texts:
Scenario one)
Please imagine someone has been awake because of many thoughts and worries that has been thinking about the whole last night. (These thoughts did not allow him to sleep.)
The person gets up in the morning and goes to work and his colleague finds him drowsy and asks why are you so sleepy?
The person can say:
a. I couldn’t fall asleep last night.
b. I couldn’t drop off last night.
I was wondering if the both sentences mean the same here. (I think they mean the same, but I guess some people from different countries / regions may find them not interchangeable here, while "drop off" has some more common meanings to them.)
Scenario 2)
Now, let's imagine he and his wife are preparing to sleep, but after a while, the wife notices her husband keeps tossing and turning in the manner that is obvious the man is still up! What should the wife ask her spouse to discover why her husband cannot sleep?
a. Why don't you sleep?
b. Why don't you fall asleep?
c. Why don't you drop off?


texts: Prepositional phrases adverbial or adjective

texts:
To be capable of working with people of different cultures on a project without having any conflicts is the ability we must possess.

"Of different cultures" is an adjective describing "people"

and I think
"with people of different cultures" "on a project" "without having any conflicts" should be adverbs that modify "working" instead of adjective phrases that modify the noun in front of it?

"on a project" is not an adjective for "cultures"

"without having any conflicts" is not an adjective for" project"

Am I right about this?

If what I wrote is correct, then it seems like multiple adverbial prepositional phrases are used to modify the same verb , is this acceptable?


texts:
As we regularly use:

  at the top-left, at the bottom right etc. for describing a picture.

But how should I express that my shirt has a cut at the back that is at the bottom.

Can I say:

  There is a cut at the bottom-back of my shirt.

Are bottom-back, top- front valid?

Thanks in advance.


texts: What's the difference between 'voices that care' and ' caring voices'?

texts:
I want to know the difference between 'voices that care' and ' caring voices' in meaning.
Please, tell me the difference in meaning.


texts: "For what do you go to school?" or "What do you go to school for?"

texts:
What is the difference in the following two sentences?

For what do you go to school?
What do you go to school for?


texts:
I heard people said "don't try yourself so crazy" in the movie "Almost Christmas".

I am not sure I misheard it.

Bu no dictionary says about "try yourself + adj".

do we have structure "try yourself + adj"?

please refer a resource to your answer!


texts: When are the present perfect simple and continuous interchangeable, and when are they not?

texts:
Let me give some examples to give you guys a good idea of my question.

My friend says that a sentence like this sounds weird.

  I have built my house for 2 years.

He says I should say this.

  I have been building my house for 2 years.

I understand why the sentence he gave me is correct. I do not understand why they cannot both be used because of these two sentences.

  I have lived here for 2 years.
  I have been living here for 2 years.

Native speakers tell to me that these mean almost the same.

Why is "I have..." not acceptable for the first sentence. How does this apply to other sentences?

  I have slept for 2 hours.
  I have been sleeping for 2 hours.

One is not okay?


texts:
Is it correct to say e.g. "I like your way of wearing" or "the way you wear looks perfect"?

Is it politely? Is it in use or not? May I use "the way you wear" referring to whole wearings including dress, scarf, hat, bracelet. jewellery, etc?

Thank you for your suggestions in advance.


texts:
In a war, You either shoot or be shot.
(This sentence is written in the sense of telling a general fact about war, it's not in imperative mood)
One explanation I think is Since Either-or is Correlative conjunction...so the items they are connecting must follow the same grammatical structure.
Here, 'be' is a primary verb and 'Shot' a noun working as a verb complement.
Another reason I guess is  After 'either' we use a plain verb not Infinitive verb....so after 'or' we have to remove 'to' from 'to be shot' in the process of giving passive sense and not using  a passive of Infinitive verb(but it doesn't follow the same grammatical structure theory...as First verb is in active structure and second in passive).
Which of them is correct or they r both wrong?


texts:
Do you take a swig "of" or "from" a bottle?
I have done some research, but can't find a clear answer to this. Are both correct?


texts:
I am confused about how I can use the word 'forged' in my English essay.
Here is my sentence:

Through building an undying bond with his son, forged through the omnipotence of love, they survive even the most savage of extremes.

When I looked up the definition of forged on google it said it meant a counterfeit. Yet you can forge a strong alliance - so can one forge a strong bond?


texts: What is the key to understanding 'would' in this case?

texts:
I can't separate the two different cases of using 'would' in this situation:

  "Oh no!" I said, and that's when I couldn't hold it in anymore.  Everything that had just happened kind of hit me and I couldn't help it: I  started to cry. Like big crying, what Mom would call "the waterworks."

I hesitate between seeing this as a repeated action or an imaginary situation.
Could I get any help?

  If Mom was here right now, she would call it 'the waterworks'

OR

  When I was younger, I used to cry. Mom would call my crying 'the waterworks'

I'm having a lot of trouble with 'would' now and I don't have clue how natives understand it immediately by the context.  Why does it mean what it actually means in this case? Where is the clue?


texts:
e.g
1)They are to make an announcement today.
2)They are going to make an announcement today.

Hi all, my question is that What is the different between these two sentence?
What is the different between "are to make" and "are going to make"?


texts: Light-hearted alternative for "very knowledgeable person"?

texts:
Suppose I want to refer to a very knowleageable person in a light-hearted, informal, yet not direspectful manner. For example,

This is a tricky question that requires insight and a historical background of English. I suggest you to consult the {very knowledgeable persons} in English Language Learners Stack, who will likely provide good answers.

Looking for "knowledgeable" in dictionaries, I have found "versed" and "lettered", but both sound too formal. Do you know any alternative?


texts:
Sentence:-

"I highly/richly deserve this honour."
"He highly/richly deserves this punishment."

According to my textbook 1. Ans: "highly"
2. Ans: "richly"
As both "highly" and "richly" conveys "to a large degree" how to decide which one to use?


texts:
Can "his murder" mean two different things?

The murder of a male person (him)
A man's crime, e.g His murder of someone


texts: Is it correct to add an adjective after a preposition?

texts:
Here is a sentence from an English magazine:

  With the weather still on this side of chilly, it might be better to stay in and nest ― especially when nursing a cold.

Why not write on this side of chill? Can we always add an adjective after a preposition?


texts:
They believe this.
  Should they?
  They are taken as believing this.
  Should they?

While (1) sounds fine, something seems to be off with (2). Shouldn't it be "should they be?" in (2)? Is "should they" grammatical in (2)? Even if it is grammatically sound, is there something semantically off in (2) when compared with (1).


texts: Why is there "the" in "The organic acids are weak in the sense that this ionisation is very incomplete."?

texts:
From Chemguide:

  The organic acids are weak in the sense that this ionisation is very incomplete. At any one time, most of the acid will be present in the solution as un-ionised molecules.

The author speaks about organic acids in general, not about some specific group of organic acids. Why then he uses the definite article?

Wouldn't it be better this way:

  Organic acids are weak in the sense that this ionisation is very incomplete. At any one time, most of the acid will be present in the solution as un-ionised molecules.


texts:
Can you help me to check if my grammar is okay in this sentence:
"Implemented data visualization (charts) about the number of recovering and deaths from coronavirus."
Thanks!
I have absolute numbers about the number of recovering and deaths.


texts: Difference between subjunctive and conditional

texts:
I am a Spanish speaker. Recently I found the following sentence in linguee.com:

  I had never been married and I was sure that I would never find anyone who would love and accept me, especially...

I also found the following one:

  This amendment cannot be accepted as it would exclude from the Directive anyone who had taken a distance-learning course...

Now, in Spanish we would say the second sentence just as it is written here with "had taken" in subjuntive. Can someone explain why the first sentence uses the conditional "would love" instead of the past subjuntive "anyone who loved me" just like in the other sentence? Or why the second sentence is not written "anyone who would have written"?

What is the difference between them? They are both hypothetical, aren't they?


texts: past simple vs past perfect in conditionals

texts:
I was brushing up on usage of if-clauses and came across one misunderstanding. M. Swan provide some sentences as an example in the lesson about unrealised present and future possibilities:

  If my mother had been alive, she would have been 80 next year.
  If my mother were alive, she would be 80 next year.

These two sentences have exactly the same meaning and it's more-or-less clear to me.

He also provides the following example:

  If I became President, I'd be a good one. -- (said by schoolboy)

Can it be said as:

  If I had become President, I'd have been a good one.

with the same meaning?

I think, no it can't. This is because the situation is pure-imaginary at the moment and it doesn't relate to some unrealised past, present or future possibilities. Is my understanding correct?


texts: What is the difference between a letter and a character?

texts:
Can anyone tell me the difference between a letter and a character in the English language ?

What I found so far:

letter is the basic unit of alphabet and
character is a symbol.

Is there any elaborate explanation, please? I am having trouble understanding the nuances of what that means. When is something a character but not a letter, and vice versa? Is there any overlap between the two terms?


texts:
The aim of studying English is to keep abreast of the times.

If the sentence is changed into an it-cleft construction...

It is to keep abreast of the times that is the aim of studying English.
It is the aim of studying English that is to keep abreast of the times.

Which one is grammatically correct?


texts: What does "intuite from" mean in this content?

texts:
Aristotle correctly intuited from this curved shadow that the Earth is curvy all around

What does this sentence structure intuit from mean in this content?

Regards!


texts: What does `with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.` mean here?

texts:
The target sentence
https://docs.gimp.org/2.8/en/

  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

To divided it into two parts.
part1

  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation

part2

  with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts

There is a semicolom between part1 and part2.

From part1, people can copy ,distribute ,modify the document under GNU license,i knew it.

How about part2?

1.Part2 is a  independent sentence which omit some important thing--verb.
If it is ,please write the whole sentence.

2.part2 is just a part of part1
Part2 is like a adverbs to modify part1?If it is so,to use semicolon between them is incorrect.

