texts: Can I drop both of the "h"s in the phrases "his or her", "him or her" and "his or hers"?

texts:
As you know the "h"s in the words "him", "his", "he", "her" and "hers", if there is a consonant before them, can be dropped. For example the "h" in the sentence "Why does he like you so much?" can be dropped. You can say /dʌzi/ instead of /dʌzhi/.

I wonder if the native speakers can do the same thing in the phrases I gave in the title by dropping both "h"s. For example let's say I am asking a question about a person I don't know the gender of: "Does that person really hate his or her own kid?" Can native speakers ever drop the "h"s of both "his" and "her" here. Can they say
/heɪtɪzɔrɜroʊn/ by linking the words(=hate-is-or-err-own)? Can they easily understand me if I pronounce this way? (Americans would flap the "t" of "hate" here btw.)

Some other examples: "If somebody did that to me, I wouldn't forgive him or her", "I wouldn't care about the complaints of his or hers".
Can native speakers drop both of the "h"s in this kind of sentences?

The main reason I am asking this is I am scared that what I say might not be understood if I drop both of the "h"s in those phrases. Especially in the first sentence I gave which is in the second paragraph, when I drop both "h"s, it sounds like too fast to me and I am scared that people may not understand what I say since I dropped a letter not only from one word but two words. (I don't care if people who are not native English speakers understand me or not. I care about being understood by native speakers, especially Americans.) So I'd like to know if you native speakers are used to hearing those phrases I gave in the title as neither of the "h"s pronounced and if you would understand what I say if I drop both "h"s.


texts: Use of "approximately" in a sentence. How should I write this?

texts:
I want to convey that exactly a certain amount of time has passed in a scenario but I'm uncertain as to how to properly write it. Should I use "approximately"? And if so, where should I place it. For example,

  "Approximately, nine days, twelve hours and thirty-seven minutes had passed since they last spoke."

Like this? Is approximately even necessary? What else could I replace it with?


texts:
I have homework and its asking me to deal with subject and verb agreements.

The two questions are:

My mom and dad have/has a new dish washer
All of the men and women in the college was/were participating in the frosh event.

My guess is they should be using plural verbs because when 2 nouns are joined by "and" they should use a plural verb. I'm not sure which is the plural version of have/has and were/was.


texts:
Can I use "I was wondering" with simple past?

For example, I called my friend's house but his mom answered the phone. I introduced myself and asked her "I was wondering if he was available".

Did I say the wrong thing? Should I have said "I was wondering if he is available", or can I say either?


texts: Believe me right now vs believing me right now

texts:
John called me when I was in the meeting so I couldn't answer his call. I told him the reason why I couldn't answer his call but he refuses to buy it.
Which of the following sentences should I use.

  Why are you not believing me right now?

Vs

  Why don't you believe me right now?

What is the difference?

Which one sounds more natural in terms of its usage and what meaning do they carry?

And what's the difference in usage of believe vs believing in general?


texts: sentence with an action after "to be interested" ==> in OR to + verb

texts:
I wonder what preposition (in OR to) I may use after interested when there is a  verb after.
ie : I want to win this game. I'm interested ( in knowing / to know ) your secret weapon.
Regards


texts: use of prepositions from/out of/of/with to express quantity

texts:
When talking about composition of a product, what is the best word to use?
this garment is made
from? / out of? / of? / with?
95% recycled material


texts: How do you interprete this sentence--- "The answer is in the positive?"

texts:
Someone responded to me with the following sentence:

  "The answer is in the positive."

Does it mean that the answer is yes?

Or does it mean that the answer is positive, but not a 100% yes.

EDIT: This is a reply from a job application.


texts: How to say two things are the most important of something

texts:
I am not a native guy and I am having problem with the following sentence. I would like to know is the following sentence right?

The A and B are of the most important challenges facing the today world.


texts: A person working at a job for the longest period of time

texts:
How can I refer to a person who is working at a job for the longest period of time.

For example, imagine there are 10 people who work at the same office and one of them, let's say Amanda, has been working there for 10 years. The duration at which the other employers have worked at the office is less than 10 years.

What is the proper way to say that Amanda has been working more than the others at the office.

Is there any adjective I can use? For example can I use "oldest" in this sense? (However, this question is nothing to do with age for sure)

This example environment can be changed to a neigborhood,an apartment building, a society, an organization


texts: Which one out of the two is correct and sounds idiomatic

texts:
Me going to a strip club can ruin my social image.

My going to a strip club can ruin my social image.

Well I guess that isn't actually the case. I think using possessive or pronoun actually depends on the sentence itself . For example I want to see you smiling ... I want to see your smiling. This doesnt make sense. However i want to see your smiling face does. Similarly I want to hear you singing (here in possessive it means I want to hear you while singing) . I want to hear your singing (here singing is a noun). So they both are right. But have different meanings


texts:
According to definition 1 in this dictionary for the verb "bar":

  to put a bar or a set of bars in front of a door, window, etc., so that people cannot go in or out of it

So, "bar" should be used with "window", "door", etc, but no the entire building structures.  But then there is this:

  THE European Union has never seen the like of the past eight days in Greece: barred banks, capital controls, the first IMF default by a developed country, the collapse of a multi-billion-euro bail-out, plans for a referendum that may hasten Greece’s ejection from the single currency, and the beggary of the people.

Is "barred banks" an error?  Would "banks with barred doors" be better?


texts:
This is the sentence:

  I went to see it because I was/had been told it was a good film by all my friends.

I chose was, but the correct answer is had been. Can someone explain why is it so?


texts:
On Saturday, Ukraine's security service said it had detained a 15-strong armed gang planning to seize power in Luhansk province.

Does that number 15 mean that there were 15 men strong physically in the armed group?


texts: Synonym for advertisement, with root the same as information?

texts: What is the word which has the same root as information, and has the same or similar meaning as  advertisement? It is pronounced similarly to infantory. Thanks.


texts: "An (obvious) problem" or "a (obvious) problem"?

texts:
Suppose I want to add a qualifier to a noun that isn't necessary for understanding, so I decide to put it in parentheses. If the adjective in parentheses would change whether I use "a" or "an" as an article, which one is correct?

For example, as in the title, I want to mention that a problem is obvious. Without the qualifier it would be "a problem", with it "an obvious problem". Would it be "an (obvious) problem" or "a (obvious) problem"?

I suspect the first one to be correct, but is that true? My understanding of parentheses is that the sentence should make sense with or without the part between them, but in this case one option sounds weird when including it and one sounds strange when leaving it out.

Edit: Please note that this is not a duplicate of a / an - adjective - noun . There, the question is about an adjective directly following the article without any parentheses. I'm asking whether the special case with parentheses changes anything. Also, this is basically a nitpicking question: I know how to rephrase the expression to avoid the issue, but I want to know what is correct.


texts:
Which of the following sentences is more correct or preferable?

  You have to first install the PHP filter module.

  You have to install the PHP filter module before.

The second sentence seems truncated, to me, as I would expect a sentence similar to "You have to install the PHP filter module before enabling the module you downloaded."

The reason I am asking is that in Italian first (as adverb) and before are both translated with prima. The correct Italian sentence would be the equivalent of the first one.


texts:
Can we use Time expression while forming past perfect tense in any context?

e.g.

(a) Yesterday we had gone to mall.

(b) Last year court had directed police to arrest him.

(c) We had gone to the movies last night.

https://www.englishgrammar.org/correct-sentences/


texts: Is it possible to eliminate a prepostion being at the end of sentence without hurting the meaning?

texts:
I face with this sentence in dictionary:

  He didn't look like the sort of man you should entrust your luggage to.

Is it possible to eliminate a preposition being at the end of sentence without hurting the meaning? and why we use it?


texts: the meaning of a feeling imminent and descending panic

texts:
please give me some explanation about this short sentence:

Panic feels imminent, but it doesn’t descend.

I'll be greatfull about that.


texts: Meaning of sentence involving "his usual _______ self"

texts:
While looking for usage sentences of word "ebullient" I found the following sentence on Cambridge Dictionary Website . I couldn't find out the meaning of the phrase "his usual _______ self" in this sentence. Does that mean he wasn't that energetic anymore?

  He wasn't his usual ebullient self.


texts: "Companies will increase their capacity" or "capacities"

texts:
Companies will increase their production capacity in 2017.

  Companies will increase their production capacities in 2017.

A Google search shows that "capacity" is more common. But I wonder, would it be correct to use the plural form, considering that each company has a different capacity?


texts:
In English Romantic Drama Movie "Days of Heaven", Farm Foreman say this words to Farmer.

  Farmer: You don't like them, do ya? You never have.

  Farm Foreman: I don't think they're honest people. As a matter of
  fact,I think they're a pair of con artists.

Actually sentence ends with have, How to understand it?


texts: A blind person needs to move "Indoor or indoors" environment

texts:
***emphasized text***Which one is correct in this?

Indoors is adverb so it doesn't modified the noun here "environment"


texts: Synonym for "greet", but in a somber way

texts:
Sentence usage:

  I open the door and walk inside, and the unfortunately familiar brown walls and the smooth tiled floors greet me.

I want to have a sad and depressing tone to that sentence, so "greet" is not appropriate.

What would be an appropriate word to replace "greet" to keep that somber feeling?


texts: Article help: Is it "I worked as A [X]" or "I worked as THE [X]"?

texts:
What is the correct article to use in this sentence? (Is it "a" or "the"?) I can't seem to figure out which sentence is right.

I worked as a one-person marketing team for a PR company.

Or

I worked as the one-person marketing team for a PR company.

Thoughts? For context, I'm writing up a professional bio.


texts:
Kids were solving a few math problems. So our teacher said:

  Get all your answers checked by me.

