texts: "painful on the eyes" or "painful to the eyes"

texts:
The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes.

I feel "painful to the eyes" might be correct too. I'm wondering if there is any difference between "painful on the eyes" and "painful to the eyes"? Or "painful to the eyes" is just plain wrong?


texts: Has the meaning of the word “actual” and its derivates (actuality, actually, etc.) anything to do with temporality, in English?

texts:
In my language, the words “actual”, “current” and “present” are somehow time-related, and their meaning is very close with some differences, obviously.

Searching in dictionary the meaning of the word “actual” gave no result for such a meaning.


texts: Is "the" possible as a right answer? (English test from Japanese year 7)

texts:
This box is big. This (  )(  )(  ) box.
  Fill in the blanks so those two sentences can be almost the same meaning.

I know the answer is This (is)(a)(big) box.
However many children use "the" instead of "a" and I can't tell them a reason.
Could "the" be an another right answer?


texts: Do "live" and "stay" require prepositions?

texts:
Do the following sentences work with or without the prepositions?

This is a good place to stay (at).

This is a good place to live (in).


texts: What do you call a hairstyle that make it so that the hair doesn't fly all over the place?

texts: I am thinking there's an adjective to qualify these types of hair, but I am not sure what it might be. I am not looking for the exact word for this style, but a word that describes all styles that make it so that the hair doesn't move too much in the wind.


texts: What's the difference in meaning of this two sentences?

texts:
They would often visit friends in Europe.
They often visited friends in Europe.


texts: Can 'one' as a pronoun be replaced with he/she or anyother pronoun later on in the sentence?

texts: I found the following information on Wikipedia. I want to know whether its usage is grammatically correct. (from academic perspective)


texts:
"Kanga, I see the time has come to spleak painly."

This is from "Winni-the-Pooh". I didn't search the words "spleak painly". I think it would be "speak plainly". Am I right?


texts: Difference between "fuming" and "seething"

texts:
The man was fuming/seething.

Is there any difference between "fuming" and "seething" when used like this to describe someone expressing unexpressed anger?

Which one of them describes best that it's unexpressed anger?

Is one of them stronger in meaning than the other?

Is one of them more American/British than the other?


texts:
I'm watching an episode of Futurama and I heard:

  Where you going?

It seems incorrect, I think the right sentences should be Where are you going?

In American English can't be used the present simple?


texts:
Should I use 'upward trend' or 'increasing trend' in this sentence?

  There has been an upward trend in expenditure over the last 36 year by 20-30%.
  There has also been the increasing trend in expenditure over the last 36 year by 20-30%.


texts: When we can use word "there" and when "over there"? I could not find the answer in the dictionary.Thanks


texts: What is the difference in meaning between "students in universities" and "students at universities"?

texts:
According to NGram both "students in universities" and "students at universities" are used.  I wonder whether there is a difference in meaning.

The Independent:

  There are more than 150 million students in universities around the world, yet academic expertise has rarely been less trusted

The Guardian:

  Students at universities across the United States participated in protests to demand their schools refrain from using facial recognition on campus.

The Independent:

  To illustrate the absurdity of these claims, consider the current proportion of poorer students at universities such as Oxford.


texts:
I'm a little bit confused. Is this sentence grammatically correct? It's not parallel. It's from an IELTS Cambridge book.

  During times of change, they should be thinking not only about the strain on their staff but take time out to think of themselves.


texts: I wonder why are ... vs i wonder why the majority of people who .... are ...?

texts:
Do we say

I wonder why the majority of people who liked this are ....(adjective)

Or

I wonder why are the majority of people who liked this ....(adjective)


texts:
I want to indicate that agricultural analysis is key but not the only one key, so I don't use the key. Is it possible to use key without (a/the)? Grammarly indicates it is necessary to use one of them. However, a key doesn't sound as strong as key to me.
I think agricultural analysis is key to create urban sustainability, so I want to deepen my knowledge of it by studying the bachelor in sciences.


texts:
There is a technology called Spring Boot. I am describing a process built on this framework.

I want to say

  an approach based on Spring Boot

but rephrase it by using an adjective with the suffix -based:

  a Spring-Boot-based approach
  a Spring Boot-based approach
  a Spring Boot based approach

Which one is correct?


texts: Difference between "blame" and "allegation"?

texts:
blame - feel or declare that (someone or something) is responsible for a fault or wrong.

allegation - a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof.

I don't understand what's the difference between these words. Aren't they synonyms?


texts: Can infinitive-to and gerund be alternated in a sentence if it contains more than 2 "to"?

texts:
Sally reminded me to ask you to tell Bob to remember to
bring his soccer ball to the picnic.

The sentence above, somehow seems unnatural and not good to me. Can I alternate with gerunds as follows?

Sally reminded me to ask you telling Bob to remember bringing his soccer ball to the picnic.

I hope you don't mind to explain if the sentence can't be changed using gerunds.


texts:
But he has so far resisted many binding efforts to create a more conventional order around him, encouraging aides who color outside the lines on television, maintaining walk-in power for each of his senior staff members and starting each morning with a tweetstorm that often upends the news cycle in unexpected ways. Bottle up the disruptive methods and Trump fears he could lose the magic that made him President.

I'm not sure what the bold part means, especially the phrase "Bottle up the disruptive methods" but I made two interpretations. Please tell me which one is correct.

  Bottle up the disruptive methods and Trump fears he could lose the magic that made him President.

  #1. Keep him (imperative) from using disruptive methods then he will never be able to use the magic which will make him fear.

  #2 If he (Trump) stop using such methods that he fears, he will never be able to use the magic.

Source: Inside Donald Trump's White House Chaos


texts:
If you want to attract attention, WRITE IN UPPER CASE; otherwise, write normally.
If you want to attract attention, WRITE IN UPPER CASE; otherwise, write in a normal way.

I don't understand which version is correct or sounds more natural.
The examples above are just examples. It could be better to look at the real text:

If a continuation line is a part of the header of a block, indent it by two levels; otherwise, indent it {normally|in a normal way} (i.e., by one level).
if (some_variable == "foo"
        && some_another_variable == "bar) {  // Indented by two levels
    DoSomething()
}

DoSomethingElse(Argument1, Argument2,
   Argument3)  // Indented by one level

ps. {normally|in a normal way} can be omitted, but it doesn't answer the question :)


texts:
I read in a punctuation guide that a dash can be used in place of a colon. They provided the following example:

The white sand, the warm water, the sparkling sun—this is what brought them to Hawaii.

However, just to clarify, but what precedes a colon must be an independent clause. Is that not the case for an em dash?


texts: Difference between "in the way" and "like"

texts:
On digital clocks, seconds are counted off in the way of tenths of a mile on the odometer of a car.
  On digital clocks, seconds are counted off like tenths of a mile on the odometer of a car.

Are these sentences different in meaning?


texts: What's the meaning of 'no less applicable to '?

texts:
Competition seems no less applicable to a one-time event than the word contest (observe how this reporter talks about the outdoor cooking competition).
  Source: word choice - "Contest" vs. "competition" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

In the above sentence, what does the 'no less applicable to' mean?


texts: What's the meaning of "I seem to have memory of a time when things were different" in the context?

texts:
The Monster and the Maiden By Roger Zelazny

   A great unrest was among the people, for the time of decision was again at hand.
   The Elders voted upon the candidates and the sacrifice was affirmed over the objections of Ryllik, the oldest.
   "It is wrong to capitulate thus," he argued.
   But they did not answer him, and the young virgin was taken to the grotto of smokes and fed the leaves of drowsiness.
   Ryllik watched with disapproval.
   "It should not be so," he stated. "It is wrong."
   "It has always been so," said the others, "in the spring of the year, and in the fall. It has always been so." And they cast worried glances down the trail to where the sun was pouring morning upon the world.
   The god was already traveling through the great-leafed forest.
   "Let us go now," they said.
   "Did you ever think of staying? Of watching to see what the monster god does?" asked Ryllik bitterly.
   "Enough of your blasphemies! Come along!"
   Ryllik followed them.
   "We grow fewer every year," he said. "One day we shall no longer have any sacrifices left to offer."
   "Then that day we die," said the others.
   "So why prolong it?" he asked. "Let us fight them--now, before we are no more!"
   But the others shook their heads, a summary of that resignation Ryllik had watched grow as the centuries passed. They all respected Ryllik's age, but they did not approve of his thoughts.
   They cast one last look back, just as the sun caught the clanking god upon his gilt-caparisoned mount, his death-lance slung at his side.
   Within the place where the smokes were born the maiden thrashed her tail from side to side, rolling wild eyes beneath her youthful browplates. She sensed the divine presence and began to bellow.
   They turned away and lumbered across the plains.
   As  they  neared  the forest Ryllik paused and raised a scaly forelimb, groping after a thought. Finally, he spoke.
  "I seem to have memory," said he, "of a time when things were different."

Does over of "the sacrifice was affirmed over the objections of Ryllik" mean in superiority to, as suggested in thefreedictionary?

What does the last paragraph refer to? (I seem to have memory of a time when things were different.)


texts: “On Sunday evening” or “In the Sunday evening”

texts:
Everyone knows we use “in” for these terms

In the evening, In the morning, in the afternoon.
And for days, we use the preposition “on”, on Saturday, on Monday, on Tuesday,...so on.

With respect to both of them being “nouns”, Sunday and evening.

But I am confused of using them together.

  I met one of my friends on Sunday evening.

Why do we use ON instead of:

  I met one of my friends in the evening of Sunday.
  I met one of my friends in Sunday evening

Here, in the last sentence, I used IN Sunday evening, as we do with “On school vocation”;  ON related to vocation, not school. So here IN related to evening, not Sunday.


texts: How to translate the mathematical term "dictionnaire des suivants et des précédents" in English?

texts:
There is a lack of references for graph theory translation from French to English, yet if you have some, let me know, I would appreciate it.

I always have some difficulties to translate these technical terms, how do you translate in English:

  dictionnaire des suivants et des précédents

which is an array telling for each vertex what is its following vertex or vertices.


texts:
I wrote:

  The user can trace the extraction algorithm (to / until / until reaching / until it reaches) a specific node.  The algorithm traverses the nodes of the DOM-tree top-down (to / to reach / until to reach / until reaching / until it reaches) the highlighted node and evaluates the context variables belonging to the visited nodes and show their values to the user.