Which one is correct?
And what is the meaning  of "with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts."


texts: Alternative word for "less than or equal to"

texts:
I want to ask about the number of people whose ages are less than or equal to 18. It is important to be precise and mention that also this includes those whose ages equal to 18 (therefore less than 18 is not suitable)
So I have this sentence:

How many girls whose ages are less than or equal to 18 do you have?

Is there any better way to describe this age range?


texts:
Many of blues great Bessie Smith’s songs describe the experiences of
  southern Black migrants, especially the struggles of Black women to
  adjust to urban life in the northern United States.

In the appositive 'the struggles of black women' why do we write 'struggles' not 'struggle' for describing 'black women' which is plural? Why is using a singular verb with a plural subject right here?


texts:
A boy was holding a milk carton which has a little milk. He then shook the carton and some milk came out and fell onto the table.
In the dictionary, they say

shake: [+ object] : to force (something) out of something by shaking
He shook (out) the sand from his sandals.

So, I think I can apply this structure into my sentence "he shook (out) milk (from his carton) onto the table" and I omit adverbs in the brackets.
Is it correct to say "he shook milk onto the table"?


texts: Which bus are you taking/will you be taking (to mean: "which bus will you be on, tomorrow?)

texts:
We were going on a trip. My class was divided into two groups. There were two buses. So my friend wanted to ask me Which bus will you be on tomorrow?"

But is it fine to use:

  Which bus are you taking? (tomorrow)

  Which bus will you be taking? (tomorrow)

What sounds natural out of the two?

Thank you:)


texts: How do you say "spread something like seeds by casting a wide net by throwing" idiomatically?

texts:
How do you say "spread something like seeds by casting a wide net by throwing"?
I can't think of anything.
The only phrase I can think of is "spread the seeds widely", but it doesn't sound idiomatic or grammatical.


texts:
I am confused about the following fill-in-the-blank question.

  The two men walked back to
  where their friend was supposed to be cooking
  the rice.

  They supposed that the cook ________ the rice.

was cooking
to be cooking

Which answer is correct and why?


texts:
A number of public scandals has recently led to new federal legislation, which is creating higher demand for forensic accountants.

I had thought that since the subject is "A number (of)", "has" is appropriate. However, apparently, "has" should be replaced with "have". Could someone help me understand this please?


texts:
From NPR

Omar Hurricane is a researcher using the laser. He's at Lawrence Livermore Lab and he goes to work not through those big front doors but through an underground service tunnel.
That long walk down the tunnel gives me a sense of the scale. And actually that's also, in that tunnel where, you know, I start to feel some of the anxieties and kind of give the facility a pat on the wall for good luck.

For "some of the anxieties", I feel a little odd. Usually I say "I have some of these apples." But what's the meaning of "some of the anxieties"? He only has part of the anxieties? How about I started to feel some anxieties?

For "give the facility a pat on the wall". Pat what? Pat the facility or pat the wall? (The facility is referred to a machine used to produce nuclear fusion.)


texts: Putting a word between "every" and "day"

texts:
Can I put any word between every and day in these circumstances:

  I feel disappointed every exam day.

  He brings his umbrella along every cloudy day.

Thank you.


texts:
After a year I'm writing you again. Is this statement correct?

Could I use the definite article before the year or the meaning would be different then?


texts: The order of the verb and adverbial phrase in question

texts:
Which order is correct?

How much milk is in the fridge left?
How much milk is left in the fridge?


texts: Understanding of English native thinking

texts:
In Russian, in most cases we have endings for creating desirable construction. My assumption is that English has auxiliary words in most cases. And we use those words like our attitude to next action, as in:

  I (do|can|did|will|may) drink

In the example, we have an action (drink), and an auxiliary verb: I do drink (I do this everyday), I will drink (I want to drink, but not now), I will have drunk (I want to be drunk at the evening).

If I say that auxiliary verbs show you treatment of next action, then can I say something like this?

  I didn't will have drunk 10 glass of beer everyday.

Is that sentence grammatically correct? I know that nobody says so, but can I say so, like I didn't use to be messed up after 10 glasses of beer everyday or something similar?


texts: What does it mean when you ask someone ''Do you know what you're saying''?

texts: Is it telling someone that he/she does not realize that what he/she is saying is wrong,bad,strange,etc and that they're asking them that to check on what they saying is wrong,bad,strange,etc?


texts:
The original sentence:

  The changes identified by David Graddol all present clear and major challenges to the UK's providers of English language teaching to people of other countries and to broader education sectors.

My understanding:

  The changes present challenges to people of other countries and to broader education sectors. (i.e. present something to somebody and to somebody.)

But according to the answer, it should be:

  ...challenges to the UK's providers ... and to broader education sectors. (i.e. challenges to somebody and to somebody.)

I think both are right. The meaning depends on the context(available at here), but it seems to make sense to me in both ways...

I am literally confused by it. Please help!


texts:
If I am writing the sentence "But with this system I can indicate how many days it exists"

With it I mean a file for on your computer.

Is this sentence right or should it be without the s because the s is already in the day(s)?

So confused, searched some forums but I hope someone can explain it to me!


texts: Usage of the expression 'I'm having somebody', probably British slang

texts:
When Liam Gallagher says He's having Sid Vicious, what does that mean, does he dig him or not?

Liam was answering question What does He think of Sid Vicious - that all the context I have. I've a strong feeling that he does like Sid, but it's interesting, is this expression commonly used.

He tweeted just today ‘I’m having him’.


texts: What is the meaning of "You speak no English"?

texts:
I had listened this sentence somewhere, but couldn't recall where. Today I listened the same sentence in the song "Wanna Know" by "Obie Trice".

So what is the meaning of the line,

  You speak no English

To me it appears that it means that you do not speak any kind of English.

Edit

I am a bit confused with the meaning of the word any here. When does the word no become any?

I know that a sentence like "I don't care about nobody" means "I don't care about anybody". Does "no" become "any" only in double-negative type of sentences? But there are sentences like, "I have no pen"  mean "I don't have any pen". That is "no" is equivalent to "any" in usual sentences also.

Another thing, when we say "I have no pen", it means that "I don't have any type of pen. So a sentence like "I have no X" requires there to be a number of different types of X to exist. But in some sentences like "I have no milk", it means "I don't have any amount of milk". Could you clear the things up, when is no=any kind of and when is any=any amount of. Still I can understand when any=any amount or any=any kind of, from the context, but I can't conceive an objective criteria for this.


texts: Is ‘understand’ a noun in the sentence below?

texts:
Now the teacher plays the tapes or reads the text again, pausing after every sentence to check the students understand.

Is ‘understand’ a noun in the sentence above?


texts:
Which sentence is correct from below and why?
If both are correct the how to give answer to both question?

1) If you have one day to live what would you do?

2a) If you had one day to live what would you do?

I think question 2a) should be ask like this

2b) If you had one day to live what would you have done?


texts:
It will be great if someone can help rectify it.

  It will be great if someone can help rectifying it.

May I know which one above is grammatical?


texts: Are the following intransitive verbs, or transitive verbs?

texts:
When using Cognate objects. eg. "I dreamt a strange dream". Is the verb intransitive because 'dreamt' doesn't need the object here, or is it a Transitive because we have an object for the verb.
When adding preposition. eg. "All his friends laughed at him" - Transitive or Intransitive and why?
When using Adverbial object. eg. "The watch cost nine hundred dollars". - Transitive or Intransitive and why?


texts:
Can aroma be associated with perfume? I think that it is usually associated with food. I’m writing a technical document and would like to be precise.

What is the difference if I choose the words scent/odour/smell/fragrance?

Sentence:

  The seed powder is the most influential ingredient in giving the fragrance.

  Therefore, odour is added in the formula to reduce it (the fragrance).


texts: What do you call someone who won't compromise and will do everything to win 100%?

texts:
Is there an idiom that allows you to express this idea? I am either trying to find an idiom, or a word, or an adjective that I can use in a phrase during a casual conversation. As long as you manage to convey the idea in a good-sounding way, I would be okay with anything.

The only way I could express this is the following way:

  This guy would not give any inch, and is ready to die for it.

The above doesn't sound too idiomatic and the "it" may be a bit ambiguous.


texts: Pronunciation of "last night" in American English (Casual Speech)

texts: when the question "What did you do last night?" is pronounced, do Americans tend to drop the "t" in the word "last" or is it just a glottal stop? I'm looking for feedback from native speakers. Thank you!


texts:
Thailand is linked with/to Peninsular Malaysia on the main land of Asia.

What is the correct usage of "link" in the sentence, linked with or linked to?


texts: What does this explanation about using 'seal' verb mean?

texts:
Explanation:

  Fry (food) briefly at a high temperature to prevent it from losing moisture during subsequent cooking

Video

According to the explanation, its description fits 'sear' meaning

Question:

  What does this explanation mean if it isn't sear or cauterization?


texts:
"Derive", "infer", "deduct" and "deduce" do have similar meanings.

However, to infer is to make an educated guess, while to deduce is to conclude after a more prolonged analysis of relevant factors.

How about "derive" and "deduce"?

Is "derive" the same as "infer"?


texts:
Please let me know which sentence is correct?

  Upon checking, you are indeed correct. You did pay the balance on your credit card. We will refund you the amount in your next pay check.

Or

  Upon checking, you are indeed correct. You did paid the balance on your credit card. We will refund you the amount in your next pay check.


texts:
"Had l realized what you intended,______________.

  A) I could do the right thing
  B) I should not have wasted my time trying to explain the matters to you
  C) I would tell hım what to do

I picked A but according  to my book right answer is B


texts: Does "somewhere and sometime" make sense, alluding to the future?

texts: If referring to an issue that can´t be resolved here and now in a song (a break up) and if hoping that this matter could at least be discussed under better circumstances in the future. Would the phrase "But somewhere and sometime" make any sense? Could it be the title of the song?


texts: Is it more correct to say "greased hair" or "gelled hair" when referring to hair on which gel has been applied?

texts:
Can "greased hair" mean  "dirty hair", which is something I don't want to?
On google I found both "gelled" and "greased", but I was wondering if they had the same meaning.


texts: What does "Re:" in a business letter mean? When should we use it?


texts:
There is a passage that I cannot understand. It is from one of the LSAT prep tests.