Is there a more natural way to describe this? ( I mean without using "checked"..)
Actually he was going to tell if our answers were correct. (Maybe he'll just look at them or maybe he'll correct them with a pen).


texts: What is the expression for "two people who argue and don't want to talk or see each other any more"?

texts:
Is there a term or expression for:
Two people argue with each other, they don't want to talk with each other any more, so they avoid looking at each other.
What is the common everyday term for it, for example, "we hate each other"?


texts: Less-serious-sounding word than 'problem'

texts:
I don't like to say 'problem' since it sounds like I have a serious problem. Is there any adjectives that I can add so that it doesn't sound serious.

I'm talking about something about food I eat. For example:

  I'm not picky about the food I eat. There are few foods I don't like to eat. And I'm a person who likes to do something new and even when it comes to foods, I like to try something that I haven't eaten before. But, I have a problem with eating. I mean there are times when I eat more than I should if I don't want to feel too full.

I don't like to say 'problem' since it sounds like I have a serious problem. Is there any adjectives that I can add so that it doesn't sound serious. Or doesn't it sound like I have a serious problem with eating – like eating disorder – even though I just say it as stated here?


texts:
I'm currently working through a grammar textbook and have come across something that's got me a little confused. As far as I know, you must place a comma between two coordinating adjectives. However, looking at some of the examples given in the book, there are no commas used where I feel like there should be.

For example:

  The dirty old wallpaper covered the cracked wall.

According to what I've been told about spotting coordinating and cumulative adjectives, I feel as though this sentence requires commas. The sentence makes sense with 'and' placed between the adjectives (at least if the adjectives are reversed), and the sentence makes sense with the adjectives reversed.

Here are a few more examples from the book (again, without the use of commas):

  The large dappled horse won the race.

Shouldn't this be: The large, dappled horse won the race.

  Small brown deer filled the ancient forest.

Shouldn't this be: Small, brown deer filled the ancient forest.

Any clarification on this subject would be appreciated. It seems like such a simple topic, but it's making me want to slam my head against a wall!

Thanks!


texts:
If someone asks me, 'Are you tired', can I reply him:

  'Yes, I'm very tired. I was doing my homework.'

I ask because I have seen people use present perfect continuous tense and past continuous tense interchangeably in this kind of context.


texts:
Are "lost time" and "lost money" common, idiomatic expressions? What article should be used with them?

For example:

  Before starting to work you need to make sure all requirements are discussed. Because time spent on implementing something different from what a customer expected is a lost time and lost money.

If not, could you provide other expressions that are close in meaning to these ones?


texts:
stationary

Does the word 'stationary' always refers to singular form?


texts: Why "weren't" used instead of "they didn't use"?

texts:
Context: Man uses Holographic projections at 3 places to scare the girl.

  Man: Do my friends frighten you?

  Girl: They would, if it weren't for the holographic projectors.

  Man: What a smart little one.

If I would be in her place, I will say to Man "If They didn't use holographic projectors".

So does her grammar correct?


texts:
Is it right to pronounce text's as /tekstɪz/ or /teksts/?
I have an inclination to say /tekstɪz/ for example in the phrase text's chief paradox.


texts:
I forgot to turn on the switch after putting my phone on charger.

Is that sentence correct grammatically, phone on charger or phone in charger which preposition is correct thanks in advance for helping me out.


texts:
For example if i want to say

  all children are albert einstein

Is it correct or should this be

  all children are albert einsteins


texts: What is the differences between be going to and future continuous when being used to talk about plan?

texts:
So my teacher said that we can use both to describe a planned plan or idea. Is there any difference between the two?
For examples: "The party will be starting at 7" vs "The party is going to start at 7".


texts:
He couldn't have been hungry.
He mustn't have been hungry.

Is there a difference in meaning between those two?


texts: What kind of sentence is it called if there are no verbs in it, like this example?

texts:
'Thanks,' said Harry, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps. 'What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?'

  By the sound of it — everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding
  equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for
  foaming mugs of hot Butterbeer and many places besides.

  'The post office, Harry! About two hundred owls, all sitting on
  shelves, all colour-coded depending on how fast you want your letter
  to get there!'

I couldn't identify any verbs in the sentence in bold above. Does it have a verb in it? To me, it just provides a list of shops' names. I'm not sure if it is common in English. I've never seen this type of sentence before. Do we have a specific technical term to address it? Or if any kind of the guide when/where/how to use it?


texts: differences between in one day & one day

texts:
What's the differences between "in one day" and "one day"?

Does the sentence "I need to change eight pieces of clothing in one day" sound natural to you?

Thank you very much!


texts:
I was registering a user account online at a sports club and got an Error Prompt saying "Can we get a spot"? See my picture below.

I know "spot" has the meaning of dirt, location, but cannot figure out what is the meaning of the sentence in the context. Can anybody help?


texts: I can't understand the sentence. What does "undreamt of subtleties" mean? What does it relate to?

texts:
Here's a sentence from Joseph Conrad's "The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'":

  Jimmy's hateful accomplice seemed to have blown with his impure breath undreamt of subtleties into our hearts.

I understand the first part of the sentence. The problem starts with the "breath undreamt of subtleties."

To be honest, I'm lost in translation. What does it mean at all? What is undreamt of subtleties? What is undreamt? What is going to get into the hearts? Could anybody explain it to me?

More context:

  We were trying to be decent chaps, and found it jolly difficult; we oscillated between the desire of virtue and the fear of ridicule; we wished to save ourselves from the pain of remorse, but did not want to be made the contemptible dupes of our sentiment. Jimmy's hateful accomplice seemed to have blown with his impure breath undreamt of subtleties into our hearts. We were disturbed and cowardly. That we knew. Singleton seemed to know nothing, understand nothing.

If it helps, what is meant by Jimmy's accomplice is "the death".


texts: How is "How long before that thing is ready?" correct?

texts:
In a TV show, a character said, "How long before that thing is ready?" I want to know: How is that sentence correct? I mean, if I were to say the same thing I would have said, "How long would it take for that thing to get ready?" I  dont know if I am compeletely correct or not but still I never would have said the sentence that the character had said.

Also, please tell me: What are some other ways to say the same thing?


texts: The meaning of "right" in "right by my desk"

texts:
Let's say you were asked where is the book that you borrowed from someone. Then you say:

  ''It is right by my desk''

What does the right mean in the answer? Does it mean that it is on the desk or in the desk?

P.S: I have already looked into the Cambridge online dictionary, which I mean is that there are numerous variations of the right usage, and it depends on a particular situation.(don't waste your time to go off topic, just stick to this one)


texts:
Where to put "appropriately" in the following sentence?

  Through the prism of BanDura, we can yoke different methodologies together to attain low computational complexity or the necessary level of security.

(Above, Bandura is a particular framework for describing programming methodologies.)

Here are some choices:

Through the prism of BanDura, we can appropriately yoke different methodologies together to attain low computational complexity or the necessary level of security.
Through the prism of BanDura, we can yoke different methodologies appropriately together to attain low computational complexity or the necessary level of security.
Through the prism of BanDura, we can yoke different methodologies together appropriately to attain low computational complexity or the necessary level of security.

It should be clear that putting the methodologies together needs to be done properly in order to attain the desired effects (low complexity or high securiy).

Btw., I have read what Cambridge has to say about adverb placement, but cannot apply it to my situation. So, a grammar-based explanation would be very welcome.


texts:
Say you have a sentence:

  The food is being processed in a factory.

  The food is processed in a factory.

Both of them sounds right to me. Which one is grammatically correct? When would you use is being? Can anyone gives some examples? Thanks.


texts: How to tell to a child that he/she should remember his mistake that they did in the past?

texts:
Your child crawls under a table and when he stands up he bumps his head on the table by accident.
Vietnamese is my first language and I often say like this in Vietnamese "withdraw from your experience, don't do this next time" (literally translated from Vietnamese to English)
How to idiomatically express that in English?
Maybe, "learn from the past, don't do it next time"?


texts: Is the word "thing" necessary in the following sentence?

texts:
Example:

  I couldn't find any information about lemmings. Seemed like it wasn't a very popular topic. The closest (thing) I could find was a news article about them.


texts:
The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.
  "Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.
  "Yes –– thank you –– what was that?"
  The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on
  the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.
  "You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time –– especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.
  (Harry Potter and the
  Sorcerer's Stone)

Is it a dummy pronoun, and "this way" the semantic subject?


texts: Meaning of "rare brain blood clots sent scientists~" in the following sentences?

texts:
What is the meaning of "rare brain blood clots sent scientists~" in the following sentences,

Denmark, which halted using the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11, was
among more than a dozen countries that temporarily paused use of the
vaccine after a small number of reports of cases of rare brain blood
clots sent scientists and governments scrambling to determine any
link.

? (Source: COPENHAGEN (Reuters) : Denmark reports two cases of serious illness, including one death, after AstraZeneca shot By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen )
Does "rare brain blood clots sent~" mean "a small number of reports of cases of rare brain blood clots were sent by scientists and governments scrambling to determine any link" ?
Or Does "rare brain blood clots sent~" mean "a small number of reports of cases of rare brain blood clots were sent and scientists and governments scrambling rare brain blood clots to determine any link"?


texts: One word for knowledge in a specific profession/domain

texts: The title pretty much says it all. I can't think of the word right now but I know it when I see it.


texts: Past simple V/s Past Perfect - was already left and had already left.

texts:
Can we imagine from my below examples that when we reached the platform train was not on the platform?

a) When we reached the platform train was already left / gone.

b) When we reached the platform train had already left / gone.


texts:
https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/lecture

He's doing a lecture on modern poetry.

So here what does "doing" mean here?


texts: "This is the city where I lived" or "This is the city I lived"?

texts:
Problem 1:
  a.This is the city where I lived
  b.This is the city I lived

Which is correct, a or b? Please help me. Thanks

  Problem 2:
  "It seems to bother the teacher that all the students are being too quiet."

