as C while "concert" is pronounced as K

texts: I was wondering why connection is pronounced with C while concert is pronounced with K.


texts: Do I need a comma before "though" in the following cases?

texts:
This is the sentence:

  Before I could go far, though, something stopped me.

  One thing was sure, though: he wasn't guilty.

Is it a matter of grammar or style? If so which version is more common?


texts: What is the antonym for 'a deep wound'? 'A shallow wound'? Google offers only several hundred matches (whether singular or plural) which suggests it's not a common collocation.


texts:
Please consider the following exercise:

The sky is so red, it looks as it if (be) ... on fire.

What verb do must I put at that empty place please? And why?
And what about if the exercise were this:

The sky is so red, it looks as if it (be) ... on fire.

This is an exercise from book English Grammar Digest by Trudy Aronson. And that book has written first version! I used had been. Is it correct please?


texts:
There are two sentences: 'Where is the restroom?' and 'Where is there a parking lot?'

My question is: are 'Where is there a restroom?' and 'Where is the parking lot?' also okay? If not ok, then why not? If they are ok, there surely must be conditions applied. What are they?


texts:
I looked up the dictionary but I can't see the differences in the meaning between "fit in" , "fit into" , and "fit in with".

Are there used in different situations?
Do they have different meanings?


texts:
'I didn't hear this song when I was by myself, I heard this song by the road side when other people were playing music there.'

Or

  'I didn't hear this song on my own, I heard this song by the road side when other people were playing music there.'

Which one is correct?


texts: To indicate to which time "having been" is used?

texts:
To have loved and lost is better than never to have loved at all.
Having loved and lost is better than never having loved at all.
Having been loved and lost is better than never having been loved at all.
Getting loved and lost is better than never getting loved at all.

The meanings of first two sentences are clear to me. The first example is hypothetical, and it is used to indicate past, present and future, while second example is used to indicate only past. Please say something about third and fourth examples. When can they be used?


texts: Indirect speech for :"He predicted the success of the invention several years before it was perfected."?

texts:
I am not sure about the right version of the reported speech for this sentence:

Direct speech:

  An affirmation made by an author: "W. Thomson predicted the success of the invention several years before it was perfected."

Reported speech:

  An author wrote that W. Thomson had predicted the success of the invention several years before it was perfected.
  An author wrote that W. Thomson had predicted the success of the invention several years before it had been perfected.
  An author wrote that W. Thomson predicted the success of the invention several years before it was perfected. (unchanged)

Another question: Is "before it was perfected" a subjunctive in English or not?


texts: Do Americans usually omit relative pronoun in oral English?

texts:
I learnt from this answer that the relative pronoun cannot be omitted in the following sentence:

  I have a lived experience and I think one of the challenges with
  regards to mental illness compared to physical injuries, is physical
  injuries are easy to digest.

But in this episode of the Australia talk show QandA, an AFL player Wayne Schwass used this pattern several times. I just wonder if this is allowed and normal in daily life.

  ...because what I will say is what you've done is someone in that
  auditorium or hall is having the same challenges that they’re facing
  and your story has connected with them and they’ve probably got some
  inspiration out of what you’ve done,...


texts: If I talk about some days of vacation... (in/during/over the holidays & on/during the/over the vacation)

texts: If I talk about a few days or some days of vacation or school holidays, I could say these prepositions: "in/during/over the holidays", "on/during the/over the vacation"?


texts: What is the meaning this sentence "the woman she was done, and she took her spinning to the door to spin"?

texts:
Well, come supper-time the woman said: 'Go you, and get one o' them there pies. I dare say they've come again now.'

  The girl went and she looked, and there was nothing but the dishes. So back she came and says she: 'Noo, they ain't come again.'

  'Not one of 'em?' says the mother.

  'Not one of' 'em,' says she.

  'Well, come again, or not come again,' said the woman, 'I'll have one for supper.'

  'But you can't, if they ain't come,' said the girl.

  'But I can,' says she. 'Go you, and bring the best of 'em.'

  'Best or worst,' says the girl, 'I've ate 'em all, and you can't have one till that's come again.'

  Well, the woman she was done, and she took her spinning to the door to spin, and as she span she sang:

  'My darter ha' ate five, five pies today.
  My darter ha' ate five, five pies today.'