  Superconductors are substances that conduct electricity without
  resistance at low temperatures. Their use, however, will never be
  economically feasible, unless there is a substance that superconducts
  at a temperature above minus 148 Celsius. If there is such a
  substance, that substance must be an alloy of niobium and germanium.
  Unfortunately, such alloys superconduct at temperatures no higher than
  minus 160 degrees Celsius.

For me, a sentence "If there ... germanium." seems to be saying that an alloy of niobium and germanium can superconduct at a temperature higher than minus 148. However, the last sentence ("Unfortunately...Celsius") says that such alloys cannot superconduct at a temperature higher than minus 160, so for me it sounds like this whole passage does not make sense.

The passage says that there should be a material that superconduct at higher temperature than -148 for economic feasibility, and alloy of niobium and germanium is the only material that could satisfy this requirement. Then, suddenly it says that such alloy cannot superconduct at higher temperature than -160 (which is also higher than -148). What am I understanding wrong here?


texts: Is this sentence grammatical, "Power measure going to watts"?

texts:
It sounds like the lecturer is saying

  Power measure going to watts.

Is this sentence grammatical?


texts: Which sentence should I say to change my shoes?

texts:
Let's say that  I bought a shose but after going home I realized that it is small for me . In this case which sentence would be better to tell this situation to staff in the shoe store?

  I need one size bigger shoes than this.

  I need one size bigger one of this model.

  I need this shoes in size one number bigger than this.


texts: "Before I know it" vs "before I knew it."

texts:
Should I write "before I know it" or "before I knew it" when speaking in the present tense?

Example sentence:

  "This boss is too tyrannical. Before I know it/before I knew
  it, I'll/I'd become his slave."

I chose the first version, but a native English speaker told me I should use the second.


texts: What is the difference between now and yet

texts:
I said to friend: "I got screwed". "Want me to explain how?"
  He replied: "not yet".

I expected "Not now"

Are now and yet same things? I dont think so.

What is difference between now and yet?

As far as I think Yet means until now

And now is the present time

So he used the wrong word in my opinion - am I correct?


texts:
“I’ll call you when I get there.”

This could be said to a person who comes to see me off in a terminal, I think. But this ‘will’ seems to be somewhat awkward, in that ‘will’ denotes strong willingness that has an implicature of actualization (CGEL, p.212). We can see that this farewell saying is just stereotyped one and not rarely they forget about the ‘willingness’. So there seems to be a contradiction to use ‘will’ in the situation.
However, “I’ll going to call you when I get there” seems to be stranger than ‘will’. For although ‘be going’ is an intention not volition, it has an implicature of arrangement. It would be funny to arrange to call the person who comes to see me off.
Can the ‘will’ be okay in the situation?


texts: The ways to say someone has had ear or umbilicus / umbilical piercings

texts:
What a native speaker would usually say to indicate someone has had ear piercings? My translations are as below, but I'm not sure if they are natural:

  She has pierced her (ear lobe / umbilicus).

  She has a piercing on her (ear lobe / umbilicus).


texts:
What does "big queen" mean?
This phrase was used in the 1st episode of "the office" series.


texts: How many friends were invited by you Vs How many friends were you invited by?

texts:
I am confused which type of passive sentence should be used and why

Active

  How many friends did you invite?

Passive

  1 How many friends were invited by you?

or

  2 How many friends were you invited by?


texts: Use of 'do' in interrogative of Present tense

texts:
We say that "Do we have class today?"

Can we say that "Do there is class today?".Or,we must say "Is there class today?".


texts: What is the meaning of "every of the sons"?

texts:
I read this question on facebook,

  A man and his wife have three sons and every of the sons has a sister.
  How many members are there in the
  family ?
  A. 8
  B. 10
  C. 6
  D. 12

I've never heard of the construction of type, every of the... What does it mean? Does it mean each of the...?


texts: Why is "had" followed by a past participle while "had to" followed by an infinitive?

texts:
"Had" is an auxiliary verb, right? In which case it should be followed by an infinitive. Why is it followed by a past participle in that case? Am I mistaken?
Example "she had paid" vs "she had to pay".


texts:
An excerpt from a brochure about basic electrical safety for industrial electricians:

  Use only electric equipment and tools that are approved for the atmosphere
  found inside the confined area. It may be necessary to obtain a
  burning permit to operate tools that have open brushes and that spark
  when they are operated.

What exactly is a burning permit?


texts: When person is ill because of cold, then he "caught cold" or "got cold"?

texts:
When a person is ill because of cold, then we can say about him that

  "He caught cold"

(in 1st p.: "I caught cold" or in modal "you can catch cold if you will not dress properly")

or

  "He got cold"?

(in 1st p.: "I got cold" or in modal "you can get cold if you will not dress properly")

Normally I've used "got cold" but someone wrote me that she caught cold (she's not Native English speaker) and that's what brought me to ask my question here.

In addition, I would love to know about the usage of these phrases or corresponding phrases in in the main English speaking countries such as: US, Britain, Canada and Australia (AmE, BrE, CaE, AuE).


texts: Is there a word for someone who is biased, or prejudiced against, or who harbors contempt for poor people?

texts:
What is a good word to describe someone who is like racist or class-ist or homophobic, but instead whom they don't like is don't like poor people?

I'd like a word that gets the point across with enough truth to be noticable, yet not necessarily be viewed as an attack.


texts: Using "called" to modify an entire preceding sentence

texts:
Is there any possible contexts in which called (as a past participle) can be used modifying the whole preceding sentence?

For example:

  "Some people can't recognize whether their behaviors are morally
  right or not, called the psychopath phenomenon".

Is "called" modifying "some people can't recognize whether their behaviors are morally right or not" ?
Can we think that "which is" is implied as in "which is called the psychopath phenomenon" ?


texts: What are the differences between "receptacle" and "container"?

texts:
Generally, both "receptacle" and "container" refer to an object that contains some other object(s). What are the differences between these two words? Do they differ in meaning, usage, or origin?

I searched "difference between receptacle and container" in Google but the only two relevant results ([1], [2]) can both be summarized as "They are basically the same thing".


texts:
Would you tell me what BUT means here?

I think it means BUT FOR, or OTHER THAN.

I have no choice but to listen to the doctor.


texts:
5th Pillar is an NGO fighting against the corruption in India. As a part of non-cooperation movement against corruption, it has come up with a zero rupee note. Here is its image:

Now, my question is: Should we write 'zero rupees' or 'zero rupee'?
'Zero rupee' is written everywhere in the site.


texts:
Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had
  just  thought of something that made him feel as though the happy
  balloon inside him had got a puncture. "Um –– Hagrid?"
        "Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.
  "I haven't got any money –– and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ...
  he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."
  "Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his
  head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"
       "But if their house was destroyed ––"
       "They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy!
  Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold –– an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer
  birthday cake, neither." (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

What does ‘nah’ mean?
(If it meant ‘no’, its location would be better in the previous sentence, I think. And so I suspect it might have some other meaning, but to find nothing except ‘no’.)


texts: The adjectives of temperature: hot, warm, cool and cold

texts:
I have found the information submitted by Clifford H. Prator, professor of English, University of California, in his research paper published in the book "Teaching English as a Second Language".

He goes on to say that the adjectives of temperature hot, warm, cool and cold are illogical in English.He was talking about the weather

He cited an example to show how their use is illogical:

"If the temperature starts falling, we cannot say that 'It is hot',  'It is warm', 'It is cool',  and 'It is cold'. Instead, we have to say  "It is hot", "It is getting cool" , "It is cold" – Omitting  warm. And a natural rising progression would be "It is cold", "It is warming up" and 'It is cold' – leaving out cool"

I would like to know how native speakers describe the falling sequence of the temperature and the rising progression  since the professor's findings on the weather in the research paper are considered  wrong by them


texts:
According to the dictionary the meanings of Vanish and Banish are the same or almost the same. Is there any subtle difference?

  Banish:
  to expel from or relegate to a country or place by authoritative decree; condemn to exile: He was banished to Devil's Island.
  to compel to depart; send, drive, or put away: to banish sorrow.

  Vanish:
  to disappear from sight, especially quickly; become invisible: The frost vanished when the sun came out.
  to go away, especially furtively or mysteriously; disappear by quick departure: The thief vanished in the night.


texts: "I wonder how do you feel" vs "I wonder how you feel"

texts:
I am going to prepare a letter. A piece of that letter is as follows:

"I wonder how you feel about those musics. After all, those are musics from a completely different culture that of your country culture."

I wonder if I should use "how do you feel" instead of "how you feel" in the above context. I found examples of both in the web.


texts: Why should the "T" in "T-shirt" be capitalized?

texts: Wiktionary says that the "T" in "T-shirt" should be capitalized, with "t-shirt" an alternative spelling. Why is an upper case "T" preferred?


texts: Rephrasing this phrase "through this three-year journey" so that it can be read aloud less awkwardly?

texts:
I am not a native English speaker and I wrote the phrase "Through this three-year journey". Then I found it awkward to be read aloud because there are three consecutive words in the phrase that begin with "th".

I wonder if there is a phrase such that it is equivalent in meaning to the given phrase and one can read it aloud more fluently and easily?


texts:
Could you help me to figure out one thing?

My task is to comment on the modifications of consonants by the neighbouring sounds(assimilation,ellision). But there are some words in the task where I don't see any modifications of consonants:

  bright [braɪt]
  great [ɡreɪt]
  duty [ˈdjuːtɪ]
  beauty [ˈbjuːtɪ]

I want to know, is it just me,or the task is incorrect?


texts:
In Drama film/Biography film The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Preacher,Jerry Falwell filed a case on Larry Flynt, Hustler Magazine, in supreme court for potraying his image in satrical parody way in
Hustler magazine. So Justice Scalia said this words after hearing
Alan Isaacman, Larry Flynt's lawyer words.