Are the words in bold a relative clause, and does it modify teacher?


texts: "The last I saw of that" as a replacement for "the last time I saw that"

texts:
The last time I saw that show, X died. Fell down the elevator shaft.

  The last I saw of that show, X died. Fell down the elevator shaft.

  The last time I saw him, it was 11 years ago.

  The last I saw of him was 11 years ago.

Are the pairs of sentences equivalent? Can "the last I saw of that" replace "the last time I saw that" in a sentence?


texts:
We usually use when with reference to the simple past tense because it refers to a point of time rather than a period of time.

  When I reached the station, the train had left.

But can I say

  When porter had opened the door, we entered.

Are the following two sentences grammatical

  The porter had opened the gate and we entered.

  The porter opened the gate and we entered.

Is it a rule, that when we use conjunction and both the clauses must be be in the same form?


texts: To have some sort of thing for something... what does it mean?

texts:
What's the meaning of the phrase "I have some sort of a thing for owls and trees lately". I tried to translate it for Portuguese but all I get is literal translations and it doesn't make any sense. Does it means that he or she is has a crush on owls and trees or something like that.

If that is correct may this kind of expression be used when talking about human beings as well, like in the phrase: "I'm not sure but I think she has some sort of a thing for me" or "He is a bit older now, but all the girls still seem to have some sort of a thing for him"?


texts: A question regarding: Here is some medicine

texts:
My reference book gives me an example as follows:

  Here is some medicine.

To me, it does not make sense since some implies things more than one; thus, should medicine becomes medicines?

Having said that, should the sentence be written as:

  Here are some medicines.


texts:
I can't understand this sentence "My pet had some sand caked in his eyes."
I know this is a bad situation in his eyes, but not exactly understood.
Could you tell me what the "sand caked" is?
It it possible this is the wrong spelling or something.

Thank you.


texts: What is the conversation-beginning version of "good night"?

texts:
Is good evening used at the beginning of conversation, and good night at the end?
what would you use for beginning version of "good night"?


texts: Do I need the "that"s in the following sentence?

texts:
He reconstructed the wall with bricks (that) people had given her
  before, but (that) she had refused to fit together.

Do I need the "that"'s? Why or why not?


texts:
I will have it done by tomorrow

Would you please by some example describe what does the bold part mean?

I think the bold part is passive, isn't it?

Thanks in advance


texts:
My neighbor has a hideous dog and I am afraid of dogs.
One day while I was returning home from my office, she was walking her dog. As I was frightened, I was frantic to open the door to my house. She had a smile on her face which she was trying to conceal as I was fearing.

Which word can I use here to describe her smile at my problems/fear?


texts:
I had gotten used to coffee, when I went on a trip to Brazil to try many different types of coffee.

I think this implies that I went to Brazil immediatly after I had gotten used to coffee. And When is the same as and it was that moment that~. When we mean this by when, we put comma. I feel like I can say when instead of before, when to emphasize the immediacy.

I had gotten used to coffee, before I went on a trip to Brazil to try many different types of coffee

I think before is only talking about the time sequence without implying anything. Before means and it was after that moment that~. When we mean this we should put comma.

Do you guys think I tell the difference right?


texts: "half of a million" vs. "half a million"

texts:
Image a company that earned 500,000 dollars last year.

Some guys are talking about that company in a bar.

  That company earned half a million dollars last year.

Some news paper would also "half a million" when reporting that company.

What I'm trying to say is that, it seems that people use "half of a million" both in informal situation (casual talk) and formal situation(news report).

Cambridge Dictionary gives these examples

  half a dozen

  Roughly half (of) the class are Spanish and the others are a mixture of nationalities.

which seems to indicate that the "of" is unnecessary when "half" precedes a number.

However, Google Ngram shows that people might use "half of a million" sometimes.

the question is that, in what kind of situation, people use "half of a million". Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
It was in a TED video. It is at 15 minute and 49 second. Here it goes:

  I know that YouTube comments have a very bad reputation in the world of the internet, but if fact if you go on comments for these channels, what you will find is people engaging the subject matter, asking difficult, complicated questions that are about the subject matter, and then other people answering those questions.

It is quite understood that what the speaker means there is to take part in the subject matter by the word engage, but would not it be better to say engage in the subject matter? Or do engage and engage in mean the same thing there, that is to take part in something?


texts: Look down one’s nose at somebody or something

texts:
I came across this idiom and can understand from the dictionaries that it refers to X disregarding Y.

In my language using “nose’s length” would literally say: “one can see one’s nose’s length” or “one knows one’s nose’s length”, which means that one is aware of his/her own level, generally, or in a specific field, this having no relation or connotation of disregard but simply it’s about self awareness.

My question is if in English we can use “to look down one’s nose at oneself”. I think that even if it were used would mean that one shows disregard to oneself, which is not what I’m looking for.

Is there an equivalent idiom in English which shows the awareness of one's own level?


texts: Which one is right? Do I need to use which?

texts:
I don't even know the name of planet I live on

  I don't even know the name of the planet which I live on

  I don't even know the name of the planet, I live in

(This was said with a comical sense)


texts:
The following is an excerpt from a CNBC article.

What does "only some students have to worry about what that means for their chances" mean? Who are "some students?" Are they legacy students or non-legacy students?

  Top schools now have record low admission rates, but only some students have to worry about what that means for their chances. Legacy admissions, at elite institutions especially, put a select few at a distinct advantage.

  Harvard's incoming class of 2021 is made up of over 29 percent legacy students, reports The Harvard Crimson. Last year's applicants who had Harvard in their blood were three times more likely to get into the school than those without. (cnbc.com, 9/6/2017)


texts:
I specifically want to know why the past tense of the word 'have' is used in this phrase. In modern casual English(at least in the US), everyone says ' I should better get going' or they completely omit the word 'had' and say (and even write) 'I better get going'. I've read all posts on the internet regarding this phrase and not one single person questioned the word 'had' in this construction.

Cambridge says this but refrains from explaining the origin of the word 'had' in this phrase:

  We use had better to refer to the present or the future, to talk about actions we think people should do or which are desirable in a specific situation. The verb form is always had, not have. We normally shorten it to ’d better in informal situations. It is followed by the infinitive without to:

Could someone please shed light on this?


texts: "You are not what you were before" vs. "you are not how you were before"

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between you are not what you were before and you are not how you were before? For example:

You don't drink, smoke or swear. You are not what you were before.
You don't drink, smoke or swear. You are not how you were before.


texts: How to pronounce the mathematical symbols?

texts:
For example, 2 squared is 4
(1/4) cubed = one-quarter cubed = 1 over 64
... what will be next after squared and cubed?
2 to the 10th power is equal to 1024.
and why does "power" show up ?


texts:
I teach ELL students and have found conflicting information with respect to "Who"  vs "What"

Please help determine if one or both of these statements are correct:

A)  Who are they? They're musicians.
B)  What are they? They're musicians.


texts: Is saying "I figured it out!" (past tense) correct usage?

texts:
Could a native English speaker use the phrase "I figured it out!" in an internet forum if he/she has suddenly understood something? Or would he/she say something like "I've got it!"

The matter is, one fellow (Russian native) translator said that an English speaker wouldn't use a phrase in the past tense to say that he/she has understood something just now, but will employ the present tense.

That made me curious.


texts: Can "headfirst" be used in a positive sense?

texts:
Can I use head first, head-first or headfirst in a positive sense in a sentence like:

  He's not affraid of anything. He delved head first into his own bussiness.

Thanks!


texts: Using "ought" in a question: "Ought I celebrate?" or "Do I ought to celebrate?"

texts:
How do I ask a question using ought?

Ought I congratulate him? (like in this post)
But I ought to congratulate is easily turned into Do I ought to congratulate, just like I have congratulate becomes Do I have to congratulate, and in Ought I congratulate? the to is dropped.

Do I ought to appears to have significantly less usage, e.g. from Google Ngram. Is it grammatically incorrect? Why?


texts: "She died by yesterday" vs "She died yesterday"

texts:
A lady in a british movie is talking about her neighbour's death and she says: "She died by yesterday."

I have never seen or heard "by yesterday" and I am not sure if it is correct in formal English.

So my question is: Why does she say "She died by yesterday", while "She died yesterday" would be good enough.

Thanks

Here is the link of movie where the sentence is used. Please see the 10:05 (minute-seconds)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsOFGG5Vc4


texts: "I am happy (that or since) you are back"

texts:
The question is:

I am happy .... you are back.
a) while
b) that
c) however
d) since

I think both b and d are correct
I asked some of my friends and they told to choose option b but I think option d works .. since related to reason


texts:
I've been teaching English in France for a year now and am amazed at how often I am having to consider how my own language works. The nuances come thick and fast.

Here is the current question I'm pondering:

If I stand in my garden why do I lean towards saying, "I can see flowers," rather than "I see flowers"?

It seems as though the context changes the construction. If someones asks me, "What can you see?" or, "What do you see?" I will answer with the same construction. However, "can" seems erroneous. If I see then obviously I can see. Is there an actual difference or is there simply a subtle current common usage which I have assimilated?


texts: What does "O's" mean in bar's (pub's, restaurant's) name?

texts: could you please help me to understand the meaning of "O's" in such names as "Nancy O's restaurant", "George O's bar"... etc. Is there some special meaning, is it translatable? Thank you a lot!


texts:
What is the difference between following sentences:

  This is venerable rather magnificent institution.

and

  This is venerable and rather magnificent institution.

Also, can I use rather in this way: "this is auspicious rather felicitous occasion".


texts: What is difference between these two sentences?

texts:
What he did?

and:

  What did he do?

What is happen if we add one "DO" in the sentence, does it change the meaning of the sentence?


texts: Is it a right sentence? "He was snuffing at my feet like dogs do to me."

texts:
I have a question about grammar in a sentence.