Which of the words in parentheses are acceptable in the sentence above?


texts: What's the difference between "what it's like to do sth" and "what is sth"?

texts:
Today I was surfing in Reddit, and found a quote:

  The saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that. - Robin Williams

What I wondered was the clause in the sentence: "what it's like to feel worthless".  In English, we usually see a clause like what is a dog, in which the word what is the subjective pronoun of the sentence sth is a dog, but the clause mentioned above doesn't seem to be following this rule because it has a subject "it" in it.

I thought that what is probably a determiner for "it" — say, for example "what kind of dog is the biggest breed."— but I found there's a interrogative sentence like "What is it like to be a nurse", so my assumption of what as a determiner seems to be false.


texts:
Is "quick on one's toes" a true English idiom? What does it mean?

I did a search and all Google returned is "be quick on one's feet".

I am not sure if I can replace feet with toes in idiomatic expressions.

If so, can it be use synonymously with "wit/quick on uptake/on the draw"?


texts:
I was speaking to my boss and he uttered a statement about "There is a meeting which I think you should join. Would you attend or go home straight".

I am confused. Is this a meeting I need to attend or is it optional? How do you interpret this?


texts: Participle Phrases vs. Reduced Relative Clauses

texts:
I found this article about Participle Phrases, It's the first time I hear about them. I always thought they are all reduced relative clauses.

How do they differ from reduced relative clauses?

Consider this example:

  Removing his glasses, the professor shook his head with disappointment.

It seems like the original sentence could be like

  While the professor was removing his glasses, he shook his head with disappointment.

That is obviously more complicated than a simple reduced relative clause. Right? How many types are there? I mean which phrases can be reduced to a particle-phrase?


texts: Why is it 'Alexei' but 'Sergey' (at least, according to Wikipedia)? Shouldn't there be uniform rules on how to transliterate Russian names? How do I render the endings '-ей'?


texts:
The 1906 Federal Food and Drugs Act was one of the first laws enacted to stop the sale of inaccurately labeled drugs.

19 O six ?


texts:
His first short story, ...... in 1925, established him as one of the great short story writers worldwide.

(published - was published - which published - is published)

My answer: published and my book's answer: was published. Am I missing something?


texts: Difference between "If you didn't go to bed so late" and "If you hadn't gone to bed so late"

texts:
What is the difference in these two conditional sentences, meaning-wise?

If you didn't go to bed so late, you wouldn't be so tired in the morning.
If you hadn't gone to bed so late, you wouldn't have been so tired in the morning.


texts: Which is more common? "Someone has left their bag" "Someone has left his or her bag"

texts:
Which one is more common and natural? (in spoken and written English)

  Someone has left their bag on the table?
  Someone has left his or her bag on the table?
  Someone has left his bag on the table?


texts:
Recently I have noticed that people (especially in the USA) call each 1000$ as a 'grand'.

  "It costs 48 grand" = "It costs 48 thousand USD"

I have got two related questions about it:

Why is it called 'grand'?
How common is the usage of it in the UK?


texts:
I've been told that will becomes would in reported speech, e.g.:

  She said she would help me.

(I.e. in the past she said the phrase "I will help you")

What about shall and should, then? By the reasoning above shall should become should (no pun intended). Is this so? Also, what does should become in reported speech? Is it grammatically correct to say something like the following:

  Mark said Anna should not do this.

(I.e. in the past Mark said the phrase "Anna should not do this")

Should this "should" really become "shall"? If so, it seems to contradict the reasoning above... I'm at a loss here.


texts: What's the difference between "next Friday" and "the next Friday"?

texts:
Say it's Monday, June 9 today, and yesterday Paul told me that he will have a test on Friday, June 13. Are the following sentences correct, or should it be the other way around?

  Paul said, "I'll have a test next Friday."

  Paul said that he'd have a test the next Friday.

Besides, how should I refer to the Friday in the next week (June 20)?


texts:
I am developing a zombie game and I am not sure whicht word fit better in the next context:

A player that kills zombies, get killed by them, however the player have a "skill" that let him (revive or resurrection).

How would you call the "skill", Revive or resurrection?


texts:
I am not a native English speaker. I want to know whether the following sentence is grammatically correct or not.

There is no way you have got to escape


texts: "Through July 28th" - is this grammatically valid or just a colloquialism?

texts:
I was just watching this video. At the end, they are promoting a t-shirt and say:

  "The offer is valid through July 28th"

Now, I've heard this said before but never really given it much thought. It's not really used in the UK, we'd just say:

  The offer is valid until...

  The offer is valid up to, and including,...

  The offer is valid [date 1] through to [date 2].

There is a similar question here: Through (inclusive/exclusive)

Is is grammatically correct or just an AmE colloquialism?


texts: The dictionary says Art can refer to 'skill in conducting any human activity', and it also has an archaic usage 'science, learning, or scholarship'. So can we call Mathematics a kind of art or is it appropriate to call it a kind of art nowadays?


texts: What does the letter "y" mean in the TTY command?

texts:
In Linux, the TTY command prints the file name of the terminal connected to standard input.

Maybe the first "t" means "terminal", the second "t" means "to of connected to", but what does the letter "y" mean here?


texts:
An even stronger form of skepticism is possible. Similar arguments
  seem to show that you don't know anything even about your own past
  existence and experiences, since all you have to go on are the present
  contents of your mind, including memory impressions

What does it all mean? Thomas Nagel

What does the word "go on" mean?

I think it means "depend on" Is it right?


texts: "over the period shown" or "over the shown period"?

texts:
I saw people using "over the period shown"  instead of "over the shown period". Could someone explain me why ?
Thanks


texts: difference between "verb-ed" vs "to be + verb-ed"

texts:
what is difference of the below example:

  1 When she worried she always rubbed her hands together
  2 When she is worried she has always rubbed her hands together


texts: Is there any difference between "visit someone" or "come to visit someone"?

texts:
Is there any difference between visit someone or come to visit someone? For example:

  My old friend visited me yesterday.

  My old friend came to visit me yesterday.

I have heard English native speakers say both. If both have the exactly same meaning then why would a native English speaker say the second sentence when it is longer?


texts: When I use intransitive words, should I put the adverb after the intransitive words?

texts:
For example:

  She sings loudly

In which stuation can I put the adverb before the intransitive verb?

Can I say:

  Someone totally is beautiful

or

  Someone is totally beautiful


texts: How to convert a short sentence to adjective

texts:
I have a protocol that (1) can delegate storage and computation (2) can delegate computation unlimited number of times

Question: How can I convert (1) and (2) into adjectives?

OR

How can I mention them in a list as two separate properties of a protocol?


texts:
In a story I'm writing a bad guy says this:
I would probably kill myself if I was/were disabled like you.
Elsewhere in the story I write this:
He smiles as if it was/were a compliment.
Questions:

Is it optional in both sentences whether to use "was" or "were"? Will anyone find it grammatically wrong if I used "was" in both sentences?

In the first sentence would it be more natural to say "I would probably have killed myself..."? And if so, should it be "...if I was disabled like you." or "...if I had been disabled like you."?

Thank you.


texts: How do I pronounce 1/4 bath, 1/2 and 3/4 bath?

texts:
1/4 bath is normally just a sink. 1/2 bath is normally just sink and toilet. 3/4 bath is normally just a sink, toilet, and shower stall (no tub). A full bath is normally everything.

How do I pronounce these?

I used some software and it read them as "1 slash 4".


texts: Simply using past participle. Is it right?

texts:
I was having a conversation with one of my friends.
And then he started talking about someone I didn't want to talk about.
So I said, "Forget him".
He replied, "Forgotten".

Huh? Like really what does that even mean?
Does it make sense?


texts: Two interpretations of “ if not more” in this sentence

texts:
I’m Japanese and learning English.
I have a question about the meaning of “if not more” in the below sentence.

Many people who follow this diet end up eating just as many calories, if not more , because they constantly feel hungry.

According to my text, this means “... end up eating just as many calories as before they begin it, or even more calories than before they begin it.”

However, I interpreted as “... end up eating just as many calories as before they begin it, not to say more calories than before they begin it.”

Which of the two is correct? And why?


texts: Doubt whether to use "has to" in the sentence or not?

texts:
I am writing a software specification, in that I wanted to say something like below.

"When we close the A, all the independent application Bs called from the A should also close."

or

"When we close the A, all the independent application Bs called from the A should also has to close."

Which is correct one? I tried google translate. but for both the sentence I am getting the same translation. I am unsure which is the correct one grammatically
and conveying the information.


texts: "I heated it thoroughly before I ate it" or "I heated it thoroughly before I eating it"?

texts:
What is the best structure to express the sentence?

Past simple+ "before"+ Past simple

or

Past simple+ "before"+ verb+"ing"


texts: I wish time would stop now or I wish time stopped now

texts:
Which one is correct? And if there are problems, what they are and why?

  I wish time would stop now.

  I wish time stopped now.

or

  I wish the bus stopped here.

  I wish the bus would stop here.


texts:
I found these sentences in my book:

He did nothing but cry.

He had no choice but to obey.

Example #1 uses a bare infinitive ("cry"), but example #2 uses a to-infinitive ("to obey").
Why is this so?


texts: Can I use word "electric" to say that some person is cool?

texts:
urbandictionary says that "electric" is another way of saying "cool", "awesome", etc. But it also says that it can mean "Hitting it on really well with people, as if sparks are flying all about you". So questions:

Is this word much used & recognized in the first sense (cool, etc.) amongst English native speakers?
If I'm to say "You're electric" to a native speaker (especially a woman) without any specific context, will she likely interpret it in the first meaning or the second one (hitting it on well with people)?


texts: Word for collecting all the statements into one paragraph

texts:
Is there a verb for: When one wants to collect all statements one said into a single paragraph?
Context: Suppose you're talking about a thing abc, you said about 10 sentences separately about this thing. Now I want you to "..verb.." (not exactly "collect") all what you said into one paragraph.
Example sentence: "(verb) all the statements you said about abc into a single paragraph"
AFAIK, there is a word for that but I can't think of it now. Any help would be appreciated.


texts:
David didn't know which was his.
David didn't know whichever was his.