  Alan: I saw a political cartoon that's over 200 years old. It depicts
  George Washington, riding on a donkey, being led by a man, and the
  caption suggests this man is leading an ass to Washington.

  Justice: I can handle that. I think George can handle that. But that's
  a far cry from committing incest with your  mother in an outhouse. I
  mean, there's no line between the two?

  Alan: Uh... No, Justice Scalia. There is no line between the
  two. Because what you're talking about is a matter of taste, not law.

What is the meaning of "there's no line between the two"?


texts:
I haven't used this sort of structures for quite a while in my writing experience, so it would be nice if someone helped me.

  In a recent study researchers applied the said method to investigate
  microbial composition of 10 samples of varying geographical and
  agricultural affinity proving 9 of them significantly different
  and highlighting geographic area-specific peaks in most profiles.

Basically I'm not sure about the highlighted parts. The sentence is supposed to mean the following:

  In a recent study researchers applied the said method to investigate
  microbial composition of 10 samples of varying geographical and
  agricultural affinity. They showed that 9 of the samples were significantly different and highlighted geographic area-specific peaks in most profiles.


texts: What is the meaning of this " ones short leaves in war"?

texts:
"Perhaps all this is merely a legacy from ones short leaves in the war" is an excerpt from "big four" by agatha christie

"Ones short leaves in war " in the big four by agatha christie


texts: Why use “has” for a plural subject here?

texts: As you can see from the picture, this is a paragraph from Time. I think "memories" is the subject, but "has" is used here. Did I get it wrong?


texts: "You will find taxis waiting at the bus station ______ you can hire to reach your host family"

texts:
You will find taxis waiting at the bus station __ you can hire to reach your host family

Two options:

  which
  where

Which one is correct?
I think (2), but the answer is (1): why is that?


texts:
I try to figure out if I can use "now and then" to refer to "past-present-future", as a free interpretation?

Or is the logical meaning in English always "Occasionally"?
I need this information in a research for a product name.


texts:
That is hardly consistent with fundamental tax reform.

Does "hardly consistent" mean "not consistent at all"?


texts: Sentence structures to start an informal email

texts:
Are these correct sentence structures to start an email to friend? If no, How to correct the sentence structures?

  The purpose of I am sending this email is to..
  The purpose I am sending this email is to..
  The reason for sending this email is to..


texts: Is there any way of expression to substitute "to be called into question"?

texts:
I wish to replace "to be called into question" with "raise doubt over" or "cast doubt on" in the sentence below:

  Based on the judgment on Case No. xxxx (X v. Y), would the independence of such authorities be called into question?

I don't know how to make it grammatically correct?


texts: I work the whole day/ i work for the whole day

texts:
If I wanted to say
"I work all day every week days"
Using "whole day" instead of "all day",
Should I say

"I work the whole day every week days?

Or

"I work whole days every week days"

Or

"I work a whole day every week days"

Or

"I work whole day every week days"

It will be helpful if there's an explanation why which is correct.
Thanks!


texts: What is difference between these three sentences- "would", "would have", and "will"

texts:
1.Tag those who'll attend her concert

2.Tag those who'd attend her concert

3.Tag those who'd have attended her concert


texts: What is the noun for knowledgeable? knowledgeableness looks awkward. Thanks!


texts: What is the difference between can and could in 'Can/could you please explain this to me?'

texts:
Can you please explain this to me?

  Could you please explain this to me?

I am unable to figure out which to use which situation. I did google, and some posts say they are both the same, even if the second one is more formal. Other posts say could is the past tense of can, but in the above example, I don't think could is used as past tense of can.

What is correct way to use these words?


texts: Correct sentence construction using before

texts:
Can we use past participls after before?

He finished his work before his boss arrived.

Or

He finished his work before his boss arrives.


texts:
I often see both appearances "Come, sit..." and "Come sit...", which is correct?

P.s. what if there are three consecutive verbs?

Come, sit, tell me your story.
Come sit, tell me your story.


texts:
It was raining for three days. the farmers were very happy to water their fields.

or

  It has been raining for three days. the farmers were very happy to water their fields.

I normally would choose has been raining, but the time of the second sentence refers that maybe the event ended and it is not raining anymore, so what do you think?


texts:
There's a song Paul Dano's character's singing in "Swiss Army Man" movie.

  Crazy, I'm freaking crazy, Maybe, just maybe
  I'll make it alone. Rescued, Thought I was rescued, But you're just a dead dude and I'm gonna die. There's gotta be a better way to get out
  of here

I can't understand what does "make it" mean in this context. General definition of "make it" is "to achieve one's goals". I can't understand what goal does the guy have.


texts: Is the word "UP" a signal of the informality?

texts:
Looks like, in my non-native view, the usages of the word Up are pretty much always come with colloquial and informal tones. Such as...

  Shut it! = Shut up!

  Meet with = Meet up with

  What's going on? = What's up?

  Wait! = Wait up!

  What on earth are you doing? = What are you up to?

  Until this time where have you been? = Up until this time~

Am I correct? So if it is, is it simply a good advice not to use the Up at some writing tests or something?


texts: Why must "other" be used in "Iron is more useful than any other metal"?

texts:
When two objects are compared with each other, the latter term of comparison must exclude the former, as in "Iron is more useful than any other metal". If we say "Iron is more useful than any metal", that is the same thing as saying "Iron is more useful than iron", since iron is itself a metal.

I do not understand this. Please, can someone explain what it means?


texts: How to improve English listening at high level?

texts:
I am an international student in UK, and I did get a quite high mark on IELTS listening, about 8 to 9. And I can easily understand what the professors say in the lecture, partly because I have a quite good academic level in my major and my major doesn't acquire very good English.(I am a pure math major)

However, I can't understand what my classmates are talking about after class. If they are talking to me, things become easier. But when they are making conversation as a group, I simply have no idea what they are talking about. I tried to listen Podcasts and radios, but without sub I can only understand tiny pieces of them. If I return to listen exam-based listening comprehension, they become too easy to me. Thus, I want to know what I can do to improve my listening. I will be very grateful for your help.


texts:
This is part of film script and it goes like this.

  Yeah. I'm right here.

  I... You know what? I need to parallel park and I'm not on my
  earpiece.

In this script, she's driving and arriving to a friend's house.
The title of film is "Coherence".

I don't get it well this, please let me understand this.


texts: Determining when to use plural or singular

texts:
The following sentences come from an online English tutorial, so I'm posting them with the assumption that they are grammatically correct.

  People have different views about whether parents or schools should
  bear the responsibility for helping children to become good citizens.
  In my view, this responsibility should be shared.

  On the one hand, parents certainly have a vital role to play in the
  upbringing of their children.

  On the other hand, school teachers may contribute almost as much as
  parents to the development of a child.

The article is not finished but let's have a look at the third paragraph.

  On the other hand, school teachers may contribute almost as much as parents to the development of a child.

Actually, I have two questions at this point.

Why not use "the development of children"? It is obvious that school teachers do not teach only one student. My guess is, it is grammatically correct to use a plural in the sentence but using a singular implies that the teachers teach them one by one?
Why not use "development of a child (or children)" without the article? Because "development" is general in this sense? Is it because it's development of a specific group or a person implying that the development is not for parents, teachers or others, but a child?


texts:
One of Shakespeare's famous quote:

 “I drink to the general joy of the whole table”.

Does general joy here mean the joy of all the people sitting at the table?
It's only a guess.
What's the opinion of the native speakers?


texts:
I am not a native English speaker. Yet, I make up "punish" proverbs while sleeping. Here is one: "Who exists exits." Don't hesitate, tell me the truth.

Application for reopening; Edited

(I had edited this post before I became a member. My edits disappeared at that very moment. So I write up again what I wanted to tell the community about the broader context of my Question.

The origin of my interest in punning/joking/word-playing in different languages originates with the following story. I tried to be funny with an older colleague of mine, a professor of mathematics at Berkeley, when I told him: "Yes, I've read the introduction to that book. I'd need an innertroduction, though." He answered: "Not funny: >>in<< is not the preposition, the preposition is >>intro<<. So, you could have said >>Introer duction to ... , but that would have been even worse. Why, that I don't know."

So, that was the beginning. I've read Bergson's The Laughter (or whatever the English title is) and other philosophers' treatises on the role of language in humor.

As a non-native English speaker I am very much interested in learning more about the specialties of English, as a foreign language, regarding the possibilities and impossibilities of joking--joking with and joking by the language. My mother tongue is Hungarian, a funny language.

So, please, don't stop discussing this (off-)topic.


texts:
By the time he was allowed (1) out of his cupboard again, the
  summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new
  video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time (2)
  out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Do the highlighted phrases take roles of object and adjunct (adjective role) as noun phrases or as prepositional phrases; or (1) ‘out’ is an adjective and select prepositional phrase and they all becomes an direct object, (2) ‘out’ is an adjective and select prepositional phrase and they all becomes an post-modifier?


texts: Why did the author use "remembering" instead of "remember" in "principles that I think are key to remembering"

texts:
I was watching a video about how to learn new vocabulary more easily, but I was stuck at this sentence spoken by the video author:

  Now I'm starting with three basic principles that I think are key to
  remembering English Vocabulary.

I don't understand why the author used remembering instead of remember after to, is it a special grammar rule in this case or what?


texts:
The office with all its modern furniture and equipments were/was sold for
  a meagre amount.

As per my understanding it should be were because we're connecting the two entity with and but my friend told me that when we use with, along the verb is decided by the first subject. Hence, was is apt here. This led me to a trouble. Please clear my doubt.


texts: We normally use past simple tense to talk about the past and past perfect tense to talk about the past in the past, i.e. to talk about some event that that happened before some other event. I often see that when we use past perfect tense, we use it with past simple tense,e.g. I had learned Chinese before I moved to China. What if I use a non-finite adverb clause, e.g. I had learned Chinese before moving to China? How different are these two alternatives?


texts:
Today I wanted to see (on TV) an american show. Every website I saw says that the show starts Monday 9 | 8c.