I want to know how to use "like" in the sentence.

Here is the sentence that I want to ask you:

  He was snuffing at my feet like dogs do to me.

I want to know if this sentence is right. Also, please teach me how to use "like" in sentences as in this kind of situation.


texts: Working/Business/Calendar day to be capitalized?

texts:
I tried to find the possible rule on the Internet but couldn't.
So, do I have to capitalize such words as business or working or calendar when referring to a day in a document?
For ex.:

Within five (5) Working days from the date of signing the relevant Documentation in the amount of ... for arranging financing of each Contractor.

Within five (5) Calendar days after the end of the quarter.

Thank you!


texts: What is the meaning of "that" in the following sentence?

texts:
What is the meaning of "that" in the following sentence,

  "I am about to reveal something to you that has taken me months to
  work up the nerve to confess"

?

Does that mean "To revel something to you" ?

Does it mean "I am about to reveal something to you. To reveal something to you has taken me months to work up the nerve to confess " ?

If so, I would be grateful if you could introduce some examples that are used in this way.


texts:
I post this in another discussion.

  think of "Right now" has a meaning of "time point" which "currently" don't have. "Turn around right now" means "Turn around" in a few seconds and "currently" does not have this meaning.

When I talk about a very short time, is it idiomatic and clear to use "time point" "time frame" to describe time? Is there a more appropriate term?


texts: Why isn't there a way to say "catched up"? We can only say "caught up"

texts:
I am realizing sometimes when talking, I always say:

Oh that guy catched up with me!

But then I realized there is a way to say:

Oh that guy caught up with me!

I may think the grammar of "caught up" is more proper, but I seem to feel that it is a bit strange to say "caught up", whereas "catched up" sounds a bit better...
But I would like to know which is proper grammar. I often use that term and I wonder which is preferred and more efficient to use.


texts:
What is the difference between the following structures:

  Power is liable to be abused.

Although I cannot find the sentence of

Power is liable to being abused.

I can find some other sentences in which "liable to being" was used.

For example

  Swimming animals are liable to being hit by boats.

I can feel that the word power as a subject is something affects something else. However, the sentence is passive voice. On the other hand, the word animals are object affected by action in terms of meaning.

So I am confused when should I use "...liable to be V3..." and "...liable to being V3..."

EDIT :

From Google Ngram results I can see for some verbs both form is used such as " liable to be called/ being called" or "liable to be taken/being taken".


texts:
How many "or" should be written in case of three or more choices?

For example:
when having three choices, I can write two times "or", or just one time as follow:

  black or white or red.

or

  black, white or red


texts: What is the correct tense for the following sentence?

texts:
How it is correct to say?

  When the computer was working, the player was playing my favourite songs.

or

  When the computer was working my favourite songs had been playing on a player.


texts: "should always and always", Is it a idiomatic expression, is it informal or formal?

texts:
This video is saying (https://youtu.be/yXJYRlxkfu4?t=407)

  So remember when you use a verb immediately
  after as well as it should always and always be in the ‘ing’ form.

I googled "should always and always" and found lots of people use this expression.

Is it a idiomatic expression, is it informal or formal?


texts:
Can you please explain this joke: "I'm going bananas is what I tell my bananas before I leave the house"?

And another one: "I hate it when my friends ask me to do them a solid especially when I've been eating grapes all day"

Can you please give enough meanings and background without explaining how they are funny so that I can figure them out myself?


texts:
Someone was lost in desert for 3 days. When we found him, we said to him

  "How could you survive in desert those 3 days?"

Is the usage of "could" correct in this sentence?


texts:
I am looking for some appropriate words for packages.
I tried looking for images in the web but could not find anything. Have you ever seen these large strings of candy or cookies packages attached one to another. You can buy the whole string or rip one package and buy only one (or two or three).

Anyway, I am looking for appropriate words (and if I can't find them,  phrases) to describe these two concepts: 1) A single package and 2) a string of these packages

Specially the second one, I can have several of these strings and count them, so it has to clearly denote this attached series of packages.

EDIT:
I looked harder for an image and I could find something. Take a look:

You see there are four packages of candy attached to each other.
How to call one of these attached strings , and how to call each of the four components...

EDIT2:
How about "packages" and "packets"??
As in "A package has n packets"


texts: Can "more globalized companies" mean "more companies which are globalized"?

texts:
Compared with their predecessors, today's CEOs are required to operate more globalized companies.

Are there two ways to interpret the phrase? Or it depends on the context?


texts: What is the meaning of this joke? "Judgement day is upon us. The minions of Lucifer walk upon the earth.. Oh, no.. It's merely the Danish"

texts:
Judgement day is upon us. The minions of Lucifer walk upon the earth.. Oh, no.. It's merely the Danish.

Came across this phrase (title) in a history game and I'm not entirely sure what the deeper meaning is.

Could it mean "I want all Danes to die"? And is Lucifer a significant person or something?


texts:
"If only you would just sign the register, "He said to me.
How can I narrate it indirectly?
How to change it into indirect?


texts: Difference between "not any" and "no any"

texts:
I'm wondering what the difference between "There is no any type of harm done to animals" and "There is not any type of harm done to animals" is? Moreover, in contracting the negative phrase "There isn't", does it differ?

Thank you in advance.


texts: What is the difference between the words "address" and "adress"?

texts:
I and another person had a dispute. I said that the word "adress" in the English language does not exist, but I was told that I was wrong and I should correctly write "adress", and not "address". Does the word "adress" exist at all?

I found this comparison:
https://wikidiff.com/adress/address


texts: A word for the process of meeting potential new flatmates?

texts:
I live in a large urban area in Germany. Many students and young people in general live in shared apartments (colloquially referred to as "WG" (short for "Wohngemeinschaft" (flatshare)). When a person is moving out, their former flatmates often put up ads on online platforms that people interested in the room reply to. If the person sounds like a good fit, they are invited to the flatshare to see if they are a good fit for the flat.
The process of going to a flat from an online ad and meeting the current tenants and introducing yourself is commonly referred to as "WG-Besichtigung". Is there a similar term in English? If not, how would you go about paraphrasing it? I don't think this is a local phenomenon and assume it's happening in English-speaking countries as well, so I'd think there is a commonly used term for it that I have yet to learn.


texts: Meaning difference between Wandering and Roaming

texts:
What is the difference between the words "Wandering" and "Roaming"?
Don't both of them mean an aimless movement?

In Wordweb dictionary their meanings are described as:

Wandering: Travelling without any clear destination  and
Roaming: Move aimlessly without any destination.

So, is there any specific difference between the two?


texts: Is it complete to say "I'm happy to hear"?

texts:
Ngram Viewer shows that the sum of all the major possibilities of "I'm happy to hear ..." is still less than "I'm happy to hear."
by "major" I mean equal or greater than 0.0000002000%.
In other words, the difference between I'm happy to hear. and the sum of the other possibilities shown below might be larger than the sum of other determiners not shown such as them, their and those.

Which probably indicates that it's common to say "I'm happy to hear." I guess it's grammatically complete. Is it complete in meaning?
Could someone help me to make up a situation where I'm happy to hear. is appropriate? I've gone through first few of pages of the results but didn't get a clear one.


texts:
This constitutive element of the modern world (man, as the producer of rational hypotheses) and (1) its articulation with (2) the ideology of techno-scientific progress and (3) the development of the machine that transforms the methods and theories of natural sciences finally led to the replacement of religious and metaphysical dogmas by the blind faith to the dogma of technical and scientific progress.

Is the phrase (1) "its articulation with" connected to both (2) the ideology and (3) the development, or just to (2) the ideology?

I am very confused.  What is the phrase "its articulation" connected to?  Could you help me clarify it?  Thanks.


texts: Right expression for combining "is" and "contrast with"?

texts:
"Competition is contrast with cooperation."

I wonder if the above sentence is right.

I think that "Competition is in contrast with cooperation" is right.

Which one is right?


texts: Is there a word in English that describes being homesick towards a time that you haven't lived in?

texts:
As the title says.

Looking for a word that would explain a person yearning to a time that person hasn't lived in?

For example somebody born in  the 90's saying he wishes he was born during the Wild-West.

I know such word exists in German, but I can't find it anymore, and I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction here.


texts: How is this sentence supposed to be made?

texts:
How should i make this sentence?

1.I prefer that the problem be handled at home
2.I prefer that the problem is handled at home
3.I prefer the problem to be handled at home
4.I prefer that the problem was handled at home

Which one is the correct? And what's difference bewteen them?


texts: "What do you have me do?" or "What do you have me TO do?"

texts: "What do you have me do?" or perhaps "What do you have me to do?" Which one is correct and could you please anyone tell me the meaning of the phrase?  Thanks


texts:
Learning objectives :
Illustrate the global contribution to the knowledge of pharmaceuticals.
Compare and contrast routes of drug administration.
...Pharmacology is the study of drugs and their interactions with living systems including chemical and physical properties, toxicology and therapeutics. Pharmacy Technicians educated in pharmacology have this kills to properly identified the drug from a patient's profile when refills are requested and the patient does not remember the drug name.
Knowledge of Pharmacology facilitates selection of warning labels for drugs dispensed. Pharmacy Technicians who possess a good knowledge of Pharmacology understand the importance of recognizing drug interactions, theraputics duplication and excessive dose alerts acreened by the computer. Overall, pharmacy technicians who have a good working knowledge of Pharmacology can perform duties within their scope of practice with greater independence.

I wonder if the the contribution in the first sentence, really means help.

I wonder what the word property really means in this context.

Does the phrase a patient's profile here mean a patient's face?

I wonder what the phrase within their scope of practice means.


texts: What is the proper way to say this greeting?

texts:
I work for a customer service company. The told me that the greeting or the opening should be (Michael at your help. How can I help you?).

First of all, I think I should say (This is Michael. How can I help you?)