This content is from "Tom Tit Tot" in English fairy tales.
Could you teach the meaning "the woman she was done, and she took her spinning to the door to spin"?


texts:
I have seen people using the combination of the 2 prepositions to and by to by in some sentences already where, for me, a simple by or a simple to would be enough. Could you explain the situations where should we use to by, where we could not use simply by or to?

Here's a concrete example taken by a book I a reading on computer architecture, where I would simply use to:

  The microinstruction branched to by main loop is the one labeled
  iadd1.

Even tough it's impossible to describe all the situations where this combination could be used, there might exist some rules or situations where it has to be strictly used, otherwise I will never use it, but I would like to understand better why people use it.


texts:
The class at pinnacle will have been begun by the time we get there.

a) they will have begun the class at pinnacle by the time we get there.
b) By the time we get there the class at pinnacle will have begun.

Which one is correct in active voice? My teacher say 2) have wrong beginning , but i dont think so. Please clarify.
Thanks in advance.


texts:
From http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=paternalism&searchmode=none:

paternalism (n.) = ..."government **as** by a father over his children,..."

What part of speech is as here, and then which of the many definitions of as befits? Please explain the steps or thought processes, for want of determining this myself for the future? I've researched them but am still confused as to which one is accurate and am vacillating between:

  Adverb 1. Used in comparisons to refer to the extent or degree of something:

  Conjunction 1. Used to indicate that something happens during the time when something else is taking place: 2. Used to indicate by comparison the way that something happens or is done:

  Preposition 1. Used to refer to the function or character that someone or something has
      2. During the time of being (the thing specified):


texts: What is the difference between "other generations" and "the other generations"?

texts:
When I came across an article title containing "other generations", I became curious about the usage of "other + plural".

Can I use "the other generations" in the same sentence?  If not, why?

  Here's how much more millennials plan to spend on the holidays compared to other generations


texts: Adverb: the cornea "ideally should be perfectly" round like a ping-pong ball

texts:
The cornea is a part of the human eye ball, in particular, the front
window of the eye, shown as the following image

to describe and explain the cornea this way

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

Is it grammatical and idiomatic to say "ideally should be perfectly"? In particular, are the adverbs, "ideally" and "perfectly", in the correct position?


texts: What does "to come from a place of (fear/insecurity/curiosity...)" mean?

texts:
for example :

  Musicians tend to come from a place of insecurity .

this sentence gives me the sense of (having a past full of) insecurities.

  John comes from a place of curiosity.

in this case , it gives the sense that the (reason) for him to ask/do this is curiosity

  it would be good to come from a place of wanting to share to help

here i think it means (to have the intention) to help somebody

this is actually the best I could come up with.was i accurate enough? and are there any better ways to articulate the exact meaning of the sentences above ?

some other contexts :

  I want to continue being authentic. I want to come from a place
  of truth, always.

  I would say sometimes wit can come from a place of thought

  To come from a place of compassion and understanding.

  Bullying tends to come from a place of low self-esteem

probably explaining these would be more challenging for me even though i believe i understand what they mean.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me put the exact meanings of the different cases into words.


texts: after which one of the verbs you use an ing verb form?

texts:
UPDATED: I do really appreciate your explanations and taking time. Nevertheless, none of them isn't my answer. I, again, try to explain  my specific question:
As I have already surfed the Internet and some dictionaries, I have realized the fact that, for instance  the bold part, either ing form of a verb or an infinitive with to could appear after cannot. So, I am wondering the other same rules for italic parts.
cannot tolerate
cannot resist
cannot help
cannot bear and cannot stand both of  them need either ing form or infinitive with to
cannot avoid
Any help would be greatly appreciated


texts: "reform, which Blades believed would be possible" vs " reform, which, Blades believed, would be possible"

texts:
A sentence from an ACT English:

His 1984 album Buscando América is a call for reform, which Blades believed would be possible only if Panama were freed from then dictator Manuel Noriega's oppressive regime. Blades believed this

I think the sentence should've written as " call for reform, which, Blades believed, would be possible" in which " Blades believed" serves as a parenthesis and the antecedent "reform" is used as the subject in the relative clause.
However, if let the sentence as it is, I cannot exactly tell what does the antecedent "reform" serve in the relative clause, subject in the object clause following "believed＂？　I think it cannot be used that way.


texts: You told a child that the boy's about to jump into the pool. Now, the boy has just jumped into it. Is it ok to say "there he goes" or "there you go"?

texts:
You and your child are watching a boy standing by the pool.
You told your child that you expected the boy to jump into the pool in a few minutes.
Now, the boy has just jumped into it.
Is it okay to say "there he goes!" or "there you go!"?


texts: What does "the boat sheered off to beach further up the coast" mean?

texts:
I just have no ideas of what "further up the coast" means.