I think that 8c means 8 pm (or am, but highly unlikely), but what about the 9? It's not the date, that's for sure.

Can someone explain it to me please?


texts:
In a mathematical proof (using the induction), when I deal with the base case, which is (if any) correct?

The case when n=1 is trivial
The case n=1 is trivial

I would like to know if I need "when" or not.


texts: does it have missing word after "up and down"?

texts:
Does it have Missing word In the following sentence?

  If I were, would I have shooting pains up and down my left arm?

I consider up and down an adverbial, but in this sentence it's more like a preposition...


texts:
Popcorn is the only acceptable snack to consume while watching a
  movie.

Is this sentence really grammatically correct?

I think it doesn't, because "watching" looks like referring to the behavior of the popcorn if there isn't no subject such as "people".

I think that sentence should be "Popcorn is the only acceptable snack to consume while people are watching a movie" so that it makes sense.

So, my questions are,

Is it grammatically correct to omit "people are"?
Could you make some sentences similar to this sentence?


texts: by/from/of in the sentence "a comment from John"

texts:
I was replying an email sent by a friend and I wrote
"Thanks Mark, interesting the comment from John!"

Basically I was trying to say that John made a good comment about a magazine article.

I feel I keep using italian structures in my brain... but they sound unnatural in English: what preposition or sentence should I have used?


texts: make clear directions vs. recognize directions

texts:
I want to use "make clear of" to express the meaning of "Can you recognize directions in darkness?":
Can you make clear of directions in darkness?
Am I on the right track of using the phrase "make clear of" here?


texts: How do we say when opponent's reaction is absurdly bigger than my action

texts:
A stole B's 1 dollar so that for a revenge, B broke A's car of 1000 dollars. Hence A say angrily

"Absolutely, this is not a necessary condition for my stealing that you broke my car !"

I wanna rewrite this sentence without losing meaning and furthermore, it will be great that the resulting sentence contains something like don't have to do, correspondence, or react.
The followings are my trials :
Your correspondence is really deviating common sense even though I made a mistake.


texts:
We can cause the lightning to strike where we want it to using rockets

From which is 'To' a preposition?
Then why the author used 'To' instead of 'By' or 'With' ?
Or if it's not a preposition. Then what is it?


texts: "This is I at work." or "This is me at work."?

texts:
The context of this question:
I take a snapshot of myself sitting in my cubicle and send it to someone.
The caption of the photo I put is "This is I at work." but I just want to make sure (as what I think is the proper grammatical form sounds slightly odd to me) - what is the proper grammar:

This is I at work.

or

This is me at work.


texts: Using the words "collision" ,"clash" and "strike"

texts:
Which one of the following verbs can make a better sense in my self-made sentence and sounds more natural:

  It is believed that the ................ of an asteroid or a meteor to The Earth has extinguished the dinosaurs' race.

a) collision
b) clash
c) strike

Based on dictionaries, all these words have the potential of being used in this sense, but I don't know what would be a native speaker's choice here. I wonder if you could help me with this question and let me know if there is a more common word in such an occasion.


texts: Placement of “this morning” in a sentence with a noun clause

texts:
There are two sentences. They need to be combined. The second one should be the noun clause. However, I do not know how should I place the phrase "this morning" in the sentence. What is the rule for this?

Sentences:

  The doctor ordered this morning.
  His patient is released before noon

Actually, my main concern is whether I can place this morning between ordered and this morning as in 1. sentence. I thought it would seem like "that" modifies the morning in that case.


texts:
How can I say "to say something to someone that reveals something significant about a piece of media or a piece of software"?
Should I say "to spoiler", "to do a spoiler", "to spoil"…? Are both correct?


texts:
The Saudis still share strategic interests with the United States and continue to play a large global energy role for their ability to increase oil production so prices do not spike even as OPEC, the once-formidable cartel, has seen its production remain stagnant for 40 years. Source

What is this "for" here?


texts: What is the clearest way to say you have three bowls each containing rice, egg and veggies, respectively?

texts:
It is not like each bowl contains all three things. It is like the first bowl contains egg, second bowl veggies, and third bowl rice.

I don't want to say it all separately. Can I say it like I did in the title?


texts:
From "Far From the Madding Crowd":

The fire before them wasted away. "Men," said Bathsheba, "you shall take a little refreshment after this extra work. Will you come to the house?"
"We could knock in a bit and a drop a good deal freer, Miss, if so be ye'd send it to Warren's Malthouse," replied the spokesman.

Is knock in a slang or colloquial phrasal verb for "eat, consume" (food and drink)?
I understand a bit and a drop to mean "food and drink".


texts: What's the diffetence between "thief" and "cheater"?

texts:
Could you please help me to choose the right variant here.
Is the word "cheater" correct here?

  When Brenda later gives, shares, or trades her music files free over
  the Internet, she is also an uploader. She considers herself an active
  music uploader, but the music industry considers her a _____.

  А) thief B) cheater C) burglar D) bandit


texts:
One day, I'll be a rich person.
   One day, I'll become a rich person

And,

  I've been a rich person.
  I've become a rich  person

Can I use 'become' instead of 'be' there or any other verbs similar to Become?


texts: Is "which have black covers" a non-defining or defining relative clause?

texts:
My new books, which have black covers, are on the table.

I read that this was a non-defining relative clause but I think it is a defining clause because if there are many books on the table how do I know which books are new if I don't have the essential information of the black covers?


texts:
Does "see" have these usage forms?

see [noun] [noun denoting action]
--"the plan will see facility renovations"
see [noun] [verb in participle form]
--"the plan will see facilities upgraded"
see [noun] [verb in to-less infinitive form]
--"the plan will see buildings transform into world-class facilities"
see [noun] [verb in gerund form]
--"the plan will see buildings transforming into world-class facilities"


texts: I want a word for one who is in a relationship

texts:
Intimate relationships are very delicate and so ..... in such relationships should always meet the following conditions.

What word is the most idiomatic choice for the blank above: participants? participator? etc?


texts:
I would like to rephrase  this sentence

  The equations that describe the evolution are: ...

in a better sense.
the word that sound miscellaneous.


texts: What word can I use for 'preview' in this context?

texts:
Let's say I am talking to my friend about some rock band or  restaurant and describing how much better it is, compared to some other band. I say

  You think this album is good, wait until you hear the album Y. Compared to Y this album is just a preview.
  If you enjoyed the X show or Y restaurant, then you will definitely like Z. Compared to Z,
  X or Y is just a preview.

In chat WendiKidd suggested opening act.


texts:
Quote from Silmarillion:

      I know the desire of your minds that what ye have seen should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves are, and yet other. Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be; and those of you that will may go down into it. And suddenly the Ainur saw afar off a light, as it were a cloud with a living heart of flame; and they knew that this was no vision only, but that Ilúvatar had made a new thing: Eä, the World that Is.
     Thus it came to pass that of the Ainur some abode still with Ilúvatar beyond the confines of the World; but others, and among them many of the greatest and most fair, took the leave of Ilúvatar and descended into it. But this condition Ilúvatar made, or it is the necessity of their love, that their power should thenceforward be contained and bounded in the World, to be within it for ever, until it is complete, so that they are its life and it is theirs. And therefore they are named the Valar, the Powers of the World.

What does necessity mean in this phrase?

Does it mean that Ilúvatar needs the love of them, or that this condition is like a proof to them? So, if they do this condition, it proves that they love him.


texts: What is the difference among 'since', 'because', 'as', 'due to', and 'for/with the purpose of'?

texts:
I have seen 'since', 'because', 'as', 'due to', and 'for the purpose of' in different text and I was wondering what is the difference between them.

Looking into Longman dictionary, I found very similar definitions for the 5 of them. Here are the definitions:

Since:

  Used to give the reason for something:

  E.g., Since you are unable to answer, perhaps we should ask someone else.

Because:

  Used when you are giving the reason for something:

  E.g. 1, We didn't enjoy the day because the weather was so awful.

  E.g. 2, Because you're not old enough.

  E.g. 3, Hubert never experienced any fear, and this was partly because he was not particularly intelligent.

  E.g. 4, Many exam candidates lose marks simply because they do not read the
  questions properly.

  E.g. 5, I decided to go with them, mainly because I had nothing better to do.

as:

  used to state why a particular situation exists or why someone does something:

  E.g. 1, As it was getting late, I turned around to start for home.

  E.g. 2, We asked Philip to come with us, as he knew the road.

due to:

  because of something:

  E.g. 1, The court of inquiry ruled that the crash was due to pilot error.

  E.g. 2, She has been absent from work due to illness.

  E.g. 3, The restaurant's success was  due largely to  its new manager.

  E.g. 4, Attendance at the meeting was small,  due in part to (=partly because of) the absence of teachers.

for/with the purpose of doing something:

  E.g. 1, Troops were sent solely for the purpose of assisting refugees.

  E.g. 2, He came here with the purpose of carrying out the attack.


texts: "He reminds me of me" vs "He reminds me of myself"

texts:
Can these two sentences be used interchangeably?

  He reminds me of me.
  He reminds me of myself.

I think the second one is wrong. Am I right?


texts:
The motel was located by a lonely road cutting through deserted landscape.

I think you get the picture. Are the adjectives fitting? Please share if you have some better ones. Thank you.


texts:
What exactly is the difference between using 'other + noun', 'others' and 'other ones' when referred back to those remaining in a group of something that is already know about?

To shed some light on this question, I would like to know which of the three sentence constructions below sounds most natural to a native speaker and why.

1) Our group is much quieter than the other groups.

2) Our group is much quieter than the other ones.

3) Our group is much quieter than the others.