Second, I think there's a grammar mistake in their greeting and it should be (Michael is at your help. How can I help you?).

Finally, I think repeating the word "help" twice is not professional. It would be better to say (Michael is at your assistance. How can I help you?)

Am I right?


texts: Why are things from the past talked about using past tense?

texts:
This is from Wikipedia:

Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show had an ensemble cast that featured Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967. The series followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive on an island on which they had been shipwrecked.

As you can see, first sentence says Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom. Then it goes to past tense, and says "had" ensemble cast and "followed" comic adventures.
How do we decide when to use past or present tense? It seems strange to me to do it like this: in my own language, I would always use present tense even if the object is in the past. So I would say

Gilligans Island IS an American Sitcom. The show HAS an ensemble cast. The series FOLLOWS the comic adventures ….

I would do this even for dead people. E.g, Wikipedia page on Genghis Khan says he WAS the founder and first Khan of the Mongol empire. I would say in my language he IS the founder and first Khan of the Mongol Empire. Him being dead, doesn't mean him founding the Mongol empire is no longer true.
Similarly, just because Gilligan's Island is over, doesn't mean the show itself doesn't have an ensemble cast or follows their comic adventures... all those things are TRUE even TODAY, even though they are in the PAST. Hence we should use present tense.
So I'm kinda confused about how this works.


texts:
Thank you for your patience over the last 15 weeks whilst we build this road

Can I replace the over by during or in and if I can, is it making any difference then?

The previous question in this regard didn't get a thorough explanation about over and during being used with a period of time. Some indicated when during are used with a period of time, it has connotation that thing happened intermittently, but in fact I can find many instances contradict this viewpoint, saying, wages have fallen by more than twenty percent during the past two months...and interesting thing is we have a analogous sentence in which over is used, the number of attacks on the capital had gone down over the past week...

My goal is to make the difference between them clearer rather than ambiguous results got in that post.


texts: What is the difference between “At this moment” and “At this time”? I’ve heard the first one on a series and I think it means “now”, could “At the moment” be used instead?


texts:
I came across this exercise:

There’s no one ... wishes peace.
A. who
B. that
C. but

At first, I was confused with “who” and “that” as I thought both of them were correct, but then the answer turned out to be “but”. I don’t know why who and that are wrong and I need some more information about the usage of “no one but + Verb”. I’m familiar with “no one but + N”, but this is the first time I’ve seen this structure.


texts:
Consider the following sentences, which I know are correct, as example;

  Two multiplied by two gives four. OR Two times two gives four. OR Two by two gives four.

  Two divided by two is one.

Q1: Are the following variants of both the examples also grammatical and formally acceptable?

  Two multiplied two gives four. OR Two multiply two gives four.

  Two divided two is one. OR Two divide two is one. OR Two over two is one.

Now, consider the following common expressions;

  Two plus two makes four. OR Two and two make four.

  Two minus two is zero.

Q2: Are the following two variants of both the examples also grammatical and formally acceptable?

  Two added to two makes four. OR Two added two makes four.

  Two subtracted from two is zero. OR Two subtracted two is zero.


texts:
The great Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell wrote in 1874 to a colleague:

  I saw conductivity of Selenium as affected by light. It is most sudden. Effect of a copper heater insensible.That of the sun great.

What does as affected by mean?
Does the sentence "Effect of a copper heater insensible" mean "the effect which a copper heater made is now no longer observable"?
What does  That of the sun great mean?

source:popular science


texts: Hit me softly - What is the opposite of softly?

texts:
These words won't be appropriate.

  Hit me _______.

What should I write as opposite of softly here?


texts: Which should I use: 'near of the place' or 'near the place'?

texts:
Which should I use: 'near of' or 'near'?
Can I use both?
For example:

"I live near of the river."
"I live near the river."

Are they grammatically correct?
Is there any difference between them?


texts:
Could you tell me which one of the following sentence is more correct and natural?

I had to work two jobs to get by when I lived in the expensive city.
I had to work at two jobs to get by when I lived in the expensive city

Are both perfectly good?


texts: How to say "How to aim [well/right/correctly]"?

texts:
Imagine reading this as a headline in a learner's text book on a shooting range:

  How to aim right
  How to aim correctly
  How to aim well

Basically, I want to say "how to aim to hit the target" in this passive manner and I'm trying to find the proper adjective to use for this. Any suggestions?


texts: Is “stock” used both countable and uncountable?

texts:
I learned that the word “stock” is uncountable when used to mean “the goods or merchandise kept on the premises of a business or warehouse and available for sale or distribution“ as in “This item is out of stock.”
However, I saw a sentence “we have a large stock of them” in which “stock” seems to be used as countable noun.
Does this mean “stock” can be used as both countable and uncountable?


texts:
I have a question. My teacher told me that the word "any" in the following sentence is the wrong word in this context. Do you know which word to use instead?

  Several Hurrah Airlines customers have not received any response when contacting the company by e-mail or through the helpline.


texts:
Let's consider this sentence :

  I am in the 11th grade.

Is "grade" an American word here or could it also be used in the UK?


texts: Does this "were" used in a subordinate clause necessarily refer to something happened in the past?

texts:
From The Economist

  Why do they do so well? Amy Hsin of the City University of New York and Yu Xie of the University of Michigan examined the progress of 6,000 white and Asian children, from toddlers through school, to find an answer. They rejected the idea that Asians were just innately much cleverer than whites: there was an early gap in cognitive abilities, but it declined to insignificance through school. Source

The use of "were" confuses me. Does it mean Asians were innately cleverer than whites (in the past), or Asians are innately cleverer than whites (as usual)?

It's used in a subordinate clause，does it have something to do with the past tense used in the main clause？


texts: When a man is harassing a woman on the street saying something to her

texts:
I would be thankful if someone could let me know how an American English speaker would say my sentence. Suppose a very attractive girl is walking on the street and her beauty and figure attract all men's attention. A man gets in her way and politely OR impolitely says something to her in order to show her that he is attracted to her and wants to date her OR e.g. have a sexual relationship ith her or maybe wants to ask her for having a coffee together or something like that.
The only verbs I found were:

  He hit on her.
  He pitched her up. (I have no reference! Once I heard a native used it in a similar scenario)


texts:
Are the following questions grammatically correct?

  When can we use CSS3 to round corners and when can't we?
  When can we use CSS3 to round corners and when we can't?


texts:
I want to sleep until my eyes open without this annoying alarm.

Is this sentence correct? If not, what should I write?


texts: How to determine whether "to" is needed or not?

texts:
"I can help improve your skills."
"I can help to improve your skills."
Which of this sentences is correct?
How do you decide to put "to" or omit?


texts: Can the word 'in' be used to show equality?

texts:
Take these two sentences:

1. You're supposed to drink up to your body weight in grams of water.

2. The average woman uses her height in lipstick every 5 years

I can understand that in the first, you're supposed to drink as much water(in grams) as your weight,

 i.e. if your weight is 120lbs, drink 120 grams

And in the second if the person's height is 169cm, then they use that much lipstick every 5 years.

But I haven't found a definition for this kind of usage. So I was wondering is the word 'in' meant to show equality or correlation?

I'm pretty sure that it is, but would like some confirmation.


texts: Difference between "I have often observed" and "I often observe"?

texts:
What is the difference between these sentences?

  I have often observed that when she is anxious she doesn't talk much.

  I often observe that when she is anxious she doesn't talk much.

Being a non-native english speaker it is difficult to me to understand the difference between the present perfect and present simple in those sentences. Is there any?


texts: What is the proper word to put characters together to make a string?

texts: Is there a word that if I read letters a, b, c from the crossword puzzle and make a word abc the what have I done to those letters? I was thinking that I catenate or concatenate letters but I was said that is wrong in a comment to this post on Puzzling SE: Proving the existence of a given matrix. Is the proper word to join letters to make a word?


texts: Should we need to repeat on the pronoun after "because"?

texts:
Should we need to repeat on the pronoun after the word "because"?

For example:

  "This bone is also called the “tail” because (it is / is) in the end of the
  body"


texts: What does "go berserk" and "go wild" in this paragraph?

texts:
Losing your social inhibitions does not mean you will all of a sudden go berserk and start doing crazy things against your will; it is the other way around. When you are uninhibited, you are in true control of yourself, but when you are inhibited, you are not. While this does not mean you will automatically go wild, it does mean that if you really want to do something wild, there will no longer be an invisible barrier blocking you inside your mind. You will no longer be struggling with yourself like a lunatic. You will have full control of yourself for a change; you will be less affected by whatever your upbringing has forced onto you. And when the crowd starts going wild, you have the ability to step aside without mindlessly following along, unlike a member of the crowd

I've searched on Internet and find that "go berserk" means "to go crazy" and "go wild" means "to get very excited", but I still feel hard to understand them in this paragraph? Does they have another meaning? Can anyone explain it? Thank!


texts: What does the phrase "in the current digital nomad haze" refer to?

texts:
the bold phrase refers to what?

Graphic design is a challenging job that requires serious hardware and software. In the current digital nomad haze, laptop characteristics such as mobility and weight have also become extremely important. As with every profession, the laptop choice is always a subtle game of balance between performance and weight, large screen and portability, maximum features and affordable price.

This is the link of the full article:
https://justcreative.com/2019/01/01/best-laptops-for-graphic-designers-2019/


texts:
You helped me very much again.

Is this sentence correct? If it is correct, does it sound kind of odd?


texts:
Before I came across this page I used to think that we can't use perfect tense after since.This page says we can use past simple or present perfect in the clause after since but what difference does it make in the meaning ?
E.g. consider this example given on the same page:

  They haven’t received any junk mail since they moved house.

  They haven’t received any junk mail since they’ve moved house.

What is the difference in the meaning of the two sentences ?

Can we use both - simple past and present perfect in this sentence too ?