Which is which? It sounds like the two words add little or no different meaning to the sentences, but which one is more correct?


texts:
What would be the right option: paid or paying? I think paying.

  He took ten years to earn his bachelor's degree while paid/paying his bills by working part time as a ski instructor.


texts:
Travel let's us experience different cultures. No matter what dietary
  habits or architecture, they are both different from country to
  country.

No matter what using in this sentence is correct or not?
If it is wrong, how to modify it. Using whether or regardless of? I don't know


texts: Does this paragraph suggests that .....?

texts:
Does this paragraph suggests that we shouldn't rely on Wikipedia, and can you tell me the sentence it is suggesting? I asked this question , because i want make sure the article i read are reliable.

Criticisms of Wikipedia include assertions that its openness makes it unreliable and unauthorative. Because articles don't include bylines, authors aren't publicly accountable for what they write. Similarly, because anyone can edit any article, the site's entries are vulnerable to unscrupulous edits. In August 2007, Virgil Griffiths created a site, WikiScanner , where users could track the sources of edits to Wikipedia entries. Griffiths reported that self-serving edits typically involved whitewashing or removal of criticism of a person or organization or, conversely, insertion of negative comments into the entry about a competitor. Wikipedia depends upon the vigilance of editors to find and reverse such changes to content.

Its the third paragragh of the link: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Wikipedia


texts: What is the difference between these two uses of the word, "having”?

texts:
What is the difference between the word “having” in the following two sentences:

Having accepted her mistake, the judge pardoned her.
I am having a good time.

Talking of the auxiliary and lexical verbs please what are the difference


texts:
While talking with my friend, I came to an awkward sentence:

  I never drunk.

Is it right? I think drank should come. I'd like to know what form of verb should be used with never?


texts:
Listening in the hall, Lucy heard her mama suggest that maybe they
should go, that maybe they had no choice. She didn’t understand what was
meant by that, or what it was that would quieten. She moved closer to the
slightly open door because the voices were lower than they had been.
-We have to think of her, Everard.
-I know.
And in the kitchen Bridget said:
-The Morells have gone from Clashmore.
"I heard." Henry’s slow enunciation reached Lucy in the dog passage,
which was what the passage that led from the kitchen to the back door was
called. "I heard that all right."
"Past seventy they are now."
Henry said nothing for a moment, then remarked that at times like these
the worst was always assumed, the benefit of any doubt going the wrong
way in any misfortune there’d be. The Gouvernets had gone from Aglish,
he said, the Priors from Ringville, the Swifts, the Boyces. Everywhere,
what you heard about was the going.

Does it mean: they are now more than seventy?
I think "they" refer to Morells
Source: The Story of Lucy Gault by William trevor


texts:
I mean, back before I was married I had this one girlfriend who was fat.

Source: Chuck Palahniuk – Romance (published in Playboy, August 2011)

I tend to apply the rules of the usage of past perfect to this sentence. Would it be possible using this tense? – "…before I was married I had had this one girlfriend who had been fat"?


texts: How to say "have to" in future from past perspective?

texts:
Imagine I have learned CPR and one of my close relatives say  my Uncle has choked on something and needs CPR.
 Would  i say this : I didn't know  that i would have to  put my CPR training to test (use) on my own Uncle or
 " I didn't know that i have/had to put my CPR training to test on my own Uncle.

I just want to use "have to" in future tense but from past situation


texts: What is the name for the bit of the bell that actually rings?

texts:
A bell consists of a large hollow piece of metal (or, rarely, some other material) and a clapper which strikes the metal and makes it ring.

Is there a word that distinguishes specifically the big, cup-shaped piece of metal that gets hit, from the instrument as a whole?

For example:

  The clapper is suspended within the < word >  and strikes the < word > to produce a tone.

The best I could come up with is 'bell head', but the internet gives me only "Bellhead":

  (slang) A supporter of traditional centralized telecommunications networks, contrasted with nethead (a supporter of the Internet and its flexibility and technical underpinnings).

  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bellhead


texts: Is there an adjective that means "elsewhere"?

texts:
Let's say we have an example:

  Sorry, I just meant something I observe in elsewhere discussions, not in our past topics

Since elsewhere is an adverb, not adjective, the example is ungrammatical. "Other discussions" can be an alternative, but I want to emphasize that those discussions can only be found in unrelated contexts, like in another forums or platforms. "I observe in somewhere else" is good, but I'd like to find an adjective for it. Do you know any?


texts:
Is "grow out of clothes" used only for "kids who grow bigger and can't fit in their earlier clothes"? Or can it be used for anyone who has put on some weight(like adults).

Like a lady says:

  I can't wear this dress anymore.  I've grown out of it.(I have grown fatter)

So is this use natural as well?


texts:
fetch: to go to where somebody/something is and bring them/it
  back

  fetch somebody/something: to fetch help/a doctor

  The inhabitants have to walk a mile to fetch water.

I heard people say "I'll go & fetch it for you".

Since "fetch=go to ... & bring it back", so I would think "go" is unnecessary in "I'll go & fetch it for you".

So, we can just say "I'll fetch it for you".

Is there a difference between "I'll go and fetch it for you" & "I'll fetch it for you"?


texts: Is "thee" a more respectful way to refer to the person that the speaker is addressing?

texts:
For instance in text books -more precisely audiobooks- like Uncle Tom's Cabin, and some others that I can't recall now, I've heard the word "thee" when the speaker meant to say "you".
I wonder if this is a more respectful way of saying "you", something like "usted" in Spanish vs "tú"?


texts: want them to be all (=want all of them to be): grammatical?

texts:
In the following two examples, the construction "want them to be all" is used to mean "want all of them to be":

  (1) Statistics show that children who read proficiently by the third grade realize better academic outcomes. Literacy experts view third grade as a time when a child transitions from learning to read to reading to learn. "We want them to be all great readers and be the best they can be in their community," [Source]

  (2) I admit that I remain a little finicky when it comes to surprises. I want them to be all birthday presents or letters from old friends. [Source]

Is this construction grammatical and natural?
I'd like to know what native speakers think.


texts: "Did you ever go?" or "Have you ever been?"

texts:
Which answers would you pick as correct?
Is it possible that both (Did you ever go/ Have you ever been?) are correct?

A: France is the best country I've ever been.
Did you ever go/ Have you ever been?
B: Yes, I have been / went two years ago


texts: "At last, he was being given a chance to participate in the actual workings of government itself" - Is it the  passive voice of the past continuous? Why it's being used? Can one say - "...he was given..."?


texts:
I am learning English and I do not know what the difference is between some words. There are some words whose meaning is the same, but the words are different. For example, home and house, or car and automobile, or hi and hello, or female and woman, and so on.

Could you please tell me the differences between these pairs?


texts: What's the grammar behind "with eight minutes elapsed"

texts:
"In the second half they shot 33 percent and we got up and guarded
  people," he said. "I'm proud of the second half, but we don't do moral
  victories around here."

  NCCU led 7-6 early and was tied at 10 with eight minutes elapsed.

Source: No. 19 Maryland cruises past NC Central 67-56

In my English learning, the acceptable version should be with eight minutes elapsing or with eight minutes having elapsed because elapse is intransitive verb, so I became confused here how elapsed had been used.


texts: Why is doctor pronounced as doc-ter? I would expect it to be pronounced the way it looks: doc-tor. Is this true for all words ending with tor?


texts:
I am confused with the prepositions. Is it...

  looking at the mirror
  looking in the mirror


texts:
Is it the same to say 'related to' instead 'connected to' here?

  It especially centers on the life of lead singer Freddie Mercury, who
  died in 1991 from health problems connected to AIDS.


texts: When should "person" be preceded by "a" or "the"?

texts:
The king said that the/a person who shows kindness to people whenever they can will wear a crown of gold.
Our sergeant said that the/a student who works hard to improve will rise through the ranks.
The poor boy asked the king on behalf of the/a person who was devoted to the king …
At the award ceremony, it will be said to the/a person who received an award, “Stand up and sing.”

Questions

Which article is correct to use in these sentences?
Does the meaning change if I use either?
What’s the difference?


texts: Grammaticality: 'something than which nothing greater can be thought'

texts:
Source: pp 158-159, The Cambridge Companion to Anselm, by Brian Davies, Brian Leftow

  What Anselm describes himself as looking for here he believed he had
  found when reflecting on the idea that God is "something than which
  nothing greater can be thought" (aliquid quo maius nihil cogitari
  potest).

The bolded looks wrong. How can something (a pronoun) precede than (a preposition)?
Why was the bold not written as: something OTHER than which?

Surprisingly, Google reveals no other context with this syntax (which I first encountered here)

PS: I reorder the first two sentences in the quote to facilitate understanding:

  [Anselm] believed he had found
  [w]hat Anselm describes himself as looking for here[,]  when reflecting [...]


texts: Bill thought of the problem. vs. Bill thought about the problem

texts:
Bill thought of the problem carefully.

Bill thought about the problem carefully.

Any difference could be?
Only difference is 'of' and 'about'. This means the answer is the difference between 'of' and 'about'.

of : a friend of mine, the leg of the table, sth consist of sth, remind A of B give hint, i.e., 'of' needs precedent before of and object after of, which means 'of' provides connection between specific two things and narrows sth down to specific information: A of B. So "think of sth" means think of specific B, the existance of B

about : about 10 mins gives hint, hid money about myself gives hint. about means scattered, i.e., not a fixed point. so 'think about X' means 'X' has some attrubutes around X and you think some of the attributes or the attributes.


texts: what are the meaning of "thriving life" and "flourishing life?"

texts:
Is the meaning of "thriving life" and "flourishing life" only related to becoming rich?
Is there any difference between "thriving life" and "flourishing life?"


texts: Sentence: This may be considered a conflict of interest, although I think it does not

texts:
What is the correct grammar in this sentence?

  This may be considered a conflict of interest, although I think it does/is/... not.