I have no doubt that the first sentence is correct, and probably the safest one to go with. However, I don't want to repeat a noun that is already mentioned earlier in the sentence. I can't find any errors in the second sentence, but feel that it doesn't sound as natural. As for the third sentence, is 'others' restricted only to 'people' and can't be used for other nouns such as 'group'?

Many thanks


texts: Difference between "past perfect" and "present perfect"

texts:
Should I use 'haven't occurred' or 'hadn't occurred' in the context?

Yesterday a tragic bus accident happened in Kolkata. At least 60 people died in the accident. The bus driver was found responsible for the accident. It is not that accidents like this hadn't occurred/haven't occurred before but the number of deaths had never risen/have never risen to that point before.

 In the above context which tense I should use?

I think if I use present perfect it mean before now but as the accident happened yesterday I think I should use past perfect.


texts:
I was wondering which choice is the correct one here and why?

The movie didn't ............ my expectations. [connotation: the movie was not that satisfactory that I expected that to be.]

a. meet
b. live up to
I think they both are correct, but it is worth mentioning I have an intuition that "live up to" has a nuance that the expectations were high expectations while "meet" lacks such a nuance.
However, first of all, I'm not quite sure whether I'm correct in this case. Then, I have no clue if it is always like that.


texts:
Although she was told she would get the job, she didn't get it.

  In spite of telling she would get the job, she didn't get it.

  In spite of being told she would get the job, she didn't get it.

  In spite of the fact that she was told she would get the job, she didn't get it.

Which one is correct?


texts:
I wrote:

  The program selects a word from the word list and speaks it load in a native accent. The user must type the word in a text box.

First I want to know can I use "speak" for the computer program?

Second, is it better to use "dictates a word to the user in a native accent"?


texts:
I don't often come across would meaning "possible or likely".

But when I was back home on vacation several days before, my college textbook gave an instance:

    I recalled Blanche DuBois's famous line: "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Could anyone rely on the kindness of strangers these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey from coast to coast without any money, relying solely on the good will of his fellow Americans. What kind of Americans would he find? Who would feed him, shelter him, carry him down the road? (From The Kindness of Strangers, written by Mike Mclntyre)

The reference book for teachers said these would meant "possible or likely" here. Was the textbook right?

If so, why not use "could" or "might" instead?


texts:
would you help take a look at this passage from an LSAT:

A study of 30 years of weather pattern records of several
industrialized urban areas found that weekend days tend to be cloudier
than weekdays. Thus it can no longer be denied that human activity has
appreciable, large-scale effects on weather, because the few seven-day
cycles that occur naturally are of too little significance to cause
measurable weather patterns.

I understood the meaning. However, what confuses me is why does the author use "the few" instead of just "few"? Had "few" been used, would the second sentence thus mean any different?
Thank you very much for your time.


texts: Understanding the past participle "been"

texts:
I am sometimes confused about the past participle "been".

It is used for duration and for other purpose which I don't know. So, my question is about the uses of "been". I can't judge whether the "been" past participle is used for duration or it has other meaning.

I am going to give some examples which are given below. Please add some of your own examples with the "been" participle and with explanation.

I didn't tell Sam what happened. He wouldn't have been pleased.
I have been teacher for a year.
I have been teacher.
Has ever been a war in United States?


texts: What does this over mean; looked over at?

texts:
Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating ar-rangements.
--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Over seems to mean across in the context. Does it mean Harry looked across/over students at the Slytherin?


texts:
I play soccer more than I think I do.

and

I play soccer more than he.

are acceptable, but I wonder if

I play soccer more than I think I

is also acceptable.


texts: He told me he plays table tennis well. Why didn't he use played?


texts:
I wrote:

  But the first stage is to acquire a suitable image from the middle frame of each pallet car.  In the next section, .....

Which is better for the blank

we propose a method for this purpose.
we propose a method to do this.
we propose a method for this.
we propose a method for it.

Sometimes I don't know which noun is suitable to refer to an already mentioned thing. then I may just use "this". Is it common in writing in English? or is it better to always find a suitable noun after "this", like this purpose, this task, this job. what are common words for these occasions?


texts: Preferred method for making negative statements

texts:
Britain's economic fortunes are inseparable from the world situation.
Britain's economic fortunes are not separable from the world situation.

Which style is preferable in professional writing? Using a negative auxiliary verb followed by a positive adjective or using a positive auxiliary verb followed by a negative adjective?


texts:
Here, both sentences indicate a future event.

What is the difference between the two sentences?

  The meeting starts at 5 o'clock.
  The meeting will start at 5 o'clock.

Is the first sentence grammatically correct?


texts:
But it is far enough away that early explorers had difficulty/difficulties finding it.

What should I choose completing the exam task? Are both plural and singular correct?


texts: Including A, B, and C vs. including A, B, or C

texts:
I wonder which form(s) are correct amongst the following:

[...] including A, B, and C.
[...] including A, B, or C.

Example:

  Short-text classification is an important task in
  many areas of natural language processing, including
  sentiment analysis, question answering, and/or
  dialog management.


texts:
Consider these expressions:

The whole firm is a sham to the core.
Their football team is gutsy and resolute to the core.

What expressions similar to "to the core" can I use here?


texts: Present continues meaning in special cases

texts:
"I'm wearing shoes".
Does it mean "I am putting on my shoes right now" or "My foots are in my shoes right now"?

Another example is
"She is sitting on the table"

I usually am confused about the meaning of these kinds of sentences where doing the action doesn't take more than a moment. The action of "wearing" cannot be continued but it is used in present continuous form. Could anyone clarify this?


texts: My question is related to modals and how to use them to express different degrees of certainty?

texts:
I'm a teacher of English as a foreign language. I'm about to deal with a lesson of modals and how to use them to express degrees of certainty. I have some questions

I'm confused about the meaning of possibility and probability how much percentage of certainty would you give each in order to make difference between them. Like 100% for certainty 90% probability 80% possibility and 30% remote possibility
I want to know if each modal is fixed to express a certain degree of certainty, because in my search for an answer

I found for example that

can and may are used for possibility whereas could and might are used for remote possibility and also found that could, may and might are used for possibility.

Another example with will in some blogs it's said it's used to express certainty in others it expresses probability.
I'm thankful for your help in clarifying this to me in advance


texts: Is there any difference between the nouns "raise" and "rise"?

texts:
I know the difference between the verbs to raise and to rise, but is there any difference between their corresponding nouns raise and rise?

For example, are the two sentences

  There was a gradual raise in the employment rate as the economy began to recover.

  There was a gradual rise in the employment rate as the economy began to recover.

both correct and do they have the same meaning?

The sentence is from an exercise where given a sentence and a word you have to complete another sentence so that it has similar meaning. The original sentence is:

  The employment rate rose gradually as the economy began to recover.

The word to use is gradual and the sentence to complete is:

  There ........... the employment rate as the economy began to recover.

So technically the solution with rise is the correct solution, but I was wondering if using raise changes the meaning.


texts: Is it "with different alcoholic contents" or "of different alcoholic contents"?

texts:
Should we use the preposition "with" or should we use the preposition "of"? By "alcoholic content", I mean level or total amount of alcohol. I am not sure I have heard "with different alcoholic contents", but I am not sure why it would be wrong.

For example:

  I drank a lot of beer with different alcoholic contents throughout my
  life.


texts: Is doing "the" shopping different from doing "some" shopping?

texts:
This might seem a little picky but I did some search and didn't find a proper answer for it. I'm just being curious, when saying this sentence:

  He's out doing the shopping.

Should the addressee necessarily know the stuff that are being bought? Or does "the" imply that the shoppings are the daily usual necessities only(eggs, milk, bread and etc)?

Was it the same if I said:

  He's out doing some shopping.

or they would have meant differently?


texts: "I don’t have a hard time believing that anyone could stay mad at you"

texts:
I don’t have a hard time believing that anyone could stay mad at you...

What is the meaning behind this statement?
It from a novel I’m reading. One character is having difficulty with family. She is nice person but they refuse to talk to her for reasons. She vents to somebody she like and they care for her and gives her advice, assures her and ends with that sentence above
I’m not sure if there many meanings behind it


texts:
I am trying to understand the difference between following two statements.

I take breaks
I do take breaks

As you may have observed, the second statement uses an auxiliary verb do
Similarly, what is the difference between

Monkeys eat banana
Monkeys do eat banana.

Thank you.


texts:
I wrote:

  I can't call the following riddle a standard one with a certain answer but it's not that bad.

A native speaker said to me that he can't get "it's not that bad" part. Is it ambiguous?
Maybe I should have said "it's is not too bad", but in general I use "not that bad" after I have criticized something and I want to make the situation better. For example, "her cooking isn't good, but it's not that bad, it's worth to taste....".

If it is an improper usage, then what can I say instead?


texts: "the car/car's color" vs. "the color of the car" -- Which is the more correct way to indicate possession?

texts:
I know 's is a contraction for indicating possession, but I've always wondered which cases it is correct to put 's after the word in. For instance, if I would to indicate the color of a car, how could I do so?

  The car's color is red.

  The color of the car is red.

  The car color is red.

I know options 1 and 2 are correct, but is the third option correct as well?


texts: What's the method of making the "ing form" of different verbs, in some verbs we double the last letter of that verb e.g: sit becomes sitting, dig becomes digging, and in some verbs we do not need to double the last letter of that verb e.g: go becomes going, read becomes reading. How should we know in which verb we double the last letter?


texts:
Is it mandatory to use the word the in the following sentence?

Here is the example:

Yesterday, my grandfather was admitted to hospital. Doctors are trying their best to save his life. (The) doctors said it will take more than fifteen days to be fully fit.

I know it is more usual to use they instead of (the) doctors in the beginning of the third sentence but I just want to know if it is mandatory to put the word the in similar circumstances. Can anyone please answer this?


texts: Writing a letter to two persons who are not a couple or married?

texts:
I am writing a letter to my boss and my senior.