  I have not written any letter to her since my brother (died/has died).


texts:
This lady is wearing a white wedding dress with a pleated bosom.

I thought that bosom is the top part of a clothe, but I am not sure, and I am not sure if the phrase is correctly describing the picture.


texts:
In his god is not Great Christopher Hitchens writes:

  June 5, Los Angeles: A three-hour debate with the Reverend Mark Roberts, senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church, in Orange County, on Hugh Hewitt’s conservative Christian chat show. Very nice of Mr. Hewitt. The Rev doesn’t accuse me of not knowing what I’m talking about: Indeed, he’s very civil about the book. At one point I ask him if he believes the story in Saint Matthew’s Gospel about the graves opening in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion, and the occupants walking the streets. Doesn’t it rather cheapen the idea of resurrection? He replies that as a Christian he does believe it, though as a historian he has his doubts. I realize that I am limited here: I can usually think myself into an opponent’s position, but this is something I can’t imagine myself saying, let alone thinking.

I'm not sure if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, one uses the phrase let alone to talk about two or more things with the part following let alone is way more improbable to occur.

The following example is from OED's definition of let alone:

He was incapable of leading a bowling team, let alone a country.

Back to Hitchens, he says he can't imagine himself saying something, let alone thinking it. But isn't it easier and more likely for someone to think something, rather than saying it? I mean, you may think anything but you may choose not to pronounce it because thinking may occur unwillingly and is just a matter of moment while saying what you think totally depends on your will to do it.

I hope I've meade myself clear enough. Any remarks are appreciated.

Thank you.

Note: I'm sorry, I should have known that this passage might be a bit insufficient for the purposes of a proper context. So, I'm giving the whole paragraph this time. Hitchens talks about the events he had experienced during the tour he was on to promote his book god is not Great. This is an excerpt from the Afterword of the book.


texts:
Here is a quote from Daniel Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence:

  "Indeed, the first laws and proclamations of ethics—the Code of Hammurabi, the Ten Commandments of the Hebrews, the Edicts of Emperor Ashoka—can be read as attempts to harness, subdue, and domesticate emotional life. As Freud described in *Civilization and Its Discontents*, society has had to enforce from without rules meant to subdue tides of emotional excess that surge too freely within.

I can’t understand the overall meaning of this part:

  society has had to enforce from without rules meant to subdue tides of emotional excess that surge too freely within


texts: Question regarding conditional sentences - is this correct grammar and logic wise?

texts:
I'm wondering if this is correct from logic and grammar perspective if we apply also conditional sentencing (0/1/2/3).

  if he had been arrested, he would commit a crime.

Thank you!


texts: Gold Edition or Golden Edition? Which is correct?If both are correct then what's the difference?Is there any changes in the adjective here? Plz explain in a grammatical way.Thanx all.


texts: What does "rolled over on her back" mean?

texts:
I can't picture this: I don't understand what "rolled over on her back" mean. What does the highlighted phrase mean?

  He demonstrated by holding his own arms above his head and making a swooning motion to one side. The panda did as he had done, then rolled over on her back.


texts: Can you guys give me some sentences that indicate a distinction between the two words? I come across several sentences but did not completely grasped the difference.


texts: How to describe someone who talks too much

texts:
I want to find suitable words to describe a person who always jumps in the middle of a conversation and starts talking without considering or waiting for other people to finish their sentences.

Any suggestion?


texts:
Consider this definition for "could", from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/could

Definition 16: You say 'I couldn't' to refuse an offer of more food or drink.
[informal, spoken]

a) More cake?'—'Oh no, I couldn't.'

My question: What is the difference between sentence a) and sentence b)?

b) More cake?'—'Oh no, I can't.'

My comment: To me, sentence a) is conditional: "(If you gave me one more piece of the cake), I couldn't (finish it)." Do you agree with me?


texts: Construction to express: a present perfect action up until now and its future state

texts:
My pool has been closed for 10 days now and will continue (to be closed) for more than 2 weeks.
Is it correct that way?
Also, is there any construction that would sound better?


texts: “Senior” and “Junior” suffixes on ID cards and passports

texts: And are the suffixes "junior" and "senior" added in the names on passports? And also on identity cards? Or is it just informal and only said aloud?


texts:
I have often used the word "offset" as a predicate adjective (or perhaps as part of a passive verb construction?) in the sense of "displaced" or "out of alignment (with)," as in the following sentences:

  Each row of bricks is offset by half a brick from the previous row.

  The times documented on the form were offset by 7 minutes from their expected values.

But I recently discovered (while attempting to find a synonym) that I cannot really find this adjectival usage of the word "offset" attested in a dictionary or thesaurus.

Merriam-Webster offers a bunch of noun senses plus the following verb senses:

  1a : to place over against something : BALANCE
  // credits offset debits
  b : to serve as a counterbalance for : COMPENSATE
  // his speed offset his opponent's greater weight
  2 : to form an offset in
  // offset a wall

and Wiktionary is similar. Dictionary.com offers adjective senses

  of, noting, or pertaining to an offset
  placed away from a center line; off-center

but none of the "examples from the web" on that page seem to use the word in these senses so I'm not sure exactly what these particular definitions are getting at.

Thesauruses (e.g. Merriam-Webster, thesaurus.com) likewise only offer synonyms like "counterbalance" or "compensate (for)," not anything like "displaced" or "displace" (depending on whether we interpret my usage as a predicate adjective or a passive verb).

I feel as though my usage is common, but if so I would expect to find it attested in these dictionaries. If I have been using this word incorrectly for all this time, what descriptor would you use to refer to the relationship between, say, two rows of bricks?


texts:
What sentence is better in the following situation? Imagine that my friend has lost his diary and I'm talking to him. I know that he has found out about the loss and I know when he did it. Then he went home to get his diary. I've written my thoughts about both versions of sentences in the brackets.

  -I went home to take my diary yesterday.
  -I don't think it was a nice decision because you had already found out (before you went home) that your diary had been stolen (it had been stolen even before you went home).

or

  -I went home to take my diary yesterday.
  -I don't think it was a nice decision because you already found out (I'm talking about an exact time) that your diary had been stolen (it had been stolen before you went home and before you found out about the loss as well).

I think, first one is better, but I'm not sure whether it's clear what action happened earlier - the loss or the finding out, because I use Past Perfect for both of them. Is it understandable from the context or I should use other tense?


texts: [ were of frequent occurrence / were frequent occurrences ]

texts:
For instance, it is evident that the country now called Hellas had in ancient times no settled population; on the contrary, migrations were of frequent occurrence

What's the meaning of of here? Would it have a different meaning, if I rephrase it with "were frequent occurrences"? Is this usage of of the same thing as in "be of no use"? If so then, what's the meaning of of in "be of no use"?


texts: Conjunction reduction : your address and phone number / your father and your elder brother

texts:
How is that you didn't tell us even about your address and phone number ?

  Are not your father and your brother out of town ?

Why is that we have used your just once in first sentence and twice in second sentence ? Will the sentence be still grammatical and correct if one uses your vice versa i.e. twice in first sentence and once in second one ?


texts: "Under" / "below" / "beneath" / "underneath" / "behind" / others

texts:
Suppose we have a flat drawing with rectangle, ellipse and triangle (see picture).

What prepositions can we use in these cases:

The ellipse is […] the rectangle.
The triangle is […] the rectangle.

Suggestions: "under", "below", "beneath", "underneath"; "behind"; others.

I understand meaning of these prepositions in 3D world. But in generic case of appearance of 2D painting on screen (say, at web-site), when I don't have any guess about user's devices and their disposition (e.g. he may use CRT monitor with vertical screen, or put his tablet horizontally on table, or lay on his back with keeping screen horizontally) — what is the best word choice? Or every word would be equally ambiguous without context knowledge?

So, question is not about prepositions themselves, but about their traditional usage for specifying disposition of 2D objects on screen — and their potential ambiguity for user with unknown screen orientation.


texts: wound which is/from which she's bleeding heavily

texts:
She clutches her wound which is bleeding heavily.

She clutches her wound from which she's bleeding heavily.

Can I say both? Which one is better? Is there a better way to say this?


texts: "The primary reason why" vs "The primary reason that"

texts:
Which of the above is correct?

"The primary reason why something happens is...."

vs

"The primary reason that something happens is...."

Could I say both of these sentences?


texts: Can I use the word "debt" to talk about some tasks that I didn't do in due time?

texts:
Can the word "debt" relate to something not connected to money? More precisely, can I use it to talk about some tasks that I didn't do in due time?
Example:
I had to turn in math homework yesterday, but I completely forgot about that. Plus, I didn't write the essay which was crucial. God, I have so many debts.
So, is the word "debt" appropriate here?


texts: Should it be "aged 85" or "age 85", when you want to indicate someone's age?


texts:
As you know, the adjective hereditary means:

  (Of characteristics or diseases) passed from the genes of a parent to a child.

A hereditary disease.

  And also (of titles and positions in society) passed from parent to a child as a right.

But I wonder what adjective you use for passed possessions and belongings like a house - car. etc.


texts:
I be listened to.

Is this form correct? I have learned that present subjunctive is used to express request, advices. So Is the above sentence subjunctive form???
Does that means _  " I should be listened to" ???


texts: Use verb in sentence which begins "when"

texts: Which one is true: "When I have enough money, I'll buy it" or "When I have enough money I'm going to buy it".


texts: What is the correct Object Pronoun to complete the sentence "I don't play soccer and volleyball because I don't like ____"

texts:
What's the correct object pronoun to complete the following sentence, "it" or "them"?
"I don't play soccer and volleyball because I don't like _____."
Edit: Do I use the plural "them" because the sentence is referring to "soccer and volleyball" (two sports), or do I use the singular "it" because the sentence is referring to "I don't like to play".
I thought at first that the correct sentence is "I don't like to play soccer and volleyball because I don't like it". Am I correct?


texts:
I am translating the lyric of "If I ain't got you - Alicia Keys".
There are some "you"s in this lyric and it seems that all "you"s are someone whom the heroine of this song loves except the one in the part below.