I know every word of the sentence but it's still all Greek to me.


texts: Is "themselves found in a bad position?" correct?

texts:
I am wondering if it possible to use a pronoun like: "Him", "Her", or "them" (I think we called them relative pronoun) in an active way in a sentence.

For example:

"Them found in a bad position" If in another sentence (either separated by comma or dot) them is known as "people"
I know this sentence is not correct, but this other sentence sounds good to me:
"Themselves found in a bad position"

So is it possible?
Side question: when can I found a relative pronoun like "him" or "them" before a verb in a sentence?


texts:
What is the meaning of for in the following sentence

  I know him for an Indian.

When I looked up the meaning of for in dictionary, I found for can mean because of or as a result of something. So does the sentence imply

  I know him because he is an Indian. ?

But this sounds a bit awkward to me


texts: Is there a specific term to describe time 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 etc

texts:
I was talking to my friend the other day about the airport bus timings, I was supposed to say

  Buses are due at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 etc. (pattern like this the whole day between say 5 am to 11 pm)

Is there any specific term or way to describe the pattern?


texts: What does "disagreeing about" mean in this question?

texts:
Samuel and Tova are committed to disagreeing about which one of the following?

  A.________
  B.________
  C.________

I have two different interpretations about this question.

Choose the answer that Tova and Samuel both disagree with.
Choose the answer that Tova and Samuel disagree with each other.

Please let me know which one is correct, and why the other interpretation is incorrect. Thanks!


texts:
I have been noticing that sometimes when referring to ownership, the preposition to is frequently more accurate than of. For example, consider the phrase
"These are the keys to the door," and "These are the keys of the door." Is there any pattern to clearly differentiate when to use one over the other?

Or, for example, "I am new to this store." In this case, can I use another preposition other than to?


texts: Can I put the question word “where” at the end of a question?

texts:
I got this sentence from a Primary 5 student's worksheet.

  According to this passage, this creature can be found where?

Some of the parents think that the sentence should be "..., where can this creature be found?" One of the teachers said that "where" can be put at the end of the sentence, too.

All of us, the parents and the teacher, are non-native English speakers. Please enlighten us.

p.s : I had posted this question in English Language & Usage, and was referred to here.


texts:
Is the usage of "run counter to" correct?

  They are large company. if you run counter to them directly, it will go ill with you.


texts:
He is sincere to his religious belief

His sincerity to the religious belief

I think the first one is more common in use.

My question is, the second one is grammatical? Can i use sincerity with "to"?

Sorry for my bad English.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Does this sentence follow a common pattern?

texts:
[About a blocked up sink] Of course if Tom was home he'd put it right in a moment. He loves anything like that. He's ever so good with his hands, Tom is.

Is this final "Tom is" a normal thing people would say or is it a strange feature of way of speaking of the quoted person? Please include your dialect (AmE/ BrE/ AuE) in your answer.

What's the purpose of adding these words at the end? Is it a clarification of who we're talking about? Or does it express excitement, maybe?


texts: Just + simple past: "I just watched" vs. "I've just watched"

texts:
I don't know if I'm supposed to write an intro before the question since I'm new here lol I'd like to know if it's correct to use just followed by the simple past, e.g.:

  I just watched the first episode. (Simple Past)

I'm a little bit confused because I see people using both forms: this and

  I've just watched the first episode. (Present Perfect)

Thanks in advance!


texts: What does "these" refer to in this sentence?

texts:
They have created traditional works and
  developed skills that attempt to bring the colors of the moon to
  life and many of these still remains today.