My question is about the second part. Should I use "does," "is," or anything else?


texts: When I came across this sentence, “What did you think of Bombyx Mori?”, in the Silkworm, I re-read CGEL’s page 909, which was led by @snailboat’s comment. Then, I thought out this construction: I think <something> of Bombyx Mori. But I can’t find out any of this structure in dictionaries. Isn’t this structure used in declaratives?


texts:
I was upset more than I thought I would be.
  I was more upset than I thought I would be.

I am not sure which of those sentences is the correct one. The first one is more used, I think, but it is probable that I heard the second sentence, too.

  I used it more.
  I more used it.

Also, here. Is the former correct, or is the latter correct?

And finally here.

  I was more upset about it than you can possibly imagine.
  I was upset more about it than you can possibly imagine.
  I was upset about it more than you can possibly imagine.

Since this more is used as an adverb, it just confuses me so much, as adverbs are so flexible. Furthermore, I think there are differences in meaning if all of them are correct, which I cannot quite grasp.

I'm so sorry if it is an off topic, but I am so confused now. I apologize and thank you guys in advance.


texts: "You would not have got the flu if you {ate/had eaten} more fruit." - what is the difference?

texts:
You would not have got the flu if you ate more fruit

  You would not have got the flu if you had eaten more fruit

What is the difference between these two sentences?


texts: Can I put "the" in front of "news" here?

texts:
U.S. President Barack Obama looked weary when he responded Thursday to
  news of yet another mass shooting when he said: "Somehow, this has
  become routine."

  Oregon college shooting won't likely lead to tighter gun control,
  experts say

Can I put "the" in front of " news" here? If I can, what is the difference?


texts: going to for an already fully planned decision

texts:
In two days M is going to camp with her group. They planned it all month

Why "going to" instead of "is camping" because it has been already arranged, it took one month so it has been fully arranged


texts:
Visible galaxies account for only 1 percent of a cluster's massㅡX-ray studies typically reveal ten times as much sparsely scattered, superhot gas, concentrated towards the centre of a cluster. The gas is believed to be heated and driven off during the galaxy mergers that give rise to elliptical galaxies, becoming energetic enough to escape the gravity of individual galaxies while remaining bound to the cluster as a whole.

I think the grammar of this sentence is incorrect because it doesn't have a target for comparison. I can't not grasp the meaning. Does that sentence mean that Visible galaxies are ten times as much sparsely scattered as (for what??) and the superhot gas have been concentrated towards the centre of a cluster. Is that right? (I'm not good at English, so there can be some mistakes in my question I do not intend.)

If you need more context concerned, please refer to the image I attached below.


texts: Alternative words/phrases for sometimes good sometimes bad

texts:
Peter health condition sometimes good sometimes bad

Is sometimes good sometimes bad a valid usage? Are there better words/phrases for that?


texts: How to say that you have plans to go to the movies tonight?

texts:
How to say that you have plans to go to the movies tonight (but you are not sure yet, maybe you will have a pizza)? I mean there are options:

  I am going to the cinema tonight.

Way too much certainty in this. For me it means that you have already bought tickets, the least.

  I am going to go to the cinema tonight.

Sounds a bit awkward.

  I will go to the cinema tonight.

Sounds too formal to me.


texts: Proverb request: too much of something makes its value decrease or disappear

texts:
I am looking for a saying which means "too much of something makes the value of it decrease, or sometimes people doesn't value it at all". I know there is a phrase "to take something for granted", but I want something like a saying or a proverb.

I thought about it and came up with this one. Though it's not a proverb, it might convey the meaning I intend to convey.

"Too much bread makes one lose one's hunger."

Tell me if this is understandable, or if you have any better alternatives.


texts:
I know "have been somewhere" means "I went to somewhere", and the action happened at an unknown time in the past. I just want to know if "have seen" means "have been" sometimes?

Does this sentence literally ask if I "have seen"?

  Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?

If I answer "I have seen Grand Canyon through internet", does it sound like a joke?


texts:
CGEL by Huddleston and Pullum says on page 171:

  8.3 Non-aspectual uses of the progressive

  ...

  (a) The progressive futurate

  [21] i a. The sun sets at five tomorrow. b. #The sun is setting at five tomorrow.

  ...

  The progressive is restricted to cases where human agency or intention is involved – hence the anomaly of examples like [ib].

By the last line, I think, they mean that the progressive futurate is restricted to cases where human agency or intention is involved. Right?

Also, I was wondering why human agency or intention would need to be involved to express future time with the progressive. Could someone articulate the reason for this?

Finally, I'd like to know if you could ever use these other variations:

  c. The sun is going to set at five tomorrow.

  d. The sun will set at five tomorrow.

  e. The sun will be setting at five tomorrow.


texts:
We wish that we had had more time last night.

Why 'had' used twice here?


texts:
Is there any difference between uses of “less” in sentences below in terms of meaning. I mean use “less” in different place in sentences change the meaning ? Or Are word forms of them different from eachother?

1) He smoked less cigarette than me .

2)He smoked cigarette less than me .

3) He smoked less than me .


texts: "In the Moroccan way" vs "On the Moroccan way"

texts:
I have a question about prepositions. I'm not sure whether I should have a preposition before the word way in the following two sentences:

  The soup was made in the Moroccan way.

  The soup was made on the Moroccan way.

or

  The soup was made the Moroccan way.

Could someone please point out which of the sentences is correct?


texts: using "them" or "it" as a pronoun for uncountable noun

texts:
I'm an English learner. I have a question relating to using pronouns.  Here's my example sentence:

  Yesterday I bought some furniture for my kitchen. Some of them is
  so expensive.

I don't know if I should use "them" or "it." And is "is" correct or not?


texts: "Anti-PF1 monoclonal antibody" vs. "Monoclonal anti-PF1 antibody": order of adjectives

texts:
Which is better:

"Anti-PF1 monoclonal antibody"
"Monoclonal anti-PF1 antibody"?

I think it's the second: monoclonal anti-PF1 antibody, because "anti-PF1" expresses purpose.

I've read about order of adjectives on the Cambridge.org site, and it looks like option 2 is better.


texts:
I've seen so many instances of using hypenated "year-old"  phrases that way , "singular subject pronoun + hyphenated phsase+noun", i.e

"I'm a 18-year old boy and I'm dating with a girl 8 years older than me"
"She's a 15-year-old, pretty girl"

But I've never come across a plural pronoun used along with it, like:

"We're 30-year-old females" or "They are 60-year-old retirees" thus I'd want to know if it's wrong to use plural pronoun in such a sentence.


texts:
My research involves rectangles that differ in their width/height ratio, and I am looking for words to describe them. Specifically, consider these 4 rectangles.

What adjective describes a rectangle whose height is much larger than the width (like the light-blue one)?

What adjective describes a rectangle whose height is larger than the width, but not very much (like the light-green one)?

What adjective describes all rectangles whose height is larger than the width (like the two light-colored)?

What adjective describes a rectangle whose width is much larger than the height (like the dark-blue one)?

What adjective describes a rectangle whose width is larger than the height, but mildly (like the dark-green one)?

What adjective describes all rectangles whose width is larger than the height (like the two dark-colored)?

What adjective describes a rectangle with extreme difference between width and height (like the two blue-colored)?

What adjective describes a rectangle with mild difference between width and height (like the two green-colored)?


texts: You almost got yourself killed, Is correct?

texts:
You almost got yourself killed.
  You almost got killed yourself.
  You almost got yourself to kill.
  or ...


texts: Do I use definite/indefinite articles properly in this example?

texts:
I have so many problems to find the proper usage of defnite vs indefinite articles. Could you please see the example below and tell me if I made a mistake, and what is the proper general rule/ why the used article is wrong?
This is just an example where both sentences are general rules, and it makes me really confused about the second sentence especially.

  "A manager (one of many) mentioned they - according to guidelines - don't have to calibrate equipment every time they replace a water filter in a coffee dispenser. But, usually, as they replace the filter in the coffee machine the equipment calibration changes."

Edit:

Ok, no problem I'll try to describe my doubts. I just don't 'feel' like they are all correct. Well, this is just a feeling and it's not very easy to explain.

I don't feel when 'an object/or a noun(?)' is really a definite one. Is this 'a particular object' which is specified/definied or 'a word' which we'have already mentioned in the previous sentence?
In the 1st sentence doesn't make it definite when we put 'coffee' before the word 'dispenser'?
or, doesn't make it definite that we generally spoke about coffee machines before eg. 2 days before?
'the equipment calibration' as a noun mentioned for the first time in the second sentence. Why not to use 'an equipment calibration'? Also, this just sound strange to me 'an equipment calibration.
Should we use 'the' in the second sentence because we just used both words 'filter' and 'coffee machines' or should we mean 'the same particular object(s)' in both sentences?
Should we use undefinite or definite articles in the second sentence. This is only a very general statement, so why not to use indefinite articles (in both)?


texts: what is the difference between 'under construction' and 'renovation'?

texts:
I saw some sentences.
This was written as 'His Web site is still under construction.'

I think it means 'repair process of existing web site' so I chose answer 'He has an online portfolio in his website' answer.

I now understand that it is so abstract that was not correct answer.
But I want to know what is the difference between 'under construction' and 'renovation'.

Does it depend on the context?


texts:
Emergency services attended the scene and found the man trapped in his car. A crew from the State Emergency Service (SES) with the assistance of Fire and Rescue extricated the man from the vehicle before NSW Ambulance officers treated him on scene. Source

Authorities have identified the man who was trapped in his car for three days after rolling the vehicle in a remote part of Montana as 30-year-old Shaun Lee of South Carolina. Source

First of all, I have no idea while the verb is "be trapped", the to be part 'was' is missing in the first passage.
Secondly, I was wondering if using "who" is an optional part which adds to the formality of sentence in the second passage.
I.e. please do me a favor ant let me know which case below sounds correct to you and why:

There was a 4-car-pile-up on the road. I parked my car at the side of the road and went to help the man................in his car.

a. trapped
b. who was trapped
If they both work, then how they differ semantically?
Please kindly explain those to me.


texts: "Keep my mouth shut"....is it rude to say?

texts:
Today I had a lot of fun with a group of mums and kids in a muddy obstacle race. I fell into the muddy pool while my mouth was opened and drank some muddy water by accident. Then I said to the other mum I better "keep my mouth shut" as I didn't want to drink anymore muddy water. The instructor then said I was rude by saying that.
Is it very rude and impolite to say that in that situation please?


texts:
flick

  1-[transitive] flick something + adv./prep. to hit something lightly
  with a sudden quick movement, especially using your finger and thumb
  together, or your hand

  She flicked the dust off her collar.