Some people search for a fountain
That promises forever young
Some people need three dozen roses
And that's the only way to prove you love them

I could not understand who are "you" and who are "them". (Perhaps "you" is "Some people" and "them" is "the ones who Some people love". Is that right? But why "you"?)
Can somebody explain it to me please?
(I know my English is not good. Please point out if this question makes no sense.)
Whole lyric here


texts:
I was going through error detection exercise. I came across a question -

  He is the oldest than other player in the team

My book says, than is superfluous.
Anyone tell me which rule follow here and why than is superfluous.


texts: “Next comments” or “following comments”?

texts:
Which would be more correct: “next comments” or “following comments” in the sentence: “Save my name and email for my next comments”? This sentence is used in the context of saving user's data for automatic input of them in user's future comments on a website.

I am asking whether reader wants (or not) to save his name and email address for his future comments. This is the label of the checkbox. This question is about the usage of the word, not the article usage.


texts: Question about use and meaning of "...kind of effect"

texts:
Today we’re going to try to give you some useful tips on how to start and stop smoothly. From a starting standpoint, to an acceleration standpoint, you have to remember that it doesn’t take a whole lot of pressure on the pedal to get the car to accelerate. Just a nice, smooth touch will usually do what you need. My recommendation is a very, very, smooth, soft, touch on the pedal, and let the car gradually build speed. If you need a little bit more acceleration, you’re going to gradually push your foot down a little harder on the pedal. You don’t want to push too much on the pedal when you first start. If you’re doing that, that will cause your car to have a jerking kind of effect

Could you make some similar expressions to the following sentence using ...kind of effect , so that I can get the meaning of it.

if you do that, it will cause your car to have a jerking kind of effect.

My try

-If you propose a girl early, it will have that saddness kind of effect.


texts: Is there an interjection for an evil laugh besides "muahahaha", "bwahaha"?

texts: Is there anything more subtle or less obvious? I don't mind if it's equivocal.


texts:
I'm seeing the Prison Break movie (season 4 episode 22) and I faced with "Can the reunion" phrase but when I search for its meaning, I couldn't find any thing.
[Bagwell is meeting with Sucre after a while]

Bagwell: You are a sight for sore eyes, my friend.

Sucre: Can the reunion

and suddenly Bagwell's emotions change which can be a hint that indicates "Can the reunion" should have a bad meaning but what is the exact meaning of this phrase?


texts: A word to describe tools of the workplace

texts:
What group do work or office tools, devices, widgets, gizmos and accessories belong to ?

Examples : post-it notes, calendar, address book, kanban board, phone...

From my understanding, "stationary" only describes paper and paper-specific tools. I'm looking to gather under one noun (or adjective) all the work-enabling artifacts.


texts:
I have heard "Government officials," "Government officers" etc. Here, the word "government"  is used as adjective, but it is not a real adjective. So where should I use "governmental" and where I should not? The below sentence is an example that has used the word "governmental." Can I replace it with "government"? Does its meaning change?

  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.


texts:
His father won't be able to leave for Delhi until they have arrived.
His father won't be able to leave for Delhi until they arrive.

Which one is correct?


texts: The use of definite article in this sentence: why the is missing?

texts:
I have read this in a book.

  "His name's Thunder (a jumpy horse). You have to show him who's boss."
  Flo looked at Thunder. She was pretty sure he was boss.

If I write, I will write "the boss" In both lines. Why the writer is not using"the" here. Would boss and the boss change meaning.
please explain.


texts: Sequence of tenses for facts irrelevant of the moment of speech

texts:
Let's consider two sentences:

  (1) I suggested that the word zeitgeist was of German origin.
  (2) The lecturer said the Pluto's orbital period is more than 200 years.

In both cases, the facts are always valid and  irrelevant of the moment of speech and context. I've heard sequence of tenses is not required in such cases. Are past and present tenses interchangeable in both of them? Would it be correct to say:

  (1) I suggested that the word zeitgeist is of German origin.
  (2) The lecturer said the Pluto's orbital period was more than 200 years.


texts: She's bringing in good money selling houses.(participle clause, comma)

texts:
A sentence from the dictionary of Merriam-Webster:

  She's bringing in good money selling houses.

Why there is no comma before "selling houses"? "Money" is not the subject of the participle phrase "selling houses". As far as I know, when the participle phrase is put at the end of the sentence, and when the noun before it is not its subject, there should be a comma.

And another similar example:

  Tom lost his keys walking through the park.


texts:
Which one of these two sentences is correct?

  When she said that she loved me

  When she said that she loves me


texts: Please contact our office and we will arrange for a sales representative to call on you. (call on = visit)

texts:
Please contact our office and we will arrange for a sales representative to call on you. He will be glad to explain our terms, discount policies, and sales procedures.

call on sb : visit
Wonder why 'call on' equals 'visit'.


texts: What means of transportation is used - "by trains"?

texts:
Is it safe to travel by trains in India?
  Travelling by train in india is safe.

I know by train is correct. But it's confused to me whether it is correct or not using plural forms of the transportation when I saw above sentences in an English website. Likewise, is it correct to say by planes or by buses expressing how to get somewhere?


texts:
1) For the first time, I went back to China and was allowed the opportunity to see what type of environment I could have been raised into.

2) For the first time, I went back to China and was allowed the opportunity to see in what type of environment I could have been raised.

I initially had the first example and someone told me to change it to the second one. Any ideas?


texts: Can "stuck" be used with a continuous form?

texts:
Can I use "stuck" with a continuous form? In other words, shall I say about a parcel that has not arrived:

  Hope it is not being stuck in the Christmas post


texts: a data set of .... are or a data set of ... is

texts:
I always confused about using the word data. Sometimes, writers use it as a single word, while others use it as plural.

I really would like to understand the correct way to use word data in my sentence.

  A data of 300 observations are generated from a normal distribution.

or

  A data of 300 observations is generated from a normal distribution.

I think if we assumed that the word data is plural, then, I should not use the determiner a with it.

Which sentence is correct and why?


texts: Should I use "of our times" or "of our time"?

texts: Basically I want to say, for example, that somebody is "Mark Twain of our times". Will this be grammatically correct?


texts: I know that phew and whew are both exclamations. However, I was surprised that although phew is pronounced as  /fjuː/, whew is pronounced as both /hwjuː/ and /fjuː/. How can wh be pronounced like f? Is there any other word where this happens? Is there any explanation for this?


texts: Are words such as "today" and "yesterday" introductory words or adverbial phrases?

texts:
When I first started learning about punctuation, I found out that you should always have commas after words such as "today," "sometimes," "yesterday," and so on. Today, I found a website that disagrees, it says:

  If you have an introductory word (or two) that is being used as an adverb (usually answers the question of when, where, why, or to what degree), then no comma. If it’s being used as a conjunction, then go ahead and use a comma.

  For example:
  “Someday, I’d like to go on a cruise.” — This is incorrect. Someday is functioning as an adverbial phrase, answering the question of WHEN I would like to go on a cruise. Correct would be this:
  “Someday I’d like to go on a cruise.”

I want to know how legitimate this website actually is. Can someone verify this for me?


texts: Pls explain what exactly this "Priority Seat" represents

texts:
I would like to understand what exactly this "Priority Seat" represents.

Image credit: Southern Rail, UK

For a long time, I was thinking "Priority Seat" is the name of an adjacent  priority seat so that "A" is not required. Just like the name of your iPhones is "iPhone" not "an iPhone," But someone told me that "Priority Seat" is not a proper noun. The words are capitalized because it's a title.

Then I came up with a new explanation, that is, this "Priority Seat" is simply an abbreviated form of "A Priority Seat"; "A" is omitted because it is a sign. But when I imagine a sign that reads "A Priority Seat" in this context (adjacent to a priority seat) I feel so incorrect. The text wouldn't work to create the right nuance. So I had to drop this idea as well.

Could anyone explain what kind of grammatical structure is used for this "Priority Seat" so that I could clearly understand what it represents?


texts:
The past simple and present perfect form of "I am dirty" and "I become dirty" are:

"I was dirty"
"I have been dirty"
"I became dirty"
"I have become dirty"

What is the present perfect form of "I get dirty"? Do you natives ever use the present perfect form of "to get + adjective/past participle"?
I know the past simple form would be "I got dirty".


texts: question about when we use a and when we use an

texts:
The patient had been waiting in the emergency room for almost an hour before a doctor finally treated her.

(an) goes with a,e,i,o,u

(a) goes with the other letters

why do we use an hour ? instead  of a ?


texts: What is "prime minister to replace him" modifying?

texts:
I am currently reading this article, and one line says,

  Johnson would not step aside if his Brexit proposals were rejected by the European Union, and even if members of the U.K. Parliament declare no confidence in his government and agree to a caretaker prime minister to replace him, according to the report.

I don' t understand what the line "prime minister to replace him" is modifying.

Because the line is in the If clause, and "If A XXX (verb (here it is "agree to a caretaker))" is correct, then the modifier "prime minister to replace him" is wrong because there is no need to mention "him", which is the caretaker, and which is already mentioned.


texts: How to use months in a sentence? For example: ＂January＂

texts:
I've always thought that to use the month in a sentence you must use it with a preposition, such as "... at January"． But I saw a sentence in a press release today:

＂Nearly two-thirds of New York restaurants could be out of business as
soon as January without some sort of additional government aid,
according to a new study＂.