Does "many of these" refer to "traditional works" or "skills"? I think it refers to "traditional works", but I am not sure. Is it context-dependent or is there any other way to figure it out clearly?


texts:
What is the usage of "in this regard", I didn't find good examples or definition to get its usage. When is it used? What is its difference with "in this respect" or any "in this X" that I don't know.
The following sentences are some examples showing how I think about them and use them:

Some students may have auditory problem; in this regard, teachers should get sure a student hear the words correctly.
The internet speed is low in this country; in this respect, it is one of the worst countries to use internet.
In my opinion, the teacher treated the student badly; in this regard, I prefer to not speak more.
There is a shortage of skilled labor in this city. Decision makers should do something in this regard.
I can't understand the Einstein theories. In this regard my knowledge is incomplete.
He runs very fast. In this respect he is one of the fastest boys I have ever seen.

Is my sense of them correct?


texts: How do you say, I have something under writing?

texts:
If you want to say/convey you are working on a book/paper, what is the correct way of saying so other than plainly saying I'm writing a book?

I noticed 'under writing' has a specific meaning and cannot be applied here. I also thought about, under composition (composing?) but I'm not sure if that's the correct term.

I'm writing an email to a possible colleague, and I want to sound formal and not too generic. that's why I'm asking this.

By the way, if it's not clear, from where I got the idea for under+ing, it came from 'under construction'.


texts: Differences between "should" and "would" in subjunctive mood

texts:
How to explain the difference between:

  "Deep waters rise to the surface more quickly than they would if global warming were to occur."

and

  "Deep waters rise to the surface more quickly than they should if global warming were to occur."


texts: The action of getting bite-sized pieces of bread

texts:
Imagine you have a piece of loaf of bread or a pita bread, and you have a bowl of thick lumpy soup. You don't have a spoon, so you hold the bread in one hand, and you pinch the bread with your thumb and index fingers from the other hand to cut a small piece that is as big as a spoonful, or a bite-sized piece. You take that piece and dip it in the soup and then you eat it.

The questions are:

1- What do you call the process or action of taking from the bread with your thumb and index fingers?

2- What do you call that pinch of bread that is more or less as big as a spoonful?


texts:
I have encountered the following sentence on the Internet:

  Model S hit truck while driving with autopilot on.

Model S is the name of a car produced by Tesla Inc.
I think that the subject of the subordinate clause is Model S and that it is better to use a verb "travel" or "move" instead of "drive".  Is this usage of "drive" is natural for native speakers?


texts: An adjective or a noun to describe a very small apartment / house etc

texts:
I was wondering if there is a pejorative or sarcastic adjective to attribute to a so small house in which you barely can swing a cat [the popular English expression].

In my language we call such apartments / houses / offices and totally places (as they mostly are like that today, :)] a matchbox-sized appartment or house, but I would appreciate it if you help me find the closest terms in English for describing these types of places.

Thank you.


texts: which one ("numbers" or "number") in this context?

texts:
Which one is correct to say?

More numbers of tasks; or
More number of tasks?

The full sentence is something like this: "In situation A, a user accomplishes more number of tasks than that in situation B." Also, I need to use the word "number", because it is about an equation.

Thanks!


texts:
Here follows a passage from Jeffery Deaver's Copycat short story:

  "Relax, Wallace. Investigations take time. Sit back, take your jacket
  off. Enjoy our wonderful coffee." Wallace glanced at the closet that
  served as the police station's canteen. He rolled his eyes and the
  ominous tone of earlier was replaced with a laugh. "Funny. I didn't
  know they still made instant."

(The source)

And a couple of paragraphs further:

  Returning to his office, he sat back, sipping the, yeah, disgusting
  instant coffee, and read the file…

My question is about the "yeah" ("yes") positioned after the article and enclosed by commas.

Regarding what it means, there's no doubt whatsoever.

What this literary device is called and how it may work in the like sentences and with some words other than "yes"—should you be so kind to suggest a couple of those—is what I'm expecting to get the answer to.


texts:
According to Sky Italia, Mou said it's just his opinion, but "u don't wind up crowd at 4-0. You do it at 1-0. It's humiliating."

Can you please tell me what the meaning of the part in quotation marks is. The words were reportedly told by Jose Mourinho to Andrea Conte after his Manchester United was defeated by Chelsea in the today match in Premier League.