  The horse was flicking flies away with its tail.

  James flicked a peanut at her.

  Please don't flick ash on the carpet!

  The striker flicked the ball into the back of the net. She snatched up
  her briefcase and flicked it open.

  2- [intransitive, transitive] to move or make something move with
  sudden quick movements

  adv./prep. The snake's tongue flicked out.

  Her eyes flicked from face to face.

  flick something (+ adv./prep.) He lifted his head, flicking his hair
  off his face.

  The horse moved off, flicking its tail.

flip

  1- [intransitive, transitive] to turn over into a different position
  with a sudden quick movement; to make something do this

  The plane flipped and crashed.

  (figurative) She felt her heart flip (= with excitement, etc.).

  flip something (+ adj.) He flipped the lid open and looked inside the
  case.

  3 - [transitive] to throw something somewhere with a sudden quick
  movement, especially using your thumb and/or fingers SYNONYM toss

  flip a coin They flipped a coin to decide who would get the ticket.

  flip something + adv./prep. He flipped the keys onto the desk.

This Youtube video shows a "hair flick" and this one shows a "hair flip". The 2 actions are almost the same.

what are the differences between the verb: "flick" and "flip"?


texts:
This question is about punctuation. There are three ways that the dot (.) can be used.
Dots can be single, which ends a declarative statement and has other uses. (period)
Dots can be triple, which indicate a continuing list or trailing off... (elipsis)
And double.. (??)
Can you explain the name and meaning of the double dot..


texts: The universal term for the weather organization

texts:
What do you usually call the organization which forcasts the weather during the week days?

I know two terms:

  Meteorological organization {it sounds a bit technical to me and I doubt if people normally use it when it comes to allude to a TV reporter within any studio area talking about upcomming whether status}
  Whether service {The other term which sounds to be  dedicated to the US, while as far as I know, it is refering to the NWSO which stands for the American (National Whether Service Organization); although I guess the term that people often use in this sense should be just Whether Service Organization as a public and universal one; but still, I have my doubts in this regard!}

Please help me with my takings over these terms.


texts: Meaning of 'makes up time' and the meaning of whole phrase

texts:
Please explain the meaning of 'makes up' using with time and the meaning of whole phrase here.

  It is the pursuit of your goals -- not the reaching of them -- that
  makes up the weeks, days and hours of our lives.

I read this definition in Collins

  If you make up time or hours, you work some extra hours because you
  have previously taken some time off work.

It does not help me understand the meaning of whole phrase.


texts:
I hope he doesn’t think I’m off prostituting myself.

source - One Week Girlfriend

I looked up "be off", seemed no right meaning.


texts:
You're going to yell at my son, and you expect me to just stand and watch?

You're going to yell at my son and expect me to stand there and watch?

In the second sentence there is no pronoun preceding expect, is it still grammatically correct?
Can you provide a link where I can look into this?


texts:
What does "finish off" mean in this context (football/soccer)?
Everton finished off VIlla with a diving header from Valeri Gauvin and a goal from Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah


texts: What does 'make provision' mean in politics?

texts:
I was reading Endgame by Frank Brady (Page157) on Bobby Fischer and came across the following paragraph,

  The Bureau obviously had trouble believing that someone would travel so much simply for the purpose of playing chess, especially to countries that were restricted for political reasons. A notice in Bobby's FBI file states that his passport was 'not valid for travel to Albania, Cuba, and those portions of China, Korea and Vietnam under communist control', and it contains a 1965 memorandum from the Office of the Coordinator of Cuban Affairs which advises that 'Cuban travel criteria make no provision for validation for the purpose of participating in chess competitions'.

According to the WorldReference dictionary, the closest matching definition I can find is 'a clause in a legal instrument, a law, etc., providing for a particular matter; stipulation; proviso'. Is it what it means in this text? I'm not sure.


texts: Word do describe a person who only has knowledge about their own field

texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe a person who does not know much about anything but the field they are majoring or have majored on. For example, a computer scientist who does not know anything in other fields and does not have any hobbies outside their job/field of study.

Also what is a word to describe a person that is the opposite? Meaning, they know something in other fields, read books about different things, have hobbies, etc.


texts:
She did not write the letter till now.

If this sentence is to be corrected then i would replace did not write with has not written because of till now which suggests about the present.

So, if I say only:

  She did not write the letter.

Is this sentence correct grammatically?


texts:
How do we use two composite adjectives in a row?

For example:

  We have a lot of mathematics-intensive and science-intensive courses.

Can the above be reduced to:

  We have a lot of mathematics and science-intensive courses.

I am not sure, but it doesn't seem like it's allowed by the rules of English grammar, because we cannot imply the use of "-intensive"?


texts:
"I am determined to pass this bill with or without consensus," Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud Party faction last month. "It is very important for securing the future of the nation of Israel, in the Land of Israel, in the State of Israel." (Canada stays mum on controversial Israeli bill - CBC news Dec.14 2014)

Does "a meeting" here mean "a group of people"?


texts: To reach a reasonable and fair situation in life

texts:
Let's suppose there is a family including a sick mother who is about to die and a son who has no one other than the mother. Mother is making her last will to the son and wants to sympathize with the son and also, encourage him to do his best in order to obtain a good job and good life. Does the self-made sentence below make sense to you? Is it Natural? If not please help me to have a natural substitute for that:

  Do your best to reach somewhere soon.

*** The word "somewhere" in the above sentence means a reasonable and fair situation in which the son could live comfortably in it.

Bringing up this question I am looking for a verb which can be used in this sense meaning "to achieve success and good life".
What I wrote, (to reach somewhere) is a direct translation from Farsi which is exactly what we use to indicate the same message. I do not know what native speakers would use instead.


texts:
Two guys are arguing while third are coming to them and said to one of them:

  Why don't you shut your mouth before I close it for good.

It's not clear what for good emphisize here? Couldn't you explain?


texts: Is it grammatical to say 'knowledge that should be basic for them'

texts:
In this context:

Most of our clients have issues because of their limited knowledge. It is very stressful to repeat the same things to all of them, knowledge that should be basic for them.

I'm told it's considered an ungrammatical phrase, but I don't understand why.

Additional information:
my b2 english teacher told me

  Here's his explanation:This particular sentence is actually a
  subordinate clause that provides a sentence element with additional
  information, but which cannot stand as a sentence on its own. A
  subordinate clause can either modify an adjacent clause or serve as a
  component of an independent clause, meaning that it is dependent and
  requires an additional clause.Moreover, the noun ‘knowledge’ is
  commonly preceded and not followed by a verb, e.g. ‘acquire
  knowledge’, ‘have knowledge’, ‘use knowledge’, etc. And finally, the
  noun ‘knowledge’ does not collocate with the verb ‘to be’ that often,
  because of the above-mentioned rule. Attached you shall find a
  screenshot of the Oxford Collocations Dictionary which gives all the
  verbs the noun ‘knowledge’ collocates with. Now, let’s take a look at
  the sentence ‘The customers should have some basic knowledge.’ This is
  an independent clause and thus a sentence that can stand on its own.
  The noun ‘knowledge’ is preceded by the verb ‘have’ which is at the
  same time a verb that this noun usually collocates with.


texts: Which Tense should I put after "once/ as soon as" in these sentences?

texts:
I'd like to know which tense I should put after "once" (or as soon as) in these examples

  I will wash the dishes as soon as  she is/ will have finished  / has finished

  I would have washed the dishes once she had finished / was finished

  I will do it once you have gotten / got / get out of this house!


texts: using the pattern: less (noun phrase) than (noun phrase)

texts:
Would you please give me some examples with the pattern below, in such a way that I could understand what the bold part means?  I couldn't find such a pattern in dictionaries.

This is the pattern:

  Japan is less a country than a network of linked Mega-regions, anchored by Tokyo.


texts:
Can "Blow" be used by itself to mean "Blow something up all out of proportion?"

As in:

  She was written off as Blowing it (a situation) in an attempt to
  implicate him.

(Made up example)


texts: Difference between "in doing so," "in order to," "in a way that," etc

texts:
I think you use the following phrases with the same meaning, don't you? Are any of them interchangeable? If so, when?

in a way that
in this way
in such a way that
such that
so that
in order to
in order that
in doing so


texts: what is the meaning of pull back in this context?

texts:
I am reading the twilight's book in english but i am blocked. I don't understand the meaning of pull back in this sentence:

  "I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers."

I don't know if she means that she removes her Hood or she put her Hood on her head.
If anybody could help. Thanks.


texts: Can I use only past simple in this sentence?

texts:
I have a sentence which I think is fine. But maybe I should change the second part from past simple to past perfect. It’s an entry on my website.

July 2015: I organised my first family camp in suburbs of Moscow. At the same time I closed my own family centre that I opened a year earlier while I was on maternity leave.


texts:
He retired to his country estate, where he recorded his reflections on politics. Two of his books would become classics in political theory: Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy, a set of essays on ancient and modern politics, and The Prince, a potent little book that would shock readers for centuries.

I do not understand why this passage uses "would" and "would become" instead of "will" and "will become".  It is a fact that they did, isn't it?


texts:
Here's an excerpt from a Daily Mail article.

  In the UK, at 58, I sometimes feel as if I’m on the scrap heap. As an older woman, it feels as if people want you to crawl away and patiently await death. Young people shout at me and speak extra slowly, even though I am not deaf and far from stupid. Social leprosy doesn’t even begin to cover it; for the most part, I feel invisible. But it couldn’t be more different here — older women are not stigmatised.

In this particular context, I selected these two sentences:

  (1a) I sometimes feel as if I am on the scrap heap.

  (2a) It feels as if people want you to crawl away and patiently await death.