In this sentence "January" is not used with a preposition (e.g., "at January"), but instead with the phrase" as soon as ".
Why is this?
Can I use "as soon as at January" or "at January" instead of "as soon as January" in this sentence?


texts: What does "cosmologies" mean in this particular context?

texts:
Consider the following extract:

A skillful cook can make delectable dishes without quite being able to
tell us how. (Conversely, the possession of a good recipe book is not
sufficient to make a good cook.) By embedded understanding, I mean,
this practical knowledge that remains pre-reflective and inarticulate.
It is an understanding we acquire by being initiated into the
practices of a society. The term 'common sense' is broader and covers
embedded understanding but also, at the very least, our spontaneous
and ad hoc reflections, including reflections that are closely aligned
to our practices, which might be called practical reflections. It
usually also includes stories, epics, folk tales, legends, myths that
have been passed on from one generation to another and with the help
of which we make sense of and evaluate the entire universe. Such
nearly systematic but non-theoretical reflections which knit together
in a seamless web the physical, biological, social, mental and
spiritual worlds may be called cosmologies. Cosmologies frequently
inform and become part of a society's common sense.

According to Merriam-Webster, cosmology has the following meanings:

A branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of the universe.
A theory or doctrine describing the natural order of the universe.
A branch of astronomy that deals with the origin, structure, and space-time relationships of the universe. (also : a theory dealing with these matters)

Which sense of the word is the author referring to by cosmologies? Why is it being used in a plural form here?
Thank you in advance. :)


texts: meaning of "run over" in these two sentences

texts:
(1)  Every once in a while I pull out the necklace and let my fingers run over the wings of the butterfly.

(2) She let her thoughts run over the plan for a while.

My guess about (1) is to scrub sth and no idea with (2)

Could anyone explain what 'run over' means in each sentence above?

Thanks


texts: Definite or indefinite article before the words - dryer and washing machine

texts:
Let's say that you are reading an article where you find the following sentence.

  Everybody wants to have the possibility of washing in the washing
  machine and drying in the dryer.

It is ok if I will use the definite article before the words - washing machine and dryer even if I have mentioned them in the article for the first time? I think that everybody has only one washing machine and dryer. Or the indefinite article would be better?


texts: Is Google Translate transcription scheme of English words suitable?

texts:
They use indications of long vowels and in general very appealing compared to weird IPA. On the other hand, their transcription of Russian is wrong and I would say, unsuitable.

For instance, in their system,

need = [nēd]

make = [māk]

blue = [blo͞o]

girl = [gərl]

hire = [hīr]

hair = [hi(ə)r]

here = [hi(ə)r] as well


texts:
What is the difference between the sentences below?

Make sure the power is off first.
Make sure the power is switched off first.
Make sure the power is turned off first.


texts:
It's from movie scene and there are those dialogues.

'This used to be A Appliance Manufacturing. This sits on a 14-acre lot. This floor alone, 20,000 square feet. It could easily be converted into an industrial space, even have an eight-car tow up.' And that's the all dialogues related.

In this sentence, 'It' means a big building and I wonder what 'an eight-car tow up' means. Please let me know what it means.

Thank you!


texts:
My English exercise book has a paragraph talking about friendship like this:

Meeting old school friends again can be a strange experience. Some
have changed so much that you can hardly recognise: they speak with a
different accent , are interested in different things and all you can
do is make small talk and hope they'll go soon. Others, though you
might have been out of touch with them for years, are just the same as
they always were - it's as if you last saw them yesterday
Before you
know it, you are exchanging words about your families and friends, and
setting out the pieces for another game of chess. A few change for the
better. There's one person that I get on with very well now, thought
we weren’t on speaking terms for our last two years at school. One
day, we met at a party and made it up and got engaged the same
evening.
Source: Language In Use

The meaning of "make it up", as I look up in the Longman dictionary, is "to become friendly with someone again after you have had an argument". However, that meaning does not seem to fit in the last sentence of the second paragraph. Am I wrong and could you suggest its correct meaning in this context?


texts: What is the meaning of this sentence from C N Adichie's TED talk?

texts:
The following passage is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk "The Danger of a Single Story".

  "All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist on only these
  negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many
  other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes,
  and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue,
  but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only
  story."

What is the contextual meaning of the bolded sentence above?


texts:
What is the difference between the following pair of sentences?

  He formed a resolution not to speculate any more.

  He formed a resolution to not speculate any more


texts:
In the British movie "Pirate Radio", Alistair family having dinner with Twatt:

  Alistair daughter: Would you like a mince pie?

  Twatt: Yes, l would. Thank you.

  Alistair: Shall we have another go at the thing?

  Twatt: Cracker, sir?

  Alistair: Yes, the cracker thing.

What does "another go at the thing" means?


texts:
A sentence is in Disjunctive Normal Form if it is a disjunction, the
  disjuncts of which are themselves conjunctions of sentence letters
  and negated sentence letters. In this characterization we allow as a
  special case that a disjunction may have only one disjunct and a
  conjunction may have only one conjunct.

(You don't have to understand this logical jibberish.)

Does may here mean can or might? The difference is significant: it either must have only one disjunct, or it might have one or a different number of disjuncts.


texts: I am leaving town for a few days. can I use definite article ’the’ before the uncountable noun ’town’ here

texts: Here the town is an uncountable noun When referred to work place or place where I live and don’t use an article.But in the conversation if I had mentioned the word town or spoke about it already,should I have to say I am leaving town for a few days or I am leaving the town for a few days?


texts:
I would like to use the word "significant" with the word "more".

Here is my sentence:

  Estimating the model parameters using method A will provide significant
  more flexible models.

I fell my sentence is wrong, but not sure. Any help, please?


texts: What's the meaning and usage of “Speak with your feet”?

texts:
Is speak with your feet similar to vote with your feet?

And should it be used in positive context? For example:

  Let's vote/speak with your feet by joining the fundraising activity.


texts: "As time goes by" vs. "As time has gone by"

texts:
I wonder what the difference between the two phrases given in the title is. For example:

  As time goes by, people have learned that the earth is not the center of the universe.

  As time has gone by, people no longer think the earth is the center of the universe.

  As time goes by, people have no longer thought that the earth is the center of the universe.

  As time has gone by, people think the earth is not the center of the universe.

Here is my confusion:

Are both phrases correct? (present simple vs. present perfect)
What's the correct combination for "As time goes by"/"As time has gone by", the existence of "no longer" (for things that has changed), and whether the following sentence uses a simple tense or a perfect tense?


texts: Is the phrase "solve the math question" incorrect?

texts:
I'm told by an English teacher not to use a verb, "solve", when a noun like "a question [or questions]" follows the verb. However, I see "solve" used with "questions" in ODE or on the Internet.  He suggests that I should memorize "solve the problem"", not "the question", and that I should use a verb like "answer" when "a question" follows the verb. This makes sense, because "to answer" means "to provide the required response to a question"(ODE).

Considering "to solve" means "to find an answer to or explanation for[something]"(ODE), is it possible to say "to solve the math questions"?

I'd appreciate it if you should rate the following sentences by A (grammatical and natural), B(acceptable but not so common), and C (ungrammatical)?

I asked him how to solve the math problem yesterday.
I asked him how to solve the math question yesterday.
I asked him how to answer the math question yesterday.
I asked him how to answer the math problem yesterday.


texts:
I always think that we can use "v-ing" to combine two phrases when two interconnected activities are going on.

For example : In sentence two, "explainig situation" and "having a hard time" is a interconnected activiy, happining at the same time. So I can combine "explaining situation" with my main clause "have trouble".

Is there some kind of special name for this usage? What is the logic behind that usage? It is like reduced adverbial clauses but I know it isn't.

  1- I still have trouble expressing myself.

  2- She had a hard time explaining the situation.

  3- I always feel comfortable doing research there.

  4- People sometimes have problems reading my writing.


texts: Some question about a sentence in the book Never Let Me go

texts:
I was stuck in Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

  Because she said she'd a good mind to talk about it herself.

I understand the sentence but never read this form, does the 'd mean would? Even so could you explain me this usecase?
Also how do you read it outloud ? I guess she would a good mind but it doesn't feel natural to me.

Thanks

Bonus:

  ... and explain why it was we went

Shouldn't be why we went or why we did go ?


texts: Is "multiple times" the best word for this kind of situation?

texts:
I am looking for a word that means that something will improve with double, triple etc. speed, but not be that specific.

Example:

  The new trains will increase the speed by multiple times compared to the old ones.

Is this a good use of "multiple times" and is it interpreted that the speed will increase with approximately  2+ times?


texts:
In one of my books it says that you omit the definite article in cases when you talk about things in general. Is there a sentence in which I could use 20s or 60s as a time period of some years without the?

This is an example with a definite article (I think):

  We got through the 20s as ...

Does this mean that we got through the 20's of the current/last century (1920s in this case)?

Could there be something like this?

  We love 20s.

Does this mean that we love the 20s of any century in general?

Or is perhaps "20s" without an article possible in some other context?

I'm a bit confused about what is a general thing and what is a unique thing which is with
the as well, at least in my books. For example:

  Let's meet at the cinema.

...meaning a unique cinema in a city.


texts: Is saying 'sarcastic humour' proper? Example: "Your humour isn't sarcastic enough."

texts:
For example:

  My humour isn't sarcastic enough.

I haven't seen its use in anywhere before. Is it okay to use? If not then what can be a proper way to say it?


texts: Which tense should I use in this sentence?

texts:
I want to say that someone is my favorite actor for the last 10 years, and that he still is.

Do I say

He is my favorite actor for the last 10 years.
He has been my favorite actor for the last 10 years.
He is being my favorite actor for the last 10 years.


texts:
I need to write a sentence in my thesis relative to the preference of the user for a specific topic.
The phrase is:

  We also enhance our system with additional features such as user interests.

Is it correct to refer to "user interests" or "user's interests"?

Generally, I have some doubts with the expressions like "user interests" or "user's interests" or "interests of the user". I do not know what is the general rule, when I can use one or the others.