 Dear Mr. John and Mrs. Jane,

I feel it's a bit weird because they are not couple/married.

Does it sound normal to write like that?


texts:
I need help with grammar regarding plural of the "meet" vs "met" in 2 different contexts.
Following are 2 examples I'm struggling with, this is sample output of a program:
Context 1: check if installed software (existing program) is up to date
some requirement v2.8 >= v2.6 was met
some requirement v2.8 >= v2.6 was meet

I only suppose that the correct answer is "met" here
Context 2: check if installed software (existing program) is up to date
some requirement v2.8 meets >= v2.6
some requirement v2.8 mets >= v2.6

I have no clue for the second context.
Here v2.8 >= v2.6 means that existing program must be version 2.6 or higher.
In both contexts the checking was made before output was generated.


texts:
Since a noun can be used as modifier of another noun (e.g. family in "good family house"), is it grammatically correct to use this week as modifier, or is only the genitive possible with this week?

If both are acceptable, is there any difference between this week report, and this week's report?

The reason I am asking is that in my native language, nouns are not used as modifiers; in Italian, the equivalent of family house is casa familiare, where familiare is an adjective. Sometimes, I get confused about whether I should use a modifier or another construct.


texts:
Some speakers use “help” instead of “please”:

Can you help (to) confirm this?
Can you help (to) send meeting notes?

To mean the same thing as:

Can you please confirm this?
Can you please send meeting notes?

What do you think about that usage?


texts: Is there any good idiom that means you've been outplayed? Can you think of an idiom like that? I am looking for an idiom I can use to describe that someone got outplayed in a board game like chess. Is there any good idiom for that?


texts: What preposition after "take me"? Are there any other synonyms too?

texts:
My skin has started tanning. What do I say about people's reaction to me?

  Now they take me as [an] Indian
  Now they take me for [an] Indian

What do I add here after take me?


texts: Why can't I find peace over the use of articles?

texts:
The two questions I am about to pose might be stupid (should there be a comma here, by the way?) but I checked and rechecked the rules and still can´t wrap my mind around it. Maybe there are several ways to do this!

This is what I am wondering about (The first sentence is for the sake of context):

  For instance, when a large field of rapeseed withers, bees can’t find food in this area anymore. As a result, a lot of beekeepers have to feed their bees from June until the next year’s spring.

  What are the consequences of the/a decrease of bees?

In the first sentence I wrote, "the next year's spring" but then I had second thoughts about. Sure, it's this very spring, but it is always next year's spring when June is the starting point in the year before. Should it be omitted?

In the second sentence, I started out with, "a" since I had heard something like that many times before. But shouldn't it be, "the" since it is a specific kind of decrease?!

Maybe I am thinking too much?


texts: Is it idiomatic to say "gaps between your hair" or "gap-haired"?

texts:
gap-toothed (adj): having gaps between the teeth

Some people were born with gaps between / in their teeth. It is not a condition or an illness or whatsoever, it is just a body feature, just like some people are tall while others are short.

Now similarly, some people were born with low hair density while others have high hair density. It is not a bald thing or a hair loss condition. It is just the way it is, a body feature. I don't know how to express this feature.

I asked this question because when I look at my child's hair I can see he has less hair than other children, his hair grows slower and is not as dense as others. There are blur gaps in his hair.

"gaps between / in one's teeth" and "gap-toothed" are idiomatic.

We can say "you are gap-toothed or have gaps between / in your teeth"

Do you say "gaps between your hair" or "gap-haired" the same way you say "gaps between your teeth" or "gap-toothed" respectively?


texts:
What do you guys think about it?

  "Ace Grit is a 16 years old Vestal boy" or "Ace Grit is a 16 year old
  Vestal boy"?

  "Ace Grit is 16 years old" or "Ace Grit is 16 year old"?

Actually I still guess weird that it is "year old" instead os "years old", I didn't know anything about it, I just want to know please about what is the fact about "year-old-like" somebody, one person or two person, but in an age, younger and/or older.


texts: Can we use the past tense followed by present tense to describe videos or movies we've seen before?

texts:
For example:This video talks about the importance of giving affection to your pets, they were mentioning how you should make enough time for your pets to ensure their happiness in the long run, it was posted by PetFriends.

I watched the movie "Cradles" yesterday, it was a good movie and it talks about the upbringing of two brothers and the hardships their parents face to give them a decent childhood.


texts:
I started reading Stephen King's novel "Under the dome" and discovered the word coaxable:

  Andy was an extremely coaxable man, and eventually Claudette had gotten her way.

I cannot find a definition for this word in the online dictionary.

I found a definition for the verb coax:

  to influence or persuade (a person or animal) to do something by talking in a gentle and friendly way
  to get (something) by talking in a gentle and friendly way

So my guess is that the author meant that Andy is easily coaxed by Claudette.

Does this word exists or did the author invent it? If it exists, why is it not in the dictionary?

Is my understanding of the meaning correct?


texts: “Black skin” Vs. “Black-skinned” Vs. “with black skin”?

texts:
Are all these expressions correct?

1) A person with black skin
2) A black-skinned person
3) A black skin person
4) A person skinned with black
5) A person skinned black
6) A person of black skin


texts: "it's a perfect time to.." vs. "it's the perfect time to.."

texts:
I was reading a text at lang-8 and it got me wondering:

  This time of the year, when the weather has finally changed from warm and pleasant to cold and windy, is a perfect time to think about new items for interior decoration.

Would this use of the indefinite article be okay, or is it better to use the:

  This time of the year, when the weather has finally changed from warm and pleasant to cold and windy, is the perfect time to think about new items for interior decoration.

According to Google Ngram, "it's the perfect time" is used twice as often as "it's a perfect time", but that tells me nothing about the possible nuances of meaning.. Curiously, according to the Ngram, both expressions sprang into existence in the second half of the 20th century.

Is it that with "a perfect time" we allow that other "perfect times" will occur later or have occurred before, while with "the perfect time" we insist on the absolute uniqueness of this "time"?


texts: How to parse this sentence formally/syntactically?

texts: "You have a bad day,handicapping" . Can I formally convert it into"you have a bad day, which is handicapping"?


texts:
Is there a possibility to form the following sentence "gender-independent" in English?

  Everybody sees, what he/she wants to see.

What can I use instead of he/she? Additionally: How can I give this sentence a poetic touch?

P.S. I am a German native speaker with Turkish origin. In Turkish you can say:

  "Herkes görmek istediğini görür"

and there is no gender information. Is that possible in English?

My current workaround:

  You see, what you want to see.

What about:

  One sees, what one wants to see ?


texts:
I am writing this letter to express my disappointment with a recent purchase on your online store, order number #7298883.

Is the above sentence correct (i.e., the preposition on after purchase)?

I think at should be used but the IELTS blog site corrected it and has used I made in in place of on.

Here is a link.


texts:
Is "I visited grandparents." right?
I think we say "I visited my grandparents."
However, if I don't use 'my', is it right grammatically?


texts: Does the second paragraph convey the intended meaning? If not, how can I rewrite it?

texts:
The Qinghai Tibet Railway, the highest in the world, begins
operation    on Saturday. The first train will leave Golmud, the
second largest    city of Qinghai Province in Northwest China, for
Lhasa, in the Tibet    Autonomous Region, in the morning.
The train leaves Golmud at about 2,800 meters above sea level, winds
through the towering Tanggula Mountain Pass at 5, 072 metres, and
finally arrives in Lhasa at 3,650 metres .

These two paraphgrahs are excerpted from a Chinese-English translation of a news report. The second paragraph was supposed to convey two messages. First, the train leaves Golmud, winds through Tanggula Mountain Pass, and finally arrives in Lhasa.Second, Golmud is situated at an elevation of 2,800 meters, Tanggula Mountain Pass of 5072 meters, and Lhasa of 3650 meters.

I'm having trouble deciding what roles the enboldened parts play in the sentences.  Do they modify of the verbs (leaves, winds through, arrives) or the nouns(Golmud, Mountain Pass, Lhasa)?
Also,  does the second parapraph convey the intended meanings? If not, how can I rewrite it?


texts: How you call someone who reacts and thinks fast

texts: If they throw you anything out of the blue and you catch it because you have fast reflects you are...


texts:
She looks at him as if to say something, but then stops herself.

She looks at him as if about to say something, but then stops herself.

She looks at him as if she's about to say something, but then stops herself.

Hi. I'm pretty sure the third sentence is correct, but is it possible to make it shorter as in sentence one and two? How would you write it?


texts:
What does below sentences mean by using "Being"

"He was cought by police being stealing cash from temple."


texts:
Is this a grammatically and syntactically correct sentence?

  When you have got to at home you have to get on with the work straight away.

I want to say when a person arrived at home he has to proceed with his work immediately.


texts:
Penelope Maddy. Realism in Mathematics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003, p. 126. ISBN 0-19-824035-X

  The possibility remained that the axioms of ZFC would be enough to
  establish the continuum hypothesis as true, but Gödel for one did not
  expect this.

What does "for one" mean in this context? The meaning of the sentence would be perfectly clear to me if "for one" were omitted. How do these words modify or amend its meaning?


texts: The most idiomatic preposition in the mentioned sentence?

texts:
What is the most idiomatic preposition in the following sentence

  She might do that ------ different intentions.

I mean to say, in doing so, she might have different intentions: intention to help, intention to show off, intention to benefit ...

Which preposition is most idiomatic for the black: with, by, through, ...?


texts:
I made an English test and the question was:

  While waiting for my paycheck, could I please borrow ...
  A: money to you
  B: you money
  C: money from you
  D: money at you

The correct answer is given as money to you (A). But I disagree with this answer. I think it is "Could I please borrow money from you".