I'd like to know if the following variations of (1a) and (2a) are possible English in this particular context:

  (1a) I sometimes feel as if I am on the scrap heap. [Original]

  (1b) I sometimes feel as if I was on the scrap heap.

  (1c) I sometimes feel as if I were on the scrap heap.

  (1d) I sometimes feel like I am on the scrap heap.

  (1e) I sometimes feel like I was on the scrap heap.

  (1f) I sometimes feel like I were on the scrap heap.

  (2a) It feels as if people want you to crawl away and patiently await death. [Original]

  (2b) It feels as if people wanted you to crawl away and patiently await death.

  (2c) It feels like people want you to crawl away and patiently await death.

  (2d) It feels like people wanted you to crawl away and patiently await death.


texts: Can I say: "I'm booked for tomorrow."?[context: interview]

texts:
Context: I was interviewing for a job and I scheduled a lot of calls with recruiters/ hiring managers. I was available to talk twice a week from  8 am till 10 am or 4 pm till 5 pm. Sometimes I scheduled so many calls that all the slots in my calendar were taken.
Is it correct to use "I'm booked for tomorrow" in this situation? I wanted to say that I cannot talk tomorrow because I scheduled too many calls and don't have time for another one.
Can I use it like this:
"Thank you for reaching out. I'm booked for tomorrow, but I'd love to talk on Monday."


texts:
I heard this idiom in a movie and looked it up in the web in vain. Here's the phrase:

  She's a lawyer, she's keeping her name.

Throwing a light on this would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Meaning of the phrase "the thinking goes"

texts: Here it it is in context: "Society assigns more social and economic rewards to those jobs that are more important to it. This gaurantees that difficult jobs will be filled, THE THINKING GOES, and will draw peopele away from easier and less imortant jobs." I cannot figure out what that phrase is for there and its meaning.


texts: What is "Merchant Service Fee" also known as MSF?

texts: What is "Merchant Service Fee" means? Is it only credit card fee or does it include shipping fee?


texts:
Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name
  "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as
  he could, "Their son -- he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"

What is the exact meaning of 'He decided, he didn't dare'?


texts: Relative clauses and the meaning of the context

texts:
I saw this sentence in a book "Keep the aspidistra flying"

  No need to repeat the blasphemous comments which everyone who had known Gran'pa Comstock made on that last sentence.

There are two relative clauses in this sentence and I got confused.

"which everyone who had known Gran"pa made on that last sentence" modifies"comments"

"who had known Gran'pa Comstock made on that last sentence" modifies "everyone"

So is it people who know Gran'pa Comstock made the comments or Gran'pa Comstock made the comments?

And the object behind the verb "made" is "the blasphemous comments" Am I right?


texts: How to understand "don't code today what you can't debug tomorrow"?

texts: It's a title of a blog. In my option, I absolutely can debug my code tomorrow which I wrote today. So how to understand that?


texts: Euphemism/idiom for "... and his friends"

texts:
In Spanish, you can say: "Pedro y compañía" (Pedro and company). Which is the same as saying "Pedro and his friends (who always hang out with him)."

Is there something similar in English?

Note: I found X and company on Google Books. However, I'm not very sure if they are referring to an actual corporate company.


texts: How do you say that two timeline "converges"?

texts:
The life of King A "converges" with the life of King B such that King A dies a little after King B is born. How do you say that the lives converges?

His lifetime ____ with his grand son's lifetime.


texts:
I have been asked “How’s your English?”

I answered: “It is improved slowly,” but I have read that I must say “It is improving slowly.”

But I don’t think the second is correct, because you improve it (by) yourself and not by another body.


texts:
Given: On display in the National Museum are more than 5,000 works of art, ranging from the 6th to the 13th Century.

Q: How old are the works of art displayed in the National Museum?

A: 1.The works of art displayed in the National Museum are from about 800 to 1500 years old.
A: 2. The works of art displayed in the National Museum are from about 8 to 15 centuries old.
A: 3. The works of art displayed in the National Museum are hundreds of years old.
A: 4. The works of art displayed in the National Museum are between 800 and 1500 years old.

Are these four answers to the question grammatical and natural?


texts: regrets telling him/regrets having told him

texts:
Tonya: Actually he's still legally my husband.
Tonya immediately regrets telling him that. (1)
Tonya immediately regrets to have told him that. (2)
Tonya immediately regrets having told him that. (3)
Tonya immediately regrets that she told him that. (4)
Tonya immediately regrets that she has told him that. (5)
Guy: He's still your husband?
Hi. Are all the five sentences grammatical and natural?


texts:
First, my teacher taught us to use present verb tense in a summary, but sometimes I just really want to use past tense.

for example (sociology essay,informal tho)

  A black female student is physically and verbally abuse by other students. Students bully her because she is academically advanced. Bullies call the victim’s racial names like “oreo” "white girl" and "wanna be white girl." Bullies try to push her down a flight of stairs, hit her with a bookbag, chip two of her teeth. Victim’s parents decide to remove her from the school and place her in home school because of things get so bad. Victim’s parents also inform district officials, but nothing change.

Victim’s parents decide to remove her from the school and place her in home school because of things get so bad.

Victim’s parents decided to remove her from the school and place her in home school because of things got (or gotten?) so bad.

Victim’s parents also inform district officials, but nothing change.
Victim’s parents also informed district officials, but nothing changed.

like it happened in the past (well for the first one   I kinda get it , because it happens after the bully,)
the second one, changed, I feel like it happened (after they informed them) like I'm just so confused

A Summary of “The Real Reason Why Highway Deaths Are Down” by Robert Reich

  In the article “The Real Reason Why Highway Deaths Are Down” the author, Reich, points out the real reason why highway deaths are down. The U.S. has a 3.9 percent drop in traffic fatalities since 2006. According to Reich, the real reason why highway deaths are down is the economy. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters credits the decline to safer vehicles. Reich argues that safer vehicles is not the reason, because the cars on our roads are basically the same. Some say that our roads are safer. Reich states that our roads did not abruptly improve, one major bridge even caved in. Reich concludes that economy is the real reason why highway deaths are down, because when the economy is going down, fewer people are on the roads due to high gas prices, another explanation is when unemployment rises, fewer people commute to work.
  (this is the summary I wrote seriously)

Reich states that our roads did not abruptly improve (this is the one I want to use)
Reich states that our roads are not abruptly improve  (in present tense)

The first sentence, I feel like it is better, because it happened
The second sentence is just weird, like weird....

...one major bridge even caved in.
...one major bridge even cave in.

Wouldn't that be weird? since the bridge DID cave in.

Really need help with these. It has always been a problem for me about past/present tense.  (I am not asking for homework help, I already finished it, well...I don't know honestly, just have to give some example)


texts:
This is one of the hesitating conditions in which I cannot tell for sure. Should I change "have been" to "has been"?

  It has long been established that adverse drivers’ behavior, including behavior relating to distracted driving, propensities for risk-taking, and disregard for traffic rules, have been critical determinants with regard to the likelihood of a vehicle crash.


texts: Why is "Mary told the cake to be cut by John" ungrammatical?

texts:
Mary told the cake to be cut by John.

A textbook says that this example is ungrammatical, but it seems to make sense to me: where does the sentence have its fault?


texts: To be aware of or to be in the loop about something

texts:
Suppose you want to ask someone if they've been informed of the death of a mutual friend's father.

I constructed the below sentences.

  Are you aware of the passing of Katy’s father?
  Are you in the loop about the passing of Katy’s father?

I understand that to be in the loop means to be aware of.

But will listeners likely feel the same way hearing either one?

Will native speakers avoid using in the loop in this use context?

=====

EDIT: Original below

Let's suppose someone is going to ask someone else if they are informed you about someone's father death. Which one of the following self-made sentences sounds more natural:

  Are you aware of the passing of Katy’s father?
  Are you in the loop about the passing of Katy’s father?

For me they both mean the same and the only difference comes to mind is that the sentence #1 is a bit formal.

Would both of the following be typical or appropriate


texts: Omitting relative pronoun in a conditional clause

texts:
Though it's generally discouraged, this approach is acceptable in some rare cases.
Though generally discouraged, this approach is acceptable in some rare cases.

"it" in the first sentence is a relative pronoun for "this approach".
Are both of these sentence correct? I ask it because I'm not sure about the second.


texts:
I would like to express that I read all the references citing a specific paper listed by Google scholar. I would like to add a specific date to that sentence. Is one of the following ways to do this correct? Or is there a more suitable preposition than "as of"?

I read all the 42 references citing A listed by Google Scholar (as of March 29, 2016).

or

I read all the 42 (as of March 29, 2016) references citing A listed by Google Scholar


texts: the stories (were/are) created by the teenagers

texts:
The public will be able to listen to the stories created by the teenagers and look at the symbolic art works inside these wooden dolls, beautifully carved by the Dublin Woodturners’ Association. The Irish Times

Aren't created & covered past participles in the above sentence? Shouldn't we use to be verbs with them because the above clauses are passive voice?

  the stories are created by the teenagers ...
  beautifully was carved by the Dublin ...


texts: Does "at the same time" refer only to chronological time and never to logical sequence?

texts: Can one say, for example, "The publisher did not restrict himself to classics. He did publish Shakespeare, but, at the same time, a few years later he published Christie too"


texts: “Writer” or “Author” when talking about somebody who “creates” book stories/novels as a professional?

texts:
This question has been split from a previous double-question here.

Which of the following is preferable?

Jack London and Charles Dickens were both great writers.
Jack London and Charles Dickens were both great authors.

Could somebody explain that to me the difference?
Is there any difference in usage between British English and American English in this case?


texts: Asking a question about the length of time.

texts:
A. He came back to the city after an absence of 20 years.

  B. The drug was tested over a five-week period.

In order to ask a question about the length of the period, we use which of the following?

  A1. How long was his absence before he came to the city?

  A2. How long of an absence did he have before coming to the city?

  A3. How long did his absence last before coming to the city?

And the same format of questions goes to the other sentence.

  B1. How long was the period over which the drug was tested?

  B2. How long of a period was the drug tested over?

  B3. How long did the period last over which the drug was tested?


texts: is it grammatically correct to say "You lose"?

texts:
Why in the game Street Fighter II, when you lose the fight, is it said:

  "You lose"

Isn't it grammatically wrong?
It is past, therefore "I lost the fight"
Shouldn't the correct is: "You lost"?


texts:
I had a hard time trying this. I have known that I should bite my tounge when I pronounce "th". This sometimes goes well with words like "thick". However, every time I try to say "those", Siri will recognise my "th" as "v", which is a bit frustrating.

This is my voice:
https://clyp.it/hfg0ujqo
It is almost like "fick"!


texts: The prince rode at the head of his regiment. (was heading for the front place or already being in the front place?)

texts:
The prince rode at the head of his regiment.

The prince was heading for the front place or already was in the front place?
One dictionary says 'ride at' means 'drive a horse somewhere'.


texts: There is a Japanese-made katakana expression PET bottle, which refers to plastic bottles. More than 10 or 15 years ago, the NHK English show taught that "PET bottle" is a katakana expression and should be expressed as plastic bottles in English. These days, however, some English speakers living in Japan say PET bottle is okay. Is PET bottle used as an English expression in English-speaking countries?


texts: "The world better prepare for when I'm a billionaire" — Why not I be or I'll be is this a future tense?

texts:
The world better prepare for when I'm a billionaire

The text taken from song lyrics. I'm curious as to what tense this is and why not I be or I'll be?


texts:
Need we add that it be usable in the woods?

This paper1, albeit an old one, contains an example of this odd way of writing. Where I would expect  "..that it would/could/may/should/... be", there is nothing! I feel there is some lost information in here.

Is this an ordinary way to express oneself nowadays, or is it more archaic, or "upper class"?
Is there only one meaning to "it be"?

A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages - Alan C. Kay, Proceedings of the ACM National Conference, Boston Aug. 1972


texts: So I was talking with someone about some sponsorship which includes a starter package and it said that it would cost $50 and after said one off payment. So what does it mean? Like it will not be refundable or will be the only payment of will not count to something...?


texts: "Take more, throw further" - an idiom about a dumb work

texts:
There is a saying in Russian, which could be translated as:

  Take more, throw further, take a rest while it flies

Initially, it was applied to a manual digging with a shovel to demonstrate that this kind of work has nothing hard to understand and doesn't require to be very clever. Just take a shovel and dig. But nowadays it is often used to describe any kind of a dumb work. For example, when your boss is asking you to concentrate on quantity instead of quality. If you are a programmer, you need to write more code and doesn't matter, how fast it works and how much bugs it has; if you are selling cars, you need to call all the clients and propose them everything you have, and doesn't matter what impression they will have after, etc. So you can say about this: It is just a dumb work in "take more, throw further" style.

Is there an idiom in English or any other way to say this in one phrase?


texts: Why can we say I have done it before, but not yesterday?

texts:
I have found on Wikipedia that you can't use specific time in past for present perfect tenses, e.g.

I have done it on last monday.
I have done it yesterday.

But, I wonder why are we allowed to say:

I have done it before.
I have done it in  the past.

My speculation is that we can not put a specific time in a present perfect tense, but we can put time intervals. Like I have done it for ten years(interval of time). Similarly before and in the past are intervals of time, not points in time. Hence, the following should be incorrect:

I have eaten two hours ago.
I have done that a couple of minutes ago.
I have done that long time ago.

Please give the grammatical reason for this and provide official/canonical references to back up your claim.


texts:
Which is correct:

  Florence is built on both sides of the Arno River.

or

  Florence was built on both sides of the Arno River.

Source: The ILI English Series, Intermediate 1 Workbook, Page 56


texts: Can I use competing in this reframed sentence?

texts:
I was reading a newspaper and then I came across this sentence:

  "The restaurant owner is competing more for guests than for the staff members."

So can I reframe it in this way

  "The restaurant owner is competing more for guests than competing for the staff members."


texts: Meaning of "And held the darkness over day, that night"

texts:
I don't understand the meaning of above line. It's from the song Valentine's Day by Linkin Park. I've posted the full verse below:

My insides all turned to ash, so slow
And blew away as I collapsed, so cold
A black wind took them away, from sight
And held the darkness over day, that night

So does the above line mean "the night is dark" or "the day is so dark that it looks like night". Also feel free to point out any grammatical error in the question itself.


texts: Meaning of "to undertake the siege of someone's virtue" in "He wished now that he had never undertaken the siege of Miss Wilkinson's virtue" (Maugham)

texts:
Of course it was much easier for Frenchmen to do these things; the
  language was such an aid; Philip could never help feeling that to say
  passionate things in English sounded a little absurd. He wished now
  that he had never undertaken the siege of Miss Wilkinson's virtue; the
  first fortnight had been so jolly, and now he was wretched; but he was
  determined not to give in, he would never respect himself again if he
  did, and he made up his mind irrevocably that the next night he would
  kiss her without fail.

  Of Human Bondage  by W. Somerset Maugham

Can you paraphrase the bold sentence for me?


texts: "The farthest reach" or "the farthest reaches"?

texts:
I heard on TV (an American science program, forgot the name of the program):

  We will venture out into the farthest reaches of the cosmos.

It makes me wonder if/when the noun "reach" is a count noun and can be pluralized. Bizarrely, according to Macmillan Dictionary and Cambridge Dictionary, it is either a noncount noun or a singular noun.

Google shows both terms are in use. For example, there is a book called Farthest Reach, but also instances of books and songs by the title (the) Farthest Reaches abound.

Google Ngram shows something interesting. The popularity of these two terms has changed over time:

So is reach also a count noun? And when should it be pluralized?


texts: What is the difference between "What happened?" and "What has happened?"?

texts:
Please explain what is the difference between "what happened" and "what has happened?" I know that "has happened" indicates the action completed recently and "happened" refers to the action finished in the past, but I still doubt.

For example:
A: Hi, Carla. It's Jake.
B: Jake! I have not heard from you for two weeks. How are you?
A: Not very  good actually.
B: Why what "has happened" or "what happened?"

Which one is possible here?

And one more thing:
A: I had an accident and I have broken my leg because I had forgotten to put my helmet on.
B: I hope you "have learnt your lesson" or "learnt your lesson".


texts:
The following sentence is extracted form essay talking about single-sex school.

  People can get the\no article social experience to deal with the\no article opposite gender later in life and they will learn this fast.

I believe "social experience" is specific enough here because it is not general social experience; however, it is social experience related to the interaction with  opposite sex.  Therefore first one should be "the", what do you think?

The second one should be "no article" because opposite sex is general.

I am tired from the rules of the definite article, I need some help here!


texts:
Could you help me to understand whether this phrase is idiomatic or it's bad English, especially the second sentence? If it's not so good, please write your version in common English.

Don’t disturb him. He is just working at his English.


texts:
Recently I stumbled upon the word "Vanity". I looked its meaning online and found that it has two meanings as,

Excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
The quality of being worthless or futile.

In the first meaning the speaker would be considering himself/herself quite worth, that is why he has pride of it. But in the second meaning the speaker would be considering himself/herself worthless. The two meaning are quite opposite to each other. So in a sentence how do we decide which meaning is asserted by the speaker?


texts: Is "o" in "hot" pronounced the same as "u" in "but" in American spoken english?

texts:
I heard lots of American people pronounce "o" in "hot" pronounce the same way as "u" in "but", does "o" in "hot" pronounce the same as "u" in "but" in American spoken english?

Note: I am talking about everyday spoken english.

For example: youtu.be/rEnMEDo8Nzw?t=31


texts:
Can ‘why don’t you’ construction have negative words as in next case? If it can, where do I have to put ‘not’?

  Why don’t you not make him angry?


texts: Is there a verb that means "removing a plant, but removing its roots as well"?

texts:
There's the standard phrasal verb "cut down" as in "cut down a tree", that's used to refer to the act of cutting down a plant without removing a tree. I would like to know what's the verb we use to mean "removing the plant while removing its roots as well"? Is there such a verb. Let's me give you an example:

  The workers ___ several trees in order to build a big airport in the
  area.


texts:
I understand the rules in Cambridge Dictionary grammar tutorial, like any + plural countable noun and

  A:
  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you paint such a beautiful picture before. Gosh! Did you choose the colours?

  B:
  We could choose any colours we wanted.

and any + uncountable noun

  Do I need to get any petrol?

I am not sure which rule should I use with "difference"

Ngram Viewer shows both are common.

An ELL post uses it as an uncountable noun

  I'd like to know if there's any difference in meaning between ...

Another ELL post goes with the rule of plural countable noun.

  the differences between ...


texts: "It's nice seeing you" Is seeing a gerund here?

texts:
I would say it is, in the sense that you could write it as "Seeing you is nice", so that "seeing you" is a noun phrase. Am I wrong in thinking this?

Would the same principle apply to:

  Thank you for having us.

  Well thanks for staying.

  It's lovely seeing you again

  Thanks so much for coming.

Finally what time are these phrases referring to. I'm planning to teach them as referring to a past event that is still ongoing at the time of speaking.


texts:
I have a very positive view regarding/of muslims.

Are "regarding" and "of" both usable in this context?


texts: Alternatives for "It's been long since we met"

texts:
Let's assume person A and B have been apart for decades and they finally meet now.

Then A might say "It has been long since we met." and this is correct.

But I'm wondering, as alternatives, if following sentences are okay and have no error in grammar.

  It has been long without you.
  It has been long to see you again.
  It has been long not seeing you.

Please give me your answer. :)


texts:
I sometimes meet the phrase "if you please" used in spoken English. As the definitions say it is sometimes used as a very polite and formal way of attracting someone's attention or of asking them to do something or is sometimes used to express surprise or annoyance about something.

What's the usage of please here? I looked up its definitions as a verb and noun and can't really get which definition is applied in this phrase.

At first I thought it was an extended version of the exclamatory "please" with a slight shade of contempt. However, I am not sure whether I am right in my thoughts.


texts:
Could you tell which preposition: in or at it is correct and natural to use in the following sentences?