Are my thoughts correct?


texts: Meaning of 'gave' in "What a great feeling that gave me"

texts:
This is a passage from my English exercise book:

  After spending a day at the beach, I stopped to buy a snack on my way home. But when I searched for my wallet, it wasn’t there. I checked my other pockets, and the car and then headed back to look at the beach. My driver’s license, my ID card – my mind was racing through all the things I had lost and I felt rotten. A search of the beach and parking lot proved fruitless, so I headed home. I tried to forget it because there was nothing I could do, but I was mad at myself for losing it. After dinner when I was watching TV and trying to forget, the phone rang and a voice asked: “Did you lose a wallet? I found it on the beach.” What a great feeling that gave me – not only for my luck, but also for my faith in all humanity!

I guess the meaning of the phrase "what a great feeling that gave me" is "what a great feeling that / which I had". I don't really understand the meaning of the word 'gave' in the sentence. A great feeling gave me what (What did a great feeling give me)? It seems like the word 'gave' might have a special meaning when it goes with 'feeling'. Could you please explain this special meaning in this context?


texts: How to define the recent past: how recent is recent?

texts:
I have a question about the meaning of "recent past" in relation to the use of the present perfect continuous. Recently finished action with a result in the present.

For example: "I am tired because I have been cleaning my house." I am not cleaning now, I have finished cleaning in the recent past, but I am tired in the present because of the past action. The past action has to be recent to justify the present perfect continuous.

How recent is recent? If I stopped cleaning an hour ago but I am still tired now, can I use the present perfect continuous? Or is it only justified if the cleaning stopped a few minutes ago?


texts: Usual term for "back part of the tongue"

texts: As English (oddly) uses "back of the tongue" to refer to its top surface, how can I refer to the back part of the tongue, opposite to the front part of the tongue where its tip is? "back part of the tongue" ?


texts: "I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now I see it’s a small bird in flight" — why "hadn't"?

texts:
From The Hunger Games:

  My next guest is also unexpected. Madge walks straight to me. She is not weepy or evasive, instead there’s an urgency about her tone that surprises me. “They let you wear one thing from your district in the arena. One thing to remind you of home. Will you wear this?” She holds out the circular gold pin that was on her dress earlier. I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now I see it’s a small bird in flight.

The past perfect tense (had + verb-ed) is used when we're referring to a past event that happened before another past event. But the sentence in question doesn't mention the other past event, so I suppose it is implied but what is it?

The excerpt is the third mention of the pin. The other two are quite far from it, my excerpt being from Chapter 3 and the others from Chapter 1, just a few paragraphs away from each other:

  “You won’t be going to the Capitol,” says Gale coolly. His eyes land on a small, circular pin that adorns her dress. Real gold. Beautifully crafted. It could keep a family in bread for months.

  “It’s to the Capitol’s advantage to have us divided among ourselves,” he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine. If it wasn’t reaping day. If a girl with a gold pin and no tesserae had not made what I’m sure she thought was a harmless comment.

I suppose that that was on her dress earlier refers to these two quotes from Chapter 1.


texts: I wish you bought me... vs I wish you would buy me

texts:
I came across these sentences and cannot tell the difference.
What is the difference between these two sentences?

  I wish you bought me a car.

  I wish you would buy me a car.


texts: At 12 o'clock, I have ... "an hour's break" or "an hour break" or "a one-hour break"?

texts:
Is this the most natural way to put it:

  I work in a big company. At 12 o'clock I have an hour break.

Or should we better say:

  I work in a big company. At 12 o'clock I have an hour's break.

Or even

  I work in a big company. At 12 o'clock I have a one-hour break.

I would go for the last version, being unsure in how widely the first two are used, under the "leave well enough alone" principle; but still I'm curious.

P.S. My question is different from this one because I'd also want to know whether  "an hour break" is okay. I was proofreading this text, chanced upon this expression, decided to inquire whether it was okay, but in the end added some alternative formulations.

I'd like to know which is more widely used and whether there are differences in meaning.


texts: "to take the plane often" vs "to travel by plane often" vs "to fly often"

texts:
I have just heard a British person say:

  We often take the plane. (without any complement)

Does "to take the plane" mean "to travel by plane", "to fly" in this context? Is the first expression equally usual in both US and UK? I have only heard it with a complement, eg "We took a plane to Paris" or "We took the fastest plane of the company".


texts: It seems like he has asked her vs. He seems to have asked her

texts: Which one is correct? And if both are, then please explain to me in which situations can I use "seems to have" and what is  the grammar term for it? Thanks in advance.


texts: Word sounding like “you-know-a-theme” and meaning something like “prudence”

texts:
This is probably best suited to the dedicated chatroom, but unfortunately I don’t have enough rep to enter it.

There’s a word  that I don’t understand in a formal speech in a youtube video.
The word is pronounced at around  5:30, and the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8XzgPJdx2M#t=5m30s
Here is my transcript of the passage around it,  with the word that I don’t get in boldface :

  It’s not judgementalism at all. It’s quite the opposite. It’s
   you-know-a-theme
  and it says you must flee the source of danger

The speaker is from Australia.


texts: Using two auxiliaries with one participle

texts: Can I say 'it has been and will continue to rain' or should I say 'it has been raining and will continue to rain'


texts:
In the following phrases, are the use of the "as well" according to the grammar for academic issues? Or as missing another "as", for example "as well as".

  In the situation A the results are good.  For the B situation as well,
  the modelled results are similar to the field data.


texts: What's the exact meaning of "Did one but know" in "Sonnet" by Christina Rossetti?

texts:
What's the exact meaning of "Did one but know" at the end of "Sonnet" by Christina Rossetti?

This is the full context：

Sonnet

by Christina Rosetti

  I wish I could remember that first day,
  First hour, first moment of your meeting me,
  If bright or dim the season, it might be
  Summer or winter for aught I can say;
  So unrecorded did it slip away,
  So blind was I to see and to foresee,
  So dull to mark the budding of my tree
  That would not blossom yet for many a May.

  If only I could recollect it, such
  A day of days! I let it come and go
  As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow;
  It seemed to mean so little, meant so much;
  If only now I could recall that touch,
  First touch of hand in hand – Did one but know!

And can anyone explain the meaning of 'but' here?


texts: Which form of the verb "come" is correct?

texts:
"Does creativity comes with insanity?"

OR

"Does creativity come with insanity?"

Which of the above sentence is grammatically correct and why? What effect does using the word “Does” causes on the verb usage in the sentence?


texts: Definite article in "the work that requires just as much skill as any technical procedure"

texts:
From "Palliative Care" by Stephen Miranda:

  While the field has become known for its life-saving procedures, neurosurgeons are called just as often to preside over the end of their patient’s lives – work that requires just as much skill as any technical procedure.

Could we add a definite article before work? Would this change the meaning dramatically?

  While the field has become known for its life-saving procedures, neurosurgeons are called just as often to preside over the end of their patient’s lives – the work that requires just as much skill as any technical procedure.

After all, the author has described this work, so it's quite definite to the reader: the work "to preside over the end of their patient’s lives".


texts: What's ambiguous in: 'ideas are not beyond the capacity of more than 40%'?

texts:
Source: Rebecca Gowers. Plain Words (2014 ed). p. 186 Top. I numbered all numerals.

    Avoid multiple negatives when you can. Even if you dodge
  the traps they set and succeed in saying what you mean, you
  give your reader a puzzle to solve in sorting the negatives
  out. Indeed it is wise never to make a statement negatively if
  it could just as well be made positively. A correspondent
  sends me this:

    [1.] The elementary ideas of the calculus are not beyond the capacity of more than 40% of our certificate students,

  He comments, "I am quite unable to say whether this assertion is that 2/5 or 3/5 of the class could make something of the ideas".  If the writer had said that the ideas were within the capacity of at least 60%, all would have been clear.

If I omit modifiers in 1, then 1 becomes 2:

  2. The ideas  are  not beyond  the capacity of      [some unknown percent] > 40%.

3. Am I correct that not beyond = within?  Then 2 becomes:

  4. The ideas  are  within     the capacity of    [some unknown percent] > 40%.

5. Is 4 correct? If yes, what's ambiguous? Why's the correspondent flummoxed?


texts:
We know that "every other" means not each one in a series, but every two.

For instance:

  The conference used to be held every year, but now it takes place every other year.

But can we say for example:

  The Olympic games take place every other four years.
  That event takes place every other several years.

Dictionaries unfortunately, do not give me enough information on this phrase.


texts: What does "But my boots need other doctoring, for they not only admit water, but even peas and gravel-stones." mean?

texts:
I'm reading the self-help book Pushing to the front by Orison Swett Marden. I need help to get the full meaning of this sentence. In chapter 38 entitled "The will and the way" it says:

Webster was very poor even after he entered Dartmouth College. A friend sent him a recipe for greasing his boots. Webster wrote and thanked him, and added: "But my boots needs other doctoring, for they not only admit water, but even peas and gravel-stones." Yet he became one of the greatest men in the world.

Is Webster saying that he cannot afford the suggested ingredients, or he says that he needs to constantly put his boots on and make use of them?, or maybe some other meaning...


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  "For me, in fact, it is really important to knowing people that may make you culturally richer"

Should it be  "important to know" or "important to knowing"?

What's the difference and why?


texts:
A large part of what I do is critiquing, in writing, the work of others. I am constantly wondering if I am structuring my sentences correctly. Part of the challenge is that I need to temper my opinion by saying 'appears to,' 'seems,' etc.

If, for example, I am trying to express whether the person's conclusion is reasonable and adequately supported, should I say "The conclusion appears to be reasonable and adequately supported." or should I say "The conclusion appears reasonable and adequately supported."

Whichever is right, I'd appreciate an explanation of why one way is right and the other is wrong.

Also, in this case, are 'reasonable' and 'adequately' adverbs?

Thank you!


texts: difference between I am married to and I was married to

texts:
I am confused as far as the following constructions:

I am married to US citizen
I married to US citizen
I was married to US citizen

Could someone please clear up the meaning of these sentences in terms of the tenses and how these are different from each other.

Thanks!