The thing is, I didn't like the working hours in/at my previous job, which is why I quit.
I have a lot on my plate in/at my job at the moment.


texts: I can’t understand the meaning of this sentence

texts:
“It seemed like weeks went by before you finally asked for my number”
Is that mean he asked numbers quickly or few weeks later?
Excerpt From
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher
This material may be protected by copyright.


texts: What's the difference between 'time-consuming' and 'time-consumed'?

texts: How do I distinguish whether to use v-ing or v-ed within compound adjective?


texts: Distinguish Past Future Perfect tense from subjunctive mood?

texts:
As the title says. Both tenses seem to make sense in this sentence.

  If the rain had stopped sooner, I would have gone out for a walk.

To me, they look no different, and so do all the online examples. Can I distinguish them or are they essentially the same thing?


texts: Yesterday's performance / performance of / performance for

texts:
He is a fast bowler of repute, but his yesterday's performance wasn't up to the mark.

Which is the correct option to replace the bold part in above sentence ?

A) performance of yesterday

B) performance for yesterday

I know yesterday's performance is too correct in spoken English but I am asking in context of formal English which option from A and B is correct to use here ?


texts:
I wrote the following sentence, but I am not sure it is correct.

All the moderators asking for blacklisting a tag would not probably cause the tag being blacklisted.

Is it correct to use the tag being blacklisted after cause? In Italian, where I could not use a noun as a verb*, I would probably say causerebbe l'aggiunta del tag alla lista dei tag bloccati (which is roughly equivalent to would cause the addition of the tag to the list of the blocked tags). The equivalent phrase in English seems too long, even when I replace to the list of the blocked tags with to the blacklist.
What is a more correct way of rephrasing that sentence?
* What I mean is that, for example, the Italian translation of list as noun is lista (or elenco); in English list is also the bare infinite of a verb, but in Italian the infinite of the verb would be elencare (not listare), since the infinite always ends in -are, -ere, or -ire.


texts:
evidence that somebody is who they say that they are (OALD)

It seems like the bold structure is a fused relative; ‘that they are’ is the content clause of ‘say’; there is a gap after ‘you are.’ Then what are co-indexed? I would think ‘who’ being able to be interpreted ‘the person who,’ ‘who’ in which is co-indexed with the gap after ‘they are.’ How do I have to understand the structure?

  evidence that somebody is [ the person who (i) [ they say [that they are __ (i) ] ] ].


texts:
In practicing sentence writing, i want to write a sentence meaning what a shop will do when the demand for pencils rises, assuming the shop is eager to meet the increased demand. To my mind, following two phrases are possible.

  "make more orders for pencils" vs "make an order for more pencils"

But i'm not sure which one a native would use. (maybe neither of them)

Please tell me which phrase is better and correct grammatically and semantically.


texts: Difference between "He's in prison" and "He's in the prison"

texts:
Please explain the difference in meaning between these two sentences. Not able to make out the difference.

  He's in prison.

and

  He's in the prison.


texts:
What did you prepare for tomorrow's lunch?
What you have prepared for tomorrow's lunch?

Which sentence is correct?
Many thanks.


texts: What does it mean to use the words “not” and “without” in the same sentence?

texts:
For example:

I won't study without you.

I can't finish this project without you.

Don't eat without me.

There is no way to do this without taking risks.

I didn't play this game without him.

When I see sentences like these, I usually just cancel out the "not"/"no" and "without" and form a positive meaning. But I'm not sure if that's the right way to think because in some cases the meaning can change completely. What does using the 2 words mean exactly and why is it used like this? Some more examples would be nice too.


texts: What's the phrase meaning "compromising in a way both parties get what they deserve" during deal-making"?

texts: What do you call the act of compromising during deal-making to get the fairest deal possible? I think I heard an idiom and it contained the word "middle", but I don't remember what the expression was. I think it was a three word phrase, but I don't remember.


texts: Don't let's wait / Let's not wait / Let's don't wait

texts:
I was reading a book today and I got confused by the sentence 'Don't let's wait.'

  Don't let's wait?

Is it correct to say this? I have seen sentences like:

  Let's wait.

... and I found lots of results for:

  Let's not wait.

... on Google. This question here asks about sentences like:

  Let's don't wait.

Niklon's answer there says that this sentence is not grammatical because it has both let's and don't together. So does this means that that the main example here is ungrammatical?


texts: How to distinguish transitive and intransitive verbs?

texts:
I want any key or shortcut to distinguish between transitive and intransitive verbs.Wren and Martin says that when a verb is used transitively the action passes over.But what ai am inable to understand is how does it pass over ?

For example in a sentence "I looked down from my window." Is the action passing over ?

"Time changes all things." Is it transitive ?

Or if there's any other way or book recommended do inform me.


texts:
want / to V

want to / V ?

If I say slowly "I want to speak English well."
Do I have to stop like: I want / to speak / English / well.
or Do I have to stop like: I want to / speak / English / well.
We hear, a lot, of "want to as wanna". This could be any hint?
I learned in school that 'want' is a verb and 'to infinitive' is an object.


texts:
Which sentence is correct:

  How much is the banana and the orange?

or

  How much are the banana and the orange?


texts: What is the difference between "theme" and "topic"?

texts: Could these two words be replaced in any context or the meaning is not exactly the same? In particular if I'm listening a podcast or a radio show do hosts of this show discuss one theme after another or one topic after another? Or both words could be used in this context?


texts: Meaning of the phrase "test case" in context

texts:
I know the phrase means in general, but I am confused by it in the following sentence.

  "North Korea is the only country that  sticks with strict communism, but they are too isolated to be a test case for an economic system.


texts: How to avoid this "by no means" redundancy?

texts:
How to avoid this redundancy here?

  According to the Constitution, the state power was by no means to be
  changed by means of a revolution.


texts:
I was taking an English test, and I needed to find which of the following sentences is correct. However, I couldn't recognize any mistake. To me,all of them are correct. Could you help me to find the mistakes?   Thanks

When I am 18 I pretend to study Medicine and become a successful doctor;
Do you have any compromise for this weekend? We could have dinner together;
I eventually go to that restaurant. Because of the prices I can't afford to go there very often;
You can call her Joan. Actually her name is a bit difficult to say - there are 4 consonants together.


texts: Tense disagreement in "I guess he would + perfect infinitive" sentences

texts:
In 1966 all of the US currency was withdrawn from Vietnam and our
  government printed Military Payment Certificates.

  How did he know and how did Bulldog know? I guess he would
  have just figured that if I went then Ted would go also. I had always been amazed how some of these guys know about everything that goes on. I guess it is good to not be surprised.

  As I walked over to Operations I saw my favorite C-54 crew chief.
  -- Once We Were Aces by Steve Campbell

  I heard that the alarm post near the sea had been quickly broken and
  the tsunami warning couldn't be heard. I guess he would have
  tried to pick up the glass broken by the earthquake. His body lay
  face up on the floor in the middle of the kitchen, wearing work gloves
  in his hands and a pair of trainers, the usual clothes that he used to
  wear when he went for a walk. On the day I found his body, I
  immediately went to the fire station and asked them to take his body
  out from the house. However, they didn't come.
  -- The Great East Japan Earthquake The life given to me again by Ekuyo Abe

  "Who is that guy?" Aaron looked at the time. It was almost midday.

  "A friend of Andrew's. All I know is that he trained with the SAS and
  owes Andrew some kind of favour," Scott said. "I don't like to
  question him too much."

  "I can understand that. I thought he was going to kill me."

  Scott chuckled. "I guess he would have looked pretty scary. But you
  can trust him, Aaron. Just make sure you jump when he says jump and
  don't move till he gives the all-clear."
  -- Operation Alpha Papa by D. J. Stutley

The first two excerpts were written in the past tense. Why did the writers use the present tense form of "guess"? Because the reference time changed to the speech time as the writers was writing it? Seems to me it was not very likely. However, I think it is the case for the third excerpt as the guess is included in the direct speech.

If these uses of "guess" are conventional, then why use "would + perfect infinitive" constructions in the subordinate clauses? I can't find any counterfactual or hypothetical elements implicit in the contexts. I would just use "I guess he figured/tried/looked" instead. What is the contribution of the "would + perfect infinitive" constructions to the semantics of these examples (if it is not that of expressing counterfactuality)?


texts: What is the grammar of "my heart burdened be"?

texts:
I have some trouble understanding a line from the song, "You Raise Me Up"

  When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
  When troubles come and my heart burdened be
  Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
  Until you come and sit awhile with me

I can guess the meaning of the line, "my heart burdened be."
But I can't get it grammatically. I think it should be "my heart is burdened."
I understand it's because it is a song but I'm a Korean English teacher.
I want to make my students understand the line clearly.
Help me, please!


texts: Does this verb need -s? "...and she thereby **think** that there is a problem"

texts:
Does "think" in the following context need s?

  Jack might tell her that there is a problem and she thereby
  think that there is a problem.

It seems to me that in this sentence if "might" affect "think" then "think" does not need "s". But, other than that, it seems to me that "think" is in this context subjunctive and so it does not need "s".


texts: "expert level knowledge in something" or "expert level of knowledge in something", which one is right?

texts: If I want to express having expert level of skills, can I say "expert level knowledge in something" or "expert knowledge in something"? Which one is right in the context of resume?


texts:
This is the dialogue which I heard in a TV show:

  The father asks: I heard your mission failed, Ranmaru.

  Ranmaru: Yes, it did fail.

Why doesn't he say yes, it failed?


texts:
I just heard this phrase on stackoverflow chat. English is not my native language and I don't understand what it means. I tried to translate it on Google translator to understand, but the translation doesn't make sense.

  Wish I can help more but I got work tomorrow and my eyes need to be OK.

StackOverflow Chat


texts:
I read this sentence in a book:

  He has been unconscious since late on the previous Saturday evening.

I am wondering about this construction. I thought it should be "since late the previous Saturday evening." Is the sentence from the book grammatical? Similar examples or reference to other pages would be very helpful.

Here's the original text:


texts: Is it grammatical to use a present tense in an event that is not happening yet?

texts:
I am writing this sentence in my diary:

  We will visit Country A next month. It is always wonderful to be with
  Jan for a tour in Country A.

Shall I use the future tense or is it still grammatical to use the present tense in this case?

  It will be always wonderful to be with Jan for a tour in the Country A.